Game 16: Redskins (6-9) vs. Giants (9-6)

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: All that is left is spoiling. So go do it. I'm going to the Eagles-Cowboys game. /2010season

Game 15: Redskins (5-9) at Jaguars (8-6)

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May Take in 60 Words or Less: The notion that Donovan McNabb's agent could go on the attack and not be representing his client is total bullshit. Donovan is simply trying to avoid confrontation so he lied to Kyle Shanahan. Simple as that.



NFL helmets from here.

Game 14: Redskins (5-8) at Cowboys (4-9)

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: For the first time since 2003 I am taking the opponent to win. That's right, I switched both my pool picks to Cowboys.

Game 12: Redskins (5-6) at Giants (7-4)

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: Are you there god? It's me Ben, if you have to give us a demoralizing blowout where the Redskins are the child being fed live to the giant python, at least please don't let have Donovan McNabb get hurt.


In other news, Santana Moss, Albert Haynesworth, LaRon Landry and Carlos Rogers are all inactive. Great. (Ed. note, looks like Santana was a go after all, mot making much of a difference through one quarter. -Ben)

Game 11: Redskins (5-5) vs. Vikings (3-7)

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: I have no idea how to call this game, I have no idea who is going to show up for either team, I really hope the Redskins do not roll over and give the Vikings their one game new coach bump win on the road.

Game 10: Redskins (4-5) at Titans (5-4)

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Because no one gives a fuck and the Redskins are going to get killed.



NFL helmets from here.

Game 9: Redskins (4-4) vs. Eagles (5-3)

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Out of the Box: The rematch, on Monday Night Football no less, as the new quarterback plays his old team in the stadium where he won ten times in eleven years, it's the Eagles in primetime at Redskins Stadium, 8:30pm on ESPN.

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: Well here's some shit. Quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched with two minutes to go against Detroit and the game still winnable, after the game head coach Mike Shanahan said putting backup Rex Grossman in the game gave the Redskins the best chance to win the game, Rex was offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan's backup last season in Houston so presumably Rex had greater familiarity with Kyle's two minute drill. Bullshit factor: HIGH, Rex never ran a two minute drill in Houston and was not known for his late game heroics in Chicago. Poor Rex went in there, got sacked on the first play, fumbled and gave up a touchdown to seal the game.

The next day the story was about coach Shanahan's concerns about Donovan's health and cardiovascular conditioning. The health part of the comment is a reference to Dono's sore hamstrings and quadriceps, a byproduct of playing professional football for more than a decade. The cardio comment was about Dono's basic conditioning, which we have learned the Shanahans think is not good enough to play their system. Bullshit factor: HIGH, like all veterans halfway into a football season, expecially those quarterbacks stuck behind bullshit offensive lines, Dono is sore. He is also a warrior, if he walks he goes. As far as conditioning, the dude trains all offseason at altitude in the Arizona heat, the guy is more than in shape to play this position, for christs sake Malcolm Kelly, ten years younger than Donovan, could not handle Donovan's training regimen, pulling a hamstring that ultimately ended his season.

As the week wore on we heard more whispers, about coaching unhappiness with Donovan's practice habits and coaches maybe not feeling Donovan is a great fit for the system. Bullshit factor: MEDIUM, it may in fact be the case that Donovan McNabb at age 33 or any age may not be the Shanahans' idea of a scientifically perfect quarterback, and to that I ask

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER OPTIONS FOR WINNING IN 2010?

To paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld, you go onto the football field with the team you have, not the team you may want or wish to have at a later time.

In 2010 Donovan is that guy, a better option for a winning season than Rex Grossman or John Beck, so get the fuck off your coaching high horse and play the guy like the star athlete he is.

No one ever questioned the authority of the coaches, they can bench Donovan in favor of a ham sandwich and no one disputes that, it is the lies, the whispers and the unproductive rhetoric that pisses Redskins fans off, there may be players out there that get motivated by being shat on, if that was ever Donovan he is well past that now, he is in an elite class of self motivating professionals, just give him the damn ball and let him go to work.

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Curly R Aside:

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Oppo Research:

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Trainer's Table:

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Gameplan: Last time these two teams played Donovan had a bad game, Michael Vick was separated from his ribcage and the Eagles were gasping for breath at the end. On offense the Redskins need to go after the Eagles secondary, they are missing two starters, including safety Nate Allen who was selected with the 2010 pick the Redskins traded for Donovan. On defense, just keep it up, rattle Michael Vick, make him move out of the pocket and throw on the run, let DeAngelo Hall and LaRon Landry do their thing.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: DAMN YOU GET ME A SWEEP BY MIDNIGHT I WANT TO BE 3-0 IN THE DIVISION

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This is a nationwide game, for you watching at home on ESPN or locally in Washington and Phildelphia, we will be treated to Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski.

Enjoy the game, I will be there, this will be the 23rd of the past 24 Eagles-Redskins games for me and game partner lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery, this game marks my twelfth straight at Redskins Stadium and 21st in a row overall, our tradition of attending all Eagles-Redskins games together dates back to 1999.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.

Game 8: Redskins (4-3) at Lions (1-5)

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Out of the Box: Vuja de all over again as the Redskins travel for the second year in a row to play a struggling Lions team, may this time be better than the last, 1:00 pm ET on FOX, unless you live in the Detroit market.

