‘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.

49ers 86 Redskins, 19-11

Don’t let the scoreboard fool you. San Francisco thoroughly whipped Washington’s ass. It got so bad, at one point Washington just started putting the ball on the ground. Be it dropped passes or fumbles, the Redskins were serving it up. The one good thing about this game was to finally get a look at Frank Gore. I’ve been excited to see him come back from a myriad of injuries to be a very productive RB in the NFL. I’m so proud of him. Heck even Clinton Portis made a comment about how he wasn’t surprised that Gore was tearing it up. Gore is just another player from the "U" doing their thing. But the guy that I was so proud of and happy to see finally getting some props was Alex Smith.

It is amazing what a coach can do for a player. Alex Smith was a running joke in the NFL. Smith is in his 7th Season from Utah and was the #1 Overall Draft Pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He has struggled mightily over the past few years. Smith has had a few coaches come and go in San Franciso. From Mike Nolan, to "Samauri" Mike Singletary and now Jim Harbaugh, Smith has gone through his fair share of chiefs. But his Offensive Coordinators have changed more than his coaches. Smith has had Mike McCarthy, Norv Turner, Jim Hostler, Mike Martz and now Greg Roman calling plays for him. I’ve always wondered what would happen if Alex Smith actually got some coaching, you know from a Quarterback, and vote of confidence from his head coach. He’s had guys like Tim Rattay, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill and even Troy Smith, taking the reigns during his tenure. But with a Head Coach who has actually played in the NFL and played the position that Alex Smith is playing, it make his job easier for him to pick up. And Harbaugh has given Smith the vote of confidence missing over the past 6 years. Sure Smith is only managing the game right now, but he is doing one heck of a job and is making me look like a genius. I’ve always thought that he was a starting QB in the NFL. And now he has the San Francisco 49ers at 7-1 and poised to win the NFC West, which is long over due if you ask me. But as there is separation in the NFC West because of the wins by San Francisco, Washington is separating themselves from the pack in the NFC East by stinking it up on the field.

Now at 3-5 what do you do? Do you go back to Rex Grossman? Do you stick with John Beck? Do you bring in another veteran QB to finish the season and compete for a job next year? Or do you play out the season with Grossman or Beck and hope to draft a QB in the 1st Round next year? Does it make sense to start scouting Offensive Linemen? Does Terrell Owens help bolster a WR corp that is struggling right now? With how bad Washington looks now, T.O. might actually help. Is Mike Shanahan on the hot seat? Is Kyle Shanahan on the hot seat? Was it a smart move to let Jason Campbell get away? Is playing musical RBs helping right now? Can Washington salvage this season and finish at .500 (8-8)? One thing is for sure as the losses mount and the temperature continues to drop, you will see more and more of the opposing team’s fans at FedEx Field. There’s nothing I hate more than having the visitors outcheering us at home. But hey, at least Mr. Snyder will make money either way. Washington is staring down the barrel of a 3-13 season, and that is sad seeing as though they started 3-1.

This week’s game ball goes to Alex Smith, who completed 17 of 24 passes for 200 yards and 1 TD pass. Good job Alex. But keep in mind, Patrick Willis could have easily gotten a game ball as well.

Bills Shut Down, Shut Out Redskins 23-0

I have seen and been around football for some years, and I have only seen one performance worse than the Redskins’ showing Sunday in Toronto.  Ironically, it was the Redskins in 2004 against, you guessed it, the Buffalo Bills.  A game in which the Redskins quit.  Then Redskins starting Outside Linebacker, LaVar Arrington was literally ready to go upside Rob Johnson’s head for joking around after such a poor showing.  I thought that I’d never see another game in which I was embarrassed to be a Redskins fan.  Well I spoke too soon.  This past Sunday was a very bad performance by the Redskins.  Not only did they not score any points, at no point in this game did they look competitive.  That is not good.

