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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Instead of you reading me complete bash this Bills team that didn’t even bother showing up against the Arizona Cardinals yesterday I will instead give you a much needed injury update on the starting QB Trent Edwards. 

It is being reported by multiple sources that the concussion Edwards suffered early in the 1st quarter is minor, which is great news for us Bills fans.  He is not expected to miss any real game time.   Here are the multiple sources reporting the injury news.

From rotoworld.com (two updates):

Bills coach Dick Jauron considers Trent Edwards (concussion) to be “day to day.”
Edwards has 13 days to get his head straight before Week 7 at San Diego. The concussion looked severe at first, but Edwards seems to be fine now.

Trent Edwards (concussion) was seen smiling with and speaking to family members after Sunday’s game and posed for some pictures.
The flash was probably off because Edwards was likely still a bit sensitive to light, but it sounds like he’ll be fine with some rest during the Week 6 bye. He probably won’t practice any during the off week, though. 

 <a href="http://WGR550.com" title="http://WGR550.
" target="_blank">WGR550.com:

…Bills quarterback Trent Edwards was feeling better one day after suffering a concussion in the team’s 41-to-17 loss to Arizona. Edwards was knocked out on Buffalo’s third offensive play. Coach Dick Jauron said his starter felt better and will be evaluated throughout the week….

AP:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards was described as alert but still experiencing post-concussion symptoms Monday, leaving his status uncertain as the team enters its bye week.

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Antonio Pierce talked to Mike Francesa of WFAN about their win over the Seahawks and their upcoming game against Cleveland. To hear the interview in its entirety, click here.

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The best part of yesterday’s game between the Seahawks and the Giants was when the G-MEN roughed up Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game making him ineffective and providing him with an early exit. It was similar to the last Giants game when they roughed up Carson Palmer, and the Cowboys should thank us for that since they squeaked by the Bengals yesterday. Imagine what a healthy Palmer would’ve done to the poor Cowboys defense. The Cowboys should also thank us for ending Drew Bledsoe’s time in Dallas because who knows when Tony Romo’s opportunity would’ve came if not for our nasty defense. The Road Warriors won their third home game in as many games in the early 2008 season. These are the Road Warriors that could barely win at home in ‘07.

Offense

Eli Manning had a pretty good game statistically. He went 19/25 which is a 76.00% completion percentage and threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs…in only 3 Quarters. David Carr was able to come in lead the team to a 4 Quarter Touch Down as well. The last time we saw Carr was against the Rams for a couple of minutes, but he played an entire quarter today. We knew that Eli was not going to have his favorite weapon in Plaxico so everybody needed to step up, and they did just that. Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led the team in Receptions. Hixon had 104 yards in the 1st Half before leaving the game at Halftime due to a concussion, and I would’ve loved to have seen what he could’ve done by playing the entire game. Surprisingly, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Catches, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD. Earth, Wind, and Fire had an outstanding day as they steamrolled the soft Seattle defense for 241 yards on 33 attempts which is an average of 7.3 yards per carry. WOW! Jacobs led in rushing yards with 136 and 2 TDs. The Giants’ offense put up 35 of the 44 points.

Defense

Mike Holmgren developed a pretty good game plan because Big Blue was only able to get 2 Sacks which is the lowest since the Giants opened up the season against the Redskins. With that said, the hit that Justin Tuck laid on Matt Hasselbeck on the first drive of the game, which wasn’t even a sack, was enough to make him a non-factor as the Seahawks didn’t score any touch downs. Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson were the two players that actually got to Hasselbeck. I was extremely impressed with Kevin Dockery’s pick and 46 yard return. That was the last we saw of Hasselbeck. The Giants’ defense put up 0 of the 44 points.

Special Teams

John Carney was 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts, and he hasn’t missed a field goal yet this season. It will be interesting to see what the coaches do when Lawrence Tynes is healthy and ready to return. I would suggest that they ride out it out until he misses and then put Tynes in. The Giants’ special teams put up 9 of the 44 points.

So the Giants won their first four games which makes them perfect through the first quarter of the season. I picked them to do exactly that. The last time the Giants went 4-0 was in 1990 when they won Super Bowl XXV against the Bills. This game was over after the 1st Half. When was the last time you saw both starting Quarterbacks taken out of the game after the 3rd Quarter? The team that has so much trouble coming off of the bye week had no problem in 2008. The Giants travel to Cleveland next week to take on the Browns on Monday Night Football.

