ES Coverage: 2011 Redskins vs Eagles (Final)

[TK]

ES Coverage: 2011 Redskins vs Eagles

10/16/11

DEFEAT

Eagles 20 - Redskins 13

:helmet:

Welcome To Bizarro World

Welcome to Week 5 where our Washington Redskins are a surprisingly 3 & 1. Perhaps more surprisingly is the fact that they enter today's Divisional match up undefeated at home.

Let me say that again.

The Redskins are undefeated. At home.

Meanwhile, the Lombardi trophyless Eagles "Dream Team" are a League laughing stock at 1 & 4. For all the money they spent during Free Agency, they seem to have forgotten to pickup a few LBs and an Offensive Line. Poor Andy Reid, always gets to smart for his own good. Though I hear they have great depth at Water Boy. Maybe Andy gives Bobby Boucher a shot today.

Switching gears back to the Skins, where they're looking to continue holding onto First Place in the NFC East. Where the 3-4 Defense is wreaking havoc and they get CB Phillip Buchanon back from his 4 game suspension. Not a bad guy to add when one of the cornerstones of the defensive philosophy is turnovers. Though a nagging neck injury may keep him out today. Speaking of, the Eagles enter todays game at minus 10 in turnover differential, which has them tied for worst in the League. That's also the worst that they've had in five games since 1977. Yes, at this point, it's ok if you're chanting "Eagles Suck" outloud while reading this.

The offense, on the other hand seems to sputter at times and forget how to hold a lead by milking the clock. Two weeks ago in St. Louis they found their running game when the ATV came into the game. Lets all hope that Kyle didn't leave it there as well.

Last week,the Bills ran it 34 times on Philly for 143 yards and 2 TDs. In Week 4, the 49ers ran it 25 times for 164 yards and a single TD. During Week 3 in Philly, the Giants ran it 25 times for 102 yards and zero TDs. In The Georgia Dome for Week 2, the Falcons ran 29 times for 138 yards and a single TD. On Opening Day in St. Louis, the Rams ran on the Eagles 26 times for 154 yards with a single TD.

That's 701 yards the Eagles have given up in 5 weeks. Averaged out it's 140.2 a game. Hightower, Torrain, and Helu should all be licking their chops to get a shot at the Eagles Defense, which is being run by their last year's failed Offensive Line coach, Juan Castillo.

Castillo has abandoned former Eagle's legendary Defensive coach Jim Johnson's scheme for a wide 9 technique that he doesn't have the right players for it. Nnamdi is out of position as a Zone CB. Guess he knows how DHall felt in Oakland now. Middle Line Backer is a big key for the Defense they're attempting to run. To bad they forgot to pick a few up in Free Agency while spending all that money.

So, after an off season of the Eagles going all in on their attempt to buy a Super Bowl, they promote a failed OL coach to be their DC. Raise your hand if you've seen this movie before. You'd almost think Vinny took a job there. And you'd almost be right as its his former Director of Pro Scouting that's working for Philly now. It's a good thing the Eagles wear green, otherwise I'd think they were jealous. I mean, even in the middle of the week they called a Players Only meeting & talked about bringing in a consultant. While Andy denied that "rumor" during a mid week press conference, I've heard that they actually placed a call to Eric Mangini. Mangini, much like a Lombardi trophy, stayed away. If they bothered to pay attention to the model,they should know we've been there, done that, and even got the t-shirt to boot. It doesn't work. We, as Redskins fans know this because we've lived it for the ten plus years.

The problem with the Eagles isn't talent. They're pretty well loaded with talent. Good group of talented guys there, yes sir. And that's their problem. They're a group of talent. They're not a team.

Now, providing Philly fans can actually read, they may to pay attention to this. Reid sealed his fate in Philly with the Castillo move & going 1-4. Castillo as a DC is like John Locke, Kate, Sawyer and the rest. LOST. But cheer up Philly fans, You're more then likely to pry Chucky out of the booth *to step in and clean up the mess you're in.

For the first time in forever, the Skins seem to be getting their mess cleaned up and presentable while Philly takes a nose dive to the bottom of the Division. Make no mistake, the Skins aren't a Super Bowl contending team yet. Their Offense can't take a half off then come back and knock your teeth down your throat like the Packers did Monday night. They need to buildon what they have been doing. Things like win at home. Steal victories on the road for at least half of their games. Rex has to be protected better. Torrain needs to have calls to the right as Chester was opening up monster holes for him against the Rams. They need to find a way to work Sellars into a few plays if just to put a knock out hit on a defender.