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: Normally the last time the teams played is later in this section, in this week's case the game is all about the last time they played, the Lions were on a nineteen game winless streak, going back into 2007, the Redskins in Jim Zorn's failing second season has head coach blundered into Lions Stadium for game three and got beat. We know what happened after that.

Meanwhile back on Earth there was a week of news. After beating the Bears in the sloppiest game ever in which cornerback DeAngelo Hall tied an NFL record with four interceptions, much of the focus of the week was on the offense, this unit has been somewhat sloppy and inconsistent with a persistent inability to close games out. Quarterback Donovan McNabb, while still thrilling Redskins fans just by being here, is on pace for just about his worst statistical season ever.

The second biggest story after Donovan McNabb having his worst season ever, has got to be Albert Haynesworth and the team negotiating a peace that allows Albert to be Albert while still allowing the team to stick with its 3-4 philosophy, the result of this new arrangement saw Albert have his best game as a Redskin, although we can now expect not to see Albert in base 3-4 sets, we will still see lots of him, doing his best Charles Jefferson impression (op. cit.), going through the line straight to the quarterback. I hope this works.

As the Redskins defense continues to be a sieve a pattern emerges: It is all about turnovers, the Redskins are sitting at seventeen takeaways and a plus eight turnover margin, good for third in the league.

Take a minute to think about this: Seven games into the 2010 season the Redskins have matched their win total from 2009. Those four wins are all quality wins with playoff implications: Two wins in the Division and two in the Conference.

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Curly R Aside: This week I finally upgraded from my crappy old Blackberry to a brand new iPhone, I have the Washington Post Football Insider app which pipes in Post blogs, articles, columns, game stats and photos, a very cool app. Help me out readers, what other apps are essential for the football fan?

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Oppo Research: Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who like Sam Bradford did in game three this season, won his first career NFL game last season in the Lions epic win Redskins epic fail of a game, this year the Lions do not look a lot better, Matthew went out in Detroit's game one, this is his first game back from that injury. Hopefully the Redskins can exploit this and get Matthew on his back.

The other major threat for this team is receiver Calvin Johnson, he had a big hand in last year's debacle and creates matchup problems for the Redskins. Let us see if DeAngelo can keep it up or if he has a predictable letdown.

This is of course not to disrespect defensive tackles Ndamakong Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch, see below for more on them.

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Trainer's Table: Safety Kareem Moore, who played plenty against the Bears but did not actually start, is suffering lingering problems from his preseason knee injury. This is not good, Kareem is better at the free safety position than either Chris Horton or Reed Doughty.

The team this week finally admitted something everyone already knew: Right guard Jammal Brown is not fully recovered from the hip injury that caused him to miss all of the 2009 season and that made him expendable in New Orleans. Veteran utility man Stephon Heyer is right at his door and may take that job which if you have been watching the past few seasons you will recognize as a bad thing.

Fullback Mike Sellers left the Bears game with a foot injury and was seen wearing a boot after the game, he appears to be fine. Tailback slash return man Chad Simpson pulled a hamstring in practice and was inactive for the Bears game, he is to be determined (op. cit.).

Tailback Clinton Portis, he of the detached groin muscle, is still two weeks away minimum before coming back. Still predicting he has no serious role in this year's offense.

Other players appear on the Redskins Wednesday injury report then again on Friday's, those not named here will play.

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Gameplan: On offense the Redskins are still looking for some consistency along the line, right tackle Jammal Brown is still slowed by the hip injury that kept him out all of 2009, his main backup Stephon Heyer is as much a threat to make mistakes as block well. While not as dangerous as DeMarcus Ware and Clay Matthews, Lions rookie Ndamakong Suh and free agent pickup defensive tackle Kyle Vanden Bosch, Albert Haynesworth's old teammate in Tennessee, are menacing, setting the rhythm early is key.

On defense the plan will be to try and get to the quarterback, the Lions have talented but limited weapons on offense, the Redskins will plan to limit Matthew Stafford and force the Lions to do it on the ground.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: Trap game schmap game, show Detroit the Redskins remember humiliation, take this game seriously and go kick their assess.

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LaVar Arrington's keys to the game: Offense / defense / special teams; Inactives: tailback Chad Simpson, cornerback Kevin Barnes, tailback Clinton Portis, linebacker Perry Riley, nose tackle Anthony Bryant and left guard Derrick Dockery, this is Derrick's fourth straight game inactive, John Beck is the emergency third quarterback.

Broadcast coverage, as you can see no one cares about this game but us and the game is blacked Detroit, Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan on the call, I like Tim on Sirius NFL Radio but not always on TV, I will be looking to give him another chance.

Enjoy the game, I will be in my usual spot on ShedTV, we watch outside as long as the weather permits.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.

Game 7: Redskins (3-3) at Bears (4-2)

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Out of the Box: Two teams with serious weaknesses and serious strengths as the Redskins travel to Chicago to play the Bears in a 1:00 pm ET game, wait what, a 1:00 pm game?

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: The Redskins continue to play close games against good opposition in a season that was supposed to be a sixteen game preseason for the Real Mike Shanahan Redskins, instead this team looks like it could actually contend in 2010. And most of the teams so far on the schedule have featured high powered offenses or deadeye quarterbacks.

Into this mix come the Bears this week, with none other than almost Redskin Jay Cutler at quarterback. Hilarity will ensue.

