Smoke Signals: 'Is there a rivalry?' edition

Chris Samuels, Washington’s 5-time Pro Bowl left tackle, is dealing with intense pain in his right knee every minute of every hour of every day. Only rest will will ease the pain, but rest is the one thing Samuels cannot afford to do while the Redskins are fighting for a playoff spot. So Head Coach Jim Zorn allows Samuels to take limited work in practice during the week to spare his knee more wear and tear and then he goes out every weekend and plays like a star in the game. 

“He’s fought through a lot of pain every week,” Zorn said. “He understands that it’s not a structural injury, so his is pain tolerance. He gets a [pain] shot and we get after it. We try to heat it up. We try to keep him warm as the game rolls along. Some series are better than others, I will tell you that. He’s good enough to play, even though he’s banged up.”

Healthy enough to complete the schedule and possibly play in the postseason?

“I’m not going to predict that,” Zorn said. “I would love that to happen, but I’m not going to predict that.”

Speaking of the offensive line, the Redskins will once again line up against a 3-4 defense, a good one at that. Focus again shifts to C Casey Rabach and taking on a nose tackle, Haloti Ngata.

“Casey knows what he has to do,” offensive line coach Joe Bugel said. “He has to play low, low, low to the ground. You’ve got to get your pad level down, or you’ll be in the quarterback’s mustache. It’s a challenge, but if your center can’t block one-on-one, you’ve got a lot of problems. Casey’s playing at a high level. He’s having his best season.”

This is the second article I read that hints at strong consideration for Rabach for the Pro Bowl. You know, I always am thrilled to write about guys like Chris Cooley, Clinton Portis, and Chris Samuels, heck, even Ethan Albright, when they make the pro bowl, but for Rabach, I just don’t see what everyone else sees. I don’t think Rabach has had a particularly great season, I just don’t. QB Jason Campbell has been a victim of 32 sacks, some of which have come directly up the middle. I don’t see it. I guess some members of theWarpath.net will let me know if I am wrong. One thing is for sure, Rabach came over to Washington as a free agent from Baltimore, and Rabach is fired up for his return to Ravens stadium.
As expected, TB Clinton Portis sat out practice with a stiff neck and who knows how many other injuries. CB Shawn Springs, who has played in only half of Washington’s games this season, also sat out practice due to his calf injury. Zorn remains optimistic that Springs will play Sunday night.
One thing HC Jim Zorn does well — he gets fired up. Something Redskins aren’t used to seeing a head coach, given the calm, fatherly type persona of Joe Gibbs. But, Zorn even felt he had to apologize to his assistants for outbursts on the sidelines last week.

“I think I can be fiery and competitive,” Zorn said Thursday, “but I’d rather encourage in that sense and not whine, and I think I was whining. It was just little trivial things. That even makes me think about it right now — how frustrating that must be to another person to get attacked for trying to do his job well for no particular reason other than he happened to be the next guy in my way. That’s not a good reason to do that.

“If that’s what’s going on inside of me, then I’ve got struggles, I’ve got problems. That’s why I sound like I’m frustrated about it.”

Hey Coach — don’t fret it. We were screaming at our TVs!
Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache thinks highly of Baltimore QB Joe Flacco, a rookie running an offense that has produced 8 more touchdowns than the Washington offense. 

“For a young quarterback to come in and do all the things he’s done in this league is exceptional,” Blache said. “His ability to read the coverages, to manage the offense, to handle pressure and pressure situations, I think the guy’s done a phenomenal job.

“And the coaches have done a good job of giving him packages and giving him things that fit him and allow him to grow faster than a lot of other people. They didn’t force a system on him. I think they created a system around him that allowed him to be the best that he could be.”

Flacco has completed 61 percent of his passes and thrown more touchdowns [12] than interceptions [9]. He destroyed the Cincinnati Bengals defense last week. Washington’s defense is a lot better than Cincinnati’s, but the one thing proven to work against rookie quarterbacks — a pass rush — is the one thing Washington’s defense is least likely to have on Sunday night. Look for Blache to try to make up for this with new looks and lots of fake blitzes. Real blitzes might be in order, but Blache seems loathe to do that more than a few times a game.
However, the Redskins also have a top-notch secondary [apart from last week] that will be waiting to pounce on any mistake Joe Flacco makes. The Ravens know this.

