Akh's Thoughts Week 6

[akhhorus]

What we learned from this loss to Green Bay:

1-Simply put, they didn’t want to win this game. They had a good team on the ropes in their stadium, and were handed multiple chances to win the game, and failed to take advantage of any of them.

1a-This team hasn’t learned how to finish another team yet.

2-Sean Taylor might be the best Free Safety in football right now. He did drop a couple picks, but the plays he made---I don’t know of another FS who could range that much.

2a-LaRon Landry is wasted playing back 90% of a game. The kid is can cause Havoc, but he can’t do that if he’s playing 15 yards back.

3-Congrats Chris Wilson, you sacked a legend to start your career.

3a-Now do it more often.

4-These Oline injuries scare me. Fabini has been playing decently, but Heyer/Wade struggled.

4a-Heyer/Wade did struggle, but to be fair, Kampman is a handful for any RT. Heyer might have his position there at RT—but he needs work on his technique.

5-Good half by Cooley, the skins don’t split him out at WR enough frankly. He’s matchup hell when lined up across from a CB.

5a-Also, does it strike anyone that Campbell seems to gets into a rhythm with a guy in the first half of a game and then the opposing team adjusts and takes that receiver out of the rest of the game?

6-I really don’t like to pin the blame on any single player, because at the end of the day, it’s a team game. HOWEVER, if anyone can be singularly blamed for this loss, I think the blame for this game falls squarely onto the shoulders of one person: Santana Moss. The drops were killers by themselves, the fumble was a killer by itself and the general poor play was crippling. I really just don’t know whats wrong with Santana, but he needs to get his crap together.

6a-That INT was some BS(along with a bunch of calls and no-calls), it was a simultaneous catch and that means it’s the offensive player’s ball.

7-Memo to Al Saunders: get Portis active on the flanks.

7a-And dump Betts and get a real power back. Musa Smith and Jamal Lewis would be fine.

8-Campbell has been improving dramatically, but I’m not sure I’m buying the future star talk yet. He’s still not passing the ball deep with a whole lot of skill. Although, he’s just a beat or two off with the deep ball, his yardage totals also worry me a bit. He’s become a lot better with the short and medium routes, but he’s going to have to hit a deep pass to break up the coverages that stack those medium routes he loves.

9-This loss really hurt our playoff chances. This was an NFC team on the road, and with the resurgence play of the Panthers, Giants and Arizona, we need to start putting our NFC opponents away to have a chance at the playoffs.

10-The two most improved players on this team are Rocky(obviously), but also Anthony Montgomery. Rocky still struggles a bit in coverage, but he’s developed as a run stopper nicely and as a blitzer. Monty has done a great job taking control of the DT starting spot and showing that he’s quietly turning in a very good season as a run stopper.

Team ratings:
X WR Santana Moss 0.0: Fat, Drunk and with Butterfingers is no way to go through life son.
X WR Antwaan Randle El 6.5: Played hurt, but didn’t contribute much besides two catches.
TE Chris Cooley 8.75: Very good game by Cooley, in both blocking & catching.
LT Chris Samuels: 8.75: Very good game by Big Chris, but had some problems with KGB.
LG Pete Kendall 8.5: Solid game in general, but had some occasional problems with the quicker DT of the Pack.
OC Casey Rabach 8.75: if you had any questions about how valuable Rabach is to this team, just look at the performance of the Oline before he left and after.
RG Jason Fabini 8: Really solid performance by the Vet.
RT Stephon Heyer 6.5: He looked good initially, but Kampman adjusted and started to dominate the kid with speed moves.
QB Jason Campbell 8: Decent game undermined by drops.
FB Mike Sellers 7: A couple brain fart plays, but a decent game.
RB Clinton Portis 7: 87 yards on 23 touches, but a bad fumble.
PK Scott Suisham 7.75: No FG attempts, but solid kickoffs.
KR Rock Cartwright 7: Nothing special.

LDE Chris Wilson 7: Had a big sack and played decently.
DT Anthony Montgomery 8: Did a great job clogging the middle and got to Favre once.
DT Cornie Griffin 8: See Monty.
RDE Andre Carter 7.5: Decent pressure all day, but struggled against the run.
SLB Randall Godfrey 7.25: Didn’t embarrass himself replacing Marcus.
MLB London Fletcher 8: Continues to be a waste in the Cover-2, but played very well today getting the defense lined up.
WLB Rocky McIntosh 8.5: Continues his solid season, leading the skins in tackles with a forced fumble.
CB Carlos Rogers 7.75: A questionable PI call against C-Los, but another solid game.
CB Shawn Springs 7: An unspectacular game for Springs
Note: Fred Smoot played a great game for the Skins.
FS Sean Taylor 9.85: Great game by Taylor, but it could have been better lol
SS LaRon Landry 7: Meh game by Landry, he got bailed out from giving up a TD pass by a holding call, and isn’t attacking much.
P Derrick Frost 5: Meh game. 38 yards per punt.
PR Antwaan Randle El 5.5: Basically nothing in returns.

Coaching: 7.75-8.25. Not their fault that the WRs lubed up their hands before the hand.


Instead of snarky comments about the rest of the league, I present to you…The Akh Power poll:

Harmless:
St Lous Rams: Steven Jackson just stabbed himself in the thigh with a bayonet to keep from playing again this season.
New Orleans Saints: So, what kind of booze do you want Csquared?
Miami Dolphins: Do you think they regret taking Ginn over..say..everyone else?
New York Jets: Mangini will be out of the league before long and banished to Dave Wannstadt land.
Atlanta Falcons: Petrino will look good replacing Urban Meyer at Florida next year.
Buffalo Bills: Nothing will change until Ralph Wilson goes off to the Keebler Tree House in the sky.
San Franciso 49ers: Why does Mike Nolan get such free passes from the media? He’s terrible!

Mostly Harmless:
Cincinnati Bengals: Parcells will look awful in Bengals’ colors next season.
Chicago Bears: If the Cowboys don’t exclusively tag Romo, the bears will be more than happy to give up 2 1sts for him.
Minnesota Vikings: AP is simply amazing, too bad their QBs are amazingly bad.
Philadelphia Eagles: They have the weapons to beat anyone, but this team just doesn’t give a crap half the time, and their defense looks OLD.
Baltimore Ravens: They should the playoffs, but they won’t scare anyone. Somehow, their offense just gets worse.
Kansas City Chiefs: Get yourself a LT, and this could be a scary team next year.
Denver Broncos: Cutler is seriously overrated. And their defense as well.
Oakland Raiders: They look good unless they play a decent team.
Houston Texans: They’re a work in progress, but this could be a contender in a year with some speed at RB and quality at FS.
Cleveland Browns: Crennel probably saved his job for another season, but they need to replace some old defenders with quality.
Detroit Lions: They have enough firepower to knock off a team who’s not paying attention, but a well coached team can push them over without much problem,
Seattle Seahawks: Alexander was a lazy player anyways, but losing Mack Strong really hurts him(and the Hawks).

