CAPS LOSE - SEASON OVER!!!

I'm speechless.

Series tied

Caps lose 4-1 to send the series to a deciding Game 7 at Verizon on Wednesday. Pretty disappointing that we find ourselves in this predicament but it is what it is and we have to find a way to pull out the win.

The story of the game was Halak and his 53 saves. The Caps peppered him but he came up big time and again. Still, it's the same issues that have plagued us the last couple of years in the playoffs. We have to crowd the crease and not give Halak a clear view at the shot. We can shoot all we want but we have to do those little things that make the difference. Also, we have got to do better on the PP. The number one regular season PP unit is 1 for 30! Are you kidding me?!! We keep getting shots blocked. These are all similar things that have happened in previous playoff series.

Varly let in two softer goals so there is some question as to who might get the start on Wednesday but at this point, I think you stick with Varly. He has come up big enough times and Theo hasn't played in a while so a change might be difficult.

The problem now is that all the pressure is on the Caps. We are the #1 seed. We were up 3 games to 1. We are playing at home. Halak is playing unbelievable and inside the Caps heads (especially Semin). Ovie is frustrated at the defense played against him.

All this is no matter. It comes down to one game and we have to show why we are the #1 seed and why home ice advantage is an advantage.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

Skins Draft

I'm good with it.

Frankly, the fact that we went O line with our first pick is huge. I was just afraid we might do something dumb. Okung seemed like the best name at O line but Williams apparently has more of an upside and is more athletic and seems to fit the scheme better so I'm happy about that. There were rumors we would take S Eric Berry which wouldn't have been terrible but we really needed to go O line.

McNabb was essentially our second round pick so I'm fine with that.

Jeremy Jarmon was essentially our third round pick as we took him in the supplemental draft last year so I'm good with that.

This LB Riley in the fourth round seems like a solid pick. He was a former Butkus finalist (top LB in the country). He played outside LB in college but all the scouts project him to be an inside LB in the pros which is good as we make the move to the 3-4 defense. We really didn't have another inside LB so it's a good pick. However, Bruce Campbell from MD was available and was considered a possible first round pick and it would have been nice to get another O lineman so that we would have all new tackles. The hope would have been that we had guys that could be the bookends of the line for the next 10 years.

Didn't really understand the TE we picked up. We seem stacked at TE but I guess this guy is more of a Mike Sellers type (big, blocking type of guy).

Three picks in the 7th round -- a WR and two O linemen. These guys are long shots to make the team but at least we drafted for need and one of these guys may be a diamond in the rough.

All in all, solid picks.

Skins take Trent Williams

Robs favorite guy Jason LaCanfora was reporting that there was increased speculation that the Skins would go with Eric Berry with their top pick but in the end we took O lineman, Trent Williams.

I like the pick. It seemed that it was between Okung and Williams but Williams seems to be the better fit for the system. Again, a good thing. We didn't go with just the sexy name but went with who we thought would be the better fit.

I also like that we drafted for need and not the best available player. In years past, we didn't seem to do that.

I would have been okay with Berry but the more pressing need for years has been O line and I'm happy that we took a big step in addressing that.

The Skins traded away their 2nd round pick for McNabb so he essentially is our second round pick and I'm good with that. We gave up our 3rd round pick when we took Jeremy Jarmon in the supplemental draft last year. Jarmon was expected to be a first or second round pick this year so I'm good with that. We won't draft until the 4th round unless we make a trade for Haynesworth. That is a decent possibility given that we have brought in several linemen that better fit the scheme. Again, a good thing.

Haynesworth is still one of the best D linemen in the game but we cannot afford to let his attitude effect what is being created here. I am happy keeping him and actually prefer to do so given that we have already paid much of his guaranteed money but then again, it's not my money so what do I care about that. I want a guy that is willing to play and not complain. If he plays, I hope he stays. If he complains, ship his fat arse outta here.

HAIL SKINS!!!

DRAFT DAY IS HERE!!

If the Skins somehow choose Jimmy Clausen, I will drive out to Redskin Park, "pick up" Danny Boy, drive to Robs house and proceed to insert each of their respective heads into the others respective arse.

