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Bullets need a point guard, sign this girl
By Spence | November 19, 2008
This girl is 5 years old. Really.
Topics: Bullets, Video | No Comments »
Daily Caps: Off to the Wild West
By PennSkinsFan | November 19, 2008
The Washington Capitals begin a 4 game road tour of the Western Conference tonight, starting off with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The Caps enter the road tour after winning 6 in a row, before falling in a shootout on Saturday to snap the streak. D Mike Green is one guy who is looking forward to see how the Capitals respond on the 4 game swing.
“I think it will be a good challenge for us to go out there and see how well we defend,” said Caps defenseman Mike Green. “We’ve got a lot of stuff going on during the road trip and it’s a good chance for us to gel as a team and win some win hockey games.”
Even after a two day lay off, the Capitals face the road trip with some injury problems, including to leading NHL scorer Alexander Semin. But, in addition, the Capitals have also been missing D Shaone Morrisonn and F Sergei Fedorov. Neither is a guarantee for tonight. Despite winning, Brooks Laich says the Caps have been missing the two veterans …
“We always talk as a team that we want to give up two goals or less per game. It is not, ‘Well, we are missing [Fedorov] and [Morrisonn], so we´re going to give up more,’ ” forward Brooks Laich said. “We´ve got to be accountable — from forwards to defensemen to the goaltender. Everybody has to be accountable.”
So the word for tonight? Morrisonn appears closest, being deemed a game time decision, while Fedorov was put at questionable and Semin as doubtful.
One thing the Caps can take pride in, the fact they are sitting at 10-4-2, 17 games in, despite some injury flare ups. This is a critical road test for the banged up , but energetic Caps. Encouraging is the fact that Alex Ovechkin appears to be seriously heating up, along with C Nicklas Backstrom, the dynamic scoring duo that led the playoff surge last season. It comes at a great time to, when Semin falls to injury.
Tarik in his WED AM article lays out some good questions on how the Capitals move forward, largest one being, who will ultimately seize the job between the pipes. No word yet from Boudreau, but I am hoping, if healthy, Brent Johnson in back in the Net. Why? Because, besides injury, Johnson had done nothing to lose the job, while in my opinion, Jose Theodore has done nothing to win the job. Gotta admit, I will be pretty disappointed if #60 is in net tonight.
He also mentioned two of the most disappointing Caps on the roster — Chris Clark and Michael Nylander. Can you even really tell both are back this season? I can’t. I personally think Nylander is looking past Washington for his next gig. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Bruce Boudreau, Capitals, Caps Prospects, Hershey Bears, Michael Nylander, Nicklas Backstrom, South Carolina Stingrays | 1 Comment »
Smoke Signals: ‘Who needs TD passes?’ edition
By Spence | November 19, 2008
QB Jason Campbell says there is more to running the offense well than throwing touchdowns. True, Jason, but a few touchdown passes on Sunday sure would help. Nine TD passes in 10 games ain’t getting it done. I don’t really blame Jason for that, it’s more of a problem for the entire offense, particularly the line, the play-caller, Jim Zorn, and the lack of production from any wide receiver not named Santana Moss.
On the subject of the passing game, those optimistic Redskins still think they’re going to get decent production from their rookie wideouts this year. Yes, that even includes Malcolm Kelly, who, as I remind you every time I type his name, isn’t a football player right now — he’s just a guy limping around Redskins Park. Apparently, Devin Thomas has shown encouraging signs in practice, which I believe is what coaches always say about players who don’t produce in actual games.
Jon Keim looks at what ails Washington’s 27th-ranked scoring offense? Is it Jim Zorn? Is it the lackluster wideouts, apart from Santana Moss? Is it poor pass-blocking? Keim explores all those options, but the truth is, it’s a little from column A, a little from column B and a little from column C.