Raise your hand if you have fond memories of his annual trucking of former Eagle, Brian Dawkins. Ah, good times those were.

Speaking of memories, Week 10 from last year should still remain in everyone's minds. The Eagles came in here on a Monday Night and completely exploded to the final score of 59-28. That can't be allowed to happen again.

Its time. Time to protect the House. Time to win at home. Time to make FedEx a real Home Field advantage. Time to get it done.

59-28.

Time for PAYBACK.

What to look for

The Redskins and Eagles playing their 153rd overall game, with the Redskins entering the game with a 79-67-5 advantage, including 1-0 in the playoffs.

Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan earning his 164th overall victory as head coach and extending his lead in victories among active NFC coaches.

The Redskins selling out a home game for the 363rd straight time, including playoffs, and selling out FedExField for the 142nd consecutive game, including every regular season, postseason and preseason contest.

The Redskins maintaining their status as the NFL’s best third down defense (26.0%).

Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe recording one tackle to reach 400 for his career, according to STATS, INC.

Defensive end Stephen Bowen recording a sack, giving him 3.5 for the season, which would be a career-high.

Defensive end Adam Carriker adding to his career-high totals in sacks. He currently has 30.

Nose tackle Barry Cofield recording another pass defensed, giving him five for the season, which would be a career-high.

Tight end Chris Cooley (427 receptions) catching one pass for sole possession of 18th all-time in receptions by a tight end. He is currently tied with Mike Ditka.

Linebacker London Fletcher extending the longest consecutive starts streak among active linebackers to 168.

Wide receiver Jabar Gaffney needing 87 yards to reach 5,000 receiving yards for his career.

Quarterback Rex Grossman completing 19 passes to reach 700 for his career and needing 11 passing yards to reach 1,000 for this season.

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall starting his 100th career game.

Wide receiver Santana Moss climbing the all-time career receptions list, as his 614 are the 54th-most in NFL history and 12th-most among active players. Additionally, he is tied for 10th among active players in touchdowns receptions with 54.

Moss catching a touchdown pass to tie Ricky Sanders for seventh most in franchise history (35).

Moss adding 104 receiving yards to tie Bobby Mitchell for fourth most in Redskins annals (6,492).

Punter Sav Rocca improving upon his league-leading 12 punts inside the 20-yard line.

Rocca improving on his 21 punts this season without a touchback.

Cornerback Josh Wilson recording the 10th interception of his career. He currently has nine.

League Leaders

Redskins Offense

Ranks tied for fifth in the NFC and tied for ninth in the NFL in first downs per game (21.3).

Ranks tied for first in the NFC and tied for first in the NFL in 4th down percentage (100).

Ranks first in the NFC and second in the NFL in time of possession (33:40).

Ranks third in NFC and eighth in NFL in rushing yards per game (126.8).

Fred Davis ranks ninth in the NFL among tight ends in receiving yards (248).

Fred Davis ranks tied for fourth in the NFL among tight ends in catches for more than 25 yards (3).

Redskins Defense

Ranks first in the NFC and third in the NFL in first downs allowed per game (15.5).

Ranks first in the NFC and first in the NFL in 3rd down percentage (26.00%).

Ranks second in the NFC and third in the NFL in points allowed per game (15.8).

Ranks second in the NFC and second in the NFL in sacks per

play (10.64%).

Ranks second in the NFC and sixth in the NFL in yards per game (296.5).

Ranks second in the NFC and seventh in the NFL in yards per

play (5.07).

Ranks fifth in the NFC and sixth in the NFL in rushing yards

per game (84.5).

Ranks second in the NFC and tied for eighth in the NFL in

passing yards per game (212.0).

Ranks second in the NFC and fifth in the NFL in passing yards

per play (5).

Ranks fifth in the NFC and eighth in the NFL in punt return average (6.8).

Ranks second in the NFC and third in the NFL in kickoff return average (19.2).

Ranks fifth in the NFC and tied for eighth in the NFL in 4th down percentage (33.33%).

Ranks fourth in the NFC and fourth in the NFL in red zone

percentage (36.36%).

