5 Bright Spots
 

In light of a heart wrenching lost yesterday, I thought [I]bright spots[/I] would be appropriate. The theme yesterday was all about individual performances. Whether good, bad, or otherwise it wasn't a team effort. But there were some definite positives. Let's get to it, shall we.


[B]Sean Taylor: [/B]Sean Taylor probably should have broken the all time record for interceptions for one game. But two picks 'aint bad at all. I'm starting to get the feeling that Taylor is finding his groove back there at the safety position. Can anyone cover the field in the NFL quite like Sean Taylor? If so, I don't know what planet he's from. It's becoming more and more appearant that his ability to play center field is allowing Coach Williams to be more flexible and gamble more with his schemes up front. Mr. Taylor, keep up the good work. At the very least, we'll see you in Hawaii next year.


[B]Jason Campbell: [/B]Statiscally Campbell probably could have had a better game (see dropped balls), but I do get the feeling that he matured a great deal yesterday. If there was one lost that will serve Campbell best in the future, the near future, it will be the one he just played in front of a hostile Green Bay crowd under adverse conditions. The stats and completion percentages will come in time, but what's invaluable is the manner in which Campbell tried to pull his team up by the boot straps yesterday and direct them to a win. In the end, even Campbell's courage couldn't overcome the untimely errors that were committed. I think we have a real gem here guys. Let's keep our fingers crossed that he never makes the cover of Madden.


[B]Chris Cooley: [/B]There's no doubt in my mind when Chris Cooley has the ball, he's one of the best TEs in the NFL. After a career yesterday, I'm sure Cooley will start to play a more integral part in our game planning. Time and time again, Cooley has proven to be a threat in either the red zone or moving along the sidelines. As Cooley get's more touches, I think the overall productivity of the offense will benefit.


[B]The Defense (secondary):[/B] The defense really has been lights out this year; particularly the secondary. It's unfortunate that two losses have overshadawed how they've kept three top flight quarterbacks in check. (McNabb, Favre, Kitna). Between the emergence of a few holdovers from last season ([I]Rocky McIntosh, Andre Carter, C. Rogers[/I]) and Gregg Williams' adjusting his scheme somewhat, this group is playing top notch defense.


[B]Consolation: [/B]This was a tough one to take on the chin yesterday, but we should rebound against an ailing Cardinals team. If the Redskins can stay within one game of the Cowboys for a few more weeks, we should be setting ourselves up for, at the very least, a wildcard playoff spot. I have a feeling we'll be seeing those Cheeseheads again in December!

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

great thread... some of us need that after a heart wrenching loss like yesterday

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=Mattyk72;364633]Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.[/quote]


Those drops are hard to swallow, man. It just killed us. But I get the feeling he won't be dropping those all season like Carlos did last year.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Well done

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

I say the D as a whole is a very bright spot. The back 7 might be among the very best in the NFL. I feel that the D-line play is a significant bright spot, and has been much, much better than expected. Anthony Montgomery is a legit player, allowing us to rotate Golsten. Andre Carter seems to get a sack every game now. Griffin is still solid in the middle, and Chris Wilson may prove to be a nice find as a situational pass rusher.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

I was posting some good stuff on another thread, but I overlooked. Our D is playing kick ass shut down stuff. THIS time, it was against a pretty good! NOT a questionable offense.
That's big

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Well done...

I'm usually pretty mad after a "we let one get away" game. For some reason I wasn't. The reason I wasn't is b/c I was impressed by a couple positives that you mentioned. Most notably:

JC's performance. I thought he had a great game in a tough place to play and adverse conditions. With really no running game & a patchwork at best o-line JC made some great throws. Several of those great throws were not caught, but JC really stepped up.

Sean Taylor and the D are for real. We're going to win 9+ games this year no doubt w/ this type of defense.

Bad outcome and their are definately some huge concerns but hey after next week we could be 4-2.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Yes, that will cure all ills.

And mark it down, we will beat NE. How? I don't know. We just will. :biggthump

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;364656]Yes, that will cure all ills.

And mark it down, we will beat NE. How? I don't know. We just will. :biggthump[/quote]


I'm definitely feeling an upset in New England. I don't think it's out of the question at all.

Look, we've bottled up some teams that have put up points before playing us and after they played us the following week. Our defense is the real deal.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;364656]Yes, that will cure all ills.

