Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Preseason Week 3)

Overall, I was very pleased with our performance yesterday. I thought Campbell looked really sharp. Zorn called maybe one of his best games. I loved that the linebackers were forcing turnovers. And Alridge is money! Still would give the edge to Dorsey though. AA just can't stay healthy, no matter how usainly fast he is.

But it's time to lay the smack down

Penalties Even in some were questionable, we just can't have that many penalties. Plain and simple

Those here that rushed to trade, cut, vilify Jason Campbell after last week Was this the real Campbell or was it last week's Campbell? Maybe somewhere in the middle, though leaning toward last night's version. Still, it just goes to show what he's capable of and why he can be the difference between .500 and playoffs.

Those here that had doubts about Mitchell beyond his ability to catch fade routes Looking squarely at myself here. First of all, if all he does is catch fades and stop and go's, that'd be just fine. 5 years from now Berman will be saying "Marko 'Polo' Mitchell...all he does is," and then Tom Jackson will interject "catch touchdowns." But seriously, what most impressed me last night about Marko. And arguably my favorite play of the night was Mitchell's impressive blocking downfield on the Cooley catch. Way to do the little things

Colt Brennan My quest to get Chase Daniel on the team took one step closer to reality! Seriously though, I'd still keep Colt and develop him. But damn!

Wasting short fields We have to take better advantage of turnovers our defense gives us

Shaun Suisham This is one of the biggest reasons you have competition this summer. I know it was a a 51-yarder, but you have to make those. Especially when your job is on the line.

Just as Simms said during the game, give JC time and he can make all the throws. Of course that's true with just about any QB, but I think JC more than proved last night he can play at a high level.

Watch the press conference, the guy is intelligent and moreover he can play given time. That cannot be said of maybe a third of the starting quarterbacks in this league. Furthermore, despite the scrutiny, despite the absurd amount of adversity he has faced this offseason and preseason, this guy is the consummate professional. In a way, that has to mean more to Redskins fans. Finally, interesting note, JC had a better season in his first year in the offense than Ben Roethlisberger of the Champion Steelers...food for thought?

Marko did some reall nice things. He blocked well in the rushing game and did some nice things in the passing game, dude has earned a spot on the roster.

Devin Thomas and Malcom ran some really nice routes as well. I am surised no one has mentioned these 2 guys performance.

Marcus needs to gain his spot on the team this year. And after playing last night without ROck Cartwright I`don't see him on the roster this year. time to move on i loved what rock did for us but......

our oline played well against the pats blitzes. made me happy and moss needs to catch those short routes.

And finally the first team defense got us a turnover. Barnes made a nice play on he ball as well when he got his shot. Good game for our guys.

Well just I thought it was stupid to get so worked up about the first two preseason games, I'm staying mildly excited about our performance last night. I thought we played really well overall, against a very good football team. We hung right with the Patriots, Campbell looked pretty good and we were taking some nice shots down feild...

Since its the "Smack" thread, the things that still are bothering me...

Far and away above anything else it is penalties...stupid ones! The Steelers TD Drive last week? Kept alive after we stoped them on 3rd down becuase of a unessacary roughness call on DeAngelo Hall (Although that was a bullsh*t call)... One of the Pats TD drives last night? Facemask after we stopped them on 3rd down... a unsporstman like call from THE SIDELINES?? Give me a break with that. This is all on Jim Zorn too...but clean this up. They are professionals. Our starters arguably might have outscored the freaking Patriots 17-7 if it was not for penalties.

Shaun Sushiam... I have zero faith in this guy. Rayner might be just as bad, but at this point I just want to feel like we *might* make a big feild goal over 30 yards at the end of the game.

Justin Tryon... I really want you to be good. This guy doenst even look at the ball though. He's just terrible. The drop off between our starting corners and our backups is unbelivable. A serious injury to Hall or Rogers could be a real serious blow to our season.

theres no way that marko doesn't make this team..and Devin Thomas had a very nice juke move to get a first down in the middle of the field..just wanted to throw that one in there

theres no way that marko doesn't make this team..and Devin Thomas had a very nice juke move to get a first down in the middle of the field..just wanted to throw that one in there

Seriously. I dont care if he doesnt play special teams, this kid has been awesome. I've been very impressed by him and Kelly this preaseason, which is very encouraging. I obviously want Devin Thomas to be good as well (and he's def been improving)... but I'm just excited because Mitchell and Kelly are BIG receviers. Thats something this team has been lacking for a long time.

Shaun Sushiam... I have zero faith in this guy. Rayner might be just as bad, but at this point I just want to feel like we *might* make a big feild goal over 30 yards at the end of the game.

Agreed, SS scares me everytime he lines up for a kick, and Rayner had some good depth on his kickoffs as well. I do get the feeling they will keep SS by default, but wish we had addressed kicker the same way we did with the punting situation.

Colt - He's got talent, but he's reckless and turnovers cost games. The guy is pretty accurate, but I'm tired of seeing him make poor decisions. This kid might be good one day, but he's nowhere near ready for primetime.

Blache - Was it just me, or did it look like Randy Moss was facing single coverage for most of the night? And I still have yet to witness the kind of pass rush I'd expect to see from Haynesworth, Griffin, Carter, Orakpo and others that I would expect to see. The pressure was getting close in weeks 1 and 2 and it was pretty insignificant last night. I hope Blache is just holding his cards close to his vest.

Me - I was closely watching Heyer last night and I have to admit that I may have been wrong about the guy. He was doing pretty well in BOTH pass protection and run blocking. I hope he continues to prove me wrong.

Negatives...

Jason Campbell - No touch and not great accuracy, he will always be a run-of-the-mill QB. We need to find someone better.

Colt Brennan - Needs to be renamed Dolt after a couple of bonehead plays. Can't see him making the grade in this league.

Offensive Line - Dominated by Pats on 2nd, 3rd and 4th possessions. That was a worrying sight.

Defensive Line - Very little QB pressure.

Justin Tryon - Hopeless, runs around like a headless chicken.

Laron Landry - Slow getting over to help CBs, gets beat deep despite lining up 30 yds off LOS and takes bad angles.

Jim Zorn - Clock management is hopeless.

Malcolm Kelly - What was going on with the 2 jump balls in the endzone? He didn't seem to sell anything or get good position. Don't know whether that's him or just the play design.


Positives...

Devin Thomas - Looked okay on kick returns, caught some passes.

Marcus Mason - Not great at anything but doesn't seem to have any weaknesses. Does Betts give us anything that he can't?

Marko Mitchell - Thought he was a wasted pick originally but he has changed my mind big time. Seems to catch everything and does the unglamorous things well too.

Fred Smoot - Not been a huge fan of him but he brought his A game last night.

Santana Moss - Great catch on the sideline. Love him when he's healthy and focused.

Lendy Holmes - He can tackle.