Redskins Special Teams

Sav Rocca ranks sixth in the NFL in net yards average (41.0)

Sav Rocca ranks tied for first in the NFL in touchbacks (0).

Sav Rocca ranks tied for first in the NFL in punts inside the 20 (12).

Brandon Banks ranks fourth in the NFL in the number of punts returned (14).

Brandon Banks ranks eighth in the NFL in total punt return yards0(145).

Brandon Banks ranks tied for third in the NFL in the number of kicks returned (13).

Brandon Banks ranks eighth in the NFL in total kick return yards (288).

A Redskins win would

Keep the Redskins in sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Be the first time the Redskins have held sole possession of the NFC

East lead for consecutive weeks since Weeks 3-4 of the 2005 season.

Make the Redskins 4-1 for the first time since 2008.

Improve the Redskins’ record to 3-0 at FedExField for the first time since 2005 when they defeated the Chicago Bears, 9-7, on Sept. 11, the Seattle Seahawks, 20-17 (OT), on Sept. 19 and the San Francisco 49ers, 52-17, on Oct. 23.

Give Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan his 164th overall victory as a head coach.

Improve Shanahan’s career-record to 4-2 against the Eagles. He has faced the Eagles five times previously, including posting a 2-1 record as head coach of the Denver Broncos and 1-1 record as head coach of the Redskins.

Improve the Redskins’ record against the Eagles to 80-67-5 overall, including a 1-0 record in the postseason.

Give the team a 4-1 record for the 12th time in team history. The Redskins qualified for the playoffs in eight out of those 12 seasons (1941, 1942, 1945, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1996, 1999 and 2008).

Give the Redskins a 2-1 record against NFC East opponents in 2011.

Give the Redskins a 4-1 start against NFC opponents for the 13th time since 1970 (1973, 1975,1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2008 and 2010)

Don't fprget, you can also follow on the twitter machine @TKextremeskins. And when Murf gets up, you can follow him @HomerMcFanboy because following while he's asleep is just creepy.

INACTIVE LIST

For the Washington Redskins:

-No. 13 WR Anthony Armstrong

-No. 31 CB Phillip Buchanon

-Mo. 45 FB Mike Sellers

-No. 55 LB Markus White

-No. 69 OT Willie Smith

-No. 85 WR Leonard Hankerson

-No. 93 DT Darrion Scott

For the Philadelphia Eagles:

-No. 31 CB Curtis Marsh

-No. 41 S Jarrad Page

-No. 57 LB Keenan Clayton

-No. 58 DE Trent Cole

-No. 65 T King Dunlap

-No. 71 T Jason Peters

-No. 73 LG Julian Vandervelde

For the Eagles, please note the following changes to the depth chart:

-At right defensive end, No. 55 Darryl Tapp will start in place of No. 58 Trent Cole.

-At strong safety, No.42 Kurt* Coleman will start in place of No. 41 Jarrad Page.

-At right tackle, No. 74 Winston Justice will start in place of No. 79 Todd Herremans.

-At left tackle, No. 79 Todd Herrmans will start in place of No. 71 Jason Peters.

At the half

Not much to say. Eagles are in the SKins heads. That 59 is haunting them. Philly is also DOMINATING the clock in Time Of Possesion (over 20 minutes). Skins get the ball to start the 2nd half & need to come out running a no huddle or at least maybe in one of the military armored vehicles parked out front of the stadium. And don't even get me started on these refs....:doh:

Final Thoughts

It's not good when you loose two of your starting Offensive Linemen & you just had your Bye. It's not good can't get into the End Zone until you yank your starting QB & it's the backup that runs it in. It's not good when your starting QB ties his career record high of 4 INTs. It's not good when you abandon the run early in the game because you're down by two scores.

In the first Quarter, the Skins had seven offensive plays, 3 runs for 12 yards & 4 pass attempts, 2 were completed for 11 yards. Balanced, yes, but they couldn't keep Philly off the field. While they had seven plays in the first Quarter, they only had the ball for about seven minutes the entire first half.

Post game, Shanahan said he wouldn't even name a starter until Wednesday, so expect to see Rex VS Beck play out all week with the local media. While fans are wanting Rex run outta town, there's a slim chance Shanny gives the nod back to Rex for Carolina. Post game, Shanahan even stated that they weren't as precise as they'd like to be on a couple of routes, though they have to get better in a lot of different areas.

