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This Ole Fart Thinks “Skins vs Broncos”
The old man has returned from his self imposed exile, and business imposed conference. Some of the season long gloom has lifted and here are a few his thoughts.
I think he’s a bit dilusional based on some of his comments. Read below and discuss his thoughts with him in our forums.
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Let’s not get too excited about this last win, shall we? First, the Broncos are clearly among the most overrated teams in the NFL. McDaniel looks like this year’s version of Jim Zorn and I have never been impressed with Mike Nolan as a Defensive Coordinator. They are soft, especially along the defensive line. When a patchwork offensive line like ours can take it to the opponents line and handle them physically in the second half, it says more about them than about us. Still, it is the first time in quite a few games when most of the line play was on the opponents side of the line of scrimmage. Credit where credit is due, as our linemen were much [more] physical than Denver’s through the second half.
Second, if you want to know the two plays that turned the game in our favor you only need to look at Orton’s egregious overthrow of Royal for what would have been an easy touchdown, and Orakpo’s ankle twisting take down of Orton at the end of the first half. I just don’t see any way we beat Denver if Orton stays in the second half as he was totally in control of the offense and had the Skin’s defense on it’s heels the first half. Simms is simply atrocious and any thoughts that I might have had of considering him for the Skin’s backup QB position were the product of vapors or some other such nonsense. He might be worthy of the Canadian league or the USAFL, or whatever alphabet soup league is now out there, but he isn’t a QB that any team can win with in the NFL. Still, credit the Redskins’ defense for stepping up and making him miserable when it got the chance.
We won’t have any such delusions next week as we are facing a team that can move the ball on both the ground and through the air in Dallas. More on that later.
Some individual and squad comments:
Offensive line:
Forget about the fact, for a moment, that we were facing a defensive line that was not particularly big or physical. They still had the league leader in sacks (Dumervil). What Levi Jones brought to the unit was instant stability at the key left tackle position. No one got close to Campbell over him. He is simply the best left tackle we have had on the field since Chris Samuels was healthy. We were able to run left much of the time as well. If he can stay healthy, he represents a solid player at a position of extreme need.
Unlike Mike Williams, expecting him to provide quality starting minutes is not a figment of Vinny’s imagination. The risk in signing him to a long-term deal now is that we invest large dollars in a player who has been a tease during his career with the Bengals because he couldn’t stay healthy, and still likely has spine issues. The risk in not signing him now is that we won’t be able to get him signed in the offseason and will have to find TWO starting tackles for next year. This is a win/win situation right now because Jones needs a team that needs a starting tackle, not a reserve. Plus, if he gets hurt before he gets re-signed, his value plummets once again. I think he is worth a contract now, simply because there is no way we can find two starters in the offseason.
I think that the coaches need to leave Rinehart in at starter, barring injury, for the remainder of the year. He needs reps and the more he gets, the better he looks. He got pushed around some in the first half, but during the second half he looked solid. Also, remember that was Heyer playing next to him, so he got little help from that direction. The issue with him is footwork, and for that reason I think he is better suited for the left guard postion than the right. What made Randy Thomas so valuable was his ability to pull and move in space. Right guard is not the same as left guard. There was a great column written by ex-Redskin Ross Tucker on that subject. Having played the line, it was his observation that left guard was the easiest position to fill on the line–much more so that right guard, because of all the movement that is required of most right guards. In the offseason, maybe the team might give some thought to moving Dockery to the right and letting Rinehart play left? Or, they simply might leave well enough alone and hope that Rinehart grows into a solid starter with additional reps at the position. One way or the other, Rinehart represents the better option at guard over Montgomery and should be given every opportunity to win the position long-term this year.
Rabach is fine as long as he doesn’t have to play against a better grade defensive tackle. Let’s see what he does against Ratliff this week. I expect we will see at least one holding call and pressure up the middle, if he plays true to form.
Heyer proved he belongs on the right side–or more likely the bench. He simply lacks strength, technique and quickness. On the other hand, he is far better than Mike Williams, who looks more and more like a failed good-will project, or at best, a reserve guard. Vinny’s decision to trust Mike Willliams, as opposed to signing Levi Jones from the start of the season, is reason enough alone to justify his removal as G.M. All you can say is “What was he thinking?”
