Daseal's Random Thoughts:

The Redskins' offensive line is really bad, and Jason made them look worse than they are. That first play that the Redskins ran was terrible, and we weren't ready to play a team with a defense like the Giants. Plus if the Giants had continued to run the ball, we would have lost by 30 points.

That PI call on Smoot was iffy, for sure. Probably should not have been offensive PI either, and most likely should have been a non-call. Smoot's head was turning towards the ball, and contact was initiated by both players. IMO, it should have been a play that the refs shouldn't have interfered in at all.

For anyone wanting to dissect the minutiae of the rule to make their case...
NFL Rules Digest: Pass Interference (http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/passinterference)

I agree about the PI call, but 9 times out of 10, they're going to call the DB for PI and not the receiver.

Don't worry, Kendall got even with Pierce by ripping AP's helmet off and then headbutting him. Shut Pierce up after that. I cracked up laughing when I saw Kendall do that.

Kendall gets the Lineman of the Week Award. He may be old and hurting, but don't sleep on him. He's a fighter.

Daseal:

1. ARE returns punts to earn his keep. He certainly hasn't shown he can earn that kind of bread as a WR.

2. You are exactly right about the exhibition games. What matters is the precision with which the units play. And in the last two exhibition games, the Skins were sloppy and dis-spirited.

3. This is Zorn's first time calling plays for real. And the Giants' defense is pretty good. I'll give Zone a mulligan here.

4. I liked Campbell in the Gibbs/Saunders offense. He certainly has not mastered Zorn's offense and looks very uncomfortable back there.

5. WR was the biggest shortcoming of the Skins on 07. The same guys are out there in 08. Just to clarify: That's not good.

6. Redskins defense played better in 2nd half to be sure.

7. Officiating was not good. However as Smootsmack pointed out, the Sklins got a 15 yard facemask penalty thgat put them in scoring position just before the half when not a single Giant touched the facemask. There were bad calls - - both ways.

8. If the Skins start out 0-5, the season is a disaster. That should not happen...

To be fair, we got lucky when a facemask penalty was called against the Giants at the end of the first half leading up to our TD that really wasn't a facemask.

However, we got totally robbed on the Santana Moss catch. The one where he bobbled it then got up and took off for what should have been a TD. He was touched before he fully caught the ball, after that he was never downed. That was Antonio Freeman all over again and would have turned the game around.

Couldn't we have challenged that the runner was not down by contact? Im just asking to see if this was something that Zorn could of challenged. Im not sure what the outcome would have been if overturned because Moss did not continue to the endzone anyway.

dont think it can be challenged cuz the whistle was blown period.

The bogus PI call on Smoot really ticked me off. Toomer clearly pushed off.

I didn't understand the non-calls on Jacobs and on Pierce later on when he got in that scuffle with Kendall. Both of them clearly started shit right in front of a ref no less. I don't get it.

I've been watching the Skins for years and that just seems typical of the ref's. I remember years ago when Jeff George was our quarterback. Dallas sacked him, then the guy grabbed him by the jersey right below his neck and dragged him down the field 3-5 yards while he celebrated. No flag. It blows my mind.

I think you can challenge down by contact.

We can talk all we want about calls and no calls, but we were out-played and out-coached in this game. I liked that the D re-grouped at halftime and made adjustments, I think they'll be a pretty good unit (especially as Mac, Taylor and Carlos get more into the swing - and Landry too after not playing all pre-season). And don't underestimate how big it is not having Springs out there on Thursday night.

I was big time disappointed in Zorn and to some degree Campbell. Zorn didn't seem to adjust, and was lost in time management. Hated the play calls (1 look to Cooley all night, are you kidding me!!?) But I believe Zorn will improve as the season progresses. Campbell still holds the ball too long and takes too few chances (the last drives were pathetic, we were two scores down, take a shot downfield and stop dumping it off). Campbell worries me a bit....

But the doom and gloom I keep hearing is ridiculous (JLC needs to be thrown out of town). It's one game and we lost by only 9 points IN Giants Stadium to a team that won the Super Bowl (and we held them to 16). With a new coach and a new offense, I'd say lets give them a break and see what happens over the next few weeks....

My 2 cents...

I get tired of seeing the Dallas Cowboys go from the worst team in the NFL just 3-5 years ago (it could be longer) to being predicted as being in the Super Bowl this year while the Redskins seem to be getting older and weaker every year. I expected more this year.