Die Hard Sports Fan

With such an intense rivalry heading our way this Sunday, Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache had lots to say today at Redskins Park among convesation with Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog. Now I don’t know about you guys, but with Eagles running back Brian Westbrook still questionable and it now being Thursday evening, I’m quite eager to hear how the Skins D is preparing to stop the number five passing offense in the league.

Blache’s interview with Steinberg eased my tension a bit, especially considering his brutally honest opinion on the use of stats as a coach.

“We don’t worry about numbers here,” he said. “Statistics are for losers. I’m not a stat guy. I’m not interested in them, because you can do anything you want with numbers, you can manipulate them, and work around with them…So I don’t believe in numbers, because any crook can play with numbers….For me, you either win or you lose; you don’t get second place because you had great stats….I’ve been around a ton of guys that will just sit and spout their statistics. Drives me crazy. It’s meaningless.”

Prior to being the defensive coordinator, Blache ran the defensive line in Washington while working under Greg Williams.  He brought the Skins from 27th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed in the 2006 season to 4th last year.  I guess you could also say he is partly responsible for the Skins D being 3rd in overall defense in the NFC. This is Blache’s fifth season in DC, but he’s got quite the resume of football coaching to back him up. Between the Bears, Colts and Packers, Blache has been among the league for 16 years and he coached lots of college ball before that.  Needless to say, the man knows what he’s doing.

“…I’m old school. I have no interest in a head job. All I want to do, I want to win Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins a Super Bowl championship, that’s my goal. Past that, a good glass of wine, a good Cuban cigar, and hell, life is beautiful.”

Now…how can a quote like that NOT bring a smile to your face and leave you optimistic on your Friday morning?

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I’ve grown tired of the commentary provided about the Skins / Cowboys matchup this week by those that don’t fully understand the nature of the NFC East rivalries. They seem to believe that the game can be “analyzed” as if it was just any other game. My comments below in response to the ‘Game of the Week’ matchup analysis at CBS Sportsline.

The story:

The Redskins haven’t lost in two weeks. The Cowboys haven’t lost, period. This is a barometer of the NFC East to see if we’re really missing something when we don’t include Washington among the division heavyweights.

We’ve heard this all week. I personally don’t think one game between bitter rivals tells anyone anything. Back in the 80’s and early 90’s, the NFC East defied all logic. The New York Giants, coached by Bill Parcells seemed to be able to defeat the Redskins, more times than not. The Redskins, led by Coach Gibbs, seemed to be able to handle the Philadelphia Eagles more times than not. Now, if ‘A’ equals ‘B’ and ‘B’ equals ‘C’, it is most logical to think that ‘A’ would equal ‘C’ as well. Or, more simply stated, if the Giants could beat the Redskins, and the Redskins could beat the Eagles, the Giants should also beat the Eagles. But that is not what took place. More times than not, the Eagles defeated the Giants. It was very strange. The only logical explanation is that when it comes to the rivalry of the NFC East, all logic takes a back seat. This is football at its very best.

The problem for the Redskins is that to beat Dallas you must slow down Tony Romo, and to slow down Tony Romo you must pressure the pocket. Sounds like a job for Jason Taylor … only Taylor isn’t playing. So that’s a concern.

The idea of pressuring Tony Romo is flawed to a degree. Yes, if given too much time, Romo can place the ball where it needs to go. But, on the other hand, pressuring him without control, opens up the defense to his amazing antics that can’t be predicted. Rather, we need to get pressure by collapsing his pocket, while at the same time keeping his receivers on lockdown coverage. By doing so, he will hesitate to throw, get off his rhythm, and hopefully fall into the arms of our four DLs.

The good news is the Redskins don’t make silly mistakes, with a plus-5 turnover ratio. If Jason Campbell plays as he did the past two weeks, they have a chance. Of course, if Romo plays the way he did the past three weeks, they don’t.

Memo to Washington’s Greg Blache: While you’re trying to figure out how to defend Romo, try stopping Marion Barber and Felix Jones, too. Wait a minute, I almost forgot about Terrell Owens and Jason Witten and … Miles Austin?. There are too many weapons here to count, and that could confound the Redskins.