Dockery managed to get through a game without a false start penalty. His presence on the team should not prevent the next front office from looking for another guard in the upcoming draft, on the second day. But, right now, he is the least of their problems along the offensive line.
A few short comments about the rest of the offensive players:
Campbell - Was better than Simms; not as good as Orton. That about says it all. Oh, and how does he miss Todd Yoder standing in the endzone with no one within 10 yards of him? Yeah, I know, the excuse is the pressure on him. Not going to waste much more time on him because he simply won’t be the QB next year and will be a source of constant frustration for the fans of another team.
Betts - He ran harder than Portis has run at any time this year. Made a couple of tacklers miss him as well. If he can hold onto the ball, right now, he is the better option for the team at running back.
Ganther - Now THAT is how you pick up a blitzer!
Receivers - It is simply a crime the way Zorn [and] Campbell have hampered the growth of Thomas, Kelly, and Mitchell. I am convinced all would be far more productive with another head coach and QB.
Tight Ends - Davis is growing with every game he starts. Even his blocking is better now. Young players need reps, it is that simple. Yoder is still worth having on the roster. On Betts’ touchdown run, it was Yoder and not Sellers, who made the key block. Plus, he should have had two TD catches in the last game and still has sneaky medium range speed.
Defense:
Line - Haynesworth may be a drama queen, but he is a force who makes everyone better around him, all the time. Jarmon needs to start from here on out over Daniels. Wynn needs to be cut to make room for someone, ANYONE !! Carter is on pace to match or beat his career mark for sacks. He is especially dangerous in the second half of games when his conditioning makes a big difference.
Linebackers:
Orakpo - the guy is dangerous and starting to make plays in both the running game as well as pass rushing. He should reach 10 or more sacks easily and should be solidly in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Rocky - another solid game. If he can stay healthy, he is a solid starter.
Fletcher - uh-oh starting to look slower, and only had 1 tackle for the entire game. Starting to wonder if age is finally catching up with him? We better hope that Henson or Blades can step up their games because I don’t know if Fletcher has another year of starting effectively left in him. Yes, he is on pace to make a ton of tackles this year, but he really looks like he is wearing down.
Secondary:
Rogers - Just an awful performance and I cannot agree enough about benching him.
Smoot/Tryon - Okay, and nothing more.
Hall - The new version of “50/50″. The guy makes plays and has a real feel for the ball in the air, but he has lapses of concentration. Having that group of corners to go up against the Dallas deep receivers is just plain scary to think about.
Safeties:
Doughty - Can’t cover. Scary to think about Witten and Bennet running routes on him.
Moore - Brain dead out there.
Landry - Regressing in front of our eyes. I don’t think he is the next Paul Krause, but I DO think tdDefensive coordinator will find a way to utilize him appropriately.
Lendy Holmes - PLEASE get him on the field instead of Moore.
Special teams:
Shout out for Lo Alexander and Hunter Smith for outstanding individual plays.
Shout out for Suisham for remaining perfect on Field Goals, but how does a guy have TWO out of bounds kickoffs?
Coaching - I have to say that whatever Sherm Lewis is doing seems to have resulted in smoother play calls and more efficient play calling. The odd thing is that he made his rep as a WCO coordinator, and yet he had the power running game going against Denver. Someone needs to remind Blache that pressure works against NFL starting QB’s as well as reserves and to bring the heat against Romo next week.
So, overall, I think this team has at least a couple of surprise wins left in them. I think we will have great difficulty beating Dallas even once, but, ironically, I think if the Saints are undefeated when we play them, I would give us a decent shot against them. We have beaten Brees twice as Saints QB, and SOMEONE is going to knock off the Saints before the playoffs– might as well be us. If the Saints lose this week, I don’t see that happening, but if they are undefeated, I like our chances in a huge upset. As for the rest of the games, we might sneak up on the Giants, and should beat the Raiders. Philly? Without Westbrook, you never know. What once looked like a 2 win season. probably ends up being a 5 win season. Damn shame we lost to the likes of Detroit and Kansas City. Those two go on Vinny and Zorn and justify canning that pair at the end of the year all by themselves..
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