SB Nation - Adam Archuleta

Pour Some Sugar On Me - Roger Goodell Establishes What the Fine Will Be If Dan Snyder Does Not Fire Vinny Cerrato

Sugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:45:10 -0000

In case you missed it, the Tennessee Titans owner was filmed giving Buffalo Bills fans the ol' bird from his perch on Sunday. If you aren't a Bills player, fan or employee--or Roger Goodell--you probably laughed your ass off. Goodell dropped a $250,000 fine on Bud Adams today...which leads me to my headline...because if Snyder does not fire Cerrato, he will be essentially flipping the entire Redskins fanbase the middle finger, and should be fined at least the same $250,000 amount.

Ten Yard Fight - 10 Chances To Make One Good Point

It's Dallas Week, so this week, instead of covering the league, I got 10 great memories of involving the hated Cowgirls. This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it any particular order. Feel free to add to this collection in the comments section below.

1) Darryl Grant's catch of a Dexter Manley tipped ball and subsequent touchdown in the NFC Championship game in 1982. It is one of my earliest memories of watching the Redskins period. I was barely 5 years old. The win over the despicable Cowgirls put us in the Super Bowl and the television images of RFK rocking are burned into my brain. Box score here.

2) Lavar Arrington tracking down Troy Aikman and sending him to the broadcasting booth. I admit this is kind of a macabre memory to love, but this one is great for multiple reasons. First, after so many Sundays of getting burned by Aikman over the years, it was satisfying (and fitting) that it be the Redskins that ended his career. Guys like him would and could play forever but they usually get knocked out of the league. Troy made the right decision to retire and as it turns out, he is one hell of a television broadcaster. He is generally fair and even-handed when he calls Redskins games, though since he is on the "A" team for Fox, we have rarely gotten him over the years.

3) Darrell Green's last game as a Redskin. The miserable Cowgirls were in complete disarray that week. Dave Campo's job was in question and the players on his sideline had completely phoned it in. We probably had no business beating that team but they were so obviously out of sorts it was hardly a contest. Both teams finished with losing records that year, but the going away present everyone wanted to give Darrell was a home victory over the pitiful Cowgirls. Box score here.

4) Brunell to Moss twice in the 4th quarter on Monday Night Football. I sat in stunned silence as the seconds ticked away in a loss that most likely was going to cost us the season. I was at a bar in Bethesda and as some of my buddies were ready to roll, I told them I kind of had to watch the end of this one. I had to witness the final whistle on my hopes for the season. The first touchdown to Moss was fun, but that feeling in my stomach that it was too little, too late was impossible to ignore. Then...no way...a seconddeep ball to Moss? With the lead in hand now, I was left to ponder the sick joke being played on us all that night: we come all the way back in the last minute only to lose to a field goal at the last second. The ensuing defensive stop was awesome, and everyone went crazy. Every car on the street was honking and every passerby was high-fiving. Box score here.

5) I would like to take this moment to remember a few moments from the pathetic Cowgirls' history that did not involve the Skins. Both were playoff games, and both put BIG smiles on my face. The first was back in 1998, in a playoff game against the Cardinals. Jake "The Snake" Plummer led the Cards to a huge win over Dallas. I might be mistaken, but it could have been their first playoff victory. Have the Cowgirls won a playoff game since then? Maybe they have, but I am not so sure. The second moment was more recent. When the Cowgirls had the game in hand against the Seahawks in the 2006-2007 playoffs, Romo was set to hold for a game-winning field goal. The rest is not only history, it created a whole new vocabulary. In prison, they now say, "Don't 'Romo' the soap!" I tell my two year old not to "Romo" his bottle. Cell phone users hate it when their calls are "Romo'ed".

6) The blocked field goal/Sean Taylor return a few years ago. It was a pretty classic slugfest but with the score tied 19-19, we found ourselves on defense with the low-life Cowgirls driving to put it away on the leg of Mike Vanderjagt. I remember it all too well...Jason Witten absolutely abusing Adam Archuleta for a huge gainer to set up the last-second kick. Once again, I found myself sitting in my seat awaiting the inevitable. I did not have the best angle to see the block, and once that ball was loose, it was tough to tell who had the ball. But then there was #21, making his way for the game-winner. Everyone was going nuts...but even within the moment, I knew it was overtime, since the clock was ticking down to zero during the play. Sean Taylor's head-whip was visible from my seat. It was an obvious call. When the referee announced we were going to have one more play from the end of the penalty, it was as if he actually announced, "Everyone is going to get laid." Nick Novak...47 yards...ball game. Box score here.

7) Darrell Green chasing down Tony Dorsett on Monday Night Football. This one I did not see live. I have seen it a million times though and it always makes me gawk. Forget the game itself...in one moment, one of the greatest running backs in the league was shown to be very mortal, and an unknown, undersized cornerback put himself on the map forever.

8) Jason Buck pushing the center into Troy Aikman, forcing the fumble and the ensuing Emmitt Smith gaffe that led to the Danny Copeland touchdown. I believe it was the season opener, on Monday Night Football with Mark Rypien under center for the Skins. I was a hot pretzel vendor at RFKstadium in high school and I had a knack for making sure I was selling pretzels in a section with the best view of the action on the field. On this play, I was actually behind the end zone that the Cowgirls were playing out of, and I saw the whole thing unfold. Jason Buck lined up over the Dallas center and on the snap, he bullrushed the dude right into Troy Aikman who never had a chance. Emmitt Smith made a huge bonehead error by not covering the ball (did he try and throw it or just muff it?) and we recovered for the touchdown. Only thing is, the refs never saw any of it. Danny Copeland, who had recovered the ball for the touchdown, had run almost to midfield celebrating. The refs were still looking in the pile of linemen for the ball. Everyone was yelling and pointing at Copeland, who then ran back and showed the refs the ball. I remember thinking, "Are they just going to take his word in this?" We beat the sad-sack Cowgirls handily, but that was pretty much the end of the "good old days" era. I think that was Richie Petitbon's debut? Box score here.

9) Cooley's 3 TD performance in 2005 to propel us to the playoffs. Mark Brunell threw four total touchdown passes in a game where we absolutely dominated the detestable Cowgirls. It was one of the best games I have ever been to at FedEx. Drew Bledsoe threw three interceptions and Clinton Portis ran for 112 yards to go along with the studly performance from Cooley. Box score here.

10) I'll make this one last since I know that the wretched Cowgirls were barely trying, but in November of 2007, we grabbed the final NFC playoff spot by holding Marion Barber to -1 rushing yards and the entire team to only 1 yard rushing. They actually brought Tony Romo back out for a series in the second half but quickly removed him to prevent a certain injury. Our defense was incredibly nasty that day. Box score here.

On these, I certainly stand to be corrected on any facts I may have misstated. I am very aware of some of the older games played between the two teams that featured such greats as Ken Houston, Sonny Jurgensen, Charley Taylor...I am hopeful that those of you out there who saw these games firsthand will share your memories.

Give Me The Numbers, STAT!

