NoLeafClover Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 ES Coverage: 2011 Redskins vs Bills 10/30/11 BEATDOWN!!! Redskins 0 - Bills 23 :helmet: Hello everyone and welcome. I am your host, Joel, joined, as always, by murf. We are coming to you live from the Great White North, where the Washington Redskins are a-boot to take on the Buffalo Bills, eh. There are a lot of questions going into this week's game. The biggest one, of course, is: how is it that it snowed in DC and yet it's clear skies and mild temperatures here in Toronto? Also lingering in my mind: is Canadian bacon really just ham? As for the game itself, we are all wondering if John Beck has what it takes to be a starter. He now has one full game under his belt and I think we can all agree it was much more underwhelming than his fourth quarter effort against the Eagles. Sure, Beck looked better at times in the second half against Carolina, but was that simply because he was playing from behind and therefore got to pass every down after the coaches gave up on the running game? Did Beck get more comfortable as the game went on or was it a case of meaningless fourth-quarter stats in another loss? Also, the more important question is whether or not a Redskins team that started 2-0 and then lost three of their last four games can salvage what once looked like a promising season. Things certainly look bleak right now for the boys in burgundy and gold. And certainly, a lot of stats are being thrown around to try to make sense of it all - stats about Beck, stats about the defense and stats about the Shanahans. But really, only one meaningless stat truly matters - the Redskins are 3-0 in games I've covered this season and 0-3 at games I have not. Clearly, I am the difference maker. So the only relevant question this week is: do my good luck charm powers still work in Canada? Of course, I'm still also be interested to see if John Beck can improve over last week's start and begin looking more like a true NFL quarterback. And we will all be watching to see if the defense can rebound from an underwhelming performance against a rookie quarterback and make big plays when they need to. After giving up 800 yards of total offense these last two weeks, it's safe to say the defense needs to show up today. :helmet: 1:27 PM - Not so fun facts: The Bills are 7-4 against the 'Skins overall, with a 4-2 record at home. They have won the last five straight. 1:28 PM - On the bright side though, the Bills are 0-3 at the Rogers Centre here in Toronto. Redskins Inactives Phillip Buchanon Mike Sellers Markus White Trent Williams Dominique Byrd Santana Moss Darrion Scott Bills Inactives Donald Jones Aaron Williams Terrence Wheatley Antonio Coleman Chris Hairston Demetrius Bell Kyle Williams 3:21 PM - Listening to DJ Jedi spin records on the sideline is making me wish I was watching the game back home. 3:53 PM - To say there are plenty of good seats still available right now would be a vast understatement. 4:00 PM - I've spotted Donovan McNabb, Jason Campbell and Patrick Ramsey jerseys. I'm being haunted by former Redskins QBs. 4:02 PM - There's also a guy dressed like a Canadian Boba Fett … because why not? 4:15 PM - The press box announcer keeps calling him Ryan Tor-"ian." I'm starting to wonder if he's dyslexic. 4:20 PM - Ryan Kerrigan was held badly on that 26 yard pass to David Nelson. 4:23 PM - Ryan Fitzpatrick connects on a 19-yard touchdown pass to Scott Chandler. The Bills put the first points on the boar with an eight play, 80 yard drive taking four minutes and 53 seconds off the clock. 0-7 4:31 PM - Mobility is nice, but irrelevant if you can't hold onto the football. END OF FIRST QUARTER 0-7 4:48 PM - Marcell Dareus blocks a 49-yard field goal attempt by Graham Gano to cap off a Redskins drive that unraveled rather quickly. 4:56 PM - The Bills though have no trouble connecting on a 37-yard field goal to extend their lead. Off of the blocked kick, the Bills put together a five plays, 42 yards, two minute and 19 second drive. 0-10 4:58 PM - John Beck has now thrown two deep balls that were waaaay off target. 5:03 PM - Shanahan's statement that last week was “the first of many games" for Beck is starting to seem like more of a threat than a promise. 5:11 PM - Thank God for London Fletcher. He intercepts the ball in the end zone, bailing out the D and setting up the offense with a (slim) chance to put points on the board before halftime. 5:19 PM - Well, at the very least, the Redskins defense made sure Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't enjoy that 46-yard completion. 5:21 PM - The Bills connect on a 44-yard field goal to go into halftime. The drive goes seven plays, 54 yards in one minute and five seconds.13 points certainly isn't that big of a lead, but it could be insurmountable if the 'Skins offense can't find a way to move the ball down the field. HALFTIME 0-13 5:37 PM - Just when I was ready to give up hope for this game, I found out they were serving chocolate pudding here in the press box. 5:40 PM - The Bills extend their lead with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Scott Chandler. This could get out of hand quickly if the Redskins offense can't get something going. Seven plays, 80 yards, four minutes and four seconds. 0-20 5:56 PM - Brandon Banks with a 21-yard punt return. He picked a good time to start reminding us that he exists. 5:59 PM - At what point should Shanahan consider going back to Grossman? END OF THIRD QUARTER 0-20 6:10 PM - Games played in Canada don't count in America, right? 6:13 PM - The announced attendance is 51,579. They must have used the metric system to get that number because there's no way this stadium is that full. 6:20 PM - The fans are doing the wave while the offense is on the field. Wow, I feel like I'm back home at FedEx. 