Die Hard Sports Fan

Wednesday morning; time to get back to work. We have a game this weekend against the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins are 4-1; the Rams 0-4. It sounds like a cake walk.

So, why is Redskins nation so nervous?

At half-time, during the New York Giants game to start the season, you could smell the rubber burning as all Redskin nation fans had their mind racing back and forth about so many things, like is Jason Campbell the right QB for this team, or was the offensive line getting too old, or was Clinton Portis fighting a losing battle trying to run against eight-man fronts. But, that was a long time ago.

Today, all Redskins fans, and especially the owner, Dan Snyder, are feeling euphoric, over four straight wins.

Moreover, because those wins came against the dreaded rivals of both the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, fans far and wide have rejoiced in unison. In the past 24 hours, this Die Hard Redskins Fan site has seen fans come from as far east as Melbourne, Australia and as far west as Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as points in between, including Oman, Greece, and Spain. Everyone, it seems is ready to believe.

But, here come the St. Louis Rams.

The St. Louis Rams have a new coach after firing the one they began the season with. They have their QB, Marc Bulger, back in the starting position after he was benched in desperation by the aforementioned former coach. They, and the rest of the team, remain perfect in a winless season with one very key, and common denominator: they all have something to prove.

The offensive world of the St. Louis Rams revolves around Stephen Jackson. He is their leading rusher *and* receiver. Thus, naturally, he leads their team in total yardage. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Redskins defense should focus on stopping Jackson and the Redskins would win the game.

But, this Die Hard Redskin Fan says, “not so fast.”

Given a moment to think about it, every Redskins fan can remember who the offensive coordinator for the team was for the past two years; Al Saunders. This is the same Al Saunders who is now the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams.

For two years, day after day during practice sessions, he became, by the nature of repetition, an expert in the defensive coverage skills of each of our entire secondary. I’d bet dollars to donuts that he could rattle off the five key flaws of Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot; maybe even ten for Carlos Rogers. Further, I’d be even more confident that he knows exactly how to move LaRon Landry out of position to create a deep strike down the field.

If the Redskins key on Stephen Jackson, Al Saunders will most assuredly attack deep down field. Though the Rams may not have been successful as of yet against other teams, Al Saunders has much more experience and knowledge of the Redskins that would enable him to call a more effective game, and find our vulnerabilities.

In short, this week’s game will be a challenge. Not just because of Saunders knowledge of our defense, but also because of the natural human tendency for the Redskins to take a mental holiday.

I recall, in college, graduate school, and even here in Corporate America, preparing for a big test, or a presentation to executive management. There is a palpable rush of energy that fills each of us when faced with challenging situations. It’s often referred to as the “adrenaline rush.”

The Redskins have had four straight weeks of the adrenaline rush that culminated last week with a huge win against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Philadelphia!

So, now what?

It’s called the “adrenaline FLUSH.”

After climbing the mountain, or escaping the attack of the mountain lion, human beings experience the adrenaline flush, which is a malaise of physical ability to move and respond. It is more commonly referred to as fatigue; specifically in this case, “emotional fatigue.”

The measure of Jim Zorn as a coach will be determined this week, more so than any of the other five weeks. Along those lines, the players speak about staying “medium.” I understand.

But, show us!

Hail to the Redskins.

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The Eagles started the game with very high energy. Donovan McNabb took his team the length of the field to score early. The Eagle defense held the Redskins offense to two three-and-out series to start the game. After a quick second touchdown on punt return by Desean Jackson, the Redskins settled down. By half-time, they cut the Eagles lead in half after a trio of field goals by Shaun Suisham. After finally taking the lead towards the middle of the third quarter, the Redskins never looked back as they continued to impress on both sides of the ball.

1st Quarter -

Redskins start off the game with an strong special teams effort, but it was immediately forgotten as Brian Westbrook popped off a 16 yard run after catch on a screen pass from Donovan McNabb. The Eagles proceeded to march down the field with short passes and the running of Westbrook. One play, a double reverse to Desean Jackson would have been a touchdown if not for the tackle by The Predator, Chris Horton. Three plays later, Westbrook fights through some arm tackles on the Redskins defense and get the first touchdown of the game.

After a three and out series by the Redskins offiense, and a questionable non-call, Desean Jackson out runs the Redskins special teams for a touchdown.

Towards the end of the first quarter, the Redskins find a way to stop the Eagles, mostly by the inaccuracy of McNabb and the wide right field goal attempt by David Akers.

2nd Quarter -

To start the second quarter, the Redskins get a first down, the first of the game. They followed that up with their first points of the game; a field goal by Shaun Suisham.

