Virginian-Pilot : Spurrier finally has a reason to smile

[bubba9497]

Spurrier finally has a reason to smile

By JIM DUCIBELLA, The Virginian-Pilot

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=58810&ran=230825

“Cautious optimism” was Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier’s pet phrase the first day of training camp. After Saturday night’s 24-3 rout of the Baltimore Ravens, nothing’s changed.

Spurrier praised the play of his banged-up offensive line, gushed appropriately over the playmaking skills of receiver Laveranues Coles, and was thrilled to pick up a final stat sheet and see his team with less than 100 yards in penalties.

“It’s been a long time since I came in here and said I’m proud of the effort and I’m proud of the way our guys hustled,” Spurrier said. “We didn’t get pushed around. We looked them in the eye and played a tough, physical game. It was a preseason game so it doesn’t mean a lot, but hopefully we learned something about how we need to compete and play.”

Meanwhile, Ravens coach Brian Billick complained that when the Redskins looked his players in the eye, they must have been hard-pressed to find signs of life.

“We just had nothing; no passion, no focus, no intensity, no physicality, no responding to adversity,” Billick said. “We just had nothing. ... We needed some evaluation from tonight and we wasted our time coming down here. ... I don’t know how quite to explain it. I don’t know as I’ve ever felt like this.”

He could have asked Spurrier, who has experienced more than his share of those funks in one-plus NFL seasons. But for one night, at least, there were things he could celebrate on the bus ride from FedEx Field to Redskin Park.

Among them:

- After averaging just six points in their first two games, the Redskins’ offense put up slightly more Spurrier-like numbers. The Redskins converted 7 of 14 third-down conversion attempts. They converted 2 of 3 red-zone opportunities. They even rushed for 110 yards, though Spurrier was quick to note that their total offense was slightly shy of 300 yards (291).

“We have gotten better from game one to game two to game three,” said quarterback Patrick Ramsey, who completed 8 of 13 passes, one a 39-yard touchdown to Coles on a flea-flicker. “Hopefully, we can continue to do this through the season.”

- Penalized 25 times in the first two games, the Redskins were whistled just six times for 31 yards Saturday. Spurrier liked the fact that there weren’t as many “boo-boos,” as he called them.

- Kicker John Hall converted his only field goal attempt. More impressively, two of his kickoffs were downed for touchbacks. The first one drew a standing ovation from the fans at that end of the stadium.

- The defense was aided by poor quarterback play from Baltimore rookie Kyle Boller and a dropped pass on a fourth-down conversion attempt that might have gone for a touchdown. By the same token, Baltimore rushed for just 35 yards, and its receivers were almost never open against Washington’s starting secondary. That forced the Ravens to dump one pass after another to their running backs.

“If you look at (Fred) Smoot and I, we’re the top two in the league,” said cornerback Champ Bailey. “No one can touch us right now. That’s just the way I feel.”

- Finally, Washington’s list of injuries appears to have been mild. Defensive tackle Jermaine Haley sprained his right ankle. Rookie receiver Taylor Jacobs sprained his left shoulder. Receiver Patrick Johnson, who made two sterling special-teams plays, bruised a quadriceps. Tight end Leonard Stephens left the game with a sore groin

[Montilar]

Kicker John Hall converted his only field goal attempt. More impressively, two of his kickoffs were downed for touchbacks. The first one drew a standing ovation from the fans at that end of the stadium.

That's Sad. When a touchback gets a standing ovation, it tells you the state of kicking here the last many years....

But it also shows how much the fans are into the game.