PSSOM Notes...Well last week I pulled for Jim Zorn to be given another year and we had quite the lengthy discussion about it. Nothing quite as controversial about this week's edition I'm afraid. It seems though that some of my article titles are not getting through to folks. Seriously, the fact that even one person "corrected" the Animal House reference yesterday is embarrassing. Last week, one poor soul didn't get the Def Leppard reference in the title of this weekly piece (this marks the 14th edition of the PSSOM series.) We need to do better. Finally, we have to stay positive after the big win and prior to the showdown in Dallas, but we can't just forget altogether the joke of a front office we have. If we reserve all commentary on that subject for losing weeks we not only come off as whiners, we become no better than mindless kittens, distracted by the ball of yarn that is each win. I'll keep it simple and I'll keep the message on point. The following list represents a possible example of a good front office--do your own compare and contrast with Vinny Cerrato's reign of terror:

Notable First Round Draft Picks

1996 - T Jonathan Ogden
LB Ray Lewis
1997 - LB Peter Boulware
1999 - CB Chris McAllister
2000 - RB Jamal Lewis
2001 - TE Todd Heap
2002 - S Ed Reed
2003 - LB Terrell Suggs
QB Kyle Boller
2005 - WR Mark Clayton
2006 - DT Haloti Ngata
2007 - G Ben Grubbs
2008 - QB Joe Flacco
2009 - T Michael Oher

By the way, I counted and these men have combined for 39 Pro Bowls. That does not include any from Haloti Ngata, who will get his fair share I am sure. I don't particularly care for the Ravens, but Ozzie Newsome is simply a class act. Every pick may not be a Hall of Famer, but only one of these guys didn't pan out (Boller). You want to hear the worst part? They have a stated rule that every year they draft at least one offensive lineman. Now, I don't know how that has worked out each year, but holy crap is that a refreshing philosophy.

Image via www.shwiggie.com

Why Are The Bears Considered An Elite Defensive Team?

Blitzburgh — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:57:57 -0000

It's interesting how teams in professional sports - and in the National Football League in particular - get branded in certain ways. Often times these labels stick with teams years longer than they perhaps should. The Pittsburgh Steelers, for example, are still thought of as a smash-mouth, physical running team even though they haven't fared well on the ground for most of the past 20 games or so. Another example is how the Chicago Bears are still thought of as an elite, physical defense because of some of their success earlier this decade. The Bears aren't really an elite defense anymore in my opinion and haven't been for two years running.

Let's take a closer look.

The last time the Bears defense was outstanding was in 2006, the year they lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. The year before in 2005, Chicago was lights out on defense and rode their opportunistic ball hawking defense all the way to the #2 seed in the NFC and a home playoff game at Soldier Field that they would lose to the Carolina Panthers. Let's start though with the 2006 defense though. Here are some of their numbers from that year - the season they made it all the way to the Super Bowl before falling to the Colts (league rank in parentheses).

2006

Yards/G: 294.1 (5th)
Points: 15.9 (3rd)
Rushing Yards/G: 99.38 (6th)
Passing Yards: 194.7 (11th)
Turnovers: 44 (1st)
Sacks: 40 (8th)
DVOA: 2nd (Pass Defense = 1st; Rush = 6th)
Top Ten Tackle Leaders: Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, Charles Tillman, Danieal Manning, Ricky Manning, Chris Harris, Alex Brown, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Adewale Ugonleye, Nathan Vashar

The Bears were also good in 2005, but let's face it - four years ago means very little in the salary cap era of the NFL. I know us Steelers fans don't necessarily think of our team in 2005 as particularly similar to the squad we're watching in 2009. Anyway, the Bears were outstanding in 2005 on defense and combined with their solid play on that side of the ball in 2006, they earned the reputation as being one of the more physical and punishing defenses in the league.

Miscellaneous: The Bears started the 2006 season much like the 2008 Steelers did on defense. They were outstanding, holding their first 10 opponents under 300 yards. They pitched two shutouts in those first ten games and averaged only 12 points per game on defense while jumping out to a 9-1 record to start the year. They had three guys force at least four fumbles that year and eight defenders with two or more interceptions. By contrast, the Steelers only had one guy force more than four fumbles last year - Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison with seven. They also only had four players notch multiple picks. If you look at their roster from that year, you'll also notice that all of their top defenders were in their prime physical years - age 25-29 - with a number of other young key contributors like Tommie Harris being worked in during the early years of their career.

Let's see how they've fared the last two years though to see if they're deserving of still being thought of as one of the league's better units.

2007

Yards/G: 354.6 (28th)
Points: 21.75 (16th)
Rushing Yards/G: 122.9 (24th)
Passing Yards: 231.7 (27th)
Turnovers: 33 (8th)
Sacks: 41 (6th)
DVOA: 8th (Pass = 14th; Rush = 4th)
Top Ten Tackle Leaders: Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Danieal Manning, Charles Tillman, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Brandon McGowan, Adewale Ugonleye, Adam Archuleta, Alex Brown, Ricky Manning

Miscellaneous: This is the year we really start to see the Bears defense decline. Chicago only held their opponent to under 300 yards of total offense on four occasions that season - once against the hapless Raiders and another against the rebuilding Chiefs running a Herm Edwards offense. They gave up 30+ points four times and likely would have finished even worse than 7-9 had they not sacked the quarterback and forced as many turnovers as they did. Adewale Ugonleye was particularly productive at 30 years of age for Chicago. He forced 6 fumbles, recovered three more, and had 9 sacks - tops on the squad that year. Ugonleye is now 32 years of age and not as explosive at the point of attack as he once was despite making his first Pro Bowl appearance last year (he should have made it the year before, not last season). It's also worth noting that 2007 was the first year of Bob Babich regime at defensive coordinator. I'm not sure of why, but former coordinator Ron Rivera was not retained by Lovie Smith following Chicago's run to the Super Bowl in 2006. Rivera had previously been in charge of the Bears defense since 2004 and had improved dramatically during his tenure there. Babich meanwhile got his first NFL gig with the Rams in 2003 when he was named their linebackers coach. Before being promoted to defensive coordinator prior to the 2007 season, Babich had never been a defensive coordinator at any level and had held only one job higher than a linebackers coach in his entire career - the head coaching gig at North Dakota State. Coaching matters - we know that having been blessed to watch Dick LeBeau for so many years. I don't think Babich is up to snuff and I'm frankly shocked he wasn't canned after last season.

