Steve Spagnuolo, A Coach Jim Zorn Can Beat

When the St. Louis Rams visit FedEx Field later today, Jim Zorn will face off against his almost boss, Steve Spagnuolo.

The Redskins head coach search last year was the kind of odd affair that only happens in Washington or Oakland.

Ben at The Curly R covers that misadventure in his series Almost Part One and Part Two. Go take a look if you need a reminder.

Here are two more points.

Spagnuolo either turned down, or was not offered, depending on who you ask, the chance to coach the Washington Redskins and ended up with the Rams. That head-scratcher doesn’t leave comforting thoughts about working for the Redskins.

Next, for only the second time in his career, Jim Zorn will face a team whose coach has less experience than he.

The Redskins faced (and lost to) the San Francisco 49ers in week 16 last year. Mike Singletary was coaching his ninth game as ‘Niners interim head coach.

John Harbaugh matched Zorn as head coach when the Redskins visited Baltimore in week 14. Harbaugh had an edge on Zorn in that his promotion to top bird was by a more stable front office and came as less of a shock.

Harbaugh was working with better lines on both sides of the ball than Zorn. Baltimore has some foolish notion that you can win with average skill players if you have outstanding linemen.

Jim Zorn did well to get Washington to 8-8, given what he had to overcome to get there.

He was thrust into the job with little time to prepare.

He was the only head coach candidate who could name his own offensive coordinator and running back coach, but he inherited all the rest of the coaching staff.

Owners don’t just hire the head coach. They hire his network, too. Teams start faster when coaches come in packs.

I have a mental picture of Zorn meeting his coaches while asking directions to the men’s room at Redskin Park. Going .500 in that circumstance is as impressive as Marty Schottenheimer going 8-8 with Jeff George and Tony Banks at quarterback in 2001.   

This rare occasion when our coach knows more what he’s doing than their coach should work to the Redskins’ advantage later today.

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MJ’s NFL Power Poll and Predictions, Week Two

First, I will start with the power poll. For a view of how these picks changed, see last week’s article…

1. Pittsburgh Steelers—the Patriots’ close call against a bad team made the Steelers’ close call against a good one seem inconsequential.
2. New York Giants—because I do not believe in picking repeats, I am riding this team all the way through Miami.
3. New England Patriots—their lackluster performance and Tom Brady’s inability to step properly into throws makes me see them as questionable.
4. Tennessee Titans—looked good in defeat, and those ahead of them looked worse in victory.
5. Atlanta Falcons—the defense was supposed to be questionable at best, but was dominant in week one.
6. Baltimore Ravens—here by default since a 14-point win over the Chiefs at home is not impressive.
7. Philadelphia Eagles—losing Donovan McNabb is an Eagles fan’s worst nightmare, whether they realize it or not: Kevin Kolb is not ready, and this just adds fuel to the Michael Vick vs. McNabb controversy.
8. San Diego Chargers—a narrow victory in Oakland may not be as alarming as it would seem, since the Raiders play tough there, especially against division rivals.
9. Green Bay Packers—getting the close and comeback win gets the monkey off Aaron Rodgers’ back, but the Bears exposed many holes.
10. Minnesota Vikings—still have major special teams problems, and there is nothing impressive about beating the Browns, even by that margin.
11. Seattle Seahawks—looked like the best team in week one until you consider they were playing the worst.
12. Dallas Cowboys—a solid road win but against a weak team.
13. Chicago Bears—may have better receivers than thought, and Jay Cutler will not play that badly again…the loss of Brian Urlacher means little, as it is a regular occurrence and he is overrated.
14. Indianapolis Colts—barely beating a bad team at home makes placing them this high questionable.
15. New Orleans Saints—I know that was the Lions, but Drew Brees looks ready to follow last season with another big one.
16. Washington Offensively Named Ones—were competitive on the road against one of the game’s best teams.
17. New York Jets—Mark Sanchez is better than the quarterback he was in the preseason, and with this defense, this team’s a contender.
18. San Francisco Forty-Niners—this team will play a lot of ugly games, but can win them, in part because no-one’s linebackers tackle better.
19. Arizona Cardinals—too much talent to drop out of the top 20, but they haven’t looked good this summer.
20. Carolina Panthers—I saw this team as a darkhorse, but then listened to everyone else…last week made me look right in the first place.
21. Miami Dolphins—still a solid team, but they cannot rely on the surprise factor of the horribly over-hyped “wildcat offense.”
22. Buffalo Bills—moved up only one space despite a near victory in Foxboro because they proved the adage that bad teams find a way to lose.
23. Jacksonville Jaguars—their close loss may be as much because of the Colts’ shortcomings as the Jags being better than expected.
24. Houston Texans—like I said, until they can play a full season, I will not jump on this bandwagon…last week may have been a sign they are not ready to take the next step.
25. Oakland Raiders—another example of bad teams finding a way to lose, but they still played well against an ostensibly elite team.
26. Kansas City Chiefs—tough first-week gig, but week two should show if they are as bad as advertised.
27. Denver Broncos—pulled out a road win, albeit with a little luck and against the lowly Bengals, but the defense may not be as bad as projected.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers—kept it close against a solid team.
29. Cincinnati Bengals—that loss has to make you feel you are cursed.
30. Cleveland Browns—played a close first half, but wore down quickly.
31. Detroit Lions—gave up that many yards and still looked better than last year!
32. St. Louis Rams—could they threaten the Lions’ place in history as the only 16-loss team ever?