Hey, here’s a news flash: The Redskins can’t rush the passer! Betcha didn’t know that! Or, more accurately, I’m sure you DID know that because EVERYONE knows that — especially opposing offenses. The Redskins have only 15 sacks in 10 games, which is 27th in a 32-team league. DT Anthony Montgomery has an interesting explanation for why that is so.
Since assistant coach Greg Blache’s arrival five years ago, the Washington Redskins have had a mostly strong defense whose one weakness has been its pass rush. It’s true again this season with the Redskins fourth overall in total defense but tied for 27th in sacks with 15.
The reason for the discrepancy can partly be found in the strategic approach favored by Blache, the former defensive line coach who is now coordinator. Blache espouses stopping the run above all else, with his linemen free to fire on the snap and attack upfield generally only in nickel situations. Blache is willing to sacrifice pressure for run awareness, a formula that has been quite successful and limited Dallas to just two touchdowns Sunday night.
“You look at a team like Indy, and they play pass first and then react to the run,” defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery said. “Here, when we come off [the snap] a big part of our job is to keep the offensive linemen from getting to our linebackers, so you’ve got to flatten the linemen out and get your hands on them and it kind of slows you down from just going.
“It’s harder to do, and it definitely would be easier if we were just able to get upfield and pass rush the whole time, but that’s also why Indy can’t stop the run, because their line is caught upfield and their linemen are on your linebackers and if they miss it’s a big run. But we’ve got to do a better job of converting from run to pass. It’s tough to do, but we’ve got to do it.”
Investing in a few young defensive ends might be a way to go. The Redskins have not selected a defensive lineman earlier than the 5th round since…1997. That lineman’s name: Kenard Lang. What the hell is up with that?! Some players would like to see Laron Landry blitzing more and using Jason Taylor as a stand-up outside linebacker in passing situations — taking the role the injured and ineffective Marcus Washington has been playing.
It’s a crowded playoff field in the NFC right now. The Giants lead the field, obviously, with 9 wins and a clear lead for the NFC East division crown. The Carolina Panthers sit atop the NFC South at 8-2, followed closely by division rival Tampa Bay, which owns a 7-3 record. The Arizona Cardinals are running away with the NFC West at 7-3. After that, you’ve got the Redskins, Falcons and Cowboys with 6 wins each and a ton of teams with 5 wins. The Redskins will need at least 9 wins to get into the playoffs. 10 wins would probably do it. Otherwise, they’re relying on others to lose games for them.
What will the Redskins do about their secondary in the offseason? It seems like a strange question, since the secondary has outperformed every other unit on the entire team. However, CB Shawn Springs will probably be cut in the offseason and CB Carlos Rogers will be wanting a new deal done before his current contract expires in 2009. The way he’s played this year, Rogers has earned an extension and a nice raise. However, CB DeAngelo Hall says he’d like to remain with the Redskins and sign a long-term contract — Hall’s current deal with the Redskins expires at the end of this season. If Hall earns a new deal, giving him a contract before re-doing Rogers would likely offend Rogers and other veterans on the defense. If Hall plays well, it looks like the Redskins will have to give new contracts to both Rogers and Hall. Fred Smoot, of course, remains under contract. I like Smoot as a nickel cornerback, but not so much as a starter.
It is no surprise that one of the first accolades of the 14-10 loss to Dallas went out to newly acquired CB DeAngelo Hall, who made his first interception as a Redskin, in his first series as a Redskin. Fact is though, Hall did not have that great of coverage, he was behind the play, and Romo made a throw behind the receiver. Washington Times follows through on the Hall story.
Following our story yesterday, a message to Vinny Cerrato, Redskins.com published a story on the offensive line and protection.
Jim Zorn, whose offense is reliant on the short and intermediate passing game, said he saw pass routes opening up downfield but Campbell did not have enough time in the pocket.
“Those are the frustrating things,” Zorn said. “They magnify when the result is a loss.”
And we reiterate again today, is this not reminiscent of Steve Spurrier? Teams figured out that they could totally dispute the game plan by blitzing every down because of lack of pass protection. Guess we will soon see what kind of adjustments Jim Zorn makes to the offense. Problem is, this offensive line is just not good at pass protection, period.
