Outside of fans and the NFL, I don't think any player or coach enjoys Thursday night games. Still, it is what it is and you have to play the game. A few interesting thoughts on the game:
1. First and foremost is Captain Kirk. He has played well in the last two games and he has a chance to show case his talents at home on national tv. Another strong performance will only add and intensify the talks of him being the better fit than RG3. Fans and media will have a field day with it. That's what they are supposed to do but the coaches are the ones that will ultimately make the decisions. I don't doubt it will be a topic of discussion in the pre game and I'm sure there will be camera shots of RG3 on the sidelines. It is an interesting story and we'll see how it plays out.
2. Injuries. The Skins are listing 17 players on the injury report and a short week will not help players get healthy. Hopefully the Skins can get through this game without adding to the list and then they will have a little extra time to recover.
3. Secondary. To point #2, one of the injuries suffered last week was D. Hall's ruptured achilles. He's done for the year so that means in comes rookie Baushad Breeland. It will be a young tandem of CBs with Amerson manning the other CB spot. I like both these guys. I'm fine with Amerson in there. I think Breeland has talent but he is raw and brash and physical and he will be prone to gambling and his physical play will result in penalties. Should be fun to watch these guys.
4. Ground game. Got to get the ground game going. Morris only averaged a little more than three yards per carry last week. That has to improve. I imagine he will get more going at home.
5. Orakpo? Need for him to step up. He considers himself an elite player. We have yet to see it. He's solid but we need better production from him. He hurt ligaments in his middle finger last week and will be playing with a hard cast but he needs to get at Elisha and get a couple of meaningful sacks. We also need for Kerrigan and Hatcher (who is nursing a sore hamstring) to get pressure and create turnovers by the turnover prone Elisha.
6. Lauvao? This guy was a bigger offseason signing but has been thus far a disappointment. He has a sore knee so that may be hampering him. He was pulled out of the last game so will be interesting to see if he gets the nod or if they give it to LeRibeus. This is something to watch.
7. "Special" teams? Still being plagued by poor special teams play. Gave up another TD on a kickoff last week. They certainly look more capable than last season but they have to be more consistent.
In the end, I expect the Skins to win this one 31-17 with the defense creating a couple of turnovers and possibly a TD.
HTTR!!!
3 comments:
I believe the Skins will win. I do not think the Giants are very good. With Cousins playing, the Skins are a team on the rise. Their offense appears very potent. I think they played fairly well against the Eagles but just came up a few plays short. I like watching Cousins run that offense. I think he will only get better. I don't think the Giants will be able to keep up. I don't think the Giants defense is anything special either.
Overshadowing all of this is the RG3 debate. In my opinion, I believe if Cousins is playing well and winning games and gets this team in the playoff race, you cant possibly place a rusty RG3 back into the lineup. Especially since he hasn't really shown that he is a capable QB since late in 2012. Yeah sure he hasn't lost any games for the skins but he hasn't won any for them either as he was brought in here to do. The skins paid a lot for him but maybe its time to qualify that as a sunk cost and move forward. Even if he is made to be the starter again, how long is it before he gets injured again.
I believe if a Cousins led team can get them in the playoff race or into the playoffs, then the choice is clear. And not to take anything away from RG3 and what he might accomplish later in his career, but so far he has been a wash and his time in DC is likely over. Thats assuming that Cousins continues to play at the same level he is now.
RG3 needs to become more mature. I think his mindset isn't right. I can see him panning out like Randall Cunningham did later in his career when the spotlight has faded from him and he is forced to use his brain more than rely his physical abilities to play QB effectively. The NFL and skins fans aren't patient enough to wait 5 years for this guy to learn mental toughness. I expect that Cousins will continue on his current pace and the Skins will make the playoffs or get close, and RG3 will be traded in the offseason.
Skins win 34-24
NOOOOOOOOO! Sexy Rexy Cousins threw some alarmingly bad passes. That doesn't excuse the horrible pass coverage, but man, things look a whole lot worse than they did a day ago for the Deadskins.
I guess all of us were wrong in predicting the Skins to win this one. It's Cousins turn after Rodgers to tell his fans to "R-E-L-A-X", it is just one game after all.
All this talk of him being a better fit for Gruden's "system" bothers me. Maybe the system should have been designed for the best QB on your team.
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