jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Let me preface this thread by saying this is NOT a chicken little thread. Those of you who know me know that I am anything but a chicken little. In fact, if you had to classify me, you'd probably call me a homer. Anyway, this is my attempt at an objective view of the Skins. There's been a lot of blaming the refs for the loss. I was fuming for awhile after the game, and I too was in on that. I have had a chance to cool down, watch a movie, and think about the game some more. When it comes right down to it, we gave the game away again. Turnovers killed us. I've looked at sableholic's frame by frame, and to be honest, I can't tell wtf is going on in those pictures...and neither could the refs probably. I mean, its completely inconclusive evidence and after some time to cool down, that has become apparent to me. I don't think it should have been ruled good in the first place, but that is another discussion all together. This game has highlighted, underlined, circled and bolded 4 things about this Redskins team: 1) We are a year away from serious contention. We may make the playoffs, in fact we've probably got a very good shot if we stay undefeated at home and beat St. Louis and Arizona on the road, two extremely beatable teams. But, this team has needs that I do not believe can be fixed mid-season. The turnover problem has its routes in many things, but primarily I feel that its because we're still learning the new system. Musgrave has been huge for this offense, but its not going to happen overnight. For one, the #2 wide-receiver spot. I say its time for Jacobs to be put into that role...Patten is just not getting it done. That was the most pathetic play I think I've ever seen when he gave up that interception. Other than that, the offense seems to be set. Moss has been huge, and will continue to be down the stretch in my opinion. Brunell is throwing better than ever (those two picks should not be in his stat column, imho). 2) We need a pass-rushing DE. Most of you are saying "No ****, sherlock." However until this game I was in the "we do not desparately need a pass-rushing DE b/c our linebackers get enough pressure" camp. It was like a light-bulb came on in my head. However after seeing Phi...I mean Chris Simms have all day to throw the ball and carve up our very talented secondary, it is clear to me that we need a pass-rushing DE. We need to get to the QB. It was painful to watch Simms, who has come off two horrible games, do that to our very talented defense. I believe that one small thing is missing from our defense; if we have a pass-rusher on the end, our defense is 2000 Ravens caliber. No joke. And, I honestly believe the answer to the problem might be found in-house. It seems to me that every time Nic Clemons or Demetric Evans are put in at DE, they do a very nice job getting to the quarterback. Unfortunately, GW has a hard-on for Wynn and Daniels. Maybe its Blache, I don't know. One of those two guys has got to go; and Daniels was making plays last night. Wynn...its been a long ride and you've done some nice things for us, but I think its time for some fresh legs at the position. 3) Cornelius Griffin and Sean Taylor are extremely important to this defense. We can miss one, but missing both at the same time was fatal. You have to believe that with Taylor in the secondary the Bucs' big pass-plays gets cut in half. Taylor is a game-changer. And with a healthy Taylor, Springs and Harris get that much better. I think Bowen was in for one or two snaps, and he got burned, toasted, flambe'd, char-broiled on at least one play. And Corny -- anyone who has seen him anchor our DLine knows that if he's in the game, Alstott does NOT get in the endzone for the two-point conversion. That, and bonef1de pointed out to me that if Big Joe was able to get behind the line of scrimmage so often, Griffin would have been camping out in the Bucs' backfield. Can you imagine how much better Griffin will be if there is a legitamate pass-rusher on the end? His sack numbers would double. 4) If we give the ball up to the Raiders and the Chargers the way we did last night, they will annhilate us. We dominated this Bucs team. Just like the Chiefs and Broncos, we somehow managed to stay in the game despite giving it away. And we somehow managed to lose despite statistically dominating the other team for most of the game. Its mind-boggling, really. A couple things about the playcalling; I'm sick of hearing people trash on Gibbs for the 3rd and 2 call. How about trashing the refs for the worst spot in the history of the NFL? Up until this week it was the spot on Priest Holmes' 4th down conversion run against us, but this week takes that spot over. Horrible spot. And in retrospect, it was a huge 3rd down and maybe it would have been better to pass. However I would run it every single time in that situation, and here's why. 1 - you take time off the clock, 2 - Portis had made the defense his ***** all afternoon, why would it stop then, and 3 - we've got a good defense, and that's what you do with a good defense; you put the game in their hands. Plus, how does Gibbs know that Frost is going to choke on the punt. Who knows...with a half-way decent punt that game is ours. So, for those of you who read this thread before it gets buried; the moral of the story is we gave another one away. The good news is, the 2004 Redskins weren't in these types of games. The 2005 Redskins are hanging tough until the final ****ing whistle and its awesome. Makes for some killer games. Next year I believe we solve the turnover problem and start winning