The NFL’s All-Decade Team: 2000’s

The 2000’s have boasted some of the greatest players of all time. This list is what I believe are the best players of this decade. I am sure there will be many debated topics, and I look forward to reading everyone’s opinion.

The defense will also be run as a 3-4, because this was a revolutionary idea during the 2000’s.

Enjoy!

Begin Slideshow

The Pride Of Nebraska: Woodhead’s Spot on NFL Roster Unlikely

 

Danny Woodhead of North Platte, Nebraska ran for more yards in a single season than anybody in the history of college football. Anyone. Any division.

Unheralded out of high school in the Cornhusker State after setting numerous prep records, Division I locals such as Nebraska and Colorado made a lukewarm pursuit of this prep phenom from Western Nebraska. Both wanted Woodhead to walk-on to their programs, while Northwestern was rumored to be interest but nothing materialized.

Woodhead shocked Husker Nation by enrolling at Division II Chadron State.  Many observers believed Woodhead would want to prove his worth by walking on to Nebraska, but Woodhead called Nebraska’s bluff.

Woodhead’s older brother was a member of the football team at Chadron State, and Woodhead said, “I wanted to go to play for somebody that wanted me.”

Woodhead was too small according to the Big 12 North rivals.

Woodhead stands at just 5-foot-7, and weighs 200 pounds soaking wet. This Woodhead, however, had speed that you couldn’t teach and moves like former college football icon and Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders.

From day one in Chadron, it was a man playing amongst boys. Woodhead shattered every record known to mankind at the school, rushing towards an improbable icon status in his native Nebraska.

As a freshman in 2004, Woodhead rushed for 1,840 yards and rushed for 25 touchdowns. In 2005, there was no sophomore slump for Woodhead. Woodhead rumbled for 1,769 yards in 10 games, rushing for 21 touchdowns.

As a junior, Woodhead began his assault on college football record books. Woodhead rushed for eight yards per carry, juking his way to 2,756 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns. Woodhead caught 45 passes for 403 more yards, scoring four receiving touchdowns. His season yardage output of 2,756 is an NCAA single-season record.

Woodhead won the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, the Harlon Hill Trophy, in 2006.

Despite an injury-riddled senior campaign in 2007, Woodhead won the award again following his 1,597 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.

Woodhead finished his career by rushing for 7,891 yards and 101 touchdowns, adding eight receiving touchdowns in 44 career games at Chadron State.

Woodhead was not invited to the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis, and went undrafted.

He inked a free agent contract with the New York Jets.  Rumor had it that the Jets were so impressed with Woodhead there would be a good chance he could make the roster on opening day as a rookie.

Woodhead was injured in the preseason, and missed the entire 2008 season. A year after being injured, Woodhead rejoined the Jets for the 2009 season.

Woodhead was one of the final cuts during preseason for the Jets. He was immediately signed to the Jets practice squad and spent over a month on it.

Woodhead was then signed to the active roster by the Jets in October prior to Week eight.

Listed as a wide receiver, Woodhead rushed for 24 yards on three carries in his first NFL game. In a Week 12 win over Carolina, Woodhead made two receptions for 23 yards in spot duty.

Woodhead is one big play away from becoming an overnight sensation.

Out of relative obscurity, the road to the NFL seemed like a long shot. But now, Woodhead is receiving the ultimate reward and showing everyone what he is made of.

He is the pride of North Platte, Chadron, and all of Nebraska. 

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Dallas Cowboys are Good, But Something is Missing

…And that something is a someone .

His name is Terrell Owens.

This is where the die-hard, rah-rah traditionalists say, “What are you talking about? The guy is a selfish player, all about himself, and the Cowboys are in first place without him.”

Yes, Dallas is 8-3 and atop the NFC East, but anyone—Cowboys fan or not—that believes that Owens’ departure is the explanation for their success, is either lying to themselves or doesn’t follow Dallas very closely. 

