rskinsfan10
10-05-2006, 08:16 PM
When you work at a place like FedEx, you are bound to have to deal with a lot of differing personalities. Many times, those personalities clash. This time of the year, the clashing is at a fevered pitch because THEY come from out of their slumber. You know who THEY are. The Cowboy fans, the Eagles fans, the Giants fans, the Rhein Fire fans (okay, that was an attempt at humor, but you get the idea). I'm talking about those folks that besides delivering packages for a living, they split that time sharing their disdain for the Redskins every waking moment. I have been preaching to these idiots that they should cease and desist in burying my team after the first two weeks of the season. Of course, they told me that I was crazy, and if I had so much faith in my squad that I should put my money where my mouth is. Well, I can say with definite certainty that $500+ collected over the past two weeks from "friendly" wagers never tasted so good. Funny, this week I can't seem to get anyone to bet me. Hmm, I wonder why? I'm in a giving mood. Maybe I'll share some with my homeboy Rick from the West Side. Whoa, I just realized who I'm talking about here. Dude has 19 jobs. He should be giving me some money..........
rsf10- Man, what a difference a little confidence makes in regards to this offense. It looks as though they have fed off of their little coming out party down in Houston.
DW- Well, it was definitely a step in the right direction. The team showed different looks. They executed well, they threw the ball down field, and their play makers were sensational.
rsf10- Do you think that we are starting to see a little more of that vaunted 700pg playbook?
DW- One thing about the win versus Jacksonville was their ability to run the ball. They ran well against a top ten defense, and no one had rushed for over 100yds against that defense in a long time. So, when you play a quality team like that and beat them, you gain a lot of confidence. Sure, the game was at home, but when you put up 36pts against Jacksonville, that says a lot. Washington took a very big step in reestablishing themselves as a playoff team.
rsf10- At this point, it should be pretty obvious the importance of Clinton Portis and what he brings and means to this offense.
DW- Right now, it is clear that Clinton Portis is the most valuable player on the offense. The good news is that he is in a race with Santana Moss. Then, you would have to put Brunell third, which mean that you have three people that when they play well, the team is at a real high level. You have to have at least three Pro Bowl caliber players on each side of the ball IMO in order to be a good football team. Then, you have to get players to play at a Pro Bowl level, like Caveman Sellers. Randy Thomas played at a Pro Bowl level. So did Cooley. You need all of those guys that play at that level in order to push your team forward.
rsf10- A lot of the complaints from many Brunell haters was that he wouldn't and couldn't take chances down field and throwing into coverage because he lacked the arm to do so. Gibbs mentioned that the game winning TD wasn't supposed to go in Moss' direction. He mentioned that while the play was under way and it became apparent that Brunell was staring down Moss, that someone hollered in the headset "No No, Don't Go There", which then changed to "Yes, Go There" to paraphrase a bit. Another note is that Brunell didn't practice much last week. Maybe that is something that they may implore more often, holding him back during the week?
DW- I thought that was the key. Is arm was alive and fresh. He took chances, and he made plays. People have to remember that he is a former Pro Bowl QB. No, he didn't look like that in the first two weeks, but in weeks three and four I think that he reestablished himself.Anyone that understands football could see that he fits in their style of offense. They don't have a real down field passing game like the Bears or the Colts, but they could very well be like the Patriots with the way Tom moves the ball around. The difference is that Brunell moves the pocket, so he is a different type of QB. You have to give him credit. You can nitpick on a couple of things, but you can't nitpick on the respect that he has earned. Just ask the Jags defense. Ask the Texans defense. Now, the Texans beat Miami with Culpepper, Chambers, Ronnie Brown and McMichael at the TE. If Mark can put together games like that, then he is worthy of praise.
rsf10- Last week we talked about how I felt that many Skins fans just refuse to be happy and savor wins. I'm thinking that things would change this week after such a huge emotional win, but low and behold I heard much of the same earlier in the week. Have your opinions on that changed since then?