Lazy potential:
Washington Redskins: A lot of potential, but the parts of the machine aren’t all in sync yet. The Oline injuries are killer.
New York Giants: A high firepower team who will beat up on crap and struggle against well coached teams.
Carolina Panthers: Fox is still on coach suicide watch, but they might have enough with Smith to make the wild card.
Arizona Cardinals: A team playing way above their talent level, Whisenhunt is a great HC and knows how to manage a team.
San Diego Chargers: One of the most talented roster in the league, but they’re taking on the personality of their woeful head coach and are playing down to people.
Tennessee Titans: Fisher is amazing coach, with amazing defense(Buyer Beware on Albert Haynesworth btw) and do just enough to win.

Contenders who need help:
Jacksonville Jaguars: Quietly David Garrard is putting together a great season. Along with that defense, they are a tough team to deal with.
Green Bay Packers: Enough firepower on offense to be frisky and their front 7 is tough on defense.
ESPN Cowboys: They have the weaponry on offense, but their defense still struggles to cover and TO is a ticking time bomb with the laid back style of Wade Phillips.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Great defense, despite all the losses, and Garcia does enough to win. IF they can get a decent RB in a trade, they will be a tough out in the playoffs.

Contenders:
Pittsburgh Steelers: New coach, new OC, new OL coach, still a dominating team.
Indianapolis Colts: Somehow, a better team than last year, but I don’t think that they can overcome a double digit deficit late.

New England Patriots:
New England Patriots: In a quiet ruling, Roger Goodell declared that whomever represents the NFC in the Super Bowl against the Pats, is allowed to pick any 5 NFC players from other teams to make it “remotely fair”.

[redskin_rich]

This is your best write-up, so far this season, Akh. Or maybe it's the first one I totally agree with. :)
I speculated in another thread that I think Santana has something else on his mind. I really can't think of any other reason why he has played so poorly and seems to lack any spark of competitiveness.

[shally]

good stuff

i think the problem with campbell as you pointed out is that teams go into halftime and take someone away from him.

the coaches need to have a plan B.. personally, i think mccardell was open every time he went out.. he looks to be a solid receiver who knows how to get open and catch the ball

JC is consistently overthrowing receivers on the deep routes because he has too flat a trajectory. he needs to get more air under his throws.. however, by doing that, he will increase the risk of int's because the safeties will have more time to react... still, it is the right way to go in the long run

taylor has about the best range of any safety since ronnie lott. he could have had 3 more picks today from balls he had in his hands and dropped. but he is simply an amazing player. credit GW for seeing the change that needed to be made

landry is experiencing growing pains.. but with teams that have little or no running game, williams is going to play him back

[Biggie]

taylor has about the best range of any safety since ronnie lott. he could have had 3 more picks today from balls he had in his hands and dropped. but he is simply an amazing player. credit GW for seeing the change that needed to be made
Aren't those late catch-ups for picks the kind of plays Darrell Green and Deion Sanders used to make?

[akhhorus]

This is your best write-up, so far this season, Akh. Or maybe it's the first one I totally agree with. :)
I speculated in another thread that I think Santana has something else on his mind. I really can't think of any other reason why he has played so poorly and seems to lack any spark of competitiveness.

Thanks.

good stuff

i think the problem with campbell as you pointed out is that teams go into halftime and take someone away from him.

I think it has to do with the security blanket Campbell needs ,and the coaches not willing to scheme him away from it.


taylor has about the best range of any safety since ronnie lott. he could have had 3 more picks today from balls he had in his hands and dropped. but he is simply an amazing player. credit GW for seeing the change that needed to be made

Taylor has more range than any other safety I've seen. Its amazing. ON the first drive, the INT he dropped--taylor had to close about 7-10 yards to get in position.

[shally]

Thanks.



I think it has to do with the security blanket Campbell needs ,and the coaches not willing to scheme him away from it.



Taylor has more range than any other safety I've seen. Its amazing. ON the first drive, the INT he dropped--taylor had to close about 7-10 yards to get in position.

i have always believed that you keep going to a play until the opponent takes it away from you. but once it is shut down, you need to have a plan B.. we dont seem to have one for JC

taylor is going to make a lot of qb's shake their heads in disbelief. he closes so fast that a play that looks to be open, really isnt. i dont think he is that instinctive a player yet. he is getting by on unreal athletic ability. once he learns to read plays a bit better, he will be every bit as dominant as ed reed, at his best..

[CNYSkinFan]

Someone watches Supernatural!!!!

[firehawk157]

Dude is simply amazing this season. 4 INTs in 5 games... Let's just put it this way. I remember seeing a stat of something like the Skins only allowing 3 20+ yard completions this season. Taylor has 4 picks, all of them 20+ yards back. So if you throw it deep, statistically there's a greater chance of Taylor coming down with it then your receiver.

[akhhorus]

i have always believed that you keep going to a play until the opponent takes it away from you. but once it is shut down, you need to have a plan B.. we dont seem to have one for JC

Its a mark of Campbell being nervous I think. He used to lock in on a receiver, but he's gotten over that. Now, it seems like he'll only throw to whomever he has confidence in early.

Someone watches Supernatural!!!!

?

[skinsfan45]

Aren't those late catch-ups for picks the kind of plays Darrell Green and Deion Sanders used to make?

i thought profanity was prohibited:lol1:

[shally]

Its a mark of Campbell being nervous I think. He used to lock in on a receiver, but he's gotten over that. Now, it seems like he'll only throw to whomever he has confidence in early.



?

i think you are correct.. also, it seems to me that JC takes a lot longer getting rid of the ball inthe second half. as if he is waiting for the selected receiver to finally come open..i would be interested in seeing what the breakdown of first half sacks to second half sacks is

[The Skinsinator]

Great write up Akh. What can you say? We let another one get away. It is ridiculously frustrating. Holding GB to 10 offensively and we still lose. It is very refreshing knowing we have found our franchise qb and have a tremendous defense. In a million years I never would have predicted Santana and Portis have crucial turnovers like this but they are human. Santana really needs to get it together and McCardell needs to be on the field alot.

[Biggie]

i think you are correct.. also, it seems to me that JC takes a lot longer getting rid of the ball inthe second half. as if he is waiting for the selected receiver to finally come open..i would be interested in seeing what the breakdown of first half sacks to second half sacks is
I think that, today at least, the OL injuries played a large role in the offense being defunct in the second half. Even in the first, Wade was getting dominated, but with the scrubs in the second half, Campbell never stood a chance.