While WR2 Miles Austin has enjoyed a refreshing breakout season, WR1 Roy Williams (who was supposed to “replace” Owens) has been a dud, and one of the favorite whipping boys for analysts around the league. Williams makes ill-advised comments just as Owens did, but he doesn’t have the statistical production to back it up. Let’s go to the numbers to date:

Williams: 26 rec, 444 yards, 4 TD

Owens: 40 rec, 659 yards, 3 TD

All right, so Roy has one more TD than T.O., but T.O. has 14 more receptions and a 215-yard advantage. And here’s the kicker: this is one of the worst, if not the worst season of Owens’ Hall of Fame career.

In addition, Bills fans have rightfully blamed Dick Jauron and QB Trent Edwards for Owens’ numerical decline, as a new head coach and quarterback have immediately returned No. 81 to form.

T.O.’s last two games with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm: 9 rec 197 yards 1 TD, and 5 rec 96 yards 1 TD. Edwards was horrific as the starter this season, struggling with a lack of arm strength and a stubbornness in regards to Owens.

When you have a receiver of that caliber at your disposal, it’s OK to rely on them. If he can single-handedly win games for you, there shouldn’t be an intense desire to spread the ball around to multiple targets.

Fitzpatrick, a Harvard man, understands that.

That doesn’t mean that all other receivers should be ignored, only that Owens should be leaned upon and force fed if necessary.

So Owens has outproduced Roy Williams despite having to deal with Edwards’ ineptitude for too long, and the fact that QB Tony Romo is about fifty times better than both of Buffalo’s quarterbacks. Owens may have been an off-the-field distraction in Dallas, but on the field, he and Romo had excellent chemistry. Both put up exceptional numbers during their era as teammates.

As for the current Cowboys, sure they are 8-3, but they are lacking in offensive explosiveness. RBs Marion Barber and Felix Jones have struggled with injuries at different times during the year, TE Jason Witten has been less productive, and WR3 Patrick Crayton is here today, gone tomorrow.

For me to consider this team a serious Super Bowl contender, they would need a WR1 like, oh…Terrell Owens. I like Jerry Jones, but something tells me that this major offseason decision is going to bite him in the behind.

I’ve been very impressed by Wade Phillips’ defensive unit in ’09, but a strong defense and average offense isn’t going to cut it this year. Not with the Colts, Saints, Vikings, and Patriots around.

I expect the Cowboys to reach the postseason with relative ease, but don’t expect them to get very far.

Not without a receiver like No. 81.

 

(John Frascella is the author of “Theo-logy: How a Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land,” the first and only book centered on Boston’s popular GM Theo Epstein. Follow John on Twitter @RedSoxAuthor.)

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Josh McDaniels: Better Vocal Leader Than Bill Belichick?

Stories like this just make me mad as ****.

Glad that voice-activated typing software was activated. We’ll be issuing an apology momentarily.

When I heard that the NFL Network had issued a public apology for what Denver Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels had said on the sidelines this week, I was really *****. Come on, what the **** was so wrong?

 

I mean, this is the ******* NFL isn’t it? Manly men doing manly things in a manly fashion? Beating the snot (bodily fluids seem to be permissible in this context) out of the ************ piece of **** on the other side of the ******* line.

 

Isn’t that what this freaking (sorry, slipped on that one) game is supposed to be all about?

Fair to say we’re not really sure what came first in this discussion. The fan’s bloodthirsty (remember the bodily fluids thing here) demand to hear every single last ******* comment made by every one of those ******** on the field, or the TV networks rush to get a little more “up close and personal”.

 

And doing it without sideline reporters!

 

Or worse, that ******* annoying Twitter thing.

This is football! Anyone sitting either in the stands or at home knows what they’re getting into here. In America, we curse and we’re better at it than anybody else in the ******* world.

 

OK, maybe we’re still learning form the experts.