DW- Our fan base has been polluted with propaganda since January when they signed Al Saunders. $2mil here, $2mil there. Randle El, Lloyd, Archuleta, Carter. That's what they do. They have a big time marketing machine. They are coming off the playoffs. It's just human nature to expect more. Well Minnesota and Dallas showed you that you should be careful what you ask for, because you may not be ready for it, and they weren't. The Portis injury clearly was a big factor, the Springs injury was a big factor. I've said all along that you can't have four of your five starting offensive linemen come off of off season surgery and expect to hit the ground running. I don't care who you are. They didn't play much in the preseason, and they just weren't ready. They took a big step in Texas, and they took a bigger step against Jacksonville. The next step is that they have to go up and slay the demons in NY. If they beat NY, that's three weeks of getting better, with two of those coming against good football teams. Then, they are right back in it. No one is out of it yet, and no one is that far ahead of it yet. Injuries play a big part in this league, and you have to just savor all of it. I think that once our fans get over the euphoric way that this team is publicized, then you have to just take a reality check. It's hard to win in this league, and it's hard to get your new players adjusted to a new system. The world champions are struggling a bit right now, and they have a lot of outstanding talent. New England had a big win in a game that I didn't think that they would win. The good teams will get better as the year goes on.
rsf10- Going into this past game, I'm certain that most if not all of Skins fans would figure that if we were able to score 27pts, then we would probably celebrate a nice comfortable win, considering what we have come to expect from out defense over the last couple of years. Yet, a 10pt lead in the fourth quarter turned out not to be enough. Other then the absence of Springs, is there something else that you can put a finger on that seems to be causing the D not to be as stout as we have come to expect?
DW- Well, Byron Leftwich was the reason. He had a hell of a ballgame. He's an outstanding young player, and their WRs had good games. The kid Williams had a career game, and they aren't punks. You are playing without your best corner, and Archuleta and Carter are still trying to work their way into the system. You played without Joe Salave'a, and you shut down a formidable running attack. No one had shut them down in the running game the way that Washington did, so they were forced to go to the air and they did it well. They made some big plays. You have to play better against NY if you are in the secondary. Mongoose Washington continued to do what he does, and he sticks out from amongst everyone on that side of the ball. Then you have the Tarantula. The hit that he put on Williams was sick, but the kid held on. There are some big hitters in this division with Dawkins, Williams and the Tarantula. I really think that the corners on the left side were close. Rogers and the intermediate coverage is outstanding, his run support is outstanding. He just has to play the deep ball a lot better.
cont.............
rsf10- Man, what a difference a little confidence makes in regards to this offense. It looks as though they have fed off of their little coming out party down in Houston.
DW- Well, it was definitely a step in the right direction. The team showed different looks. They executed well, they threw the ball down field, and their play makers were sensational.
rsf10- Do you think that we are starting to see a little more of that vaunted 700pg playbook?
DW- One thing about the win versus Jacksonville was their ability to run the ball. They ran well against a top ten defense, and no one had rushed for over 100yds against that defense in a long time. So, when you play a quality team like that and beat them, you gain a lot of confidence. Sure, the game was at home, but when you put up 36pts against Jacksonville, that says a lot. Washington took a very big step in reestablishing themselves as a playoff team.
rsf10- At this point, it should be pretty obvious the importance of Clinton Portis and what he brings and means to this offense.
DW- Right now, it is clear that Clinton Portis is the most valuable player on the offense. The good news is that he is in a race with Santana Moss. Then, you would have to put Brunell third, which mean that you have three people that when they play well, the team is at a real high level. You have to have at least three Pro Bowl caliber players on each side of the ball IMO in order to be a good football team. Then, you have to get players to play at a Pro Bowl level, like Caveman Sellers. Randy Thomas played at a Pro Bowl level. So did Cooley. You need all of those guys that play at that level in order to push your team forward.
rsf10- A lot of the complaints from many Brunell haters was that he wouldn't and couldn't take chances down field and throwing into coverage because he lacked the arm to do so. Gibbs mentioned that the game winning TD wasn't supposed to go in Moss' direction. He mentioned that while the play was under way and it became apparent that Brunell was staring down Moss, that someone hollered in the headset "No No, Don't Go There", which then changed to "Yes, Go There" to paraphrase a bit. Another note is that Brunell didn't practice much last week. Maybe that is something that they may implore more often, holding him back during the week?