DRAFT DAY IS HERE!!

Caps take 3-1 series lead

Caps take what would seem an insurmountable 3-1 series lead over the Canadiens pretty much thanks to the heroics of Varly again. We were atrocious in the second period but Varly had about 4 fantastic saves that kept the game close.

The turning point in the game was when Knuble scored a shorthanded goal right before the end of the second period. That sucked the life out of the crowd and was a real momentum shifter.

Here is a quick analysis by period:

Period 1: Good to see Ovie score early on to take the 1-0 lead. Canadiens tied it at 1-1 and it was a pretty even battle at that point. I was fine to go into the intermission tied.

Period 2: Varly, Varly, and more Varly!!! The guy was brilliant in net. We were completely outplayed and outshot and Varly came up huge time and again to keep us in the game. Canadiens were still able to get one in to make it 2-1 and then got a power play at the end of the period. Crowd was roaring but Knuble's shorthanded goal was devastating for the Canadiens and again, was the turning point.

Period 3: Caps take over. Ovie got the eventual lead changing goal and we never looked back. Chimera got a goal and then a couple of empty netters by Backstrom and Knuble put it all out of reach. Again, we showed our superiority and the series looks all but over at this point.

The big concern is that we have not been able to put an entire game together. We have had stretches and even full periods that we seem to take off. This will not fly as we go deeper in the playoffs. We have to play hard for the full 60 minutes (plus OT if needed). Also, Semin has to score and get that monkey off his back.

Still, I am happy to be where we are and right now it looks like our next opponent will be the Flyers (don't like looking ahead but I'm going to do it anyway). If it does end up being the Flyers, I actually feel we will have an easier time with them than the Canadiens.

Hopefully we finish off the Canadiens tomorrow at Verizon.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

October 24, 2010 - Mark Your Calendars!

Skins play the Bears in Chicago. This will be the game that causes Lovie to be fired as Cutler throws 3 INTs and Mike Martz gets so upset at Jeff Cutler, he grabs his helmet and decides to play QB himself. It will be a dandy!

McNabb interested in a T.O. reunion

McNabb apparently has approached the Redskin brass to consider bringing in T.O.

WHAT?!!!!

First, T.O. is a nightmare but second he is a nightmare with diminishing skills. So what is the point? Maybe McNabb was sent here to implode the Skins. That is my only hypothesis.

Seriously, like LJ, T.O. has to understand that his next stop may be his last and he really has to be the model teammate. That said, I don't want him. He has shown time and again on multiple teams that he has issues getting along with teammates and coaches alike. He wasn't overly impressive last year granted he was playing for the Bills but at 35 or whatever age he is, he really is on the downside of his career. We really don't need him and I definitely don't want him.

CAPS THRASH THE HABS!

Great win last night as the Caps throttled the Canadiens 5-1. It was what I was waiting for and good to see the Caps show their superiority to this team. Now we need to finish them quickly and rest up for the next series. Don't take that to mean look past the Canadiens and/or take them lightly. We need to play the rest of the series the way we played and we can't take care of them.

The game last night can be summed up by the following analysis of each period:

First Period: VARLY!!! Looks like Boudreau made the right call going with Varly. That guy was money all night but particularly in the first period as he made at least 4 great saves that could have otherwise blown the game open for the Habs. The Canadiens had by far the better opportunities in the first period and again is a reminder of how the Caps consistently seem to start off slowly in games. Thank goodness for Varly as he really stepped up and sparked the Caps.

Second Period: Caps on fire!!! We were obviously much better in the second period and really took the game to them by scoring 4 goals in the period. It all started with a short handed goal by Boyd Gordon and then Laich, Fehr, and Ovie each got into the action. What was great about the goals were, outside of Ovie's, they all came from "supporting" players. The goals weren't from the usual suspects (Semin, Backstrom, Knuble). We need for those guys to chip in if we expect to play on.

Also, it was clear the Canadiens were losing it. They clearly were frustrated with not cracking the Varly code in the first period and then giving up 4 goals in the second. They took some frustration penalties and tried to engage Caps players into fights. To our credit, we did not fall into their traps. Good discipline.