 

Either way, we’re **** proud of it. It’s a ******* scientific fact. 

 

If you’re going to place a live microphone that close to a group of football players during a game, what do you expect? A bunch of ******* talking about who has the best kept locker stall?

If it would have been the Steelers defense on the sidelines, I could see them waxing poetic on the follicle style of Troy Polamalu. I mean, everyone around the NFL knows why he really wears his ******* hair so long.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE. How McDaniels has surpassed Bill Belichick, why he owes no one an apology, and suggestions for anyone still unhappy with his choice of language.

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Buccaneers-Falcons: Tampa Two Not Enough for Victory Number Two

For awhile, the Bucs went in the time machine and looked like the team of old. They were grinding out a defensive battle with a hard-hitting defense, knocking out the Atlanta Falcons best two offensive playmakers—QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner.

The Bucs held Atlanta to 75 yards rushing and sacked Falcon QBs six times. The Falcons came into the game ranked 11th in the league rushing and tied for fourth in the league in least sacks surrendered.

They held the Falcons, the eighth-highest scoring offense in the NFL, to just 13 points most of the way.

This is the type of defense the Buccaneers fans remember seeing their football team play.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough, as Atlanta’s backup quarterback Chris Redman led the Falcons on a 15-play, 59-yard drive to the winning touchdown with 0:26 left in the game.

The Bucs appeared to have the Falcons stopped, but a defensive holding penalty on rookie Derrick Roberson gave Atlanta new life.

The replay showed some incidental contact on the border of the 5-yard area where contact is allowed. It was a ticky-tack call that seems to happen against bad teams.

The Bucs still refused to give in, continuously turning Atlanta away. The Falcons had eight opportunities inside Tampa Bay’s 10-yard line.

Finally, on their second fourth-and-goal opportunity, Redman fired a pass to Roddy White, who was double-covered but somehow came up with the football in the end zone for the 20-17 lead.

The Bucs defense didn’t get much help from the offense in the second half. Twice, Tampa Bay had great field position, but both time failed to add to the lead.

The first time after a three-and-out by the offense, the Bucs made the curious decision to attempt a fake punt.

Punter Dirk Johnson threw an incomplete pass but more importantly, injured his hamstring while scrambling around.

The second opportunity, with 2:30 left, instead of punting the Falcons deep into their own territory, head coach Raheem Morris put Connor Barth in to attempt a 51-yard field goal. Barth put plenty of leg into it but pulled it wide right.

It gave the ball to the Falcons with terrific field position to set up Redman’s heroics.

Freeman recovered well from his rough outing last week, playing one of his best games statistically. He was a solid 20-for-29, 250 yards, 2 touchdowns, including a beautiful 42-yard strike to Antonio Bryant, one play after hitting Bryant for a 38-yard gain.

While the defense certainly played much better under Morris’ direction, Freeman played well, and the special teams showed up again with a blocked punt—the one area of the team that remains a mystery is the Buccaneers running game.

Tampa Bay managed a paltry 73 yards on the ground, averaging just 2.8 yards a rush.

So where do you assign blame for the latest failure?

It’s hard to give it to the defense, even though they wilted late in the game but they were on the field for 76 plays and surrendered only 297 yards.

They sacked the QB, stopped the run and pretty much looked like a Buccaneer defense for the first time this season.

You can say a lot of that was due to Ryan being knocked out of the game and Redman taking over, but Redman played pretty well, going 23-for-41, 243 yards and 2 touchdown passes.

The Bucs were getting pressure on Ryan and stopping the run before he was injured.

Still, they failed to get off the field at the end of the ballgame for the second time this season.

You could blame it on the offense, who managed just 17 points. Still, Freeman looked good, making some big-time throws and connected on the plays necessary to give the team the lead.

But the Bucs failed to take advantage of field position and pad the lead.