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The Buffalo Bills came out flat in this one and got blown out 41-17 by the Arizona Cardinals.  Not only did the Bills lose the game to drop to 4-1 on the season but they also lost QB Trent Edwards to a concussion early in the 1st quarter. 

1^st Quarter

After Edwards was lost for the game (and possibily even longer), the Bills offense could get nothing going.  The only score of the 1st, came when Cards QB Kurt Warner threw a TD pass to a wide open Larry Fitzgerald.  After 1, Cards lead 7-0.

2^nd Quarter

The Bills attempted to make this one a ball game but their defense could not stop the Cardinals offensive attack.  Rookie RB Tim Hightower added a 17 yard run for a TD and vetran Edgerrin James also had a short TD run in the quarter. 

The Bills would get two touchdowns this quarter as they tried to get back into it.  The first one came on an absolute strike by backup QB JP Losman to Lee Evans.  The play went for 86 yards and the Bills finally got on the board.  The 2nd TD came on a Losman QB draw from the 2 yard line.

The teams would head into the tunnel at halftime with the Cardinals leading by 10, 24-14 over the Bills after K Neil Rackers hit a 47 yard FG as time expired.

3^rd Quarter

The Bills were able to get the game back to a 1 score game when K Rian Lindell hit a 48 yard FG of his own.  The Cards would not be shut out though in this quarter.  Towards the end of it, Larry Fitz caught his 2nd TD pass of the game and Arizona still lead 31-17 going into the 4th.

4^th Quarter

The Bills would end the game putting up a goose egg in the 4th where they are usually very good.  Neil Rackers hit another FG and Hightower scored his 2nd TD of the game on a short run inside the redzone.  The Cards high power offense was able to overmatch the Bills, winning the game 41-17.

Game Notes

• JP Losman sucks (Sorry not really a stat just had to throw it out there.  I’ll get more into that with the post tomorrow)
• The Bills turned the ball over 4 times in this one, while Arizona didn’t have any. 
• Marshawn Lynch had anothe subpar game with 55 yards on 13 carries.  In his defense though, the Bills started passing more and more as the game went on.
• The Bills also got killed in the time of possesion battle with the Cards holding onto the football for 36:16.
• This is the Bills last game before the bye week.  They take on the San Diego Chargers at home in their next game.

More to come on this game tomorrow.  As you can tell I am not very happy with the outcome or the way the game was played by the Bills in general.

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Eli Manning talks to Sal Paloantionio of ESPN after the Giants 44-6 win over the Seahawks.

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The Giants dominated the Seahawks as they scored 4 TDs and 2 FGs on their first 6 possessions of the game which was enough for both coaches to pull their starting quarterbacks out after the 3rd Quarter giving Big Blue their fourth win of the 2008 Regular Season.

1st Quarter

During the opening drive of the Seahawks, Tuck took down Matt Hasselbeck which required medical attention on his knee, and the drive ultimately led to a punt.

During the Giants first possession, Eli Manning handed the ball off to Jacobs three times for 64 yards before he hooked up with Domenik Hixon in the left side of the end zone for a 32-yard Touch Down reception with 11:21 remaining.

Hasselbeck marched the Seahawks 56 yards to set up a 30-yard Field Goal Attempt which was made by Olindo Mare with 7:09 remaining.

The Giants second possession began at the 25 yardline, and Manning got Toomer involved with 3 receptions on this drive before handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who ran it up the gut for a 3-yard Touch Down run with 3:39 remaining.

2nd Quarter

Manning aired out a 41-yard pass to Hixon which got the Giants to the Seahawks’ 18 yardline, and John Carney made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 14:50 remaining.

Manning sprinkled in some Smith, some Hedgecock, and some Manningham as he led the team 73 yards to the end zone, and he capped off the drive by handing the ball off to Brandon Jacobs who jumped over the pile for a 1-yard Touch Down run with 7:23 remaining.

On 2nd and 5, Patrick Kerney sacked Eli Manning on his blindside and knocked the ball out as well, but Kevin Boothe recovered it so the Giants did not turn the ball over. Manning got Hixon, Moss, and Ward involved as he marched the Giants into field goal range, and John Carney made a 33-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:47 remaining.