Recapping the week in Redskins football, I think the big story was the alleged shouting match cornerback DeAngelo Hall and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett got into over coverages, assignments, DeAngelo does not seem to think he and his unit mates have the freedom they need to make plays. For his part, Jim Haslett played it down, saying these types of discussions are routine. This is the second time DeAngelo has gone rogue on the team's defensive strategy, last time DeAngelo said he was going to ignore coaching calls and cover opponents' top receivers himself on every play. It is worth noting that the game following this proclamation, against the Rams, the Redskins lost and DeAngelo played poorly.

tailback Ryan Torain looks like he may be serviceable in the backfield, with Clinton Portis' future with the team not certain Redskins fans should look at every game as an audition for the team's next back. Ryan is a big back and gets most of his yardage after contact, time will tell if his body can hold up, and or if he is a product of the running backs are fungible Mike Shanahan philosophy of football. Personally I still go back to training camp, I thought Ryan was better than every other back besides Clinton, yet Ryan still got cut and spent two weeks on the practice squad before getting promoted and now like wow he is the starting tailback.

With all the focus on player concussions and head trauma in the news it was probably not a great time for tight end Chris Cooley to get bopped on the head, we found out after the Colts game that Chris took a shot in the first half, then returned before pulling himself from the game, he sat out two days of practice then was back and is expected to play.

Defensive nose end Albert Haynesworth did not play against the Colts, he returned too late in the week from the funeral for his brother, or his head was obviously not in the game, take your pick of stories, now the NFL trade deadline has passed and Albert and the team have ten games to figure out if there is a relationship there. I am disappointed the team did not manage to get rid of Albert, for all we have heard the team was never shopping him realistically, rather was looking for a trade value so high that only a dumbass team would go for it, part of me is still surprised Vinny Cerrato did not sneak back into the complex at Ashburn and try to trade two first round picks back to the team for Albert.

Rocky McIntosh, linebacker, enigma or both?

The last time these two teams met was the bitter cold game thirteen of the 2007 season, quarterback Jason Campbell went down with a broken kneecap, Pride of Walpole Todd Collins came in relief and the Redskins won 24-16 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive in the aftermath of Sean Taylor's death and what would become Joe Gibbs' last season as head coach. Todd is now Jay Cutler's backup in Chicago.

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Curly R Aside: I know coaching is coaching, that all players, Dan Marino and Peyton Manning included, need coaching even when they are at the top of the profession, I get that, take a look at what is happening with Brad Childress and Brett Favre, I have always thought that coaching for an advanced player such as Donovan McNabb was essentially limited to getting him familiar with the offensive scheme and continual feedback on reading defenses. When I read this week that the Redskins were coaching Dono up on his motion and mechanics I thought that was a little silly, the dude is in his twelfth year of doing this professionally, at this point he is what he is and making him feel like he is being coached up just because he is with a new team or the coaches want to assert themselves is a way to piss him off. That said, if he is complacent in his mechanics or quote trying too hard unquote in his rush to get familiar on the fly with the offense, then perhaps he needs it.

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Oppo Research: Chicago is summed up as a team with a dangerous quarterback, failing offensive line, inconsistent receivers, a solid running game, a ferocious run defense and questionable pass defense. Jay Cutler has been eat to shit, three weeks ago he was sacked nine times in the first half and left the game with a concussion, if you give Jay Cutler time he will burn you, if you get to him you can stop the whole offense cold.

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Trainer's Table: As indicated above, tight end Chris Cooley suffered a mild concussion in the Colts game, he drilled Wednesday, practiced Thursday and should be good to go for the game.

Linebacker Rocky McIntosh, who missed the Colts game with a concussion suffered in the Packers game, should be back this week.

Tailback Clinton Portis is still out with his groin tear and is still weeks away from return.

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Gameplan: On offense Washington will be facing a ball hawking Chicago defense, with as little momentum as the Redskins have been able to apply consistently when they have the ball, I expect to see sluggish offense and a lot of punts, capped by hopefully just enough Donovan McNabb theatrics to win the game.

On defense the Redskins are facing a team that cannot pass block, Jay Cutler has been sacked 26 times so far this season, and that has a great running game, there could be problems. Washington is established as a great pass rushing team that can apply pressure though gives up more yards than any team in the league. In the run game the Redskins are ranked near the bottom of the league at 24th, I think this means the Redskins blitz heavily to try and stop the Bears passing game before it can get started, forcing the Bears to win on the ground.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: Two teams with weaknesses matched to strengths, I think we see fireworks today.

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LaVar Arrington's keys to the game: Offense / defense / special teams; Inactives: tailback Clinton Portis, left guard Derrick Dockery, cornerback Kevin Barnes, tailback slash kick returner Chad Simpson, linebacker Perry Riley, nose tackle Anthony Bryant, defensive end Jeremy Jarmon and third quarterback John Beck. This is Derrick Dockery's third straight healthy scratch, the team is trying its best to move on at left guard.

Broadcast coverage, by land area this is the biggest broadcast of Fox's early slate today.


Enjoy the game, for the first time in a month I will be back on ShedTV. Maybe with a whiskey.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.

Game 6: Redskins (3-2) vs. Colts (3-2)

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Out of the Box: Back to the national stage, another opportunity for the Redskins to show they are a real team as the Colts come into Washington for Sunday Night Football, 8:00 pm ET on NBC, am I dreaming or is a winnable game?

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: Do you believe? It seems the team is starting to, Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb are bleeding their confidence and experience into the rest of this team, it has been a long time since the Redskins had legitimate leadership, and sadly I include the Joe Gibbs II years in this review. They say a good team cannot win if the players do not believe they can win. The Redskins have had decent to good teams in the past five years and have not had a lot of success overall.