You could blame it on coaching, as Morris made some bad decisions down the stretch of the game like the fake punt, the attempt of a long field goal instead of playing field position, running Derrick Ward (and his 2.2 yards a carry) instead of Earnest Graham or Cadillac Williams.

You could even blame it on special teams, when Quincy Black jumped offsides during a punt on 4th-and-2, eventually leading to a field goal…three points was the difference in the ballgame.

You could blame it on discipline. Tampa Bay was penalized eight times for 52 yards, including the idiotic penalty on Jeremy Trueblood for taking his helmet off.

Illegal motion penalties, and of course, the defensive holding call during the final drive that gave the Falcons new life.

It’s another loss, which improves their draft position. At the end of the season, it won’t mean anymore than any of the other 10 losses this season.

Still, for the first time this season on defense, you feel that the Buccaneers finally have something to build on.

Welcome back, Tampa Two…how we missed you!

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Déjà Vu: Indianapolis Colts Stymie Houston Texans on the Road Again

Is it just me, or do you expect the Indianapolis Colts to always come back from big deficits?

 

Whether you do or you don’t, it always seems to happen. Sunday’s contest between the still-undefeated Colts and Houston Texans was even more entertaining to watch than last year’s game.

 

You remember last year’s game in Houston, don’t you?

 

The Colts were down 17 points in the second half and seemed to be on the edge of losing to their young AFC South rivals. But Peyton Manning threw a touchdown, Robert Mathis forced a fumble on then-quarterback Sage Rosenfels and Gary Brackett ran back a Rosenfels fumble caused by a helicopter-like hit in mid-air.

 

It was a near-epic collapse…until now.

 

The Colts came out Sunday as if they were sleepwalking, going through the motions and making Matt Schaub look like the next Fran Tarkenton. The defense was struggling as well, giving up more points in the first quarter (14) than they usually give up in entire games.

 

The Colts fell down 20-7, making people in Houston and all around the country wonder whether this would be the day in which Indianapolis was going to lose their first game of the season.

 

And then something funny happened in the second half–an almost identical recreation of last season’s game between both teams.

 

Manning charged back by firing a touchdown pass to his favorite receiver, Reggie Wayne. Manning then found Dallas Clark on a short pass to make it 21-20 game.

And with Houston still with a chance to redeem itself and take back the game, Clint Session stepped in front of a Shaub pass and took it the house. Pick-six, eight point game and hopes and dreams shattered.

 

The Colts’ Craig Simpson even added insult to injury, shedding a group of tacklers and scampering for a touchdown. Simpson’s effort made it a 35-3 run and sealed the Colts’ 11th consecutive victory.

 

Still undefeated and still finding ways to win, it was almost as if Martin Scorcese himself was writing the script. The only question which remains is how long Indy can continue to come out of its periodic slumps and still win games.

 

They did it against New England, and now they have done it to Houston for the second straight year. A team with a no-panic coach and a veteran quarterback continue to defy the odds.

 

This is nothing new for a franchise which has won at least 11 games for an NFL record-seven straight years, and good teams know how to win close games.

 

And as long as Manning is at the helm, the Colts will never be counted out.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Suffer Heartbreak In Atlanta

For 59 minutes and 37 seconds, Raheem Morris coordinated and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers put forth one great defensive effort in Atlanta.

It was that 23 second mark that sent it all down the drain.

With just 23 seconds to play Sunday in the Falcon-Dome, backup quarterback Chris Redman fired one laser of a pass to Roddy White and the Buccaneers had their hearts broken.

Heartbreaking was the 20-17 final tally that spelled the 10th loss of the season for Tampa Bay.

It was heartbreaking because Morris showed why he should have been the defensive coordinator for this team, and perhaps not its head coach.

The return to the old “Tampa Two” was a breath of fresh air for this trampled defense. The Jim Bates nightmare was gone.

There were no long bombs by Atlanta, there were no long runs, in fact, not much running at all. Atlanta managed just 75 yards on the ground. It’s not a misprint. SEVENTY-FIVE yards rushing, not 275!

