ES Coverage: 2010 Redskins vs. Buccaneers (Final)

[bredskin]

ES Coverage: 2010 Redskins vs. Buccaneers

12/12/10

Defeat

Redskins 16 – Bucs 17

:helmet:

Redskin Pre-Game

Hello and welcome to ES coverage of the Washington Redskins Vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bredskin live on site with Murf for a Sunday afternoon game the Bucs. It is a rainy day and the temperature is scheduled to drop as the game progresses.

It has been 7 days since the horrendous performance against the New York Giants. Today the Bucs come to town needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. All of Tampa’s wins have come against opponents with losing records. Hopefully, Washington doesn’t add to that rend.

It will be important, once again, for the Redskins defense to come up big against the run. Washington has struggled all season with the run. The 3-4 switch and lack of quality defensive linemen, has been an issue all season. LeGarrette Blount is a load. If the Redskins thought that Brandon Jacobs was a load, wait until they see Blount. With a muddy track, the Redskins will see plenty of running plays and play action.

Offensively the Redskins need to re-establish the running game. Look for the Redskins to use a heavy dose of Ryan Torrain and James Davis, to setup the play action passing game. One good note is that the Tampa pass rush is ranked 30th in the league. If the offensively line shows any type of consistency, they should stay in this game.

We will be bringing you updates throughout the game at crucial points and will follow up the game with a write-up, audio, and unbelievable pictures from Murf.

Follow Murf on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HomerMcFanboy

Enjoy the game….Go Skins!

:helmet:

Redskins Inactives:

John Beck

Terrence Austin

Carlos Rogers

Laron Landry

Derrick Dockery

Andre Brown

Erik Cook

Jeremy Jarmon

Bucs Inactives:

Carpenter

Asante

DJ Johnson

Lorig

Carter

Barker

Briscoe

Okam

:helmet:

First Quarter

1:03 Redskins to kick-off

1:04 Blount for 6, too soft

1:05 3rd and 1

1:06 3 and out. Thank you Tampa for not running the ball

1:07 Montgomery jumps...good start

1:07 Torain for 54...welcome back

1:08 Nice screen 3rd and 2

1:09 McNabb to AA of 13 1st Down

1:10 Short pass to Sellers. Hopefully the last time he is targeted.

1:10 3rd and 6 horrible pass by McNabb. Short hop to Cooloey

1:11 Gano hits left upright. He will not be back next season. It was a bad snap...34 yards...seriously?

1:14 Freeman to Gilmore 12 yards

1:14 Big run by Blount giving Moore a ride....way to soft. If Tampa doesn't run 2 out of 3 plays, they are insane.

1:17 Doing Washington a favor by throwing....Washington gets ball back after punt. Skins on the 11.

1:18 Nice cutback Torain for 12

1:21 Torain for 23...wow..

1:22 Torain for 10 more...100 yards 1st quarter

1:23 Davis can't pickup blitz. McNabb sacked

1:24 Sieve on the right side. McNabb sacked again by two guys. Punting again. A lot of wasted rushing yards

1:27 Blount for 3:

1:27 Orakpo with great pressure, 3rd down

1:28 Hall nearly picks Freeman, who was staring down receiver Skins get ball back in good field position

1:30 Torain for 12...use play action now...take a shot.

1:32 McNabb to Moss on slant. 1st down

:helmet:

Second Quarter

1:36 Torain for 3 to Tampa 29

1:36 Torain for 2 to 27

1:37 Draw to Williams first down...good call. 1st down on the 20

1:38 Torain for 12...

1:38 Loss of 4..now on 12

1:39 Time out Wash

1:39 Gerald McCoy out for game with a bicep injury

1:41 Not a good looking shuffle pass

1:42 Strange call to run on 3rd and goal...throw the ball. it is great we're running it, use play action

1:43 I am going to be the kicker next week. Gano is horrible.

1:46 No pass rush. Tampa extends the drive

1:47 Hall punches out the ball from Blount and recovers it. Big play. Now throw it down field.

1:49 Torain sets up 3 and 5

1:51 McNabb hits Moss on run...unbelievable.

