DEFEAT

Cowboys 27 - 23 Redskins

The word of the day is; "URGENT."

Hello everybody, JimmiJo here and I am joined by Spaceman Spiff. And our mission is to bring you the sites, sounds, and smells of today's Washington Redskins - Dallas Cowboys game.

The Washington Redskins used a prime time Monday Night opportunity to lay a spectacular egg. They were beating in most every significant area and suffered yet another national embarrassment.

Ok, so that one's over. 

But while I am usually all for the 24-hour rule; the one where you celebrate a win or bemoan a loss for 24-hours and then move on either way - today's game must be viewed in the context of last week's loss:

- The Redskins were horrible running the ball last week. All eyes are watching to see if the rush attack exists, let alone improves.
- The run defense was very poor. Dallas is known for having a poor line. They have a rookie is Ezekiel Elliot who wants to prove he merited the low draft pick (5th overall). Then there's this guy named Alfred Morris who would love to show Washington what they let get away.
- Is our best guy gonna cover their best guy? Yea, I heard all the rationalization how both Redskins corners are good and they have this scheme-thing they do...Sounded like a bunch of crapola to me. We paid a mountain of money for Josh Norman. Time for him to show us why they did.
- 0-2 at home to start the season could be really, really bad. The teeth of the schedule is later this year. You cannot give away two home games. Yes, this is must win.

Let me say that again; YES, this is MUST-WIN.

The difference between 1-1 and 0-2 is profound. Dallas features a quarterback starting just his second game in the league. This is one of the marquee rivalries in the NFL. If the Redskins can't use all of the above as motivation to go out and start whoopin' monkey ass, I'm not sure what they can use.

Prediction: They better win.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF INACTIVES

 

LANDOVER, Md. – The Washington Redskins have announced the following inactives and lineup changes for today’s game against the Dallas Cowboys:

 

The Redskins declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 2 QB Nate Sudfeld

o   No. 19 WR Rashad Ross

o   No. 38 CB Kendall Fuller

o   No. 50 LB Martrell Spaight

o   No. 72 DE Anthony Lanier II

o   No. 74 G Arie Kouandjio

o   No. 97 DE Kendall Reyes

 

The Cowboys declared the following players as inactive:

o   No. 9 QB Tony Romo

o   No. 34 RB Darius Jackson

o   No. 35 S Kavon Frazier

o   No. 53 LB Mark Nzeocha

o   No. 65 G Ronald Leary

o   No. 75 DE Ryan Davis

o   No. 99 DE Charles Tapper

 

 

 Keys to Victory

- Run the (freaking) ball
- Pressure the youngster
- BE BOLD (play-to-win)!

Check me out in-game on Twitter @skinscast

 

 BTW

Way too many Dallas fans here today. Way more than Steelers' fans last week. Please send these chuckle-heads home butthurt.

 

 Half

Dumpster-fire to start on defense. Kirk Cousins is apparently allergic to throwing touchdowns. And Joe Barry finally started switching Norman back and forth.

 Audio May be found here 2016 Week 2 Cowboys at Redskins Post Game

 

 Photo Album - 2016 Week 2: Cowboys at Redskins

 

 

 JimmiJo

It is hard to articulate my frustrations with this team. On the one hand it is maddening the extent of missed opportunities. On the other, it is more than just that.

Here's the bottom-line: the better team lost. But they lost because they did not take advantage of opportunities. They lost because they let a rookie quarterback outplay them. They lost because of the stubbornness of head coaches and coordinators who place system ahead of staff capability. 

But this is more than just missed chances and dumb-luck. As of right now this team is profoundly worse than the team that won the division last season. I plan to do a more-extensive article, but here are three areas that are killing this team right now:

1. Third Down Offense - This is an area Washington excelled in last year. In fact, it was one of the areas where they were most improved from the season prior. The Redskins ended the 2015 regular season ranked 5th overall in 3rd down conversions. This year? They currently rank 25th. Today they went 5-for-12 for 42%*.

2. Third Down Defense - This is another area where a profound drop in production has occurred. The Redskins finished last year ranked 8th in this stat. They currently rest at a dismal 27th*. Washington's drop in effectiveness in this area was noticeable week 1 versus Pittsburgh, and the trend continued against Dallas. They cannot seem to get off the field on third down, especially on third-and-long; where most teams succeed. 

3. Quarterback - Kirk Cousins is having problems. In his case, it's all in his head. Cousins finished 2015 with an overall QB rating of 101.6, 10th among quarterbacks. Following two games in 2016 Cousins is rocking a 72.7 and 32nd in the league. Beyond the numbers, his accuracy is way off. On Sunday he overthrew two wide open receivers, both of whom would have run into the end zone untouched. He also tried to force a throw into the end zone to a receiver covered by multiple defenders. The result was an interception. The subsequent Dallas drive resulted in the game-winning touchdown run from Alfred Morris.

If the Redskins would have fixed two of these today they would have won.

Unfortunately, the real list of problems are longer than the above. There is an ineffectual rushing attack. Poor personnel groupings on key plays.Poor defensive scheme, especially in the secondary, and of course; penalties.

This team has a lot if issues. And now they get to travel to New York and play the Giants. Anyone remember what happened last year when they went?

Can you say 0-and-3? 

I wonder if succession planning has already begun. A loss next week and I have to believe it will begin.

 

* According to teamrankings.com