A Giant Disappointment
 

The latest from Trevor Walters:


[CENTER][CENTER][B][U][FONT=Verdana]A Giant Disappointment[/FONT][/U][/B][/CENTER]
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[FONT=Verdana]At some point in most everyone’s life, they encounter a set of twins who, even though you know they look the same, will inevitably have one twin who is obviously more aesthetically pleasing than the other. In this way, the Redskins are no different than the aforementioned twins in that they seem to be two teams that should look the same, but are in reality very dissimilar. The “hot” twin showed up in [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Houston[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] a few weeks back and then again the following week when the Jaguars came to town. Unfortunately for [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana], the “not” twin reared its ugly head once again Sunday, and the result was a critical loss that places the collective backs of the Redskins firmly against the wall.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Perhaps you’re one of the optimistic few who will assert that, as a 2-3 team with the bulk of its schedule remaining, the Redskins still have plenty of time to right the ship and make the playoffs as they did in 2005. The difference in that team and the 2006 version is not only how often they’ve won, but who they defeated. Each of [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]’s three losses comes at the hands of an NFC opponent, two of which are also division foes. These setbacks are much more punitive than the two AFC victories are helpful. Had the Redskins not defeated the Eagles in their regular season finale in 2005, they would have still made the post-season by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over their nearest competitor. Such an advantage is going to be very difficult to come by in 2006 when [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] must battle out of the 0-3 NFC hole they’ve dug for themselves.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]As was predicted by most everyone, there were a number of barbs exchanged between former Redskin LaMartyr Arrington and his former teammates. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Cornerback[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Shawn[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Springs[/FONT][FONT=Verdana], in a statement that was seconded by Arrington’s former position coach Dale Lindsay, made reference to the linebacker’s lack of understanding of the Redskins’ complicated defensive schemes. It was clear that, even though the comments were made in jest, that there was a lot of truth in Springs’ comments. Arrington was frequently out of position when on the field, and preferred to air his frustrations publicly rather than behind closed doors when off of it. When his chronically injured knee became so bothersome that hoisting himself up on his personally fabricated cross proved too difficult, it was time for a change. The rest is history.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]But one cannot discuss former Redskins and the lingering acrimony between the parties without mentioning former Redskin Antonio Pierce. In a league where players change teams with regularity, Pierces seems to fancy himself the only person to ever have been spurned by his old employer. In truth, Pierce owes his entire career to Gregg Williams, who rescued him from battling for a roster spot each season and turned him into a bona fide NFL starter, as well as to the Redskins, who signed Pierce as an undrafted free agent. Pierce doesn’t just owe Williams in a way that all of us owe someone in our lives who mentored us or showed us the ropes of our chosen profession. No folks, you see Pierce owes Williams in the same way that Pinocchio owes Gepetto. Pierce is Dr. Phil to Williams’ Oprah Winfrey. He owes his very NFL life to the Redskins defensive boss, but then again, how quickly we forget from whence we came.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]But the overrated and overpaid aside, the Redskins played a truly awful game Sunday, an effort that only looked tolerable when placed against the backdrop of the 36-0 beating they took in The Meadowlands in 2005. The offense, which had seemed to finally find its way in the previous two weeks, resumed its early season form, failing to break the plane of the end zone a single time. Santana Moss, who is fast enough to hunt cheetah on foot, once again failed to have his talents properly utilized. Chris Cooley led the team with four catches, a solid figure had it not been best on the team.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]This is where, if you are a faithful reader, you’ve noted that in the past the column normally morphs into a “how-bad-was-Brunell” tirade, but this time, that isn’t the case. It’s not the Brunell was as good as he had been in the previous weeks, because he wasn’t, but the plays that were called for him barely resembled the tactful ingenuity that had been exercised of late. It surfaced first as a peculiar bastardization of the option on a third down early on when both Brunell and his intended target Antwaan Randle El looked more out of place than Leonard Little at an A.A. meeting. Later on, it showed itself again when a puzzling choice was made to keep one of the finest third-and-short backs in the league, T.J. Duckett, on the bench late in the game when just such an occasion arose in favor of a short pass to a double-covered Cooley. It was as if Al Saunders seemed to leave his genius back in D.C., thinking that the new airline restrictions prohibited his taking it on the flight. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]As I’ve said in this space a thousand times before, whenever two such polar opposites exist, as with the Redskins’ 36-point outburst against a great [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Jacksonville[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] defense and their 3-point showing on Sunday, the actual identity of the offense is lies somewhere in between. To be truthful, the [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] offense is most likely not as good as they showed in their overtime victory over the Jags. One can only hope that they aren’t as bad as they showed this past weekend, when the final points of John Hall’s Redskins career marked the only dent [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] made on the scoreboard.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]The benign offense was certainly not rescued by [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]’s once stout defense, which has suddenly adopted the nasty habit of giving up the big play to nearly everyone who tries one. It is frightening how much this team, and more specifically this secondary, misses injured corner [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Shawn[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Springs[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]. Perhaps more disturbing is the enormous step backward second-year man Carlos Rogers seems to have made. Kenny Wright has been forced into situations and match-ups that exceed is abilities, and newcomer Mike Rumph has had many a growing pain mixed in with the handful of big plays he’s made.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Most frustrating with respect to the defense has to be the virtual lack of pressure they are getting on the passer. Andre Carter has shown flashes, but nothing near the consistent pass rush he was brought in to create. A consistent pass rush would alleviate much of the strain the depleted secondary has to bear, but the Redskins have not shown an ability to create such a presence from their down linemen. Decent quarterbacks can become good quarterbacks when given time to read the coverages, and good quarterbacks set records when they have the kind of time the Redskins are allowing opposing quarterbacks. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]The game ball this week goes to Lemar Marshall, who, along with Sean Taylor, has appeared to be the only Redskins defender who has consistently come to play this season. This game also has special meaning for [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Marshall[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] given the fact that his predecessor, Antonio Pierce, has acted like he invented the mike linebacker while in D.C., and has alluded to no one being able to fill his shoes since. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Marshall[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] has been every bit as good in the middle as Pierce was in his one season, and has done so while getting very little credit for doing so. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]With the Titans coming to town Sunday afternoon, [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Washington[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] has a golden opportunity to regain some of the swagger that it had before traveling to [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]New York[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]. [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Tennessee[/FONT][FONT=Verdana], winless in their five games thus far, is surrendering over 170 rushing yards per game, easily the highest total in the NFL. This plays right into the hands of the Redskins, who are at their best when they dedicate themselves to the run. We’ll stop just short of guaranteeing victory, given the last two times that has been done here (Cleveland in 2004 and the Raiders in 2005) have ended up in disaster. Nonetheless, if Washington has designs on a future in the post-season come winter, the Titans are a team the Redskins must roll over.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Check back in next week for your weekly Redskins football fix. Hail to the Redskins![/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Questions and comments can be sent to Trevor Walters at [EMAIL="skins.fan@comcast.net"][COLOR=#0000ff]skins.fan@comcast.net[/COLOR][/EMAIL][/FONT]
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Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Nice piece. I must say I agree with him in regards to the suspect playcalling throughout the game. I found myself saying "what the hell was that" more often than not. We need to run the ball, run the ball, and then run the ball some more on Sunday. Oh yeah, and no more options. WTF?