[shally]

I think that, today at least, the OL injuries played a large role in the offense being defunct in the second half. Even in the first, Wade was getting dominated, but with the scrubs in the second half, Campbell never stood a chance.


correct. but even in the first half,so many of the plays took long to develop.
they needed quick slants or some plays that get done quickly

[Dept_of_Defense]

Amazing writeup Akh. You should get a job with Redskins.com

[Biggie]

What, you mean Akh should sell out to The Man?

Never!

Besides, I'm pretty sure they don't allow people to be critical of them or their players.

[redskin_rich]

I think that, today at least, the OL injuries played a large role in the offense being defunct in the second half. Even in the first, Wade was getting dominated, but with the scrubs in the second half, Campbell never stood a chance.

Yeah, that was the case for most of the game, especially during the 4th quarter but the dropped passes was the number one problem in both half's. I could be wrong but I think that there were more drops in the 2nd half. I was keeping track but stopped at some point during the 3rd quarter. When I stopped tracking the drops, it was at ARE-1, Cooley-1, Sellers-1, Moss-3 and defenders drops, Rogers-1, Smoot-1, Taylor-3. I know there was much more, Moss dropped at least 2 more, Lloyd didn't make a big catch and I think Yoder dropped one.

This was a game of missed opportunities and poor play by some of our top players. It almost seemed as if half our offense was on prozac or something.

[JoeJacksonTaylor28]

I would have expected more props to the D, and more **** thrown at the O.

Other than that, I think I can say that I agree with pretty much everything.

[skinswin]

This is your best write-up, so far this season, Akh. Or maybe it's the first one I totally agree with. :)
I speculated in another thread that I think Santana has something else on his mind. I really can't think of any other reason why he has played so poorly and seems to lack any spark of competitiveness.

Akh finally hit it right on the money. I too sensed that the skins really didn't WANT it today.

[WisconsinRedskins]

9-This loss really hurt our playoff chances. This was an NFC team on the road, and with the resurgence play of the Panthers, Giants and Arizona, we need to start putting our NFC opponents away to have a chance at the playoffs.

Way too early to talk about playoffs, and I don't feel like this loss hurt our chances. Remember, we lost to a 5-1 team.

[skins74]

I think if we had taller receivers Campbell would peform better, especially if they can catch the ball.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

[b]Team ratings:
X WR Santana Moss 0.0: Fat, Drunk and with Butterfingers is no way to go through life son.
X WR Antwaan Randle El 6.5: Played hurt, but didn’t contribute much besides two catches.
TE Chris Cooley 8.75: Very good game by Cooley, in both blocking & catching.
LT Chris Samuels: 8.75: Very good game by Big Chris, but had some problems with KGB.
LG Pete Kendall 8.5: Solid game in general, but had some occasional problems with the quicker DT of the Pack.
OC Casey Rabach 8.75: if you had any questions about how valuable Rabach is to this team, just look at the performance of the Oline before he left and after.
RG Jason Fabini 8: Really solid performance by the Vet.
RT Stephon Heyer 6.5: He looked good initially, but Kampman adjusted and started to dominate the kid with speed moves.
QB Jason Campbell 8: Decent game undermined by drops.
FB Mike Sellers 7: A couple brain fart plays, but a decent game.
RB Clinton Portis 7: 87 yards on 23 touches, but a bad fumble.
PK Scott Suisham 7.75: No FG attempts, but solid kickoffs.
KR Rock Cartwright 7: Nothing special.

Coaching: 7.75-8.25. Not their fault that the WRs lubed up their hands before the hand.



I agree with pretty much everything you said (especially the Landry comment, considering who was picked right after him), but since I'm european and I watch soccer, and since you said your grades were based on european soccer grades after games, I have to make this comment:
Juventus sucks and...oh no wait, that's for another time..lol...
What I meant to say is that your grades are way too high, especially on offense. Over here, you get an 8 when a guy scores at least a couple of goals or has a really extraordinary game. I've rarely seen anybody get something higher than an 8.5.
Personally, I would have given these grades:
ARE: 5. Injured or not, he did pretty much nothing.
Portis: 4. Mediocre production in the running game (although he did run hard), but a potentially killer fumble, and this random subbing in and out has to stop.
Rock: 6. Like you said, nothing special.
Campbell: 6,5. Decent game. Good in the first half, nothing (like everybody else) in the second half. And you do have a point about locking into a guy in the first half and not being able to find another target in the second. Also, he has to improve that long ball accuracy. Moss's drop hurt him, but the Lloyd overthrow was the third bad one (at least) he has had this year.
Samuels: 6. He really struggled against KGB.
Cooley: 7.5. 10 for the first half, 5 for the second half.
Coaching staff: 6. Williams 8, Saunders 6, Gibbs (or whoever is responsible for clock management and TO management) 4.

Everybody else on offense somewhere between 5.5 and 6.5, and between 7 and 8 on defense.

Oh yeah, one more thing: somebody better hurry up and tell Ladell Betts that the season has started, because he obviously thinks it's still March.

[Meatsnack]

...

JC is consistently overthrowing receivers on the deep routes because he has too flat a trajectory. he needs to get more air under his throws.. however, by doing that, he will increase the risk of int's because the safeties will have more time to react... still, it is the right way to go in the long run

...I think the issue is still his timing. Rather than throwing at the same moment with more arc, thus having the ball arrive later and allowing the coverage to react, Jason needs to get the ball out sooner, put more arc on the ball and havee it arrive at the same spot on-time. I think that is an experience thing and will come. Plus, another off-season of work will clean up his feet and his release that last bit more for another couple of tenths of a second gained.

I seem to recall Joe Gibbs saying that it took Doug Williams several years to learn not to throw everything through a wall and put air under passes. Let's hope Jason is a faster student.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

This is your best write-up, so far this season, Akh. Or maybe it's the first one I totally agree with. :)
I speculated in another thread that I think Santana has something else on his mind. I really can't think of any other reason why he has played so poorly and seems to lack any spark of competitiveness.
At the end of this season, I think the Skins FO should take a long hard look at the production of Portis and Moss in these last two seasons and decide whether they should continue to be our star players on offense or not.

[akhhorus]

I agree with pretty much everything you said (especially the Landry comment, considering who was picked right after him)

Meh. I'm not going to get upset over that. There was no way we'd take a RB.

Juventus sucks and...oh no wait, that's for another time..lol...

Hey look, its the Fall Swallows of Roma! lol

What I meant to say is that your grades are way too high, especially on offense. Over here, you get an 8 when a guy scores at least a couple of goals or has a really extraordinary game. I've rarely seen anybody get something higher than an 8.5.

This ain't your old europe scoring system ;)

At the end of this season, I think the Skins FO should take a long hard look at the production of Portis and Moss in these last two seasons and decide whether they should continue to be our star players on offense or not.

