Rexy - Not Hating.

Okay, before some people fly off the handle, I want to make it clear that I am not hating on Rexy. My points have been that Rexy has shown flashes of brilliance but he has also shown moments of tremendous suckiness. Basically, he has been erratic and inconsistent. I have said that I am not alone in feeling this way. Additionally, I have been told by some people that the majority of fans in Chicago support Rexy.

I will pull the following excerpts from the Tribune and let you be the judge on whether I am just a hater or if I have tried to be objective. Again, the below was taken from David Haugh, a Tribune writer who covers the Chicago Bears.

"The pass, intended for tight end Greg Olsen, never should have been thrown even if the Bears did lead 24-7. It resembled the type of mistake that marked Grossman's wildly inconsistent 2006 season."

"The fans' boos after Grossman fumbled a snap were much louder than they were after Harris' interception. Maybe the first bad play made them angry and the second just made them anxious."

"The Bears just might have to accept the reality that he can be as bad one series as he is good the next, and vice versa. But anytime Grossman wants to stop driving that point home, it would be fine with Bears fans."

"Four plays after the Harris pick, for example, Grossman nearly gave it away again when outside linebacker Manny Lawson stepped in front of intended receiver Jason McKie but dropped what could have been another returned TD."

Additionally, in a poll conducted by the Tribune on who should start the final preseason game (Grossman or Griese), nearly 54% said it should be Griese. Also, at the time I viewed the poll, more than 2,400 people voted. Haugh said in another article that Griese should start the final preseason game. Not so much as a threat to Rexy but the game is largely meaningless and it would give Griese the opportunity to work with the first team to see how he performs.

Okay, before some people fly off the handle and say that I am hating or bashing I want to make it clear that my point is more to let some people understand that I am not alone in my views on Rexy.

I have said many of these things before and have been labeled a "hater" or a "basher" by some people. My point is that Rexy has shown that he is inconsistent. Also, fair or not, he is under a microscope and every mistake is magnified. In some ways, it is sad because he has had success and every mistake in his home field he is going to hear it from his home town fans.

The boo birds are already out in full flock and he has to become more consistent to win them over.

I have long contended that the great thing is that Rexy has full support of his coaches and teammates (even if he doesn't have the media and fans support) which means a lot. Still, he has to become more consistent and cut down on the blunders (especially the big ones).

Personally, I think Rexy will improve this year. However, it will be tough given the scrutiny he is under. Fortunately, he has a strong team and coaching staff behind him.

I know that I have been a little more colorful in previous postings on my thoughts of Rexy; however, I have tried to be relatively sensitive in this posting for some people. Again, my points are that I am not alone in how I feel. Many others believe Rexy has been inconsistent and contrary to some people's beliefs, Rexy does not have full support of the Chicago fans. I have also said that Rexy is one of the bigger stories going into the season. We'll see how this story plays out. He will have every opportunity to silence all critics and win over the fans/media. Also, I will reiterate that I am not saying whether the criticism he faces is fair or not but still that is the way it is.

Interesting quote from Ronald Reagan's Diaries.

"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."

-- Ronald Reagan in his recentlypublished diaries May 17, 1986.

Redskins preseason game #3.

The weather was the real story of the game. Lightning delayed the game and ultimately cancelled the game early in the 3rd quarter. Before the game was called, it was largely a defensive battle.

The 'Skins defense continues to impress. They look much faster and are much better at tackling. Landry has looked fantastic. He is all over the field and made a number of big hits. He is very impressive in his blitzes as well. Hopefully the strong defensive play will continue when the regular season starts.

The offense has been struggling most of the preseason. It did so again last night. Granted we were missing our starting QB, starting RB, all pro LT, and starting LG but still we have to do better. The running game has never really gotten going in the preseason which is a concern.

Still, I am encouraged with how we look overall at this point compared to this point last season. Last season, we looked arrogant and terrible. This season, the defense plays with some intensity and passion. Also, we are competing this preseason versus last preseason when we were getting blown out.

We are only 2 weeks out from the regular season...can't wait.

Bears Preseason Game #2

Was very similar to much of last year. Was not impressed with the offense. Grossman was bad. Benson did not get much in the way of running lanes. Defense was okay but they gave up quite a bit of yardage...granted they were playing the Super Bowl Champ Colts and their vaunted offense. The Bears special teams were great. Hester and Manning each had long returns and set up Bears offense.

Griese was solid in the backup role.

All in all, I expected more but it is still preseason and they have time to improve.

Bad Rexy.