2008

Yards/G: 334.6 (21st)
Points: 21.8 (16th)
Rushing Yards/G: 93.5 (5th)
Passing Yards: 241.1 (30th)
Turnovers: 32 (2nd)
Sacks: 28 (23rd)
DVOA: 7th (Pass = 10th; Rush = 5th)
Top Ten Tackle Leaders: Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Brian Urlacher, Kenny Payne, Corey Graham, Mike Brown, Adewale Ugonleye, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, Nick Roach

Miscellaneous: The Bears really didn't have more than one or two impressive showings on defense last year. If you look at their schedule from 2008, you'll notice they only held their opponent under 10 points on two ocassions. One of them was against the lowly Lions. The other against the equally sad St. Louis Rams. They also played fairly well against the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 and against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14. Those four games constitute the only contests that they were able to hold their opponents under 300 yards of total offense. By contrast, the Pittsburgh Steelers only surrendered more than 300 yards just once in 2008 and only 6 times in 2007, four of which came in the final four weeks of the season after injuries had more than taken their toll on Pittsburgh's defense. Chicago also gave up 27 or more points five times last year, including 41 to Minnesota in Week 7 at Soldier Field. Finally, Chicago was able to remain competitive last year due to the fact that they still forced a healthy number of turnovers. In fact, they forced at least one turnover in every game last year. That's fairly impressive. It's worth nothing though that nine of their 32 turnovers - or roughly 28 percent - came in two of their 16 games. They actually lost both games. In other words, I see a team that was extraordinarily vulnerable against the pass manage to pad their turnover stats and consequently hang tough in a number of close games despite not having a very dominating defense whatsoever. The fact that they registered the 23rd fewest sacks despite seeing more passing attempts than any other defense also speaks volumes about their inability to control games with their defense like they once could.

Finally, I mentioned earlier that the Bears defense was largely in the peak window on the defensive side of the ball in 2006. By 2008, the Bears roster on defense featured three starters over the age of 30. Perhaps more importantly though - because after all, the Steelers defense has its fair share of veterans - the Bears no longer were receiving such substantial contributions from their younger defensive players as they had in years past. IN 2007, the Bears drafted Greg Olson - a tight end out of Miami - in the first round and Dan Bazuin - a defensive end from Central Michigan in the 2nd. Bazuin never made it on to the field for the Bears. The Bears 3rd and 4th Round picks were also on the offensive side of the ball.

The next year, the Bears drafted an offensive tackle in the first round, yet another running back in the second, a wide receiver with their first 3rd round pick before finally selecting Marcus Harrison with their other 3rd round selection. Harrison looked pretty good last year but the bottom line is that's not much attention paid to the defense for several years in a row. In an attempt to shore up their defense after several years of not retooling its personnel, Chicago finally paid more attention to that side of the ball in this past April's Drat. Five of the Bears first seven picks were on defense. Smart move if you ask me, particularly because they seem to have a running back for the future in Matt Forte, a quarterback in Jay Cutler and an above average offensive line that gave up a respectable number of sacks last year (29) considering how bad their quarterback play was, not to mention how often they had to throw the ball due to the poor play from the defense.

Though they lost, for a game the Bears defense looked good this past Sunday night. They stymied Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense for most of the evening. Green Bay had just 224 yards of offense, 72 of which came on their final drive of the game. Though I think Pittsburgh will have a few opportunities to run the ball after softening the Bears defense through the air, I'd still say I'm not holding my breath hoping that the running game will somehow materialize this Sunday, even though I'm no believer in Chicago's defense generally speaking. The Bears limited Green Bay's rushing game to just 76 yards on 22 carries. They should be just fine against the run even without Urlacher.

That's enough for now and I apologize for the lack of any real coherency with that post but I wanted to try to take a little bit closer look at the Bears defense the past several years to see really if they're as worthy of the frequent praise they get for their play on defense. My take? They've neither been terrible nor great, but in the past two years, I'd put them closer to poor if not for an opportunistic defense that has a knack for turning the ball over.

The Washington Redskins Ten Most Irreplaceable Players In 2009

Ken Meringolo — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:20 -0000

Everyone loves a good list. But all too often, these kinds of lists turn into a ranking of the team's best players. In today's Top Ten list, the criteria is simple: Who can we simply not afford to lose to injury this season? Better put, who are the top ten players that are central to the success of THIS YEAR'S team--taking into account depth at each position and potential contributions from each player? I have taken some creative liberties with the presentation of the list, and I have made a few judgement calls that I expect some of you will disagree with--I expect you all will not hold back in the comments section.

#10 - Hunter Smith - When I heard the news that Hunter Smith had been signed, I was just slightly less happy than when I heard the news Jessica Biel was doing a nude scene in an upcoming movie. Our punting situation has been a nightmare for a while now. Derrick Frost may have been a Hall of Famer during the week in practice, but he stunk out loud too many times on Sundays when it counted. Ryan Plackemeier was not the huge upgrade that blew up everyone's skirts either. Word on the street was that he was a liability as a holder. However, I heard his personal hygiene was beyond reproach (no need to bury the guy.) Hunter Smith is a pro's pro. While he has enjoyed the dome-life in Indy, his abilities are sure to be an upgrade in D.C. And with our team expected to be led by our defense, the field position battle will have to feature the skills of Hunter the Punter. He is known in the league to be a steady and rock-solid holder, having paired with Mike Vanderjagt to form one of the most accurate kicking batteries in NFL history (and again with Adam Vinatieri when they won the Super Bowl.) Finally, he brought down Deion Sanders in the following video that always brings a smile to my face.

#9 - Derrick Dockery - We are all aware of the less than stellar year the Redskins had on the offensive line last year. Pete Kendall was a band-aid the year before and performed well enough, but last year that band-aid fell off and got lost in the chicken salad, and Jason Campbell ended up eating that band-aid in his sandwich. Let's not mix words here--we brought in Dockery to be an upgrade, not to hold down the position until someone better comes along. He has to perform well, and he has to perform well right away. Early last season we ran left on some pretty important plays. With Right Tackle being up-for-grabs, and with Randy Thomas healing yet again from injuries, the left side is going to be relied upon heavily. Behind Dockery is Chad Rinehart, who we still know very little about. Samuels and Dockery are comfortable and confident playing next to each other. Losing Dockery would hurt us from a depth perspective and would disrupt the chemistry of the left side of the line.

#8 - Fred Davis - I kind of snuck this one in. I won't pretend to be an expert talent evaluator but when I watched him practice this off season at Redskins Park in Ashburn, he really got to me. Like Cammie from the 80's flick The Great Outdoors, played by Lucy Deakins. At first you're kind of like, "OK...I like this girl, but so far she's not central to the plot," and then as the movie goes on, every other storyline becomes meaningless to you and all you can think about is Cammie and how is Buck going to pull this off?!? That is my prediction for Fred Davis this season. At first it will be all about CP, JC, Cooley, the defense, Santana Clause. But by Week 6 (against Kansas City, where Sleepy's stat line will be 6 catches, 78 yards and 2 TDs), Davis will have asserted himself as a legitimate threat for us on offense. And I predict it will be him that becomes the key to our red zone attack.

#7 - Brian Orakpo - Well, I pretty much had to change my shorts when we drafted this guy. I spent all winter clamoring for an OLB/DE player to fill the Merriman/Ware hole in our roster. As a rookie, he will be expected to play like a vet. He will be expected to show up in the stats, and he will be expected to straight-up dominate. So it goes with high first round picks I suppose. Is it fair? Dan Snyder's $20 million bones say it is more than fair. There was an offensive lineman on the board when we picked Orakpo--Michael Oher--so this selection has all the makings of being second-guessed all season long. If he fails to be a force on our defense, it will be hard to hear anything above the fans shouting the f-word: failure. Further, for us to enjoy the kind of success we are hoping for, we need nothing less than a dominant performance from his position.