Meanwhile back on Earth the Redskins have played Tony Romo, Matt Schaub, emerging rookie phenom Sam Bradford, Michael Vick and Aaron Rodgers in the first five weeks of the season, why the hell not throw a Peyton Manning in there just to rub it in a little. Whatever the outcome of this game, this stretch of elite quarterbacks, including Jay Cutler next week, should end up making this defense better.

There was an odd synchronicity of coverage this week leading up to tonight's game, about how both teams, the Redskins and Colts, were still in the process of finding themselves going into week six of the 2010 NFL season. Little different in what it means for each team to be finding itself though.

The Redskins are a wild west gambler walking the razor's edge every week, shooting their way out of barfights and taking out veteran gunfighters from fifty paces, knowing it could all be over any time. Four of the Redskins five games so far this season have been by a touchdown or less, and all four of those games, including the Redskins three wins, have come down to the last play of the game. Looking back over the four plus years Curly R has been covering this team, this is the norm though (op. cit.).

See Oppo Research below for more on how the Colts are looking to find themselves.

Speaking of head coach Mike Shanahan, although I have questioned some his personnel moves, it is unquestionable that there is a method to his madness, he is already in the process of building a team from the inside out.

We are learning a little more about the release of third year receiver Devin Thomas, that happened on the eve of last Sunday's game against the Packers, coach Shanahan did not think Devin was a good fit with the team, based principally on coach's belief that Devin is not really committed to football (op. cit.), apparently coach also thought Devin was a bit of a showboat. Devin never made it to the market, he was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.

As a footnote to this preview, the last time these two teams played, not counting the Hall of Fame preseason game one in 2008, was game seven of the 2006 season at Indianapolis, the Curly R preview is decidedly downbeat as the 2-4 Redskins played the 5-0 Colts, this game featured the defensive ends Phillip Daniels and Andre Carter nearly ripping Peyton Manning in half in the first quarter, the Redskins were actually leading by one point at the half before Peyton woke up and threw three touchdown passes in the third quarter, the Redskins went on to lose 36-22 to drop to 2-5.

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Curly R Aside: Sunday Night Football play by play announcer Al Michaels has been one of the voices of football for about as long as my attention span permitted me to watch games, long enough in the business to learn some really solid preparation habits, and despite that longevity Al consumes alt media including blogs covering the teams he will be working. He has also been in the business long enough to develop some pretty depraved show business fetishes, hey Al when the game is over tonight you can come over to my house and dress up in ladies panties and bite me on the back, I will even let you sodomize me if you promise to give Curly R a shoutout tonight during the game tonight. (Ed. note: Thanks to all the emailers pointing ot my mistake, obviously I had Al Michaels confused with Marv Albert, my apologies to Al Michaels I may have offended. -Ben)

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Oppo Research: As alluded above, the Colts are also a team looking for their identity, it is not the same situation as the Redskins, see the Colts know their identity and when we say they are looking for it we mean like they lost it and are looking up under the couch and between the carseats, it is just a matter of time until they find it. Quarterback Peyton Manning is having a great season, three Colts receivers have thirty catches or more, not even one Redskins player has thirty at this point.

Indianapolis' weakness on offense right now is at tailback, starter Joseph Addai and backup Donald Brown are both hurt and may not play, third string ball carrier Mike Hart is on deck, when this guy gets fifty yards in the game they say it's awesome.

On the other side of the ball defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis both present serious challenges to the tackle spots, do not be surprised if the Redskins tight ends stay home more often to block in this game.

Former Pro Bowl safety Bob Sanders continues his downward spiral into retirement, he is injured and will not play so go deep Donovan.

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Trainer's Table: Both Redskins tackles, rookie left tackle Trent Williams and right tackle Jammal Brown, suffered knee injuries in the Packers game last week, both had negative results on magnetic resonance imaging tests this week, by Wednesday Jammal was back on the field while Trent was not, Stephon Heyer practiced in Trent's place at left tackle (all op. cit.), Trent is expected to play tonight.

Linebacker Rocky McIntosh suffered a mild concussion in the Packers game last week, I do not even think I remember seeing him get hurt, he came in to work Monday with a headache, when the team resumed practice Wednesday Rocky was not with them, Rocky sat out Thursday and Friday, he is not ready to go and is inactive for the game, HB Blades will start in his place (op. cit.), HB is a fine reserve linebacker, having tutored under London Fletcher all four of his NFL seasons.

Tailback Clinton Portis is the only player out for sure with the groin tear suffered two weeks ago against the Eagles, this week Clinton opened up about his time and legacy with Washington, he swears he will be back, whether for this team or another (ibid.), he wants to break the ten thousand yard career rushing mark and wants to become the Redskins all time leading rusher (op. cit.), he would be breaking John Riggins' record, Riggo and Clinton have had a strained relationship over the years and many Redskins fans are conflicted over whether Clinton should be the greatest ever in burgundy and gold.

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Gameplan: On offense the Redskins are going to have some options, Indianapolis is 29th against the run and all star safety Bob Sanders is out of the game, Washington may actually be able to produce offense against this team. Expectation is the team will stick with its workhorses, receiver Santana Moss and tight end Chris Cooley, if things go well on offense they will manage to get some other players in involved. Possibly Anthony Armstrong, the 27 year old second year player that s elbowing Joey Galloway out of the way?

