**Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Not sure who the Skins fans around here are besides myself, Assani and Carl Spackler but let's give this a shot and hopefully get some good NFC East discussion going.

I was at the Miami game and was encouraged by some things: our run defense looked a lot better than last season (sure, it was against the Dolphins' lame offensive line) and Clinton Portis looks fully recovered from his injuries of a year ago and from the knee tendonitis issues he had in training camp.

We also had two sacks and forced a turnover, but sadly could not intercept Trent Green once. Rocky McIntosh and LaRon Landry and London Fletcher seemed to play very well.

I was not too pleased w/ our pass defense however. Greg Williams was playing a lot of cover-3 w/ Landry near the line of scrimmage in run support and Sean Taylor playing center field. In a bizarre development, Fred Smoot got the start over Shawn Springs. That better not happen again, but word is that Springs may have fallen out of favor w/ the coaches after refusing to take a pay cut in the offseason. Smoot gave up a bunch of catches and dropped a sure pick-6 to end the game in the last minute of regulation. At that point I was thinking, "same old Redskins" b/c we couldn't hang onto an INT last year if our season depended on it.

Jason Campbell really killed the momentum that the defense gave the team by throwing a pick over the middle on his first attempt of the season. Apparently he didn't see the safety jump in front of Chris Cooley. Decisions like these should get easier for him as he gets more experience. Campbell looked great on the deep balls he threw to Antwaan Randle El for 35 and 49 yards to set up scores. Neither of those receptions were the Hail Mary at the end of regulation. I don't think JC could have thrown those bombs any better--they were right on the money. He also had a great scramble for a first down on 3rd and 7 in the 4th quarter. He avoided the pass rush very well too.

Santana Moss caught only three passes and Cooley had just one catch, but it was a big one on a 3rd down in overtime. Randle El should be a much bigger part of the offense this season and he really showed us something on Sunday.

We signed Reche Caldwell yesterday and that will hopefully end the Brandon Lloyd experiment in DC. Lloyd failed to make a play on the ball that JC threw him in the endzone and it resulted in an interception. Lloyd proceded to not hustle to tackle on the play. I wanted to see him succeed this year but he just doesn't have it and is not a team player.

Shawn Suisham was great and even tho it was just one game, hopefully we have finally found a real [censored] kicker and can end the revolving door that we've had at that spot since the days of Chip Lohmiller. Not too sure why Joe Gibbs elected to kick the OT FG on 1st down. I would have preferred a couple of runs b/c the Miami D was fatigued and we were running all over them.

The victory came at a price however as Jon Jansen suffered a broken fibula and dislocated ankle and is out for the season. Todd Wade will play in his stead and he might be better than Jansen in pass protection. It looks like Jansen has been losing it in recent years and I think we definitely need to try to get younger on the offensive line in April's draft.

I see this team going 7-9, maybe 8-8 if JC continues to improve and if the defense bounces back from last season's debacle.

As for the Eagles on Monday night...it's going to be a tough game to win. We've dropped four of the last five in Philadelphia and it's going to be a long night if we don't get any kind of pass rush at all, which has been our M.O. since Ken Harvey was on the team.

Okay everybody reply and Go Redskins!

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Hail

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Great writeup...thanks for taking the time! Go Skins!

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Seems like a pretty fair analysis to me, Tyler. I think the Skins are pretty solid, and Campbell will only get better, but they still have enormous depth problems because they give away so many draftpicks. Do they have all their 2008 picks?

I'm predicting 7-9 or 8-8, but they could easily steal a game or two here or there and 9-7 is probably a wildcard spot in the NFC.

I'm looking foward to Monday night, should be a good measuring game for both teams.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Washington is actually one of my sleeper picks this year. Barring any major injuries, this is a strong offense with a decent defense. Not deep playoff run strong, but wildcard round is possible.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
Do they have all their 2008 picks?


[/ QUOTE ]

No. I believe they gave up their 2008 4th for Kendall and their 2008 5th for Duckett last year. Maybe I'm reversing these two, I dunno. Either way I think they are already out 2 of 7 picks in 2008.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Do they have all their 2008 picks?


