Vikings Outplay Redskins 33-26

The Minnesota Vikings caught two bad breaks on Saturday losing both starting QB Christian Ponder and starting RB Adrian Peterson to a devastating knee injury, yet they still had enough in the gas tank to beat a, recently, surging Redskins at FedEx Field, 33-26. Washington was just flat out, outplayed by the lowly Vikings who got their 3rd victory to improve their record 3-12. The Vikings would more than likely have one of the top 3 NFL Draft Picks in the 1st Round of the 2012 NFL Draft. If you haven’t figured it out by now, if you have a high draft pick it usually means that you had a bad season. Don’t worry though, Washington will be right behind them hovering somewhere around the 5th-8th overall pick. At 5-10 right now, 6-10 or 5-11 really isn’t going to make much of a difference. But I will keep this posting very short seeing as though the season is winding down, and I am frustrated with Washington. I am only going to focus on Minnesota since, they did for all intents and purposes, win the game.

Joe Webb, the 3rd string QB for the Minnesota Vikings played his ass off last season. How was he thanked for his efforts? By having a QB drafted to be ahead of him on the depth chart and then watched the Vikings trade for a very non-existent Donovan McNabb. At one point, Webb was thought of as QB that should be converted to WR because of his athleticism. HERE WE GO AGAIN!!! Why is it that athleticism benefits you everywhere else on the football field but QB? And if you haven’t noticed, Webb is one of the few Black QBs in the NFL. I won’t go there again, but it is kind of obvious what’s going on here. Well Webb proved his doubters wrong, yet again, by completing 4 of his 5 passing attempts, for only 84 Passing Yards, but he had 2 TD passes, and rushed for a 3rd as he willed the Vikings to a win. No, he didn’t look like Peyton Manning. But, he does have a skill set that can, and will make him a star in the NFL. And that is my final say regardless of what team Webb ends up playing for. But if Minnesota is as smart as I hope they are, especially with Adrian Peterson being down for most of training camp as he recovers from his ACL injury, I’d keep Mr. Webb and keep him happy by giving him an opportunity to compete for the starting QB spot. He may not get Minnesota to the playoffs this year, but he is good enough to get them to the playoffs next year.

This week’s game ball goes to Joe Webb, QB, of the Minnesota Vikings. Good job Joe.

Redskins Chop Giants Down To Size Again, 23-10

Who was that Burgundy and Gold team??!!!  Not only did the Redskins prove me wrong (I picked them to lose), but they embarrassed the Giants.  It got so bad, at one point, that the Giants fans were booing their own team.  I’ve never seen that before.  It was weird.  Giants Stadium was eerily quiet for most of the game in between boos.  As that’s happening, Rex Grossman is slinging it all over the place.  Hell he even threw 2 INTs early in the game.  One INT came on the very first play from scrimmage for the game.  With nothing on the line and coming into the game after being mathematically eliminated from the Playoffs, the Redskins get their 5^th win of the season, and a series sweep this year of the Giants on the strength of a 23-10 win.  Washington improves to 5-9 and the Giants drop to 7-7.  The only bad thing about the win is that it moves the Dallas Cowboys into sole possession of 1^st place in the NFC East. 

The Giants looked like they never came out of the locker to start the game.  Hakeem Nicks, a normally sure-handed WR, dropped two TD passes.  On one play, Nicks was wide open.  It was almost as if the God’s thought that it was time for things to go Washington’s way.  Eli Manning didn’t even throw a TD pass Sunday. That is rare.  Manning finished the game completing 23 of 40 passing attempts for 257 Passing Yards, no TD passes, but 3 INTs.  Manning was under constant pressure the entire game.  Although Manning was still able to move the Giants, most of their drives ended with no points.  And although the N.Y. Giants were able to force turnovers, they were not able to capitalize on them.  Brandon Jacobs was able to get going later in the game, but the Giants weren’t able to put together a 100-Yard Rushing effort.  And, although the Giants have one of the best Defensive Lines in the NFL, so much so that they rarely have to Blitz to create a Pass Rush, they were only able to tally one QB Sack, and it came on what looked like a blown assignment.  As crazy as it sounds, the Redskins shut down the Giants on Sunday.  How many times have we heard that this season?

