Sandy, Baby: November 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

#21

I was a little let down with the loss to the Giants today. I really expected the Redskins to remain competitive against a tough team with the emotion of the anniversary of Sean Taylor's murder. (I also though the Palaxico distraction wouldn't hurt either.)
I didn't really expect a win, but a tight, close game would've been nice. Instead, we got the same old stuff -- lack of offense and a failure to execute. I thought our secondary would play a lot better. I still think we can end the season well, may be even win three of the last four games. But I think playoff hopes are unrealistic at this point.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Praise YouTube

Monday, November 24, 2008

Ball Hawkin' the Sea Hawks

Thanks Goodness our secondary develop some hands against Seattle. It helped turn an ugly game into a win. At 7-4, I am still hopeful that the Redskins can make it to the playoffs. But man, I am still not sure they deserve it.

I mean, they fight hard, play well (at times), but when will they dominate?

Monday, November 17, 2008

???

Should I be worried here? Has our head of steam evaporated? Under Gibbs the team surged in the second half of the season, have we reversed that? Tell me it ain't so Zorn.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Prognostications...

Killing time as I watch the Dallas game...hmmm...maybe DeAngelo wasn't that bad a pick-up -- at least he can hang onto interceptions thrown right at him. If a strong locker-room culture can teach him the right way to approach, well, being a professional, being a team player, being a positive human being, he's got some skillz.

Too often fans act like the road to the playoffs starts in week 16 when talking heads begin considering playoff possibilities. But we pretty much know by now how tough different teams are, and it can be easy to give some...
NFC PREDICTIONS -
Team last 6 games final record
Division Winners
NY Giants 4-2 13-3 best team in the NFL; meaningless loss to Vikings at end
Tampa Bay 4-2 11-5 this should count as going .500 as they tee up on the Lions and Raiders
Arizona 3-3 10-6 a dangerous team...
Green Bay 4-2 9-7 Aaron Rodgers is the anti-diva
Wildcards
Carolina 3-3 11-5 rough schedule; 2nd loss to Tampa makes them a wildcard
Skins 4-2 11-5 losses to Giants and either Ravens or Eagles

Also-rans
Dallas 3-3 8-8 jinxing this with an in-game prediction...
Atlanta 3-3 9-7 great turnaround but still a year away
Minnesota 3-3 8-8 hate to say it, but Favre could've helped

It's clear that:
the Skins won't catch the Giants, so wildcard is their only route in
they currently are in the driver's seat at 6-3
it could come down to best division record with Carolina

Beating Carolina out for the #1 wildcard could mean the difference between facing Green Bay, then Tampa Bay OR the much harder road of Arizona, NY Giants
Let's assume the Skins eek out a better division record

1st round of playoffs:
Washington 24 Green Bay 13
Carolina 17 Arizona 14

2nd round:
Ny Giants 21 Carolina 10
Washington 27 Tampa Bay 20

NFC championship
NYG 23 Skins 17 - we have a chance to win, but just miss out

Giants beat Tennessee, 13-7 in the Super Bowl

2nd round

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Um, guess who's better than the Wiz?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Zorn, Horton, Portis, Campbell get love

From the ESPN NFC Blog, giving some love to the Zorn-again:

The halfway coach of the year: And our first Middie goes to Redskins first-year head coach Jim "Z Man" Zorn. Tom Coughlin has done a phenomenal job of guiding his players through some adversity (Osi Umenyiora, Plaxico Burress), but Zorn is the one who's caught everyone by surprise. When I talked to Joe Gibbs on Monday (you like how I did that?), he couldn't stop talking about the job Zorn has done. Zorn had the good sense not to blow up everything and make a bunch of changes. He's secure enough to surround himself with Gibbs holdovers, and he does a great job of empowering his staff. If you thought this team could be 6-3 after that opening game in the Meadowlands, meet me in Vegas next weekend. Zorn is the rare head coach who doesn't try to act like he has all the answers. His postgame news conferences feel like brainstorming sessions. I'm pretty sure he asked a reporter Sunday how he liked the Redskins' burgundy on burgundy look. That alone makes him worthy of a Middie. Rookie of the (half) year: Before the season, you thought Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson and Cowboys running back Felix Jones were the best candidates for a Middie. Neither of those players has disappointed, although Jones has missed three games with a hamstring injury. But for my money, no rookie has had a bigger impact than Redskins seventh-round draft pick Chris Horton. Fortunately for executive vice president of Danny Snyder's football team, Vinny Cerrato, Horton has helped take the attention away from those three second-round picks. If anyone spots Malcolm Kelly, send him back to Redskins Park. But the seventh-rounder Horton has been the team's best playmaker on defense -- outside of maybe London Fletcher. A scout told me recently that Horton was a "poor man's Troy Polamalu," which was definitely meant as a compliment. Horton is not particularly fast, but he always ends up near the ball. Watching him throw his body at Willie Parker on Monday was pretty entertaining.

Most improved: This one's always a little awkward. It sort of sheds light on the fact that a player may have struggled in the past. For instance, we've eliminated Clinton Portis and DeMarcus Ware from the "Most Improved" category. And our winner is: Jason Campbell of the Redskins. Despite his poor performance Monday against the Steelers, Campbell has been rock solid for much of the season. He makes plays when the game is on the line and he has embraced Zorn's West Coast offense. Campbell's biggest strength is his knack for remaining calm at all times. You can't tell by his demeanor whether he's won or lost -- and that's a good thing. The MVP after nine weeks: Clinton Portis is a no-brainer. A running back can set the tone for a team, and Portis' rugged style resonates throughout the organization. He committed himself to getting in better shape this past offseason and it's paying huge dividends. If the season ended today, Portis would be the odds-on favorite for league MVP. Who else are you going to pick? Albert Haynesworth? Nope, Portis is the man and he's poised to take home the MVP hardware.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Hall of Shame

This guy is bad news. It's a mistake to throw this guy into the mix with a new Zorn-again culture forming in our locker .
Stay medium? Don't think so.
All you need to know is that my hometown Falcons dumped him at the end of last season. A franchise that was circling the bottom of the bowl in an unprecedented way simply had no use for him. A franchise that has rebuilt impressively behind the solid front office leadership of Dimitroff and coaching of Mike Smith, that has proven they know what they are doing, kicked him to the curb.
I know, I know, one person's trash is another's treasure. And we did get him for a Filene's Basement price. But like a Filene's Basement bargain: attitude high, prices low.
A short review of MeAngelo Hall's attitude is in order. Let's go to the videotape!!!
Getting outrun by a one-shoed Hines Ward.
Getting burned time after time after time - Jay Cutler
Diva-distraction.

The gamble here is that the Skins lockerroom culture can somehow teach MeAngelo to control his divisive, negative behavior that morphs into a monster at the drop of a hat.
But given this ownership's track record with free agent superstars (see 1999-2005) I think it's a bad fit. And dumping a Torrence instead of draft pick Tryon (wasn't he the nemesis in Teen Titans?) or putting one of the out-of-shape injured receivers on IR for the year... the team attitude pendulum just went a couple ticks from postive to negative. We'll see...