Third Period: Understand how to play with the lead. We did a good job of protecting the lead and our net and played nice, controlled hockey. We weren't overly aggressive and that is what championship teams need to understand. How to protect a lead late in the game.

All in all, a quality performance and something I had hoped for and expected as we carried the performance and momentum from Game 2. Again, now we need to focus on Game 4 and take the commanding 3-1 lead. Looks like we are pretty much set at goaltending and looks like the team has been able to relax more and play the way we are capable of playing. The Canadiens will be pressing so we need to start playing better early on. Also will be interesting to see if the Canadiens go with Carey Price or Halak. Both are young and talented. Price has not been good against the Caps but it might be time for them to shake their lineup up and Price was solid in the last game.

Either way, we need to keep playing our game.

LETS GO CAPS!!!!

What is Kyle Shanahan smoking?

So after this past weekend's mini camp, Kyle Shanahan had this to say about the Redskins O line (keep in mind Heyer was playing LT and Artis Hicks was the RT): "I'm real excited about our offensive line," he said. "You know, I mean, they talk about that that's been a weakness and stuff, but I don't see it on tape and I don't see it on the field. We've got some real good players. I think we've got some big guys who aren't just big guys who stand still -- we got some big guys who can move. We've just got to get 'em in shape and get 'em used to running the zone scheme, and runnin' and cuttin' and I think we've got a good chance there."

The Washington Post's Rick Maese, sounding more than a little dubious, asked if the players looked different on tape from how they looked on the field, and Shanahan continued in his theme of relentless positivity.

"No," he said, "It's not different. It's tough when you watch tape of an old staff; you don't wanna watch too much, because you're not watching scheme. You don't know what they're asking players to do, so you're not really evaluating that. You're trying to watch the individual. When you watch the individual, you do see talent. You see size and you also see speed. And as a coach, that's all you can ask for.

"Now we wanna get 'em on the field and see. We know they're talented -- can they do what we're askin' 'em to do? Each day they got better, and hopefully by training camp they'll continue to grow."

Here's the part where I think the skeptics are going to really have trouble with Shanahan's thinking. Kelli Johnson of ComcastSportsNet asked if Shanahan the younger would be asking Shanahan the elder for a left tackle in this week's NFL draft, and Kyle remained cheerfully confident.

"Nah," he said, " we've got a bunch out here so I think we're good to go."

Johnson was incredulous, and asked as if to clarify, "You feel confident in the tackles that you have?"

"Oh yeah," Shanahan said.

Maybe this is some posturing for the draft or maybe Shanny's offensive scheme is suited for these guys. Maybe these guys haven't been coached to their full potential or maybe Kyle is smoking some serious dubage.

Caps tie series 1-1

Caps tied the series against the Canadiens 1-1 after a heroic effort from Nicklas Backstrom and his hat trick. As I mentioned as one of my concerns, the Caps fall into these lapses where they suck and in Game 2 they found themselves down 4-1 late in the second period. However, the Caps also have the ability to turn it on and when they do, they are pretty much unstoppable. Ovie got on the board early in the third period to cut the lead to 4-3. It was a good hard fought goal and it helped shake the monkey off of Ovie's back as he was able to get that first goal of the playoffs. Midway through the third, Ovie had a great assist to Backstrom for his second goal of the game that tied it at 4 and you had a feeling there that the Caps would pull this out. However, a short time later the Habs got a goal to make it 5-4 and while deflating, I still felt good about the way the Caps were playing.

As the minutes dwindled, you could feel the Caps sensing panic and this was a concern of mine too. That they would press in this series being the heavily favored team and they just looked out of sync. With about a minute and a half left, Ovie was slashed and as Varly skated to the bench for the extra attacker, young John Carlson took the puck and skated into the Montreal zone and released a wicked wrister that found the net tying the game at 5. Carlson had a very good game with that goal and a good slap shot earlier in the game that Halak saved but Ovie was able to pound the rebound between Halak's legs.

OT ensued and it didn't last long with Backstrom taking a good head man pass and firing a wrister top shelf passed Halak only 31 seconds into OT. Great shot, great game for Backstrom. Sudden death OT is nerve wracking because of the finality of it. It's outstanding when your team wins but completely dejecting when your team loses. Fortunately, the Caps were able to pull out the win and tie the series as we head to Montreal today for Game 3.