I have one thing to say about the Redskins’ performance on Sunday.  It’s about damn time.  This is the first time that I have seen Washington punch a team in the mouth and follow it up with a knockout.  Washington had games won against Dallas both times this year, had the Patriots beaten, let the 49ers and Eagles games slip away, and never showed up for the game against the Bills.  Washington should be 10-4 heading into these final two games.  Washington has had key injuries.  Otogwe has been hurt all season, LaRon Landry, Tim Hightower, Kory Lichtensteiger, Jarvis Jenkins, Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Trent Williams and Leonard Hankerson are all out for the season and all are key starters.  Santana Moss even missed extended playing time this season.  This was an NFL Playoff team.  Hell I’ll take it a step further and say that Washington should be in the running for the NFC East crown.  Washington is just in need of a Franchise QB.  No disrespect to Grossman who finished the game Sunday with 15 completions on 24 passing attempts, 185 Passing Yards and 1 TD.  But he threw 2 INTs that could have been crucial mistakes, but the Defense bailed him out.  Rex takes way too many chances and the difference between he and a Tom Brady is that Brady will not put his team in those situations.  Brady is conscious of his decision-making at crucial times.  To put it plainly, you’d trust Brady in crunch time and expect him to make the plays to win the game.  With Grossman, you are hoping that he makes the plays to win the game and more importantly, you are hoping that he doesn’t turn the ball over doing something crazy.  But Grossman will do for the next two weeks. 

This week’s gameball goes to the entire Redskins Defense for one of their best performances of the entire season.

Pat’s Edge Redskins, 34-27

Who would have thought that the Patriots-Redskins game would have been a shootout that would have come down to the Redskins driving in the final 5 minutes with a chance to tie the game and send it to Overtime?  It was a loss, but Washington proved once again that they can compete with any team in the league, but closing has been a problem.  Washington has worked hard to create opportunities to win, but they have worked just as hard at giving them away.  I don’t want to take anything away from Tom Brady’s performance because, unless you’ve been living under a rock, he’s been nothing short of amazing.  He’s still tearing it up without a legit #1 WR.  Chad Ochocinco is up there in New England with him, but as Chad’s girlfriend states it… “He’s been a non (mother$%^&^&) factor!!!”  And as I see it, Washington has nothing to hang their heads about.

Time and time again this season Washington has had their games decided in the final few minutes, which tells me that they are doing enough to be in the game in the final minutes.  Sunday it was a nip and tuck battle with one of the best teams in the NFL.  I had no doubt in my mind that Washington was going to win.  I know my team.  The better the competition the better that they play.  So why wouldn’t I think that they were going to give New England hell?  Rex Grossman, for the fourth straight week, has played extremely well.  I have been impressed with how he’s handled the pressure of playing in a big game.  Not only did Grossman lead 5 scoring drives, but he actually threw a TD pass on the final drive of the game, but an Offensive Pass Interference call nullified what would have been a game-tying TD.  Hell, even the INT that ended the game wasn’t his fault.  I can’t believe I am actually typing that by the way.  Grossman had help with his WRs coming up with big plays, especially his college teammate Jabar Gaffney who had 6 catches for 92 yards and 1 TD.  Gaffney has been on my radar since his days of playing for the Houston Texans as their #2 WR next to André Johnson.   Roy Helu put up another 100-Yd effort with 126 Rushing Yards on 26 carries.  Even little Brandon Banks threw a TD pass today to Santana Moss.  But the star of the game was on the other team today, and boy did he put on a performance.

I get a little pissed off when the “experts” and I used that term lightly, says that teams shouldn’t use high draft picks on Tight Ends (TE).  When you have a guy who is a physical freak like Vernon Davis, you might want to take that chance.  New England has a guy that is along those lines as far as size and speed.  At 6’6” tall and 265 lbs, “Gronk” as his teammates call him, is a freak.  Not only did this dude run a 4.65 in the 40 Yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he broad jumped 9’11”.  That may not mean anything to you, but that tells me that he is a very explosive runner and has great acceleration.  That spells doom for Linebackers (LB) and Safties ([SS = Strong Safety] and [FS = Free Safety]).  I think the signature play of the game was “Gronk” making  a diving catch, getting up and then dragging two Redskins players a few yards before breaking the tackle and running up field for a few more yards.  Amazingly this is only his 2^nd year and he has broken the NFL Record for Most TD Receptions For a TE In One Season (15).  And although Tom “Terrific” Brady completed 23 of 37 passes for 357 Yards and 3 TD passes, he did throw a crucial INT in the end zone that almost cost New England the game.  I know that was the only blemish on his record Sunday, but  I have to give the game ball to Rob Gronkowski today.  If you take away his numbers, New England doesn’t have a chance in hell.  That matchup killed the Redskins Sunday.  And for a 4-9 team, you need all the matchups to go your way every week. 