1:52 Play actrion...finally 1st and goal. Nice balance.

1:53 4 and 1 going for it.

1:54 Play action to Paulsen. Nice drive 7-0

1:59 Huge pass. Benn beats Hall. Moore is no help.

2:02 Good coverage by Wash limiting Bucs to 3.

2:05 Torain for 19. . 2 minute warning 18 carries 158 yards for Torain

2:08 screen for 36 to Williams

2:09 Williams to the 2

2:13 good clock management

2:13 Need to ask why Torain was not in..wasted opportunity

2:14 Gano scores 10-3

:helmet:

Third Quarter

2:31 Chris Wilson can't handle kickoff. Bucs recover

2:32 Holding on Bucs. Timeout Bucs

2:33 Good coverage by Fletcher

2:37 Offsides Macintosh, bad penalty..repeat 3rd down

2:38 9 yard gain. TB field goal 10-6

2:41 Short on 3rd down. Weak series for Washington

2:45 Orakpo gets beat on the reverse. Not yet comfortable with his 3-4 responsibilites.

2:48 Williams with big run. Tampa on the move.

2:49 Phil Daniels with a big sack 3 and 11

2:50 Nice pass by Freeman. First Down

2:51 London drops pick. ouch..

2:54 FG 10-9

2:58 Redskins sputtering...need to stretch the field.

3:00 Moss short of line. Skins to punt. Putting a lot of pressure on the defense.

3:01 Moore not looking good defensively

3:03 Tampa moving the ball. Big 3rd down.

3:05 End of Quarter

:helmet:

Fourth Quarter

3:07 1st down on Freeman sneek

3:08 Nice coverage by Hall on deep pass to Williams. Freeman has an arm.

3:09 Freeman misses Winslow

3:10 Freeman with a 43 yard dagger to Benn.

3:11 Freeman fumbles snap London recovers. Wow!!

3:12 Only 66,000 on hand

3:13 No running game...What happened?

3:13 Williams drops pass. Why not Cooley?

3:14 Bucs have it after punt around the 40.

3:19 Good pressure. TB 3 and out.

3:21 Big pass to Sellers. I eat my words. 25 yard gain.

3:23 Stop throwing it to Sellers. Use your tight ends!!!

3:23 Torain with big 12 yard run.

3:24 McNabb sacked. Torain was one that missed block.

3:25 McNabb sacked again. Smith bad punt. Bucs have it again on 20.

3:28 Gaping hole for Blount. First down.

3:28 15 yard TE screen.

3:30 3rd down. Huge play here. All day to throw. 1st down.

3:31 Reed with a nice play. He has played well.

3:32 Winslow beats Macintosh. TB goes for two 17-10. Orakpo was held on TD.

3:34 Holding on Sellers negates good return

3:36 Moss drop under review

3:41 Cooley for 7.

3:42 McNabb to AA...wish we could no huddle..

3:42 McNabb 15 to Cooley. 2 minute warning. Another nail biter..

3:45 play to K. Williams...to the 30.

3:47 Big first to Moss :42 left

3:49 Fade to R. Williams?

3:49 Timeout Wash

:helmet:

PHOTOS

To see a slideshow of ExtremeSkins game photos click HERE

To see the complete set of ExtremeSkins game photos click HERE

:helmet:

AUDIO

To listen to comments from Jammal Brown click HERE

To listen to comments from Graham Gano click HERE

To listen to comments from DeAngelo Hall click HERE

To listen to comments from Santana Moss click HERE

To listen to comments from Brian Orakpo click HERE

To listen to comments from Logan Paulsen click HERE

To listen to comments from Mike Sellers click HERE

To listen to comments from Hunter Smith click HERE

To listen to comments from Nick Sundberg click HERE

:helmet:

REFFKIN'S FINAL THOUGHTS

One I was younger and the Redskins were really struggling in the 70’s, I once asked my father why he was a Redskin fan. He told me that we are from Washington and we root for the home team. He also told me that it wouldn’t always be easy being a Redskin fan, but that is what we are. He meant that there was going to be dark times. Today was one of those days.