On defense, even defensive coordinator Jim Haslett admits there is only so much you can do to stop Peyton Manning, keeping with an early season theme of Brian Orakpo's disruptive influence, go after Peyton, try and force him to make decisions faster, no one is better at reading defenses than Peyton Manning so if you have to play him you want to get as much pressure as possible and not sit back try and solve him. If Brian and his linemates cannot get to Peyton then let us see 2010 NFC Defensive Player of the Week for 2010 week five LaRon Landry smacking the shit out of some white jerseys.

On special teams, kicker Graham Gano is establishing a pattern of missing kicks, the team keeps bailing him out, they need to figure out if something is wrong, or if 75% accuracy on field goals, good for 22nd in the league, is just how Graham rolls.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: Expect this one to look more like the Texans game than the Eagles or Packers games for the Redskins, I expect lots of passing, not a lot of running and a decent amount of scoring. This can happen.

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LaVar Arrington's keys to the game: offense :: defense :: special teams. Injury report, the only player for sure out is tailback Clinton Portis who is hoping his groin muscle reattaches back to his legbone at some point in the not too distant future. Inactives include linebacker Rocky McIntosh who is still suffering from a concussion suffered in the Packers game last week, cornerback Kevin Barnes, tailback Clinton Portis, left guard Derrick Dockery, a healthy scratch his second straight week, nose tackle Anthony Bryant, tight end Logan Paulsen and defensive nose end Albert Haynesworth, Albert is physically healthy though just back from Tennessee where he laid his brother to rest and did not practice enough to qualify.

Broadcast coverage is national, for the second time in the first six weeks of the season the Redskins take the stage for Sunday Night Football, we will be treated to the dulcet tones of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth who I am really getting sick of caveating that I like the dude.

Enjoy the game, the action moves down the street tonight to Tony Almeida's house, we will be watching over the air high definition on Tony's big screen running DVR on his linux driven home media system. Cable? FEH!


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.

Game 5: Redskins (2-2) vs. Packers (3-1)

at

Out of the Box: A 1:00 pm game at last, lucky Redskins got this as a home game, the high flying Packers land in Washington for an early game on FOX, a test of the secondary and linebackers ensues.

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: Well look at this, with one quarter of the season in the books the Redskins are leading the NFC Beast. My my. And unlike in previous years, it looks as though the team is actually ready to play against Division rivals, in an environment where a team is building and results are uncertain and not expected in the first year, it is really nice to see the Redskin beat both the Cowboys and the Eagles.

And I still cannot figure out this team, they play differently from one half to the other and quarterback Donovan McNabb seems to suffer a second half drop off in games, except of course for those few passes to keep the team in the game and possibly win. Is this a conditioning issue? Talent? Strategy? Is the team just still learning to play together? Because that is what I think it is.

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Curly R Aside: Ok enough is enough, after a summer when Donovan McNabb's contract was not a story but Donovan McNabb's contract was not a story was a story, it is now October and it is official: Donovan McNabb has earned a top payday from the Redskins and they need to get the Donovan McNabb's contract is not a story story off the front page and make Donovan McNabb's new contract the story. PAY THE MAN.

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Oppo Research: There is a great bit of revisionist history out there about how much better off the Packers are without Brett Favre or how moving on with Aaron Rodgers was such a great idea. Both of these are true and not true, true in the sense that Aaron has been a great quarterback for the Packers, quarterback is most certainly not Green Bay's position of weakness, and if there is a better example in the modern era of a good quarterback waiting his turn and learning the game before getting his shot and shining, I cannot think of one, the Packers had been paying Aaron first round money since 2005 and the time was here to move on and start him.

Not true in the sense that Brett Favre is clearly still capable of playing this game at a high level and if the team was willing to risk losing their investment in Aaron Rodgers in exchange for keeping the Brett Favre era going a couple more years, then so be it.

They made a good football move in going forward with Aaron and made a bad public relations move by getting all butthurt over Brett's indecision then making him report to camp as the backup then shipping him out to the Jets when everyone knew he wanted to go to the Vikings. In future years Packers fans will remember Aaron was good but that they did not want to see Brett go out like that.

Now that the Vikings are struggling and not looking like a Super Bowl threat demanding to go to Minnesota kind of makes Brett look a little childish doesn't it?

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Trainer's Table: Tailback Clinton Portis suffered a groin injury in the third quarter of the Eagles game, magnetic resonance imaging results are not back yet, though Clinton is still hobbled and will not play, Ryan Torain will get the start in Clinton's place. No one argues that Clinton is a tough guy, of all the injuries in Clinton's career, dislocated shoulder, broken hand, concussion, acute tendinitis right around training camp, Clinton claims never to have had a groin injury before (op. cit.). I think the talk of the end of Clinton Portis in Washington is a bit premature, then again what the hell do I know.

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Gameplan:

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: The Packers are a solid team with weaknesses on offense, the Redskins must exploit those because I do not think Washington's offense will shine bright today.

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Broadcast coverage, take a look at that, it is about as national as you can get for the 1:00 pm game, for the second week in a row we will be treated to the broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, I like this team as much as you can like any self important announcer with a fake TV voice and a one the former players I hate the most.


Enjoy the game, I will be watching from a comfy chair in Charlottesville Virginia.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.

Game 4: Redskins (1-2) at Eagles (2-1)

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Out of the Box: The rivalry is back as the Washington Redskins travel up the road a piece to play the Philadelphia Eagles, 4:15 pm ET on FOX, a quarter of the way through the season and the outcome of this game determines the NFC Beast leader.