I don't think the problem is Moss and Portis. Besides this game, both are still having decent seasons. I think the problem is that Moss and Campbell aren't on the same page still(we've seen this last year and in the pre-season), especially on the medium-short routes. I think Portis' problem is Betts. Since Betts has shown thats he's basically incapable of being an effective RB between the tackles, that burden falls on Portis. And with whatever issues Portis is dealing with now, he's only effective out on the flanks(where you can clearly see that he's still the old Portis). In the offseason, I think the solution is twofold:
1-Moss and Campbell: Joined at the hip all offseason.
2-Get a true power back to team with Portis. I suggested Jamal Lewis and Musa Smith in FA.

[Biggie]

Jamal Lewis and Musa Smith in FA.
You want to get both?

[akhhorus]

You want to get both?

No, one or the other.

[Hr fan]

At the end of this season, I think the Skins FO should take a long hard look at the production of Portis and Moss in these last two seasons and decide whether they should continue to be our star players on offense or not.

To Akh - GREAT write-up, though you were more generous than I on O ratings. Btw, how often did Cooley go out in the 2nd 1/2? It seemed to me with the O line dings that he was held in to block mostly.

Spicy, you took the words out of my mouth. CP hasn't had any impact since 2005. Yes the O line was decimated (btw, decimated means one in 10, while the O line lost 4 of 7), but he clearly is vastly overpaid as of now. Moss basically lost the game personally. However, he has had more impact than CP since 2005, though the trend is not favorable.

After the game Brian Mitchell and Ray Brown noted that Moss had said he took himself out of the game. When asked by the moderator if CP and Moss apparently determining their own availability has any impact, both agreed in strong terms that if no coach was involved this would be most detrimental to team morale. When the team's top two O threats decide to quit on their own than other players can not help being affected, and the respect necessary to the coaching staff starts to disappear. GW basically told Moss to buzz off when he came top him on the sideline. Gibbs/Saunders better follow suit or the outlook isn't good.

[akhhorus]

To Akh - GREAT write-up, though you were more generous than I on O ratings. Btw, how often did Cooley go out in the 2nd 1/2? It seemed to me with the O line dings that he was held in to block mostly.

Spicy, you took the words out of my mouth. CP hasn't had any impact since 2005. Yes the O line was decimated (btw, decimated means one in 10, while the O line lost 4 of 7), but he clearly is vastly overpaid as of now. Moss basically lost the game personally. However, he has had more impact than CP since 2005, though the trend is not favorable.

Portis is on pace for 1400 total yards(1200 rushing) and 10-12 TDs. I don't think we can say he's not having an solid impact.

After the game Brian Mitchell and Ray Brown noted that Moss had said he took himself out of the game. When asked by the moderator if CP and Moss apparently determining their own availability has any impact, both agreed in strong terms that if no coach was involved this would be most detrimental to team morale. When the team's top two O threats decide to quit on their own than other players can not help being affected, and the respect necessary to the coaching staff starts to disappear. GW basically told Moss to buzz off when he came top him on the sideline. Gibbs/Saunders better follow suit or the outlook isn't good.

Portis quit on the team?

[Hr fan]

Portis is on pace for 1400 total yards(1200 rushing) and 10-12 TDs. I don't think we can say he's not having an solid impact.



Portis quit on the team?

He is solid, no disagreement there. At $50M he shouldn't be what we expected Betts to be, solid at $2M/yr IMO. And I am not saying he quit on the team. I am saying that if, as Moss admitted, the players are determining their own availability w/o coaches being involved that the respect that coaches need to get exceptional effort is compromised. The effect isn't on stats as much as on morale.

Btw did you notice Kampman's comment as reported in the WAPO this morning about knowing they had won when they heard the O line replacements bickering among themselves?

[akhhorus]

He is solid, no disagreement there. At $50M he shouldn't be what we expected Betts to be, solid at $2M/yr IMO. And I am not saying he quit on the team. I am saying that if, as Moss admitted, the players are determining their own availability w/o coaches being involved that the respect that coaches need to get exceptional effort is compromised. The effect isn't on stats as much as on morale.

1400+ total yards is only worth 2 million a year?

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3131/what2ka1.gif

So, wouldn't that make Betts even more overpaid?

And Moss might have quit, where did Portis quit on this team(like you said earlier)?

[thickskin]

i can't give taylor or portis such high marks. portis has lost a step and it was only luck that his fumble wasn't a nail in our coffin. likewise for taylor. the two dropped balls could've been difference makers for us. and the ones he did catch were underthrown by favre. if favre hits his guy in stride, taylor ends the day having been burned deep for two tds and with 2 dropped ints. and you're right on regarding moss. the "U" fraternity, save rocky, was a liability this week. with all those drops, what did they do? all go out to the club and rub down fat wisconsin strippers with oil before the game?

[28thegreat]

What I meant to say is that your grades are way too high, especially on offense. Over here, you get an 8 when a guy scores at least a couple of goals or has a really extraordinary game. I've rarely seen anybody get something higher than an 8.5.

Yeah but don't you Europeans use some kind of metric system or something. Isn't there a conversion rate in effect here?:whoknows:

[The Jake]

I agree with your write up except for the omission of Rogers displaying the worst tackle attempt in recent memory, letting their TE run an extra 42 yards after contact to set up their first score. He also was the one who missed the tackle on Burress in our dismal half againt the giants. Defense is in no way responsible for the loss but that play was offensive to watch as a skins fan.

That 3rd and short pass to sellers made me want to break my tv, stop over-thinking things and let the man run through the line for 1 yard.

[Keino]

I, for one, disagree with the Campbell Comments. I think the kid is the real deal, and has shown himself to be that.

He went 21 for 37 for 217 yesterday.

Now factor in the 5 Drops that were about 75 -100 more yards and the Bogus penalty on the 40 yard play to Thrash and he is looking at a day of:

26 for 38 for about 330 yards. I'll take 68% completion rate all day everyday. in addition, I disagree with the Deep ball comments. The Kid threw 4 catchable Deep Balls yesterday. Cooley dropped one, Moss Dropped one, One was called back and the other was slightly overthrown, but still catchable (to Lloyd). He needs to put a little more air under some of his deep balls, but he throws the best deep ball this team has seen since Mark Rypien.

Add in the plays he can make with his feet, I think it's time to let Campbell win us some games and stop holding him back as a coaching staff.

[nicefellow31]

I agree with your write up except for the omission of Rogers displaying the worst tackle attempt in recent memory, letting their TE run an extra 42 yards after contact to set up their first score. He also was the one who missed the tackle on Burress in our dismal half againt the giants. Defense is in no way responsible for the loss but that play was offensive to watch as a skins fan.

That 3rd and short pass to sellers made me want to break my tv, stop over-thinking things and let the man run through the line for 1 yard.


Was that even an attempted tackle? It appeared to me that Rogers accidently ran into their TE, said "excuse me", and then realized the TE had the ball.

