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This Ole Fart Thinks “Skins vs Cowboys”
I really can’t comment on what the old man wrote this week. He wants the defense to create turnovers but then he wants them to bat the ball down and not lose 5 yards on a turnover of downs. Like that 5 yards is going to mean something. Anyway, here he is. Enjoy
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Missed opportunities. To paraphrase a great writer, all winning teams are similar, but each losing team is individually dysfunctional. What we saw in Dallas was a series of wasted opportunities by a team going nowhere. Make no mistake about it, that game was one we easily could have won. Dallas is a flawed team that was ripe to be beaten but through the shared incompetence of every aspect of the team, we let another game slip through our grip.
I think an interesting comparison can be made between the last 2 games that Dallas played, against 2 teams that were both injured. Green Bay managed to overcome their problems and won. Washington could not. In each case, Dallas was behind 3-0 at the half. In each case Romo led Dallas to a 4th quarter touchdown. In each case, Dallas ended up with 7 points. In each case Dallas’ opponent lost starters to injury during the game. Green Bay lost Kampman and Al Harris to season ending injuries, but managed to overcome this and win. What was the difference?
Green Bay used an aggressive defense put together by Dom Capers to hammer Romo all game and force him into errors.
Green Bay’s QB (Rodgers) made plays. Not a whole lot of them, but enough. He was 25/36 for only 189 yards. But he threw for a touchdown and he never turned the ball over.
Green Bay’s running attack was not even as effective as the Redskins, but they didn’t play scared. They even missed a field goal and took 4 sacks. But, they never turned the ball over themselves, got 3 turnovers on Dallas, and they scored 2 touchdowns. In the end, it was enough to win.
The Redskins, on the other hand, missed opportunity after opportunity. In the first half alone, we let 2 interceptions drop to the ground and Betts failed to convert a 3rd down and a yard to kill a drive. Even the interception that Fletcher got resulted in a net loss of yards compared to if he had simply batted the ball down. When you are a bad team, things like that happen routinely.
Moreover, Zorn coached so scared to the point that he even denied himself the opportunity to even put the ball into the endzone one time at the end of the first half. One can only guess that had they run a play, between Zorn and Campbell it would have resulted in a check down, or play short of the end zone. What does that say about Zorn’s trust in Campbell to either score a TD or create a play that allows a field goal attempt? You might worry about that kind of thing with a rookie QB, but what does that say about the field sense of your starter playing in his fifth year in the NFL, and in the second year of Zorn’s system? I think this is a complete indictment of what the Zorn/Campbell team brings to the team. Together, I believe, they are worse than either would be working with someone else.
As for Danny Smith, how do you let your kicker stand out on the field for nearly 7 minutes while the ref’s ice him for you? Without question, he should have pulled Suisham off the field and allowed him to get his head back on straight. That was inexcusable.
My comments on Blache are mixed. Without question the defense folded in the 4th quarter. You could smell that one coming a mile away. The lack of pressure on Romo eventually was a killer, as were the dropped interceptions. The rope-a-dope defense that allowed Dallas to run up and down the field getting 8 yards each time they ran the ball was bizarre. But, in the end, how do you argue with a defense that gave up a grand total of 7 points to the division leader, at their home? That was a game that should have been won over 90% of the time. Especially, if they are “plus” in turnover ratio. How on earth do you manage to lose a game like that? You do so with an offense that is so timid that it cannot even score a single touchdown. You do that with a quarterback that cannot comprehend or execute a deep ball or pass into the endzone. Yes, Campbell gets hammered. But so does Aaron Rodgers–at least as much. But the difference is that Rodgers gets the ball into the endzone, while Campbell cannot. You do that with a kicker that finally reverts to his career level after being perfect for the season. All of this is sadly predictable, and will continue to be predictable through the end of this season, and until the entire coaching staff, and most of the key players are replaced. Nothing less than that will move the team in a positive direction.
It is simply disgusting when commentator after commentator makes reference to the play calling scheme that has one coach calling passes, another calling runs, and Zorn making 8 calls himself during the game. We are the laughing stock of the league for inventing that folly. That should be recognized as Cerrato’s legacy. It is hard to imagine a more dysfunctional atmosphere in which to coach than the one he has created, apparently with Snyder’s blessing, at Redskin Park. WE are the Bungles of the 2009 season.
Some comments about individual players…
Betts - Sorry your career here ended this way. Best of luck elsewhere next year as you try to continue your career.
Rock Cartright - A win/win situation taking you away from kickoff duty and letting you play on offense. How different your career might have been had you been drafted by the Giants or Steelers or Patriots? I don’t think he could ever be a primary back, but he has displayed decent enough hands and moves to be a third down back.
Rinehart - Maybe we get to see if you have starter’s potential next year? With a new regime in place, maybe not.
Edwin Williams - One man’s travail is another’s opportunity. Nice job for a half. I would prefer to see him get the remainder of the season to develop, but right now it looks like the coaches are going to try and get Mike Williams an opportunity to show if he can play guard. My guess is that Edwin will be starting before the end of the year.
Rabach - Thank goodness this is his last contract year. Weaker now than at any time since he has been hear.
Heyer - Dreadful performance.
Receivers/Tight Ends - Once again, the negative influence of this coaching staff on our young receivers and Fred Davis cannot be overstated. One can only hope for the opportunity to see Thomas/Mitchell/Kelly blossom next year under a different set of coaches.
Defensive line - Not the same without Haynesworth. The middle was frighteningly porous. Griffin and Golston were ineffective. The edges got pushed back.
Linebackers - Maybe Fletcher has another year left in him after all? The rest of them are replaceable, and Orakpo still belongs at DE, or in a 3/4.
Defensive backs - Were it not for all the drops, they would have looked far worse.
Campbell - All of you know how I feel here. He needs a new address next year. We WILL have a new starting QB next year. It is that simple.
What lies ahead? My guess is that the past is prologue. I don’t see us beating Philly. Maybe we surprise someone else, but more likely we lose the rest of our games. Even Oakland looks energized with Russell on the bench. We should be picking in the top 5 in the draft this year because I expect that Kansas City and Detroit have the capacity to win another game, and since they both beat us, that would have us picking ahead of both of them. Only Cleveland looks like a sure shot to finish worse.
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