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: Oh mercy. We went from hope inspiring win to productive loss to the wheels are falling off in the span of three weeks, although totally predictable, any thought that Redskins fans may have a season's worth of patience for a team under new management is out the window. At least for crappy losses like last week's against the Rams.

Behind that worthless loss is the real concern Redskins fans have, that even after an entire offseason to plan, acquire and strategize, through the organized team activities and minicamps, training camp and four preseason games, that the coaches still do not really have a handle on what they have, what they want to do and are acting with no sense of urgency.

Redskins fans would have and still will continue to be patient with productive losses, those on the road to a persistently better football team. This crap with juggling positions and personalities and favoring the passing game over the running game does not qualify for the Football Amnesty program. Thus endeth the sermon, on to the week's news.

After getting shredded for thirty points in each of the last two games, head coach Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett reiterated their commitment to the 3-4 defense despite some glaring personnel deficiencies, perhaps best typified by watching linebacker slash defensive end Andre Carter struggle in pass coverage. Analysis: Redskins need a season or two in order to put solid 3-4 personnel in place.

After the Dive Heard Round the Beltway in the first quarter of the Rams game tailback Clinton Portis only had two carries, practice squad promotee Ryan Torain had most of the rest of the work. Clinton claimed he was falling to protect the ball, that the extra yards would not have mattered and that he has been coached to place a premium on ball safety. He blamed his wrist which he then claimed was actually hurt in the Dallas game two weeks earlier now even though Clinton will start there is some question as to what his exact role will be in the offense going forward. I have lost the plot with this guy. Analysis: Redskins need a season or two to identify a long term solution at tailback.

Looks like Kory Lichtensteiger is going to get a second straight start at left guard over Derrick Dockery (op. cit.) whose name is much easier to type. It is becoming apparent that coaches think of Kory as a better fit in their schemes than Derrick, Kory played the entire game at left guard last week at the Rams, a notion I am still a little confused about, I will be watching that position carefully in this game to see if I can make some sense of it. Analysis: Redskins need a season or two to lock down a steady starter at left guard.

The issue of age came back into focus this week with the perennially youthful Eagles on the schedule, for the second season in a row the Redskins have the oldest roster in the league, the Eagles have one of the youngest. The underlying issue is not the quality of play of Washington's veterans, it is that there is little quality depth and few up and coming players to challenge for playing time and make us feel good about the future. We all know how this happened, from years of ignoring key positions, signing the wrong free agents and wasting draft picks. Analysis: Redskins need a season or two to build depth and find the next generation of young and inexpensive players.

Speaking of those Eagles, our quarterback played there for eleven quote great unquote years and no matter what he thinks he will tell you he loved every minute of it. Donovan McNabb's emotional and football state will be on display tomorrow, his prediction and mine is they cheer for him.

And while we are in the topic of Donovan McNabb, I find it amusing that one of the criticisms of Dono during his eleven years in Philadelphia was that Donovan seems imperturbable, that he greets all turns of events with a smile and in so doing may have made Eagles fans to feel has had no emotion for the game, a critical component of personal success in that town. Amusing it is to me because that was a chief complaint about Jason Campbell when he was quarterbacking the team, never raging in the huddle, always keeping it medium. Will Redskins fans make this a double standard or is Donovan simply different, therefore requiring different assessment measures?

Finally, the Real roster continues to shape up, after being released to make room for tailback Ryan Torain who I thought was better than tailback Keiland Williams in camp, receiver slash returner Brandon Banks was signed back to the active roster, to make room for Brandon, Keiland was released. The wheels of football justice sometimes move slowly. Hopefully we will see Brandon in the game this week though his first three weeks in the league the team was hesitant to use him so I wonder what has changed.

For those keeping score at home, this makes eight straight Redskins games this season, four preseason and four regular season, without a 1:00 pm game, we still must wait another week for our first.

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Curly R Aside: This game marks the start of my twelfth year attending Redskins-Eagles rivalry games with college friend, lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery, today is our 22nd of the past 23 games, and my twentieth straight game without a miss, our overall streak goes back to 1999, which just coincidentally happens to be Donovan McNabb's rookie year with the Eagles. Hot weather, cold weather, rain, snow, dead car batteries, day games, night games, I have seen everything this rivalry has to give for more than a decade.

Today the ritual expands for the first time to include the next generation of Redskins fans, eight year olds Josh and Will Folsom, often mentioned and last seen here on Fan Appreciation Day of 2007 training camp, Wilbert Montgomery, who also happens to be their godfather, was gracious enough to extend a personal invitation to them for this game. They fully get the meaning of it all, they know our ritual goes back to before they were born. They could not be more excited. Of course there is the small matter of bringing eight year olds in Redskins jerseys to Eagles Stadium, a horrorshow I visited six times before finally mustering the courage to don colors for the first time in 2006.

We will have a good long talk in the car on the way there about personal safety and how to root in Philadelphia for the Redskins -- on the inside.

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Oppo Research: Cannot talk about these Eagles without talking about quarterback Michael Vick who through three games is really playing the position at a higher level than he did before taking a two year leave of absence to serve time in jail for his dogfighting crimes, Donovan was an early post smaller proponent of Michael and even now says the guy was constantly working to make himself a better person and a better football player. I really do think Michael is a changed guy, not a saint, he realizes he only gets one shot at this stuff. In case you have forgotten about the sideshow that was Michael Vick, he was in the news so often that Curly R has a Michael Vick category.

