Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins
Forum Rules and Guidelines

ES Coverage & Interactive Game Day Thread: 2012 Redskins vs Browns (Final)

NoLeafClover

By NoLeafClover
in The Stadium

Recommended Posts

NoLeafClover

NoLeafClover

Posted
Posted

ES Coverage & Interactive Game Day Thread: 2012 Redskins vs Browns

12/16/12

8280593224_c193a75c00_c.jpg

VICTORY.

Redskins 38 - Browns 21

If the Giants lose to Atlanta this weekend, then the Redskins control their own destiny going into the playoffs.

When you stop to think about that, it's pretty astounding. It wasn't that long ago that the Redskins were 3-6 and everyone was counting them out of this season. Then they went into the bye week, made adjustments and suddenly became a playoff caliber team that is hot at the right time.

Their overtime victory against the Baltimore Ravens last week was certainly one of the most exciting wins they've had in a long time. And with it, suddenly it seems like the sky is the limit with this year's squad.

Of course, there are a few reasons to be hesitant going into this week's game.

First and foremost, we don't even know if RGIII will play. After having his leg injured in last week's game and valiantly attempting to get back in the game to help his team win, RGIII's health is a big question mark going into this game. He is a game time decision, though I believe he'll play.

The other reason to be hesitant is the fact that this has all the makings of a "trap game." In year's past (or even as recently as the St. Louis game earlier this year), the Redskins have a history of following up impressive wins with heartbreaking losses to inferior opponents. So following up a big win to the Ravens with a loss to the 5-8 Browns is exactly something the 'Skins would do in recent history.

Besides, it's not like the Browns are as bad as that record suggests. They started out 0-5 and have been 5-3 in their last eight games. They are by no means a walkover team.

And yet, while there are reasons to be cautious, this season so far has been about overcoming the stumbling blocks the Redskins have struggled with in previous seasons. They've won on primetime. They've won on Thanksgiving. They've finally found a reliable quarterback and a clutch kicker. Last week, they scored a touchdown in the final moments of a game, then a two-point conversion to tie, came up big with a defensive stop in overtime and then scored the game-winning field goal with relative easy.

It finally seems like the dawning of a new day for this much beleaguered franchise. But officially showing the world that this isn't the same old 'Skins starts this week with a much needed win over the Browns. So let's hope this really is a new day for the Redskins.

Update - It looks like Kirk Cousins will get the start. The Redskins announced he is likely to get the nod (even though RGIII flew out to Cleveland with the team).

Inactives

Redskins

QB Robert Griffin III

PR Brandon Banks

WR Dezmon Briscoe

LB Roddrick Muckelroy

OG Josh LeRibeus

OT Tom Compton

OG Adam Gettis

Browns

DB Trevin Wade

DB Eric Hagg

RB Brandon Jackson

TE Brad Smelley

FB Owen Marecic

OL Jarrod Shaw

WR Josh Cooper

11:26 PM - Fun fact: Four of the five Cleveland wins this season came at home.

11:30 PM - Gold pants, white jerseys today - for those of you who care about those sorts of things.

12:55 PM - Plenty of good seats still available here in the stadium ...

1:05 PM - Kirk Cousins' first play is a handoff to Alfred Morris. Not surprising.

1:14 PM - Stephen Bowen has a chance to sack Brandon Weeden for a loss on third down, but he can't quite get there. London Fletcher flushes him out of bounds on a quarterback scramble to end the drive. That could have been a lot worse if Fletcher wasn't there.

1:17 PM - Kirk Cousins with a costly interception. Sheldon Brown tips the ball to TJ Ward, who takes it 36 yards. Cousins actually made the tackle on the six to save a touchdown.

1:18 PM - Trent Richardson with a six-yard touchdown run on first down. Just like that, the Browns take an early lead. One play, six yards, nine seconds.0-7

1:25 AM - It's a rough day so far for Cousins. After the interception, the Redskins go three-and-out on a drive that ends with Cousins getting sacked.

1:35 PM - Pierre Garcon just got robbed on a pass interference call on the Redskins first shot down the field. His jersey was held and he was knocked off his feet.

1:37 PM - Rex Grossman and Chris Cooley are chatting on the sidelines. The Redskins are losing to the Browns. For a moment, I forgot what year it was.

1:38 PM - Wow - what a call. After a bad punt, Cousins rolls out on a play action play and connects on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson. With three defensive backs in the vicinity, Hankerson bobbled it and lost his footing, but still held onto the ball, got back up without being touched and made it into the endzone. One play, 54 yards, 10 seconds. 7-7

END OF FIRST QUARTER

7-7

1:57 PM - The Redskins burn a timeout trying to draw the Browns offsides on fourth-and-one. Then they try to go for it again and Kory Lichtensteiger jumps offsides, forcing a punt. Fun times.