Rex went 9 of 22 for 143yards, 4 INTS & a QB rating of 23.7. I think he had a QB rating of 0.0 in Chicago, so today wasn't that bad. :doh:

Beck went 8 of 15 for 117 yards with a QB rating of 79.0. Oh yeah, he also ran one in for the Skins only touchdown. So he's at least got that going for him.

Speaking of things Beck does have, his release is quick. He's more mobile, runs a much better bootleg. That said, the biggest thing I saw wrong with him in limited action today was on the scramble where he one handed the ball right before going down. He's got to protect it beter then that.

Right now, it's time to figure out who's going to patchthe OLine & then worry about who the QB is going to against Carolina. Trent went down with a high ankle sprain, Cooley fractured his index finger on his right hand, Lichtensteiger is pretty much done for the year even without an MRI.

:helmet:

PHOTOS

To see ExtremeSkins game photos click HERE

:helmet:

AUDIO

To listen to comments from Oshiomogho Atogwe click HERE

To listen to comments from John Beck click HERE

To listen to comments from Barry Cofield click HERE

To listen to comments from Chris Cooley click HERE

To listen to comments from London Fletcher click HERE

To listen to comments from Jabar Gaffney click HERE

To listen to comments from Rex Grossman click HERE

To listen to comments from LaRon Landry click HERE

To listen to comments from Will Montgomery click HERE

To listen to comments from Donte Stallworth click HERE

To listen to comments from Darrel Young click HERE

:helmet:

MURF'S TAKE

The Washington Redskins had the unique opportunity to effectively end the Philadelphia Eagles’ season with more than two months remaining on the schedule.

The Redskins also had the chance to avenge last season’s lopsided loss to Philly while showing the rest of the NFL that this year is different and that these Redskins can handle the spotlight.

Unfortunately, Washington was unable to take advantage of the situation and instead of silencing the critics and getting revenge on a divisional rival, the Redskins are left searching for answers after a disheartening 20-13 loss to the Eagles.

Philadelphia came into this contest with a 1-4 record and the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Coming into the game, the Eagles were getting beat in the trenches on both sides of the ball, defensive players failed to execute something as simple as tackling a ball carrier consistently and quarterback Mike Vick had a turnover in 12 straight-games.

All the Redskins had to do was get off to a fast start to make Philadelphia play from behind, and there was a good chance that the burgundy and gold faithful would have enjoyed a front-row seat of the beginning of the end for Andy Reid and the Eagles.

Of course, nothing is that simple in Washington. So naturally, the Eagles jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half and held on for the win.

And while there’s plenty of blame to go around after a loss, one Redskins player did his best to ensure where the bulk of the criticism was directed.

-----

What do Tom Brady, Mike Vick and Rex Grossman all have in common? Each quarterback has finished a game this season with four interceptions.

But while the Patriots and Eagles remained confident in their starting quarterbacks, the same cannot be said for the Redskins. Not after Grossman completed twice as many passes to Eagles defenders (four) than Redskins receivers (one each to Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth).

In three quarters of action, the artist formerly known as Sexy Rexy completed nine passes on 22 attempts for 143 yards with zero touchdowns and four interceptions. That’s good enough to earn a 23.7 quarterback rating and an early trip to the showers.

“Bottom line is you have a good day or you don’t,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “We’ll take a look at the film and try and talk about where the mistakes were in the reads and those types of things. Right now everybody knows that if you have four picks in a game good things aren’t going to happen.”

Amazingly enough, this isn’t even Grossman’s only four-interception performance – the nine-year veteran threw four picks against Arizona back in 2006.

“You’ve just got to flush it,” Grossman said of his disappointing performance. “There are so many times in this league that you face adversity for one reason or another that you’ve got to go back to your core beliefs. I believe in myself no matter if the whole stadium doesn’t or the coaching staff doesn’t. Whatever the situation is, I believe in myself that every single play I’m going to get it done. So, I fall back on that.”

While that’s all well and good, I’m not so sure anyone else in town has quite as much confidence in Grossman after this dud of an outing.

Watching Grossman’s performance spiral worse and worse with each passing game, it’s nearly impossible to build a case for The Rex Cannon to take the field again anytime soon.

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Once Grossman’s day mercifully came to an end, Redskins fans got their first glimpse of backup John Beck.