Offensively, Ryan Torain had a terrific effort. He is a hard-nosed runner, with deceptive speed. He rushed for 158 yards on 18 carries, in the first half. He busted long runs and had some powerful ones, as well. The Redskins surprisingly were not really able to capitalize on the first half gashing of the Bucs defense. I am really beginning to question the logic of the Redskin play calling. I only can recall one timely play action pass, McNabb to Paulsen for the TD. When the Redskins were throwing the ball, it was straight drop back passes, not even bothering to use the benefits of a great rushing game. Play action is a running game’s best friend. The Redskins never tried to throw deep all day. The Redskins left way to many points on the field in the first half, while bogging down in the red zone. Add on numerous miscues and fundamental mistakes in the kicking game, left the Bucs in it; even though it was a two to one time of possession advantage in the first half.

Defensively, the Redskins play relatively well in the first half, yielding only 144 total yards. It appeared that the Bucs were able to create decent sized holes, but inexplicably felt the need to throw the ball. I am not sure if it was the Redskin defense that was dominant or was it the fact that the Redskin offense was able to run for 174 yards limiting Tapmpa Bay's possessions. It is probably the latter.

In the second half, the Bucs sat on the run and for the most part took it away. Torain only had 6 carries for 14 yards in the second half. With no running game to rely on, the Redskins were relegated to straight drop back passes and were really not able to sustain much. The Redskins nearly abandoned the run at certain points and almost seemed averse to running the clock. To say that the offense never got into a rhythm in the second half is an understatement. I believe that it may be mapped back to the first half when Kyle Shanahan never used the running game to get the passing game started. Until the final drive, the Redskin really never got moving in the second half. McNabb hit Moss from the six yard line to give a Gano his final try at redemption.

Defensively in the second half, the Redskins began to wear down. With the offense doing nothing, the defense was hung out to dry again. We have seen this all too often, when the offense breaks down, the defense really struggles to bring the game home. Tampa score three times in the second half. They also fumbled at the Washington 1 yard line. The defense was not horrible, do not get me wrong. But, they are limited.

Special teams definitely deserve a section of their own. Gano’s two missed field goals in the first half really spelled doom for the Redskins. It was bad enough that their drives collapsed in the red zone, but the missed field goals seemed to take the wind out of the Redskins sails. The botched snap and hold by Nick Sundberg and Hunter Smith capped off a horrible day for the Redskins when the game tying extra point never left the ground.

The locker room was a dismal place after the game. There was significant frustration from guys like Sellers and Moss. It has been a long time since the Redskins were winners. They have never seen it. The days of winning Super Bowls has begun to fade. In fact, many young people in the press room have never experienced a real winner.

So where do we go from here? The answer is Dallas. Go Redskins!

:helmet:

MURF'S TAKE

It’s not that the Washington Redskins lost 17-16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedEx Field Sunday. After all, they’ve lost plenty of games over the last decade or so. But it’s how they lost that makes this game stand out.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the Redskins go and find a new and creative way to frustrate their fanbase – botching an extra point in the deciding seconds to ensure that overtime wasn’t needed.

Seriously, we’re talking about an extra point. A gimme. A freebie. It’s supposed to be automatic, which is why college football makes teams go for a two-point conversion in overtime. The NCAA figures that a game could conceivably go on forever if teams were able to just kick extra points.

And yet, our beloved Redskins found a way to screw it up.

“We win as a team and we lose as a team,” said quarterback Donovan McNabb. “We don’t point fingers nor do we blame anyone. I think each and every person can take something out of that and say, ‘If I would have done this, it would have given us a better chance of winning it.’ You tip your hat off to a young team. Tampa just continued to be resilient and kept fighting and found themselves scoring a touchdown when they needed it and had our backs against the wall for a minute. Offensively we were able to get things going and got down to score a touchdown. We just weren’t able to finish.”

There are probably 10 other moments in this game that reasonable human beings like McNabb can point to as a missed opportunity for Washington, but this is the lasting image that folks will remember for the foreseeable future.

-----

The reason this loss is so disappointing is that the Redskins, thanks to the return of running back Ryan Torain, jumped out of the gate and looked as though they might cruise to a convincing victory over a battered and bruised Buccaneers team.

