What I gathered from watching this game.

[TheSteve]

First of all, I'd like to thank GoSkins for the tickets he gave me.

As for the game, all I can say is wow, we came so close, but yet gave it away in the end. It seems like this is the problem with our teams the last few years in close games, but this game I did notice one thing that was different. We were fighting. There was no quit in us. We kept battling until the end. And regardless of those Eagle fans that were saying Redskins suck(If we suck, I have to wonder what that means about your team when you are physically beaten and had to rely on an INT on a bad throw and bad playcall to win, but more on that later) I think this team is on the rise. I expect us to atleast win 2/3 and beat Dallas in Dallas. If we don't finish atleast 6-10..or even 7-9 I'll be dissapointed.

Does anyone know about John Hall's status? On his last kickoff he looked like he pulled his hamstring again, maybe this is why Gibbs went for the win on first down instead of running it. Regardless, like someone said at the game, if you were told you could go into halftime tied at 7 and your defense playing great, wouldn't you take it? I would. I'd take having the ball at the 26 on first and ten down 3 in the 4th any day of the week at home as well on the Eagles.

The only time during this game I didn't feel confident was when the Eagles went up 17-7. You could sort of feel the momentum shifting, and ordinarily this is where Redskins teams of the past would have rolled over, played dead, and quit. By all logical reason, that should have been the nail on the coffin, especially since we didnt do anything on the next posession. Add to that the fact that the Eagles were driving and had the ball right at midfield up 10 in the with a quarter to go, and well, it's no wonder the Eagle fans got a little ****y.

But Sean Taylor!!! Let me just say this guy is going to be a stud for years to come. He can complain about his contract all he wants if he continues to play like that. You saw people stepping OUT OF THE WAY, DROPPING BALLS, CATCHING CATCHABLE BALLS OUT OF BOUNDS because he was about to lay the smackdown on them. That, my friends, is intimidation. And nothing makes you feel better. I feel like we physically dominated the Eagles, and come the end of the 4th you could tell they were playing not to lose. Then came the INT.

After we scored I truly felt like we were going to win this game, 17-14, momentum, crowd is crazy, eagle fans are silent, even when our offense punted on what must have been 3 straight 4th and 1 yard plays I still felt like we were in it. Let me tell you also, the fans stood up tonight when it counted, it got loud whenever the Eagles had the ball. Playoff like. I think we'll be contending next year unless that sweetness poster turns into Snyder and fires Joe Gibbs.

I still don't like the play call. You're first down. You're inside the 30. Yes your kicker is injured, but you passed your way down the field. That was the perfect time for a draw play, but hey, I'm not the head coach for a reason. I bet Ramsey wishes he had that throw back, that was really his only truly bad play of the game. But Cooley was doubled covered, and man it sucks.

In conclusion, I think we'll finish strong. As the saying goes, "Maybe next year", but haven't we been saying that for the last decade? Oh well.

[rdskn4eva]

Originally posted by steveskins

But Sean Taylor!!! Let me just say this guy is going to be a stud for years to come. He can complain about his contract all he wants if he continues to play like that. You saw people stepping OUT OF THE WAY, DROPPING BALLS, CATCHING CATCHABLE BALLS OUT OF BOUNDS because he was about to lay the smackdown on them. That, my friends, is intimidation. And nothing makes you feel better. I feel like we physically dominated the Eagles, and come the end of the 4th you could tell they were playing not to lose. Then came the INT.

[/b]

Refer to my signature below:

[Commander PK]

"Taylor, increasingly, is looking like the most instinctive and violently disruptive safety since Lott was in his prime. Taylor is a beast, an absolute monster of defensive might. When you see opposing receivers -- good receivers -- dropping balls in wide open spaces and can't figure out why, Taylor is why. He's everywhere, running like a cornerback and hitting like Butkus."

-Michael Wilbon

Wow, that's the first time I'd seen your sig, and the comments by Wilbon. That's pretty much Taylor in a nutshell. Wide-outs are scared of him, make no mistake.

[SkinsNatsFan]

Originally posted by steveskins

On his last kickoff he looked like he pulled his hamstring again, maybe this is why Gibbs went for the win on first down instead of running it.

Good point. I hadn't thought about that.

[Walking Deadman]

steveskins,

Glad you had a good time, man!

Too bad they couldn't pull out the win for your 1st time there.

Nothing beats a live game.

Thanks for filling in for me and being loud, I heard the 12th man through my TV on the ESPN game.

Glad you survived the Philly fans!!!!!!!

:point2sky

-goskins

[freakofthesouth]

Good read.

I didn;t realize that Hall was again injured. He always seems to be making the saving tackles on the kickoff team. Anyways, that sortof explains the reasoning behind the play-call to go deep.

[Walking Deadman]

Oh yeah,

Merry Christmas all!!!!