#6 - Santana Moss - One could argue we have lost Santana Moss during the season every year for the last 3 years. Either by injury or by opposing defenses denying him the ball, Moss has been silenced late in the season. Still, he is one of those "magic" players that has the ability to make a play when he gets the ball in his hands. Whenever he touches the ball, there is a chance the play can end with him scoring a touchdown. We'd all like to think that with Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly in the fold, Moss might be somewhat replaceable. Not so fast. The dude is an elite NFL player and on our team, his value is as much about the comfort and confidence he gives both fans and teammates when he is on the field as it is about his skill set. Here is a highlight video of him ( a little grainy, but you get the idea.)

#5 - Jason Campbell - I fear I will be scolded for either putting him too high or for putting him on this list at all. Truth be told, I am shocked that I am not making him #1. Todd Collins has proven to be more than serviceable, with not only a stellar performance in relief of JC, but also a late-season playoff push under his belt. Colt Brennan is the apple of a lot of eyes, and Jason Campbell has yet to become the "franchise quarterback" you want from a 1st rounder. But he is absolutely central to our success this year. Despite the off season rumors and activity, the investment in JC has only grown greater. Both he and the coaching staff have put in a lot of hours in the months leading up to training camp. Jason has worked extensively with Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, and he has quietly continued to act the part of "Starting Redskins QB" which as we all know is a position of high honor and visibility. He has the confidence of his teammates and coaching staff (currently), and let's face facts--you pretty much always have most of your eggs in the starting QB basket. If you think like me, and you think JC will in fact be second to the defense among the reasons we make the playoffs, you have to put him on this list, and you probably should put him higher.

#4 - Mike Sellers - This year might be the first year that I fully appreciate Sellers for exactly what he means to this team. I have both underestimated and overestimated his importance and role on this team in the last handful of years. There was a series in the pre-season a couple years back where Gibbs called for like 4 straight hand-offs to Sellers. He busted each carry for 7-8 yards a pop. I thought we were seeing the emergence of a Brandon Jacobs-type of role for Sellers. Then last season, the disappointment of him being (allegedly) unable to punch the ball in against Cincinnati on the goal line tempered that expectation. In 2005, he had 8 TDs (7 through the air, 1 on the ground), but last year just managed 1 score. So how does he land at #4 on this list? Special teams notwithstanding, he has become an invaluable lead blocker. Clinton Portis loves to get in behind Sellers and every time they both make it to the edge, you know a 1st down is a gimme. Players like Sellers seem to get marginalized by their organizations over time (see Lorenzo Neal from the San Diego Chargers a few years back.) Here's hoping the team figures out a responsible way to keep him with the team beyond this year. Sellers has become a destructive force in what has been at times an unstoppable running game. We can ill afford to lose him this year if we hope to keep Clinton Portis from taking on the first and second tacklers at the point of attack. And anything Sellers is able to add in the way of short-yardage situations for us is gravy.

via farm3.static.flickr.com

#3 - Clinton Portis - Thanks to fantasy football, I have finally learned the lesson that eludes so many fans and even league personnel men: running backs really do grow on trees. So what is CP doing this high on the list? Because there are exceptions to every rule. Like for example, to those that say "No means No", I say, "Sometimes No means Maybe." ("Reservation for 1 in hell please? Yes, I'll hold.") CP is a stud...a freak of nature athletically that has enjoyed a great deal of success at running back for 7 seasons. That is twice the average career for running backs (somebody call me out on this if I am wrong, but I think the average career of a running back is roughly 3 years.) From an odds perspective there is a better chance Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the Growing Pains movie than a running back becoming highly productive in his 8th year. Yet that is what we are banking on this season. Clinton is the man yet again this year, and without him, the ship loses a lot of direction and purpose. More than anything, the ship loses a lot of identity. For better or worse, the identity of this team and specifically the offense is tied to Clinton Portis.

#2 - Chris Samuels - We spoke to a retired former Redskin a few months ago (who shall remain nameless for now) and he said that there was only ONE player on the whole roster he would label "untouchable"--only one player on the entire roster that he would start all over with tomorrow: Chris Samuels. Whether you agree with it or not, it kind of takes your breath away...wait for it...like Nicole Eggert in Charles in Charge. She was only 15 when she started out as Jamie Powell but I was only 10, so the things I was thinking about doing to her were totally legal (as a 10-year old, this consisted mostly of picturing her in a bathing suit, but by the time she was 18, I was 13, so my dream date of me, her and Samantha Micelli (Alyssa Milano) from Who's The Boss was ON.) As we discussed above, the offensive line was a debacle last year. Samuels is the class of our line. If he goes down, our team's playoff chances disappear faster than a bag of blow left alone in a room with Corey Haim. (It's not fair to beat up on Corey Haim you say? Go back and watch Lucas again. All these years later, and both Charlie Sheen and Jeremy Piven are killing it. Corey Haim has only Corey Haim to blame.)

via p1.hotornot.com

#1 - Albert Haynesworth - If you go to a nice restaurant and order the most expensive thing on the menu, like the Filet Mignon plate, it ain't going to work for you if the steak is undercooked and gives you parasites. A good bowl of mashed potatoes or creamed spinach is not going to save the dish. We paid for the best cut of meat on the market. It had damn well better taste good and be cooked right. Haynesworth has to absolutely dominate this season for the Redskins to both save face and make some noise in the NFC. Is saving face really that important? I think so, because he represents yet another in a long line of high-priced talent brought in by Snyder to win now. This has yet to really pan out for Snyder and has left us coming up with some pretty lame one-liners over the years.

"Mark Carrier could really be the difference this season."

"Brandon Lloyd is poised to break out this season."

"Adam Archuleta should really solidify our secondary."

"Bruce Smith attacking the QB is going to get us to the next level this season."

"Chad Morton is the answer in the return game."

"Jeff George is the right guy for this offense."

OK, you get the idea. Redemption is absolutely chief among the goals for Haynesworth this year in my humble opinion. And the truth is it will come hand-in-hand with domination at the point of attack. If Blache can move him up and down the line of scrimmage effectively and keep the opposing offense guessing, Haynesworth is capable of providing the same kind of impact that Reggie White gave the Packers when he signed there and subsequently led them to a Super Bowl. Without Haynesworth, we lose twice really. We continue to get berated by everyone for trying and failing to "buy a championship" and we would be on the outside looking in yet again come December.

As I review the list, LaRon Landry jumps off the page as the one I wish I would have found a spot for, but I will have to live with leaving him off, despite my constant proclamations that Landry is an elite player. I guess I dig our safety group right now, and am hopeful that a Chris Horton/ Kareem Moore backfield would hold up (if you can't lie to yourself, who can you lie to?)

Other Honorable Mentions: Ladell Betts, London Fletcher, Carlos Rogers, and Ethan "The Red Snapper" Albright.

I expect that London will be the one I get the most grief for excluding, so let me seed my excuse for leaving him out: I love Alfred Fincher, and think that if it came down to it, he would be the feel-good story of the league stepping in and up to replace London. Think Mike Seaver-gets-Chelsea Noble...yeah, that kind of feel good.

