Well... my two cents...

[PediGator]

Wait. Permit us Gator fans this.

There. That felt good.

Let's face it guys. It was the first preseason game. Everything should be prefaced with that. That said...

Ask yourself this. What would you be feeling if the score was the other way around? 38-7 Niners. Sage leads an early TD drive. Then a bunch of backups struggle to develop any rhythm. Wait... I have this silly feeling in my stomach...

There. That's better.

My hats off to Sage. SOS does do things differently. And to learn to do things his way takes time. The interception he threw illustrated everything that makes his uphill climb so difficult. The pass was thrown too late. He never looked at anyone but the intended WR. Heck, the pass was probably thrown off target too. But what did we expect? The guy came out wired and on edge. Lord knows I would have too.

But he settled down. Didn't play great. But took advantage of the opportunities presented him. Rumph was toast on the TD. Was it a "blown coverage?" Of course. Does that make it any less beautiful a play? On the contrary - that's what was so beaitiful. Rumph was baited into "blowing" it. Plain and simple. And given the opportunity to make a play, Sage and Thompson delivered. Hit him in stride. Not perfectly, but it's strangely hard to hit a wide open WR perfectly in stride.

The 3rd and 1 play? His biggest play of the night. He could have easily overthrown or underthrown the target, but his pass led him perfectly. The TD that followed was typical Spurrier. Riding the momentum. Don't let the defense catch their breath. My hat's off Sage. All in all, a nice hint of his skills. And what he needs to work on. (Hint - practice the fade if you want to be in Spurrier's good graces - that was an ugly pass).

---

But with Wuerffel, it was almost unfair. This was the first preseason game? Could have fooled me. It almost seemed as if he had never stopped playing Spurrier's offense. Six years right? That's how long it had been. Surely its gonna take some time to get back in the flow.

Nuh uh. Some guys just get it.

Of course, when it comes down to it, all this game reminded me is that DW, coached by SOS, is the greatest college QB of all time. Bar none. The second half was largely played by players on a high D-I skill level, with some exceptions of course. But man what a half.

If he had come out and hit a couple lucky passes, it would have been one thing. But he didn't just execute the offense - he orchestrated it. Beaten by a corner blitz or two? Go to the WR screen. Audibles like it was Week 8 of the regular season. 3rd down conversions with ice in his veins and the ultimate poker face. Uncanny accuracy on the quick slants. Playmaking ability to boot. And to think he got cheated on the prettiest pass he threw all day - the fade to Doering. Gotta love Rumph's sticktoitiveness - but that was a TD.

For a Gator fan it was nirvana. Of course it was preseason. But come on - what would Cowboy fans have said if we said the QBs were gonna throw for 440 yards and 5 TDs this week?

Ah but there's plenty of time to be giddy.

Back to reality. Reality is, the Skins couldn't have asked for a better start to their preseason. For players, if they doubted before, as those endless passes fell to the turf in practices, they have reason to believe now.

I think everyone came out healthy. The Defense looked aggressive. That's all we could ask from them.

The running game. Let's put an end to the squabbles right now. Steve Spurrier passes to set up the run. He passes to get the lead, and runs to protect it. Unfortunately, this being the preseason, the Skins weren't playing to protect the lead. They wanted to see what DW could do. The regular season will be different. The second half will see fewer passes and more runs if the team has a lead. The lead will essentially be handed to Stephen Davis and he will be asked to keep it secure. But to complain about play distribution in this, SOS's first preseason, when he has so much to learn about his own system, is just ignorant. Someone needs to tell the announcers that.

So many questions still unanswered. Will DW be as successful against 1st string defenders? Will Sage continue to develop between games as much as he did between quarters? Will the Redskins be as successful audibling in front of a hostile crowd in Philly in December? Will they be able to run the ball when it counts?

But this much remains unchanged. Put twenty two players on a football field. Put a ball in between them and line them up. Give eleven of them to Spurrier - and he will find the matchup advantage (there's always atleast one) and he will read your tendencies, and he will put his eleven in position to succeed.