Again, the Redskins chance in this game is solely and directly related to their ability to execute their game plan. It has nothing to do with Romo or Terrell Owens, or anyone else on their offense. They will get their yards, etc. The Philadelphia Eagles played the Cowboys to the very end of the game. They lost because of mistakes by Donovan McNabb. So, in that regard, there is much truth in the notion that Jason Campbell must continue his trend of protecting the football.

Something to consider: When Barber has 11 or more carries the Cowboys are 22-1.

Again, this is not a regular football game. This is an NFC East battle royale.

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Quarterback

Last week, the Miami Dolphins entered the game with a plan to shut down the running game and make QB Kurt Warner beat them with the pass. Well, that might have worked in recent years. But, as of right now…not so much!

Warner destroyed the Dolphins. He threw for 361 yards, three touchdowns, and ZERO turnovers. Moreover, he finished the day with a PERFECT rating of 158.3. That, by the way, is the third time in his career that he has achieved a perfect rating. It’s been a while since we’ve seen this version of Warner. Personally, for this week, I’d prefer more of the Warner from the past few years. Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see the current Warner, which more closely resembles his glory years with the St. Louis Rams.

Speaking of his achievement against the Dolphins, Warner is quoted by the Associated Press, as such:

When you have one of those days when everything’s clicking and you feel like you can’t be stopped, it brings back a lot of memories of those great years…The game was slowing down. I was putting the ball where I wanted to put it, and it felt good.

At 37 years old, and being the veteran that he is, there is not much we can do to fool him. Rather, we need to be in his face, all day. And, when we get there, if he’s still holding on to the ball, which isn’t likely, we need to put him on his butt…hard! The only time that Warner hasn’t played well in the past is when he is being pressured, rushed, and hit. That’s how Tom Brady got his first NFL Super Bowl ring.

But, thus far this season, that hasn’t happened. In fact, the Dolphins used that defensive strategy and blitzed Warner from all different angles. They even knocked him down a number of times; sacked him twice. It didn’t work. So, clearly, either we need to do it better than the Dolphins. Or, we need a different strategy.

The Cardinals are 2-0 for the first time in 17 years. If they come in to our house and win on Sunday, it will be the first time enjoying a 3-0 record since 1974.

Greg Blache has his hands full this week in preparation for this matchup.

Running Backs

Edgerrin James rushed for 55 yards on 18 carries last week. Each yard was a hard fought victory. Still, it was enough to lift James to become only the 14th back in the history of the NFL to gain 15,000 yards from scrimmage. Without question, James is still a good, effective running back and has all the ability to hurt us if we ignore him. He shares time with Tim Hightower, a big, powerful back that has seen the end zone twice in as many games. Both of these guys can move the chains.

Receivers

Big. Strong. Fast. And, great hands. That’s all that really needs to be said about the Arizona Cardinals receivers. The combination of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald has been too much for opposing defenses this year. Boldin had six catches for 140 yards. It was the 22nd time in his relatively short career that he’s had over 100 yards receiving in a game. He can play some ball. Fitzgerald, on the other side, is definitely no slouch either. Last week he caught six passes for 153 yards. It was his 14th time in his even shorter career that he has been over 100 yards in a game.

~ ~ ~

It is often said that defense is a state of mind…an attitude, if you will. For this weeks game, we need every ounce of attitude we can muster, and a heavy dose of execution. It would be too easy to look past these Cardinals and start thinking about the upcoming trips to the Dallas Cowboys and Phildelphia Eagles. But, that would be foolish.

These guys are coming to play. And, they believe that they can give us a spankin’. Well, they have the paddles to do it. But, our *attitude* needs to be that we’re going to bring some lead pipes to their paddle party.

Hail to the Redskins.

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You know, when I was growing up in Silver Spring, MD, we used to say all the time, when the Skins when, it makes the upcoming week go so much better. Well, not much has changed.

There is much I could say about the second half. I could talk about how it appears Jason Campbell took a major step forward. Naysayers would say, no he didn’t. He just had the opportunity to have Santana Moss playing against a rookie. But, it was a huge heads-up play to audible at the line of scrimmage when he saw the matchup he wanted, and executed it even while under strong pressure from the Saints rush. You could almost see a sense of relief from Jason as the ball fell safely from the sky into the waiting arms of Moss. It was beautiful. I wonder if he heard his coaches words in his ear during the play: “Avoid, reset, and throw.” He was 24 of 36 for 321 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers!! Hail, Jason.