Six sacks and constant pressure on the quarterback. It was enough pressure to get Atlanta starter Matt Ryan out of the game after the first series.

Yes, the breaks were going Tampa Bay’s way. Ryan out with an injury and running back extraordinaire Michael Turner would follow him to the bench early, taking two key Falcon weapons away.

Yes, we all saw it with our own eyes. The defense was thriving. Players were swarming to the football, passes were broken up and runners were gang-tackled. Looked like an old Tony Dungy team.

Indeed, Josh Freeman did his part with 20 completions for 250 yards and a pair of TDs, one to Antonio Bryant, the other to Cadillac Williams, of all people.

It was a Tony Dungy era kind of score. It was 10-10 at the half and lo and behold, 17-13 going into the final 15 minutes with the Bucs ahead. First time all year they weren’t behind.

Things were really going Tampa’s way when Jason Elam missed a short field goal attempt with 6:30 left. Yes, it looked like Morris’ first road win was in the offing. All that stood between the Bucs and victory was 60 yards and two and a half minutes. Surely the defense would hold up.

Redman moved the Falcons to the Bucs 10 with but 49 seconds left. The Falcons would have not one or two or three but SEVEN shots at the end zone. And that five-yarder to White was the lethal blow.

Surely the Bucs deserved better.

They regained respect because the defense did not get wiped all over the turf. The defense was solid. It was proud. It was not the embarrassment that Bates had saddled the team with for 10 weeks.

Which begs the final question: why did Raheem do this to us? Why didn’t he take over sooner?

This entire mess could have been avoided had he only stayed the defensive coordinator and not the head coach.

But now, perhaps he can remain as both.

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Malcolm Floyd Proving Some Concerns For San Diego Chargers

I think Malcolm Floyd is a great piece of the team, a great deep threat to compliment Vincent Jackson. Unfortunately, back when Chris Chambers was waived, I worried a bit that he was a great No. 3 guy and suited to the role of a true starter. 

His best asset is going up for jump balls, using size and a willingness to tangle in order to wrestle the ball away. Going against a nickel back, this is even more of an advantage he can make use of, whereas against good starters they can hinder him a bit more.

He is not a phenomenal route runner, or technically proficient, despite having many years in the team’s system. He is no Braylon Edwards, but drops a few balls that should stick. A defense has to account for him, but not worry the way they do about Anontio Gates or Jackson. Since taking over the starting duties his byline is:

2 catches 9 yards 1 TD

2 catches 64 yards

2 catches 29 yards

3 catches 45 yards

4 catches 38 yards

He needs to show me at least one game before the season is over where he can have a five receptions for 60 yards for me to feel the team does not need to pursue a different guy as the second option.  I love the four wideout look of Jackson, a good route running possession guy, Floyd, and Naanee.  A No. 5 guy is not necessary with Gates and Darren Sproles.

Some of this is of course opportunity, as Jackson/Gates eat much of the passing game attention, but with the improvement in certain areas where the team won’t need to focus as heartily this offseason as first thought (safety/middle linebacker), I think a true No. 2 guy would be a good option to look into this offseason.

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Cincinnati Bengals Showing That Only the Strong Survive

One week after a letdown of bumbling proportions in a loss to the Oakland Raiders, the Cincinnati Bengals dominated the Cleveland Browns 16-7 on Nov. 29 in a Darwinian expression of strength.

The stronger Bengals overpowered Cleveland in almost every aspect of the game, resulting in a nine-point win that was never in much danger.

The Cincinnati offense dominated the line of scrimmage against the Browns by frequently using six offensive linemen.

When the Browns responded to seeing 6’9”, 325 lb. Dennis Roland at tight end by bringing eight men into the box, Cincinnati offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski countered by having Roland kick out the backside defensive end on a stretch play—consistently Cincinnati’s most effective offensive play throughout the afternoon.

