Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Redskins vs. Giants)

I think the biggest problem was the coaching.

As SS said in his first post, we were badly outcoached on both sides of the ball early in the game. Their gameplan, playcalling and execution was perfect while we didn't seem to have a clue what we were doing.

Looking back, the first game with the Giants was very similar. The only reason the score on that occasion didn't reflect their overwhelming superiority was because of them not finishing their drives as well as they did last night.

Obviously when you get a team with nothing to play for down early against a team with everything to play for it's likely to get ugly.

I'm hopeful we can bounce back next week and show some of the spirit that we have in the previous few games.

Actually, I'm going to go ahead and say that he's not a leader.

I said it during the MNF thread, but I see a lot of parallels between his attitude and Chris Leak's attitude at UF before Urban Meyer showed up. Chris Leak was a quiet guy who chose to lead by example. He never complained, never got in anybody's face, and was content to play as hard as he could and do everything he could to help the team win.

For Urban Meyer (and the Gators' winning percentage), this wasn't enough.

Meyer immediately came in and challenged Leak's passion and willingness to be a vocal leader. As a leader, it's not enough to go out, play your hardest, and hope for the best. You have to go out, play your hardest, and make sure everybody around you plays their best, too. It took about a season for Chris Leak to come around, but when he did, we won a National Championship.

I don't expect Jason Campbell to get fired up for the two remaining games (no sense in confronting your teammates when the season is over and the main priority is, in all honesty, keeping everybody healthy).

So I say keep Jason Campbell. There's absolutely no reason why he can't become the complete-package leader this team desperately needs. We have a lot of "skill" issues that need to be addressed in the offseason, but keep in mind this team exposed and almost beat the Saints. It's the NFL, and everybody on this roster is in the top 1% of football players in this country.

So who is the leader? On offense, on defense, on special teams. Nobody.

There is NO player leadership on this team, and I don't see much coming from the coaching staff. This team, no matter if they are acquiring free agents or drafting players, has historically ignored the leadership/psychological aspect of this game. They insert players that are intended to address specific issues instead of inserting players who make the other 10 guys on the field play better. So as the other 10 players fail, we scream at Vinny Cerrato and Daniel Snyder, or we yell at a wide receiver spinning the ball during a 2-minute drill. This is bad veteran leadership and bad coaching.

The coaching will be addressed, but what about the players? Sometimes somebody needs to grab these guys by the facemask, and it can't always be a coach. Again, I just want everybody to make it to the end of the season unhurt. It would be a shame for somebody to get seriously hurt in a complete waste and a debacle of a season.

And Jason Campbell doesn't have to jump around and yell and grab people by the facemask. He DOES have to immediately be talking to them after they fail to chip a blitzer, or they run a go pattern when they should have run a crossing pattern. Campbell is a capable quarterback and a great human being, but he is not (yet) a leader. Not even close.

Very very well stated. JC is a tough player with some quality skills, but he has shown very little leadership. Like to see him here next year, still a chance he gain it with a coach who has full confidence in him.

Finally, let's tip our hats to the Giants who came in and played like a team with a purpose. We were overmatched in every phase of the game.

i will tip my hat to most but brandon jacbos is a first class douche bag

We took the stadium over," Brandon Jacobs said. "You know, that's what we do every year here. We come to D.C., half of the stadium is Giants fans.

D.C. Sports Bog - Jacobs: "We took the stadium over" (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2009/12/jacobs_we_took_the_stadium_ove.html#more)

I didn't throw a punch," Jacobs said, when asked point-blank whether he did. "I got jumped. I got jumped by two guys. I tried to get out of there, but one had me and one was hitting me. But it is what it is. I guess those guys [are teammates], and they worked together."

D.C. Sports Bog - Jacobs: "I'm not scared of anybody" (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2009/12/jacobs_im_not_scared_of_anybod.html#more)

I think the biggest problem was the coaching.

As SS said in his first post, we were badly outcoached on both sides of the ball early in the game. Their gameplan, playcalling and execution was perfect while we didn't seem to have a clue what we were doing.

Looking back, the first game with the Giants was very similar. The only reason the score on that occasion didn't reflect their overwhelming superiority was because of them not finishing their drives as well as they did last night.

Obviously when you get a team with nothing to play for down early against a team with everything to play for it's likely to get ugly.

I'm hopeful we can bounce back next week and show some of the spirit that we have in the previous few games.

It's just pathetic how this coaching staff can't adjust to game situations. In offense, the coaching staff for some reason thought the line would hold, and it didn't...on defense, they kept getting burned by screen passes, yet kept blitzing like crazy.

Yeah, he looked scared tonight, but he actually hasn't played that way in the last several weeks. I don't know if it was the Giants, or primetime, or the fact that the rest of the team mailed it in, but he definitely didn't have it last night... And because of that, gave all the haters an excuse to come out of the woodwork.

Well if you're going to play scared against a division opponent on national tv in primetime...then you're going to rightfully get hated on.

I agree though he hadn't played that way in recent weeks. Still, it's a lot different playing at Oakland

Two things:

1) Why weren't the Refs not calling all the holding calls? I'm not trying to make excuses for the defense. We had major issues last night, but on almost every play the Giants RG #76 was holding. I also thought I saw Carter being held most of the evening. It doesn't explain why the offense sucked.

2) Sorry to say I didn't see the second half of the game. I figured if the team was not going to show up then I didn't need to either. Bring on Dallas.

In my opinion, every player should be on the list except for Albert Haynesworth. I was opposed to signing Haynesworth and still think he's not worth the investment. That said, tonight he played well and I liked the fire he showed. I usually blast players for drawing flags, but I make a special exception for players who draw flags while defending teammates. Haynesworth has been flagged twice for defending Hall. He's got that nasty attitude and shows loyalty to his teammates. I love it.

Haynesworth defends his teammates and that's all he's worth. The guy can't play two plays in a row w/out coming out of the game. Pathetic. He's useless.

Well if you're going to play scared against a division opponent on national tv in primetime...then you're going to rightfully get hated on.

I agree though he hadn't played that way in recent weeks. Still, it's a lot different playing at Oakland

I agree. When is the last time JC has stepped up in a primetime, "big" game? This wasn't even a big game. He looked scared from the beginning. The line was horrible. The coaching didn't help. It was just a horrible, embarrassing night. Alot that happened last night wasn't JC's fault. He didn't play well though and looked shell-shocked out there.

My Smackdown:

Moss: stop acting like a jack ass- i'm adding you to my I'm so done w/ list
Refs: call a fair game
The entire Skins coaching staff: You were outcoached by a wide margin last night
Danny Smith: Holy shittyness
Brandon Jacobs: You may now be on my most hated list
London Fletcher: Thanks for you effort last night, at least one player was playing
Orakpo: We all knew, but your coverage needs alot of work
Landry: Add safety to our list of needs- This saddens me, but you can't tackle or cover

. Danny Smith too, yeah he called a couple fakes this year, f8ck him.

Pretty sure Smith isn't making the decision to fake it.