LB Marcus Washington will be out for a few weeks, possibly the rest of the season. And the sky is also blue. So what’s the big deal. Over the past two season, Washington has been off the field as much as on the field. It’s something the defense has adjusted to. The good news — Shawn Springs and Atwaan Randle El are expected to return for Sunday.
Topics: Redskins, Smoke Signals | No Comments »
Jason Campbell in the Go Like Pro Show
By Spence | November 19, 2008
Frankly, there is too much Matt Hasselbeck and not enough Jason Campbell in this edition of the Expedia.com Go Like Pro Show, but here it is anyway…
Topics: Jason Campbell, Video | No Comments »
It’s the LINES —Stupid!
By PennSkinsFan | November 18, 2008
For the past few years, we seem to become disillusioned with the stalling of an offense or a defense that gives up yards and leads late in tight games. Nothing new to Washington fans. It’s a repetitive story told nearly every season. Yet, year in and year out, everything stays the same, rare upgrades, fixes, or real tweaks are made to change course.
That’s the status of the Washington Redskins.
In the spirit of a recently passed Election season, we send out golden words to Redskins VP, GM, whatever the hell you want to call him, Vinny Cerrato — IT’S THE LINES STUPID!
Starting off with the offensive (literally) line. Every single Lineman is now 31 or older. They are showing their age. But, it is not just age. These guys admittedly say they are much more comfortable in run blocking than pass protection. They admit that. Good thing is — they are honest and correct. The pass protection has been awful.
I can’t tell you how many times I my hand wandered over to the Direct TV remote sitting on the coffee table, slowly picked the remote up off the table, tightened my grip, and began the thought process of throwing a dead perfect strike, right at the heart of the plasma TV. Every time John Madden and Al Michaels alluded to the fact the Redskins need to take shots down the field, my hand began wandering again. Why? Because they were exactly right. Problem — the Redskins could not throw deep, with the exception of one pass to Santana Moss that should have been caught, because Campbell spent too much time running for his life or licking grass.
I get questions from time to time from friends, opposing teams fans, heck, even my 10 year old son:Wwhat happened to the Redskins offense we saw against Philly and Dallas on the road? What happened? Answer — defensive coordinators figured out the Redskins weakness, they simply can’t pick up blitzes, the pass protection is awful, so line up, stop the run, and force the Redskins in third and long situations. Very Steve Spurrier-esque, wouldn’t you say?
Seems to be a reoccurring problem here in DC. When are we going to have a legit offensive line that gives the QB real pocket protection, time to scan the field, time to throw it deep? It’s a question we hear, year in and year out. But the problem remains, year after year, season after season, offseason after offseason, the Redskins emerge from the doldrums of the winter into training camp with the same offensive line intact, you know, the one that admits they suck at pass protection. No attempts to upgrade beyond washed up fodder like Jason Fabini. In fact, given the injuries suffered on the Line in 2007, the 2008 draft was a perfect opportunity to get younger and better on the Line. We trade up for an additional second rounder. Instead, we drafted one O-Lineman, in the third round, and walked out of the draft with two wide receivers and a tight end that have made absolutely ZERO Impact. But dammit, we picked a lineman in the third round! And where is he? Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Defensive Line, Offensive Line, Redskins | No Comments »
Smoke Signals: ‘Treading water’ edition
By Spence | November 18, 2008
The Redskins have scored 16 points in their last two games and are well behind even last season’s relatively lame record of scoring points, leading Head Coach Jim Zorn to state that the offense is “kind of treading water.” That’s a rather generous description, actually. I’d have gone for something a bit more Titanic-ish. The offense hasn’t been able to score more than 19 points in 5 weeks. [Remember, the 25 points scored against Detroit included a special teams score, a punt return for a TD by Santana Moss.] While FB Mike Sellars indicated opposing defenses have figured out Zorn’s offense, Zorn and some players said the execution is just lacking. [That's a semi-polite way of saying the players are at fault, not the coach.]