2:05 PM - Cousins with a nice quarterback scramble. He definitely seems to be finding a groove.

2:10 PM - Shanahan challenges. It looked like a catch, but the ref decides there's not enough visual evidence to overturn.

2:13 PM - Kai Forbath connects with a 44-yard field goal to give the Redskins their first lead of the day. Nine plays, 51 yards, three minutes and 36 seconds. 10-7

2:20 PM - Lorenzo Alexander hurts himself going for a big hit. Looks like he's clutching his arm.

2:30 PM - Trent Richardson's three-yard touchdown is overturned. His knee was down before the ball crossed the goal line, which the refs saw.

2:33 PM - Of course, on the very next play, Richardson is in for a one-yard touchdown. Nine plays, 75 yards, four minutes and 35 seconds. 10-14

HALFTIME

10-14

2:53 PM - Rob Jackson with a HUUUUGE interception, which he takes 17-yards to the Browns 15.

2:55 PM - Alfred Morris, who has been having a frustrating day with the Browns focused primarily on him, comes up with a hard fought three-yard touchdown run to put the Redskins ahead. Three plays, 15 yards, 58 seconds. 17-14

3:00 PM - Today's announced attendance is 65,083.

3:05 PM - Santana Moss shakes off a big hit and keeps on running.

3:08 PM - Kirk Cousins connects to a wide open Leonard Hankerson for the score. Seven plays, 60 yards, three minutes and 44 seconds. 24-14

3:29 PM - London Fletcher just tied his career high of four interceptions in a season, which he also did in 2000 and 2006.

END OF THIRD QUARTER

24-14

3:36 PM - Evan Royster with a four-yard touchdown run. 21 unanswered points. Fans are starting to head toward the exits. 10 plays, 67 yards, four minutes and 42 seconds. 31-14

3:43 PM - Okay, that was impressive. Brandon Weeden connects with a 69-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Travis Benjamin (being covered by someone allegedly named DJ Johnson). Three plays, 72 yards, one minute and eight seconds. 31-21

3:52 PM - Pierre Garcon saves the day after Santana Moss coughs up the ball in the redzone. I think my heart stopped there for a minute.

3:55 PM - Alfred Morris with an eight-yard touchdown run. He just set the record for Redskins rookie rushing touchdowns. Eight plays, 76 yards, five minutes and 11 seconds. 38-21

:helmet:

PHOTOS

8279534587_6a1d71605f_c.jpg

To see ExtremeSkins game photos click HERE

:helmet:

AUDIO

To listen to comments from Lorenzo Alexander click HERE

To listen to comments from Barry Cofield click HERE

To listen to comments from Pierre Garcon click HERE

To listen to comments from DeAngelo Hall click HERE

To listen to comments from Rob Jackson click HERE

To listen to comments from Ryan Kerrigan click HERE

To listen to comments from Alfred Morris click HERE

To listen to comments from Santana Moss click HERE

To listen to comments from Logan Paulsen click HERE

To listen to comments from Perry Riley click HERE

To listen to comments from Evan Royster click HERE

To listen to comments from Trent Williams click HERE

To listen to more comments from Josh Wilson click HERE

To listen to comments from Lorenzo Alexander click HERE

:helmet:

MY TAKE

Something struck me as I was watching the Cleveland Browns suffer a crushing loss to my beloved Washington Redskins - I've seen this team before.

I knew exactly what Browns fans were going through because I've been there. In previous seasons, the Redskins were this Browns team. They were the team that would lose to a rookie quarterback in his debut. They were the team that would beat a division rival to start a three game winning streak, only to have it derailed by a crushing loss. They were the team that would lead at halftime, only to blow it.

As the Browns suffered their most devastating loss of the season and fans in Cleveland saw just how much they lost settling on Weeden instead of one upping the Redskins and making the offseason trade to draft RGIII, I understand their pain. But more than anything, today made me realize just how far the Redskins have come.

Not too long ago, the 'Skins were 3-6 and looking poised to enter "evaluation mode." At that time, the Browns were 2-7. Both teams rallied and put together a string of wins to breathe new life into their seasons. But while the Redskins are now 8-6, in first place in the NFC East and officially in control of their own destiny, the Browns are 5-9 and reeling from their biggest loss of the season.

In a lot of ways, this season feels like its been about putting the past behind us. For so long, the Redskins were a dysfunctional franchise that outspent an organization like the Browns 2-1 and yet somehow ended up with the same abysmal record. They are finally turning the page. They are finally becoming relevant again. They are changing the culture.