And mark it down, we will beat NE. How? I don't know. We just will. :biggthump[/quote]

Washington has as good of a shot as any team to beat New England. They'll have to figure out a way to tighten up the middle of the zone, which Brady likes to exploit, but if they can do that, they'll have a chance.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

I don't think NE has seen a defense the caliber of ours. If we keep the turnovers at a minimum on offense, we can take this game.

Not only that, Taylor always shuts down Moss.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Nice thread. But if you start a dozen threads again this week, and we lose...then you realize that you can never start another thread again ;)

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=SmootSmack;364664]Nice thread. But if you start a dozen threads again this week, and we lose...then you realize that you can never start another thread again ;)[/quote]


I am so kicking myself after all that damn jawing I did! You know those Cheeseheads over there are still talking smack (pardon the pun), saying the refs almost robbed them!! Wha?

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=Mattyk72;364633]Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.[/quote]


i wouldn't sweat it. our receivers couldn't even catch yesterday, so our db's come away with 2 picks... i'm happy with that.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=Southpaw;364661]Washington has as good of a shot as any team to beat New England. They'll have to figure out a way to tighten up the middle of the zone, which Brady likes to exploit, but if they can do that, they'll have a chance.[/quote]

I don't know if New England has faced a team that can hit you in the mouth yet. I like the idea of a R. Moss or a D. Stallworth coming across the middle of the field and getting lit up by Taylor or Landry!

They won't score 48 on us!

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Great thread.....

but Sean is still needing some work to get to the Ed Reed level, I believe Reed (also from the U) is the best in the league hands down, Sean has the speed of Reed and can throw his size around better, HE WILL be better, just not yet.....

I was very frustrated with that pitch back that Sean Taylor pulled during the game, trying to pull a ravens run back is not our style and shouldnt be anyones style, the ravens just get away with it....I know he was just trying to get a spark in his team, and I appreciate that, but imagine if that pitch had been fumbled, all of us would be attributing more of the loss to ST......

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=Mattyk72;364633]Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.[/quote]

He has had 7 total picks in 3 years coming into this season. Yesterday, he doubled his total from ALL of last year.

Now he has 4 on the year. I won't complain. :)

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=Mattyk72;364633]Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.[/quote]

I personally believe that interceptions should not be expected. As long as the db is there in position making plays, then I'm good.

Especially with Taylor's 2 missed interceptions- one was catchable, but the other one was knocked out of his hands by Rogers. It's hard enough to catch the ball as a wr, when you know where the ball is expected to be thrown to. Just ask the redskins receivers from the packers game.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=Mattyk72;364633]Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.[/quote]His second INT was interesting because it seemed like a blown coverage at first. Favre and Jennings really miscommunicated on that play and the result was a bad underthrow. If they had been on the same plays, it seemed like Taylor was late getting over, pretty much to the point of a blown coverage.

But because the ball WAS underthrown, it allowed Taylor to use his superior athleticism to come over and make a great play.

His instincts at the position just seem off, but he may be the best athlete I've ever seen at the safety position. That pretty much makes up for not totally grasping the position yet.

And the good news is that hes not done learning yet.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Thanks for this thread. It's good to talk about the positives from a disappointing lost. I am extremely impressed with the defensive line. I was very critical of the team not addressing the defensive line in the draft or free agency and obviously the coaching staff knows more about their personnel than I do because this unit is getting the job done. Evans, Wilson, Carter, Montgomery, Golston, Griffin and Daniels are doing an outstanding job. The linebackers and secondary are great but I expected that. I didn't expect the defensive line to create it's own pressure.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

I too like the kid Wilson. We may be onto something with this guy. He kind of reminds of a guy that played eons ago named Fred Dean.

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Agreed on the bright spots. What concerns me is that if the O-Line doesn't get right Jason won't have the time to make plays and his development/personal health will suffer.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;364663]I don't think NE has seen a defense the caliber of ours. If we keep the turnovers at a minimum on offense, we can take this game.

Not only that, Taylor always shuts down Moss.[/quote]Moss looked afraid of Taylor the two games that he has faced him. He was a non-factor in both.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

nice points.. point taken.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;364633]Taylor had a good game and I'm not trying to nitpick here but the guy should have had 4 picks. Just saying it could have been a different game if he came up with some of those other very catchable picks.[/QUOTE]

At the same time, what did the offense do with the two picks that Taylor DID get? Jack squat. Who knows what could have happened had he pulled in all four of them, but we sure didn't capitalize on the two that he did manage to get us.