DW- I thought that was the key. Is arm was alive and fresh. He took chances, and he made plays. People have to remember that he is a former Pro Bowl QB. No, he didn't look like that in the first two weeks, but in weeks three and four I think that he reestablished himself.Anyone that understands football could see that he fits in their style of offense. They don't have a real down field passing game like the Bears or the Colts, but they could very well be like the Patriots with the way Tom moves the ball around. The difference is that Brunell moves the pocket, so he is a different type of QB. You have to give him credit. You can nitpick on a couple of things, but you can't nitpick on the respect that he has earned. Just ask the Jags defense. Ask the Texans defense. Now, the Texans beat Miami with Culpepper, Chambers, Ronnie Brown and McMichael at the TE. If Mark can put together games like that, then he is worthy of praise.
rsf10- Last week we talked about how I felt that many Skins fans just refuse to be happy and savor wins. I'm thinking that things would change this week after such a huge emotional win, but low and behold I heard much of the same earlier in the week. Have your opinions on that changed since then?
DW- Our fan base has been polluted with propaganda since January when they signed Al Saunders. $2mil here, $2mil there. Randle El, Lloyd, Archuleta, Carter. That's what they do. They have a big time marketing machine. They are coming off the playoffs. It's just human nature to expect more. Well Minnesota and Dallas showed you that you should be careful what you ask for, because you may not be ready for it, and they weren't. The Portis injury clearly was a big factor, the Springs injury was a big factor. I've said all along that you can't have four of your five starting offensive linemen come off of off season surgery and expect to hit the ground running. I don't care who you are. They didn't play much in the preseason, and they just weren't ready. They took a big step in Texas, and they took a bigger step against Jacksonville. The next step is that they have to go up and slay the demons in NY. If they beat NY, that's three weeks of getting better, with two of those coming against good football teams. Then, they are right back in it. No one is out of it yet, and no one is that far ahead of it yet. Injuries play a big part in this league, and you have to just savor all of it. I think that once our fans get over the euphoric way that this team is publicized, then you have to just take a reality check. It's hard to win in this league, and it's hard to get your new players adjusted to a new system. The world champions are struggling a bit right now, and they have a lot of outstanding talent. New England had a big win in a game that I didn't think that they would win. The good teams will get better as the year goes on.
rsf10- Going into this past game, I'm certain that most if not all of Skins fans would figure that if we were able to score 27pts, then we would probably celebrate a nice comfortable win, considering what we have come to expect from out defense over the last couple of years. Yet, a 10pt lead in the fourth quarter turned out not to be enough. Other then the absence of Springs, is there something else that you can put a finger on that seems to be causing the D not to be as stout as we have come to expect?
DW- Well, Byron Leftwich was the reason. He had a hell of a ballgame. He's an outstanding young player, and their WRs had good games. The kid Williams had a career game, and they aren't punks. You are playing without your best corner, and Archuleta and Carter are still trying to work their way into the system. You played without Joe Salave'a, and you shut down a formidable running attack. No one had shut them down in the running game the way that Washington did, so they were forced to go to the air and they did it well. They made some big plays. You have to play better against NY if you are in the secondary. Mongoose Washington continued to do what he does, and he sticks out from amongst everyone on that side of the ball. Then you have the Tarantula. The hit that he put on Williams was sick, but the kid held on. There are some big hitters in this division with Dawkins, Williams and the Tarantula. I really think that the corners on the left side were close. Rogers and the intermediate coverage is outstanding, his run support is outstanding. He just has to play the deep ball a lot better.
cont.............