Westbrook had left the game midway through the first quarter, but made his return in time for the Eagles first possession of the second quarter. Carlos Rogers dropped an interception, which may have turned the momentum. Still, the Eagles are forced to punt one play later. Antwaan Randle-El allowed the punt to bounce, expecting it to touchback in the endzone. Instead, the Eagles cover the ball and give the Redskins terrible field position on the two yard line.

After running the ball out from deep in their own territory, the Eagles dial up the blitz and sack Jason Campbell for a loss of 16 yards on the missed pickup by Ladell Betts. Still, they find a way to keep the drive alive on a nice strike to the rookie Devin Thomas. Later, on the same drive, on third and six, Campbell attempts a quick pass only to have it batted down at the line of scrimmage. Suisham makes the field goal from 48 yards.

After forcing the Eagles to a three and out series, Washington takes the ball with under two minutes to convert another field goal by Suisham.

Halftime Score: Eagles, 9-14

3rd Quarter -

Both defenses of the teams came out strong to open the third quarter. The wake up call came on a violent run up the middle by Clinton Portis; a tremendous run for 10+ yards. Devin Thomas had a nice pickup on a WR screen to bring the ball inside the Eagles 20 yard line. On the next play, Randle-El took the reverse, faked the run and threw down the field to Chris Cooley for a touchdown. Redskins take the lead.

On the Eagles next possession, they go three and out and give the ball back to Redskins. After a third dropped pass for the game by Randle-El, he leaves the game with an apparent hand injury. The Redskins rookie WR, Devin Thomas commits his third offensive pass interference to negate the first pass reception of Santana Moss. Because of that penalty, the drive stalls.

The Redskins defense stops the Eagles again for three and out. On the resulting punt return by Randle-El, a penalty against the Eagles gives the Redskins the ball at midfield. A monster run by Portis takes the ball all the way inside the Eagles 10-yard line. While Portis is resting on the sideline, Betts takes the ball down inside the five yard line for 2nd and goal.

4th Quarter -

After an incompletion, on third and goal, Portis walks into the endzone for a touchdown.

The next series by the Eagles featured Westbrook and a catch and run by Reggie Brown. After marching deep into Redskins territory, the Redskins make a goal line stand to force the Eagles to kick the field goal.

On the next series by the Redskins, they pick up two consecutive, critical third downs to run the clock down to under three minutes. On yet another critical third down, the offense wastes a down on a broken play, which set up a fourth and one at the Eagles 39-yard line. Clinton Portis takes the hand off up the middle, pushes the pile ahead for the first down!

The Eagles without a time out remaining, run out the clock to win the game.

Score: Redskins, 23-17

Wrap Up -

• Jason Campbell was 16 of 29 for 176 yards.
• Clinton Portis rushed 29 times for 145 yards and a TD.
• Chris Cooley had 8 receptions for 109 yards and a TD.
• Six different Redskins caught passes today, except for Santana Moss.
• Redskins defense held the Eagles, the sixth ranked offense in the league, to only 196 yards passing and 58 yards rushing. 

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Both teams showed their defensive strength early in the game. It was nothing short of an NFC East knock down fight with the Redskins emerging victorious.

1st Quarter -

Redskins first drive stalls after a false start penalty by Lorenzo Alexander, follwed by a dropped pass by Santana Moss. Cowboys first drive begins at their 10-yard line with a couple of first downs before they are forced to punt. Both teams continued to show high energy. But, defense set the tone.

On the Redskins third possession, the Cowboys entire defensive line met at the quarterback, Jason Campbell, for the second sack of the game. On the Cowboys ensuing drive, Patrick Crayton catches a long ball against Carlos Rogers to drive deep into the Redskins territory. On a subsequent play, Carlos Rogers is called for holding, which gave the Cowboys another set of downs. On the very next play, Tony Romo connects with Jason Witten for a touchdown down the middle over Marcus Washington.

Score: Cowboys, 0-7

2nd Quarter -

Redskins drive deep into the Cowboys territory. They finish the drive with a touchdown pass from Jason Campbell to James Thrash to tie the game.

After a short series and punt by the Cowboys, the Redskins drive inside the Cowboys five-yard line. On third-and-goal, Jason Campbell avoids the pass rush and throws a touchdown to Antwaan Randle-El to take the lead.

After another three-and-out series by the Cowboys, the Redskins open up their series with a long pass completion to Santana Moss from Jason Campbell placing the Redskins inside the Cowboys ten-yard line. On third-and-goal from the two-yard line, fail to convert and settle for a field-goal.

