Pablo Rotondaro's Washington Redskins fan blog

Well,

Here we go again, the Redskins almost did this draft the right way, I say this because they got a good player but took him too quick, why not wait a few minutes to see if someone would give you an extra pick just to move up 1 or 2 spots? Why not be like every other team and take the full time alloted before taking the guy you want anyway. The Redskins have had a strange, but overall effective off-season. They have tried to get almost every QB available before settling on Jason Campbell because they had no other choice. I don't think that this is a bad thing, Campbell is not a bad quarterback but he has no fire or passion, maybe the fact that he has been dissed the entire offseason might light a fire under his ass and make him a bit more aggressive on the field. They did get Haynesworth and Hall and got back Dockery, so, overall, they should be better than last year.

Continue reading "Draft Day 2009"

When the season began most people thought that the Redskins were a mediocre team that might squeak into the playoffs but nothing more than that, well, after the piss-poor performance in Baltimore it is looking more and more like the truth. The fact that this team cannot do anything on offense is a tribute to the lack of a coherent strategy to build the team through the draft as their offensive line is like a giant bar of Swiss cheese with holes everywhere. The defense is playing extremely well despite the fact that I could sit back and have enough time to throw that even I could complete some passes against them. The pass that Mason caught is a perfect example; Carlos Rogers was sitting on a hook route because he thought, with an all-out blitz, the quarterback would not have time to complete a pass that required a double-move, he was dead wrong and that sealed the game. With any type of pass rush this secondary would be scary as they have played all year covering people for 4 or 5 seconds every snap, nobody can win like that. The bottom line on this season is that it shows that despite all the gadget plays, the big bombs, and explosive offensive outputs around the league, the game is still won at the line of scrimmage, period!

Continue reading "They Are Who We Thought They Were"

Well, another game that leaves you wondering how good or bad this team is. Is it that the Giants are that much better than us (very likely) or is it that they can't play up in the big games? It has been many years since the Redskins have shown that they can compete when the bright lights are on, the national stage is not their favorite as they seem to lose everytime they are on Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football or any nationally-televised game that they are in, they choke like dogs and can't make a single play. One of the greatest examples of this was yesterday as DeAngelo Hall (the only Redskins corner who can actually catch) was sitting back waiting on the ball to hit him in the hands and Shawn Springs comes in to break it up...what the FUCK!!!! You can put that on the hustle play reel but the matter of the fact is that they need to make these turnovers to get things going. That play alone sums up the way that the Redskins played in this game...mediocre!

Continue reading "No Execution...No Results!"

First, I was a bit angered about the lack of any punch against the Cowboys and being the loser of one of the worst games this year. Neither team showed anything on offense and were almost as pitiful at everything but defense. Now that I got that off my chest we can move on.  

Well, yesterday's game is just another example of how this team likes to play down to it's opponent and how little things can make a game go from an easy win to a nail-bitter. The Redskins played like a 2-8 team in the first half of yesterday's game. Campbell was OK at best and the offense seemed to almost get on and off the field on 3-and-out plays at every turn. Portis started the game off going against 8 and 9-men in the box to stop him and dare the Redskins to be able to protect long enough to be able to throw the ball down the field for over 10 yards. Everytime Campbell steps back in the pocket it seems that he is going to get killed on every play. Jansen and Thomas did play much better yesterday than against the Cowboys and Rabach did the same (he royally sucked against the Cowboys!) but they still got too much pressure on every snap of the first 2 quarters of the game against a very lackluster pass rush. After settling down a bit in the second half, Samuels (who is obviously playing on 1 leg) still was not keeping his man far enough away from the pass rush but did seem to get a bit stronger in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Continue reading "Back on Track?"

Well, here we go. The start of the real season is about to begin. The moment when the hopefulness can turn into the hopelessness and the real teams begin to separate from the pack. They do the little things to win; blocking as a team, playing hard every snap and make NO MENTAL Mistakes! The true mark of this team are penalties and turnovers. They are a good team as Zorn likes to say but they can't overcome dumb holding penalties that wipe out back-to-back touchdowns. They can't come back after they give up a first down on frouth and forever (Rams game - why Torrence was really cut) to set up a field goal. How many times has an offensive pass interference call stopped a drive short? How about a guy who drops a ball that hits him in the hands thus giving the entire momentum of the game back to his opponent and handing them the game? 

Continue reading "The Cowboys game...."

Well, the mid-point of the season has come and gone, now it's time to get ready for the playoff push and the fate of the season is on the line. The days of being patient with the rookies and waiting to see how the team develops are over. The importance of every win and loss are magnified to the extreme and the pressure is now on for them to not make any errors and lose a very winnable game (see St. Louis Rams game) as they have done in the past. This season has gone very well so far, with big wins over the Cowboys and Eagles back-to-back on the road and a steady "medium" approach to every game has made them fare well so far. The first 9 games have shown that they have an identity, a run-first team that can beat you deep if you creep up, and also a record to back that up. Now, after the bye week, all of that doesn't mean a thing, November and December separate the winners from the losers in this league.

