**Grading each phase of the UW game**

***i did a search for the "grading" thread and didnt find one, so sorry if germans***

**feel free to contribute your observations**

but for me:

*offense*

PASSING: first of all the protection seemed much better this week. if mettenberger felt any pressure he would just step up in the pocket and make the throw. i liked the idea of keeping two backs in the backfield for obvious passing downs for protection or a draw. looks like the coaches DO read the rant and took our advice about formations. but mettenberger had pinpoint accuracy and will keep improving. the only way he could have been better on the passes, that i noticed, was he could have hit them in stride, but didnt all the time. ofcourse thats nitpicky, but theres always room for improvement. Beckham had a rough night and will definitely improve, but he also made some great catches. i cant wait till he and mettenberger get in a good rhythm.

RUSHING: domination was the key term for last night. our offensive line looked like they were pushing old grandmas in wheelchairs around on the line. blue looked crisp and wasnt scared of contact. right now he definitely is our best back with hilliard then ware in a close third and ford right in the mix. copeland looked great also when he carried the ball and his blocking was, as usual, bone-crushing.

PASSING: A-
RUSHING:A+

OVERALL OFFENSE: A

**Defense**

RUN DEFENSE: i honestly believe our front seven is the best in the league right now. sure we havent had much of a test but holding any team to 0 (yes zero)yards rushing in 3 quarters is not the easiest task. our front four looked great and i think anthony johnson played the most dominate on run plays of the front four. mingo and sam did great on the run, and so did logan. our LBer's looked great again, especially minter. minter was all over the field and should be a fairly high draft pick when he decides to head off.

PASS DEFENSE: was also awesome. simon was all over his man and will be the next first round corner taken from LSU. one play that really stood our for him was when he got beat on either an out route or corner route, the receiver caught the ball, but Simon has the presence of mind to pull down on the reciever's arm knocking the ball loose. Mills looked like he had been playing corner at LSU for four years last night. he made several great plays including his interception. reid and loston did great also and they both were playing like wrecking balls in the secondary. i like reid's new violence he seems to bring this year. he just seems angry, and wants to knock someone's head off. the pass rush was much better this week also. granted the line had more time to get to the QB. mingo had a great night by putting a lot of pressure on price. edwards had a phenomenal night by recording one sack and really should have had two had he wrapped up on Price. when we did blitz, a player was always right in price's face, making it very difficult to throw. Martin made a great hit on the QB when he blitzed off the edge. but Price looked very worn down by getting hit so many times and often got up very slowly.

RUSH DEFENSE: A++
PASS DEFENSE: A+

overall: A+

**Special teams**

KICKOFF: looked great, except for one play when Washington was able to return it out to the 35.

PUNTING: brad wing's 60+ yard punt into the wind was one of the best punts i have witnessed. it was right up there with the punt against BAMA when we were backed up against our goal line. if there is anyone to challenge the greatness of Ray Guy, its Wing.

RETURNS: we were not able to get much on punt returns since their guy was kicking it above the lights, but that's what you do when you punt to an athlete like Beckham. however beckham did not do too great on kickoff returns, by fumbling one inside our 20..

KICKOFF: A-
PUNTING: A+
RETURNS: B+

OVERALL: A-



for the TL;DR: go ahead and buy your hotel rooms for miami!