After just six carries, Torain had 101 yards rushing. By the time the first quarter was over, Torain had 121 yards on the ground and the 24-year-old had 158 rushing yards at the half. It was the best first-half performance by any running back in the NFL since 2005, and yet, the Redskins still couldn’t win the game.

“It was nice to see Ryan come back,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “You are never really sure how a guy is going to come back after he has been out for a while. I thought Ryan came back and did everything he has to do. Unfortunately, with a couple of three-and-outs at the start of the second half, all of a sudden before you know it, it is in the fourth quarter and we are just kind of looking for a first down to get some momentum going.”

There are a lot of players in that Redskins locker room who should be doing some serious soul searching this morning. Torain, who was playing for the first time since Halloween, is not one of them. If he can ever find a way to stay healthy, there’s little doubt Torain could be the team’s feature back moving forward.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, history shows that’s far from a certainty.

-----

The reason the Redskins weren’t able to pull away from Tampa Bay is twofold. First, the offense is awful in the red zone. Washington is a team with very few playmakers that already struggles to put points on the board in general. But once they get in that red zone, with less room to work, they very rarely are able to punch the ball into the end zone.

So the Redskins often times have to turn to special teams to put points on the board. The problem is, the kicker Graham Gano leads the league in missed field goals this season – converting just 22 of 32 attempts on the year (68.8 percent).

The scouting report used to be that Gano was money from 40 yards and in, but struggled on longer kicks. Well, after blowing a 34-yarder and a 24-yarder yesterday, the 23-year-old is officially vying for least popular Redskin after Albert Haynesworth was suspended for the rest of the season.

“I don’t have any excuses; I just have to do better next time,” he said after the loss.

Gano should be thankful that Shanahan is a forgiving coach. Otherwise, there might not be a next time.

-----

Look, I don’t pretend to have all of the answers. I don’t pretend to have access to the game film coaches break down each and every week. I’m just going off of what I see while I’m taking photos on the sidelines.

But this game, more than any other one in 2010, has me questioning the Redskins’ play calling. I don’t know if the finger should be pointed at Shanahan the coach or Kyle Shanahan, the offensive coordinator. But someone needs to realize that what we’re seeing week in and week out is stale and unimaginative.

Torain averaged more than seven yards a carry on the day. So why on earth did he only rush for 14 yards the entire second half? That’s inexcusable. How do you completely forget about the one player on your entire offense who was willing and able to put the rest of the team on his back?

Watching Torain’s career-best outing wasted only reinforced my belief that even though the talent level on the current Redskins isn’t great, this coaching staff doesn’t do themselves any favors. It’s why I harp on the fact that backup tight end Fred Davis is so underutilized or why I pull my hair out when it takes the team until the fourth quarter to remember a Pro Bowler like Chris Cooley is in the lineup.

The first half was clinic on how to pound the football down an opponent’s throat. And for reasons known only to the Shanahan clan, that stopped in the second half. Now, if the play callers wanted to mix in some play-action passing, with McNabb rolling out of the pocket and targeting his tight ends, that would have been great. The defense was already on its heels thanks to Torain. But they didn’t even try that. And they didn’t bother to even take a shot at throwing the ball downfield. Instead, the offense went back to stale and vanilla.

In related news, the Redskins fell apart in the second half and lost a game that the Buccaneers had no business being in. What a disgrace.

-----

Now, Tampa Bay’s game-winning touchdown was not without controversy. Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman connected with tight end Kellen “I’m a soldier” Winslow II on a 41-yard bomb, but the play never would have happened if not for an obvious hold by tackle Donald Penn on Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo.

“I was very stunned, because that was one of the most blatant ones, almost like Dallas,” a heated Orakpo said after the game. “It was ridiculous.”

Unfortunately, the back judge, who is the referee in position to make that call, wasn’t doing his job, so the touchdown was allowed to stand.

“He was looking downfield,” Orakpo said of the back judge. “He wasn’t looking at the play. He wasn’t looking at the offensive and defensive lines.”

Orakpo was asked if he needs to start lobbying more with the referees since this appears to be a weekly occurrence.