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Damn Walters, that one was depressing. I have a hard time believing our offense is mediocre.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;227755]Damn Walters, that one was depressing. I have a hard time believing our offense is mediocre.[/QUOTE]

So do I. Just about everything I see from it tells me its a bad O.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

we need some more quality wins.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[quote=irish;227758]So do I. Just about everything I see from it tells me its a bad O.[/quote]

It's not bad. It's inconsistent. Saunders hasn't learned how to use our playmakers correctly yet.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

We have all the pieces, it's just a matter of putting it all together.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Mr Walters makes some good points but he babbbles about some things ,like this ...

"But one cannot discuss former Redskins and the lingering acrimony between the parties without mentioning former Redskin Antonio Pierce. In a league where players change teams with regularity, Pierces seems to fancy himself the only person to ever have been spurned by his old employer. In truth, Pierce owes his entire career to Gregg Williams, who rescued him from battling for a roster spot each season and turned him into a bona fide NFL starter, as well as to the Redskins, who signed Pierce as an undrafted free agent. Pierce doesn’t just owe Williams in a way that all of us owe someone in our lives who mentored us or showed us the ropes of our chosen profession. No folks, you see Pierce owes Williams in the same way that Pinocchio owes Gepetto. Pierce is Dr. Phil to Williams’ Oprah Winfrey. He owes his very NFL life to the Redskins defensive boss, but then again, how quickly we forget from whence we came"

This has nothing to do with the Giants game or the way the Skins played .Was it not fans from here who said move on well that is my advice for Mr.Walters move on !

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

It's written for Skins fans, not Giants fans.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

And that's a point that needed to be made. Pierce constantly shoots off at the fucking mouth about how he always needs to get "back" at the Redskins. Get back at them for what?

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;227761]It's not bad. It's inconsistent. Saunders hasn't learned how to use our playmakers correctly yet.[/QUOTE]

You say tomato, I say tomahto....

