Thumbs Up Thumbs Down

[PennSkinsFan]

Here you go (http://www.hailredskins.com/?p=278).

[MONK_in_HOF]

I would like to give a big thumbs up to both Rocky Mcintosh and London Fletcher. I realize both missed INTs, but they both also played a huge roll in limiting the Dallas running attack. Rocky was continually attacking and blowing up the lead blocker like I have never seen him. He fulfilled this task with reckless abandon and I don't know how he didn't suffer a concussion considering the numerous high impact collisions between himself and the FB.

[Jon Creveling]

Overall agree. My own add-ons, I agree with the Gibbs thumbs down, sometimes I think we need an assistant head-momentum coach added to staff! Last week verses the Eagles with the game on the line and yesterday with the long Fg attempt. If you don't have the balls to go for it, punt it don't give Dallas the ball on the 40+. We had the Boys heads spinning you could see it on their faces on the sidelines. Hear me out on this because I 'm going to open myself up to getting jumped, but I honestly think the D-line deserves a 1/2 a thumbs up. They did a great job containing Romo and stuffing the run game. Feel they played to the best of their ability. That's the best they can play. My bitch isn't with the D-line players, it's the Ostriches above them. I thought they gave 100 effort. ps Monty looks as good as Griff so I'll take that in a good way.

[fent]

i'll give you the thumbs down on the first FG decision...that wasn't a good call. but if memory serves correctly, the second one made it a 1 score game (at the time)...while you may not like the call, it was the smart one. we can't go for it on every 4th down play, especially the way we'd been running the ball up to that point.

[Jon Creveling]

I would like to give a big thumbs up to both Rocky Mcintosh and London Fletcher. I realize both missed INTs, but they both also played a huge roll in limiting the Dallas running attack. Rocky was continually attacking and blowing up the lead blocker like I have never seen him. He fulfilled this task with reckless abandon and I don't know how he didn't suffer a concussion considering the numerous high impact collisions between himself and the FB.

The Rocky near intercept realy was a high effort attempt, on the review you could better see just how much he put in to it. Part of me liked the attempt by Rocky to hood-wink the Refs eventhough he must of known it:) Oh and Rock Cartwright deserves mention on the return game!

[dj_stouty]

I'd like to give an honorable thumbs-up to Keenan McCardell who actually showed what its like to be a productive WR3 in this offense. 76 yards on 5 catches and many of them were clutch.

I can't pin this loss on Gibbs' decision to kick a FG on 4th and 1. On the road against the best team in the NFC, and I'd personally take the shot at the 50-yarder; especially if Shaun was kicking them well during warmups. (I don't know if he did, but I would take that into consideration)

[SpicyMcHaggis]

i'll give you the thumbs down on the first FG decision...that wasn't a good call. but if memory serves correctly, the second one made it a 1 score game (at the time)...while you may not like the call, it was the smart one. we can't go for it on every 4th down play, especially the way we'd been running the ball up to that point.
It was already a 1 score game. Unless you count the TD + 2 point conversion 2 scores (which I can understand, but don't necessarily agree).

[SkinsfaninNJ]

i'll give you the thumbs down on the first FG decision...that wasn't a good call. but if memory serves correctly, the second one made it a 1 score game (at the time)...while you may not like the call, it was the smart one. we can't go for it on every 4th down play, especially the way we'd been running the ball up to that point.

I think you are right on. We needed the points on the second 4th down. Based on all circumstances, we should have went for it in the first half.

[JsMaViSd]

the only problem i had with Keenan was the one pass on 2nd and 1 when campbell hit him right in the hands and he let it go..we ended up having to kick a field goal

[dj_stouty]

the only problem i had with Keenan was the one pass on 2nd and 1 when campbell hit him right in the hands and he let it go..

He made up for it later in the game. It happens. Overall, he put on a tremendous performance which isn't bad for a guy who just joined the team a few weeks ago. I don't think the Skins would have been in a position to win the game without Keenan.