these games. Our offense is really starting to shape up...35 points on the #1 ranked defense? That alone should be very encouraging. I'm not giving up on this season; who knows, maybe we fix the turnover problem this week and don't give up another one all season. It could happen! But ladies and gentlemen, I honestly believe next season we will be unstoppable. :logo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMetal Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Count me among those who are sick of saying "Next year..." The fans deserve a good team NOW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 Count me among those who are sick of saying "Next year..."The fans deserve a good team NOW. Yes, saying "next year" all the time really blows...it pains me to say it. I just honestly think that's where we're at right now. Hopefully they can figure it out and turn it around this season, but...they've been stressing turnovers since opening day and we're still giving the ball away like its hot potato or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskrat Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 We have a good, if inconsistent, team right now. We are capable of playing with pretty much anyone, and when you look at our losses (giants game the exception), it is US who have lost the game, we really haven't been 'beaten' (again, giants game the exception) this season. I agree that we may be a year away from SERIOUS contention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Great post Jrock. I agree with 99% of what your saying. The 1% I don't is the turnovers. I don't see Brunell changing his ways, and continuing to caugh it up when he's being chased. The pics were on the recievers, and any team will lose the ball once in a while. It's become a habbit for Brunell to give it up because he's not covering the ball up. I don't know how you can change this one aspect of his game, but it's been killing us. I'm extremely happy with his play this season. He's made things happen but he fumbles the ball the way Ramsey is said too. We were luckey to recover one of the two he had yesterday. If we had recovered both, I doubt the game would have come down to the two point conversion at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goaldeje Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Great post Jrock. I agree with 99% of what your saying. The 1% I don't is the turnovers. I don't see Brunell changing his ways, and continuing to caugh it up when he's being chased. The pics were on the recievers, and any team will lose the ball once in a while. It's become a habbit for Brunell to give it up because he's not covering the ball up.I don't know how you can change this one aspect of his game, but it's been killing us. I'm extremely happy with his play this season. He's made things happen but he fumbles the ball the way Ramsey is said too. We were luckey to recover one of the two he had yesterday. If we had recovered both, I doubt the game would have come down to the two point conversion at the end. Good point. I can remember cringing every time one of our previous 10-15 QBs would throw deep, just because only God knew what was going to happen. I actually don't cringe with Brunell now, he's getting the job done. However, everytime he gets the slightest bit of pressure, I have developed this nervous tick. Very irritating. And don't think other teams haven't noticed that. Early in the season, Gibbs was using max protect to protect, but I think teams have figured it out, and now are sending too many to block. With Patten being generally unreliable as a 2nd target, if teams double cover Moss and Cooley, we're screwed. JRock to your original post, I agree. I think we need to consider some of those needs in the draft, but I am sure we will make a few splashes in free agency as well. And we may still make the playoffs this year, but next year should be our time to shine if we can fill a few holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwasm Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 I said it before and I'll say it again. We're going in the right direction. All I wanted to see this year is some sign that the team is improving. It is, but, as with any team that's rebuilding, it has to LEARN how to win those big games. If Walt Harris turns around, he can make a play on the ball to at least knock it down. That's Cornerbacking 101. Until we show we can "close the deal," we're going to have games like this where we give the result away. We're just going to have to accept the fact that, right now, we're a decent team that still needs to learn how to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleese Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Great post-- my only concern for the future is at QB. Are we going to go ahead and bank on Brunell being the QB to take us to the Super Bowl in the next 1-2 years under Gibbs? That makes me a bit nervous. I'm concerned that Mark is having one last great year, but that age may eventually catch up to him. The whole Campbell thing has me confused, although I still like the pick. Yesterday proved to me that we aren't a serious contender this year. I'm still hoping we can wiggle into the playoffs because I think it would be great for the organization and real accomplishment for this coaching staff, but jrock is right, next year will probably be the defining season in Gibbs' return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Skins have a good team now. Where it hurts the most, aside from not having 2 very important parts of the defense playing, is the turnovers. Been