Even other Cleveland run-stopping tactics, like corner and safety blitzes, were negated by poor tackling, allowing Larry Johnson and Bernard Scott to get into the secondary.

With the overloads, stretch plays, and missed tackles, Cincinnati was able to rack up 210 yards on the ground, adding to what was the eighth-best rushing offense in the NFL heading into the weekend.

The Bengal defense also exhibited supremacy over the Browns. Except, instead of a physical superiority, their advantage manifested itself much more in the mental deficiencies of Cleveland’s Brady Quinn.

Quinn epitomized a quarterback with happy feet in the pocket, launching inaccurate, hurried, and misguided passes whenever Cincinnati defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer would send an extra pass rusher.

Even when Zimmer abstained from a blitz, a show of six men at the line of scrimmage before the snap was often enough to force Quinn to a check-down into a conservative screen or run play—situations the Bengal defense handled easily against a Cleveland playmaking corps that left something to be desired.

As the Bengals continue to navigate through the plum portion of the schedule—a home game against Detroit next Sunday represents the third straight game with a cellar dweller—from their perch atop the AFC North, they can be comforted by their show of supremacy on Sunday.

It is a theme that will lead them into the playoffs, where as any Darwinian will tell you, only the strong survive.

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Philadelphia Eagles—Washington Redskins Notes

If you didn’t know the standings of the teams coming into the game, you’d have thought that the Eagles were the team with the terrible record.

An onside kick, going for it on fourth down twice in the first 12 minutes of game play, two QB draw plays with the backup…it didn’t exactly scream out confidence in your personnel. Or that Cap’n Andy was expecting anything but a 60-minute hairpull, despite the Redskins being, well, terrible. And he got exactly what he expected.

Fox pointed out how everyone was playing the run on a third and one QB draw by Michael Vick. In other words, Washington has actually watched the tape of the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles.

In regard to Redskins QB Jason Campbell, I’ve just never been scared of a QB who reads plays off a wristband. It looks like a little kid who hasn’t studied for a test.

How you keep a bad team around: do not defend third down, and make the opponent’s touchdowns downright easy. I had hopes of the defense gelling in the stretch run, like they’ve done many times before in the Reid Era, but it’s overstating the case to think they looked like that today. Once the offense turned the tide, perhaps. But they’ll need more than that to win playoff games.

Fox cited the Redskins’ injuries, and yes, they’ve been decimated. But it’s kind of telling that so many games are lost to bad franchises. You see this a lot in the NBA; guys that find the training room more interesting than the field in a lost year. If it walks like a dog and barks like a dog, and routinely blows fourth quarter leads…

Did you have 10 minutes left in the second quarter for Sav Rocca’s first terrible punt of the day in your pool? I had the time right, but the wrong quarter. It’s so hard to win that bet. And thanks to Eldra Buckley for a remarkably dumb 15 yard penalty to make that one more memorable. It takes a team wide effort to look like a worse team than the Redskins.

Don’t forget that Campbell to Eagles CB Asante Samuel, with two picks in the late going in the second quarter, is your margin of victory today. Yes, Washington is really bad.

With nine seconds left in the half, the Redskins recovered a squib kick and gave themselves a chance at the Hail Mary, but couldn’t keep Trent Cole from a speed sack of Campbell. Is there a more dispiriting play for an offense than a sack against prevent coverage? I say no. Or, at least, hope so.

Of course Redskins TE Fred Davis registered his longest career catch and an eventual touchdown today. Can we please draft for this next year, Capn Andy? We finally got that No. 1 WR problem taken care of. Hope springs eternal for a stud LB.

Down to a terrible team with the defense taking third downs off, Fox’s Darryl Johnston talked about how the crowd wasn’t into the game. Well, when you give up eight of 10 third down conversions, and your laundry is playing its annual inexplicably awful game against the division’s poor stepchild, it’s not exactly a good thing to watch. Honest. And if I had a dollar for all of the missed tackles today, the blogging would be very lucrative indeed.

