goskins report--- Was. vs Pit. views and commentary

[Walking Deadman]

Hi all,

This is my 1st time back to ES since Friday's game, so probably some of things I'm saying may not be "new" but I found some interesting things about being at the game......so enjoy.

Views from FedEx:

Before talking about the game, here's some things I noticed at FedEx.

1) 12th man: I was alarmed at first by the amount of Steelers fans and empty seats initally at FedEx-- pregame and part of the 1st quarter was empty, but it must have been traffic. The Skins fans did show....at let me say I'm proud of all the Skins fans there. Crowd was loud (loudest, Ive heard in awhile-- partly to compete with the Steelers fans maybe?). Lavar got the love on Friday people were glad to see him outthere and he's still "Mr. Redskin".

Plus, despite Ramsey's struggles (I will discuss later) I heard no boos from the crowd after the INT (thank you all....you know how I stand on this).

2) Steelers fans: Props to the Steelers fans, they are Die-Hards. They swing those towels and chant "Here we go Steelers", but they aren't (at least the ones I sat and talked with in my section) A-holes. Many of them dislike Dallas as much as we do and most of them stayed right till the end.....Plus, there was this guy in my section who had a Steelers helmet on and was goofing with all the fans the whole time. He provided entertainment in the stands as well as the field.....

3) Section 403: I love my new seats and section. Great fan base. Lots of actual Redskins fans in that section.

"This is My house and you need to get out"-- one of the guys in the section bascially preaching a sermon to the steelers fans towards the end of the game. I'm not doing it justice.

"Lamebert"-- kids cracking on the Steeler goofball that I mentioned in #2 (he had a Jack Lambert jersey on.....)

4) The Funky four: If you've gone to a Skins game then you know they come out in the 3rd qtr. This time there was three and the fourth was....A Woman?

And she looked like former Redskins cheerleader Christy (who is off the team.....see the Cheerleader scandal thread for the tabloid story). Just curious tidbit I thought I'd bring up.

Now the game:

I'll be brief-- since you all probably have talked about this ad nauseum......

1) O-line: Wow! Forget the Dirtbags, this group looks like the Hogs. Randy Thomas looked incredible (when he pulled he took out multiple guys), Dockery looked great. Raubach pushed guys 2 yards off the LOS. Jansen and Samuels look like legends. And this was against 1st team D. Most times they picked up the blitzes with no problem. Few penalties (1 hold on Jansen I remember and that's about it). These guys can easily run oldschool and new Gibbs style and seem to passblock as well as run. Bugel should be proud.

2) Run game-- everybody knew Portis, Betts, Rock and Nemo were getting the ball, and there was little the D could do about it. Portis looks speedy and hard to bring down. Betts is a tank and runs the counter-trey better than any back on the team. Rock was elusive. Nemo was pounding and holding on to the ball better. Rock/Nemo is probably the toughest roster battle going on.

Byner did a great job, b/c all 4 backs kept moving their legs and diving forward asfter getting hit. Getting that extra yard or 2 means the difference btw 4th down and 1st down.

3) Moss: He looked great out there and may some great plays for the ball prior to catching and after catching the ball.

4) The Defense.....played like the #1 D. Only gave up 1 big run (stopped bt the incredible Springs). Held the Steelers to only 3pts. Rogers fits perfect in Williams system as a run stopper. Arrington looked good on his 1st trip back. D was soooooo close to sacking Big Ben in multiple plays but was 1/2-1 steps too late.

5) QB controversy- Ramsey still has a way to go. He missed Moss and Patten who were wide open deep. The INT should have been thrown away and Patrick needs to devlop more poise when getting pressure. Patrick tries TOO Hard to make plays work at times and sometimes, he needs to just throw the ball away. He did look better than weeks 1-2 and played with more confidence and leadeship. the dive for the 1st down was a good job.

I know he threw a TD, but he did miss Sellers who would have just walked in from the flat. Brunell looked good with the 1st and 2nd teams and avoids pressure better than Patrick. He also just seemed to have all day to throw.

I would still like to see Mark play some 1st teamers for a better comparasion.

Let's not talk about Campbell....there wasn't much to say about his game, he ran the clock out mostly.

I was very impressed overall by this team (the Skins) and I have some serious doubts about the Steelers winning the AFCN this year. Big Ben struggled more than Patrick (I was really suprised that he actually completed 6 passes!!!!!). And the #1 D of 2004 was ran on by the Skins (all four main backs). I know, only preseason, but the Steelers have some serious work if they are to contend for another attempted Super Bowl run.