With under two minutes left in the first half of the game, the Cowboys drive the length of the field for a field-goal with five seconds remaining.

Score: Redskins, 17-10

3rd Quarter -

The Dallas Cowboys tie the game on their first series of the second half with a quick slant to Terrell Owens from Tony Romo.

On the Redskins next series, Clinton Portis rips a 31-yard run on third-down and two in order to keep the drive alive. After another big catch by Santana Moss, take the ball to the Cowboys 6-yard line. A touchdown run by Portis is negated by Casey Rabach, which put the Redskins all the way back to the 16-yard line. On third and goal, a touchdown pass by Jason Campbell is negated, once again by Casey Rabach. On third and goal, the Redskins fail to convert. They barely make the field goal.

The third quarter finishes with a nice interception by Chris “The Predator” Horton to give the ball back to the Redskins.

Score: Redskins, 20-17

4th Quarter -

Chris Cooley has two key catches to keep the Redskins drive alive. On third and four, at the Cowboys 15 yard line, Santana Moss can’t hold on to the rocket pass from Jason Campbell. Redskins kick a field goal to extend their lead.

After another strong defensive stand and subsequent punt by Dallas, the Redskins advance the ball down the field on the back of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. On third and two from the Cowboys 19 yard line, Ladell Betts gets another first down for the Redskins with less than five minutes left in the game.

After taking seven minutes off the clock, the Redskins extend their lead with a field goal by Shaun Suisham.

Cowboys take the ball at their 14 yard line and drive the length of the field for a touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Miles Austin. The Cowboys were unable to convert an onside kick. The Redskins kneel to run out the clock.

Score: Redskins, 26-24

Wrap-Up:

• Jason Campbell was 20/31 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. His QB rating was 108.4
• Clinton Portis rushed for 121 yards on 21 carries; almost six yards per carry.
• Santana Moss was the leading WR of the game. He had eight catches for 145 yards, but no touchdowns.
• Shaun Suisham was 4/4 on field goals. His longest was from 33 yards out.
• Durant Brooks punted very well. His average was over 46 yards, which includes a 60 yarder, and two punts inside the 20.
• Carlos Rogers led the team in tackles. The Redskins scored no sacks against Tony Romo.
• London Fletcher forced one fumble.

NFL.com Game Center Post Game is attached.

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The Redskins overcame a big play and some mental errors to win the game against the Cardinals. 1st Quarter The Redskins drove the length of the field going six for six for 37 yards. Clinton Portis finished the drive with a nifty short yardage run that required him to keep his head up and see the lanes. The Cardinals opened up the game with their first series ending in a punt, mostly due to a delay of game penalty on an intended fourth down and inches attempt. After the penalty, they decided to punt instead. Ladell Betts missed a blitz pickup and the resulting sack stalled the Redskins second drive. Thus, Durant Brooks started off the game with his first punt going for only 35 yards. 2nd Quarter Redskins open up the quarter with the ball after recovering a fumble by Edgerrin James. Shaun Suisham connected on a 46 yard field goal after the drive stalled, again. The Cardinals put together a long, 84 yard drive, assisted by a pass interference penalty on Carlos Rogers that resulted in a touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Anquan Boldin against Fred Smoot. After another stalled drive by the Redskins, Durant Brooks unleashed a 56 yard punt and pinned the Cardinals deep in their own territory. On the ensuing possession by the Cardinals, with just a 1:11 minutes left in the half, the drive stalled for no points. Score: Redskins lead, 7-10. 3rd Quarter Cardinals open the 2nd half and drive 80+ yards with the help of a personal foul penalty on Fred Smoot, and an offsides penalty. Redskins defense saves against a touchdown however on the play of LaRon Landry and Jason Taylor; both of them breaking up key plays of the drive. On the next series, the Redskins get their first 1st down since the 1st quarter with a short pass to Chris Cooley. Devin Thomas got into the game for a 16 yard misdirection play. Antwaan Randle-El, on a trick play, passed to Chris Cooley to bring the Skins to the Red Zone. Cooley caught a screen and ran all the way to the two yard line. Todd Yoder completed the touchdown drive with a 2 yard reception from Jason Campbell from a formation that looked like a short yardage package. Cardinals come right back with a 62 yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald against Reed Doughty and LaRon Landry. On the next drive, Jason Campbell keeps the drive going early with a scramble out of the backfield. After another short pass to Randle-El, the quarter ends. Score: Tie, 17-17 4th Quarter Redskins open the quarter needing 7 yards for a 1st down, but only pick up 4. Durant Brooks hits a good punt to place the Cardinals inside their 20 yard line. On 2nd and eight, Kurt Warner attempted to go long again only to have the ball interecepted by Carlos Rogers. He returned the interception into the Red Zone. The Redskins quickly convert the turnover to a touchdown pass on a WR screen pass from Jason Campbell to Santana Moss. Cardinals next possession was harrassed by the Redskins blitz package and a sack by Rocky McIntosh. For a moment it appeared that Devin Thomas had his first career TD. But, it was nullified by a personal foul penalty by Stephon Heyer. Nevertheless, the Redskins put a number of first downs together in methodical fashion; for a while. The drive stalls at the Arizona 32 yard line. Shaun Suisham hooks the ensuing field goal attempt wide left to get the ball back to the Cardinals. Cardinals go three and out and punt the ball to Randle-El and the Skins. Redskins get the ball back deep in their territory and effectively run out the clock. Score: Redskins, 17-24 Wrap Up Jason Campbell finished the day with a 112 QB rating, passing for 193 yards on 22 completions from 30 attempts, and two touchdowns. Surprisingly, Campbell was also the Redskins second leading rusher of the game with 26 yards from scrimmage. Clinton Portis finished the day with only 68 yards rushing. But, he scored the opening drive touchdown of the game. Santana Moss and Chris Cooley each had seven receptions for 70+ yards. Moss scored a touchdown on a WR screen catch and run. It is the first time a Redskins receiver has caught a touchdown pass in six consecutive games since Bobby Mitchell did it in 1961. The defense was prepared for the Cardinals. For the most part, with the exception of a long pass for a touchdown, the Cardinals were held in check. Specifically, the Redskins defense held Kurt Warner to under 200 yards passing, and only 116 yards rushing. Shaun Suisham went 1 for 2 in FGs, missing one long attempt wide left. He was perfect on extra points. Durant Brooks, the rookie, punted four times for an average of nearly 43 yards. His longest of the day was a 56 yard boomer. What should be noted here is that Brooks was able to get enough air under the ball which essentially limited the Cardinals from effective punt returns. In fact, the Cardinals had two punt returns. One was stopped for no yardage. The second was for only 3 yards. Download a detailed Game Summary.