Notable: TE Brent Celek not making the play on three straight catchable balls. What is, “What a young and inconsistent offensive team does, Alex?”

Did you enjoy Johnston’s mouth job for the Skins offensive line before their fourth false start penalty, followed by a holding call that prevented a first down? I know I did.

After yet another drop by Celek, McNabb was hit while throwing to set up a pick, and we’re well in the range of this game being over. Utterly maddening, but at least Washington was too paranoid of turnovers to get the killshot touchdown. Hey, there are coaches that are worse than whatever is managing the Skins these days!

Does any announcing team praise players for moments in plays that are wiped out by penalty more than Fox? Perhaps head trauma is contagious.

McNabb finally stopped throwing it to Celek, and the result was three straight throws to the surprisingly emerging Avant, two of which netted 68 yards. Unfortunately, that also led to Avant being on the ground. Man, I hate Redskins games.

Vick on a rollout missed Celek by a mile, and I’m pretty sure that Eagle Fan has had just about enough of Vick by now. McCoy then took over for a screen, run, and first, followed by a huge hole for Weaver to get it to the one. Eldra Buckley is the short yardage back of the week that isn’t Leonard Weaver, and two straight plays get a big fat nothing.

The utterly unsurprising play action to Celek failed, and yes, Eagle Fan, you have seen this movie before; thankfully, a Skins penalty kept this from being fourth down. I want to play poker with Andy Reid. I’m pretty sure I could get a read on him. Or that he’d keep asking the table what hands are the best.

Finally, Green tried Buckley off to the side, and the left side executed for six. An utterly maddening timeout to discuss the two-point conversion call followed, because the team clearly couldn’t think ahead for a wildly important play call, but Shady McCoy refused to let that happen with a fantastic play for the conversion on a shuffle pass.

Just unreal balance there, play of the day. If he doesn’t make it, maybe Green still wins this game, but I’m not sure; it brought the Mo Men Tum in a big way.

Good kickoff coverage continued the wave, and after a ridiculously easy deep out, the defense got a stop. The offense then did everything but win it by taking four minutes off the clock and setting up the chip shot field goal. Notable on the drive were a number of strong runs from McCoy and Weaver, then a fantastic sideline fly to Maclin; there is no doubt in my mind that Donovan’s playing some of his best ball ever right now.

On a third and five, he throws a perfect dart to Maclin that moved the chains, ate three Washington timeouts, and got the ball in close, and he also had the presence of mind to slide on a failed rollout to keep the clock moving. Akers converted to give them the lead, 27-24, with 1:48 left.

After an outstanding kickoff from Akers, and coverage from Moises Fokou, the Skins started at their own 16 with 104 seconds left and no timeouts. Heavy pressure on Campbell forced an incomplete on first, as Cole continued to own his matchup.

Davis was open on a deep slant on second and ten, but couldn’t bring it in. A blitz doesn’t quite get there on third and ten, but a saving tackle forced a fourth down, and the Skins inexplicably seemed to forget that they needed a yard to keep the game alive.

The refs turned a blind eye to a possible roughing the passer call, mostly, one suspects, because they were too offended by the stupidity to give them another chance, and that was that. 27-24, Green.

As with any escape win, especially at home, it’s hard to feel too great about the game, if for no other reason then there was a disturbing amount of things that need to get better, and shouldn’t look like that in late November. Vick, Rocca, Celek, Trotter, and Reid all had big lapses in this game that would have just killed them against a good team.

But a win is a win is a win, Redskin Fan continues to have Big Misery, and they are still in contention for the division and wildcard. There’s also the fact that their QB is playing some of the best football of his life, and so long as that’s true, they’ve got a puncher’s chance, especially if the skill players make plays. Moving on…

 

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