I could also speak about Clinton Portis. He had a strong game. He has not had the flashy, home run scamper yet. But, where Ladell Betts would get a few yards, Portis has the vision to get a few and more yards. He had 21 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns; both of which were fantastic examples of using his vision and agility. Hail, Clinton.

And, I should also mention Chris Cooley. Remember, earlier this week I said it would be Cooley to win the matchup against Jeremy Shockey. Mission accomplished. Cooley had five receptions for 72 yards. As for Shockey, two catches for 22 yards, less a critical fumble to start the game. Cooley is a weapon that we should continue to showcase.

The defense was fantastic today. They held the Saints to 55 total yards rushing, and only 216 yards passing. If my math skills haven’t faded too bad since graduating from Montgomery Blair H.S., Campbell had more yards than the entire Saints team. That is a testament to some serious thumping from our defense.

LaRon Landry played some really good defense too, especially on two back to back pass plays that denied the Saints of extending their lead. But, more so than anything else, the one thing I must speak about is Chris Horton. The rookie was all over the field today with interceptions, recovering fumbles, and making a key tackle to stop the Saints short of a first down in the fourth quarter, and thus forcing them to punt. I’m sure Greg Blache will find something wrong with his game tomorrow.

But today, Chris Horton gets the Die Hard Redskins Game Ball.

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In order to not just win the game on Sunday, but to place ourselves on the right track, we need to keep our hearts and minds on the following key areas of the game when the Saints come marching in.

1. Offensive line – Without a doubt, this is perhaps the most important key to the game this Sunday. If we can’t control the line of scrimmage, Jason Campbell will have a very long day. That said, Campbell needs to trust the education he’s been receiving in this offense and not hold on to the ball. Tempo, tempo, tempo!In addition, we need to help our QB by getting Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts through the running lane and into their secondary. If we do that, we have a chance to make yardage in chunks. Thus, Campbell will find it easier to settle down.
2. Guard against the big play – Drew Brees can strike his WR’s at anytime on the field. With Marques Colston out for this game, and the next four weeks, one of his weapons is former Redskins receiver David Patton. I don’t know what caused Patton to falter in his play while he was with us, but he seems to have figured it out.On the other side is Devery Henderson, who can flat out play ball. Believe. These two guys can make like difficult for either of our CB’s. Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers, and Fred Smoot will be running up and down the field all day. That said, after the first half of the Giants game, we seemed to shut Plaxico Burress down. Whatever scheme Greg Blache called to make that happen, needs to be called again this week.
3. Get to the QB - To help the defensive secondary, we have got to get to Drew Brees, quick, fast, and in a hurry! We need Jason Taylor, Erasmus James, Andre Carter, and company to get penetration and put Brees on his behind. That is the most effective way to keep him from taking over a game.
4. Trim the Bush – I can’t emphasize this enough. It appears that over the course of the spring and summer, Sean Payton has come to realize what everyone else has known for some time. Reggie Bush, getting the ball in space with opportunities to make people miss, is an extremely scary concept to consider for a defense. I don’t know of anyone of our team that can run with Bush. He’s an amazing talent when used properly. And, based on what I saw last week, the Saints appear to get it. Our best defense against him is to keep him from getting the ball. Short of that, I hope our defense remembers that real basic concept that they teach in pee-wee ball; everyone run to the ball. No doubt, Bush is gonna get the ball. How we respond is the key.
5. Shadow Shockey – Jeremy Shockey is one of those guys who likes to have fun and runs his mouth. He’s a very good option for Drew Brees and if we’re not careful, he can keep the chains moving for the Saints all day.

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Based on what I saw today, the Saints are going to present a “unique” challenge for the Redskins defense. For the past two years, the Saints have been acting like Reggie Bush is a “regular” running back. Not!

Bush is best when he has the opportunity to use his speed and elusiveness. Today, the Saints lined him up all over the place. They allowed him to be both a running back, and a wide receiver. It reminded me quite a bit of Marshall Faulk.

Now, in my humble opinion, I don’t ever believe Bush can be compared to a real, feature running back. In fact, his rushing numbers were very pedestrian: 14 for 51 yards. But, he had 112 yards receiving, including a touchdown that spanned 42 yards and highlighted the moves and speed that made him famous at USC.

If the New Orleans Saints come to town and remember this formula, Greg Blache will need to cook up a special defensive scheme to hold Bush in check.

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