[Skinz4lyfe]

I believe this is your best write up yet. Good job!

[SpicyMcHaggis]

Yeah but don't you Europeans use some kind of metric system or something. Isn't there a conversion rate in effect here?:whoknows:
Yeah we do. We europeans are smarter than you yankees, and so we realize that dividing everything by 10 is easier and quicker than dividing by 12, or by whatever the heck you use to measure other stuff.
But you're right, it could be a conversion rate problem. ;)

[SpicyMcHaggis]

Portis is on pace for 1400 total yards(1200 rushing) and 10-12 TDs. I don't think we can say he's not having an solid impact.


Solid, but nowhere near elite, or worthy of what we are paying him.

Right now he is 16th in the league in rushing yards per game, with very little big play ability (0 rushes for more than 20 yards). And he's had only a couple of really good games in the last 2 seasons.

[skinsfan45]

Was that even an attempted tackle? It appeared to me that Rogers accidently ran into their TE, said "excuse me", and then realized the TE had the ball.
looked more like a bump to me too, however did u see Landry knock CR out of the way and then go after the TE? probably momentum carried him into CR but it sure was funny to see:crazy:

[akhhorus]

Solid, but nowhere near elite, or worthy of what we are paying him.

Right now he is 16th in the league in rushing yards per game, with very little big play ability (0 rushes for more than 20 yards). And he's had only a couple of really good games in the last 2 seasons.

To be fair, he did have bad injuries most of last year(and still had some nice games through it), so I think that criticizing him for last year is a bit unfair. I think factoring in the utter failure of the 2 back system(to whit, not having a 2nd back who can do anything) and the Oline issues, Portis is producing pretty well.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

To be fair, he did have bad injuries most of last year(and still had some nice games through it), so I think that criticizing him for last year is a bit unfair. I think factoring in the utter failure of the 2 back system(to whit, not having a 2nd back who can do anything) and the Oline issues, Portis is producing pretty well.
That's one of the problems. Between injuries and his not being in shape (or, for whatever reason, having to take himself out of games) he can't (or won't) be counted on to carry the ball more than 20 times a game. We need more carries from him since we're paying him to be our workhorse.

[akhhorus]

That's one of the problems. Between injuries and his not being in shape (or, for whatever reason, having to take himself out of games) he can't (or won't) be counted on to carry the ball more than 20 times a game. We need more carries from him since we're paying him to be our workhorse.

I know Portis took himself out of games in the past, but I don't recall seeing any evidence of that this year. He's been the workhorse and Betts' rushing role has seriously diminished.

[openallnight]

I, for one, disagree with the Campbell Comments. I think the kid is the real deal, and has shown himself to be that.

He went 21 for 37 for 217 yesterday.

Now factor in the 5 Drops that were about 75 -100 more yards and the Bogus penalty on the 40 yard play to Thrash and he is looking at a day of:

26 for 38 for about 330 yards. I'll take 68% completion rate all day everyday. in addition, I disagree with the Deep ball comments. The Kid threw 4 catchable Deep Balls yesterday. Cooley dropped one, Moss Dropped one, One was called back and the other was slightly overthrown, but still catchable (to Lloyd). He needs to put a little more air under some of his deep balls, but he throws the best deep ball this team has seen since Mark Rypien.

Add in the plays he can make with his feet, I think it's time to let Campbell win us some games and stop holding him back as a coaching staff.
I agree with you but, there were at least 9 drops by our receivers not to mention another 5 or so by our defenders. The entire team should be spending 2 extra hours AFTER practice every day on the jugs machine. There is no excuse for the putrid receiving effort we're getting. Especially, given that we're talking about Professional receivers.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

I know Portis took himself out of games in the past, but I don't recall seeing any evidence of that this year. He's been the workhorse and Betts' rushing role has seriously diminished.
That's true, but Portis is still averaging only 17 carries per game. He was averaging 23 and 22 in 2004 and 2005. It's unreasonable to pay that kind of money to a guy that rushes only 17 times per game, especially when he is not a Westbrook type, who will routinely average 5 or more yards per carry.

[akhhorus]

That's true, but Portis is still averaging only 17 carries per game. He was averaging 23 and 22 in 2004 and 2005. It's unreasonable to pay that kind of money to a guy that rushes only 17 times per game, especially when he is not a Westbrook type, who will routinely average 5 or more yards per carry.

He's on pace for 275 rushes and about 40 catches, that's pretty sigificant workload. We've talked about reducing his workload down from the near 400 touches in 05 and 06 with Betts, but I have to think that the numbers will just end up in the 310+45 catches range at the end of the year--especially if Betts continues to struggle.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

He's on pace for 275 rushes and about 40 catches, that's pretty sigificant workload. We've talked about reducing his workload down from the near 400 touches in 05 and 06 with Betts, but I have to think that the numbers will just end up in the 310+45 catches range at the end of the year--especially if Betts continues to struggle.
I understand your point, and I agree that Betts has been useless so far, but in order to get his touches under 300, he has to drive his average significantly up. At least 4.7-4.8.
Whether that is gonna be possible with a backup that is averaging 2.8 yards per carry and a line that is down 3 starters, I honestly don't know, but somehow we have to get to around 150 yards rushing a game, with at least a 4.0 average.
What we are doing now (about a 120 yards with a 3.7 average) is not dreadful, but it isn't enough for a team with an inexperienced QB and only two legitimate receivers, one of which is having a career season in terms of suckiness.
Right now we are 5th in rushing attempts per game, but tied for 21st in average yards per run, and 13th in rushing yards per game.

[akhhorus]

I understand your point, and I agree that Betts has been useless so far, but in order to get his touches under 300, he has to drive his average significantly up. At least 4.7-4.8.
Whether that is gonna be possible with a backup that is averaging 2.8 yards per carry and a line that is down 3 starters, I honestly don't know, but somehow we have to get to around 150 yards rushing a game, with at least a 4.0 average.
What we are doing now (about a 120 yards with a 3.7 average) is not dreadful, but it isn't enough for a team with an inexperienced QB and only two legitimate receivers, one of which is having a career season in terms of suckiness.
Right now we are 5th in rushing attempts per game, but tied for 21st in average yards per run, and 13th in rushing yards per game.

I think those stats are because of Betts. He has almost half the carries of Portis does(86 to 41), but less than a third of the yardage(386 to 113).

[SpicyMcHaggis]

I think those stats are because of Betts. He has almost half the carries of Portis does(86 to 41), but less than a third of the yardage(386 to 113).
I agree about Betts. He has been horrible in pretty much every situation.
I just think that if Portis wants to consider himself (and wants us to consider him) a top-5 back in the NFL (which I think his contract says he should) he has to step it up a notch and be 1)dependable health and conditioning-wise and 2)more productive (at least his 2004 yardage, only with more TDs).