It seems clear that WR Santana Moss and Zorn disagree about one thing in particular:
On the first play of the drive, from their 36, Zorn called a deep “go” route to Moss on the left side. The Redskins had struggled in pass protection for much of the night, and even on plays in which Campbell wasn’t sacked, he was frequently forced to slide out of the pocket, forgoing his best option.
But on this play, the protection was perfect.
“It was executed well,” Zorn said. “It was thrown well. He had to go to heroics to make the catch.”
Moss, covered by cornerback Terrence Newman, leapt and twisted in an effort to make the catch. It hit his hands, then fell incomplete. First and goal at the 9 turned into second and 10 from their territory.
Moss’s viewpoint, however, is that it takes more than one chance to convert such a play.
“We took one shot,” Moss said. “You have to take shots to really make big plays, you know what I’m saying? That’s plain and simple. When you’re a receiver in this game, you just don’t [say], ‘Here’s your chance, and let’s go.’ I feel like you have to have opportunities to make big plays.”
I find myself agreeing entirely with Moss here. The Redskins took one shot downfield all night and Zorn seems to think that is sufficient. But we know that most deep shots don’t work — that’s why you take several a game, but don’t do it all game. The Redskins did it only once and when it didn’t work, they didn’t try it again. If you hit on more than 1 out of 4 of those plays, you’re doing well. That’s why you need to take at least [at the VERY least] 4 real shots downfield. The Redskins didn’t do that — Zorn suggested after the game it was because of poor pass-blocking — so they can’t be surprised that they made no big plays in the passing game. They really didn’t try to make big plays in the passing game.
You want to know how bad the offense has been?
The Redskins have six offensive touchdowns in the last five games. They have just one TD in their last eight trips inside the red zone over the past three games, and just two field goals.
The Redskins are also -4 in the turnover battle in the last 6 games and have converted only 27% of their third downs. The offense has only 2 plays of 30 yards or more in the last 6 games and QB Jason Campbell has thrown only 3 TD passes during that time. And the passing game is entirely dependant on one player: Santana Moss.
Moss has 49 catches for 701 yards and five TDs; the other four wide receivers have combined for 56 catches, 607 yards and two TDs. The whole idea of chasing Chad Johnson all offseason and then splurging on three straight pass catchers with their first three draft picks was to diversify the attack, but instead it’s the same ol’, same ol’.
In any case, optimism about the Redskins has faded with these back-to-back losses and the offense looking putrid in the process. This looks like a team that, if it is lucky enough to make the playoffs, is probably one and done. It looks a lot like last year’s team, actually.
One of the guys the Redskins drafted to upgrade the offense was TE Fred Davis. Ever wonder what happened to him? Well, nothing is happening to him. Absolutely nothing. He can’t get on the field because, apparently, Zorn thinks he’s an idiot.
“It really is a matter of [Davis] doing his assignments correctly,” Zorn said. “It’s a trust factor. It’s not a speed factor. It’s not an ability factor. But it makes no sense for me to put a guy out there who can run real fast, but not going in the right direction. Or in some cases not even go out. It’s not that he forgot, it’s just that it didn’t register.”
Here’s a suggestion for Jimbo and Vinny Cerrato and the Li’l General: Try drafting guys who have enough brains to remember their assignments. Or even understand their assignments.
On the injury front, SLB Marcus Washington will be out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain. Basically, it seems like it’ll be lucky for Washington if he returns during the regular season. That pushes H.B. Blades into the starting lineup, which I regard as an upgrade in any case.
One bit of good news is that TB Ladell Betts had no setbacks on Sunday night and feels healthy and ready to go for the rest of the season. With Portis hobbling [maybe], that’s good to know.