I can only hope that the Caps will pick up where they left off and really take it to the Habs. We need to have a game where we dominate. We should dominate. We are the better team and we need to show it. A couple of keys to the game:

1. Caps have got to continue to shoot up high on Halak. This is where he seems to have difficulty.

2. Caps cannot get discouraged by the number of shots blocked by the Habs. They need to either find better lanes to shoot and take better quality shots and/or keep pounding the shots that are blocked and not get discouraged.

3. Defense needs to tighten up. Green and Schultz in particular. We are an offensive minded team and Green is an offensive defenseman but you need to have good defense in the playoffs. That is what killed us the last couple years and we need to learn from our mistakes. Defense has got to tighten up.

4. Who will be the goalie? Theo was pulled in Game 2 after letting in 2 goals on the first 2 shots - although the second one was definitely not his fault and really a product of the poor defense mentioned above. Still, it was a good call by Boudreau to send in Varly just to shake up the team. Theo was money the latter part of the season and he is a veteran and is deserving of the nod. Varly has tremendous flexibility and obviously is young and has much more potential. My personal belief is that Theo should get the call. He was outstanding the latter part of the season and has earned this spot. Also, it is harder to tell Theo he is being benched, send in Varly, and then have to replace Varly if he plays poorly then the reverse because I can only imagine Theo would be ticked off that the coaches don't believe in him even after his stellar play late in the year AND he has done nothing to deserve a benching. I would give the start to Theo but have him on a short leash again and make sure Varly is standing by ready to get in the game.

In the end, hopefully the Caps light it up tonight and everyone is able to get into the action.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!!

Caps playoffs start tonight. It's an interesting game because the Caps are by far the best team in terms of their performance in the regular season. Again, all the pressure is on them because no one is giving the Canadiens a chance so they have nothing to lose. The thing is the Caps have been starting out slow in games recently and the Habs have a great power play and solid goaltending that might find a way to steal a game or two. The good thing is the Canadiens finished up the year poorly and hopefully that carries over into the playoffs.

Backstrom is fighting off an illness and Theo left practice with a stinger to the knee. I don't want to sound pessimistic because the Caps had won the President's Cup for a reason. We are not the underdog but we certainly can't take this game/series lightly. We saw last night that the #8 Avalanche took down the #1 Sharks so it does happen. Playoffs are a totally different game than the regular season.

The good thing is that we are physically dominant and an offensive juggernaut. Equally important, I really believe Boudreau has gotten this team to realize how good they are and that they truly believe that they should win the Cup. When you watch the Caps, they are never out of it. I can't remember seeing a team able to just turn it on during a game and completely own the game. We need to send a message tonight and win. We need to take care of the Canadiens quickly in this series and can't afford a mentally/physically draining long series. We need to get through these guys quickly and rest up for the next series.

I'm looking forward to tonight and expect a big win in front of the home crowd. No doubt the crowd will be rocking the red and hopefully we come out unleashing the fury.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

JC signs the tender

So Robs thought that there was a zero chance of JC returning to the Skins and that the Skins had pulled the tender from JC is wrong yet again. JC signed the tender and now it is up to the Skins to find a trade partner. This will be interesting because JC is no longer a RFA and will make $3.1M next year. We'll see what happens.

Still, Robs hate for the Skins runs SO deep that it clouds his thinking and yet somehow he believes he remains objective.

Caps face Canadiens in opening round

The regular season is over and the playoffs start up on Wednesday.

The Caps are the overall #1 seed and have clinched home ice throughout the playoffs and start their run to the Cup on Thursday against the #8 seeded Canadiens.

Most everyone is not giving Montreal a shot and it makes sense given how strong the Caps have been all year. We won the President's Cup. We have been an offensive juggernaut. We have a record of 30-4-8 since Ovie took over as Captain. We have been one of the most dominant teams in recent history.