Congrats to Rob for winning this weeks game ball with 6 catches for 160 Recieveing Yards and 2 TD’s.  Keep an eye out for this kid.  He is the real deal.

Jets Soar Past Redskins, 34-19

For about 55 minutes, this game was back and forth.  No one had established a position of dominance.  Then the Redskins got soft.  Mark Sanchez hit Santonio Holmes for a go-ahead TD and made the score 20-16. Then on the ensuing possession Rex Grossman was sacked and fumbled the ball.  The Jets would eventually score on a Wildcat Formation Run, to essentially put the game out of reach.  Washington actually came out with guns ablaze, but they ran out of bullets when they needed them the most, down the stretch.  The Jets have finally established themselves as a Playoff Contender and are poised to make a run in the Playoffs.  Washington hasn’t smelled the Playoffs since 2007 and that drought will continue.

Rex Grossman took control of the Washington offense the way that we’ve all wanted him to.  Grossman took the Redskins straight down the field and scored on the very first possession and led them to a FG on the 2^nd possession.  Unfortunately, they hit a wall later on in the game and could only muster up 2 more FGs before the Jets put the final nail in the coffin.  Washington had great drives, but could not get timely 3^rd down conversions when they needed them.  That is the things that Playoff teams do.  Grossman completed 19 of 46 passes for 221 Yards, and didn’t throw his weekly INT until the last possession of the game.  Good for you Rex.  Roy Helu was a bright spot running for 100 Yards on 23 Carries and 1 TD that came on the first possession of the game.  Fred Davis had 99 Receiving Yards on 6 catches, but, unfortunately, didn’t score a TD.  Washington falls to 4-8 bailing out the Philadelphia Eagles who laid an egg against the same team that Washington beat last Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks.  This is another loss for a team that showed so much promise early on.  But, the Jets have other plans going forward.

Mark Sanchez has taken a lot of heat this year.  Almost as much heat as Tim Tebow.  Most people don’t think that either QB can lead a team to the Playoffs or a championship.  I’d beg to differ.  Mark Sanchez, although shaky at times, looked like a 10 year vet in the past few games that I’ve watched of his.  Sanchez is able to put together timely drives when the Jets need them and, time and time again, pulled out victories.  This week Sanchez completed 19 of 32 passes for 165 Yards, and 1 TD pass that was ultimately the game-winner.  He got some help in the run game from Shonn Greene who had 22 carries for 88 Yards and 3 Rushing TDs.  Nothing that the Jets did was pretty.  But they got the job done.  Now at 7-5 they can actually start to talk about the Playoffs as a possible Wild Card Team.  And if you have had a chance to watch them before, the Jets can do some damage as a Wild Card team.  The last 2 times that the Jets have made the Playoffs, they’ve ended up in AFC Championship Games.  Although they didn’t win them, no one expected them to even be there.  Now I am going out on a limb and saying that if they make the Playoffs this year, they will be in the Super Bowl.  They have the team and they have the fight.  I’d love to see it. 

This weeks game ball goes to Mark Sanchez.  Good job Mark.

'Skins Edge 'Hawks, 23-17

Washington finally made enough plays to win a close ballgame.  This snaps a 6-game losing streak, the longest of Coach Shanahan’s career.  But it sure was an adventure.  I was sure Washington was determined to give this game away.  Untimely INTs, blocked/missed FGs and penalty’s kept the game close enough for me to gnaw my fingernails down to the knuckle.  It’s a good thing that they won.  The natives were restless and their prayers have been answered with a 23-17 win by the Redskins.

