Truly heartbreaking. With a 22-20 lead and a first and goal with around 5 minutes remaining, the 'Skins seemed to have the game in hand. They found a way to blow it. There were SO many times when the 'Skins just needed to make one play and they did but just in a detrimental way. The many plays that truly hurt include and are unforgivable:
1. Having it first and goal starting at the 4 yard line and not being able to punch it in.
2. Eagles have it 3rd and 21 in their territory in the third quarter and they pick up a 20 yard pass play making it 4th and inches which they eventually convert on route to a TD scoring drive.
3. Eagles 2nd and 20 and Springs gets called for illegal contact giving them an automatic first down.
4. McNabb's deep TD pass to Reggie Brown who is double covered but Fletcher falls down and Prioleau (subbing for the injured Sean Taylor) gets spun around and can't make the play. It was a poorly thrown ball but our defenders blew it.
5. Westbrook's 50 yard go ahead screen pass TD. First, another half second and we get to McNabb but then the poor tackling on that play. Especially Prioleau who took a HORRIBLE angle at trying to make that play.
Bottom line is we lost. It hurts as 5-4 is a WHOLE lot worse than being 6-3. We needed to win that game at home. We are still in the mix but we led most of the way and to give it up there in the end really hurts.
The positives are that the running game was strong again (outside of that goal line situation in the 4th quarter). Also, the game plan seemed to have opened up a bit and it gave JC some opportunities to make some plays and he had a good game. Again, his decision making was good as it has been all year. It was just nice to see the offense become more dynamic. As you could see, the passing game helped the running game and vice versa. We will need more of that in the next several weeks if we want to make a run for the playoffs. The downer is that the defense struggled. They couldn't make a play when they needed to and it cost us. Hopefully Taylor can return quickly because Prioleau isn't a starter. He is a good nickel/dime back but he made some bad plays out there.
We head to Dallas and it will be very hard to win there. I suppose the good thing was that they beat the Giants. At this point, it might be asking too much for the 'Skins to win the division so we are really aiming for a Wild Card berth. Hard to believe we are already 10 weeks into the season. The good thing is best is yet to come.
9 comments:
I thought it was JC's best game ever.
I also thought it was the defense's worst game. I know they were bad against the Patriots, but the Patriots have many weapons. The Eagles have Westbrook. The D made a nice play after the Betts fumble (why in the world was Betts in at that point for his first carry?), but they gave up the two big plays to lose the lead.
This was a total team loss. Suisham misses an extra point, the D collapse, the Redskins O couldn't punch it in and put the game away with a first and goal on the Eagles 3 yard line with less than 5 minutes to play, the coaching was horrible. A draw play on 3rd and goal from the 7 with 4 minutes to go?
Ultimately, the Redskins deserved to lose because they didn't make the plays and the Eagles did.
I don't expect Gibbs to return next year because I think they will have an ugly second half. Good luck Redskin fans, you'll need it.
Let's face it. This team isn't getting better as the season progresses. It's getting worse. JC and the running game are getting better, but everything else is slowly but surely unraveling. The defense can't consistently create pressure. There are holes in the secondary. Inexcusable penalties are consistently being committed. The clock management and "play not to lose" mentality are counter-productive. We are what our record says we are...slightly above average...And it's not due to lack of talent, lack of heart, or any other Cincinnati Bengal-esque ailment. It's due to poor fundamentals and strategy. This isn't going to get better until we have a coaching change. Gibbs may be able to get us to 9-7, but there's something about the way this team is led that will prevent it from turning flashes of excellence into consistent excellence. It starts from the top.
We're going to be 5-5 after this week even though we've led at the half of every game except for two. That's inexcusable.
At least UVA won.
There are some interesting articles in the Post today on the 'Skins. Maybe I was wrong in saying it's just due to poor fundamentals and strategy. I do believe strategy comes into play, but perhaps its poor execution. It seems the players are angry with themselves for not getting the job done. They seem to believe they are given the proper tools to win, but just aren't getting the job done. I really can't disagree with that.