Washington’s next opponent is in the state of Washington, the Seattle Seahawks. If you’re a Redskins fan, you know the Seahawks. That’s the team that eliminated the Redskins in the second round of the playoffs in January 2006 and the first round of the playoffs in January 2008. Well, if, as the Klingons say, revenge is a dish best served cold, the Redskins can get a small bit of it this Sunday when they play Seattle in Qwest Field. The Seahawks are 2-8 in Head Coach Mike Holmgren’s final season on the sidelines and the team appears rudderless and just plain bad. Here’s a chance for the Redskins to get a nice road win before coming back to face the fearsome NY Giants.
The Curly R looks at the Redskins schedule and doesn’t like what he sees.
Rich Tandler thinks the Redskins really need a receiving threat other than Santana Moss. Sounds right to me.
The Redskins Blog shows us how to stay warm on a cold NFL sideline.
Discuss this in Redskins Park with other DC sports fans!
Topics: Redskins, Smoke Signals | No Comments »
Pyromania!
By Spence | November 18, 2008
DC Pro Sports Report staff writer Pyrogenic clocks in with his latest installment of Pyromania! This time, he takes on our beloved Redskins, what’s wrong, and what needs to be done. Enjoy…
Ever have one of those experiences where you feel like you’re on the top of the world? You know, the one where you think you’ve accomplished something of some sort of significance and dare the universe to try to bring you down? Yeah, I’m sure you have. Now imagine some guy climbing up to your metaphoric summit of success and then drop kicking you off of it into the abyss he crawled out from, making the feat that much more impressive.
That’s how I feel about the Redskins right now, maybe even worse after getting overtaken by people wielding “terrible towels” at FedEx Field. Don’t get me wrong, my fandom isn’t what’s wavering, I became a real fan while a man named Tony Banks was the Redskins quarterback; a visage which still haunts me on the bad nights. No, what’s wavering is the swagger, the attitude, the confidence, the ability to tell an opposing fan that my team will make his team look like some sort of degrading feminine noun. Now I tip-toe cautiously around football conversations, or do what any desperate fan does and over-compensate by mentioning the number of Lombardies on display at the team facilities, except for Eagles fans, you know, since they don’t have any. It’s definitely not fun being on the defensive side of sports, because being in that position alludes to inferiority, and that’s no fun. Now I share the role of the perennially battered Browns fans that got a taste of a decent football team, but are now scrambling around on all fours, frantically searching for a trace of any redeeming qualities to the season. I realize that whatever glory we had has faded long ago, and the resurgence was close, but not enough to make the burgundy and gold vibrant again. Gibbs barely brought back the swagger that I was too young to remember, and now the short-lived burgundy success is slipping away between Zorn’s fingers. I want more!
Issues that worried me at the beginning of the season are rearing their collective ugly heads from within the sputtering offense and lackadaisical defense and are tearing at my innards, figuratively speaking; I’m really okay. Jon Jansen is playing similarly to how he played at the beginning of the season, a time period which made me cringe and genuinely feel embarrassed for him. That’s got to be pretty bad, a complete stranger physically portraying discomfort and pity while watching you do your job is generally not a good thing. Besides that, new woes are accompanying the old ones. At the beginning of the season, the Redskins’ running game was bolstered by the threat of a deep attack down the field to either one of the short speedsters at receiver, or the threat of having one of the slowest, yet surprisingly effective jukers in the league penetrate the soft zones of the opposition. Now all that seems to work are tight end screens to Chris Cooley, which after running 2 times a game, is becoming the new “WR Screen” play that only works because it’s a law of probability. The injuries have obviously taken their toll on the player’s performance level, and the lack of young depth on both sides of the line are exposing an already potent problem: our lines are O-L-D, but this is no longer a valid excuse.