There is a lot of talent on this Eagles team and they are dangerous with anyone under center, the way they are playing now, the entire offense is going through Michael Vick, get him off his game and you get the team off theirs.

Michael Vick though is not the only player excelling this year for the Eagles, one player in particular I have observed is LeSean aka Shady McCoy, with the release of Brian Westbrook in the offeseason LeSean has become the man in Philadelphia and he has proven to be most of what Brian was in the passing game and maybe even better in the running game. LeSean will be actively testing the middle of the Redskins defense today.

On defense the Jim Johnson legacy continues with defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, the Eagles are blitz happy and can come at you from multiple directions, they know Donovan McNabb's tendencies better than any team in the league which gives the Philadelphia defense a distinct advantage here, one outweighing any knowledge Dono may have of Eagles defensive habits.

As a matter of NFC Beast politics we may never really know a) Why the Eagles let Donovan go when and how they did, or b) Why they let him go a a division rival. The best I can figure is the Eagles did not want to pay what he would command as a veteran free agent after 2010 and assumed he did not have enough left in the tank to be a threat. Whatever the case, Eagles head coach Andy Reid says it was a tough decision. Read: Save his job.

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Trainer's Table: Rookie left tackle Trent Williams missed last week's game, giving fourth year veteran Stephon Heyer his first start of the season (op. cit.), Trent's knee and toe were healed up enough that Trent returned to practice Wednesday, Thursday Trent was hopeful though we still did not know if he could go, Friday Trent was announced as a game time decision, and appeared in the Questionable category of the mandatory Friday injury report. Before the game Trent was declared inactive, this is his second straight game out.

Punter Josh Bidwell had to be helped off the field in pregame warmups last week against the Rams and was unable to punt in the game though he was able to hold on kicks, at first there was uncertainty, turns out the pain and the tweak he felt was scar tissue tearing off his surgically repaired hip, this has left him happy and more flexible than before, while this is good news for Josh I am still a bit leery about all this.

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Gameplan: The Washington defense needs to get back where it was against Dallas and Houston, though without the scoring of Houston, the Redskins got to Matt Schaub all day, he was just able to find an outlet. If the team sits back and lets Michael Vick dictate the pace of the game then we might as well just call it for the Eagles now. Only an aggressive strategy to neutralize Michael will give the Redskins any chance to succeed, the team plans to have a defensive back spy Michael at all time, this is de rigeur for any team that has ever strategized against Michael and has not always been an effective tack. Is it even relevant to say at least one Redskins secondary player would rather face Kevin Kolb?

On offense, we are getting into goes without saying but bears repeating territory: Donovan's arm and Santana Moss' legs alone cannot win the game, there has to be something happening on the ground. Get out of last in red zone offense.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: An emotional day for Donovan and Eagles fans, and the NFC Beast lead on the line, let's go smashmouth.

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Redskins inactives: left tackle Trent Williams, defensive linemen Vonnie Holliday, Anthony Bryant and Jeremy Jarmon, cornerback Kevin Barnes, linebacker Perry Riley and tight end Logan Paulsen. John Beck is the inactive emergency third quarterback.

Broadcast coverage, holy shit look at that coverage, this is late national game, we will be treated to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Enjoy the game, I will be there, at the game with my kids, my longtime game partner Wilbert Montgomery and a camera to document the game for posterity, look for the game journal at some point.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.

Game 3: Redskins (1-1) at Rams (0-2)

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Out of the Box: Something about this game seems familiar as the Redskins travel to Saint Louis to play those Rams, 4:15 pm ET on FOX, which Redskins team will we see today?

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Quick jump to
The Story So Far :: Curly R Aside :: Oppo Research :: Trainer's Table Gameplan :: My Take in 60 Words or Less :: Preview Generalia
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The Story So Far: In the week following the Redskins seventeen point second half collapse against the Texans, there was quite the wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth, was it adjustments or lack thereof? Is it the talent level? Is the Texans offense just that good?

Monday star cornerback DeAngelo Hall announced he would be covering the opponent's top receiver on each play for the rest of the season, no matter where that player lined up and no matter what defensive coordinator Jim Haslett or head coach Mike Shanahan had to say about it, calling it his defense.

While many coaches may have admonished a player for speaking out of turn and making what could be interpreted as derogatory remarks about team business, both coaches instead used DeAngelo's remarks as an opportunity to say, uh yeah the defense does belong to the players and they wished every player was feeling as accountable as DeAngelo.

Well played coaches, let us see how this works out this week and in the coming games.

Tuesday the bomb dropped on tailback Larry Johnson, he was cut from the team, ostensibly because the team needed to create a roster spot for someone that can contribute on special teams, in reality Larry was let go because he has nothing left and the ten yard field reversal loss to open the fourth quarter of the Texans game was the last straw. At the end of camp I wondered (here, here and here) why Larry made the team, with the exception of one good carry and one good reception in the fourth quarter of the third preseason game he showed me nothing. The team signed tailback and return specialist Chad Simpson in Larry's place, Chad was previously with the Colts.

There were ripples from this move beyond Chad and Larry, little receiver and punt returner Brandon Banks, something of a surprise making the roster, was released and tailback Ryan Torain, the guy I thought all along was the second best tailback on the team in preseason, was promoted from the practice squad to the roster, I expect we will see Ryan over Keiland Williams today and also that Brandon will be back on the practice squad.

