-Om-
08-13-2009, 08:39 AM
Preseason Game 1: Top Five Wish List
August 13, 2009
Once again it's time for the requisite "what I want to see" piece heading into the first preseason game of a new season. Gotta do it—it's as much a part of the early-season NFL ritual as stopping at Best Buy for new box of blank DVD's. Only so many games can live on the DVR before it starts bogging down.
Top Five Wish List
Washington vs. Baltimore
V. Speed.
For as long as I can remember the Redskins have not been a fast team. They've had fast players now and again, sure, but haven’t been a fast team. In fact, they've often looked plodding by comparison. So at least twice in the "game" tonight, I want to react to a play by a Redskin that bespeaks pure speed.
Doesn't matter who does it, or in what context:
A running back beating inside pursuit and turning the corner. A linebacker or defensive end coming off the edge, closing on the QB with evil intent and actually getting there. A wide receiver pulling away from a defensive back who seems to have the angle. A punt returner splitting the gap with a burst. You’ll know the kind of play I mean if (when!) you see it.
Former Cowboys Head Coach Jimmy Johnson talked about speed being the one thing he realized he needed to bring to the roster when he took over in Dallas back in 1989. No Redskins fan has forgotten how that worked out.
Speed thrills. I want some.
IV. I was actually kind of glad to hear big DT Albert Haynesworth won't play. For one thing, it removed the chance of reliving the massive letdown that was the first preseason game back in 1998, when uber-free agent signing DT's Dana Stubblefield and Big Daddy Dan Wilkinson first lined up next to one another.
Those of you too young to remember can't imagine the hype leading up to the first preseason game that year—those two guys were the missing ingredient, baby. And those of you old enough to remember surely haven't forgotten the air escaping from our collective balloon as the ho-hum Miami Dolphins proceeded to march right down the field for a TD on their first possession, largely on slashing off-tackle runs right through our brand new multi-million dollar turnstiles.
And no, I'm not suggesting Haynesworth is going to be a bust—far from it. I'm just happy enough to save that first peek for a week, and use this week to get my first look at what this year's defensive might look like without him … because you know he's going to miss at least a game or two.
To that end, nothing would make me happier tonight than seeing some other defensive big men stand up and get noticed. Rookies Brian Orakpo or Jeremy Jarmon, young returning vets Chris Wilson or Rob Jackson, old hands Andre Carter or Phillip Daniels ... anyone.
Just get after the passer—show some movement up front. Gotta have it.
CLICK HERE (http://www.theomfield.com/2009/08/2009-preseason-opener-top-five-wish.html) to read more
August 13, 2009
Once again it's time for the requisite "what I want to see" piece heading into the first preseason game of a new season. Gotta do it—it's as much a part of the early-season NFL ritual as stopping at Best Buy for new box of blank DVD's. Only so many games can live on the DVR before it starts bogging down.
Top Five Wish List
Washington vs. Baltimore
V. Speed.
For as long as I can remember the Redskins have not been a fast team. They've had fast players now and again, sure, but haven’t been a fast team. In fact, they've often looked plodding by comparison. So at least twice in the "game" tonight, I want to react to a play by a Redskin that bespeaks pure speed.
Doesn't matter who does it, or in what context:
A running back beating inside pursuit and turning the corner. A linebacker or defensive end coming off the edge, closing on the QB with evil intent and actually getting there. A wide receiver pulling away from a defensive back who seems to have the angle. A punt returner splitting the gap with a burst. You’ll know the kind of play I mean if (when!) you see it.
Former Cowboys Head Coach Jimmy Johnson talked about speed being the one thing he realized he needed to bring to the roster when he took over in Dallas back in 1989. No Redskins fan has forgotten how that worked out.
Speed thrills. I want some.
IV. I was actually kind of glad to hear big DT Albert Haynesworth won't play. For one thing, it removed the chance of reliving the massive letdown that was the first preseason game back in 1998, when uber-free agent signing DT's Dana Stubblefield and Big Daddy Dan Wilkinson first lined up next to one another.
Those of you too young to remember can't imagine the hype leading up to the first preseason game that year—those two guys were the missing ingredient, baby. And those of you old enough to remember surely haven't forgotten the air escaping from our collective balloon as the ho-hum Miami Dolphins proceeded to march right down the field for a TD on their first possession, largely on slashing off-tackle runs right through our brand new multi-million dollar turnstiles.
And no, I'm not suggesting Haynesworth is going to be a bust—far from it. I'm just happy enough to save that first peek for a week, and use this week to get my first look at what this year's defensive might look like without him … because you know he's going to miss at least a game or two.
To that end, nothing would make me happier tonight than seeing some other defensive big men stand up and get noticed. Rookies Brian Orakpo or Jeremy Jarmon, young returning vets Chris Wilson or Rob Jackson, old hands Andre Carter or Phillip Daniels ... anyone.
Just get after the passer—show some movement up front. Gotta have it.
CLICK HERE (http://www.theomfield.com/2009/08/2009-preseason-opener-top-five-wish.html) to read more