Seattle is a tough place to play with the noise level reaching decibels that equal a 747 during takeoff.  The weather is usually miserable as it usually rains like it did Sunday.  And for a team from the East Coast, the long 6 hour flight usually drains them physically.  The Seahawks are a tough team.  Even when they’ve had their struggles, no one looks forward to playing them.  Tavaris Jackson earned the praises of the commentators Sunday playing injured with that torn pectoral muscle on his throwing arms (right) side.  Jackson was in a lot of pain, but if you were at the game just watching and didn’t hear the commentators, but, you would have never known.  Jackson completed 14 of 30 passes for 144 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT that came at the end of the game when he was forced to throw the ball.  Jackson’s had his struggles in Minnesota and was never really given a fair shake to be the man.  Although he was the starting QB, Coach Brad Childress had him handcuffed.  Namely give giving Jackson a safe and conservative gameplan.  Pete Carroll has turned him loose.  Jackson looks very comfortable in the Seahawks’ Offense and he has talent around him.  Zach Miller at TE, Mike Williams at WR and “Beast Mode” Marshawn Lynch at RB (who had 111 Rushing Yards on 24 carries) are all Jackson needs along with the support of his head coach.  But the Seahawks have a lot of talent on Defense starting with those big CBs who both go 6’3”.  But the guy that stole the show was DT Red Bryant who blocked a FG attempt and a PAT attempt.  If you ask me, had the Seahawks pulled out a win, he would have been Player of the Game.  But, alas, the Seahawks lose falling to 4-7 on the year.  The funny thing is, with Washington’s win, they improve to 4-7.

Rex was Rex.  He can make a great play and then turn around and make a dumb one right behind it.  You get what you get with him.  But he’s still going to sling it.  He is never gunshy.  Thank goodness he isn’t, because that 50-Yd. TD pass that he threw to Anthony Armstrong came on a 3^rd and 19 call that could have easily been a checkdown pass followed by a punt.  Grossman completed 26 of 35 pass attempts, for 314 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs.  If Grossman could ever get out of his own way, he’d be considered one of the best in the league.  He can make every throw.  He’s fearless in the pocket.  He can complete a high percentage of his passes and he can lead a comeback.  He has all of the tools, but his mistakes are killing him.  Grossman had extra help as Santana Moss returned from his injury but wasn’t out on the field for a lot of snaps.  Anthony Armstrong only had one catch, but it was a 50 yard catch for the go-ahead TD.  Jabar Gaffney led the way with 5 catches for 72 yards, but he didn’t find the endzone this week.  DeAngelo Hall had a good game considering all of the stir that he caused by saying Washington should cut him following his performance against the Cowboys last Sunday.  And it was fitting that Hall got the INT to end the game and seal the Redskins win.   I just hope he can continue to play as well has he has this season and stop worrying about his numbers.  And finally Kyle Shanahan gets the nod of approval this week for following up the Cowboys game with another solid gameplan.  I will admit I was his biggest critic, but he showed that he is worthy of being on this level as an Offensive Coordinator.  Now all he needs is his new André Johnson and he will have the potent Offense that he had in Houston.  Maybe we need to get Matt Schaub too.  No offense to Rex.

This weeks gameball goes to the man that I have given the blues all season Rex Grossman.  Good job Rex.  Now keep it up next week against the Jets.

‘Boys Edge ‘Skins In OT, Sweep Season Series

You can take Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys two ways.  One way would be to say Washington played a great game, but came up short.  Or the other way would be to say Dallas made just enough plays to win.  Either way, Dallas won 27-24 in OT.  Tony Romo made plays at critical times during the game to secure the win.  Never mind the fact that their best WR, Miles Austin, didn’t even play.  If Romo can continue to play the way that he played Sunday, Dallas can make a run deep into the Playoffs.  As for Rex Grossman, he played well, but he just came up short.  Washington falls to 3-7 and all but eliminated from Playoff contention, if it weren’t already obvious.

Washington could barely muster up 60 Rushing yards through 6 different ball carriers.  Roy Helu led the way with 35 Rushing Yards.  Graham Gano, who 2 weeks ago booted a 59 yard-FG, missed two FG of 50+ yards.  One FG could have won the game in Regulation and the other could have won it in OT.  Washington had their chances to win this game, but just could get it done when the opportunities presented themselves.  Dallas was 8 of 17 (47%) on 3^rd down.  That is too high of a percentage if you want to be considered one of the best Defenses in football.  You have to get the other team off of the field on 3^rd down.  You also have to win the Turnover battle.  Dallas won that 1-0.  Sure Washington would have had to play perfect, but with one turnover, 2 missed FGs and a 3^rd down efficiency of 53% on Defense (Dallas converted 43% of their 3^rd down opportunities), they had to a chance.  That’s all I am saying.