[fent]

It was already a 1 score game. Unless you count the TD + 2 point conversion 2 scores (which I can understand, but don't necessarily agree).

i don't count it as 2 score necessarily because you don't have to create 2 drives, but conversion rates for 2 point tries aren't that great. with that much time on the clock, make it a true 1 possession game. if you go for it and miss or punt it, you still have to get into the end zone just like we did after making the FG, but we also had to convert the 2 pointer. MUCH better odds that we stay in the game with the decision that was made, again taking into consideration that we hadn't been able to run the ball at all.

[SpicyMcHaggis]

i don't count it as 2 score necessarily because you don't have to create 2 drives, but conversion rates for 2 point tries aren't that great. with that much time on the clock, make it a true 1 possession game. if you go for it and miss or punt it, you still have to get into the end zone just like we did after making the FG, but we also had to convert the 2 pointer. MUCH better odds that we stay in the game with the decision that was made, again taking into consideration that we hadn't been able to run the ball at all.
But not taking into consideration that the defense had already started its inevitable second half meltdown. And, accordingly, the Cowboys marched right down the field for a TD moments later.

[fent]

But not taking into consideration that the defense had already started its inevitable second half meltdown. And, accordingly, the Cowboys marched right down the field for a TD moments later.

that's a legit point as well, but the defense began to actually play after they gave up that TD. had they been able to get their act together a drive earlier, then we're not having this conversation. you have to make the decision that puts your team in the best position to win the game and it did that. the defense blew it, but just like you shouldn't make the decision to kick a 47 yard OT field goal on 2nd down because you're afraid of fumbling, you shouldn't decide to go for it on 4th and 1 when you're in FG range because you're afraid your defense will get burned. i think it's the right call in that situation....the first half decision, horrible.

[Spence]

It's a matter of what sort of team you are. If you're the tough, hard-nosed team the Redskins claim to be, you go get those 3 feet. If you're not a tough team, you send in the little kicker. Now we know what sort of team the coach believes he has.

[fent]

It's a matter of what sort of team you are. If you're the tough, hard-nosed team the Redskins claim to be, you go get those 3 feet. If you're not a tough team, you send in the little kicker. Now we know what sort of team the coach believes he has.

so you advocate completely disregarding the scoreboard to send Portis into the line against a 10 man defensive front when he hadn't been able to run all day? there wer 10 minutes left in the game at that point. you can't leave points on the field, which is exactly what we likely do if we go for it in that situation. it has nothing to do with what kind of team you have, it has everything to do with putting your team in the best situation to win the game. even if we convert the 1st, we're still 25 yards out and with no guarantee of putting it in the end zone. put the points on the board.

[Farmer Ted]

It was already a 1 score game. Unless you count the TD + 2 point conversion 2 scores (which I can understand, but don't necessarily agree).

It was a one score game to tie it, assuming we converted the 4th, scored a TD, and then converted on 2 points. You still need at least 9 to win the game, ergo it's a two score game. You really think the Redskins had a chance to score 8, and then shutout the Cowboys the rest of the way? Don't answer it, I'm pretty sure I know what your answer is. The correct decision was to kick the field goal and go for the second score. It was the Redskins' only realistic chance.

[SkinsfaninNJ]

It's a matter of what sort of team you are. If you're the tough, hard-nosed team the Redskins claim to be, you go get those 3 feet. If you're not a tough team, you send in the little kicker. Now we know what sort of team the coach believes he has.

Could be taken the other way too. If you are going for the FG, you are sending the message that we are getting the ball back and we're going to drive right down again.

I remember playing a HS game. We were up by 8 in the fourth. The other team scored a TD and decided to go for 1 instead of 2. We were surprised and thought we would make the other coach pay for the mistake. But it wasn't a mistake by the other coach. He used it as motivation to send his team a message that this TD means nothing and our job is not over yet. Sure enough we did give up another TD and lost by 6.

[Hr fan]

i'll give you the thumbs down on the first FG decision...that wasn't a good call. but if memory serves correctly, the second one made it a 1 score game (at the time)...while you may not like the call, it was the smart one. we can't go for it on every 4th down play, especially the way we'd been running the ball up to that point.