Continue reading "Mid Season Review...Playoffs or Bust!"

Well, back to the routine of seeing our team blow a great chance of becoming the new leaders of the NFC East and they forgot to hold onto the ball and with that, gave away their chance to be at the top of the division after their first 6 games. The loss to the Rams was a bit of a downer in this great year but the overall picture is not as gloomy. With the losses by the Giants and Cowboys, the Redskins did not lose any ground and with the injury to Romo, are still in great shape to make this a 2-horse race between them and the Giants for the division.

The team played with it's usual grit and competed hard throughout but was just subject to the inevitable, after going 5 games without a turnover it was bound to happen and in this dramatic of fashions. The fact that they still had a chance to win the game was a good sign, albeit the rival they faced was the Rams, this game showed once again that this team is ready to fight for every game and if not for a long bomb, they would have pulled it off. 

Continue reading "TIME TO PANIC...Not Yet!"

Stop. Time to take a deep breath and make sure that what we are seeing is true. Is it true that ESPN now has them #3 on their power rankings? Not that this would ensure anything but the fact that they are being talked about with the likes of Dallas, the Giants and Tennessee is a good sign, right? Does this mean that they will win the Super Bowl this year as so many people who call into talk radio and proclaim them as the next team to rise to the top or will they burst our collective bubble and let us down once again. Time will tell but it's great to be in this position right now.

This weeks game against the Rams seems to be a perfect chance to see what this team is made of. It's one thing to get up to play against 2 straight Divisional rivals on the road but it's another to get up for the worst team in football. While we look at the schedule can we help but think that going into the Pittsburgh Monday night game that we will be 7-1? I think that they will need to because NY and Dallas both have the same easy schedules as the Redskins so they will have to keep pace but did anyone think we would be here after the first game of the year? I know I wasn't ready then, nor am I ready now to declare anything about them. They are a much better team than last year because now teams have to respect both our passing and running games and our defense is playing very well but there are still many games left and the good teams are the ones that beat the bad teams so that will be the true test for this group of Redskins. If they go out and blast the Rams and put the game out of reach in the first half then you can count me in on the bandwagon this year (not that I'm not already there - almost) of those who think the team will go far into the playoffs.

Continue reading "Reality Check"

Well, well, well...last game at Texas Stadium and the Cowboys are left scratching their heads wondering what happened to the "best" team in the NFL? Where was the explosive offense that could not be stopped? What about the terrifying defense that sacks and pesters every quarterback that comes in to face them? They got manhandled. It wasn't just a case of almost perfect execution by the players and coaches, but the fact that the offensive and defensive lines dominated the game and left the crying to the Cowboys who seem to be very good at it.

As a lifelong Redskins fan I cannot remember when our team played a better and more balanced game. The team marched up and down on offense and seem to squash every attempt the Cowboys had to advance the ball, many times forcing them to 3-and-outs. T.O. pouted and moaned more and more as the Redskins defense seemed to switch things up on him and made him and his quarterback confused about what they were doing. They played man-to-man, zone, and mixed them up beautifully highlighted by the play (once again) by Horton when he lined up in the middle of the zone only to sprint over to cover the flat and step in front of the Romo pass and get another turnover. The special teams punted, kicked, and covered everything to a tee and seemed to be at the top of their games.

Continue reading "Hail to the Redskins!"

It has become apparent that the rivalry that once was in not the same as before. The media seems to try to harp on the past and relive the great battles that have occurred but it just doesn't feel the same as it used to. Part of the problem seems to be that they have owned us in the recent years and that the games are usually lopsided in their favor. Until the Redskins can beat the Cowboys several times in a row and establish a type of domination over them, nobody will ever look at this rivalry as they did in the past.

Many boast about the Cowboys as the best team in the NFL and the Redskins are never mentioned if not for ridicule or for being mediocre. This is the legacy of the Redskins over the past 15 years and will stay that way until they make the league take notice. The past few years have highlighted this sentiment, every time the Redskins are in a nationally-televised game they seem to play their worst games (see Giants this year, stinker!). If you look at the point spread alone (11 points!) you can tell that nobody seems to feel that the Redskins have the slightest chance of winning this game. This week seems to be, in my opinion, the most important game of the year for this team, not because they need to win or else the season is over, but because it will send a statement of who this team is and what they are made of. If they go out and put up a great showing and are edged out by the Cowboys at home, everyone will feel some sense of accomplishment, not me. I am fully aware that the Cowboys are a very good team and that they should beat the Redskins most of the time but this is the chance where the Redskins can send a statement to the rest of the league that they are a good team as well and will not fear anyone. Maybe it's wishful thinking or maybe it's what we have been waiting for ever since the last time that this team was talked about around the league.

Continue reading "The Cowboys...."