A lot of that has been Robert Griffin III, who has been a true phenom. He is the spark that ignited this team. But what made this week's victory so impressive was that RGIII was on the sideline for it. The team decided to rest him, instead giving rookie Kirk Cousins his first NFL start. And Cousins led the team to a comfortable victory.

The Redskins got a lot of grief for drafting Cousins in the fourth round after they leveraged the house to get Griffin this year. And yet, the Shanahans look like geniuses in retrospect. After getting one bad interception out of the way early, Cousins looked great. And he made some tough passes, including a 54-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Hankerson, who had three defensive backs hovering around him.

Cousins completely outshone Brandon Weeden, who the Browns drafted in the first round. Weeden completed just 21 of 35 passes (60%) for 244 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a quarterback rating of 66.8. Cousins, meanwhile, finished the day 26 of 37 for 329, two touchdowns, one interception and a quarterback rating of 104.4. One of these guys looked like a rookie quarterback getting his first start in the NFL, but that guy was not Kirk Cousins.

Similarly, the Browns highly touted draft pick Trent Richardson was held to 28 yards on just 11 carries (and yet still managed to get two touchdowns). He averaged 2.5 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Alfred Morris rushed 27 times 87, average 3.2 yards per carry and had two touchdowns. Richardson was the third pick overall and Morris was the 173 pick (the third pick in the sixth round).

The Redskins have been making all the right moves, it seems. They are playing meaningful football late in December. They have won five games straight. With two games left to go, they are in first place in the NFC East. If the season ended today, they would have a home playoff game.

It wasn't so long ago that they were in the same boat with the Cleveland Browns. Their comfortable victory over that struggling franchise today serves to remind us all just how far they've come.

It's a good time to be a Redskins fan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
redskins55

redskins55

Posted
Posted
This game tomorrow really feels like 07 @ Minnesota. A must win game to make playoffs, qb goes down week before, back up comes in and he manages the game, Most of all the defense rises up. Lets go skins

Yea it does.. The problem is, our defense was much better back then and the team road the emotions of Sean Taylor's death. I'm not very confident in this game now that the team decided to sit the emotional leader of this team.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Theismann07

Theismann07

Posted
Posted
NFLN is reporting that RG3 won't dress for this game. He will be inactive.

So let's go KC. Show the world we have more than one great QB on this team. :)

Might just be what Kirk needs today. He'll have enough to worry about today. At least he can focus on the job at hand without having to look over his shoulder wondering when #10 was going to come trotting onto the field.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ghost of

Ghost of

Posted
Posted
This game tomorrow really feels like 07 @ Minnesota. A must win game to make playoffs, qb goes down week before, back up comes in and he manages the game, Most of all the defense rises up. Lets go skins

Kinda? Todd Collins was absolutely necessary to winning ANY of those games, including the Bears game. We lose if Campbell doesn't get hurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NoLeafClover

NoLeafClover

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Driving in to the stadium, Murf and I were listening to the local sports talk radio. The host was asking everyone he talked to if a Cleveland win today would be "tainted" because RGIII isn't playing. You have to love this place. They've turned today's game into a no-win situation where they either lose to a rookie in his first official start or they win, but get no joy from it because they only beat a backup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Idaho fan

Idaho fan

Posted
Posted
Driving in to the stadium, Murf and I were listening to the local sports talk radio. The host was asking everyone he talked to if a Cleveland win today would be "tainted" because RGIII isn't playing. You have to love this place. They've turned today's game into a no-win situation where they either lose to a rookie in his first official start or they win, but get no joy from it because they only beat a backup.

well they have a point.. they beat the Steelers and heard the same thing because Batch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
brandymac27

brandymac27

Posted
Posted

John Keim ‏@john_keim

Banks is inactive again. #Redskins.. Yes, #RG3 is inactive too

RedskinsPR ‏@RedskinsPR

#Redskins Inactives: QB R. Griffin III, WR B. Banks, WR D. Briscoe, LB R. Muckelroy, OL J. LeRibeus, T T. Compton, G A. Gettis

106.7 The Fan ‏@1067thefandc

.@RGIII officially out for #Redskins. Kirk Cousins will start, Rex Grossman active for 1st time this season.

TK ‏@TKextremeskins

@john_keim Not expecting Banks to active on this squad again.

Redskins ‏@Redskins

#Browns inactives: CB T. Wade, S E. Hagg, RB B. Jackson, TE B. Smelley, FB O. Marecic, OL J. Shaw, WR J. Cooper. #HTTR

Mike Jones ‏@MikeJonesWaPo

#Redskins wearing white jerseys and gold pants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...