Skins vs. Dolphins Post Game Thoughts

Some guys who really stood out for me tonight:

Sean Taylor: Ok, that's three weeks in a row that he's caused at least one turnover. It won't always be this easy for him but you have to feel good about his performance so far

Marcus Washington: Without LaVar and Barrow to draw some attention, he still was a force to be reckoned with. I see 10+ sacks and a Pro-Bowl for him this year

Joe Salave'a: This could be one of the more underrated pick ups of the offseason. He may not start, that will probably be Griffin and Noble. But he did a really nice job penetrating and occupying blockers freeing up guys like Washington.

John Simon: With Betts out he's being given more of an opportunity than he would probably get otherwise. But he's taken advantage of the situation. And he looked much more solid than McCullough today. Simon hit the holes hard and didn't hesitate. Sultan seemed to dance a little too much tonight

The offense was still relatively bland. Most of the passing plays were just dump offs. There wasn't much motion or anything like that. There were a lot of long drives which I think was Gibbs' way of saying "Ok offensive line I want to see what you can do. Can you carry us through a long drive?" And the Dirtbags passed with flying colors. Tonight was a nice confidence boost for them. Brunell was very poised and played like a true veteran. Ramsey was a bit more hesitant. Right now I think Brunell just sees thing faster. But that's to be expected. Brunell has over a decade more experience than Ramsey. Ramsey didn't look bad per se. He's just not quite at Brunell's mental level yet.

The defense continues to be aggressive yet smart. They're not making any dumb penalties, late hits, etc. They were missing a few key players for most if not all of tonight. Yet they still played strong. That's a testament to desire and good coaching.

Overall, this was one of those games that makes you breathe a huge sigh of relief. Especially after last week's sloppy performance. Here's the thing with this team. Once they really start to gel, which I think is only a handful of games away, the Redskins are not going to lose many games. This coaching staff won't allow it. Now don't get me wrong. The Skins will get beat some days. But they're not going to lose the games themselves. That will be the biggest difference between this coming year and the past couple of years. Not the talent, but the discipline and focus.

Well heres what is on my mind right now, Redskin-wise.

First, Clinton Portis had a great game ( Series ) , but really looked( or sounded ) impressive and what I had hoped we would see from him this year. It seemed as the offensive line did a exellent job tonight, and really I dont expect them to calm down too much now. They will hopefully carry it over until the essecintally final preseason game next week ( Since most of the starters rest the last one ). Our offense just seemd to be coming together now, which was defintley one of my biggest worries. Our defense obviously plalyed well because, well theres a zero on the other side of the scoreboard.

Q.B. Competition: It's over. I"m the #1 ramsey fan around, hes still my favotire skins player weather hes on the feild or not, but hes just behind Brunell right now. Brunell has the experiance and is picking things up alot faster. Ramsey just seems nervous, like hes going for the home run ball every throw. I still think Ramsey is going to have an effect on our season, because I dont see Brunell making it through the year, but Brunell will start for us against Tampa barring injury.

Ill let you guys know my thoughts tomorrow, I just got back from the game, it was awesome!!!

Man, Adewale for Marty Booker and a third...

John Simon has been very good on kick returns as well, another sleeper pickup from last year

Can we all just let out a collective sigh of relief now?

Can we all just let out a collective sigh of relief now?

Well, I suppose.....but a couple of things that still concern me:

1. Special teams coverage on kick offs aren't that hot. If there's one member of the coaching staff I'm not sold on just yet, its Danny Smith.

2. Morton hasn't been very impressive this far - even though he mouthed off to me (presumably jokingly on fan appreciation day) that he'd take 5 returns to the house this year. I suppose, in defense of the punt returners, Turk was really booming some great punts today.

3. Ramsey still looks a li'l shaky - still hesitant in his decision making. It also seems like on some of his throws that he's taking some heat off the ball and throwing 'em slower than he normally would (as in last week when he under-threw Coles for the INT).

Other than that, a pretty comprehensive win over a depleted Miami team. One thing's for sure this year - with the emphasis on mistake-free football, we will certainly win all the games we're supposed to win (no more losses like the ones to the Saints & Bears last year). One remarkable thing about this team is that even with some of our prime starters (like Lavar, Barrow, Springs, etc.) out of the game, the defensive scheme is good enough to work really effectively with back-ups.

Time Of Pos. - 41:22 18:38
Total Net Yards - 301 98
181 yards rushing...

feels like a corner has been turned... i think simon and probably mccullough will make the team... SEAN TAYLOR. Someone said he doesn't think it'll always be as easy for him, i'm hoping it gets even easier... i can see FF, INTs and TDs flying all over the place... sorry, after 3 good games i'm hyped up on him. If he continues like that he ma make rookie of the year/pro bowl (yeah yeah, its too early).

marcus is good... why the hell would they let him go? brunell has won the starting job (unless ramsey throws 4 TDs next week)... i rather have simon than betts at this point... he does special teams and he's actually played.

portis is too fast, he seems to run ahead of his blockers a lot. notice that his big gain was a run to the outside (something the skins hadn't done this preseason until that point). he has the speed to break it outside, so i think to use his best, the other team has to be wondering where he's breaking through... i know he can be a successful gut runner, but that's really not playing to strengths. Too bad our O-linemen are slow ;)

O-line did much better today, the coaching all over the team is starting to show up.

herzog shouldn't have been fired, he's still awesome. I was really happy watching this, though it wasn't the most exciting game i've ever seen.

O-line is coming along(still holding my breath). Taylor is really making me forget about K2. D-line, still praying!

I must say I'm shocked at the improvement a single week can play. The starters played amazing against a great defense. I liked to see Portis hit the outside and actually get to use his forte to gain yards, like the rest of you, I think Brunell won the starting job last night, and our defense looks amazing. All the analysts think that our offense will be fine but we'll struggle on defense. I know Gibbs is a big offensive guy, but I think our defense will be our saving grace!

I'm ready for the real season - BRING ON TAMPA!

Gibbs wanted improvment this week and I think it's safe to say mission accomplished.

Portis showed some signs of life, the offense line seems to be pretty solid, Taylor is a playmaking freak, Brunell was on and the defense continues to play well. Now let's get some guys healthy and we should be ready to rock once September 12 rolls around.