Smart has produced a mediocre team. It also says to the players that you don't trust them to get 1 yard. No wonder we have red zone troubles.

All the other team has to do is look for a break since they are convinced that we will never throw caution to the winds and go for the win. We will let them stay close enough to give them an opportunity to win late.

[MONK_in_HOF]

It was a one score game to tie it, assuming we converted the 4th, scored a TD, and then converted on 2 points. You still need at least 9 to win the game, ergo it's a two score game. You really think the Redskins had a chance to score 8, and then shutout the Cowboys the rest of the way?[/B] Don't answer it, I'm pretty sure I know what your answer is. The correct decision was to kick the field goal and go for the second score. It was the Redskins' only realistic chance.

Personally I would rather try to tie the score than kick a FG and expect the D, which had been shredded to that point in the 2nd half, to stop them and then go down and score another TD. If the Skins scored a TD and missed the 2pt conversion, a FG still wins them the game if they get the ball back. With no guarantee of getting the ball back I would much rather take my chances of tying the score, especially on the road. Our offense was playing much better than our D at that point, why not put the pressure on our offense instead of our D?

Edit: I realize if we convert the 4th down there is no certainty of a TD, but a 40+ yard FGA is no sure thing either.

[fent]

Smart has produced a mediocre team. It also says to the players that you don't trust them to get 1 yard. No wonder we have red zone troubles.

All the other team has to do is look for a break since they are convinced that we will never throw caution to the winds and go for the win. We will let them stay close enough to give them an opportunity to win late.

no...smart hasn't produced a mediocre team. bad plays and bad calls up to this point have led to a mediocre team. i don't agree with many of the decisions that have been made by Gibbs this season, but this one isn't one of them. we had a similar situation in the first half which i've already said i didn't agree with at all. this doesn't tell your team that you don't have faith in them, it says that they've done what they can now, you'll take the points and come back to fight again. tell me this, if we go for it and miss, then we give up the TD just like we did and now we're down 15...what do you think happens from there? i can tell you this much...everyone here would be ganging up on Gibbs for his horrible decision to not take the points he could.

this isn't madden, people...when you're in a position to put points on the board with 10 minutes left, you put the points up. you, Spence and others want to talk about the message it sends our team that we don't go for it. how about the message it sends our defense that we don't think they can hold a team when it counts? as it turns out, they didn't on that particular drive, but you can't play the game assuming that your defense can't play...if you think that the OT fg decisions were bad because Gibbs was playing not to fumble, then you can't logically say that you disagree with the decision to kick the FG here because you don't trust the defense to do its job.

[fent]

Personally I would rather try to tie the score than kick a FG and expect the D, which had been shredded to that point in the 2nd half, to stop them and then go down and score another TD. If the Skins scored a TD and missed the 2pt conversion, a FG still wins them the game if they get the ball back. With no guarantee of getting the ball back I would much rather take my chances of tying the score, especially on the road. Our offense was playing much better than our D at that point, why not put the pressure on our offense instead of our D?

but what happens if we don't convert? and who is to say that even if we do, we get into the end zone? you have a kicker that has proven his ability from that range, and the FG puts you in a position to win with a TD. so your choice is a. go for it and continue to drive hoping to get a TD and 2PC that will tie the game, or b. kick the FG and be in a position to win with a TD and XP. it's not that difficult a decision.

[MONK_in_HOF]

but what happens if we don't convert? and who is to say that even if we do, we get into the end zone? you have a kicker that has proven his ability from that range, and the FG puts you in a position to win with a TD. so your choice is a. go for it and continue to drive hoping to get a TD and 2PC that will tie the game, or b. kick the FG and be in a position to win with a TD and XP. it's not that difficult a decision.

We will just have to disagree on this. There are no certainties, but this so called proven K missed a PAT the week before, had already missed a long FG in this game, and has for weeks had trouble getting the ball past the 15 on kickoffs. That sounds like a K with a tired leg to me.