Let’s give Buffalo some credit.  They’ve suffered some years as well with underachieving teams.  They have had teams in which people expected them to make a run for the AFC East title.  No one has ever showed any pitty for the Bills and they’ve never asked for it.  Ralph Wilson, their owner, has never had a pitty party, and never intended to.  This man has had four AFC Championship teams that ended up losing Super Bowls.  Buffalo was the punchline in a lot of jokes in the 90’s.  Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas along with others played extremely well in the late 80’s and early 90’s, they just couldn’t get over the hump.  Now I am not saying that the team the Bills have now is comparable to the great Bills teams form 20 years ago, but you can’t argue with a surprising 5-2 start in the same division with the N.Y. Jets and the New England Patriots.  Who guessed that we’d be having this conversation?  With guys like Fred Jackson, who shouldn’t even be in the NFL, Leodis McKelvin, Ryan Fitzpatick, George Wilson and Rookie Man-Beast Marcel Dareus this team is going to make some noise in the AFC East this year and challenge New England for the that crown.  But as on team is going up, another team is going down.

Washington looked pathetic.  There was a blocked FG attempt, a few INTs, more than a handful of sacks and lot of knock downs.  Poor John Beck was getting pummeled.  There was absolutely no pass protection, no running game to speak of and NO POINTS!!  Washington has 6 starters either out or on IR (Injured Reserve; essentially out of the season) and have guys in key positions that are playing with little experience.  The Offensive line looked porous and confused.  The WRs were getting manhandled by the Buffalo CBs.  Hell I even saw one WR trip over the invisible man.  That’s what happens when things are going bad.  Washington mounted 26 Rushing Yards in 60 minutes of football.  My alma mater Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in Washington, DC had RBs who could do that in one play with their eyes closed.  Are you kidding me?  Somebody call Coach Fleming from Wilson and ask him does he want to coach the Redskins.  He could do a better job than Shanahan.  Carlos Rogers my have had hands like feet, but he was one of the best Press Cover CBs in the NFL.  Yes you read that right.  Rogers is one of the best Press Cover CBs in the NFL.  Derrick Dockery was the only man on the Offensive Line to start every game in 2009, yet the Mike Shanahan was deactivating him for no reason last year and finally released him a the end of the season.  They disrespected an ultimately dismissed Jason Campbell and Donovan McNabb, for Rex Grossman.  I’ll bet Jason Campbell and Donovan McNabb could have played better than Rex did this season.  As a matter of fact the last time that the Redskins mounted 8 wins was when Campbell was the starter.  Andre Carter looks really good playing Defensive End in a 3-4 Defense in New England. Why the hell did the Redskins try to make him and Outside Linebacker?  If you ask me, one, if not, both Shanahan’s need to right this ship in the next few weeks or they need to get fired.  Philadelphia at 1-4 was better than this team.  When will the bleeding stop?

The good thing about this point of the season is that there are still nine games left.  Washington could still finish 8-8, but I highly doubt it.

On a lighter note, this weeks game ball goes to Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills.  Jackson had 120 Rushing Yards on 26 carries, and had 74 Receiving Yards on 3 Receptions.  This man is the real deal.

Panthers Outplay Redskins, Win 33-20

Of all of the issues the Redskins have had this season, one of them wasn’t the Defense.  But if Sunday was the first time that you had a chance to watch the Redskins, you would not have know that the Redskins had one of the best Defense's in the league.  Because, Cam Newton made their Defense look like the Kentucky Wildcats.  Washington has lost two straight and now have to do damage control before the find themselves below .500 and looking for answers.  But in the meantime, how about the Rookie from Auburn?

