It wasn't pretty but the 'Skins managed to hold on for the win. Campbell didn't do much and the running game wasn't great. The second half the offense did pretty much nothing. The playcalling was pretty conservative and the injuries to the line seemed to catch up to us this week. There were a number of times that Campbell had someone come up right through the center just as he had the ball snapped. Not sure if Pucillo was missing assignments or what. The Cards weren't even blitzing. I know the coaches adjusted the game plan due to the injuries on the o line but we still have to be more aggressive than that. We hardly threw the ball downfield. Campbell's completion percentage was decent (12 of 18) but he only had 95 yards of passing. We should probably get Rabach back next week and that should certainly help. Outside of being a good center, he is apparently the anchor of the o line and helps the other linemen in understanding their assignments.
Conversely, I continue to be happy with the play of the defense. They play with passion and are aggressive. There were a number of times where the Cards tried to beat the 'Skins with their speed to the outside but you would see 3 or 4 'Skins in hot pursuit. London Fletcher has been a HUGE acquisition. He is a leader and is a coach on the field. Not to mention he has great instincts and is always near the ball. Was pretty much impressed with most of the defense as there was a lot of pressure on them to win this game for us since the offense didn't do much. I will say that I was disappointed with the Cards second scoring drive. Landry's late hit was questionable. I didn't like the call but I can accept it. Fletcher's taunting penalty was terrible. I like his inspired play and like to see the swagger but he should know better. That penalty hurt bad. It's interesting because Sean Taylor used to do a lot of showboating but you don't see that at all anymore. He is playing very well out there but his quiet, solid play has seemed to deflect some of the negative attention he used to receive. Before, it seemed like refs used to look to call him for penalties and he would not get the benefit of the doubt but he seems like a more mature player now.
Anyway, it got dicey there at the end. The Cards score then get the onside kick and take it down the field and have an opportunity to win the game with one of the better FG kickers in the league. Honestly, I thought we were going to lose the game. Fortunately, he missed and we escaped with a VERY important win. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It may have been ugly, but at the end of the day there is only one stat that counts and that's the wins and losses and we got the "W." I'll take an ugly win over any hard fought loss any day of the week.
Next up is the Patriot machine. Right now, the Pats have to be considered the best team in the league and perhaps one of the best teams all time. They are rolling up on everyone and Brady has been unbelievable. I would almost be happy to keep the Pats under 35 points. I don't think they have scored less than that in a game this season. For now, I will enjoy being 4-2.
17 comments:
There is a fine line between winning and losing and over the course of a season things tend to even out. Last week the Redskins probably should have won but didn't. This week the Cardinals should have won but didn't.
The D was solid but not spectacular. They made plays when they had to and by the end of the game were beaten down and tired because the Redskins couldn't do anything offensively.
Let's face it, the Redskins offense is terrible right now. JC had a QB rating of 56.5 and has been mediocre all year. About what I would expect for a young guy like him. He has thrown 5 TDs and 5 interceptions on the year - his numbers right now look like they will finish about what I expected. JKD and Deeps, you bashed Rex for his numbers, but he did far more for his offense than JC has done so far. We'll see.
They will likely lose to the Patriots this week and be at 4-3. Then they travel to the crashing Jets. So they should be 5-3 at the midpoint. Better than I would expect. The Bears game will likely have a lot of meaning and may very well be for a playoff position. I like it!
I don't know what to think. On one hand I'm glad we won. On the other hand, seeing our O breakdown in the 2nd half and our D get tired in the 4th quarter was really disconcerting. Injuries played a key role in the game plan, but I'm surprised that we didn't do more to play to our strengths on offense. It seems like we were WAY too conservative considering Campbell's big arm and ability to get out of the pocket. But then again, a win is a win. Going to New England at 4-2 is much better than at 3-3.
Despite the injury excuse, I will say that I am not pleased with the preparation the team seems to exhibit on offense and the conservative nature of the play calling. Gibbsy needs to come to terms with the fact that he has a potential stud at QB and by keeping him under wraps, he's doing nothing to help the kid develop. If anyone on offense is playing smart without boneheaded mistakes, it's Campbell.
Good thing that game was played at Fed Ex and not Arizona or it would have been a blow out the other way. That heat would have had the Skins defense dragging their tongues even more than they did in the fourth quarter. It is embarrassing that a coach that prides himself on running the ball has had such difficulty running the ball since he has returned to the league. I bet that Gibbs and Sauders are still arguing about philosphy. One big difference between the Skins and the Cowboys is that the Cowboys have a two back attack and an o-line that actually opens holes that allow the runner to get to the second level. Also, their backs hit the holes at top speed, which neither Portis nor Betts seem to do.