[skinsfan36]

imo betts is hurt by the oline more because he is a downhill runner and he cant get downhill without the power of thomas,and the oline changes he looked fine the first few weeks.now portis hes just missing something hes more explosive then betts but hes missing something.

[Warpath23]

Someone teach the players to hold the ball in the right hand. Portis & Santana to be specific. Moss is lost it with his hands. I dont know whats wrong with him. We should be undefeated but we just are not making the plays

[firehawk157]

He needs to stay behind and work with Campbell a bit. It seems that half the targets that are thrown to him are out of his reach, or require some inhuman acrobatic catch and the other half, Moss drops it. campbell needs to predict or lead better and Moss needs to hold on.

[jaylen]

Its clear Moss and JC just aren't connecting maybe the lack of off season work is showing up now or maybe Moss is used to catching softer balls thrown by Brunell and Pennington.

Sean Taylor if he catches 2 of the 3 ints he dropped could be in the running for Defensive player of the year.

I guess scheme and Landry are helping him big time and the dropping of weight.

He's baiting qb's into throws. he's closing real fast. A couple times I was thinking oh no we're dead thats a td and he just sprints in a makes a play.

I agree with AKH's analysis of landry we do seem to be wasting him playing him so far back. he got juked on the play to the the for the 60 yarder. Favre's play fake got him outta postion.

Not getting as much play on balls though because teams are testing Rogers side of the field more. than Springs it seems right now.

[firehawk157]

I don't remember a single ball thrown Springs' way. Is Rogers that much worse, or is Springs that good?

[Skin-E-Dip]

Great post Akh.

I dont know why but I feel pretty damn good about this team after this loss. I honestly believe outside of Dallas maybe, we can beat anyone in the NFC. The defense is awesome and our only losses were games that we gave away. Once we get our O together we might even be on Dallas's level.

But Im kinda with you in that Im just not sure about Campbell. I mean I am damn glad for once we can go a season knowing definitely who our starting QB is and theres a lot I like about the kid, but I don't know if he is going to ever be that kind of QB who sees the crappy way things are going for his team and take things into his own hands to get the offense going by any means necessary. Im sure that fire will come soon but its that X-factor that cant be taught. You either got it or you dont

[Battle Cat]

correct. but even in the first half,so many of the plays took long to develop.
they needed quick slants or some plays that get done quickly
You can't run quick slants with 5'10" 175' lb receivers going up against physical bump and run 6'1" 205 lb corners.

[Battle Cat]

I don't remember a single ball thrown Springs' way. Is Rogers that much worse, or is Springs that good?
Partially. But Washington corners played to take away the inside slant. So the best thing to do is to then try to go deep. The best deep threat on Green Bay (Jennings) was being covered by Rogers so they tested him. I still beleive Driver the guy that Springs was mostly covering had more yards than all the other wide recievers, his catches were just not flashy and could easily go forgotten. I am sure you agree AKH.

[SkinsfaninNJ]

Good write up as always Akh.

This Moss/JC thing is ridiculous. Moss is too good to be playing this bad. Granted JC has missed him a few times this year (Eagles bomb, Dolphins overthrow to get into the redzone come immediately to mind), but mostly Moss is dropping passes that are hitting him in the hands or square in the numbers. Chemistry shouldn't matter for a lot of these drops.

[akhhorus]

Partially. But Washington corners played to take away the inside slant. So the best thing to do is to then try to go deep. The best deep threat on Green Bay (Jennings) was being covered by Rogers so they tested him. I still beleive Driver the guy that Springs was mostly covering had more yards than all the other wide recievers, his catches were just not flashy and could easily go forgotten. I am sure you agree AKH.

They used Smoot and Springs on Driver all day. Rogers was on Jennings and did a fine job.

Good write up as always Akh.

This Moss/JC thing is ridiculous. Moss is too good to be playing this bad. Granted JC has missed him a few times this year (Eagles bomb, Dolphins overthrow to get into the redzone come immediately to mind), but mostly Moss is dropping passes that are hitting him in the hands or square in the numbers. Chemistry shouldn't matter for a lot of these drops.

The problem seems to be with those medium routes. Him and Moss seem to be fine deep(except the Green Bay game).

[jaylen]

Great post Akh.

I dont know why but I feel pretty damn good about this team after this loss. I honestly believe outside of Dallas maybe, we can beat anyone in the NFC. The defense is awesome and our only losses were games that we gave away. Once we get our O together we might even be on Dallas's level.

But Im kinda with you in that Im just not sure about Campbell. I mean I am damn glad for once we can go a season knowing definitely who our starting QB is and theres a lot I like about the kid, but I don't know if he is going to ever be that kind of QB who sees the crappy way things are going for his team and take things into his own hands to get the offense going by any means necessary. Im sure that fire will come soon but its that X-factor that cant be taught. You either got it or you dont

I disagree I think the kid has the X factor you're speaking of.

Greg Williams gave him real big props yesterday I think they were deserved, our line and wr's fell apart, and he still battled and put us in postion to win but Moss and others just let him down.

He missed a couple but he still outplayed Favre in bad conditions.

I think he can be a star he has the arm, poise, and smarts.

Gutty performance yesterday.

[lpunder414]

Overall this team just frustrates me so much. There is no reason why this offense should be averaging anything under 16 points per game with the amount of talent they have. Saunders should be running the offense, point blank. He was brought in here to help the offense generate points and it seems like theres a free for all system that were going with in which everyone has a say. Before Saunders made his stop in Washington his offenses were always ranked highly in the league but I dont think that we have put enough trust in his system. Its a shame that the defense is solid week in and week out, but we never know what were going to get out of our offense. Theyre too inconsistent. These players are being payed too much and maybe, as much as I hate to say this, Gibbs should pack his bags; because during this stint, the Redskins have given us no sign of improvement and consistency.

[LATrueRedskin]

I thought it was funny that Brett Favre continued to test Sean Taylor all game. The guy truely is a gunslinger. Taylor almost had 5 INTs yesterday, and showed unbelievable range on all of them. It looks like he's not even running hard half the time. An unbelievable athlete.

[Meatsnack]

Overall this team just frustrates me so much. There is no reason why this offense should be averaging anything under 16 points per game with the amount of talent they have. Saunders should be running the offense, point blank. He was brought in here to help the offense generate points and it seems like theres a free for all system that were going with in which everyone has a say. Before Saunders made his stop in Washington his offenses were always ranked highly in the league but I dont think that we have put enough trust in his system. Its a shame that the defense is solid week in and week out, but we never know what were going to get out of our offense. Theyre too inconsistent. These players are being payed too much and maybe, as much as I hate to say this, Gibbs should pack his bags; because during this stint, the Redskins have given us no sign of improvement and consistency.I, too am frustrated. I think most of are. But, you do remember the Spurrier years, right? We have shown a great deal of improvement. We have won a playoff game since Gibbs got here, which was a minor miracle considering the 10 years previous to his arrival.