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

pierce... what a bitch. it's like last year when that old dude bit the dust and they fucking freaked out.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;227766]And that's a point that needed to be made. Pierce constantly shoots off at the fucking mouth about how he always needs to get "back" at the Redskins. Get back at them for what?[/QUOTE]

Williams put him on the map, it's not like we missed a beat at MLB, williams has done with Lamar the same things he did with Pierce.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Sheesh... :( I'm still going to say I have hope, but that just sucks.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Pierce uses his chip-on-the-shoulder mentality to motivate him way too much. First it was everyone in the NFL for not drafting him. Now, it's the Redskins for not meeting his (or his agents) excessive contract demands. Next, it will be my momma for giving birth to me and criticizing him with this post.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[quote=offiss;227772]Williams put him on the map, it's not like we missed a beat at MLB, williams has done with Lamar the same things he did with Pierce.[/quote]

At a much cheaper price too I might add.

That's why I don't understand those that say we dropped the ball with letting Pierce go. I think that move has proved to be a very good one.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Brilliant take on Pierce. He nailed him.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

people use motivation for just about everything in life especially football. Players always want to get back at their former teams. do they say, he lets take it easy on these guys, I use to play for them. I think not! who cares what Pierce says or what lavar does or doesn't do or what champ is doing.... they are gone!!! lets focus on who is hear and not doing a damn thing. Rogers, Carter, Arch, Holdman for starters. You can't blame a guy for feeling short changed when they have a pro bowl year and they want to pay you like a back up. that is a slap in the face. Pierce is a VERY SMART player. I honestly feel we did drop the ball letting him leave. This guy studied and prepared more than anyone on the team. He put everyone in the right places, nothing against Marshall but I dont know that he is as mentally prepared. You could see it last week on a few plays, Pierce knew exactly what we were running, or where we were running. And this isn't the same offense from a year ago. All new language, new calls. The guy is a workhorse. I liked the guy, he had so much intensity which is needed for the MLB position. sometimes marshall just seems to be going through the motions. Marshall is a good MLB...no question. but as far as overall MLB, I would still take Pierce over Marshall.

Lets not even start on Holdman!! he sucks.. BAD! when do we get to see Rocky! Probably thought I was going to go on a LaVar rant didn't you!

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

I don't know if we made a huge mistake but I think we should have kept Pierce. Marshall has filled in great, but you hate to see good homegrown talent leave. At the time, Gibbs & Co. had stated that (let me paraphrase) that he was being overpaid which i kind of agreed w/. We were being frugal. Now, we've overpaid for outside players, who as of now aren't as good as AP. I do agree w/ that AP whines and he should be grateful that he got his start w/ us.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Marshall is also "home grown talent".

I don't care if someone wants to say they prefer Pierce over Marshall, but if you look at the situation objectively we have a very productive player in Marshall who is a hell of alot cheaper, so you have to say it was a win for the Redskins.

Dropping the ball would be if we didn't fill the position properly, but we did so let's not make it seem like loosing Marshall was a huge mistake.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

We felt like we could let Pierce go, as Denver knew they could let Portis go. We do a good job building LB's. As Matty stated, we have all the pieces. The consistency will come...................hopefully................like............this week.
I think I must add.........what a F.... brainless, classless, ninny, to act like that, when he was "brand X" before he got Greg-atized. Ergo, the reason he now is a Giant? Total Jackassery!!!!!!!!!

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

i agree that marshall is every bit as good as pierce. but, if pierce stays, then marshall starts on the outside with marcus washington. this would be one helluva playmaking starting linebackers. then the skins could throw holdman in the trash were he belongs

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;227766]And that's a point that needed to be made. Pierce constantly shoots off at the fucking mouth about how he always needs to get "back" at the Redskins. Get back at them for what?[/quote]

Actually this year Pierce was pretty quite ,last year was last year.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

I could drag up numerous articles from THIS year. He never shuts his trap.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

Don't worry Hess. Bad playcalling. Offensive growing pains.

Saunders is a bright guy. He will find a way to right personnel involved at the right times in a few more weeks. This one came down to bad playcalling. I felt he tried to force his gameplan to work on the Giants, rather than take what the Giants were giving. (For example, I felt the Giants were trying to cover up top, but he kept on trying up there anyway rather than a cutback on a deep route.)

They will also (hopefully) figure out how to get the plays in in time. (In the first half, they were always getting the play off with 1-3 seconds left on the play clock until finally Brunell needed to take a time out. You could see on his face he was furious.) Another easily solved problem.