Former Cardinals Wendell Bryant, Oliver Celestin and Bo Schobel (Among Others) Find New Home in the UFL

Hawkwind — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:48:34 -0000

The upstart United Football League held it's innagural 'draft' last night and each of the four teams selected the rights to 24 players. Now this doesn't necessarily mean these guys have agreed or committed to playing in the league but it means that if they do decide to enter the UFL, the team that drafted them holds their rights. The league is contacting the players and hopes that they will be able to announce contract signings in the upcoming weeks.

The list of players that were drafted is littered with a handful of noticeable names like Adam Archuleta, Brooks Bollinger, Chris Perry, Jermaine Wiggins, LaBrandon Toefield, Cecil Sapp and Marcus Fitzgerald (Larry's younger brother). There were also several players with Cardinal ties including former first round bust Wendell Bryant, safety Oliver Celestin, defensive end Bo Schobel, linebacker Brandon Moore, quarterback Shane Boyd and I'm sure there are one or two others that I missed. Celestin and Schobel were with the Cardinals as recent as last year during training camp and Celestin actually played in two games with the team before being cut to make room for Stephen Spach. Overall the league didn't make any significant waves like drafting Michael Vick or some other troubled NFL star as many predicted. Former Cardinals receiver David Boston also didn't hear his name called even though he was on the initial list of 'draft hopefuls.' Each team already had 20 players "protected" (which is what likely became of Boston) before the draft so effectively each of the four teams (New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, and San Francisco) have 44 players assigned to them with an expectation that rosters will be set at 50 for the regular season (six games played over 8 weeks with the Championship Game played the Friday after Thanksgiving).

The league says that the rosters will be tweaked during July and August as players are cut from NFL training camps and they hope to kick off their regular season in October. Their games will be televised on the Versus network but at least former Cardinals coach Dennis Green won't be too far away in San Francisco.

Obama's Economic Stimulus Plan Works! Former Redskins Adam Archuleta Finds a Job (with UFL)

KevinE — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:15:15 -0000

Does Jennifer Walcott's Dad Own A UFL Team? I'm not sure either, but the UFL draft was held last night and many former "big" name NFL players were drafted, most notably, our beloved Adam Archuleta. Bruce from Baltimore Beatdown must be so proud!!! I don't know the details of the contract, but the former bust Redskin was drafted by the Las Vegas TBDs, coached by Jim Fassell (Gene Hackman) and QB'd by...wait for it...J.P. Losman! The first thing that comes to mind for me with the UFL is Shane Falco.

Other notables drafted, so you can get a jump up on your UFL fantasy team, are: Jermaine Wiggins, Labrandon Toefield, Brooks Bollinger, Chris Perry, and BJ Sams. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really disappointed Jeff George is not on the list.

Images via media3.washingtonpost.com, a.espncdn.com

Former Rams populate the UFL

VanRam — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:08:56 -0000

What? A football draft that didn't include three months of hype and 'round the clock analysis? The UFL held its innuagral player draft last night, and I think you're going to be surprised at some of the names.

Bledsoe, Sapp, Sanders, Suggs... Well, to be more specific, Fred Bledsoe, Cecil Sapp, Steve Sanders and Damon Suggs. But the rosters of the UFL's four teams have a some names Rams fans will recognize. Leading that list is none other than Adam Archuleta is playing for the as-yet-unnamed Las Vegas team, along with Gary Stills, a special teamer brought in by the Rams last year.

Not surprisingly, the Orlando team, coached by former Rams DC and interim head coach Jim Haslett, has quite a few former Rams...and Fred Bledsoe. LB Tim McGarigle, OT Rob Petitti, and CB Darius Vinnett all spent some time with the Rams during Haslett's tenure.

Drafted doesn't mean contracted to the UFL. According to their web site, these are players who worked out for the league this year, and they'll be offered contracts in the near future. The UFL will continue filling out their rosters in July and August, catching plenty of guys who get cut as NFL teams start shearing their rosters. That should keep some football players from having to use those communications degrees for a while at least.

The Whitner Statistical Redux: Donte still lacks impact

Brian Galliford — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:00:09 -0000

On Thursday, I put together a (flawed) statistical analysis in which I attempted to prove that third-year Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner has been one of the two or three least impactful first-round safety prospects of the past decade. Since the time that article has aired, response has been either overwhelmingly positive or, more frequently, overwhelmingly negative. After receiving an onslaught of emails either praising my efforts or questioning my sanity and/or credentials to even be writing such an article in the first place, I digested some of the more salient points made. The result? This post.

I've done everything you asked, which on the majority was including a wider variety of significant stats which were (not purposely) omitted from the first iteration of this exercise. The net results? Yeah, Donte Whitner is as unproductive as I said he was. Before we get to the numbers, though, I've got some responding to do...

This list isn't completely random.
I heard a lot of complaints along the lines of "Why did you randomly pick such obscure names?" They're not obscure, folks. The sixteen players I listed in this exercise are all sixteen safeties drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft from 1999 through 2008 - i.e. the last decade.

All data is over each players' first three years, where applicable
I heard this argument so many times it made me want to scream...

Some of these safeties have played longer than Whitner! You shouldn't be comparing entire careers, you should be comparing each player's first three years in the league!

Short answer: I did. All data here is from each respective player's first three seasons in the league. I thought I had made that point abundantly clear in the first iteration of this exercise; apparently I assumed incorrectly. Again, I repeat: THIS IS DATA FROM EACH PLAYER'S FIRST THREE YEARS. Games played and games started are included for the purpose of fairness. Any player on the list with an "*" next to their name is a player that has played less than three NFL seasons.

Tackles as a meaningful statistic
Many of you were unhappy with the idea that I didn't include tackles as a meaningful stat in this analysis. My response to that is simple. If there was a stat involving “clutch tackles”, such as tackles that prevent a first down or keep a player in-bounds in a clock management situation, then I might have referenced it here. As such, it’s difficult to include tackles because probably 80-90% of them (maybe even more) are of the “routine” variety. And, at any rate, this article is about "big plays" - and not very many tackles can be categorized as such.

Talent versus Production
Many have written questioning how such an analysis proves Whitner's lack of talent. I'll say this once: statistics cannot prove (or disprove) talent level. Busts are busts for a reason - they're highly talented, ultra-unproductive players. Statistics prove production. I did not write this post to prove Whitner is a bust. I did not use this analysis to prove that Whitner lacks talent, because number one, I don't believe that - I think Whitner has a world of talent - and number two, it's impossible to do so. I used this analysis to prove one thing: Whitner has been terribly unproductive as a playmaker. That point is made crystal clear, in my opinion.

This doesn't mean I don't think Whitner can play in the NFL.
People are reading this as "Galliford hates Whitner". I don't. I like the kid. I think he can play better. I like his attitude. In the off chance that Whitner or any of his teammates stumble across this blog in a drunken reverie or while searching for pornographic materials (or whatever else Bills players do online), however, I'd like to think that this will serve as a public notice to Mr. Whitner: we love you, but we want to love you more. You need to start making more plays.

