Report Card

[Beemnseven]

OK, now that I've had time to think about it...

Offensive Line -- Brunell was battered, beaten and sacked five times. Minus his scrambles, the line paved the way for Portis and Betts to amass a grand total of 69 yards on 21 carries for a 3.29 yard average per rush. Samuels and Thomas each had false start penalties, while Dockery was called for holding twice. Rabach, in a horrible performance where he was consistently treated like a tackling dummy against LaRoi Glover, also got penalized for a hold. Grade: F

Running backs -- Much of this grade is a result of pathetic offensive line play, so it may not be fair to judge their total of 69 yards rushing. Still, Betts had a critical fumble right before halftime, while Portis for the third time in a Redskin uniform against the Cowboys was basically a non-factor. Part of the reason the Cowboys have been able to master the Redskins for 14 of the past 16 games is their knack for taking otherwise dominant running backs in Stephen Davis and Clinton Portis out of the game early. Apart from the final score, last night was no different. Grade: D

Wide Receivers -- Before the miraculous catches by Moss in the 4th quarter, either Brunell didn't have time to find them, they weren't getting open, or they dropped the ball. Thrash contributed two crucial 3rd and 4th down conversions, making him the safety valve that came through last night in a big way. Jacobs continued his legacy as a Redskin, catching a nice, 9 yard out pattern, then promptly finding the medical staff on the sideline after an injury which will undoubtedly keep him from the lineup for another 8 to 10 weeks. Moss's speed was the deciding factor in the contest, and Gibbs should spend the next two weeks devoting all of his time figuring out how to maximize his talent. Bottom line about Moss is, he can win football games, almost by himself. Grade: B (that's being slightly generous)

Quarterback -- Brunell's 56 and a half minute display of ineptitude honestly has to be attributed to overall offensive buffoonery on practically every level at every position. But his tenacity won out, and should, at least temporarily quiet those who say he has no ability to throw it deep. That 25 yard scramble on 3rd and long to set up the first touchdown doesn't happen if Ramsey is under center. With the interception early, it's clear there is still much work to be done in order to get the passing game on track. Grade: C

Defensive line -- Virtually no pressure on Bledsoe, with or without blitzes. What happened to 'knocking him out of the game' ?? Only saving grace is run defense, with Jones getting nothing up the middle. He had more success around the ends, though. Grade: D+

Linebackers -- Marcus Washington and Lemar Marshall are co-MVPs for this game. Marshall had a critical tackle on Jones shooting up the gap and bursting through for a pivotal stop that made everyone forget about losing Antonio Pierce. Judging by the way Jason Witten was all but eliminated from Dallas' offensive weaponry, it's clear the coaching staff made it a point to key in on him, and the linebackers did an outstanding job of pass coverage against a Pro Bowl tight end who has given Washington fits in the past. But what everyone wants to know is, where's LaVar Arrington?Grade: A

Secondary -- Taylor still has the tendency to be too aggressive, as evidenced by the flea-flicker bite that led to Dallas' only TD, but it paid off tremendously for that bone-jarring hit of Crayton on 3rd down to seal Dallas' fate. If I had to choose, I'll take the aggressive Sean Taylor any day of the week. Walt Harris showed he is one of the best tackling corners in the league, and aside from Terry Glenn's 6 catches for 157 yards, the secondary did its job shutting down the rest of the Cowboy wideouts. And that was with absolutely NO PASS RUSH. Grade: A

Special Teams -- Nearly blew the game on the last kickoff return, and continues to follow every good return with a clipping penalty. Needs serious work. Grade: C-

Coaching -- As another Warpather astutely pointed out in another thread, the deep passes to Moss late were most assuredly NOT part of the game plan, and Gibbs simply must allow his quarterback to open it up more than he currently is. The playcalling was unimaginative, and in distinct memories of the Norv Turner days, falling behind by 3 and 10 points shouldn't cause you to give up so soon on a running back you paid a fortune to bring in. Defensively, the gameplan wasn't nearly as ferocious as Redskin fans wanted, but it worked. Whether it's the credit of an unrelenting coaching staff, or motivated football players, this team clearly didn't give up and fought like hell to break this nauseating spell of submission to the Dallas Cowboys. Grade: C+

[RedskinRat]

I'd say there was only one thing overlooked in an otherwise spot-on critique.

