Skins vs. Cards, Pre-Season week 4 Gameday thread

[Beemnseven]

I'm going to reserve judgement on the running game until I see the five starters on the O-line play a full 4 quarters together with a game plan in place.

[aceinthehouse]

My concerns..?
I have none...

Our 1st team Defense not only has been vanilla,but has been rotating guys in & out of the Preseason with MAYBE the exception to the 3rd game against the Jets. OK..we let a HOFer look good at the age of 31,so the run D didn't look great even though I just mentioned the rotation and vanilla. Oh yea..Who was the #1 rushing team last season? Yet, we still managed to create a bunch of turnovers and made Sanchez look REALLY bad despite their ability to be successful running the ball.

We finally have a Kicker who doesn't force me to bite my nails everytime he lines up to kick the ball.
Is he Adam Viniterri..? No,but the guy booms the balls out of the endzone and I see Confidence on his face. That's enough for me...

Our return game? lol..Even without Banks..it's got to be better than Sideways Randel El...

Allthough our run blocking has not beenthat great at all,I'm not concerned. It's preseason and we have THE BEST coach at running the ball. I'll worry,if it carries over to regular season,but I will not worry about it now.

Our Pass protection on the 1st unit has been VERY good. Not perfect and still need to work on it,but I love the fact that our QB actually looks down the field and even delivers the pass. Not just Mcnabb,but even Grossman as well.

I predicted we will drop 40 pt's on Dallas in a week. I stand by that...

If I had to come up with a reason..just to make you happy about a concern I have...It would be the fumbles and turnovers..Although the majority has been from the 2nd and 3rd teams..I do not like that.

But then again..I feel like we have caused more turnovers in 4 preseason games than we have in 5 years total...lol
So take the good with the bad I guess...

But one thing I can confidentally tell everyone right now...

If we matched up this years team of offense and defense and coaches...VS.... last years team and coaches...

I would bet the farm that the score would not be like 6 of our losses were last season by 7 points or less...

I would give myself a 10 pt spread,that this team takes care of buisness.
and it's not even close imo...

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by irish

I agree, they cant run and they cant stop the run. That wont cut it in the NFC East. Except for Shanny & DM this is essentially the same team as last year but Shanny makes a big difference and he's not going to get hurt and miss games. DM also makes a diff and hopefully he can stay healthy. These 2 people will make the Skins an improved team, they will finish 7-9.

How is this team essentially the same. Our OL has 3 new starters (1 Known High quality player, 1 High quality rookie, 1 known reliable player), we cut a bunch of deadwood and brought in players who understand they have to perform to stay, and we seem to have gotten rid of the underlying complacency that had dogged this team.

Does that mean 14-2, I doubt it, but it definitely is a new and different team. We will have to see how that plays out on the field.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

I'm going to reserve judgement on the running game until I see the five starters on the O-line play a full 4 quarters together with a game plan in place.

Smart move Beem..That philosophy should apply to every aspect of the team including coaches. For now, hindsight is in order ahead of foresight. We first need to see just what kind of team this is going to be. Haven't seen enough yet in preseason to be able to make a definitive determination.

[artmonkforhallofamein07]

Couple of things, like others have said I am going to wait until the season starts to pass judgement on the running game, when we have 4 quarters with the same Oline in the game playing with a RB who is getting consistent carries and getting into his own goroove with the oline.

AH playing the entire game last night, moves him to the starting unit on week one,

I am not going to be surprised to see Devin Thomas being cut from the 53 man roster. He can't catch, he has so many drops this preseason and that is not what you want from him. He is not a game changer whenhe does catch and I do not see how he makes the team any more. Same goes for Roydell Williams.

Brandon Banks...... man this is a really tough decision for me as I do like the xplosiveness he bring but he has had a really hard time not fumbling the football and muffing punts.

The defense has had some let downs in the runing game but they have also been very stout this preseason. I do not believe they allowed a TD all preseason and they also have created a bunch of turnovers.

If this offense can turn it on when it counts we are going to be a down right good football team this year.

[CRedskinsRule]

One thing interesting this preseason, in terms of the run game, I think EVERY year CP has been here, a huge part of preseason drama came from whether he was playing or not. I don't think one time I heard him complain about reps, but every time I saw him in it seemed like he found the hole and got a couple yards. And he came in frequently as relief for the other two guys in the first quarter. I hope that he is 100% and really puts a show on in Dallas. I would be not be sad at all to watch a CP and Santana Moss showtime next Sunday night!