Cam Newton was a lightening rod of sorts when he was coming out of school.  First the experts said that he was only a one year starter and was overhyped.  Second, Newton didn’t show good Pocket Presence.  Third, it was Newton only played in the Shotgun so he may not know how to do a 3-, 5- or a 7-step drop.  Fourth, people said that he wasn’t accurate and “they” didn’t know if he could make all of the throws. And lastly, there was the entire NCAA scandal that he was eventually cleared of doing anything wrong.  And that was before he was drafted.  After Newton was drafted there were concerns of him adjusting to the speed of the NFL, picking up the play book and then establishing  himself as a starter.  Well seven weeks, and about four 300-yard passing games later, Newton has surpassed everyone’s expectation.  And it wasn’t more evident than his performance against Washington Sunday, when he complete 18 of 23 passing attempts, 285 yards, and 1 TD pass.  He also ran 10 times for 61 yards and a TD.  Hell one time my man broke out the Option Run.  He and Steve Smith put on a passing clinic in Charlotte.  If you are a football fan, you loved what you saw from Newton.  He is playing well beyond his years (or year for that matter).  He has a solid running game and a good Offensive Line.  If he can stay healthy, the Panther will make a push for the playoffs some time in the near future.  Dare I say, next season even.

But as one teams prognosis looks good, the other teams, namely Washingtons, prognosis looks grim.  The Redskins have already lost Trent Williams for a few weeks, Chris Cooley and Corey Lichtenstieger to either possible season-ending or season ending injuries respectively, but now London Fletcher, Santana Moss and Tim Hightower go down.  And if you couple that with the fact that Washington just changed QBs, we might be staring down the barrel of high draft pick next year, again.  I don’t think we are in the “Suck For Luck” race, but if we don’t get it together, we will be.  And that will be bad for Andrew Luck because, I love my team, but we don’t handle QBs well.  Just ask Jason Campbell, Patrick Ramsey, Chase Daniel and Donovan McNabb.  Luck should probably be praying that he does not come to Washington.  People say Dallas is America’s team, but the second most important person in DC is the starting QB for the Washington Redskins.  And with our history of dropping the ball on QB development, that man will be run out of football before his Rookie contract expires.

As fate would have it, Washington is starting to play like the “experts” (and I use that term loosely) expected them to play.  But with so many injuries, I can’t really say that I am surprised.  Either way, the Redskins are 3-3 and have 10 games left to leave an indelible mark on this season.

This weeks game ball goes to the Rookie QB from Carolina, Cam Newton, the icon and role model.  People made fun of him for saying it, but did he live up to the hype?

EAGLES FLY HIGH EARLY, TOP REDSKINS

The Philadelphia Eagles came to Washington with a huge chip on their shoulders.  Everyone had written them off, and pretty much mocked them for Vince Young’s “Dream Team” reference.  And although at times they didn’t look good, the bottom line was they scored enough points to beat the Redskins 20-13.  Washington never got started, and when they did Rex Grossman looked more like Rex Balsom from ‘One Life To Live.’  Now the Eagles are 2-4 heading into their Bye Week, while Washington drops to 3-2, and has a few questions to answer.  Namely, who is the starting Quarterback going into Week 7 for the Washington Redskins.

I have a problem when the media wants to talk bad about the Redskins’ upcoming opponents.  I almost like it better when the media downtalks the Redskins.  I think the Redskins play better.  For the past 7 days, the media was crucifying Michael Vick.  And I remember having a conversation with a co-worker and saying that Mike Vick is going come down here and put on a performance.  And for a guy that is not known for his Pocket Presence, he sure as hell looked good playing from the pocket against a very good Redskins Defense.  Time and Time again, Washington came with pressure and Vick responded well.  In the end Vick completed 18 of 30 passes for 237 yards, and 1 TD pass.  He also had onE INT, but he’ll get a free pass on that one because he was facing pressure the entire game and was bound to throw one.  But as well as he played, his counterpart on the Redskins played poorly.