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Pre-Game Jitters - -

Right from the start, I’m concerned. Shawn Springs is out of the game. He’s not even activated for the game. So, Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot have to play. Right now, my optimism is a bit strained with the prospect of Rogers being left alone out there on the island…

First Quarter - -

Giants receive the ball first. On their first drive, they march right down the field for a touchdown. Two big plays, back to back…It’s gonna be a long night if they don’t figure out how to protect Rogers on the corner against Plaxico Burress. Fred Smoot contributed with a pass interference call. But, right now, all we can hope for is that the Redskins offense can answer the bell and respond.

Skins First Offensive Series

Well, Skins fans, all I can say is quicksand. Everything that could go wrong on the first series, is going wrong. Zorn recognized it. Called a draw play on 3rd and 20. Perhaps it’s best to get them off the field and try to regroup. Jason Campbell is still holding on to the ball too long.

Second Giants Offensive Series

They start off running right at Jason Taylor. I think they’re testing his knee. My opinion, JT was success in extending his consecutive starts. Now, it’s time for him to sit down. It’s a long season.

3rd down, and the Skins defense have yet another opportunity to get off the field. [Commentary: Football was more fun before commercials] Nope. another first down; again running right at JT. Okay…you’ll see it on NFL Replay, Brandon Jacobs ran right over LaRon Landry. And now, Landry is out of the game. Another third down, and SUCCESS!! We stop them seven yards away from another touchdown.

Score: Giants up; 0-10.

Our Turn, Again

This is starting to look real silly…three and out! Wait, we get another chance thanks to roughing the punter.

Well, it looks like Zorn is trying to get a running game. But, the Giants ain’t havin’ it. At least not yet. Another three and out!

I’m still an optimist.

END OF 1ST QUARTER

2nd Quarter, Giants Ball

Santana’s little brother just torched Fred Smoot for about 30 yards. It was sick. He almost broke Smooty’s ankles. The real bad news was that play came on yet another third down. Before the game, it was announced that Plaxico got a new $35 million contract. He’s playing like he’s thankful tonight. Right now, this looks like the USC Trojans playing against the Montgomery Blair Blazers (Sorry, Blazers. But, I graduated from there. So, I’m taking liberties).

WOW…success, again. We stopped them short of another touchdown. This time, JT made a play by not allowing the G-Men to get a screen off.

Score: Giants up; 0-13.

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