[The Iceman]

[QUOTE=akhhorus;1022404]What we learned from this loss to Green Bay:

1-Simply put, they didn’t want to win this game. They had a good team on the ropes in their stadium, and were handed multiple chances to win the game, and failed to take advantage of any of them.

1a-This team hasn’t learned how to finish another team yet.

2-Sean Taylor might be the best Free Safety in football right now. He did drop a couple picks, but the plays he made---I don’t know of another FS who could range that much.

2a-LaRon Landry is wasted playing back 90% of a game. The kid is can cause Havoc, but he can’t do that if he’s playing 15 yards back.

3-Congrats Chris Wilson, you sacked a legend to start your career.

3a-Now do it more often.

4-These Oline injuries scare me. Fabini has been playing decently, but Heyer/Wade struggled.

4a-Heyer/Wade did struggle, but to be fair, Kampman is a handful for any RT. Heyer might have his position there at RT—but he needs work on his technique.

5-Good half by Cooley, the skins don’t split him out at WR enough frankly. He’s matchup hell when lined up across from a CB.

5a-Also, does it strike anyone that Campbell seems to gets into a rhythm with a guy in the first half of a game and then the opposing team adjusts and takes that receiver out of the rest of the game?

6-I really don’t like to pin the blame on any single player, because at the end of the day, it’s a team game. HOWEVER, if anyone can be singularly blamed for this loss, I think the blame for this game falls squarely onto the shoulders of one person: Santana Moss. The drops were killers by themselves, the fumble was a killer by itself and the general poor play was crippling. I really just don’t know whats wrong with Santana, but he needs to get his crap together.

6a-That INT was some BS(along with a bunch of calls and no-calls), it was a simultaneous catch and that means it’s the offensive player’s ball.

7-Memo to Al Saunders: get Portis active on the flanks.

7a-And dump Betts and get a real power back. Musa Smith and Jamal Lewis would be fine.

8-Campbell has been improving dramatically, but I’m not sure I’m buying the future star talk yet. He’s still not passing the ball deep with a whole lot of skill. Although, he’s just a beat or two off with the deep ball, his yardage totals also worry me a bit. He’s become a lot better with the short and medium routes, but he’s going to have to hit a deep pass to break up the coverages that stack those medium routes he loves.

9-This loss really hurt our playoff chances. This was an NFC team on the road, and with the resurgence play of the Panthers, Giants and Arizona, we need to start putting our NFC opponents away to have a chance at the playoffs.

10-The two most improved players on this team are Rocky(obviously), but also Anthony Montgomery. Rocky still struggles a bit in coverage, but he’s developed as a run stopper nicely and as a blitzer. Monty has done a great job taking control of the DT starting spot and showing that he’s quietly turning in a very good season as a run stopper.

Team ratings:
X WR Santana Moss 0.0: Fat, Drunk and with Butterfingers is no way to go through life son.
X WR Antwaan Randle El 6.5: Played hurt, but didn’t contribute much besides two catches.
TE Chris Cooley 8.75: Very good game by Cooley, in both blocking & catching.
LT Chris Samuels: 8.75: Very good game by Big Chris, but had some problems with KGB.
LG Pete Kendall 8.5: Solid game in general, but had some occasional problems with the quicker DT of the Pack.
OC Casey Rabach 8.75: if you had any questions about how valuable Rabach is to this team, just look at the performance of the Oline before he left and after.
RG Jason Fabini 8: Really solid performance by the Vet.
RT Stephon Heyer 6.5: He looked good initially, but Kampman adjusted and started to dominate the kid with speed moves.
QB Jason Campbell 8: Decent game undermined by drops.
FB Mike Sellers 7: A couple brain fart plays, but a decent game.
RB Clinton Portis 7: 87 yards on 23 touches, but a bad fumble.
PK Scott Suisham 7.75: No FG attempts, but solid kickoffs.
KR Rock Cartwright 7: Nothing special.

LDE Chris Wilson 7: Had a big sack and played decently.
DT Anthony Montgomery 8: Did a great job clogging the middle and got to Favre once.
DT Cornie Griffin 8: See Monty.
RDE Andre Carter 7.5: Decent pressure all day, but struggled against the run.
SLB Randall Godfrey 7.25: Didn’t embarrass himself replacing Marcus.
MLB London Fletcher 8: Continues to be a waste in the Cover-2, but played very well today getting the defense lined up.
WLB Rocky McIntosh 8.5: Continues his solid season, leading the skins in tackles with a forced fumble.
CB Carlos Rogers 7.75: A questionable PI call against C-Los, but another solid game.
CB Shawn Springs 7: An unspectacular game for Springs
Note: Fred Smoot played a great game for the Skins.
FS Sean Taylor 9.85: Great game by Taylor, but it could have been better lol
SS LaRon Landry 7: Meh game by Landry, he got bailed out from giving up a TD pass by a holding call, and isn’t attacking much.
P Derrick Frost 5: Meh game. 38 yards per punt.
PR Antwaan Randle El 5.5: Basically nothing in returns.

Coaching: 7.75-8.25. Not their fault that the WRs lubed up their hands before the hand.
QUOTE]

We come back to this Ahk. Portis fumbles again. A costly fumble. Maybe cost us the game again..... Iceman Vindicated.

[Biggie]

Wait, Iceman, weren't you just talking up Portis a couple of days ago?

Oh my Jeebus... You were jinxing him!

[akhhorus]

We come back to this Ahk. Portis fumbles again. A costly fumble. Maybe cost us the game again..... Iceman Vindicated.

It shows your agenda when you dump on Portis for his fumble, but not on Moss. Since you, Moss' fumble did actually cost us the game. I'm glad that you take pleasure in a loss just so you can crow that you think you were right.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

We come back to this Ahk. Portis fumbles again. A costly fumble. Maybe cost us the game again..... Iceman Vindicated.
Would you mind explaining how exactly that fumble cost us the game since the Packers scored 0 points off of it, consumed very little time, and the Redskins got the ball back with significantly better field position (the 28 yard line instead of the 13 yard line)?
Do you actually watch the games? Or do you just look at the box score, see if Portis did anything bad and just start threads on him? And while we're at it, can I have your opinion on Ladell Betts's season so far?

[Hr fan]

Overall this team just frustrates me so much. There is no reason why this offense should be averaging anything under 16 points per game with the amount of talent they have. Saunders should be running the offense, point blank. He was brought in here to help the offense generate points and it seems like theres a free for all system that were going with in which everyone has a say. Before Saunders made his stop in Washington his offenses were always ranked highly in the league but I dont think that we have put enough trust in his system. Its a shame that the defense is solid week in and week out, but we never know what were going to get out of our offense. Theyre too inconsistent. These players are being payed too much and maybe, as much as I hate to say this, Gibbs should pack his bags; because during this stint, the Redskins have given us no sign of improvement and consistency.

