moving on...

[hailskins666]

the sky is falling, portis is injured, boonell sucks, springs is injured, suanders is conservative, gibbs is senile, the line is weak, and the D is soft, blah, blah, etc.

i hope i covered it all, but moving on: texans are next.

this is a game we should win. granted, we should win them all, but this is one of those games we SHOULD win. they have actually scored more points than we have, so that bothers me a little. and for one reason, we are missing springs. and i know its the texans, and i know carr will be the one throwing the ball, but they have two very good WR's in moulds and johnson. the way our corners have looked, it could be a close game. our defensive front HAS to presure carr. the texans offensive line is probably one of the worst in the league, so it should be possible without to many blitz schemes.

skins end up on top 23-20.

[Mursilis]

Yes, it's definitely a 'should-win' (almost a 'can't-lose', but this is the NFL, so you have to respect every game), but it's also a 'must-win'. Jax is after Houston for us, and Jax plays Indy this week, which means they may be coming off a loss, making them pissed as all heck, or a big momentum-generating win, because they've got plans for a deep post-season run, especially after last year's playoff debacle. We don't want to face Jax at 0-3.

On defense, the Texans are officially the worst D in the league last time I checked NFL.com. They've got no one of serious note except Mario Williams, who has yet to demonstrate why he was the No. 1 pick on draft day. I think he's got ~4 tackles, and no sacks. Portis should be back, and our O should have its way with this D like a frat boy having his way with a drunk co-ed. If Brunell can't look like the Comeback Player of the Week against Houston, then only his mother and his wife will still think he's an NFL starter anymore.

On offense, they look a bit better. Their offense is actually rated 2 places above ours (they've gained more yards and scored more points), mostly thanks to the passing game and the two aforementioned WRs (see above). The running game lacks a 'name' RB since Dominik Davis was lost for the season, and currently the best Houston runner has only 57 yrds over two games - nothing to be scared off. Hailskins was definitely right to say the Texans line is among the worst in the league (note the lack of production in the running game, and the fact Carr's been sacked 8 times already), but Carr has shown great improvement this year. He's got 427 yards, 4 TDs, no picks, a 73% completion percentage, and a Pro-Bowl-level passer rating of 123.7. (Sure, it's only over two games, but compare those numbers to another QB from a team we all love whose apologists think has no O-line and little help from the running game. ) Containing the Houston offense should be a test for our D, but with pressure on Carr and the safeties helping deep, they should be up for the challenge.

I pick 'skins. No idea on the score, so I'm not even going to guess, but I'm thinking high scoring, since both teams have issues at D. Should be over 40 combined points scored.

[HailSkins94]

Even David Carr will eat us up with the pressure we have had the first two games. They have two good receivers in Johnson and Moulds so if we give Carr all day (like I think we will) I see us being in for a long day and possibly another loss.

[joebagadonuts]

skins end up on top 23-20.

Gosh, I hope not. A score this close for a game that pits a supposed playoff team against a struggling team would be a sign of significant problems for the former (all of which have been chronicled on this board). Anything less than a blowout will cause me to worry that we've accomplished nothing in the win but gain a bit of confidence. This SHOULD be a replay of the 'niners game last year. Otherwise, we may be back to our old selves come the Jacksonville game.

[cvillehog]

I think it is hard to say the season would be "over" if we lose to the Texans, because I always hold out hope that we can bounce back from a losing streak, it would surely be a bad sign if we didn't win. Three loses wouldn't be the end of the world, but it sure would make an inauspicious start.

[1niksder]

Even David Carr will eat us up with the pressure we have had the first two games. They have two good receivers in Johnson and Moulds so if we give Carr all day (like I think we will) I see us being in for a long day and possibly another loss.

Carr hasn't had all day, half a day, 10sec in five years. They lost their starting tackle and the center is gimpy if this isn't a good day for our D-line - we got issues

[Mursilis]

Even David Carr will eat us up with the pressure we have had the first two games. They have two good receivers in Johnson and Moulds so if we give Carr all day (like I think we will) I see us being in for a long day and possibly another loss.

Carr hasn't had all day, half a day, 10sec in five years. They lost their starting tackle and the center is gimpy if this isn't a good day for our D-line - we got issues

In the past, he's been the most sacked QB for like 4 years running. This year, he's already got 8. However, repeating what I noted above, he's definitely reading the pressure a lot differently - look at his line. He's got 427 yards, 4 TDs, no picks, a 73% completion percentage, and a Pro-Bowl-level passer rating of 123.7. Looks like it's helping a ton that his new coach is a former QB.

[nuskins]

The worst thing anyone of us or the Redskins could do is take the Texans for granted. They have outperformed the Redskins in every facet of football so far this season. They are also 0-2 and hungry for a win and will be playing at home. This is going to be a tough game for the skins and if our offense continues to play like it has the previous 6 games we will lose.

I am glad it's the Texans though, could you imagine our anemic offense going against the Jaguars defense this weekend? The Jags are going to knock happy feet into retirement.