Dallas started off looking like a dominant team, then they hit a wall.  But, time and time again, when they needed a timely 3^rd down conversion, they got it.  Tony Romo extended a few plays to buy himself time and hit open WRs.  The one play that sticks out he long TD catch and run by Jason Witten.  That was the signature play for the Cowboys.  They just found a way to break the Redskins Defense’s back.  You’d think 3^rd and Long means drop back don’t give up anything long, try to tackle them short of the 1^st Down marker and force them to punt.  Unless, of course, Dallas opts to go for it and run it right down their throats like the Cowboys did on one 4^th Down conversion.  Dallas is playing the way everyone expected at the start of the season.  The sad thing is…  so is Washington.

Mike Shanahan, no matter how well he prepared the Redskins for Sunday’s game, should be on the hot seat.  The problem is, Washington still owes him $21M of guaranteed money.  Dan Snyder has already had his fill of paying retired players and coaches.  So in the best interest of his pockets and the organization, they will give Shanny at least another year, maybe two.  So Redskins fans, we may have to live through another abysmal (a Brotha had to break out the big word for this one) season. 

This weeks game ball goes to Tony Romo for this clutch performance completing 23 of 37 passes for 292 yards and 3 TDs.  Good job Tony.

Dolphins Overpower Redskins, 20-9

I remember in 2007 the Dolphins were 1-15.  Most people remember their record.  I remember thinking that they dropped six games by 3 points.  They could have easily been 7-9.  But people only see the record and not the games.  Fast forward to this past Sunday.  Miami came into the game against the Redskins at 1-7 coming off of their first win against the Chiefs the week before.  The Dolphins had lost three of their eight games by 3 points.  Again, people only look at their record and not their games.  With guys like Yeremiah Bell, Carlos Dansby (one of my favorite players from the Cardinals), Jason Taylor, Anthony Fasano, Reggie Bush, Davone Bess and Brandon Marshall, I couldn’t figure out for the life of me, how they were 1-7.  Well I don’t have to worry about that now, because the Dolphins improve to 2-7 and look like they are a Playoff team.  Washington, on the other hand, looks like the same ol’ Redskins of the past six weeks.  And that, my friends, is not good.

Washington made the switch back to Rex Grossman, who, for all intents and purposes, was going to sling all around the field, unfortunately two key passes went to the other team.  But hey, what else is new?  One wasn’t his fault, but the other was.  John Beck either doesn’t have the arm strength or the “testicular fortitude” to throw the ball down field, and Rex has the “testicular fortitude” but he throws the ball to the other team so much I am starting to think poor Rexy is color blind.  I will give Grossman one thing, he made some throws in that game that made me think I was watching Tom Brady.  Rex has the physical tools to be a good NFL QB, but his dreams of being Brett Favre are killing Redskins Nation right now.  So where do you go from here?

Mike Shanahan flip flops almost as much as he changes QBs and RBs.  Now at 3-6 Washington is in the running for Andrew Luck.  If I am Luck I am hoping that the Redskins will win a few more games so he doesn’t come to DC.  Poor thing!!  His career would be over as fast as the commissioner could call his name.  Shanny doesn’t know how to handle QBs nor pick the talent.  Luck is talented, but would get lost here.  Please fire Shanahan.  I usually don’t call for firing the head coach.  I wanted Zorn for one more year and I wished that Coach Gibbs could have stayed longer.  But in this situation, Shanahan (both Mike and Kyle) needs to go.  If it sets us back a few more years, so be it.  This man said he picked the best players, character guys if you will, to be on this team.  I wonder if some talent went out the door too.

I was pissed off about how the Redskins lost, but I got a kick out of watching Beltsville, MD native and DeMatha High School graduate, Cameron Wake doing the “Dougie” dance on the Miami Dolphins' sidelines.  Miami is going to party a little bit tonight.  Washington is going to hang their heads for a bit, but will quickly turn their attention to the Rivalry Game coming up next week against Dallas.  That should be fun.

Had the Redskins won this game, I would have given the game ball to Leonard Hankerson for his performance in his return home to Miami.  Hankerson had 106 yds on 8 catches.  But since Miami won I am actually going to give the game ball to Matt Moore.  Moore completed 20 of 29 passes for 209 Yards.  But Moore did a good job of sticking throws when the Dolphins needed it, and doing a great job of managing the game against a stiff Redskins Defense.