The pass rush argument.
Perhaps the most popular argument being made is "Whitner would be great on [insert good team]!" or "Let's see how he'd do with an actual pass rush!". I could not agree more. However, those are hypotheticals unrelated to this report. As our very own Fort Worth repeatedly tells us, "great players make great plays". Great players also make the players around them better. Whitner, at least to this point in his career, is decidedly neither.

New statistics!
I heard a lot of complaints about forced fumbles, sacks, passes defended and safeties not being a part of the report. Ask and you shall receive, Bills fans. Again, not including tackles (see explanation above), I have compiled statistics from all sixteen players' first three years in eight statistical categories. I've added up the "big play" categories and ranked the safeties accordingly. First, the safeties...

1999: Antuan Edwards, GB (25)
2000: Rashard Anderson, CAR (23)
2001: Adam Archuleta, STL (20); Derrick Gibson, OAK (28)
2002: Roy L. Williams, DAL (8); Ed Reed, BAL (24)
2003: Troy Polamalu, PIT (16)
2004: Sean Taylor, WAS (5)
2005: no safeties drafted in Round 1
2006: Michael Huff, OAK (7); Donte Whitner, BUF (8); Jason Allen, MIA (16)
2007: LaRon Landry, WAS (6); Michael Griffin, TEN (19); Reggie Nelson, JAX (21); Brandon Meriweather, NE (24)
2008: Kenny Phillips, NYG (31)

The results? Prepare to be shocked, folks...

Round 1 Safeties 1999-2008
Name (GS/G)	TK	SK	INT	FF	FR	TD	PD	S	TOT
E. Reed (47/48)	234	4	21	4	4	3	44	0	80
T. Polamalu (32/48)	227	6	7	3	2	2	37	0	57
S. Taylor (44/46)	264	2	7	7	1	1	34	0	52
R. Williams (48/48)	267	4	9	6	4	2	27	0	52
M. Griffin* (25/31)	121	1	10	2	1	1	18	0	33
A. Archuleta (41/42)	251	9.5	2	2	3	1	15	0	32.5
Meriweather* (10/32)	106	2	4	3	0	0	16	0	25
R. Nelson* (28/29)	114	1	7	2	0	0	15	0	25
L. Landry* (32/32)	160	2	2	2	3	0	16	0	25
D. Gibson (25/47)	144	1	3	1	1	0	17	0	23
M. Huff (32/44)	187	1	1	1	1	0	17	1	22
J. Allen (22/45)	104	0	5	1	1	0	9	0	16
R. Anderson* (9/27)	159	0	1	1	3	1	9	0	15
D. Whitner (42/43)	255	1	2	2	0	0	7	0	12
A. Edwards (4/31)	57	0	6	0	1	1	1	0	9
K. Phillips* (0/16)	62	0	1	0	0	0	5	0	6

So, yeah. There you have it. With all of the relevant stats and all of the critiques out on the table, Whitner is still statistically the second-worst safety drafted in the first round over the past decade in terms of impactful plays. (Again, I'm giving the Giants' Kenny Phillips a pass because he's coming off a rookie season in which he didn't start a single contest.) He still ranks behind guys long labeled busts - guys like Derrick Gibson, Michael Huff and especially Rashard Anderson.

If there's anyone out there who'd like to continue to offer me feedback, positive or negative, on this exercise, I encourage you to do so in the comments section or via email. But I don't think there are too many more counter-arguments to make. Whitner is a solid starter at safety and his versatility is an asset to this team, but in three years, he has proven to be highly average overall and very mediocre when it comes to making game-changing plays. That argument I made on Thursday? I steadfastly stand by it.

Measuring Donte Whitner's minimal impact

Brian Galliford — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:00:13 -0000

Whitner not measuring up to peers (buffalobills.com)

This past Monday, we took a look back at quarterbacks drafted over the past decade (1999-2008) in an effort to measure the value and possible potential of QB Trent Edwards. The verdict? Great value with room for improvement. It was an interesting exercise that highlighted just how many bad picks there have been at the quarterback position over the past ten years - and Edwards wasn't one of them.

Once that project was put together, I said "Hey, Brian, wouldn't it be interesting to compare Donte Whitner's performance to other first-round safeties over the past decade? It sure would, Brian. Shall we do it? Let's!" (At this point, I got scared, because I'd now joined Will Leitch and Mike Florio in the group of folks who refer to themselves in the multiple persons. But then, I was talking to myself, so maybe it works. At any rate, that's an elite group that I want no part of.)

So I ran the numbers. Let's just say that upon completion, that "interesting" term that ran through my head was replaced with more varied terms along the lines of "awful", "damning" and "unsurprising". How bland has Donte Whitner's play been? The numbers speak for themselves.

First thing's first
This post is not meant to be another launching point for the "Why didn't we draft Haloti Ngata in 2006?!" brigade, though it undoubtedly will be added to the already impressive stash of ammo the masses have been firing with for three years. Hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to the NFL Draft. As you'll see momentarily, there have been some elite and ridiculously productive safeties to come out of the draft in the past decade alone - so drafting a safety early in the draft isn't as dumb a move as many make it seem. But those same numbers, as I said, are damning when it comes to Whitner's production. It's production that I'm concerned with, not "coulda woulda shoulda", and I'll let the numbers prove Whitner's alarming lack of production.

Safeties trendy in recent years
It's important to note that this type of study is skewed, because for the longest time, safeties weren't regarded as first-round prospects - much like centers generally aren't these days. Over the past ten drafts, only 16 safeties have been taken in the first round. Half of those have been in the past three years alone.

Here's the list of 16 safeties drafted in the first round since 1999, with team drafting and overall selection noted as well:

And, without further ado, here are those damning numbers. Players are ranked by big plays; essentially, I added up interceptions, fumble recoveries and touchdowns, then ranked by that total. Seemed fairest to me in terms of measuring true impact. The results...

Round 1 Safeties 1999-2008
Player-Year	G (GS)	TK	INT	FR	TD
E. Reed, BAL (2002)	48 (47)	234	21	4	3
R. Williams, DAL (2002)	48 (48)	267	9	4	2
M. Griffin, TEN (2007)	31 (25)	121	10	1	1
T. Polamalu, PIT (2003)	48 (32)	227	7	2	2
S. Taylor, WAS (2004)	46 (44)	264	7	1	1
A. Edwards, GB (1999)	31 (4)	57	6	1	1
R. Nelson, JAX (2007)	29 (28)	114	7	0	0
A. Archuleta, STL (2001)	42 (41)	251	2	3	1
J. Allen, MIA (2006)	45 (22)	104	5	1	0
L. Landry, WAS (2007)	32 (32)	160	2	3	0
R. Anderson, CAR (2000)	27 (9)	59	1	3	1
B. Meriweather, NE (2007)	32 (10)	106	4	0	0
D. Gibson, OAK (2001)	47 (25)	144	3	1	0
D. Whitner, BUF (2006)	43 (42)	255	2	0	0
M. Huff, OAK (2006)	44 (32)	187	1	1	0
K. Phillips, NYG (2008)	16 (0)	62	1	0	0

Lovely, right? Whitner ranks #14 of the 16 safeties drafted over the past ten years. One of the guys behind him is Kenny Phillips, who is just coming off of a rookie year in New York in which he didn't register his first career start - yet he still has half as many interceptions as Whitner has recorded in three years.