6:21 PM - Just to keep things interesting, the Bills miss on a field goal. 6:30 PM - Getting ready to head down to the locker room. More on this debacle (including photos and interviews) shortly. :helmet: PHOTOS To see ExtremeSkins game photos click HERE :helmet: THE NEW GUY'S TAKE "Not a god damn thing's been working for us." - Coach Rig, Necessary Roughness There are some losses in the NFL that are so bad that the coaches come in on Tuesday and decide to just skip reviewing the film. At some point, when your team goes out and gets completely decimated, you decide nothing can be learned from the debacle and it's best to simply move forward and focus on your next opponent. Say, for example, that you get shut out in an international game that Fox has chosen to spotlight. And that it's the first shutout in your coach's 20 plus year career. And that your offense only musters up 178 total yards (26 rushing, 152 passing). Say that your quarterback finished the day with two interceptions and a 53.6 passer rating. And that your defense gave up 390 yards of total offense (138 rushing, 252 passing). That's the kind of game a team is likely to simply sweep under the rug so that they can move forward and attempt to salvage a quickly crumbling season. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of doing that. Even though the Redskins completely phoned it in here in Toronto - giving their worst performance by far this season - I'm still expect to impart some words of wisdom and attempt to make sense of it all. The one thing that I keep coming back to is that as bad as this game was, it actually should have been much worse. The margin of victory should have been much wider than 23 points. The Bills were only one for four in the red zone. Fitzpatrick threw an interception in the end zone. (He also had a fumble early in the game.) The way the 'Skins were playing on both offense and defense, the Bills could have easily put up 50 points. So where do we go from here? I think it's safe to say the John Beck era is a bust. With two full starts under his belt, Beck has finally shown us what he's capable of … and it ain't much. He holds on to the ball too long in the pocket, he throws balls at receivers' feet when pressured and he launches deep balls that are off target by a mile. He is not a diamond in the rough that the Redskins stumbled across by luck. Instead, he is a 30 year old perennial back up who can't lead a team to victory. The Redskins top priority next year clearly should be finding a franchise quarterback. It's highly unlikely that the 'Skins will finish in position to draft Andrew Luck, so they can either trade away a ton of picks to snag him or make a deal with another team to sign a proven franchise quarterback. But whatever they do, one thing is clear: Beck and Grossman are not the answer and until the team finds someone else to step into the QB position, wins are going to be hard to come by. Of course, that’s next season. Unfortunately, we still have nine more games to go this season. And this team, which started out 2-0, including a signature win against a divisional opponent, has now lost four out of its last five games and seems to be getting worse each week instead of better. Things were so bad this week that the Buffalo Bills actually looked somber walking off the field after the game. Watching them walk back to their locker room, you would have thought they were the ones that lost. It must have been as painful for them to take part in as it was for us to watch. Seriously, what fun is it beating down an opponent who doesn’t even put up a fight? But regardless, the season still goes on. There isn’t much of a bright side to cling to the way things are going, but one thing we can take solace in is that it can’t get much worse. Chances are this team will show some signs of life in a few games going forward and probably even win a few more games. We, as fans, will just have to dig down deep and look for slivers of hope to cling to as they come along. And we’ll have to keep believing that the Shanahans really do have a plan and that this is all leading towards something big. We have to, it’s all we have. So while this is a somber Sunday for sure, next week is another game and another chance for redemption. And, in the meantime, here’s something to lift your spirts, in honor of Bills punter Brian Moorman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPiZjUf9TcQ&NR=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gholmesbm Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Flying tinto Toronto this afternoon on business. Anyone know where I can watch a broadcast of the game on TV in Toronto - will the Fox feed be blacked out? Any Canadian networks carrying the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HapHaszard Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Hail, Joel I hope it is a good sign your there, we need a win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sens11 Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 ES Coverage: 2011 Redskins vs Bills 10/30/11 So the only relevant question this week is: do my good luck charm powers still work in Canada? I hope they do! Thanks for the coverage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 the Redskins are 3-0 in games I've covered this season and 0-3 at games I have not. Clearly, I am the difference maker. I was once like you. Until I did something before the iggle game. Clearly you should NOT wash your underwear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLeafClover Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Clearly you should NOT wash your underwear. Done and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HapHaszard Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Done and done. Remind me not to get too close to you:ols: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redskin faithful Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Lets go Redskins! I think this will be Helu's breakout game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLeafClover Posted October 30, 2011 Author Share Posted October 30, 2011 Remind me not to get too close to you:ols: Yeah, this could get unpleasant. I think I need a ruling from TK on whether or not I'm allowed to go commando. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Yeah, this could get unpleasant. I think I need a ruling from TK on whether or not I'm allowed to go commando. If you mean like this, then yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Rich Fla Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Got a good chuckle while reading this. You had a Bob Euker-esque type of feel to it. In the movie Major League, Bob was the announcer and he'd start out funny and cheerful, but by the end would be a little stormy. Good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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