Rex Grossman did nothing to help his cause Sunday.  It was so bad that the fans started cheering “We Want Beck!”  Rex, if you are not familiar with the Redskins fans, they usually get what they want.  And got it they did.  And John Beck, although not spectacular, made a case for himself and should be the starting QB going forward this season.  Grossman thew 4 illadvised passes that were either picked or nearly picked.  Had the Eagles not dropped a few of them, we could have seen Grossman set the NFL record for most passing INTs in one game (7).  There were missed throws, under thrown passes, and overthrown passes.  Rex looked like an NFL Rookie in his first game.  I am a fan of Grossman’s, but I know when it is time to sit someone down.  Sorry buddy, it is way past that stage.  Take into consideration that Washington lost by 7 points, but Grossman threw 4 INT’s.  If he could have driven down the field and gotten points out of one of those drives, the Redskins my have been able to pull out a win.  Instead the Redskins come out of this game with more questions than answers.  And if Shanny doesn’t get it together soon, we could be looking at a 4 game slide.  The good thing is this is only the 5^th game of the season. 

This weeks game ball goes to Michael Vick, for doing it through the air and one ground.

Redskins Ram St. Louis

Washington looked dominant in the first half of the game Sunday leading 14-0 at the Half.  But the Rams fought back to make the game interesting.  Rex Grossman looked dicey and at times made me want to strangle him.  Ryan Torain comes off of the bench and provided a steady running attack.  In the end, the Rams drop to 0-4, while the Redskins go into the Bye Week 3-1.  There are still a lot of questions to be answered, but the Redskins are in 1^st in the NFC East.  Some experts had the Redskins finishing 3-13 this season.  One more win and they are going to look foolish.  But let’s not get too far ahead people.  There are 12 games left and a lot can happen.

As I watched the game Sunday, my most dominant thought was, “Wow, who is the 2^nd year QB again, Rex Grossman or Sam Bradford?”  Bradford could be excused for his numbers.  Not only did Bradford have about 5 dropped passes, but he was sacked seven times.  Between Lance Kendricks, Brandon Gibson and Mike Sims-Walker, poor Sam Bradford is going to be bald by the end of the season.  The only thing that Bradford can do at this point is walk the ball down field and hand it to his WRs.  I will give Lance Kendricks some slack as he is a Rookie and very talented.  Brandon Gibson and Mike Sims-Walker both have no excuse.  They are way too talented and have played better, for me to allow them to have games like they did Sunday and let it go.  One of two things are going to happen.  Either Sims-Walker is going to be traded/released or Sam Bradford is going to request a trade.  Something tells me that Sims-Walker will be the first to go.  But Washington doesn’t have that much room to talk.

Even at 3-1, Washington still has cause for concern.  Rex Grossman almost gave the game away Sunday with two, almost costly, INTs.  If Grossman doesn’t perform better, Washington will have big problems down the stretch.  I try to lay off of him because I have been a fan of his since his days of playing ball in college at Florida.  But at this point of his career, he needs to make better decisions.  Listen, a ball that gets tipped in the air I may let slide, but trying to force passes into coverage makes me want to lodge my foot in his ass.  Rex can play better than he has.  And he needs to get it straight, because the games are going to get harder.  Washington still has to play Philadelphia twice, the Giants, Cowboys, Patriots, Jets and Bills down the stretch.  Even the game against the San Francisco 49ers scare me because their Defense is very good.  But there was one bright spot Sunday and it was no surprise. 

Ryan Torain came off of the bench Sunday and lit it up.  It really isn’t a surprise as we have seen Torain do that time and time again when he is healthy.  What was a surprise was why it took so long for Torain to get on the field.  I understand that the Redskins spent money to get Tim Hightower so there is almost an obligation to play him.  But when you have Torain come in the game and put up 135 yards Rushing on 19 carries and a TD, you have to go re-evaluate your RB situation.  I predict that Tim Hightower will be the 3^rd RB on the Depth Chart by the end of season.  Why?  Torain had at least 3 rushes over 20 yards.  Nuff said!!!  Now we need some consistency in the passing game and Washington could make a push for the Playoffs.  Because with that Defense, they are going to have a chance to win a lot of games this year.  Now the only question is, which Rex Grossman show up.  Will the real Rex Grossman please stand up.

This weeks game ball goes to Ryan Torain.  Good game All-Torain!!!