Here's my take on the game - what do you guys think?

I thought the game was an ugly one from an offensive point of view (except for the first drive). Defensively, it was good but they will definitely have to improve. I just got done watching the Eagles game and let me tell you, they are going to be tough. Thankfully, we won't have to face them to the second half of the season.

Highlights:

Offensive Line:
No sacks allowed, as far as I can remember just one holding penalty-and that was Kenyatta preventing a safety. All preseason long these guys have looked sharp. The gave Brunell plenty of time to make throws. It all starts here in the trenches and the Dirtbags are a definite postive for the team right now

Clinton Portis:
Even with the big holes the line gave him, he added a few yards to several plays. And he played some really smart football-for example, staying inbounds near the end of the game even though he may have gotten a few more yards had he taken it outside. He got a lot of carries today. I'll be anxious to see how that holds up. I think Betts would have seen more carries if the score wasn't close toward the end of the game

Matt Bowen:
Aggressive, hard-hitting (and not on his own teammates!). And give credit to guys like Cornelius Griffin who occupied blockers clear a path for Bowen to go untouched to the QB. Heck the whole defense played great but Bowen stood out-maybe because of low expectations. And how about Walt Harris! Broke up a potential first down pass, apparently he didn't need any preseason

Lowlights

Special Teams:
The coverage unit continues to be a big problem for this team. Something needs to be done or someone going to bust loose for a TD against the Skins. And Special Teams TDs can be demoralizing

Rod Gardner:
First play of the game-drop. Key third down-drop. He has to be consistent. Brunell needs him to be the guy he can depend on whenever the Skins need a tough third-down.

Skins blitz last play of the game. no prevent d, just keep doing what only allowed 3 offensive points all day!
THIS WAS EXACLTY WHAT THE SKINS NEEDED.
Obviously getting Gibbs is the big difference but Williams had the d flying all over the field. Remains to be seen what they will do against a real #1 receiver.

Was it just my imagination or did I not hear Shawn Springs' name mentioned during the entire game? Yeah, he didn't make that many plays, but that was because TB wasn't throwing at him, right? That was nice, reminded me of Champ. Just line him up and we never hear from the receiver he's covering.

3. Big play nobody is talking about... Cooley's reception for a 1st down on 3rd down in 2nd half. Huge play that slowed the Bucs momentum.

Yeah, but after that play, they had three more plays and had to punt. Nice catch, but it was part of a drive that went nowhere, and it wasn't crucial to the outcome of the game.

AnonEmouse- the only one of your observations I have to disagree with you is Rod Gardner. He played a little better than OK. I saw only one drop and it was on a very low/bad pass from Brunnell. He made some clutch 3rd down catches.

Actually, he dropped the third down pass that was low, but still catch-able, AND he had another drop on the very first play of the game -- a wideout screen. Hit him right in the hands and he dropped it.

Apart from those two plays, Gardner was serviceable. With Coles being blanketed, I was actually hoping for more from the passing game. He's the one who has to step up and pick up the slack when Coles is being doubled. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't.

My random thoughts on the game:

-Brunell still has plenty left in his tank, he managed the game and that's exactly what Gibbs wants from him.

I agree that he will be a decent game manager for the Skins... but I don't think he will be able to step up and win a game for them if they need him to. I think Ramsey has the potential to be a game winner and I wouldn't be surprised if he got a few extra snaps with the first team this week.

Anon,

You totally lost me with your OL and RB analysis, so I did not bother reading any farther. To make negative comments about the running game that netted 148 yards for Portis alone (more TOTAL rushing yards), shows me your expectations were higher than any team could live up to - especially against a quality defense like this one.

OUR "D" ONLY GAVE UP 3 POINTS, and the offense ate up a ton of clock. That was the story of the game. And, of course, the OL was EXCELLENT. With a decent spot on Brunell's run, we get more points. Without a bad call on another play we get more points. Without ANOTHER key 3rd down DROP by Gardner, we get more points.

Basically, we outplayed the hell out of them in spite of the score.

Gardner cannot be blamed entirley for the third down drop that was to the floor the ball was never really to him, I seem to rember him making a spectacular leaping catch to convert key third down at one point. I didn't see all the game in the Uk as the satalite feed was poor but one thing I did see was nearly every time Brunell threw the ball it was a gamble he was lucky not to be picked off quite a few times.

Also special teams need more work on the 54 kick return which lead to the bucs first points the first guy to get a hand on thier returner was Hall.

The game plan on defence was fantastic taking away the 5-8 yard underneath area Brad likes so much taking away his game as if he was allowed to get going he could have dinked and doinked us to death. But in the second half the Bucs started exploiting the D agressiveness as Washington and Arrington seemed to make a habit of running right by the play in an attempt to nail the QB.

Overall though I think we got it done against a quality opponent Gruden and Kiffen are always ready to play and esentially Gibbs and Williams were more than a amatch for them . Someone should really explain the challenge system to Gibbs though because we had some awful calls against us incluing the Brunell spot inside the two.

A few (too many!) observations:

Portis is the real deal. The TD was a thing of beauty: He made those CBs look like they were wading through mud. But I thought that 3rd down play right before the 2-minute warning was almost as big. He cut right, made a guy miss, and got the crucial first down that basically iced it.

Betts played well as a backup. Hope he stays healty.

I loved that Cooley catch, ragardless of when it happened. What hands! And he had a great block or two. Very nice.

The o-line protected well. The run game sputtered in the middle of the game, but Kiffen was putting 8-9 guys in the box. I thought Brunnell wasn't bad, but wasn't great. His deep throws hung up, and he didn't spred the ball around that much. But he did what he had to do for the win. Still, that fumble almost lost it for us! Come on, man! Eat it on that play! I think the O will only improve as Gibbs and co get everyone all on the same page, and the timing and chemistry kick in. Given the way TB was crowding the line, I'm surprised we didn't get a big paly action pass. It'll come.

Bowen. Wow. Who is that guy in Bowen's uniform??? Hope he sticks around!

Antonio Pierce. Awesome game tackling, covering, INT, and special teams. Lavar and Washington played well too. This is a good D for LBs, and we've got some good LBs!

Sean Taylor got burnt by Galloway, who then droped the ball and pulled a muscle. Someone up there likes this kid! As my old coach used to say: He learned an expensive lesson cheaply.

SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! Great game. Great heart. Great leadership.

Coach Willliams: What a fuc*ing bad ass! Blitzing on the last play?!?! Right on! He is a great play caller. That second Bowen sack was just perfect. And he pulled back and covered at the right times as well. Sure, TB's offense is weak, but talk about setting a tone. Basically, it was a shutout: an offense TO and a special teams gaff led to the points.

The bottom line: a very nice win. Just think of last year when we'd go into the foruth with a lead. What an amazing difference. And that's becuase of Gibbs. As much as anything, he controls the clock. If you can't get on the field, you can't win. This offense is only going to get better. The D looks strong. And remember, defense wins championships!

PS: Philly looks very good. TO is for real. Still, the Giants gained like 170 yards rushing on them. The gints had their moments, especially on offense, but I think we can knock Warner back into the stone age. And Vinny too. Those old, immobile QBs better watch it. Let's just ball-control McNabb and TO off the field. The Vikes look very good. The Browns look good. Couldn't tell about Detroit and Chicago; they were playing each other. Cinncy has a decnt O and a terrible D. Curtis Martin shreaded them. Portis is licking his chops. Do the ravens even know how to play offense at all?