Now for this week’s picks, in order from least to most sure:

1. Eagles
2. Giants
3. Colts
4. Chiefs
5. Patriots
6. Chargers
7. Forty-Niners
8. Cardinals
9. Steelers
10. Bills
11. Broncos
12. Vikings
13. Falcons
14. Titans
15. Packers
16. Offensively Named Ones

Last week I finished 12-4 (.750), with 123 of a possible 136 points (losing my 1, 2, 4, and 6 point picks—.904).

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Singletary As Savior Will Have Short Shelf-Life

The last time your San Francisco 49ers faced the Seattle Seahawks roughly 11 months ago at The Stadium That Time Forgot, so much was made of then rookie head coach Mike Singletary’s antics on the sidelines, during half time, and most of all in his postgame presser, that hardly anyone paid much attention to the fact that the 49ers had gotten trounced 34-13—at home—by a team that had come into the game wearing a 1-5 record.

Singletary lost his opening game and the one after that, but managed to rally the troops to capture five of their last seven. That record led to him getting the full time gig as “El Jefe,” which, in turn, led to all sorts of mildly amusing billboards and radio ads. 

These things will happen when your coach drops his pants to make a point, your quarterback is a career back up and your best players (running back Frank Gore, linebacker Patrick Willis) are as interesting and quotable as last Wednesday’s tuna casserole.

Despite winning their opener last week at Arizona against the defending conference champions, Singletary still managed to get the lion’s share of the credit, thanks mostly to a time out he called in the third quarter to rest his tired defense.

To hear some wackos tell it, you’d think Singletary’s decision will be immortalized in Niners lore. There was “The Catch” and “The Drive,” and now we have “The Time Out.”

And this, my friends, is just all kinds of dumb.

Wasn’t it just a year ago, that Mike Nolan, the previous head coach, was getting hung in effigy for wasting all of his time outs on defense? He’d call ill-advised replay challenges and would explain to the media afterward that it didn’t matter to him if the call was reversed or not because he wanted to give his guys a blow anyway, and we all called for his head.

Now Singletary does practically the same thing, and we hail him as a conquering hero, as though he were the NFL’s version of LeBron James, singlehandedly carrying a collection of stiffs to contention, the way “Michael Jordan and the Jordanaries” did a generation before. 

Singletary and his hand-picked offensive coordinator Jimmy “Three Inches and a Cloud of Lame” Raye had to be dragged kicking and screaming into putting the game into the hands of quarterback Shaun Hill.

The Cardinals had everyone but the water boy in the box to stop Gore (completely blameless for his paltry 30 yards on 22 carries), yet the 49ers didn’t start throwing it in earnest until they were trailing in the fourth quarter.

The game was an object lesson that pro coaches can’t do much to win games—the players do that—but boy can they lose them. The players saved Singletary, not the other way around, and they deserve some credit, especially Hill.

The more conservative the offense is, the more it plays into the “Singletary’s trying to make chicken salad out of chicken poop” propaganda. It’s the ultimate win-win when the coach is the most popular (and powerful) face in the organization. When he wins, it’s because of his genius, inspirational, Walshian coaching. When he loses, it’s not his fault, the players stink.

