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.