Time for a new coach in my opinion. Gibbsy just isn't doing it.
However, their bigger problem is still the GM/organization and the lack of talent on the team (I am speaking about depth, more specifically).
It was a pretty good game outside of the plays that I mentioned. JC was good. Looked like he had the green light to throw the ball and his decision making was good. The running game was good again.
Stupid penalties killed us and the other (lack of) plays by our defense hurt too.
Coaching was questionable.
Still, the coaches can't make the plays on the field and I have a real problem with Prioleau for his play on the deep ball to Brown and the Westbrook screen pass.
I am not sure if Gibbs can get us where we need to be.
Don't totally agree with RobsObs comments. Depending on the candidate, I might not be opposed to a new coach. However, there are some good strides from this team compared to last year's team and getting a new coach might cause us to create all new systems and such and I am not sure if that would be good. Don't feel like starting from scratch if we don't need to.
Would like a true GM.
The depth of talent isn't bad but like any team it can be improved. Of course, we are not 3 deep at every position but for the most part, the guys that have been asked to fill in have done a decent job. I am speaking of the O-line, WRs, and CBs. Prioleau hurt us yesterday and not sure how good/bad Godfrey played yesterday but he is a solid veteran. Still, like any team, we could always use more depth.
No question Gibbsy 2.0 has been mediocre at best. However, after 3 and a half years, there is still confusion about play calling and clock management. The Redskins are always rushing to snap the ball and it has to be that the plays are not coming in fast enough. That is a big reason they have so many false starts and wasted timeouts. That is poor coaching.
Calling for a draw on 3rd and goal from the 7 was bad. Choosing to go for 2 after their second TD was bad. Taking the timeout with 2:08 was a complete waste. It cost them a timeout that they really could have used.
I sense a real turning point with fans who are fed up. I think fans expect to lose this week, but if the Cowboys destroy the Redskins and then they go down to Tampa and lose, it could get ugly.
Looking at the schedule, the Redskins may not win another game this year. I am not exaggerating.
They will lose to Dallas this week, then they have to go on the road to Tampa (who will be favored).
They play Buffalo and Chicago at home - neither will be easy.
Then they go on the road to the Giants and the Vikings, before closing out at home against Dallas.
If they get more than 3 wins in their remaining schedule, I will be surprised. I still may end up correct with my 7-9 prediction.
I haven't gotten the feel like we are rushing to the line and snapping the ball. We actually ran quite a bit of no huddle this past week. I also don't seem to recognize that we have an abundance of false starts. I may be wrong but do you have the numbers on how many we have and can compare it to the league average? If you can provide the proof, I will believe you but otherwise, I will differ with your opinion.
I do have a problem with some of the play selections and use of timeouts.
Your prediction of the 'Skins not winning another game this year could be made with your disappointing Bears as well. That is the NFL today. Outside of a couple really good teams and a couple of really bad teams, there is so much parity. No one is looking forward to playing the 'Skins.
You are getting all excited about squeezing by the 2-7 Oakland Raiders. The schedule includes:
Seattle away will be tough.
Denver at home should win.
The Giants at home will be tough.
Then on the road against the 'Skins and Minnesota - neither will be easy.
Finish up with GB and New Orleans at home - again, neither will be easy.
So, again, the same claim can be made. I am not exaggerating.
I am much more comfortable with the Bears winning games than I am with the Redskins winning games.
I believe you feel the same way, but won't swear to that.
I do feel that the Bears have the talent and have been waiting for a spark. It may have come with Rex's throw. But, perhaps not. We'll see.
I think the Sean Taylor injury is going to keep him out for 3-4 weeks and it will be a major blow.
You are correct. I feel the same way as you.
Unless the Bears can get their running game going, they won't go anywhere. They don't have a strong enough passing attack to overcome their lack of running game.
Their defense is still not that good. Part of that is that they are underachieving. They will need the defense to step up and of course need continued success from Hester.
Taylor's injury is devastating. He was having probably his best year to date and Prioleau is no Sean Taylor.
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