As far as the OLine goes...they've got the same people as last year, nobody's been (too) nicked up, so all things being equal, they should play at the same level as last year. (Being 49 myself, I don't believe being just one year older has a huge impact on level of play, at least for their age.) But they've been using a new playbook, and Saunders hasn't always used them to the best of their abilities. If I recall correctly, they had very few BAD games last year, so I don't expect many (any?) once they get the playbook down.

Portis should be Portis and the receiving corps is greatly improved, so I see them taking off once we've figured out how to use them and the OLine (and Portis) are protecting Brunell.

Brunell. The subject of trillions of words on this board. Can be very good and also very bad. He threw a pass in 2004 that was so bad (the one that looked like a duck shot in mid-air) that I couldn't bear to watch the games (radio OK) for 4 weeks. Then the Dallas game last year. Arizona last year. A number of weak games this year, but also the record against the Titans and also the Jags game (2nd that week in QB rating.) I think he will do just fine if we get some defense. We didn't get him to be a great QB. He was brought in to be a solid QB. By this I mean he's not going to show up a lot in the highlight reels. Not for long bombs, not for interceptions. His job is to get it into the hands of his playmakers without making mistakes and let them do the rest. Occasionally he will be asked to deliver the ball in a tight spot (the game-winning TD against Jacksonville) but his main goal is to complete passes to open receivers and avoid interceptions. This is one of the reasons he's throwing a lot outside the hash marks. When the offense gets confident on the playbook and the OLine does its usual job, I expect Brunell to have 1 or 2 bad games the rest of the year, which is his norm when not injured.

If we can figure out how to use Duckett we should be able to exchange a lot of FGs for TDs.

As far as the defense goes, I think Springs changes everything. Rogers has "unlearned" what he knew because he knows he's not ready to cover a #1 receiver, and is thus playing scared. As a result he's not keeping his head. But he was fine physically and mentally covering the #2 guy, and I don't expect that to change this year. Taylor can't be used optimally now, nor can AA, ...) In addition, Williams is playing the defense defensively (sorry) out of necessity, but I expect that to change when Springs comes back in. He should allow them to attack (DB blitzes :-)) and not suffer the consequences they have so far in the season.

I am disturbed that they've already lost 2 games by more than a TD when they lost only 1 by more than a TD during the regular season last year.

So we should probably go 1-1 in the next 2 games. Then each of the remaining games we have a good shot at winning (just like the last 6 last year). (We just blew the Oakland game, otherwise it would have been a 6-game winning streak at the end of the season.) At least we do if we have the playbook figured out by the Dallas game and we don't lose "essential" personnel.

I guess since I've used the term, I should come up with an initial list of "essential personnel":
Essential personnel:
Brunell (can't change effectively with this playbook, and whoever replaces him will probably throw more picks, and the RBs, WRs, TEs are really the guys to get the yds.)
Portis
Moss
Springs
Taylor
maybe more on D (your input invited)

We should survive if one big-name receiver goes down, so long as its not Moss.
I hope we survive if we lose someone from the OLine.
I hope we survive if we lose Washington.
I hope we survive if we lose Rogers. (I expect him back to form vs #2s)

Your input invited. Main idea: don't give up the ship. We have enough good people in place to have a very good year, even with the start we've had. We have to be no worse than 1-1 in our next two games and must have the kinks worked out by the Dallas game.

Sorry for the long post, but we've got to get Hess on the positive side of things again. :-)


[QUOTE=hesscl34;227773]Sheesh... :( I'm still going to say I have hope, but that just sucks.[/QUOTE]

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[QUOTE] ... Andre Carter has shown flashes ...[/QUOTE]

He has? With that one sack he has through five games? I don't think he's even getting 'hurries'.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[quote=Beemnseven;227898]He has? With that one sack he has through five games? I don't think he's even getting 'hurries'.[/quote]
dwight freeney doesn't even have a sack this year yet...be patient...he was a linebacker last year

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;227890]I could drag up numerous articles from THIS year. He never shuts his trap.[/quote]

Your riight the articles are from this year but quote him from last year thats all I'm saying.

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[quote=Giantone;227925]Your riight the articles are from this year but quote him from last year thats all I'm saying.[/quote]

Dude, don't you have your own team to worry about???? You've been around here for far too long.... Come back on 12/30. I have tickets to that game... and I'm sure it will be pay back time...

Re: A Giant Disappointment
 

[QUOTE=steveo395;227903]dwight freeney doesn't even have a sack this year yet...be patient...he was a linebacker last year[/QUOTE]

The difference being Freeney's 50 sacks over the previous 4 seasons to Carter's total of 32 over 5 seasons.

But whatever, Carter got himself another one today. Yippee.