Personally I have more confidence in the Skins gaining a yard than Suisham hitting 45 yarders on a consistent basis.

Going for it may not result in a 1st, it may not result in a TD and 2pts, but I think there is much more upside given the way the game was going. It could have resulted in more points or a more reasonable FGA. Even if we don't get the 4th, we still have to stop them and score a TD to win.

[Spence]

When you make the decision Gibbs made [twice] in that game, you're saying you have more confidence in your kicker than in your offense's ability to get 1 yard. Seems like Gibbs gave up an awful lot for a running back [a cornerback and a high draft pick] he doesn't think can get him 3 feet when he needs it.

Either Clinton Portis is a total chump or Joe Gibbs is a total coward. I don't think Clinton Portis is a total chump.

[fent]

We will just have to disagree on this. There are no certainties, but this so called proven K missed a PAT the week before, had already missed a long FG in this game, and has for weeks had trouble getting the ball past the 15 on kickoffs. That sounds like a K with a tired leg to me.

Personally I have more confidence in the Skins gaining a yard than Suisham hitting 45 yarders on a consistent basis.

Going for it may not result in a 1st, it may not result in a TD and 2pts, but I think there is much more upside given the way the game was going. It could have resulted in more points or a more reasonable FGA. Even if we don't get the 4th, we still have to stop them and score a TD to win.

he pulled a kick last week and i'll give you that, but the guy had also hit 7 straight agaisnt the Jets and Eagles. he has hit 8/11 from over 40 yards for the season. Nick Folk, who is the NFC leading vote getter for probowl kicker is 6-8 from the same. you've got to give him the chance to earn his pay check.

when it comes down to it, regardless of the decision, the defense still has to hold on the next possession. even if we march in and tie it up, you have to trust your defense to hold. if we go for it, we're rolling the dice that we can convert two low-probability plays...4th down and a 2PC. it's not the god-awful decision that it's being made out to be.

[fent]

When you make the decision Gibbs made [twice] in that game, you're saying you have more confidence in your kicker than in your offense's ability to get 1 yard. Seems like Gibbs gave up an awful lot for a running back [a cornerback and a high draft pick] he doesn't think can get him 3 feet when he needs it.

Either Clinton Portis is a total chump or Joe Gibbs is a total coward. I don't think Clinton Portis is a total chump.

portis rushed for 11 yards on 5 carries in the second half including 3 for negative yardage or 1 yard. even with a good RB like Portis, the odds were not in our favor. we get it that you want to see Joe gone for his decision making. most weeks i'll give you that argument, but on this play, he absolutely made the right call.

[fent]

bottom line, were we in a position to win the game after that specific play and at the end of the game? the answer to both is yes. given that, why is their such disdain over the decision?

[MONK_in_HOF]

he pulled a kick last week and i'll give you that, but the guy had also hit 7 straight agaisnt the Jets and Eagles. he has hit 8/11 from over 40 yards for the season. Nick Folk, who is the NFC leading vote getter for probowl kicker is 6-8 from the same. you've got to give him the chance to earn his pay check.

when it comes down to it, regardless of the decision, the defense still has to hold on the next possession. even if we march in and tie it up, you have to trust your defense to hold. if we go for it, we're rolling the dice that we can convert two low-probability plays...4th down and a 2PC. it's not the god-awful decision that it's being made out to be.

I am not saying the second decision is a god awful one, although I do think the first FGA was. The second situation is a matter of preference. My preference is to go for it there, especially given the flow of the game at that point. The offense was moving the ball well during the second half and the D was playing poorly. Not only that, but our D has shown a pattern of 2nd half collapses (which was holding true to that point). Plus I think it deflates team morale to constantly kick FGs on 4th and short on areas of the field where it makes sense to go for it.

[wewantdallas]

bottom line, were we in a position to win the game after that specific play and at the end of the game? the answer to both is yes. given that, why is their such disdain over the decision?

The decision on that second one was definitely the correct one. The FG gave the team confidence that they were still in the game and could win it. If they'd have gone for it and missed there (and it was a long yard), the game would've been over right there imo.