The Ravens’ passing offense has made strides all season, and there was significant progress Sunday in the Ravens’ 34-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

But rookie quarterback Joe Flacco and his fleet of possession receivers haven’t played a secondary as talented and deep as the one they will face Sunday night when the Ravens host the Washington Redskins.
Everyone connected with the Ravens’ offense nods in agreement. This is an excellent group, with starting cornerbacks Fred Smoot and Carlos Rogers and safeties Chris Horton and LaRon Landry. DeAngelo Hall and Shawn Springs are the backup cornerbacks.
That’s impressive when Hall and Springs are coming off the bench. Teams in the AFC North like the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals would love to have Hall and Smoot as starters.

“Rogers, Springs — Springs is the elder statesman there — are very good corners,” Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason said. “They have a group of guys at the back end that I don’t think anybody else in the NFL has with the talent and experience. They’ve got a lot of Pro Bowls between them and a lot of interceptions between all of them. They’re probably the best that we’ve faced thus far.”

A key part of that secondary is the newest part, CB DeAngelo Hall. He already has 5 intereptions this season [2 with Washington] and turnovers is something the Redskins don’t get nearly enough of. What’s more Hall could be particularly valuable this weekend because he’s already played the Ravens this year as a member of the Oakland Raiders. In any case, Greg Blache likes what he sees in Hall.

“He’s a great athlete and he has a sense for the ball,” Blache said. “He’s a very, very productive player. He has unusual talent.”

With Shawn Springs still nursing a sore calf, and likely playing less even when healthy, Hall’s role will increase. Most likely, it’s a precursor to next season, if Hall re-signs as expected.

“We’ve become very comfortable with him and he’s a premier shutdown corner,” Blache said. “You’ll see more and more of him as we go through the next few weeks. We’ll start to feature him and give him an opportunity to lead us back there.”

Ravens 24×7 has a pretty decent article on the link between the two first year coaches, Redskins Jim Zorn and Raven’s coach John Harbaugh.
Explore Howard County takes a look at the developing Redskins/Ravens rivalry. Let’s face it, we are not big fans of Baltimore, but this is not an intense rivalry, yet, like the rivalries with the NFC east rivals. And it won’t be. Different Conferences, different divisions, all combine to depress any real rivalry. And another Redskins/Ravens article from the Baltimore Sun. I guess MASN wants to try and shake it up as well. Don’t get me wrong,. This is a big game, a huge game, but more so because of the playoff impact than any city to city rivalry. For rivalry purposes, sorry, but it doesn’t feel like Dallas or Philadelphia week.
But is there a real Washington-Baltimore rivalry. Nope, says Examiner columnist Rick Snider. 

A Redskins-Ravens rivalry? Charm City wishes.

The Redskins head to Baltimore on Sunday night. Baltimore fans love playing Washington in anything. It gives the crab-eaters a chance to work off their capital envy.

Having worked and lived in both markets, I know Baltimoreans hate Washingtonians. Our northern neighbors see Washington as all things evil. A place where the federal government taxes them unfairly, a city of transients who rotate with every presidential inauguration. A town of terrible traffic and worse seafood.

Whatever, bay seasoning breaths.

Baltimoreans love to trot out “Jack Kent Cooke tried to keep the Ravens from coming to Baltimore.” Oh please, like Peter Angelos didn’t try to block baseball from Washington before cutting a one-sided TV deal with the league to hurt the Nationals for years to come. I’d say we’re even there. And by the way, Cooke didn’t block Baltimore from stealing Cleveland’s team.

What really sticks in Baltimorean’s crab claws is Washingtonians don’t hate them back. In fact, Washingtonians don’t dislike Baltimore at all. Ask a few people on the street about the neighboring city and they’ll talk about the Inner Harbor, crabs and cheaper housing.

Oh, there’s nothing like unrequited hatred. 

Redskins players seem to agree and so do I. Redskins fans hate the Giants, the Eagles [and their awful, drunken fans] and, most of all, the Dallas Cowboys and their smug fans who disappear whenever the team drops below .500.

It’s received its own moniker — the Battle of the Beltways — suggesting something that doesn’t exist. A rivalry. At least not in the minds of the Redskins. When players, or coaches, arrive in Washington, they are told one thing: Beat Dallas.

Nobody mentions Baltimore.

“It’s just another ball game,” Redskins running back Rock Cartwright said. “Some people look at it as the Battle of the Beltway. I don’t look at it like that.

“I see more Pittsburgh fans here than I do Ravens fans, which is odd. I don’t hear Ravens [vs.] Redskins talk too much. I’m sure in Baltimore you do, but not around here.”

How much do some Ravens fans hate the Redskins? A lot. How much is a lot? Read and find out.
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