[Dangerfield]

An NFL road game is always going to be tough with very few exceptions. If Springs does not play, I am very scared of this game, as you have all noted that Carr, Johnson Moulds et al. are very talented. Also, Kubiak is a hell of a coach. I hope we can find a way to win and that Portis has a huge day to give the Jags something to at least consider for the followinig game. I predict 9-6 Skins on top.

[SkinzCanes]

I'm somewhat worried about this game also. This game is going to come down to whether or not we can get pressure on Carr with our dline because if Springs doesn't play we don't have any corners capable of covering either Moulds or Johnson. Luckily for us their running game isn't all that good and their defense pretty much sucks. I'm guessing we win 17-14.

[UK Skins Fan]

On a bad day, I could see a number of ways for the Redskins to lose this game, but I can see a lot more ways that they can win it.

It's depressing even to be thinking about how important this game is now. I had hoped to be able to overlook teams like the Texans this year, and save my adrenaline for the "big" games. But now I've got to invest some serious effort on behalf of the team.

The Redskins prayer mat is down, I will be facing towards Texas, and praying for something divine this week from the Redskins.

I'm thinking it will be a nailbiter, but the Redskins will prevail thanks to a scrappy offensive effort, backed up by a huge improvement on defence.

[Irn-Bru]

It's interesting how wins, even ugly ones, will build momentum in the NFL. Last year, at 5-6, there were still complaints about our offense even as we took care of the Cardinals and St. Louis.

However, when it came time to face tougher teams, the offense continued to improve. The momentum from early (even ugly) wins helped create a machine that was the NFC's best.

Houston is as good as any place to start.

[SkinzCanes]

However, when it came time to face tougher teams, the offense continued to improve. The momentum from early (even ugly) wins helped create a machine that was the NFC's best.

I see your point about momentum. But I don't think that our offense improved that much at the end of last season. The offense looked good against Dallas and the Giants, but was anywhere from mediocre to awful against Philly, Tampa, and Seattle.

[Irn-Bru]

I see your point about momentum. But I don't think that our offense improved that much at the end of last season. The offense looked good against Dallas and the Giants, but was anywhere from mediocre to awful against Philly, Tampa, and Seattle.

It wasn't just Dallas and NY. In St. Louis, our rushing attack was unstoppable. In our last 5 games we scored 24, 17, 35, 35, and 31 points. The average margin of victory was nearly 15 points. Portis had 5 straight 100+ yard games. In my mind, these are all signs of efficiency and flow. Compare that to our first 5 games and I think it's a quality improvement.

Also, my personal, anecdotal, subjective memory feels much sweeter toward our offense near the end of the year. Remember that Clinton Portis had no rushing TDs until we played San Fan in Week 6 We went from that to, by the end of the year (but before we wore out) things rolling on all cylinders.

I agree that we struggled in the playoffs but even in Philly I think we continued to show our improvement. In that game our offense struggled and had me biting my nails, but it was fine at the end of the day. People tend to remember Sean Taylor's touchdown return--and it did put the nail in the coffin--but it only came after we had scored 24 points.

Our other scoring drives were 37, 56, 72, and 22 yards long, with the 22 yarder being a one-play drive--Clinton Portis' spectacular run. Brunell did not have a good day, but we were still working pretty well, especially for an off-day at Philly. Remember, we only beat them 17-10 the first time.

[thaiphoon]

Irn-Bru

I agree that this opponent is exactly what the doctor order. Who knows? Maybe this will be the game we get all the parts working in-concert.

I am worried about our lack of pass rush and our lack of a good CB opposit Rogers though. Carr has been doing fairly well the past two games and even abd teams eventually find a way to win a game.

Still I think we can hopefully come out of Texas with a win this time.

[gibbsfan]

the sky is falling, portis is injured, boonell sucks, springs is injured, suanders is conservative, gibbs is senile, the line is weak, and the D is soft, blah, blah, etc.

i hope i covered it all, but moving on: texans are next.

this is a game we should win. granted, we should win them all, but this is one of those games we SHOULD win. they have actually scored more points than we have, so that bothers me a little. and for one reason, we are missing springs. and i know its the texans, and i know carr will be the one throwing the ball, but they have two very good WR's in moulds and johnson. the way our corners have looked, it could be a close game. our defensive front HAS to presure carr. the texans offensive line is probably one of the worst in the league, so it should be possible without to many blitz schemes.

skins end up on top 23-20.

you bout covered it all i see us winning but by how much..
we win in overtime 13.10

[SkinsJock]

I'll take a win by any margin and equally important, a win with no injuries.

Let the pessimists analyze the problems of a close win all they want - a win is all we need this week.

[dmwc]

I guess its sad that we are talking like this about the Texans... we went tothe playoffs last year. For those that said if we lose its bad, and if we barely its like losing. I dont want to see JAC 0-3 either. We should beat them liek no ones business and if we do then it might mean the start of something new. But we lose and this site will be jam PACKED full of threads