All that said, in some ways I feel there is more pressure on the Caps in this series than the Canadiens. The Canadiens have nothing to lose because no one expects them to win. If for some reason, the Caps lose Game 1, there will be a ton of pressure on Game 2.

My concerns on the Caps are that they have been starting out slowly and that we still don't seem clear on a #1. I expect Theo to get the nod for his strong play recently but I imagine there will be a pretty short leash if he struggles and we will go with Varly. The thing is Varly hasn't been great recently and it will be tough to pull Theo, go to Varly, and have to go back to Theo and really play with these guys heads.

So I do have concerns BUT I do understand that the Caps are the best team in hockey and deservedly so and I believe Boudreau and this team will be ready to play. I feel that this is their year. They were good last year but I never felt like we were ready for the Cup and I kept saying that it would be this year. The time is now and hopefully we will make short work of the Canadiens. I expect the Caps to win in five.

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!!

New Nike commerical with Tigger

Interesting commercial because it really doesn't advertise the product until the logo at the end. Still, it probably has the desired effect of catching interest because most everyone is interested in anything Tigger right now. Think it probably does a good job to help Tigger's image a little bit by drawing in the voice of his deceased dad with a solemn looking b/w video of Tigger asking if Tigger has learned anything.

Crazy story about players beating up their coach after winning a championship...

Six Slovenian ice hockey players who beat up their American coach after winning a league title were released by the team Thursday.

Mike Posma, a former American Hockey League player who took over as coach last year, was beaten up by his players Saturday following Acroni Jesenice's celebrations for winning the title. The 42-year-old New Jersey native was cut and bruised but not seriously injured.

The team denounced the incident Thursday and announced the end of the players' contracts. Club president Slavko Kanalec said the team was "shocked" and "strongly condemns" the incident.

The team said it also suspended further contract talks with Posma, who reportedly left Slovenia for the United States earlier Thursday.

Slovenian media say that both the six players and Posma were drunk while celebrating the team's third consecutive national league title.

The six players were reportedly angry at Posma because he allegedly told a 19-year-old backup goaltender to drive a car -- even though he knew the man was drunk. The goaltender subsequently crashed the car.

The six then turned on the coach, reportedly beating him with wooden traffic signs that they found by the side of the road.

Only in Slovenia I guess.

Flozell Adams a Skin?

The Skins appear to be interested in former Cowboy O lineman Flozell Adams. I would be okay with this pickup as long as we don't lock him up long term on a crazy contract. He would obviously be much better than what we currently have and I'm sure Flozell would want to play hard so that he could stick it right up Jerry Jones arse for letting him go.

McNabb wants him and like McNabb he would be playing with that chip on his shoulder particularly in divisional games.

Haynesworth not going anywhere

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that Haynesworth is not being discussed in any trades and will be with the Redskins this season. Makes sense as the Skins have already sunk millions of dollars in the guy and we need to see some return on investment.

Frankly, I don't care if Haynesworth cries about the 3-4 defense and this and that. He has been paid millions and should shut up and play where ever the coaches tell him to play.

Haynesworth is still the most dominant DT in the game but he needs to prove himself again. The problem is Haynesworth seems like a complainer and cry baby so it will be interesting to see if he is rededicating himself to be a dominant player to show his coaches, teammates, fans, the league or if he will sulk about not getting what he wants.

McNabb a Skin

Pretty surprising. Didn't even realize we were a player in the McNabb sweepstakes.

He is now the starter. I do feel bad for JC as I never felt he got a fair shake here in D.C. and now he will most likely be gone. I can only hope the best for him.

Back to McNabb. The facts are that he is a perennial Pro Bowl player and a HOFer. We have improved at the position but the question is how much. I think McNabb is a slightly better physical talent over JC. I do think his decision making is better than JC but probably the biggest difference is his leadership abilities.

The interesting thing is that we will find out how much of the problems on offense were JC and how much were the O line as McNabb will have the opportunity to play behind this group.

I suppose the best thing is that I was afraid that we would take a QB with our first round pick this year and that it would be Jimmy Clausen which I thought would have been a HUGE mistake. So basically we save our first round pick and I assume we will go O line which is what we need to do and with our second round pick we get a Pro Bowl QB.

We'll see how this plays out.