Massively wasted opportunities. What better time to light a fire under your team and rack up some game-clinching points then when your D comes up big and takes the ball away. I almost feel bad for Taylor, like he worked his ass off and nobody did anything with it.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[QUOTE=12thMan;364658]I'm definitely feeling an upset in New England. I don't think it's out of the question at all.

Look, we've bottled up some teams that have put up points before playing us and after they played us the following week. Our defense is the real deal.[/QUOTE]

Seeing as we lost a game we should have won (Giants), and lost a game we certainly COULD have won (Packers), it would only fit that we'd win a game we should lose.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Good thread, 12th.

I do think GW has figured out how to use Taylor properly, which is great. Coulda had 2 more picks, but I'm not complaining.

NE throws the ball a lot, so we'll see. I'm not penciling in that one as a W, that's for sure. They look too good, and it's in Foxboro.

The big thing is to win the games we SHOULD win. That starts with Arizona. Let's look no farther than that. We can make the playoffs without beating the Pats, but not without beating the Cards, IMO.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

I see a lot of bright spots. I think this is the best team we've had during Gibbs II.

The offense has a ton of weapons and Campbell looks like the real deal.

And I can't say enough about the D. They were PHENOMENAL yesterday. The O kept pissing the ball away and the D stepped up every single time. It was one of those circa-2004 games where we would have won if we just took a knee and punted every series in the 2nd half. I've almost forgiven GW for last year's defensive debacle.

We killed GB yesterday. Very frustrating loss considering how we dominated them. Much more disappointing than the Giants loss.

I think this Skins team can go far, but I am worried about the O-line. Plus we can only piss away so many winnable games without it catching up with us.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Canuck in the house! So, do we have some cap space to sign someone on the o-line (if anyone's out there)?

I agree about pissing away winnable games, and this is the big worry--some games may not be winnable. We need to take the ones we can get!

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

Our D might actually match up well w/ NE's offense. An offense that throws alot while not focusing on the run much (hmmm GB, Detroit). Unfortunately, we may have 3 starting offensive lineman out, one backup, and a backup backup out. So on second thought our O doesn't match up w/ their D very well.

Seriously, NE has a great team. If we had Tom Brady we might be great team too.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

How about them Cardinals huh guys? New England is a little far in the future, let's not overlook this team because they are "bad".

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[QUOTE=Cowell;364907]How about them Cardinals huh guys? New England is a little far in the future, let's not overlook this team because they are "bad".[/QUOTE]

Seriously, the Cardinals are on our schedule before the Patriots. We shouldn't ignore that. I'm sure the players aren't overlooking the Cardinals

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=SmootSmack;364908]Seriously, the Cardinals are on our schedule before the Patriots. We shouldn't ignore that. I'm sure the players aren't overlooking the Cardinals[/quote]They better approach the Cards as a must win. Losing to another lesser NFC foe at home would put a significant dent in the Skins playoff prospects.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[quote=redsk1;364854]Our D might actually match up well w/ NE's offense. An offense that throws alot while not focusing on the run much (hmmm GB, Detroit). Unfortunately, we may have 3 starting offensive lineman out, one backup, and a backup backup out. So on second thought our O doesn't match up w/ their D very well.

Seriously, NE has a great team. [B]If we had Tom Brady we might be great team too.[/B][/quote]


I don't want any other qb, I'm satisfied with JC.. Once he get more experiences, he will be GOOD qb.. Mark my word..

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection;364656]Yes, that will cure all ills.

And mark it down, we will beat NE. How? I don't know. We just will. :biggthump[/QUOTE]

I second that!! They will make for the GB with a NE win, I don't care if they look like the best team of all time (according to some analysts) they will find a way to win that game. I think the key is you rest Rabach, Wade, moss, Portis and start Pucillo at Center, Demulling at RG and Fabini at RT against the Cards which will not be easy. Play Betts and the Rock with He-Man (Sellers in the mix)next week and take our chances. I think a weeks rest for the hurting bunch is key. We can match up against their receivers with our DB's and safeties, they need to play with fire in their eyes.

Re: 5 Bright Spots
 

You know what pisses me off.. we should be 5-0. Those two stupid collapses in the fourth quarter with nice cushions is really mind blowing really. Our defense is probably the top 3 most dominant and our offense in the first half is racking up nice points. But what force of freak nature allows us to blow leads and manage to fall on our faces?