The fifth-year pro shot up from relative obscurity to presumed starter during the lockout, but was unable to unseat Grossman for the starting job during the preseason.

Had Grossman simply been mediocre against the Eagles, Washington would have likely won and Beck would still be an unknown commodity.

But Grossman was so awful that he left his coaching staff little choice and now there’s every reason to believe Beck will be the team’s starter moving forward.

Beck wasn’t spectacular against Philadelphia, but he was better than Rex – completed 8 of 15 passes for 117 yards in one quarter of action.

The former BYU standout also scored a two-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw and also completed a career-long 32-yard pass to receiver Terrence Austin.

“When I came in we had the whole fourth quarter and that was enough time to potentially win the game,” Beck said. “That was the number one thing on my mind. We were a couple scores away from tying this thing up, potentially sending it into overtime and right now I’m thinking about those plays and what I could’ve done that so that way whatever happens next, the next time I get on the field, I want to be fully ready and do the best I can.”

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After punting on their first possession, the Eagles scored on each of their next four drives against Washington.

Philadelphia mounted drives of 11, 10, 10 and eight plays while racking up 264 total yards and 20 points against a shell-shocked Redskins defense that couldn’t get off the field.

Even though the Eagles entered the game last in the NFL in turnover ratio and with a makeshift offensive line, the Redskins defense was unable to get consistent pressure on Vick.

“There weren’t too many assignment adjustments that we had to make,” said safety Oshiomogho Atogwe. “It was more of an attitude and an emotional adjustment. I believe coming off of the bye week we came into this game flat. We didn’t start as intense as the defense usually does. That can hurt you against a team like this that is so offensively powerful.”

In the second half though, the Redskins defense finally got rolling. Philadelphia’s second half possessions resulted in two interceptions, two punts and a turnover on downs which is why Washington still had a chance to tie the game on a day when the offense was so dreadful.

“Coming out for the second half, we just started to play the way we know how to play,” Atogwe continued. “It worked in our favor in that half, but unfortunately, it takes two halves of football to win.”

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Offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger is likely done for the season after tearing ligaments in his knee. Tight end Chris Cooley needs surgery after fracturing his index finger. Tackle Trent Williams suffered a high-ankle sprain that will likely sideline him for at least a game or two.

And suddenly, one of the NFL’s healthiest teams is scrambling to fill the void on an offense that has shown no signs of being able to handle adversity.

Washington’s offensive line wasn’t going to be confused for “The Hogs” as it was, but with Lichtensteiger and Williams out of the lineup it’s going to be even tougher for the Redskins running game to get going (the Redskins had just 42 yards on 14 carries against Philadelphia) or for whoever is playing quarterback to have enough time to let his receivers run a route.

For as ugly as things got on Sunday, it’s conceivable that things could get even worse before they get better if the Redskins can’t find a way to put together a serviceable offensive line.

Finally, here’s a link to my favorite photos I was able to capture during the game.

[DGREENHULK]

I have so much nervous energy this morning almost like a playoff game mindset. Can't wait to kickoff. Great job TK no tea leaves there just cold hard facts. HTTR Time to put the final nail in he eagles coffin.

[HapHaszard]

Who is this Murf guy your talking about?

[THEREALTOR1]

I have so much nervous energy this morning almost like a playoff game mindset. Can't wait to kickoff. Great job TK no tea leaves there just cold hard facts. HTTR Time to put the final nail in he eagles coffin.

Glad I wasn't the only one with the decoder ring out this morning

[kleese]

At the ES tailgate as I type this...sweetness. Anxious to hear about Hall....

[themurf]

Who is this Murf guy your talking about?

Dude's completely overrated. But he is still better than JimmiJo.

[HapHaszard]

Dude's completely overrated. But he is still better than JimmiJo.

OK now I know who he is, he's the guy that helps Jimmyjo out.

[redskin faithful]

Go Skins! This game has the feeling of a playoff game for me. What a huge divisional game.

[TK]

I'm doing running commentary & joking on iggle fans on twitter. #youbettafollow

[HapHaszard]

I hope its not as painful to watch from the press box as it is from my TV set.

[TK]

Beck is warming up.......

[HapHaszard]

Beck is warming up.......

Shame it wasn't sooner.

[tkatz]

Who was last Skins QB to throw 4 ints in one game?

[darrell1106]

only focus on what we can focus on lol