Well, here we go again. This team looks just as mediocre as last year's team with a few differences. The Offense still has problems making first downs when they need them and their quarterback looks like he can't do anything at the crucial moments in the game. The defense was OK, they made a few big plays but could not get the Giants off of the field when they needed to and allowed them to take control of the game in the first quarter. The special teams were good with the fake field goal and no major mistakes but shows no signs of explosiveness in any way. The 2nd-year receivers were non-existent and were once again a non-factor in the game. The play-calling was good at times but too repetitive and run-heavy, even-though they could not run against the Giants, other than the first play of the game. Overall, the team looked like it did last year, a team without any explosiveness, aggressiveness and lacking the big play from the offense that could give us some hope.

Continue reading "Deja Vu: New year, same team.....for now."

Well, another example of the Redskins playing to the level of their competition, they played just good enough to squeak out a win against a horrible football team, not good at all. There were both good and bad signs about yesterday's game but mostly, there is a sense around the town that this team got a bit lucky to not lose the game and the offense is ridiculously conservative and predictable in the redzone, a combination that leads to more losses than wins.

COACHING

While I personally like Jim Zorn, his play-calling is becoming more infantile and predictable than ever and clearly not efficient. First, his going for it on 4th down twice, to me, was the right call, the problem was the stupidity of running a stretch play when you have to pick up a foot to get a first down and put the game away. I like the calls because they had an inferior team backed up inside the 5-yard line that had not really shown all day that they could move the ball against the defense and the fact that the defense knew there was no worries about any running plays with less than 2 minutes left and no timeouts so they could go upfield and get after the quarterback as Orakpo and Haynesworth did on 3 consecutive plays.

Continue reading "The anger of winning"

Well, after a few days of reflection, mostly to let off some steam after the anger that Sunday's game instilled in me, I am prepared to give an assessment of what is unfolding in Redskins park. Not only did the team lose to the sorry Lions, they were dominated on both sides of the ball, something that was not expected from almost anyone. While most people did actually pick the Lions to beat the Redskins (how sad is that?) nobody expected an ass-whipping like it was.

The game came down to each team's first drives, The Redskins inability to score and the Lions marching down the field, 99 yards to put the ball in the endzone; game, set, match. While Campbell and the offense looked pedestrian, the Lions rookie quarterback looked like a 10-year vet, shifting around in the pocket and hitting wide open receivers downfield at will. Kevin Smith looked like Adrian Peterson busting through the gaping holes that his line created, constantly getting 5 or 6 yards at a time. If Stafford would have completed some of the overthrows that he had, this game would have been 35-14 easily. The defense played soft and undisciplined and paid for it. The offense was once again inept, predictable and downright pathetic except for the garbage time drives that make them seem to be not as horrible as they are.

Continue reading "Groundhog Day"