Across the league 31 other coaches are thinking, “How can I get in on this racket?”

We’ve already seen this movie, about a well-liked no-nonsense defensive coach and his inept offensive coordinator trying to grind their way through an NFL schedule with an offense that gets 200 yards per game, in 2007. It did not end well. The well-liked coach became less well-liked in an awful hurry.

Singletary needs to loosen the reins on the offense. He needs to make sure to deflect all the credit for the good things on his players and the blame for the bad things on himself. Most of all he needs someone else to be the face of the team.

It’s really the only way this thing can work out for him long term. 

The be-all-and-end-all coaches work on Saturdays. Head coaching in the NFL means being a delegating executive and a bit part in a complex machine. As ex-Baltimore Ravens coach (and noted egomaniac) Brian Billick put it on Friday during his chit-chat with the 49ers beat writers, “It’s a general manager’s league now.”

Translation: It’s the players, stupid.

Singletary would be wise to accept this, embrace it, let his offense play and get out of the way. Hill is 8-3 as a starter and he has worked hard for his chance. Give him the ball and make it clear it’s his show.

The 1985 Chicago Bears had Mike Ditka coaching, Singletary linebacking, and William “The Refrigerator” Perry doing whatever it was that he did, but it’s not like the casual fan didn’t know who Walter Payton or Jim McMahon were.

Singletary has to decide if the world is ready to meet Shaun Hill and vice versa. If the answer is no, on either end, then it’s going to be another long season, no matter when he calls his time outs.

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Detroit Lions Sell Out Home Opener, Remain Luckiest Franchise in Sports

Like many of you reading this, I have been a Detroit Lions fan for my entire life.

Unlike many of you, I have never bought a ticket to a Lions game. So the Lions avoiding having their home opener blacked-out is not something I had a hand in.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not impressed. In fact, I’m not sure the Lions deserve such loyal fans. They’ve certainly done little to deserve them.

I’m not just talking about the losing streak. Nothing chases away fans like losing, but that’s not the only thing going on here.

I’m talking about 45 years of bad ownership by one William Clay Ford, who has treated winning like a secondary goal, or even a by-product, ever since he bought the team. He has been grinding dirt into Lions fans’ wounds for a long time, and yet they keep coming back. Why—you may ask?

Because it’s not about the ownership. It’s not about Ford, either the car company or the person. It’s not about the economy. When it comes down to it, it’s not even about winning.

It’s about going out, having some fun, and loving and supporting the Lions—plain and simply.

We fans don’t have to turn out to these games. It costs a lot of money to see a Lions game, and lately going to see a Lions game means paying money to see your team lose.

Yet the tickets continue to sell, while Michigan’s unemployment rate continues to hover around 15 percent, and Detroit continues to spiral into urban oblivion.

Really, though they’re on the rebuilding trail, things could not be any worse for the Detroit Lions. Every possible circumstance seems to be against them.

And yet tickets are selling. Jerseys are selling. Despite all historical evidence to the contrary, Lions fans believe something is going to happen with this team.

This would not happen in another city. Jacksonville is looking at potentially blacking out every game this season, and they actually won games last year.

So I salute you, Lions fans, especially those with a ticket.

Though your loyalty is lemming-like, it is to be admired.

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NFC West Featured Columnist Competition: Week Two Picks

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Green Bay Packers Week Two Preview: The Bumbling Bengals

Last week, the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears by doing some things they weren’t able to do last season: stopping the run (second-year phenom Matt Forte had only 55 yards rushing), depending on Aaron Rodgers to stick the ball in the end zone in the last two minutes, and coming up with a big stop after the go-ahead score.

Sure, Jay Cutler helped a lot with the four interceptions and if he hadn’t thrown them, the Bears would’ve won easily. But he did throw them, and they weren’t all the receivers’ fault. That’s neither here nor there, however.

What’s here is a team from Cincinnati that will be looking to remove a bitter taste from its mouth left over from an improbable 87-yard touchdown throw from Kyle Orton in Denver.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Packers won’t provide the kind of chaser they’re looking for.