Frustration happens when there was hope dashed. Maybe we should look at Gibbs II and cut some slack. For instance:

1) In terms of fo, the situation was chaos with over-the-hill salary absorbers (Deion, Bruce Smith Jeff George to name a few) the apparent strategy to cap hell, not to wins. Then came vets for draft choices, some of whom didn't work out (Archuletta and Lloyd come to mind, with Duckett at least being a panic move that wasn't needed) Now there is solid FA acquisitions with draft choice retention (I believe all FAs this year are contributing, and LL is a draft steal and Kendall is a trade steal IMO). Revamping the fo and consequently the corporate culture has the longest time to achieve but will have the most impact of Gibbs moves.

2) In terms of coaching staff he has top line individuals, IMO too many of them, leading to such problems as clock management and getting the play in on time. This is hard since many returned from retirement at his request. But particularly on offense there is confusion now that he isn't the play-by-play boss, with obvious disconnects. O coaches are looking to him while AS is the coordinator. He needs to review communications channels and slim down the input sources in given situations. He has recognized the problem and tried to address it, but needs to realize the fixes made to date needs to be refined.

3) In terms of players he has a spotty record, but the trend is positive. Brunell was over the hill but what other choice did he have? The problem is sticking with Brunell too long, not in realizing there was no suitable QB on the team when he took over. He traded for CP who basically is unsuited for his (and Saunders) between the tackles offense. He let go playersw that are proving good with other teams like Pierce and Clark. He has been skinned in trades, particularly by Denver. He went for the quick fix in 2006 at the expense of youth, and older players will get significantly dinged with adverse impacts on continuity. He relies on players with significant age/injury history problems also affecting continuity. This a work in progress, but will impact now - Jansen and Thomas may be beyond the 16 game season now for instance. Being on-going we have a hard time seeing the plan, until the effects are shown such as with Montgomery (who many here thought a wasted draft choice and clearly inferior to Golston). Given the players he inherited the trend is positive, but not as far as he or we would like.

IMO we are suffering from a mirage called 2005. What were the odds of playoffs when 5 games needed to be won in a row? What were the odds that we would win a playoff game while setting an NFL record for offensive futility? What were the odds that the playoff loss could be boiled down to one play, Rogers int drop, in our minds? We and knowledgable football experts expected big things in 2006. But the base was weak. Key players were old and had shown great wear (Brunell, Daniels, Salav'ea). Players with past injury issues went down (Springs, Griffin). Replacements that were known to be inferior were relied on (Wright, Rumpf, Lloyd). Our O lichpin, Portis, went down. Moss had injury problems, not for the first time. For a team dependent on the best D in the division too many bad things happened on that side of the ball, and with a weak armed QB with a mediocre receiving corps that wasn't good enough to meet our expectations. When a team scores 30 points and loses it is very bad news.

2007 by contrast has had devestating injuries, especially to the O line. But while we have lost 2 games frustration sets in because we were ahead at the 1/2 in both and should have won at least one. Where in 2006 we couldn't create a sack or TO this year we have had abundant opportunities created by our D, with frustration setting in due to our inability to convert a majority of these chances. Moss is great one game then personally loses the next in his opinion, and I don't hear many dissents here. Betts got his contract and has disappeared, though the O line problems are much to blame.

I have just listened to Mark Schlereth, who I have more respect for than most, rate the 'Skins 4th strongest in the NFC, with Dallas and the two teams that we lost to ahead of us as they must be in the circumstances. While Tampa Bay is considered strong we are no worse than 5th, with a maturing QB and better balance. Ifs are useless but noting progress isn't. JC versus Detroit can be written off because he faced an inferior D. JC versus GB, with a shredded O line, virtually no running attack, and numerous drops is 2 in a row, and GB is not weak defensively. The D faced a Hall of Fame QB and held him to 10 points. The STs are better week by week than our oponents.

I am frustrated, particularly by the losses. But we really struggled against Miami at home, arguably the worst team in pro ball. We just lost on the road in one of the top stadiums for home field advantage and should have won going away. While I am no less frustrated I am encouraged also. And when it comes to Gibbs II I am impatient but encouraged. But, boy, is it taking a long time!

[akhhorus]

Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but I think the defense looked a lot better without Marcus Washington the field....

[shally]

Oh, and I forgot to mention this, but I think the defense looked a lot better without Marcus Washington the field....

interesting observation... i was thinking along the same lines, but godfrey had a very quiet game.. he was not beaten, but i didnt notice him

the big thing was that it got wilson into the game and he got his first nfl sack

do you think that GW plays godfrey differently than he would play marcus (obviously, not counting third down rushing) ? godfrey always has had the rep as a very physical player, but i wonder if his age forces GW to use him in different ways ? overall the defense did not look as if it missed a beat or was slower with godfrey in there

[SkinsfaninNJ]

Just had a chance to watch the NFL replay. My sopcast was acting up and I missed too many plays to truly comment on everything.

1. I take back what I said about the timing of Moss and JC. Yes, Moss dropped the bomb that hit him square in the hands and should have had the pass that was INT, but JC misses worst with Moss. He is not having this problem with Cooley, ARE, McCardell, Betts or Portis. I have no idea why.

2. McCardell needs more opportunities. He just gets open.

3. I think Portis ran hard. We as a team ran better in the first half before Wade and Rabach went out. Some of our runs are slow developing, which is not helping, but that is by design and not the execution. Generally though, I thought he ran hard. But he is holding the ball out more, which was very noticeable in this game. He did it on the fumble and he did it on the long screen. I wish Byner would talk to him about that.

4. The defense had another good game, but what is it with GW running a three man rush on second and/or third and long in the second half. This is more or less a prevent defense, preventing us from getting off the field.

5. The JC INT that ARE caught was a terrible call.

6. Overall our o-line struggled. This is one of the best defenses we will face so credit to GB, but the line struggled.

[redskin_rich]

4. The defense had another good game, but what is it with GW running a three man rush on second and/or third and long in the second half. This is more or less a prevent defense, preventing us from getting off the field.


Everything else has been discussed plenty but I'm glad you brought this up. I can't complain because our defense did a stellar job but the 3 man rush was a waste. It was Demetric Evans playing DT that kept dropping back and covering nobody. I know he was covering a zone but no one was ever in that zone. I seems to me that he could have been better utilized going after Favre, instead of giving their O-Line an easy task of blocking 3.
Again, the defense did their job, so it's hard to make a complaint but c'mon. Favre was horrible all day and they never committed to running the ball. We could have done whatever we wanted to on defense.