Look, I knew it was bad. I knew that Whitner's impact had been miniscule through his first three seasons. But as prepared as I was for the awfulness of this exercise, I was not prepared to call Whitner the second-worst safety drafted in the first round over the past decade. (Phillips deserves a pass, as he'll be fine now that he's a full-time starter for the Giants.) Whitner only avoids being the worst because the guy drafted immediately before him, Oakland's Michael Huff, has been slightly worse. No-names like Rashard Anderson - who spent a whopping two years in the NFL - made more plays than Whitner. This is quite easily the most vomit-inducing exercise I've done in the 21 months I've spent here at Buffalo Rumblings.

It's time to set aside the "leadership", "character" and "potential" terms when talking about Whitner. I don't care that only two safeties (Williams and the late Taylor) had more tackles over their first three years than Whitner. Any average safety that gets significant playing time, particularly in a Cover 2-based defense, can rack up tackles. I suppose that there is still potential for Whitner to get better. But when you consider the fact that only three safeties - Taylor, Landry and Huff - were drafted higher in the pecking order than Whitner, his lack of impact hits its most overwhelming level. Think we don't need to pursue a play-making safety? Think again, folks.

Redskins defeat the Cowboys 26-24 postgame thoughts

Skin Patrol — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:13:39 -0000

I much prefer getting these out immediately following a game's end as the results are fresh in my mind. Too bad. Anyways, here are my brief thoughts from the game yesterday, enjoy or don't. As always, I use only my eyes to evaluate a game and have no special monopoly on interesting commentary on the results. Reader(s) are encouraged to post their own thoughts. Lots of great commentary over at Blogging The Boys, Grizz covers the Xs and Os much better than me so you might stop by over there.

Cliches were the name of the game. All those things talking heads love to discuss that allegedly good teams do so well... we did so well. Starting with: Stop the run. Their explanation for why they abandoned the run so early are baffling but entertaining:

"It wasn't hard to run the ball against them," guard Leonard Davis said. "We had a game plan based on the looks they were giving us, and that dictated we stick with the passing game."

Mr. Davis is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. You can say "it wasn't hard to run the ball against" the Redskins if and only if you... ran the ball against the Redskins. What that doesn't look like is 11 carries for 44 yards. Marion Barber had 8 touches for 26 yards -- 2. 3 something yards per carry -- and Felix Jones had zero carries. Barber had 15 of those yards on one carry, which should tell you how good the other 7 were. The last drive of the game the Cowboys ran the ball to Barber more than once was their first of the 3rd quarter. Result was a touchdown. I have no explanation for why they so willingly gave up on the run, but it wasn't working even before they did, whatever Davis has to say about it.

Cliches continue: Run the ball well. Final damage was 161 ground yards for 4.4 yards per carry, highlighted by a monster game from Clinton Portis for 121 yards on 21 carries (5.76 YPC). This is the kind of drive that would give die hard old school coaches orgasms:

1-10-WAS 34	(10:16) 26-C.Portis left guard to WAS 37 for 3 yards (94-D.Ware).
2-7-WAS 37	(9:38) 26-C.Portis up the middle to WAS 48 for 11 yards (25-P.Watkins).
1-10-WAS 48	(8:58) 26-C.Portis right end to DAL 39 for 13 yards (55-Z.Thomas).
1-10-DAL 39	(8:18) 17-J.Campbell pass short right to 47-C.Cooley pushed ob at DAL 33 for 6 yards (98-G.Ellis). Pass complete off play-action and roll right.
2-4-DAL 33	(7:43) 46-L.Betts left tackle to DAL 31 for 2 yards (94-D.Ware; 55-Z.Thomas).
Timeout #1 by WAS at 06:58.
3-2-DAL 31	(6:58) (Shotgun) 26-C.Portis up the middle to DAL 31 for no gain (94-D.Ware). PENALTY on DAL, Defensive 12 On-field, 5 yards, enforced at DAL 31 - No Play.
1-10-DAL 26	(6:32) 26-C.Portis right end to DAL 25 for 1 yard (96-M.Spears).
2-9-DAL 25	(5:52) 46-L.Betts left tackle to DAL 18 for 7 yards (72-S.Bowen).
3-2-DAL 18	(5:07) 46-L.Betts right guard to DAL 16 for 2 yards (99-C.Canty; 96-M.Spears).
1-10-DAL 16	(4:22) 46-L.Betts left guard to DAL 16 for no gain (96-M.Spears).
2-10-DAL 16	(3:37) 26-C.Portis right guard to DAL 12 for 4 yards (55-Z.Thomas).
Timeout #2 by DAL at 03:30.
3-6-DAL 12	(3:30) 26-C.Portis up the middle to DAL 11 for 1 yard (97-J.Hatcher).
Timeout #3 by DAL at 03:26.
4-5-DAL 11	(3:26) (Field Goal formation) 6-S.Suisham 29 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-67-E.Albright, Holder-14-D.Brooks.
WAS 26 DAL 17 Plays: 12 Possession: 6:54

When this drive begins, the Redskins are up by one touchdown and there's a whole lot of game left. When it ends, seven minutes later, the Redskins are up by two possessions and that's all she wrote.