Cincinnati was putrid on offense last year. A lot of it probably was the fact that Ryan Fitzpatrick was the starting quarterback for a good portion of the year, but it didn’t seem like the team took much of a step up in only scoring seven points last week against a Denver team in transition on defense.

No doubt, the aggressive and talented (much more so than Denver, at the very least) Packers defense will be flying to the ball no matter where it is on the field.  

Charles Woodson and Al Harris are good enough to defend Chad Ochocinco and Chris Henry when the Packers decide to blitz, and in passing situations, Green Bay has no problem sitting back and playing for interceptions, especially in their nickel package.

Green Bay’s run defense, which held rising star Matt Forte to 55 rushing yards last week, should have similar success in containing former Bears bust Cedric Benson. Cullen Jenkins created a lot of havoc against Chicago’s offensive front, which is a lot better than what Cincinnati will have on the field.

A lot was made of Green Bay’s offensive struggles last week, but I attribute a lot of that to Chicago’s intensity. It was a nationally-televised rivalry game in week one. If a defense isn’t up for that game, there would be something wrong with that defense.

The game against Cincinnati will be low key in comparison. I see this allowing the Packers to get into an early rhythm against the Bengals in the running game. Ryan Grant’s numbers weren’t impressive last week, but he had an explosiveness that he didn’t have last season.

Hopefully, the Packers can take advantage and get the running game established within the first two possessions of the game. Successful running attacks always set up the passing game well, and Rodgers and his stable of receivers should be able to take advantage of the Bengals’ secondary.

Besides, an offense as talented as Green Bay’s can’t lay two eggs in a row, can it?

Final score: Green Bay 27-10 Cincinnati

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Cardinals at Jaguars: A Must Win Game for the Big Red?

Things may look grim with a road loss to the Jags

You could hear it a thousand times late last Sunday. In locker rooms and on postgame radio talk-shows all across the fruited plains, the number “15” kept popping up.

Not so coincidental, it generally comes from locker rooms on the losing end of the scoreboard in their season opener. It especially happens in locker rooms that a favored team going into the game, comes up short.

“There are still 15 more to play.”

And for many teams, this is true. Okay, technically speaking, for all teams that’s true, since they haven’t started getting byes. But for some teams, it’s more true than for others.

Yes, as I type, the Cardinals have 15 games to play. One loss is no big deal. I mean, were you expecting an unbeaten season? They’re going to lose some games, right?

So, running with that theory, the Cardinals are in no worse shape than…oh, 15 other NFL teams at this point.  

But as noted, for many teams, this theory is more true than it is for others. And any fan of Arizona football knows, this team never makes anything easy. So you can guess which category they fall into.

The Cards are one of but a few teams that can, and should, consider this a ‘must win’ game. Jaguar fans, both of them, can argue all they want that the Cardinals are in no different boat than their 0-1 team at this point. They can argue ’til the next sellout at Jacksonville Memorial Stadium (which could run into eons)that their Jags are just as one game out of first place as the Cardinals.

But that’s not exactly true. Technically, it is. But in the reality world of NFL football, it’s not. Sorry, Jag-fan.

The Cardinals are reining NFC Champions. There are expectations on a Conference Champion that other teams only hope to dangle to the masses.

The Jaguars lost 17,000 season ticket holders in one offseason. They are expected to show less games locally than the 0-16 Detroit Lions. If that doesn’t scream “THERE ARE NO EXPECTATIONS HERE!” from the “faithful,” I’m not sure what does.

And for the Arizona Cardinals, a team that “expectations” would generally be associated with top 10 picks in late April, this is new terrain. This is a brand of expectations not seen in these parts since…well, since these parts were a dusty capitol city with a population under 100,000.

And yes, (all together now)…since Harry Truman was President. Oh, and the Cardinals were still 13 season from moving to St Louis, and 41 years prior to their Arizona arrival.

Added pressure for this team is their miserable road record. Especially in games east of the Mississippi. Add to that, the offensive struggles as they search (thus far in vein) for that elusive 2008 “rhythm.”

And top it all off with the always powerful Indianapolis Colts coming to town next week, this is as close to a ‘must win’ as a team can get with 15 more games to play.

It seems, all this being said, that the players are well aware of their situation.

“The great thing about that is we set an expectation,” Cards QB Kurt Warner said. “We expect to live up to it and we have to expect to live up to it. And when we don’t, people get disappointed. That’s what we tried to build here so we can’t get mad at that.”