[/ QUOTE ]

No. I believe they gave up their 2008 4th for Kendall and their 2008 5th for Duckett last year. Maybe I'm reversing these two, I dunno. Either way I think they are already out 2 of 7 picks in 2008.

[/ QUOTE ]

The pick we gave up for Kendall is a conditional one. If he plays 80% of the snaps or more this season the Jets get our 4th rounder in 2009, b/c our 4th rounder in 2008 was traded for Duckett. If Kendall suffers an injury that keeps him out of enough snaps, New York will get the 2008 5th round pick.

I believe we picked up an extra 2008 6th rounder by dealing Adam Archuleta.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

It was good to see Pierson Prioleau (sp?) on the field again. We brought Omar Stoutmire back and he signed today b/c Prioleau and Vernon Fox suffered injuries on Sunday (neither is believed to be serious).

It looks like Frosty has bounced back from a rough preseason.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Ah gotcha. Thanks for the correction. Pretty likely Kendall sees 80% of the offensive snaps (barring injury of course).

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I remember Prioleau playing for Williams in Buffalo - didn't realize he was still in the league. Not a terrible player IIRC.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

BTW- you guys don't have a real win. You just won a coin toss.

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I just watched the Skins-Fins game on the NFL Network. NFL Network is the nuts.

Couple random observations:

1) Chris Samuels had a great game run blocking. Early on I was laughing at him for blocking no one on a running play that got blown up in the backfield and later for allowing the Jason Taylor sack. But as the game wore on, he started mauling people. Consistantly getting a chip on the DE and then getting to the second level to blow up a LB. He had a great block on the Portis TD, and later sealed off the left for a long run in overtime.

2) Fred Smoot was a disaster in the first half. Trent Green completed about five easy curls to various wide recievers, all with Smoot playing way too far off. I guess they made some halftime adjustments because it stopped after that, but hopefully the Eagles took note.

3) Shawn Springs is much, much better than Carlos Rogers or Smoot. On almost every Miami completion (or drop), there was either Smoot or Rogers seperated from the reciever. Their game charting numbers would have been a disaster if not for all the Miami drops.

4) Jason Campbell is more mobile than I realized.

5) Zach Thomas made an amazing play to stuff that end around in the 2nd half. It looked like he was watching the left guard, who pulled left a little early, because he took off to the offensive left before the hand-off was even completed. He then closed at full speed, dodged a block, and just blew up the play for a loss. He still has it.

6) In general, the Washington LB aren't too good in pass coverage. Miami doesn't have a TE to take advantage, but the Eagles do. Look for McNabb to find Westbrook, LJ and Schobel (and maybe even the rookie Celek) repeatedly this week.

Overall though, the game reaffirmed what I already thought; Washington is pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

2) Fred Smoot was indeed a disaster. He gave up a bunch of easy catches. I have no idea why he started ahead of Shawn Springs. SS better be in there on Monday night.

4) I like JC's mobility a lot. He evades the rush very well and can get some yardage on the run. Definitely a plus.

5) That was a great play by Zach Thomas but the blocker should have blocked him a lot better.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I watched the monday Gibbs presser.

He was pretty vague, but basically said Springs wasn't injured, but wasn't 100% either. He does expect him to get starts in the future, but never committed to anything since they are deep at that position.

I wish they would get a GM, but I'm always very optimistic with a Gibbs team.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

God I miss living in DC and being able to watch the Redskins... as bad as they have been, they're miles ahead of the [censored] Cardinals...

-d

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Good article in today's ComPost about London Fletcher's halftime speech.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I've been thrilled with the signing of Fletcher ever since March, and this is why. He led the team in tackles and showed veteran leadership when it was most needed. Go Skins!!