“I try not to resort to that because I just want to play the game, but maybe I’m going to have to let those guys know,” he said. “It’s been consistent year round. Every week I’m drawing holding calls. I can’t name one game I haven’t. I don’t know man. It’s very frustrating because that was a huge play that could have turned the game around if I make that play. I’m right there and somebody’s around my neck. It’s not fair to our team and not fair to our defense that’s been working so hard throughout the game.”

It’s bad enough the Redskins keep finding new ways to disappoint, but seeing the referees miss such a blatant penalty only adds insult to injury. It’s days like this that drive Redskins fans to drink.

[SonOfWashington]

It's hard to remain optimistic after the last two weeks, but I'll do my best. :bucsuck:

[Dan T.]

What's Ryan Torain's status today? Any word?

[Drew_Fl]

i just read torain in, but landry/rogers out.

edit: link: http://www.footballnewsnow.com/2010/redskins-vs-buccaneers-inactives-torain-in-landry-and-rogers-out/

[McD5]

Just IR Carlos already. Sad effort.

Glad to see Torain back and playing.

[HapHaszard]

per espn inactives are:

Tampa Bay at Washington

Buccaneers: DT Frank Okam, S Larry Asante, OL Will Barker, WR Dezmond Briscoe, QB Rudy Carpenter, OL Brandon Carter, OL Erik Lorig, CB DJ Johnson

Redskins: QB John Beck, OL Derrick Dockery, DT Jeremy Jarmon, S LaRon Landry, CB Carlos Rogers, RB Andre Brown, WR Terrence Austin, OL Erik Cook

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5904006

[themurf]

It's hard to remain optimistic after the last two weeks, but I'll do my best. :bucsuck:

Look, if the Redskins don't win today, I'm of the mindset that they won't win again this season. Games at Dallas, at Jacksonville and home against the Giants could all get ugly. So pray like hell today is a brightspot in this dismal second-half season.

[McD5]

Fox reporting on tv that Grossman has been prepared to come in early if McNabb doesn't look good today.

[bredskin]

That would certainly make post game interviews more interesting.

[McD5]

bredskin, one thing is for sure--you are going to see arguably the two hottest cheerleading squads in the entire league at the same time today.

[bredskin]

Now I'm awake. Thanks McD5.

---------- Post added December-12th-2010 at 12:39 PM ----------

Stadium is empty at 12:40PM.

[TSO]

Is James Davis starting? I know Torain is active, but who's starting? Thanks in advance!

[bredskin]

I believe that Torrain is starting. Nothing for sure has been said in the press box.

[TSO]

I believe that Torrain is starting. Nothing for sure has been said in the press box.

Interesting. I would think Davis would start at this point... but I guess Torain showed them something during practice.

[bredskin]

Davis has definitely shown burst. They both will be auditioning for next season over the next few weeks.

[redskin faithful]

Great to see Torain out there.

I really hope I don't see Rex Grossman take any snaps today.

[achaholic]

Looked so good on that first drive and then the real Redskins return...

[TK]

bredskin, one thing is for sure--you are going to see arguably the two hottest cheerleading squads in the entire league at the same time today.

You're aware that cheerleaders don't travel, right? :doh:

Or are you just keeping your streak of being wrong alive?

[McD5]

You're aware that cheerleaders don't travel, right? :doh:

Or are you just keeping your streak of being wrong alive?

After thinking about it, you are correct. With a few exceptions.

The last game I attended live was a playoff game, and the opposing cheerleaders were on the field. But aside from playoff games or special circumstances, most groups don't travel with the team.

It's probably best anyways. With that weather today, they probably wouldn't have looked their best. And, Torain gave people something to watch.

Even the best makes mistakes once every fifteen years or so.

[themurf]

Instead of calling into question McD5's absurd claim that NFL cheerleaders travel for playoff games (they don't), I'll simply let folks know that my recap has been added to the coverage as well. Judging by the sheer number of empty seats, I'll assume most of you weren't there, so feel free to check out my take from the sidelines.

[MWCREDSKINS]

Cheerleaders rocked the Santa outfits, love it