[skinsfaninok]

this team can't stop the run in preseason.?. We tend to forget that most of the time guys don't even go their hardest. Let's wait and see before we can say this team can't or can do anything. Dallas looks even worse on D than we do but no one is saying they will finish 7-9.. Chill out folks

[artmonkforhallofamein07]

I agree completely C.

That is one reason why I am not "worried" about getting the running game going. CP still has burst and with the way he has put the time inthis offseason and preseaon I fully expect him to reallly get going this year and return to his 2008 form.

BTW Thank god preseason is over and we made it out with out the injury bug!!!

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by artmonkforhallofamein07

Couple of things, like others have said I am going to wait until the season starts to pass judgement on the running game, when we have 4 quarters with the same Oline in the game playing with a RB who is getting consistent carries and getting into his own goroove with the oline.

AH playing the entire game last night, moves him to the starting unit on week one,

I am not going to be surprised to see Devin Thomas being cut from the 53 man roster. He can't catch, he has so many drops this preseason and that is not what you want from him. He is not a game changer whenhe does catch and I do not see how he makes the team any more. Same goes for Roydell Williams.

Brandon Banks...... man this is a really tough decision for me as I do like the xplosiveness he bring but he has had a really hard time not fumbling the football and muffing punts.

The defense has had some let downs in the runing game but they have also been very stout this preseason. I do not believe they allowed a TD all preseason and they also have created a bunch of turnovers.

If this offense can turn it on when it counts we are going to be a down right good football team this year.

He was getting pushed around by 2nd string linemen. He's not starting. I found it funny that he was still in there in the 4th q.

[Monkeydad]

I watched the 1st quarter only, then the wife lured me into the bed...

But here are my thoughts (about the game):

*Banks...if he'd hold onto the ball...weapon. He can't be fumbling for every good return. Austin or Thomas could be a safer route to go with returning and still be huge upgrades over Randel El, but Banks' POTENTIAL is almost too much to ignore.

*Henson, good job...making up for last year. Welcome to the field.

*I love Gano. Finally, we have a kicker. Have not had one since Lohmiller.

*Parker looked surprisingly good, which only complicates things. However, Keiland Williams saw time at FB...so could that possibly be his role to keep him on the roster, backup FB? He and Torain need to make the team, great ST contributors and backup RBs...but Parker's success is complicating their place on the team.

*Glad to see AH play the whole game, just to prove he could. He put Faneca on his back...looked to be back to his previous football shape. Questioning him...over I think.

*Nice knowing, you Bartel....unless you make our PS.

*Our backup O-line looked competent, if not good. I have NO worries about the line this year. Complete turnaround from last year.

*I didn't know Bidwell was bald, never saw him without a helmet before.

*Cards jerseys = utter trash. Looked WORSE than previous photos. Cardinals are RED. Their jerseys should be Cardinal Red. This is as stupid as the Toronto Black Jays' uniforms.

[artmonkforhallofamein07]

Man if you think for a second that there is a better Dlinemn on our squad please tell me who he is?

BTW he was not getting pushed around last night, he was focusing on staying at the LOS and controlling his gap. That was his duty last night, don't penetrate but hold your man at the point of attack.

[MTK]

Our d-line looks pretty thin without AH in there. I think the coaches are smart enough to know how important he is, he's gotta be in there week 1.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by artmonkforhallofamein07

Man if you think for a second that there is a better Dlinemn on our squad please tell me who he is?

BTW he was not getting pushed around last night, he was focusing on staying at the LOS and controlling his gap. That was his duty last night, don't penetrate but hold your man at the point of attack.

Agree one hundred percent, why was Henson getting those clear shots, because that's what a 3-4 team does, and AH was mostly moving the DL where he was supposed to, instead of trying to get the glory. People who want stats from AH to justify his pay are going to be sorely disappointed, but people that want to see the 3-4 come together and be successful may not.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by skinsfaninok

this team can't stop the run in preseason.?. We tend to forget that most of the time guys don't even go their hardest. Let's wait and see before we can say this team can't or can do anything. Dallas looks even worse on D than we do but no one is saying they will finish 7-9.. Chill out folks

It's not a wonder that the W-A-S approach is the one being taken by those who recognize and aren't afraid to admit there are areas in which this team could stand to improve. We won't know how successful that improvement is going to be until we start playing the games. You catch more flies with sugar than you do salt, therefore I'm perfectly content to wait and watch, let the games come to me as opposed to going chasing. Based on what I've seen thus far, I really don't know what to think. jkireal

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

He was getting pushed around by 2nd string linemen. He's not starting. I found it funny that he was still in there in the 4th q.

He was trying slightly harder than me and I was in my recliner. He's gonna be fine and starting no later than Week 2.