Skins.com:Redskins Still 'A Play Or Two Away'

[TK]

http://redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=12319

Redskins Still 'A Play Or Two Away'

11/30/2003

By Gary Fitzgerald

Redskins.com

For the Redskins, the fourth quarter has become a continuing source of frustration this season. So close, so many times—and the team has been unable to hold a late lead and put the finishing touches on well-deserved victory.

It has meant the difference between wins and losses this season.

On Sunday afternoon, against the New Orleans Saints at FedExField, the Redskins—donned in their 70th anniversary retro jerseys for the first time this season and introduced as a team during pregame—held a tenuous three-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Saints scored early in the first few minutes of the quarter, then held off a comeback by the Redskins, winning 24-20. The Redskins' record now stands at 4-8. It was the third consecutive loss for the Redskins, who are also 2-6 in the conference.

“We had some chances,” head coach Steve Spurrier said after the game. “We had the lead there for a while, but we couldn’t hold it.

“This is new for a lot of us—trying to win the close ones,” Spurrier added. “We’ve not done very well at it, the last three weeks especially. We’ve just got to keep on pushing. If we possibly can, we need to get over the hump. If something bad is happening to us in the game, we’re not making anything good happen to overcome it.”

In the game’s final minutes, Tim Hasselbeck—playing solid in his first NFL start, completing 22-of-42 passes for 231 yards—tried to lead the Redskins on a stirring comeback.

With just over two minutes left in the game, Hasselbeck completed a 21-yard pass to Laveranues Coles to put the ball on Washington’s 41-yard line. On third down, Hasselbeck nearly completed a downfield pass to Patrick Johnson, but the Saints' Jay Bellamy closed in on Johnson and jarred the ball loose. On fourth down, Hasselbeck’s downfield pass to Taylor Jacobs was knocked away by Fakhir Brown.

Regarding the pass to Johnson, Hasselbeck said: “If I could have gotten the ball to him a little bit sooner, he would have had a chance to catch the ball and hold on to it, instead of getting hit as he caught it. It’s little things like that. When you’re a quarterback, you want to get the receivers the ball so that they can have an opportunity to make plays. On that drive, I didn’t do that.”

Among the Redskins standouts included Trung Canidate, who became the first running back to break the 100-yard barrier in a game with 115-yard performance on 16 carries. The left side of the offensive line, with inexperienced tackle Brandon Winey and rookie guard Derrick Dockery, acquitted themselves well.

The Saints fed the Redskins' defense a heavy dose of Deuce McAllister, who finished the game with 165 rushing yards on 30 carries. He gained the bulk of those yards in the first half; in the second half, McAllister was limited to 44 rushing yards.

The Redskins and Saints traded the lead throughout the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Saints took the lead for good when quarterback Aaron Brooks passed to Boo Williams on a 15-yard crossing pattern to give New Orleans a 24-20 lead. The score completed a 6-play, 40-yard drive that was set up by a 52-yard kickoff return by Keyuo Craver.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Saints took the first lead of the game on a 7-yard touchdown run by Brooks. The score capped a 6-play, 84-yard drive that included a 40-yard pass interference penalty called on Champ Bailey. Deuce McAllister contributed 25 yards of rushing on the drive.

The Redskins' first touchdown came midway through the second quarter when Rock Cartwright scored from two yards out to tie the game at 7-7. Cartwright took a pitch from Hasselbeck and weaved his way into the right corner of the end zone.

The 11-play, 76-yard drive was impressive for Hasselbeck, who was 5-7 for 66 yards on the drive. He spread the ball around to several receivers, with completions to Rod Gardner, Chad Morton, Coles and Ladell Betts.

After the Saints took the lead back on a 25-yard field goal by John Carney, the Redskins struck back quickly on a 94-yard kickoff return by Morton. The score gave Washington a 14-10 halftime edge.

Morton raced up the middle of the field, broke two tackles, then stepped out of the grasp of Saints' tackler Tallman Gardner. He turned to the right and outraced the coverage, scoring in the right corner of the end zone. It was the Redskins’ first kickoff return for a touchdown since 1999, when James Thrash returned a kickoff 95 yards against Detroit.

“It’s what I was brought here to do—to score touchdowns and not just average on returns,” Morton said. “It felt really good to get one and it’s a load off of my shoulders. I’m so proud of the guys that were blocking—they did a great job and we finally got one.”

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Redskins averted disaster after Hasselbeck was forced into a fumble during a quarterback scramble. Saints' defensive end Charles Grant poked the ball out of Hasselbeck's arm and it was recovered by cornerback Ashley Ambrose.

The Saints had the ball at the Redskins' 25-yard line, but the offense went 3-and-out. John Carney's 48-yard field goal was wide left, ending the scoring threat.

The Redskins extended their lead to 17-10 on a 45-yard field goal by John Hall. The 8-play, 35-yard drive included a key first-down conversion by Rock Cartwright and pass completions from Tim Hasselbeck to Bryan Johnson and Ladell Betts.

But the Saints fought back and tied the game on a 3-yard touchdown run by Aaron Brooks. It was his second touchdown of the game and culminated an 11-play, 77-yard drive.

The Redskins helped the Saints' cause with two penalties: a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Regan Upshaw and a 14-yard pass interference call on Champ Bailey. It was Bailey's second pass interference infraction of the game and a call that he vehemently disagreed with after the game.

In the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Redskins took the lead on a 49-yard field goal by Hall. The lead was short-lived, as Craver’s 52-yard kickoff return put the Saints in excellent field position for a score. They converted and held on for the victory.

“Of our eight losses, six them have been within seven points,” Spurrier said. “But all of our wins have been within seven points also. So that’s sort of where we are right now: a play or two away.”

[70Chip]

In other news, Al Gore is "still a state or two away" from being elected President.

That's not a political commentary -- close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and this is exactly what the problem is. After the first couple of losses, everyone shrugged it off because of the closeness of the games. That's simply not good enough.