When the Washington Redskins acquired DeSean Jackson this past offseason, they felt as if they finally had the down field threat they sorely needed.
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Of course, such was not on display during the Redskins Week 1 loss as DeSean Jackson was only targeted once on a pass that went longer than 10 yards. Needless to say, if the Washington Redskins want to open up their offense and make DeSean Jackson useful, they’ll need to use the deep pass.
That’s something they plan on doing according to ESPN, especially given the lack of tight end Jordan Reed who is likely out due to injury.
"There was little time for downfield routes to develop, especially against such soft coverage. Jacksonville plays a different game and often uses eight in the box, so there should be more opportunities to go downfield."
Also playing favor to the Redskins is that the Jacksonville Jaguars don’t employ a very stout defense nor do they emphasize having additional defenders in the secondary, like the Houston Texans. Given that, as noted by ESPN, there should be more opportunities for the Washington Redskins to stretch the field.
Of course, just because there are opportunities doesn’t mean they’ll always be successful and it’s going to be on Robert Griffin III to put his receivers in position to make a play.
A Redskins-Jaguars matchup may not be the most inciting on paper, though it should prove to be a pretty fun game, especially if the deep passing attack can get going.