a problem all season long. They cannot turn the ball over that many times and expect to win. Pretty simple really imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riad Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Ya know? I think it's gonna be like this for the rest of the year and season. And I echo with what others say: Brunell ain't changing, he is getting older and slower. But he does come back, some times or most of the times it is not enough. We're gonna score lots of points (some times), then give out lots of points. I have seen Brunell and Ramsey. They both have their short comings. And then you add any other small discrepancies like, stupid penalties, officials screwing around, etc.. it just gets worst. So why not bring down Campbell? What's the worst can happen? He might be sacked million times. I just want to see something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 Jrockster, I agree with your post, however I'm not thinking the Rams game is so easily winnable anymore. A lot of people around here thought the Bucs game was gonna be cake and look what happened. After seeing what...Simms...did to us, I'm not looking forward to what we can do with Bulger to Holt and Bruce. Granted, we will have Sean Taylor back there for those games, but I have a feeling thats like plugging a finger in a dike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Jones Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 The four losses have been very frustrating, and good post jrockster77. I agree with your assessment on our needs. I would like to see Jacobs given a chance and settle for once an all if he can play. Patten just isn't getting it done. A pass rushing DE is our number one priority, obviously. If Jacob fails, we need to get a WR in the draft. Some mid round gem that doesn't cost a lot. Finally, I hate to admit this but Simms played a very good game. Most of his deep throws were dead on, but he just did well throwing the ball around. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to play well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan035 Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 We've been in every game this year except for one. And we'll get even with that one when they come here. I don't think we're going to the Super Bowl this year, but until yesterday, I thought we'd make the playoffs. Now I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halter91 Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 jrock, I agree with you 100%. I was fuming last night. After the game I went to the grocery store, keep in mind, outside Philly, I still had on my Burgundy R hat and Skins t, some guy asked me if we won. I glanced over and gave him a "Does it look like we Effin won? look. His wife, was like, "Honey, I don't think thats a good question." Anyways, my key points are....We have to stop turning the ball over. That Brunell Fumble hurt, gave them the ball inside the 10 or something and they scored off it. Another thing is we have to get pressure on the QB. We need someone nasty of the D line. Someone who can put pressure on the QB, or at least draw a double team to free up someone else. Man, Yesterday loss hurt more than anything. After the Giants losing and either Dallas or Philly going to lose, we needed that game. I'm not going to blame it on the refs, or whatever. We just didn't get the job done. It was very depressing. But if you look on the bright side, we did rack up 35 points on the best D in the league. The problem was we couldn't stop them. With Taylor in there, I think he makes a huge difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingdaddy Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 If we go 8-0 at home, we're in the playoffs. I don't see it though. I'm seeing 6-2 at home and maybe 3-5 on the road. That equates to 9-7, not good enough to get in. Yesterdays loss could prove to be devastating. We'll see, the Raiders and Arizona games just became absolute must win games. I also think we're going to need to beat St. Louis as well and then go 2-1 against our division the last 3 weeks in order to get in with 10 wins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 While turnovers have been a major issue throughout the course of the year, I don't believe it was a big reason we lost yesterday. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think all 3 of them happened in the first half. The defense was not able to overcome them and could have at least forced them to kick field goals. Our offense tightened up in the second half and did exactly what you want - put together time consuming drives that end in TDs. We put up 25 points in the second half! That's great for an entire game against TB let alone 30 minutes. But the defense was a sieve and failed to protect the lead with multiple opportunities. What's most alarming is the frequency with which we are blowing coverages. Big plays happen. Even the best defenses allow them once or twice per game. But to have guys running free down the middle of the field like Greg Lewis and Joey Galloway twice because guys aren't sure of their assigments is inexcusible. Even against backups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 While turnovers have been a major issue throughout the course of the year, I don't believe it was a big reason we lost yesterday. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think all 3 of them happened in the first half. The defense was not able to overcome them and could have at least forced them to kick field goals. I think the Bucs were able to score 21 points off of our 3 turnovers...not good. When the margin of victory is 1 point, 21 points sound like a whole lot! I honestly believe if we don't lose even one of those turnovers, we score a TD or a FG instead. I hate using the "s" word, but that is a 10-14 point swing, and probably a victory. Our offense tightened up in the second half and did exactly what you want - put together time consuming drives that end in TDs. We put up 25 points in the second half! That's great for an entire game against TB let alone 30 minutes. But the defense was a sieve and failed to protect the lead with multiple opportunities. What's most alarming is the frequency with which we are blowing coverages. Big plays happen. Even the best defenses allow them once or twice per game. But to have guys running free down the middle of the field like Greg Lewis and Joey Galloway twice because guys aren't sure of their assigments is inexcusible. Even against backups. I agree to an extent...but its like I said in the original post...the pass rush is seriously lacking. I don't care who your secondary is, if you give the QB that much time to throw, they are going to get carved up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 Great post Jrock. I agree with 99% of what your saying. The 1% I don't is the turnovers. I don't see Brunell changing his ways, and continuing to caugh it up when he's being chased. The pics were on the recievers, and any team will lose the ball once in a while. It's become a habbit for Brunell to give it up because he's not covering the ball up.I don't know how you can change this one aspect of his game, but it's been killing us. I'm extremely happy with his play this season. He's made things happen but he fumbles the ball the way Ramsey is said too. We were luckey to recover one of the two he had yesterday. If we had recovered both, I doubt the game would have come down to the two point conversion at the end. Remember, one of the Brunell fumbles was due to Robert Royal being asleep on the play. The ball was snapped and he didn't move. That was painful to watch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 They might as well change our name to "next year". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 They might as well change our name to "next year". The Washington Next-Years...I like the sound of that! :doh: Seriously though...this is the way it works for all teams. But most teams hire decent coaches...we've had bad coaches or guys that just don't fit. We finally have someone in power who can turn this thing around! But, its a process, and most people knew it would not turn around over night. Here's to a wildcard spot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigo Montoya Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 DAVID PATTEN, who are you??? Seriously! He is so awful it's not even funny, has he done anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 I'd also add to my original post that Lavar was either going to be the hero or the goat with his leap...and he whiffed on Alstott. How awesome would it have been if he met him behind the line and stuffed him right there? I think if Arrington stays on his feet, Alstott does not get in. But, he went over the top on the last two TDs he scored...so it was probably a good chance to take by Arrington; maybe GW even told him to do it. I don't know...ugh. Still hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 I agree, I think this team will be great next year. But this is the first time "next year" had any meaning to me. Before all we did was wait to see what high draft pick the Skins would or free agents would sign in March. And that was our reason for saying 'next year'. Now you can see that most of the team and coaches are in place, with just a few holes to fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrockster21 Posted November 14, 2005 Author Share Posted November 14, 2005 I agree, I think this team will be great next year. But this is the first time "next year" had any meaning to me. Before all we did was wait to see what high draft pick the Skins would or free agents would sign in March. And that was our reason for saying 'next year'. Now you can see that most of the team and coaches are in place, with just a few holes to fill. You're definitely right...this "next-year" has a much better feeling that any other "next-year" has ever had. We are so close you can taste it. It sucks to have to wait ONE MORE YEAR, but at least we beat Dallas in Dallas, and we beat Philly. If we manage to sweep both of those teams, this year will have been a success, no matter what our final record! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted November 14, 2005 Share Posted November 14, 2005 They might as well change our name to "next year". Hey, we aren't the Cubs yet. To add to this, I think losing Brandon Noble has really hurt this line. We didn't think much of that, but he was a solid veteran in the middle, and without him and Griffin, it left us very thin, depending on young, raw guys in the middle. (Bochetti, Killings, Jones) Personally, I've pretty much been thinking about next year for a few weeks now. It was pretty obvious early on that the talent level of our D just isn't there yet, especially on the line. Any injuries, and we are struggling to find people to fill holes. That, and the fact that the NFC East is real tough this year, make me wonder if we are going to make it to the playoffs. That being said, tho, we have made lots of progress, and anything over .500 will be a success this year. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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