The coaching staff made the decision to draft skill positions early in the draft and the staff needs to show that they’re worth the millions of dollars they’re being paid and make the players on the team work harder, or keep the veterans from becoming complacent. Get Heyer out back to where he was at the beginning of the season. Jansen had done well up until recently, and it’s obvious that age is becoming a factor in his performance level, so it makes sense to put Heyer back onto the field. Unlike earlier in the season, Jansen is no longer just a liability in pass protection, he can’t run block, either. The right side of the line has stopped getting the push required for Portis to be effective, and now the Redskins’ game plan is even more predictable (run to the left, screen to Cooley, slant, or deep to Moss). This is bad and needs to be rectified for the rest of the offense to work.
Owning Santana (I know I missed the bandwagon, but making fun of Billick is too much fun to pass up) Moss in one of my fantasy leagues may have amplified my awareness concerning his performance, but it’s almost like he’s afraid to become too good. He’ll run perfect routes, make players around the league envy his speed, and make spectacular catches, which would be a good things, except that it never happens twice in a row. One game Moss will look like a #1 receiving threat in the league, the next he’ll look like some over paid bum that accidentally sat on his hands for a day, making them numb; it’s the scenario that can explain some of the drops he has. It’s also no secret that paying so much for Randle El was a mistake. He’s a nice guy, but he’s not worth $30 million. At best, he’s what James Thrash was 5 years ago, and Thrash didn’t make $30 million. I do like that Devin Thomas is finally getting a crack at some plays, but is it me, or does that coaching staff have him in precarious positions? Where are Thomas’ screens? What happened to the deep routes? He’s big and fast and they need to utilize him that way. Problems in the passing game ultimately stem from issues on the offensive line, though. Jansen isn’t alone in his failures, Rabach and Thomas are playing poorly and the only person on the line playing with any consistency is Kendall. As for the defense, the secondary is great, but every one else is either old, injured, or just plain old lazy. London Fletcher is the exception, but the rest of that front 7 is downright shameful some of the time.
On a side note: I now realize that the amount of Dallas fans in the greater metropolitan area is far too high. People in the area may not have noticed this in the past couple of years since the Cowboys have been more or less subdued, but the recent Redskins loss to the Cowboys was enough to draw these blathering hellions out of whichever shadowy crevices they had concealed themselves in, even though they haven’t won a playoff game for as long as most 7th graders have lived. Cowboys fandom is a dormant pandemic, the bandwagon potency and ESPN coddling sustain that status. Losing to ‘Merica’s team brings the world closer and closer to a reality where the Cowboy bandwagon can reach critical conditions, and that’s just irresponsible, not to mention potentially unbearable. The Redskins key chain I keep around my neck acts as a beacon for Cowboys fans who seem to think that I actually care about what they have to say, or say that I can’t talk trash anymore even though I’ve never seen them before. We need to stop this. Let’s go Redskins!
Discuss this in Redskins Park with other DC sports fans!
Topics: Pyromania!, Redskins | 1 Comment »
Hockey’s Future: Caps set for 10 Years
By PennSkinsFan | November 17, 2008
Here is the Hockey Future’s assessment of the Washington capitals organization.
There really is not much I can disagree with in here. These guys usually do hit the nail right on the head and they did here as well, fair assessment. I would have like to have heard their opinions a bit more instead of a rehash of last season stats.
You can go check out position by position, what they have to say. Here are the two end pieces that are significant.
Production
The Capitals have made solid choices with their draft picks the last four years and it shows on the ice. With players like Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Mike Green, Boyd Gordon and Jeff Schultz making up the core of the team, the Capitals are in good position to be a consistent playoff team for the next 10 years. Also, with players like Chris Bourque, Francois Bouchard, Karl Alzner and Quintin Laing in the AHL, the Capitals have the depth they need should any of their star players get injured.
Overall
The Capitals decision to rebuild the entire franchise five years ago has proven to be a wise one. They have set themselves up to compete for a Stanley Cup now, but also have the depth in the minors to stay a Stanley Cup contender for the next 7-10 years. Developing a franchise goaltender will be important.
We would agree. The capitals have loaded up on prospects and the best thing about it is, the prospects are Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Capitals, Hershey Bears, Karl Alzner, South Carolina Stingrays | No Comments »