1 INT and 3 fumbles in a quarter and a half...not good, Rexy.

Looks like he better get back to work with Pep and work on those fundamentals.

I know he still has a couple of weeks to go before the opener with S.D. but you would have thought he would have had a better showing than that. Also, it does nothing to dispel the questions that surround him (whether those questions are right or wrong). We'll see how this story plays out over the course of the season.

Redskins second preseason game thoughts...

First, contrary to some people's ideas, the 'Skins did not get blown away and in fact the 'Skins starters dominated the Steelers starters.

The first quarter was completely dominated by the 'Skins as they held on to the ball for nearly 12 minutes. Here are my thoughts in no general order:

1. Campbell looked very good up until he got hurt.
2. Collins lookded very good when he got a chance.
3. Defense played very well. They played with intensity and passion and you can see that they have a lot of pride.
4. Rocky McIntosh is starting the preseason like an All Pro. The guy is all over the field making plays. With McIntosh, Fletcher, and Washington, we have a VERY solid group of LBs.
5. Special teams was solid. Frost punted well and the punt/kickoff coverage teams made several good tackles not allowing the returners much space.


Here are the negative points:

1. O line was better but continues to be an issue. They did not create many running lanes for the backs and could not pick up the blitzes.
2. Said running game NEEDS to improve. It was a strong point for us last year and I expect this to be better.
3. Even though we dominated most offensive categories, we did not put up many points. That has to change.
4. Even though the defense was aggressive, we need to create turnovers.
5. Brunell sucks! He made a couple of decent plays on the last drive to set us up for a win but then to get a delay of game penalty and then with the last play knowing we don't have any timeouts, why is he throwing down the middle of the field? Even if the receiver caught the ball, he would have been tackled and time would have expired. Brunell is supposed to be a seasoned veteran but that was a stupid play.

Other:

1. The injury to Campbell was frightening. When I saw him rolling around and then the replays, I thought the worst and pretty thought the season was a wash. However, the reports are that it is just bruised and there is nothing serious. Hopefully that is the case.
2. The injury to Washington is disappointing. He is a good LB and he worked hard to come back from hip surgery so hopefully he can return soon. Last I heard was it would be a couple of weeks.
3. The injury to Espy is disappointing because he was a decent player. While he was not critical to the team's success, he seemed like a decent guy and now his season is over.

All in all, I am very pleased with the way the team looks right now. They are MUCH better than where they were last year at this point. At least we look like we have some pride and passion and that we can compete out there. The O line needs to shore up and the running game needs to improve and hopefully we don't suffer any injuries to any key players and we should be pretty good.

I'm out!

Redskins first preseason game.

Got to say, I felt pretty good about the game on Sat. night. Sure there could have been some improvements but all in all, they were much improved from last year's preseason.

Even though the starting offense didn't put up any points, I thought JC played pretty well. He was 6-14 for 104 yards. He had two accurate balls thrown about 15 yards downfield that were dropped as well. The only passes that I felt he missed were a 5 yard buttonhook that he threw over Randle El's head (it was a hot and muggy night and it was clear he lost his grip) and a deep flare out that he threw a yard or two past the WR. Still, I felt like he had a pretty solid performance and was pleased.

I was very pleased with the overall play of the defense. I thought the LBs were very good. Fletcher was all over the field and McIntosh showed good athleticism in pass coverage. The D line was solid which was good. Landry made some hard hits especially on Collins on a 3rd down blitz where he came in untouched and leveled Collins. Collins just got the ball away for an incompletion but it took him a few seconds to get up from the hit. Apparently, the thinking is that with the improvements made in the secondary, the D can blitz more and be more aggressive. That's kind of what they showed against the Titans. We'll see how it works during the season.

The problem I had was with the O line. They did not open many running lanes and Campbell was under constant pressure. The pressure led to two fumbles as well which we can't have happen. The first fumble killed a good opening drive by the 'Skins. Granted we had a rookie in at LT in place of perennial All Pro Chris Samuels but still the line looked shaky. Todd Wade apparently is having difficulty adjusting to LG from his normal tackle position and that could be a problem. Hopefully things get worked out in time for the season.

The 'Skins ended up winning the game and scored two late TDs (one coming from the defense). What I thought was really important was how happy the team was with the victory. Guys like Moss showed a rare smile and Portis was jumping up and down on the sidelines with the defensive TD. To me, this is an important factor at this point in the preseason. Guys care about winning even if it is only preseason.

Again, all in all, I was encouraged and hopefully we can make continued improvement in each preseason game leading into the regular season.