Hasselbeck, along with a couple of bad facemask penatlies by the Giants, was able to march the Seahawks into field goal range before the 1st Half concluded, and Olindo Mare made a 29-yard Field Goal Attempt with 0:03 remaining.

3rd Quarter

Eli Manning handed the ball off Jacobs, one of which was a 28-yard run, and Ward before firing a 23-yard Touch Down pass to Sinorice Moss in the middle of the end zone with 11:58 remaining to cap off an 80 yard drive (The Giants reported that Dominek Hixon and Kareem McKenzie left the game due to concussions).

The Giants seventh possession resulted in a Punt which was the first non-scoring drive of the game for them.

On 3rd and 5, Matt Hasselbeck scrambled and threw an interception to Kevin Dockery at the Giants’ 23 yardline, and Dockery returned it to the Seahawks’ 31 yardline. The Giants were unable to get into the end zone, but John Carney made a 25-yard Field Goal Attempt with 1:38 remaining.

4th Quarter

Seneca Wallace replaced Hasselbeck on this drive, and Mathias Kiwanuka sacked Wallace for a loss of 9 on 3rd and 10 with 14:11 remaining.

David Carr replaced Manning on this drive, and Carr kept handing the ball off to Bradshaw until they got to the Seahawks’ 5 yardline where Carr hit Sinorice Moss in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard Touch Down pass with 9:25 remaining.

Wrap Up

Eli Manning went 19/25 and threw for 267 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs.

Brandon Jacobs led in Rushing Attempts and Rushing Yards with 15 and 136.

Domenik Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith led in Receptions with 4, and Domenik Hixon led in Receiving Yards with 102.

Brandon Jacobs had 2 TD Runs, Sinorice Moss had 2 TD Reception, and Domenik Hixon had 1 TD Reception.

John Carney went 3/3 in Field Goal Attempts.

Aaron Ross led the team in Tackles with 6.

Mathias Kiwanuka and Dave Tollefson had 1 Sack.

Kevin Dockery had 1 INT.

The NFL.com Game Center: Post Game is attached.

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The Seattle Seahawks will face the New York Giants at Giants Stadium.

TV Info:
Game: Seattle Seahawks (1-2) @ New York Giants (3-0)
TV: WNYW (Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa)
Radio: WFAN (Bob Papa, Carl Banks, Howard Cross)
Time: October 5, 2008; 1:00 p.m. ET

Game Notes:

• The Giants will attempt to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1990 when they host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
• The Giants are 4-15 in games following a regular season bye.
• Plaxico Burress was suspended last week for a game and told to stay away from the team until Oct. 5, a punishment handed down for missing a practice and not calling to explain his absence.
• Domenik Hixon will play in place of Burress, and he is averaging 14.8 yards on six receptions this season and he leads the NFC with a 13.8-yard punt return average.
• The Seahawks are ranked 11th in the NFL in offense, averaging 336.7 yards a game.
• When these teams last met two years ago, Matt Hasselbeck threw five touchdown passes and the Seahawks scored 42 points, so the Giants know what kind of firepower they could face.
• Deion Branch and Bobby Engram should play Sunday, according to Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
• The Seahawks are ranked 12th in defense (allowing 314.3 yards a game).
• Kicker Olindo Mare has made all seven of his field goal attempts this season.
• The Giants lead the series, 7-5, but lost the two most recent games in Seattle in 2005 and 2006.
• The Line: The Giants are favored by 7. Over/Under is 43.5.

Injury Report:

Seahawks - Questionable: RB Marice Morris (Knee), WR Koren Robinson (Knee). Probable: WR Deion Branch (Knee), WR Bobby Engram (Shoulder), CB Kelly Jennings (Ribs), T Walter Jones (Hip), DT Craig Terrill (Back), QB Senaca Wallace (Calf), G Floyd Womack (Hamstring).

Giants - No injuries.

Quote of the week:

“I think the receivers we have…the way we use them and split them up and have each guy who does certain things well, we just put them in the right positions. And the guys have been playing well all season. Hixon played really well in the preseason for us and has played well in the regular season so far. And now he should get some more action —more plays. But Steve Smith, Amani, Sinorice, they have all made plays this season. So I think together we have to have that same philosophy.” - QB Eli Manning on the way he uses his receivers

Open Thread:
Please feel free to comment below or in the tag board in the sidebar to chat with Giants fans from around the world.