The first FG decision, though, was simply stupid, the one that Suisham missed. Both of those plays required that Gibbs play the odds and choose the better odds. On the second play, he chose correctly. On the first, he did not by a long shot.

[fent]

I am not saying the second decision is a god awful one, although I do think the first FGA was. The second situation is a matter of preference. My preference is to go for it there, especially given the flow of the game at that point. The offense was moving the ball well during the second half and the D was playing poorly. Not only that our D has shown a pattern of 2nd half collapses. Plus I think it deflates team morale to constantly kick FGs on 4th and short on areas of the field where it makes sense to go for it.

i agree that the first one was a bad call. it was inches from a first and it was on the edge of Suisham's range. i just look at it and see a team that wasn't running the ball well at all, especially in the second half, looking at the opportunity to put points on the board. and the bolded portion is the only thing anyone in this thread needs to read to see why this specific call shouldn't be mentioned as reason to give the HC a negative rating for the game. had this situation happened with less than 5 minutes to go, absolutely go for it, but with 10 minutes on the clock there's plenty of time to pull out the win.

[fent]

The decision on that second one was definitely the correct one. The FG gave the team confidence that they were still in the game and could win it. If they'd have gone for it and missed there (and it was a long yard), the game would've been over right there imo.

The first FG decision, though, was simply stupid, the one that Suisham missed. Both of those plays required that Gibbs play the odds and choose the better odds. On the second play, he chose correctly. On the first, he did not by a long shot.

agreed 100%

[ImRickJamesB]

THUMBS UP

Jason Campbell, big thumbs up! He was very cool in the pocket, even when it was collapsing around him. He made some nice throws. He went toe to toe with Romo, just needed one more big play.

Rocky McIntosh! He was inches away from making a game changing Interception! Even though he didn't quite get it, but it was still a great play! He read Romo and jumped the route, next time he'll make the catch too. Very smart play for a young guy like that!

Santana Moss - He always brings his A game against Dallas! That makes him a good, true Redskin. That one handed catch was very nice!

Phillip Daniels and Antwaan Randle El - Daniels made a big play at the end of the game! They only sacked Romo once, but it came at the most crucial of times! This 3rd down sack forced the Cowboys to punt from inside their own 10! Then ARE made a nice reversal of field, and gained 20 yards on the return. These 2 plays put the Redskins 40 yards away from taking the lead, with less than 4 minutes to play. These were very clutch plays!

The Offensive Line was banged up, but they stepped it up and played a pretty darn good game! They only allowed 1 (bad) sack on Campbell. That's not too bad against Dallas, they had 5 sacks the week before against the Giants.

The Rivalry - This was another great game in the Cowboys-Redskins rivalry! The Campbell vs. Romo era has begun!

THUMBS DOWN

Joe Gibbs - I think Gibbs did an excellent job of preparing his team and game-planning for the Cowboys. My only beef with him, would be not going for it on 4th and 1's. I think they would've made both... You gotta have confidence in your team, and having a QB the size of JC, should help your confidence! Campbell could pick up most 4th and 1's using the QB sneak! For the Skins to win in Dallas, they gotta pull out all the stops... Joe left a couple rounds in the chamber!

[skinsfan36]

is till believe rockys int was a catch,id like to give cooley a thumbs up for havin 8 catches for 85 yds and a td. and a thumbs down to springs u covered TO every year since you got into the league and train with him and yet you looked like a 3 star college recruit trying to cover jerry rice in his hayday

[Spartan.14]

i absolutely loved how our run defense played; spectacular. IMO marion barber is one of the hardest backs to slow down, let alone stop, we made some great open field tackles on him. excellent job clogging the holes for running backs to see daylight. linebackers really stepped up vs. dallas but could have been better considering the dropped interceptionssss

i'm actually not that angry with sean springs, we knew all week that this was one of our primary concerns, T.O covered by sean springs. thumbs down to greg williams for not preparing a little better to help springs cover t.o