The only chance the Skins have in New England is to run, run, run, run and eat up the clock. When possible, they need to take a few shots in the 15 to 20 hard range to allow Randle El and Moss to run with the ball, which never happens in the Skins scheme. They need to limit the number of possessions that the Patriots have. I'm expecting the Skins defense to do ok against the Pat's offense. If they can keep them under 25 points, they may have a chance.
On a different note, I would like to thank the Bears for taking the Eagles completely out of the race for the NFC East. It was done in such a way as to keep them viable for a big match up against the Cowboys. Go Eagles. I'm actually starting to worry about the Giants. That loss to the Giants looks like it will really sting the Skins down the line. You'd think that they would have learned their lesson about letting teams off the hook, but no. I don't think a two touchdown lead at half time will happen this week.
Winning in Foxboro is out of the question. It is beyond the realm of possibility. The Patriots open as 16.5 point favorites and I would not be surprised to see that increase during the week. In fact, if the Redskins can keep it within 20 points I think that would be a victory for them.
As for uncorking JC, I usually hammer the Redskins' braintrust, but on this issue I think the Redskins know exactly what they are doing with him. He has 5 TDs and 5 interceptions in 6 games. If he starts flinging the ball around, he will throw interceptions and put the Redskins' D in bad situations.
With the makeshift O-line that they have, I thought their play calling was fine. They should have probably put in a couple of more screen plays, but you don't want Campbell taking deep drops and getting unloaded on by unblocked guys - that happened on the one drive after the big kickoff return to start the second half. Wade just missed his assignment and Campbell paid the price.
The offense is struggling. However, I wouldn't be as critical as you are of JC. He has been the one constant of the offense. Despite his numbers, he has actually played very well. He was the NFC offensive player of the week two weeks ago and he would have posted up big numbers last week if just a few of his passes were caught (8 dropped balls). There were three deep balls that if caught would have significantly upped his numbers (deep ball to Moss down right sideline that bounced off his head, deep ball to Cooley down left sideline that bounced off his fingers, deep ball to Lloyd that would have been a great catch for TD). The INT last week was not JC's fault. The INT this week was a deflection. The numbers are the numbers but given the status of the O line and the dropped balls, I am still VERY happy with the play of JC. He is still making good decisions and he does not put us in a position to lose games. He is a leader and he puts us in positions to win games.
You never knew what you would get with Rexy. I don't want to get in that whole bit againg but clearly given his benching this year, even his coach didn't believe in him anymore.
If we can be 5-3 at the midpoint, I would be VERY happy. We only won 5 games all of last year so that would be a big improvement for us. Again, I am hopeful for a 9-7 season. That is what I predicted.
The Bears have to be considered one of the biggest disappointments so far. They got the win yesterday but they still have a number of issues.
Agree with Skinsfan that we need to try and run effectively against NE. The only way to beat them is have longer drives that keeps their #1 ranked offense off the field. That's what we were able to do against Detroit. I know, I know...that was the Lions and this is the Patriots. It is easier said than done. Hopefully we get Rabach back and hopefully we can get the running game going. We were able to run effectively late last season. We need to find that game again.
No. You have to take some shots downfield. Do it just to get the defense to respect the downfield passing game. Otherwise, they can crowd the box and make it tougher on the running game.
I understand the coaches probably wanted to run and do short passes given the health of the O line. Still, set up some 10-15 yard ins or outs to Moss. Let Moss do a post route once or twice. I'm not sure if Moss is still ailing but we needed to take a shot or two downfield just to open up the running game.
It's fine now. We won the game so that is all that matters.
Agree that it is going to be very tough against the Pats in NE. Hopefully we can just hold our own against that machine.
We aren't going to run on NE if our center keeps getting blown into the backfield upon snapping the ball like Pucillo did against Arizona. Portis and Betts were sidestepping defenders in their backfield all day.
Beating the Pats would be within the realm of possibility if we were healthy. I'm not counting on it, but in order for it to happen, we need to open things up with some deep passes and by rolling Campbell out of the pocket to give him time to find a receiver. Yes, we need to run, but if we go in with a gameplan like yesterday's where we keep trying to run when it obviously isn't working, we may see a 42-0 score on Sunday.
If you pass the ball with JC and he gets sacked 9 times, fumbles twice and throws 3 interceptions, the Redskins will lose 63-0.