Uhhhh, okay. That’s all well and good. It’s how I want my quarterback thinking. But there’s more to it than that.

I prefer to think of it as Cards defensive tackle Darnell Dockett puts it. “At the end of the season, when you get to games 12 and 13, you start looking back at those games you should’ve won that could’ve put you in first place, or locked up a playoff spot.”

“Those games you can’t get back. So yeah, every game is a must-win,” he added.

Those are the words, as a fan with expectations, that I want to hear coming out of Tempe. While three teams that started the season 0-2 went to the playoffs in 2008, it was an aberration.

Overall, only 14 percent of teams that start out 0-2 make the playoffs.

With Payton manning and the Colts riding into town next week, going into that game 1-1 looks a lot less grimm than an 0-2 start would elicit.

That all makes this east coast trip, maybe not a “must game,” but a “You damn well better win” game!

Or you can expect to see (or not see) a few blacked out games in the desert, too, if it continues. The second to the last thing this team wants is for the faithful to lose expectations.

The last thing this team wants is for the world to think that 2008 was the aberration.

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Why Tom Brady Is the Best Quarterback in the Modern Era

Go ahead. Call me crazy. Nobody could ever pass the legendary Joe Montana. Not the Joe Montana, who threw for 40,551 yards, 273 touchdowns, 139 interceptions, and won four Super Bowls in his immortal 15-year career. He was nicknamed “Joe Cool” for not only his poise, but his ability to come up big in the playoffs. In fact, during his career, he was 16-7 in the postseason. It’s tough to say that someone in the modern era is better than him, surpassing him as the best quarterback ever, but with Tom Brady, it’s not so challenging.

Both were drafted considerably low, which is very surprising. Montana, mostly because of his size (only 6’0″), was drafted in the third round (82nd overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in 1979. Safe to say the Rams, who picked 81st—along with the the other 80 teams ahead of them—are kicking themselves to the day. Montana was a huge steal, no doubt, but the consensus is that Brady getting taken in the sixth round (199th overall) in 2000 is the biggest robbery in draft history. In my opinion, Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the modern era. Here’s why:

Playoffs: People talk about Montana’s playoff performances, and make no mistake about it: They were fantastic. Let’s not forget, Brady is 14-3 in the playoffs, totaling an .823 winning percentage. Brady has played well in practically every playoff game he’s appeared in. In 2001, he led the Pats to close wins over the Raiders (32-of-52, 312 yards), Steelers (12-of-18, 115 yards), and then the Rams in the Super Bowl (16-of-27, 145 yards, 1 TD).

In his postseason career, he is 372-of-595 (62.5 completion percentage) with 3,954 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. If you combine all of his December, January, and February games, Brady is an unfair 42-8.

Montana, who has also been tremendous in the playoffs, isn’t quite there. His 16-7 record in the playoffs gives him a .696 winning percentage, 127 points shy of Brady. In the three dreaded months of December, January, and February, Montana is a “pedestrian” 52-16, posting .764 winning percentage, as opposed to Brady’s .840. So, shockingly, there is a playoff quarterback better than the Joe Montana.

Statistics: A lot can be judged by statistics. Nobody can question the career Brady has had. From 2001 to 2007, his full years (barely played in 2000, injured in 2008, 2009 just started), he finished with over 26,000 yards, 197 touchdowns, and 84 interceptions, compiling a 93.0 quarterback rating. His average year consisted of 327 completions in 519 attempts, 3,766 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

In Montana’s glory years of 1981 to 1990, he totaled 33,107 yards, 226 touchdowns, and 114 interceptions. Montana’s conventional year was composed of 3,311 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions, worse than Brady’s habitual line.

Let’s face it: We judge quarterbacks by wins. Dan Marino is one of the best quarterbacks ever, but some knock him because he never won a Super Bowl. Montana and Brady combine for seven. In Joe’s regular season career, he had a 117-47 starter’s record, while Brady is a whopping 87-24. While Montana has a larger sample size, his winning percentage stands at .713, while at .784, Brady is 71 points higher.

Also, Tom Terrific’s 93.0 quarterback rating is 0.7 higher than Montana’s 92.3. And Brady, who has 199 career touchdowns and 87 interceptions, averages 2.3 touchdowns per interception, while Montana averaged 1.93 TD/INT.