Give your secondary a round of applause. If you had told me, prior to the game, that the Redskins would have zero sacks and still win, I'd have laughed. Shawn Springs had what we might colloquially refer to as a "statement game" that statement being: I am a bad ass shutdown corner and I piss excellence routinely. Terrell Owens was silenced by Springs in the first quarter, who did exactly as I'd asked by painting himself all over T.O. The final damage from Owens was 71 yards and a touchdown (12 of which came against prevent defense at the end of the game), not a bad day by most measures, unless you consider that he was targeted 17 or 18 times on the day. He did not have a 20 yard reception. There are no easy solutions to a player as good as Terrell Owens unless you have an incredible player to line up against him, and we do. Shawn Springs is incredible. Anyone who doubts how important he is to this defense has just to recall the horrible shit storm that was 2006 and realize he was the missing link. It wasn't the presence of Adam Archuleta (which we fixed) but rather the absence of Springs for much of the year that did us in. He is the most talented player on the defense. (Fred Smoot you played great, too.)
Rest of the guys played great too. Carlos Rogers was good and bad but not so much of the latter to make me wince. Chris Horton had the pick and continues to find the ball, making him cliche numero tres: "playmaker". Marcus Washington got beat by miles on the Jason Witten touchdown but besides that the linebackers played ok. Witten had a big game but the reality is you can't stop all the people on the Cowboys offense. You shut down Owens (relatively speaking) and Marion Barber and Felix Jones -- not necessarily by anything we did, mind you -- and you've got a good chance to beat them. We beat them.
So a crazy thing happened. Doghouse Durant Brooks is insecure about his job security, shows up in someone else's house against probably the best punter in the NFL, and outplays Mat McBriar. Final damage was: Brooks 4 punts for 42.8 yards average with two touchbacks, long of 60. McBriar: 6 punts, 39 yards average, only one touchback, 59 long. Welcome to the team, rook.
What a toolbox this guy Skin Patrol is going to spend all this recap talking about the punter and kicker? You bet I am. You beat the Cowboys by 2 points on the road and it all comes down to: If Suisham misses one of those four kicks we lose. You can have this phenomenally played game otherwise that hinges on whether Suisham is going to go 4/4. His kickoffs were good too.
ALL HAIL SPECIAL TEAMS I WILL NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT IT. Kick and punt coverage units were both flawless. Pacman Jones returned three punts for an average of 4 yards. Felix Jones averaged 13 yards per return on kickoffs. Underewoks need to find ways to win and winning on special teams is how you go about doing that.
Jason Campbell is the quarterback of the future. He will no doubt stumble at some point in the future and throw an interception. He is not without flaws, he is simply playing that way through 1/4th of the season. Having said that, I'm a believer, I've seen enough, Jason Campbell has what it takes to lead this team to sustained success for the foreseeable future. And he's playing well because he cliche alert protects the football. This time last year he would've fumbled the ball six times and lost it seven (check my math on that). We all speculated that Jim Zorn would be great for Campbell, indeed that was the only aspect of Zorn that few of us wondered about, and it's been true. Joe Gibbs placed a huge emphasis on protecting the football but it has been his successor who has somehow convinced this team not to fumble or give away the ball. He's completing 67% of his passes. NFL, you're on notice.
Also on notice regarding our head coach, who is as real a deal as anyone right now. No offense to the past, this wasn't a Monday Night Miracle. Jim Zorn went into the devil's house and beat them without theatrics or requisite belief in unlikelihoods. This wasn't a game dominated by the loser for all but one quarter. Coach Zorn found a way to get the most out of his players at a time when the rest of the world was expecting the least out of them, and for that he should get 10 strong Hail To The Redskins. I saw him doing hip hip hoorays or some other nonsense after the game. As lame as a hip hip hooray is, I don't care what he says so long as we win.
And we did win how 'bout that.
Santana Moss eleventy four million yards on 8 catches bla bla bla this thing can't go on forever. I'd go line item down our roster praising the team because so many people did so many of the little and big things right for us to win this game. This was huge on so many levels, I'm really speechless. I am without speech.

Someone save me here in the comments section, my fingers hurt.

Redskins Roundtable

Skin Patrol — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:42:00 -0000

Indebted to Dillweed of Post Game Heroes [ED NOTE: Their post is up here] for taking the iniative on the initial Redskins Roundtable, currently involving just a small smattering of questions between myself, Dillweed, and Ben of the Curly R [ED Note: His post is up here] (who also revealed his Blogger Deathsport picks; he's actually good). Questions w/ answers from Ben and Dillweed posted below, make sure you check their sites periodically throughout the day for my responses to their questions. Enjoy:

1. What do you consider our biggest strength going into the regular season?

Dillweed: I agree with Will, it's the linebackers. Our running backs are good…not great, and the defensive line seems to be average at best. It's hard to say Corners are our strength when the D-line (and blitzes) aren't getting to the quarterback. With LaRon Landry back our safety position looks a lot stronger, but I have a huge concern at Strong Safety. We just need to
find a guy that can occasionally cover while primarily being a weapon in
the box, and I don't think we've found that guy just yet. On offense, our
passing game is unknown to us…we'll find out a lot more about it this
Thursday.

Ben: It has got to be the defense, despite some changes in personnel, Phillip Daniels out and Jason Taylor in, and some injuries, safety LaRon Landry's hamstring, linebacker Marcus Washington's hip and cornerback Shawn Springs bruised calf, this unit has managed the proverbial continuity Joe Gibbs was hoping for at the end of his second term in Washington. They get started a little dinged with linebacker Rocky McIntosh and cornerback Carlos Rogers coming back from inury in addition to those mentioned above, this unit should get better as the season wears on.

2. What about the team makes you want to resort to alcohol abuse to
help numb the pain?

Dillweed: Reed Doughty. It's really not all his fault either…we have been
absolutely spoiled with Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry. Doughty's mistakes
in the run and passing game have been amplified this preseason because of those two guys. I still haven't adjusted to the fact that teams will
throw deep on us. I mean just a year ago that was something you couldn't
do…ask Brett Favre. If we had a defensive line that could apply pressure
then I wouldn't be so worried about having a weak link in coverage at
SS…but we don't. And even if Doughty improves in his run defense, which I
think he will in a hurry, what does that leave us with…Adam Archueleta?

Ben: The FUD factor, fear, uncertainty and disarray. Fear of weak offensive line play and nagging injuries, uncertainty in the strength of Jason Campbell's coming 2008 performance, disarray if the team gets off to a weak start or a large part of the team is simply not working right.

3. Which NFC East team worries you the most? How do you think we
will fare against our division foes?

Dillweed: With Sean Taylor, I never feared T.O. I looked forward to playing him and seeing him get shut down almost every game. But now…Dallas kinda scares me. Giants are very physical but as long as Elijah is their QB I'm not too worried about them. And the Eagles refuse to just open up the check book to hire ONE FREAKIN WR. I'm so glad I'm not an Eagles fan. It's one thing to just absolutely suck, but to have an obvious, and easily curable,
weakness never taken care of year after year…that's gotta make you
suicidal. I think we split with the Giants, Eagles…and hopefully Dallas
too.

Ben: The Eagles, always the Eagles, they are the Redskins principal division rival now, I expect the Redskins will split with the Giants and Cowboys, depending whether the Eagles progress back toward the team they have been for most of the past decade or regress toward the end of the Andy Reid slash Donovan McNabb era, remember how surprising it felt to beat them in game two last season in Philadelphia and how unsurprising it felt to lose to them in Washington seven game later? The Redskins are looking at best at 3-3 in the division, a more realistic assessment may be 2-4.

4. What will our regular season record be? How far do we make it
into the post-season (if at all)?

Dillweed: 9-7…Our running game and defense are the same…schematic wise at least, and I like the continuity on those fronts. I think the passing game won't hurt us during the home games, JC seems to play a lot better at home. However, the away games are where JC will be tested and probably fail early on. I think we go 6-2 at home and manage to pull out 3 wins on the
road. If we make it to the playoffs, we might get one win, but I'd be
surprised (and really freakin happy) to see us go past that.

Ben: My walk through the schedule has the Redskins somewhere between 4-12 and 10-6, depending on whether this team comes together and stays together, or not. If the Redskins finish 10-6 that should be good for a wild card playoff berth, maybe not, the NFC could be more competitive than the past two years, ie fewer 8-8 teams vying for playoff spots.

I'd like to expand this feature to either include more questions and/or more bloggers in the future, though give me some feedback for now on whether this is goodness or badness. It's greatness for me since Ben and Dillweed know more about the 'Skins than I do.