Heart: A+ for all Redskins players and coaches. They just didn't quit.

[illdefined]

Originally Posted by RedskinRat

I'd say there was only one thing overlooked in an otherwise spot-on critique.

Heart: A+ for all Redskins players and coaches. They just didn't quit.

you frickin said it. how many of us as fans had given up by then?? imagine the effort we'd get if Rod and Lav were still on our team? imagine if we didn't have Portis talking shit and blocking like he was 300lbs? imagine if we didn't have Marcus Washington to pick up the emotional torch on defense w/o LaVar and Smoot?

A+++

[JWsleep]

I think the D-line did their job--they stopped the run. All that "knock him out of the game" stuff was a smokescreen. Williams played to stop the run and to stop the big play. Gave up 13 points. I think they wrong-footed the cowboys offense--we saw lots of 4-5 yard passes that failed to move the chains. Those were throws set up in anticipation of the blitz, hoping to get LB coverage in the flat. Didn't happen. Also, they negated Dallas's TEs very well--where were Whitten and Cambell? THey gave up two big plays--the flea flicker (great call, it happens) and the long out against Taylor. But 13 points and only one TD on the road--that's a win for the D.

Agree about the O-line play--they took a step back there. But I do think that throwing effectively will loosen things up for the run game. Gotta pick up the blitz better! Not sure you can blame the RBs--they had very little space out there.

Great heart, no question about that. Let's build on this one!

[Redskins_P]

Offense - C+

Defense - A+++

Heart - A+++++++++++++++

[illdefined]

i bet Parcells didn't even consider that a loss to Gibbs as much as it was a loss to Williams the fat f**k.

[firstdown]

I will have to say with about 5 min to play I had given up all hope and was getting mad with the change in QB. This team of 52 deserve a steak dinner complments of Danny Boy. I can't remember the last time that I saw a team with virtualy no chance to win light up the field as they did. We have had the tide turn on us so much over the the past 6 years with teams making that one big play to win the game in the last min. I was yelling so loud after the last TD I wroke up my wife and I was in the back yard in a detatched garage. We all needed this game and this very well could be that boost we needed to get things rolling. I give the whole team an "A" not for their play but for that one point more to win a game we should of lost. Thats what we have been missing and thats all I was asking for.

[mooby]

hey i saw something interesting on espn. a couple days before the game, joe gibbs' approval rating was around 25 percent or something like that. well guess what his approval rating is now, 78 percent, and bill parcells rating is 77 percent.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by mooby

hey i saw something interesting on espn. a couple days before the game, joe gibbs' approval rating was around 25 percent or something like that. well guess what his approval rating is now, 78 percent, and bill parcells rating is 77 percent.

What did they do run the first poll in Chicago?

[steveo395]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

OK, now that I've had time to think about it...

Offensive Line -- Brunell was battered, beaten and sacked five times. Minus his scrambles, the line paved the way for Portis and Betts to amass a grand total of 69 yards on 21 carries for a 3.29 yard average per rush. Samuels and Thomas each had false start penalties, while Dockery was called for holding twice. Rabach, in a horrible performance where he was consistently treated like a tackling dummy against LaRoi Glover, also got penalized for a hold. Grade: F

Running backs -- Much of this grade is a result of pathetic offensive line play, so it may not be fair to judge their total of 69 yards rushing. Still, Betts had a critical fumble right before halftime, while Portis for the third time in a Redskin uniform against the Cowboys was basically a non-factor. Part of the reason the Cowboys have been able to master the Redskins for 14 of the past 16 games is their knack for taking otherwise dominant running backs in Stephen Davis and Clinton Portis out of the game early. Apart from the final score, last night was no different. Grade: D

Wide Receivers -- Before the miraculous catches by Moss in the 4th quarter, either Brunell didn't have time to find them, they weren't getting open, or they dropped the ball. Thrash contributed two crucial 3rd and 4th down conversions, making him the safety valve that came through last night in a big way. Jacobs continued his legacy as a Redskin, catching a nice, 9 yard out pattern, then promptly finding the medical staff on the sideline after an injury which will undoubtedly keep him from the lineup for another 8 to 10 weeks. Moss's speed was the deciding factor in the contest, and Gibbs should spend the next two weeks devoting all of his time figuring out how to maximize his talent. Bottom line about Moss is, he can win football games, almost by himself. Grade: B (that's being slightly generous)