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The Buffalo Bills will face the Arizona Cardinals tomorrow afternoon at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Broadcast Info:

Game: Buffalo Bills (3-0) @ St. Louis Rams (0-3)
TV: CBS (Bill Macatee, Steve Beuerlein)
Radio: 97 Rock (Buffalo), 103.3 The EDGE (Buffalo), WHAM 1180 AM (Rochester), WNSS 1260 AM (Syracuse), FAN 590 AM (Toronto). All done by John Murphy, Mark Kelso and Paul Peck on the Bills radio network.
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

FOR BILLS FANS WATCHING THE GAME IN THE BUFFALO AREA:

Remember you will need to bust out the rabbit ears for this one if you have Time Warner Cable.  With the local CBS channel being pulled off the air for the time being you will have to unplug your cable from the back of your TV and then plug in the antenna.  The quality for this game won’t be too great though seeing as it is coming over the air.  Try to find a friends house with satellite, as they will not be affected by this.

Game Notes:

• The Bills have won four consecutive games against the Cardinals and lead the all-time series, 5-3.
• Quarterback Trent Edwards is only the second Bills quarterback to win three consecutive games after trailing in the fourth quarter
• Bills defensive tackle Marcus Stroud leads all NFL defensive linemen with four passes defensed.  He is questionable in this game.
• Following a loss at Washington in Week 3, the Cardinals spent the week leading up to their game at Buffalo on the East Coast in order to avoid traveling across three time zones in consecutive weeks. Arizona was 2-0 before losing both games on the road trip.
•  Steve Breaston will have to step up his game because Boldin can’t go. Breaston was one of three receivers for the Cardinals with 100-plus receiving yards against the Jets.
• The Bills have scored 45 fourth-quarter points this season
• Buffalo hasn’t had a 5-0 start since 1991.
•  Larry Fitzgerald reached 350 receptions in his career in only his 64th game, the third fastest in NFL history. Only Boldin (58) and Lionel Taylor (63) were faster.
• The Line: The Cardinals are favored by 1. Over/Under 44.5.

Injury Report:

Bills - Out of Game: TE Derek Fine (Hand) and WR Roscoe Parrish (Thumb).  Doubtful: CB Terrence McGee (Knee).  Questionable: DT Marcus Stroud (Shoulder) and DE Aaron Scobel (Foot).

Cardinals - Out of Game: WR Anquan Boldin (Head).  Doubtful: DE Bertrand (Groin).  Questionable: TE Leonard Pope (Ankle), SS Adrian Wilson (Hamstring), and TE Jerame Tuman (Hamstring).  Probable: G Elton Brown (Shoulder), DT Darnell Dockett (Hamstring) and DT Gabe Watson (Knee).

Quote of the Week:

“It’s exciting.  I feel like we’ve come a long way. Working together this offseason and through these four games, I feel like we’ve developed something that I think this organization respects and seeing that, I think they’re rewarding a very valuable commodity to this team.”

-Bills QB Trent Edwards on the Lee Evans contract extension

Open Thread:

Please feel free to comment below or in the tag board in the sidebar to chat with Bills fans from around the world.

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This post is to update a previous injury one made earlier in the week on Bills CB Terrence McGee and Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin.  Here is the latest on both players:

BOLDIN:

BOLDIN OUT FOR SUNDAY: According to AZCardinals.com Anquan Boldin is out after undergoing surgery to repair the sinus fracture he sustained in last week’s game against the Jets.

- Chris Brown, BuffaloBills.com Blogger

MCGEE

The Bills are unlikely to have starting left cornerback Terrence McGee in a week where they’re facing the league’s fourth-ranked passing offense.

“Terrence did not practice again today and we’re going to list him as doubtful,” said head coach Dick Jauron Friday.

McGee has been working hard trying to rehab from a sprained knee suffered last Sunday during the first defensive series at St. Louis.

Expected to start in his place is third-year corner Ashton Youboty.

 <a href="http://-BuffaloBills.com" title="http://-BuffaloBills.
" target="_blank">-BuffaloBills.com Story

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