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

May Portis score 3td's and run for 200 tonight.

signed,

A cowboys fan in need of some fantasy points

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Lets go Eagles.

signed,

an eagles fan

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I'm not expecting a win by any means but I really hope we won't lose w/o a whimper. I want to jump up from the couch in excitement at least once. Let's just not get shutout, that would be great.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Awesome win for us tonight. This defense is looking legit. Great hit by LaRon Landry on the last play of the game.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I am very impressed with JC based on our first 2 games also our makeshift line held it together which made me proud

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Any word on Randy Thomas's torn triceps?

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

my post from the game thread:

Thoughts on the game:

Really like what ARE is bringing to the table this year. Hes a legit #2 WR now imo. Between him, Moss, Cooley, Portis, and Betts we have some legit weapons to work with on O.

I love Campbell. I love his arm, I love his poise, I love his ability to occasionally run. With that said, he just has to hit Moss when hes wide open like that.

Our o-line is now way banged up. The right side was collapsing on every play...not a good sign.

Our DBs were out of this world tonight. Not only do they cover well, but they were often left one on one and they gave up a catch but instantly made a tackle....really liked to see that, especially from a guy like Taylor who goes for big hits but isn't always fundamental.

Our d-line is just horrid. Thats our one big weakness. I think we should blitz more often and let our DBs earn their paychecks by playing one on one more often....seems like hte only way we can get a pass rush.

Donovan McNabb is simply not a very good QB right now. His WRs also suck. Westbrook is the only positive thing on that offense right now imo and its too easy to just key on him.

Eagles D really isn't that bad at all. Definitley top 15 and maybe higher imo.

Really nice to have a good kicker finally. Suisham(sp?) not only makes them, but he nails them right down the middle. I have a ton of confidence in him right now.

I was really pissed at that overturned fumble call. I don't know how they can overturn it when NONE OF THE REPLAYS SHOWED THE BALL AS HE WAS GOING DOWN(HIS BODY WAS SHIELDING OUR VIEW). How can you possibly have definite evidence of when it started to come loose then?

I hate prevent defense so very much. This game should not have been in so much doubt at the end at all.

Eagles fans are idiots and should NEVER boo McNabb...I think hes earned it. But then again they're idiots...90% of htem at least. Honestly if I was one of the 10% of good fans, I would consider changing teams....just must suck to continually be grouped into such a bunch of idiots.

Dallas at Chicago next week, Washington at home vs Giants....first place anyone?

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

HAIL. My good friend went to a bar called Philly's Favorites in jacksonville, Fla. tonight wearing his Cooley jersey. Go skins

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
Any word on Randy Thomas's torn triceps?

[/ QUOTE ]
According to the Washington Post, he's gonna get a MRI exam Tuesday. Other WP articles indicate he feels like he might be done for the year but the MRI will obviously be more conclusive.

Losing a pro bowl caliber guard hurt more than losing Jon Jansen- Todd Wade is an upgrade as a pass-blocker (showed it tonight as well as against the Saints last year versus their very good DE's). Jason Fabini performed admirably, all things considered (had a terrible training camp and I had believed until tonight that Mike Pucillo was the #1 backup). The 'Skins might have to reform to their 2005 ways of keeping an H-back or RB in pass protection, especially versus the blitz.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

http://www.garycole.net/Films/Dodgeb..._Dodgeball.jpg



"F'in A, Cotton, F'in Aaaaaaay"

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

The Redskins are the only team ranked in the top four in third-down efficiency on both offense and defense -- the offense was well below average and the defense downright awful on third down last year -- performing at levels not achieved since a run to the playoffs in 2005. With 14 games still to be played, much could change, but the early indications are better than anyone could have expected.

Quarterback Jason Campbell, in his first full season as a starter, is the catalyst for the offense, displaying poise and elusiveness against the blitz even on third and long, while defensive players like rookie safety LaRon Landry and first-year starter Rocky McIntosh, and new middle linebacker London Fletcher are making timely contributions on third down.

The result is that the offense is ranked fourth in the NFL on third-down chances and the defense is ranked first with only eight third-down conversions allowed.

The Giants, Sunday's opponents, have allowed opponents to covert on 54.5 percent of their third downs, worst in the NFL this season.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
With 14 games still to be played, much could change, but the early indications are better than anyone could have expected.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. I'm very happy with things so far.