The gameplan against the Cardinals and their one-armed QB was just fine. The Redskins won. If they got aggressive and threw an interception or fumbled one ball on a sack, they likely would have lost the game. One turnover very likely could have made all the difference. If Warner doesn't throw that interception that gave the Redskins a short field, or the interception that went for a Redskins TD, they probably win.
The Redskins don't have playmakers on offense at the wide receiver position. Cooley is a nice short pass guy, but doesn't have the speed to run the longer routes. They need to grind out wins by staying patient with the run.
I meant to say if the Redskins had had one more turnover they may very well have lost.
You can't say "if this" or "if that." If we could do that, than we could say that "if" Fletcher doesn't get excited and called for the taunting penalty then the Cards don't score. There are SO many "ifs" that we COULD do in any given game but it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is who wins and who loses. We won.
Moss is a play maker but he is still nursing his injury. Portis and Cooley are good weapons too. The point is you have to take some shots down the field to spread the defense and help you with your running game. I don't think we want Campbell throwing 50 times a game. We should be a running offense. That is Redskin football but then you mix in the pass as necessary.
The Redskins had 18 passes and 28 runs. Pretty good mix if you ask me.
If they set Campbell up for a bunch of long passes, not only would the receivers have not gotten much separation because they are nursing injuries (and they also stink in my opinion), but Campbell would have been sacked a couple of times.
But hey, I'd love to see JC fling it around and throw a bunch of interceptions and get sacked a couple of more times. That means the Redskins will lose.
We should have better balance. In fact, we need more offensive plays. This is a sign of our offense not producing. You have to take some shots downfield.
Why would more passes mean JC would throw a bunch of INTs? He only has 2 bad INTs on the year (in his first two games). The last two weren't really his fault. You have been pretty much wrong on everything Redskin and Bear this season so I suppose I can understand your reasoning.
JC has been average at QB this year. He has two games in the 50s and one game at 125 QB rating (can we say Good JC/Bad JC?). With 5 TDs and 5 interceptions, he is not really tearing it up. If he throws more, I think it is safe to say that he will get sacked more and throw more interceptions. It's an opinion, but it is based on the stats, knowing what young guys do, and factoring in the Redskins weak receivers and offensive line.
As for being wrong with my predicitions, it is still early in the season. I'm comfortable that the Bears will make the playoffs and the Redskins won't. In fact, I would not be surprised at all to see the Bears and Redskins both at 4-4 at the midpoint. As the season wears on, I expect the Redskins to fall back into mediocrity and the Bears to rise up.
By the way, we are now tied in Redskin/Bears picks for the year and on NFL picks. Depending on what happens tonight, I may surpass you.
I commented on your ridiculous Good JC/Bad JC comment on your site.
No one ever thought he would tear it up. What he has provided is solid QB play. He has been good this season. He has only thrown 2 bad INTs this season. He would have had much better numbers against GB if his receivers had actually held on to the ball. His rating against AZ is not his fault.
I am very pleased with his performance and he has received a bunch of positive accolades from his critics.
Good for you on the picks. I love how arrogant you get after a lucky victory. I was actually pretty happy for you to get the win yesterday but seeing how arrogant you get, I wish the Bears to lose every other game just to shut you up.
How am I arrogant? You are the one who said I have been wrong on everything. I didn't bring it up until you tried to rub my face in it.
Excuses, excuses. He had some drops, but I'm sure his receivers have made some great catches on balls that were sailing high or that were behind them. I'm sure there have been plenty of dropped interceptions by DBs and linebackers. The fact is that in the end it all evens out and the numbers don't lie.
A make-shift O-line, banged-up receivers, and a coach who keeps a tight leash on his young QB are not doing JC any justice. These may seem like excuses, but it is highly likely that if things hadn't been so chaotic on offense, his numbers would be different.
Right now, not much is working on offense. Portis was averaging over 5 yards a carry after two weeks. That has dropped significantly. Moss has the 2nd most drops in the league. Randle El is hurt. To expect a QB who has had less than a season's worth of starts to play any better is ridiculous...hence all the praise he is receiving from everyone except from RobsObs.
Deeps - you expected 24 TDs and 16 interceptions. Not me.
Rex played better last year. He had about the same number of starts going into the year.
JC is playing exactly as I expected. That is not criticizing that is stating a fact.
When the Patriots destroy him this week and he ends up fumbling twice and throwing three interceptions without a TD, and he "earns" a QB rating of 25, I hope you will recognize his inconsistent play.
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