Help: The quarterback position is an inexact science. People expect wins, but it seems that sometimes, quarterbacks get bashed far too much for losses and get too much credit for wins.

When they do manage to win, fans sometimes say the quarterbacks didn’t “earn” it, saying he got far too much help from his teammates, but football is a team game, not a quarterback one. And Tom Brady, while he had considerable help around him and a great offensive line, didn’t have Jerry Rice.

In 1981, when Montana won his first Super Bowl, he had Dwight Clark to throw to, who made “The Catch”, and from 1980 to 1986, had 700 yards or more each season, including 1,105 in ’81. On top of that, the Niners ranked second in defense that year. In 1984, Montana’s second Super Bowl winning season, the 49ers ranked first in defense. He also had Roger Craig, a four-time Pro Bowler, and still had Clark. Then in 1988 and 1989, the last two times he won the Super Bowl, he had Jerry Rice, the best receiver in NFL history, at the age of 26 and 27, and in those years, he combined for 146 catches, 2,789 yards, and 26 touchdowns.

This is not to say Montana is an overrated bum who only won games because of talent around him. Montana was a sensational quarterback. He was clutch, but he also had some help. Brady never had Jerry Rice. He never had Roger Craig. In fact, until the Pats acquired Randy Moss before the 2007 season, New England never had a big-time receiver.

Sure, Troy Brown was a consistent player, but he’s hardly in Hall of Fame consideration, and he only made one Pro Bowl. When the Pats won again in 2003 and 2004, Brady’s main receivers were Deion Branch and Brown, who combined for just 97 receptions and seven touchdowns in ’03.

Ironically enough, Brady lost his only Super Bowl with Moss to throw to. If you combine Brown, Corey Dillon, and Branch, there are just five Pro Bowls. But between Rice, Craig, and Clark, you have the best wide receiver in NFL history, one of the most complete backs ever, a consistent threat who made “The Catch”, and 19 Pro Bowls.

Think about it.

The other candidates: Yes, there are other candidates. Terry Bradshaw, for one, but he applies to the Montana ruling. Ask yourself this: if Brady had the defense the Steelers had during the 70’s, and two Hall of Fame wide receivers, along with Franco Harris and arguably the best center in NFL history in Mike Webster, how many rings would Brady have? I’m sure Brady would have at least five. Bradshaw was a great quarterback, and he deserved the spot he got in the Hall of Fame, no doubt. But he had the best defense, led by Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, and L.C. Greenwood. And like I said, he had Franco Harris, a Hall of Fame center, and John Stallworth and Lynn Swann to throw to.

Steve Young and Peyton Manning are also in consideration, but Peyton’s 7-8 playoff record is less than stellar, and Young was just 8-6 in the playoffs, so they are Hall of Famers, but not the best in the modern era.

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The Philadelphia Eagles Can Win If…

As the Eagles get ready to face the Saints, without Donovan McNabb most people are picking the Saints as the line has changed in the Saints’ favor. The Eagles will probably start the unproven Kevin Kolb, plus they go against a Saints offense led by the most prolific quarterback in the NFL today.

However, while I am picking the Saints to win this game, the Eagles can win with Kevin Kolb under center. It will be very tough but it can be done. If the Eagles stick to this game plan than they will have a chance to win this game.

 

Protect Kevin Kolb

The Eagles offensive line did a solid job last week. Left tackle Jason Peters started out shaky with two false start penalties but started to look as advertised. While Shawn Andrews and Todd Herrmann’s did not play, fill-ins Nick Cole and Winston Justice looked solid.

Kevin Kolb can’t be rushed into any of his throws. Kolb doesn’t have the quick decision making skills, nor does he have a really quick release. If Kolb is provided with good protection, he may be able to take care of the ball and not turn it over.

 

Get the running backs involved

We all know that Andy Reid loves throwing the ball, we all know even with Kolb playing he’ll still call a bunch of pass plays. What I’m saying is Reid probably won’t just call run a bunch of run plays. However, what he can do is call a lot of screens to Brian Westbrook and Lasean McCoy.

Westbrook looked very good last week, averaging about five dollars a carry. Lasean McCoy also looked great with 46 yards on only nine carries. Usually when a rookie quarterback is playing expect a lot of conservative plays, if the Eagles can get it to third-and-short by effectively running the football.