[ QUOTE ]

Quarterback Jason Campbell, in his first full season as a starter, is the catalyst for the offense, displaying poise and elusiveness against the blitz even on third and long...

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm very impressed with Campbell. That last game in Philly was a good test for our offense and our QB especially. They have a strong secondary, a decent front four, and blitz like crazy.

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It seems that nobody is picking us to win this week and our defense is getting zero respect b/c we've played "two bad teams."

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
It seems that nobody is picking us to win this week and our defense is getting zero respect b/c we've played "two bad teams."

[/ QUOTE ]

WTF? Who is picking the Giants?

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It seems that nobody is picking us to win this week and our defense is getting zero respect b/c we've played "two bad teams."

[/ QUOTE ]

WTF? Who is picking the Giants?

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Looks like they were right to do so. Why wasn't Sellers given the ball from the 1? or Portis? wtf.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It seems that nobody is picking us to win this week and our defense is getting zero respect b/c we've played "two bad teams."

[/ QUOTE ]

WTF? Who is picking the Giants?

[/ QUOTE ]

Looks like they were right to do so. Why wasn't Sellers given the ball from the 1? or Portis? wtf.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey I didn't say the Skins were a lock. 3+1 picks. Just didn't see anyone in the media actually pick NY.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

That second half might have been the worst offensive performance I have ever seen. What awful playcalling. Run for 2 yards, run for 2 yards, incomplete pass. x4. And then play action on the potential gametying drive, with 2 mins left when they obviously aren't going to run it? Seriously wtf was that. Where was the play action all half, when the skins were leading and could easily sell the fake? Just awful. And then to not punch it in there at the end with the #1 rushing offense?

Though the defense played pretty good, Fletcher had a great game. They were helped out by all those dropped balls, and weren't looking great against the run. Its not their fault that they were on the field the entire second half. Decent pressure against Eli as well. However, Carlos Rogers is just terrible. Seriously awful. That one TD vs him would have been a pick the other way with any other of the skins CBs.

Meh. Shoulda won that one, hopefully will not come back to haunt us when we miss the wildcard by 1 game.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
What awful playcalling.

[/ QUOTE ]

The last play of the game was sickening....we should easily be a 3-0 football team

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Clinton Portis and Santana Moss might not play this weekend. Even w/ them in the lineup I am not liking our chances very much versus the Lions.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

You don't like 50/50? I'm wondering if Lions defense is considerably better than most people think. If not, Jason Campbell could light it up a la McNabb 2 weeks ago.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

I'm just now beginning to get over that Giants loss....

I still hate the spiked ball on 1st down with almost a whole minute left in the game....so unecessary imo.

Re: **Official 2007 Washington Redskins thread***
 

Skins looked great today on both sides of the ball, especially offensively, even without moss. Campbell had by far his best game as a Redskin, although Detroit's D is awful. But that doesn't change the fact that the defense was AMAZING. Unbelievble performance. The line actually got pressure for once (thanks to lions o-line being awful), and the secondary played just fantastic. Mike Sellers is a beast. I was really down over the awful Giants game collapse, and didn't know how we would perform this week, but things are definitely looking up.

Big statement with that lopsided win.

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I have no idea what spanking Detroit means for the Skins. Impressive performance by front four on defense, they didn't blitz much and constantly got to Kitna with no problem. I think most of this is the Lions scheme, Martz has no interest in keeping QB healthy. Still, Andre Carter in particular owned Backus over and over.

Mike Sellers is a freak, jesus. Who wants to tackle him? That play where Kennoy Kennedy came flying in and Sellers just tosses his flying body to the side was... holy [censored]. Beastly on short yardage. I can't believe the Lions gave up two pretty big plays on direct snaps to Portis and ARE going banannas in first half. This team let Kevin [censored] Curtis go for 200+, 3td in one half two weeks ago. I wouldn't be too optomistic about offense based on this game. At least it should give Campbell some confidence, etc., for later.