Wednesday we started looking ahead to the lineup for the offensive line, rookie left tackle Trent Williams injured his knee and toe against the Texans, if he is not better this could set off a wholesale reshuffling of the line, follow the bouncing ball: Stephon Heyer is listed as the main backup for both tackle spots and right tackle Jammal Brown is a former Pro Bowler at left tackle when he was with New Orleans, Stephon is serviceable for short periods and Jammal is still coming back from an achilles injury that caused him to miss all of last season. No idea how the coaches should handle this, if they were to ask me I would keep Jammal at right tackle and start Stephon at left, Stephon has played that spot and Jammal needs to get comfortable with playing the right spot full time.

The line shuffling continues (op. cit.) at left guard and for reasons unknown, Derrick Dockery was the established starter since coming back to the Redskins in 2009, somehow Kory Lichtensteiger has risen to the verge of taking that spot, Derrick and Kory have been rotating during games, I confess I have not analyzed the performance well enough to know the difference, Kory was not in football in 2009 so let us try and figure this one out.

Sunday the Washington Post ran an enterprise profile piece on defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, who was coach of the Saints when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, I have read many accounts of the storm and know many people that live there and are from there and hearing that coach Haslett and his wife think of current Saints players and anyone that was not there at the time but claims some moral or spiritual legacy from Katrina as a bunch of phonies (my paraphrase) does not surprise me.

And when I heard the Redskins had traded for defensive end Adam Carriker back in April I remember my first thought was, wow we picked up a great player, turns out Adam was chased out of Saint Louis, bonus points for giving defensive end Phillip Daniels a run for strongest Redskin.

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Curly R Aside: Is this guy an idiot or what? Albert Haynesworth gave an radio interview this week where he said his refusal to participate in offseason workouts was a principled stand, that just because he got a one hundred million dollar contract that the team could not tell Albert what to do because, man that's what slavery was. Further, Albert seems to think that the Redskins defensive scheme at the time he signed in 2009, a 4-3 under head coach Jim Zorn and coordinator Greg Blache, somehow was part of the contractual agreement between him and the team and that altering the scheme to a 3-4, no matter that Albert is now ok with the whole thing, was a violation of terms and thus releases Albert from having to take orders.

If I was Albert's agent I would advise him to stay off the radio.

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Oppo Research: The Rams have won one game in the past 28 and under second year head coach Steve Spagnuolo have won that game, it is fair to say the Rams are a reclamation project.

The Rams are weak across the board with a battering ram tailback in Steven Jackson, a touted rookie quarterback in Sam Bradford and a sparkplug linebacker in James Laurinaitis. Although there are no gimmes in the NFL it is fair to say the Rams are still two years from the three year rebuilding project, which makes them dangerous, the Rams and Redskins have played three of the last four seasons and the Rams have won two of them.

Look out Redskins.

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Trainer's Table: Strong safety Kareem Moore should be back in action from the knee injury he suffered in the second preseason game, for those that are new here, Kareem was a training camp standout and easily won the strong safety position amidst a collection of secondary players that included three strong safeties and Kareem. Many Redskins fans are hopeful the defensive backfield will improve, we still have not seen Kareem in full speed action yet, so let us not pin too many hopes on a guy that is still an unknown.

Receiver Anthony Armstrong and safety Chris Horton did not practice this week, Anthony with his ankle and Chris with his groin, they are highly questionable for the game.

Rookie left tackle Trent Williams, who injured his knee and toe last week in the Texans game, improved through the week, he practiced Friday and was expected to play (op. cit.), as written above in the Story So Far, if Trent cannot go we will likely see Stephon Heyer at left tackle, he practiced there in Trent's absence. Late word before the game is Trent is inactive.

Defensive nose end Albert Haynesworth was back this week practicing at full speed (ibid.), fully recovered from the *kaffkaff* ankle injury *kaffkaff* that kept him out of last week's game, more evidence that everyone is just playing games, games I do not understand.

A late addition to the injury list, like as in during pregame warmups, was punter Josh Bidwell, he hurt his hip, the same one that kept him out of football last season. Kicker Graham Gano is listed as the backup punter, Graham was a punter and kicker in college, and tight end Chris Cooley or backup quarterback Rex Grossman could serve as holder on kicks if Josh is out for the game. What is it with the Redskins and punters?

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Gameplan: While there are no easy games in the NFL, this must be viewed as a winnable game where the Redskins should be able to execute the offense they want. In each of the first two games we have seen a critical component of a good football team emerge, in game one it was the defense, in game two it was the passing game, in game three it needs to be the running game, the Rams gave up 145 yards to Darren McFadden of the Raiders last week, Donovan McNabb is confident it is coming, Clinton Portis thinks there is no problem, so let us see it guys.

On defense, the team is still committed to its blitzing ways even though we saw last week what happens when a good quarterback faces the blitz, that is to say he finds an open receiver and if it is the right one, a receiver that is running right into the open spot created by the blitz. The Rams though are not the Texans, Sam Bradford may have an upside, the Redskins defense should be able to confuse and victimize Sam.

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My Take in 60 Words or Less: We have seen the defense, we have seen the passing game, let us see some ground attack and put this one all together, Redskins fans need a win today.

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Washington Examiner preview, broadcast coverage, local markets only, we will be treated to Dick Stockton, Charles Davis and Jim Mora in the booth. I have a bad feeling about that.

Enjoy the game, I will be watching this game from the safety and comfort of my Redskins chair at home.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmet logos from here.