Don’t expect Kolb to make a third-and-long pass down the field, run the ball effectively and get it to third and manageable and call a screen play or a short pass to one of the versatile running backs.

 

Play good defense

A lot of the game will be in the defense’s hands, and it will be a tough task as this Saints team has the ability to win 10 games based on its offense. However, the Saints are playing on the road in the Eagles’ home opener, tough environment, and everyone knows that the Saints’ passing attack is different on the road.

Drew Brees lit up the Lions defense for six touchdowns last week, while the Eagles defense dominated against the Panthers. However, both teams were going against subpar units, the Eagles went up against Jake Delhomme who has been a turnover machine lately, and the Saints went up against a Detroit defense that struggles defensively.

If the team plays good defense and sticks to this game plan, than the Eagles will have a solid chance to win this game. Donovan McNabb should not play in this game as he risks the chance of making it worse, McNabb is a tough guy, if he sees an opening on third-and-short, he’ll look to run and then a defender will try to really hit McNabb hard. The Eagles will really have to step up against an improved Saints team, however, it should be a good game as it will be the Eagles’ home opener.

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Redskins Moving Forward

Yes, it’s been quite a while since I wrote anything, I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that while I’ve been busy, I haven’t stopped following football, and the Washington Redskins in particular.

Like many Skins’ fans, I was not particularly impressed with the performance with which the team opened the season. I do however believe there are some very good things to be taken from it.

While I very much expected the Redskins’ offense to struggle, I didn’t expect the defense to struggle, and that bothered me. I know, the defense only gave up one touchdown, but their play in the defensive backfield was appalling. The defensive front applied a fair amount of pressure on Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning with only one sack to show for it. With the Redskins’ corners playing so far off the Giants’ receivers, Manning had easy decisions to make on a regular basis. And it showed in several long drives for the Giants offense.

Kudos to the Redskins for playing so well in short yardage situations, the Giants were only able to accumulate 103 yards rushing, at a 3.3 yard average, that’s good line play from the Redskins’ defensive front. A very good sign.

I will be surprised if Redskins’ defensive coordinator Greg Blache allows his corners to play 8-12 yards off the ball again. With the defensive front the Redskins can supply, there must be some effort to interrupt receivers’ routes at the line of scrimmage, or the many upcoming quality quarterbacks on the schedule will enjoy the same type of success Manning did.

Offensively, Clinton Portis was held very much in check(along with the running game in general). Aside from Portis’ opening run of 34 yards, his average of under 1.9 yards per carry is bad enough to ruin any offense. The Giants defense obviously played a major role in the Redskins’ inability to run the ball, but the running game needs to remain a strength for the Redskins.

Pass protection for Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell was better than respectable, and this leads me into one of the positives I got from this game. Only allowing three sacks in a game in which they played from behind from beginning to end against the Giants’ defensive front is not a bad thing.

Aside from Campbell’s bonehead interception, he played well. Throwing the ball only 26 times, completing 19 for 211 yards, I felt he threw the ball decisively and accurately. The Giants’ defense focused on preventing big plays, but Campbell was able to find the holes in the Giants’ defense and take advantage of them. Campbell’s performance should serve as a confidence builder for himself, the offense as a whole, and for Zorn. Because of this, perhaps Zorn won’t be so reluctant to throw the ball more in the future.

The Redskins’ offense has suffered from defenses challenging the line of scrimmage to stop the run, and has not been able to make defenses pay in the passing game. I see signs that this is about to change. With second year wide receivers Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas coming on, veteran Antwaan Randle El playing the slot as well as any receiver in the NFL, this offense has true potential to be tapped.

Obviously, time will tell, and it starts with the St. Louis Rams, a team the Redskins should handle easily. Jim Zorn should be able to use this game as an additional confidence builder, and be able to get Thomas and Kelly more involved. Once the passing game is productive, the running game will open up again. The Redskins should have handled the Rams easily last season as well, but found a way to lose anyway.

I don’t think that happens again on Sunday, and we’ll see a bit more of what this Redskins’ offense can become.

That’s my take, the positive one, if all of what we saw against the Giants becomes habit, I’ll be writing about that too, but for now, I’ll be looking for positives.

 

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