Redskins Report
Last night, my hometown Washington Redskins were embarassed on national television by the Cincinnati Bengals. Granted, 19-3 is nothing to jump off of a bridge for in the preseason. Here are some the positives:
* The pass protection was amazing. Brunell appeared to have all day to throw, which is important in this vertical passing game.
* The absence of Antwaan Randle-El was perfect. I predict that he will be the true X-factor when Washington opens the season without Portis. If the defense can keep the game close, the difference maker will be if they can execute a backbreaking trick play.
* The first team defense played hungry. Anthony Wright may suck, but there are quite a few suck-ass quarterbacks in the NFL. Should be another stellar season from the defense.
But let's not start sucking each other's dicks yet. There were a few things that were alarming as hell that jumped off of my television:
* Mark Brunell looked god-awful last night. Here's a guy who has been lauded by many (including yours truly) for being a smart quarterback who will not make big mistakes. Well, last night, he shit that theory right out of his pretentious Christian asshole. His interception to Keiwan Ratliff not only resulted in the dislocated shoulder of Clinton Portis, but was scarily reminscient of his 2004 season where he battled nagging injuries all season. If Brunell is hurt, the coaching and training staff must sit him out. He is too vital to this offense to run around and risk his crusty knees getting busted up on a bootleg.
* The Redskins are painfully thin at running back. When Portis came out, we were treated to a three headed monster that wouldn't strike fear into the Virginia Tech front seven. Out of all of the clowns who ran the ball, Mike Sellers was the only one who was effective and could be counted on to gain more than 14 inches per rush. If Ladell Betts' hamstrings continue to be a problem, this team is going to sputter until Portis returns.
* Reed Doughty...nice knowing you kid. You got your dick handed to you twice on national TV. Here's to the Greely, Col. UPS distribution center having an opening for the early shift.
* Did I mention quarterback woes? Todd Collins sucks. The man is straight ass-water.
Until next week...Go Skins.
posted by The NOVA Report @ 1:18 PM
6 Comments:
Brunell is a corpse.
Brunell is learning a new offense - and offense that Todd Collins says takes "a year" to learn. Two possible outcomes. One, he'll finish picking it up in the next month. I'm a pro-Brunell guy, so I think this is possible. Two, they just put their eggs in the Campbell basket. That's going to happen eventually, anyway, so it wouldn't be bad, either.
As for the game itself, I put absolutely zero stock in preseason. It never worries me, ever - except for injuries. In terms of the Redskins being "painfully thin" at RB, I think most NFL teams would be painfully thin if their top two backs got hurt. I think, quite to the contrary, that the Redskins have better depth at RB than most NFL teams. I'm shocked Betts is back, to be honest. He could have been a feature back for several teams (Jets, anyone?).
Bottom line: We'll see where we are in three weeks. I'll say this, though: Even though the two offenses are cousins of one another, I prefer the Joe Gibbs system to Al Saunders. I'm not basing that on the playcalling in the preseason game (which is beyond meaningless, as you're seeing 5-10% of the playbook), I'm just saying that, structurally, I've always liked the Gibbs version better. Again, we'll see what things look like against the Vikings in a month.
One more thing: Brunell is the opposite of pretentious. Not sure what you're talking about there.
I agree with a lot you are saying, but it's not his comfort in the offene I had issue with, but it was the relative lack of zip he was getting on the ball. The ball he threw to Ratliff was terrible from a fundamental standpoint.
I am not a big fan of Ladell Betts. Every time I have seen him play, he has been on the cusp of having a great game, only to fall off toward the middle and produce middling results. I agree that most teams are thin at running back, but the dropoff from Portis to the current backup-- Rock Cartwright-- is like going from the NFL to junior college.
I agree about preferring Gibbs' offense. I neglected to make this point in the report, but if you had watched Cooley, the Bengals did a great job of neutralizing him by jamming him at the LOS...and I blame that on Saunders' insistence to have him lineup at tight-end, instead of the H-back. That extrat 2 yards could give him more time to not get bumped off of his route.
Thanks for the readership!
Nova, that's a great point re: Cooley. Good thoughts on the Skins. I look forward to reading all year! To be honest, I'm a little worried that some in the Skins organization might be ready to write this off as a "transition" year (i.e. installing Saunders' offense, getting Campbell in as the starter). That would be a shame. It's probably an unfounded fear, but I worry every time I hear things like, "This offense takes a year to learn," and "the playbook is 700 pages long."
I've been saying all along that Brunell blows. I maintain my stance until proven otherwise. Proof enough for me will be that he helps lead the team to a 10-6 record or better (being injured and possibly letting someone better play does not count as helping ;) ).
I imagine you're happy about the Duckett trade...
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