The Bartender asks; \u201cWhy the long face?\u201d<\/p>\n
How many of you realize that the Redskins actually won the game yesterday? Show of hands?<\/p>\n
No seriously, they did.<\/p>\n
Yes\u2026they did. I wouldn\u2019t lie to you, they won.<\/p>\n
Yes, I know they only scored nine points, but nine is greater than seven.<\/p>\n
Oh sure, they naysayers are saying \u201csame old Redskins; only scored nine points. That won\u2019t be enough to beat our tougher opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consider this:<\/p>\n
The Redskins put together four drives of over 60 yards. They got to within the 10 yard line on four of their seven drives. Sure they came away with field goals instead of touchdowns, but that is something you can work on.<\/p>\n
The problem yesterday was not as much about player execution, but play-calling in the red zone.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the difference? Play-calling is easier to fix.<\/p>\n
The problem was that when we lined up inside the 10, the whole world knew what we were going to run.<\/p>\n
If you bunch your players up in the jumbo package, it looks like you are going to run. This is when you should go with the play-action bootleg. Jason rolls out, most of the defense bites on the run-fake and Jason can either run it in himself, or pass to the open TE in the corner.<\/p>\n
If you go four-wide, it looks like you\u2019re going to pass. It also spreads out the D. This is perfect for a running play or a draw. Plus, if they stack the middle against the run, you can always go play-action and try a pass with the receivers you\u2019ve got out there.<\/p>\n
I know what the score looks like. It looks every bit like things we\u2019ve seen before. That\u2019s why you\u2019ve got to watch the game. These field goals weren\u2019t us capitalizing on great field position and only moving the ball close enough to get a shot with our kicker, this was the team driving the length of the field and ending up with 1st<\/sup> and goal on three separate occasions.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll admit that I too was disappointed that they couldn\u2019t punch it in on three tries on each drive, but the playcalling was just not good enough. Don\u2019t be mad at the players over that; they played a helluva game. Be mad at the coach, but keep in mind that he was integral in orchestrating those long drives.<\/p>\n The fact is that this week, the Redskins did accomplish what they needed to do. They got great pressure on Bulger, and they established the pass early. They went nearly 50% on third down conversions, and had relatively few penalties. Most importantly, their penalties weren\u2019t \u201cdrive killers\u201d like they had been in the past.<\/p>\n The Redskins also dominated time of possession thanks in no small part to their defense getting it done, and the long drives by their offense. The Redskins garnered one long drive per quarter, and if they can convert those into touchdowns, they can really start stacking up the points. It\u2019s all going to come down to red-zone playcalling.<\/p>\n Just one more note for those of you who are still down on the Redskins. The New England Patriots only scored nine-points this weekend too; and they lost. This was on offense with Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker unable to get it done versus the mighty\u2026Jets? That can\u2019t be right can it?<\/p>\n But Belicheat is an offensive genius with all of those offensive weapons, how can that happen? Brady to Moss equals automatic touchdown doesn\u2019t it? Brady only completed 23 of 47 passes for 216 yards\u2026versus the Jets?<\/p>\n Campbell went 23 of 35 for 242 yards and unlike Brady didn\u2019t get picked.<\/p>\n Thanks to New Orleans and last night\u2019s matchup between Dallas and New York (a great way to open Dallas\u2019 new stadium BTW) The Redskins are now in a three way tie for second place in the division.<\/p>\n The Redskins have the makings of a good team. If Zorn can learn from his mistakes, we might start seeing those field goals replaced by touchdowns.<\/p>\n The major piece of bad news from yesterday was the loss of Randy Thomas. I think we all knew he was going to be a problem, even if some of us were reluctant to admit it. While nothing has been said officially, what is being said isn\u2019t good and Mr. Thomas may find himself on the IR as early as today.<\/p>\n If that\u2019s the case, this may be the end of Randy Thomas as a Redskin, and may possibly be the end of Thomas\u2019 career.<\/p>\n If the Redskins\u2019 can\u2019t adequately fill that hole, this season may be in jeopardy. I hate to end what has otherwise been a positive review of the Redskins on a negative, but it is something to legitimately be worried about.<\/p>\n Something tells me the phone may start ringing at Pete Kendall\u2019s house here shortly.<\/p>\n In the meantime\u2026<\/p>\n With the way most fans are reacting to yesterday’s win, you would think that the Redskins lost. Maybe those fans are right to be worried, and maybe they just need a little bit of perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[19,30,529,263,210,528,1655],"class_list":["post-2452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-redskins","tag-jason-campbell","tag-jim-zorn","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-st-louis-rams","tag-tom-brady","tag-washington-redskins"],"yoast_head":"\nGo \u2018Skins!<\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"