[Yomar]

You Gator fans would know better than me, but I still expect to see more of the run when the exhibition games stop and the real games begin. We know who the starting RB will be, we don't know who the starting QB will be, nor are all the WR positions settled, hence I would expect to see that much passing, just as I would expect to see that much passing at practice. But when facing the Eagles on MNF in week two, I expect to see a solid dose of S. Davis.

[DallasGatr]

Well said PediGator!

[All In]

Yo all of the Gator-Skins... This is your "I told You So" Soap Box thread. Sound off... Let me get out of your way

Lot of people on tonight.

[bulldog]

when I was watching the game, my first thought was I felt it was kind of odd that Spurrier started the least experienced quarterback against the 49ers #1 defense to open the first preseason game.

the way the rotation went, it was almost a given that Danny Wuerffel, also a competitor for the starting job, was going to come out on the better end of the stats playing against the 49ers second and third teams.

that said, Wuerffel did show an impressive touch on the short and intermediate passes and an ability to improvise in the pocket and avoid the negative play.

he also showed the ability to throw with enough velocity to challenge cornerbacks on the outs and turn ins from 20 yards, and that is a very positive development for him and the team.

the Redskins offensive line couldn't do a whole lot against the 49ers front seven in the first quarter, and the team as a consequence couldn't run the ball. Sage was nervous and missed open receivers and at one point was 2 for 9. His second quarter saved his job IMHO.

perhaps the best outcome from tonight was the confirmation that the Skins DO have the talent mix at wide receiver to field a productive offense in the NFL.

As I mentioned in the pre-game post, I think the worry over Green, Gardner and Co. was overblown.

If the team could have added Willie Jackson to add another experienced player in both the NFL and this system it would have been a nice move.

But the failure to land Jackson is not going to break this offense.

[PediGator]

I'll stick to my assertion that the starting of Sage was nothing more than a political move - one done with the realization that it would assuage some of the "he's getting all of his ex-Gators" criticism, and with the realization that there's plenty of time to get everyone on the field in meaningful situations. As an outsider, it helped ease SOS into Skins' fans good graces. It gave off a perception of an open competition, which of course it always has been. It's just that Sage is competing from a position of disadvantage. And doing OK for himself thank you very much. I don't think for a minute it was done with any intent of putting DW into a situation he could be more successful in. If he's gonna stink up the joint, we'll know before long.

[InstiGATOR]

I agree that starting Rosenfel was a PR move. It did assure Wuerffel better numbers, but then Wuerffel likely would have had better numbers either way. Afterall there we open receivers that for whatever reason Rosenfel missed.

The biggest surprise to me was Anthony being a non factor. The lack of a running game was not a surprise. The niners probably decided they needed to stop the run first. I bet they change their tune in the regular season game.

[GatorEye]

Again with the preface of this being a preseason game...

everyone else got to see what us Gatorskins knew all along. Danny, Gillespie, and Doering may all have a little more talent than people thought and should all have a great chance to make the team.

It would be nice to say I told you so, but that would be reserved for someone like QBall. Since this is family, I just hope we can all see, some of these guys can play.

[RiggoDrill]

Everything that I expected to happen did happen ... and much more!!!!:jump:

I had a hunch that Spurrier would win with whomever, whenever: he did.

Lost in the QB controversy is the fact that the other 10 offensive players, constantly rotating in and out, looked pretty d@mn smooth.

So, no matter who the QB is, we're going to win big, and win often.

[indyskinsfan]

To see points on the board and the never say die attitude is more than enough for me. Please Skins keep up the good work. Congrats in order, even if it's a so called meaningless game.

Anyone would want to win their first in anything they played. It's the competitve spirit!

HTTR !!!!!!

[codeorama]

To every one pointing out that this is a preseason game... that's a good reason to be excited as well. The offense will expand and imporve as well. Last night was not the full wide open fun and gun.. there's more to come