Quarterback -- Brunell's 56 and a half minute display of ineptitude honestly has to be attributed to overall offensive buffoonery on practically every level at every position. But his tenacity won out, and should, at least temporarily quiet those who say he has no ability to throw it deep. That 25 yard scramble on 3rd and long to set up the first touchdown doesn't happen if Ramsey is under center. With the interception early, it's clear there is still much work to be done in order to get the passing game on track. Grade: C

Defensive line -- Virtually no pressure on Bledsoe, with or without blitzes. What happened to 'knocking him out of the game' ?? Only saving grace is run defense, with Jones getting nothing up the middle. He had more success around the ends, though. Grade: D+

Linebackers -- Marcus Washington and Lemar Marshall are co-MVPs for this game. Marshall had a critical tackle on Jones shooting up the gap and bursting through for a pivotal stop that made everyone forget about losing Antonio Pierce. Judging by the way Jason Witten was all but eliminated from Dallas' offensive weaponry, it's clear the coaching staff made it a point to key in on him, and the linebackers did an outstanding job of pass coverage against a Pro Bowl tight end who has given Washington fits in the past. But what everyone wants to know is, where's LaVar Arrington?Grade: A

Secondary -- Taylor still has the tendency to be too aggressive, as evidenced by the flea-flicker bite that led to Dallas' only TD, but it paid off tremendously for that bone-jarring hit of Crayton on 3rd down to seal Dallas' fate. If I had to choose, I'll take the aggressive Sean Taylor any day of the week. Walt Harris showed he is one of the best tackling corners in the league, and aside from Terry Glenn's 6 catches for 157 yards, the secondary did its job shutting down the rest of the Cowboy wideouts. And that was with absolutely NO PASS RUSH. Grade: A

Special Teams -- Nearly blew the game on the last kickoff return, and continues to follow every good return with a clipping penalty. Needs serious work. Grade: C-

Coaching -- As another Warpather astutely pointed out in another thread, the deep passes to Moss late were most assuredly NOT part of the game plan, and Gibbs simply must allow his quarterback to open it up more than he currently is. The playcalling was unimaginative, and in distinct memories of the Norv Turner days, falling behind by 3 and 10 points shouldn't cause you to give up so soon on a running back you paid a fortune to bring in. Defensively, the gameplan wasn't nearly as ferocious as Redskin fans wanted, but it worked. Whether it's the credit of an unrelenting coaching staff, or motivated football players, this team clearly didn't give up and fought like hell to break this nauseating spell of submission to the Dallas Cowboys. Grade: C+

i would keep that but make the rbs a C- and the offensive line a C and coaching a C

[NM Redskin]

Victory = A+
Loss = F-

[mooby]

here's an update on the espn power rankings. go there and check them out, we're ranked 16th.

[Redskin Jim]

I'm with you my man I also went absolutly nuts in the last few minutes of the game. My girl's roommate was looking at me like I was an animal but I was in absolute heaven! Hail to the SKINS for spoilin DalASS' ring of horror night. I wish I had a picture of Jerry Bag o' Bones' face when we scored the second T.D. PRICELESS!!!!

Originally Posted by firstdown

I will have to say with about 5 min to play I had given up all hope and was getting mad with the change in QB. This team of 52 deserve a steak dinner complments of Danny Boy. I can't remember the last time that I saw a team with virtualy no chance to win light up the field as they did. We have had the tide turn on us so much over the the past 6 years with teams making that one big play to win the game in the last min. I was yelling so loud after the last TD I wroke up my wife and I was in the back yard in a detatched garage. We all needed this game and this very well could be that boost we needed to get things rolling. I give the whole team an "A" not for their play but for that one point more to win a game we should of lost. Thats what we have been missing and thats all I was asking for.

[skinsguy]

Ya know, we can be overly critical about the team's performance through the entire game...and yes, through 3 and a half quarters, the offense was absent! However, like someone else mentioned, it's heart and the will to not give up that brought this team back. Games like this one can turn a season or an offense completely around. I think it will do just that. Why can't we just sit back and soak it in and enjoy it?

[jtm74]

we want Lavar back tell snyder to buy him a 2million dollar bionic knee