Daseal's Random Thoughts:

[Daseal]

1) I hate seeing ARE returning punts. It seems like he either runs for 20 yards laterally and 0 to -3 yards forward. Put Rock back there. He'll catch the ball and at least fall forward. I'm sick of seeing ARE dance around back there.

2) I'm sick of hearing "Pre-season doesn't matter." We got stomped in the last two games, this board was full of excuses for it. Parts of the pre-season don't matter, things such as the final score or W/L ratio. What does matter is quality of play, especially from your starters. We had bad play, players looked lost, our run defense was bad, etc. That all seemed to translate to Thursday evening.

3) I expected Jim Zorn to experience growing pains. However, I didn't expect his playcalling to be so uninspired. Maybe this says something about JC and the faith Zorn has in him -- I don't know. Something about the short passes right into a tackler every third down short of the sticks I just don't get.

4) Jason Campbell. I know it's a new offense, but he's never looked quite this bad. If we have a top 15 pick, expect Jim Zorn to be taking a QB to groom. Campbell was Gibbs boy, and if he doesn't pick it up don't be surprised to see Zorn go after a guy in the draft. Personally, I like Jason and hope he works out, but if he continues to struggle I see this as a very real possibility.

5) Santana Moss / James Thrash. Stop. Dropping. Balls. You have one job, catch that brown thing whizzing at you. Thrash had a TD and the ball hit him in the shoulder. That is simply inexcusable. Especially in crunch time like that. I really hope these rookie WRs work out so we can ship Moss out.

6) Not everything was bad. The half time adjustments were pretty good. Eli was absolutely abysmal with a little pressure in his face. We got totally smoked in the first half. I don't know why. Rodgers got eaten up by Plax. Smoot I think was okay. Landry was okay.

7) Refs? Hello? PI on smoot? Come on. Toomer extended his arms into his chest for an obvious push off. Brandon Jacobs can slap Marcus Washington across the face and it's fine? The first half seemed like any questionable call went to the Giants.

8) Clock Management. This was terrible. Did we not work on the hurry up? We can't even SPIKE THE BALL EFFICIENTLY. Before half time we didn't use any TOs as the clock was clicking. I was expecting Zorn to call two TOs in a row to make this debacle complete.

9) Anyone still dogging the "So called experts" for picking us 4th in the NFC East? Hell, if we continue to look anything like this, they were giving us far more credit than we deserve. People around here love to bitch when there isn't any fanfare around the team, then never go back and eat crow when they're wrong. I was thinking we'd get 3rd in the division behind the Cowboys/Giants. Now I think the Eagles may shoot ahead, maybe even to 2nd.

I realize it's 1 week. The season is only 1/16th over. It's not the end of the world. Etc. However, there seem to be some problems Im not sure we can fix in a week. We have a tough first five games and it's possible we start 0-5. I'm hunkering in for a long season until I see proof otherwise.

[Smooter]

I completely agree with you about ARE returning punts. He might as well down it.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by Daseal

1) I hate seeing ARE returning punts. It seems like he either runs for 20 yards laterally and 0 to -3 yards forward. Put Rock back there. He'll catch the ball and at least fall forward. I'm sick of seeing ARE dance around back there.
Amen!!! He needs to be shown film of B-Mitch running straight North to South.

4) Jason Campbell. I know it's a new offense, but he's never looked quite this bad. If we have a top 15 pick, expect Jim Zorn to be taking a QB to groom. Campbell was Gibbs boy, and if he doesn't pick it up don't be surprised to see Zorn go after a guy in the draft. Personally, I like Jason and hope he works out, but if he continues to struggle I see this as a very real possibility.
If we end up with a top pick, we MUST use it to address either the O-line or D-line. We got murdered in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

6) Not everything was bad. The half time adjustments were pretty good. Eli was absolutely abysmal with a little pressure in his face. We got totally smoked in the first half. I don't know why. Rodgers got eaten up by Plax. Smoot I think was okay. Landry was okay.
I thought the DBs played reasonably well without the benefit of pressure on Eli in the first half. Rogers should have had 2 INTs (one for a TD) which is pretty good considering the serious injury he returned from ahead of schedule.

7) Refs? Hello? PI on smoot? Come on. Toomer extended his arms into his chest for an obvious push off. Brandon Jacobs can slap Marcus Washington across the face and it's fine? The first half seemed like any questionable call went to the Giants.
Don't forget the quick whistle on Santana's bobbled catch on his back. That should have been a TD. Madden is a waste when it comes to commenting on missed calls. Aikman would have been all over that.

8) Clock Management. This was terrible. Did we not work on the hurry up? We can't even SPIKE THE BALL EFFICIENTLY. Before half time we didn't use any TOs as the clock was clicking. I was expecting Zorn to call two TOs in a row to make this debacle complete.
Campbell and Zorn need to get their heads in the game regarding the clock management, but I put that more on coaching.

9) Anyone still dogging the "So called experts" for picking us 4th in the NFC East? Hell, if we continue to look anything like this, they were giving us far more credit than we deserve. People around here love to bitch when there isn't any fanfare around the team, then never go back and eat crow when they're wrong. I was thinking we'd get 3rd in the division behind the Cowboys/Giants. Now I think the Eagles may shoot ahead, maybe even to 2nd.
We are the only team in the division switching to a new offense. Growing pains should be expected, and a 4th place prediction for this season is reasonable.

I realize it's 1 week. The season is only 1/16th over. It's not the end of the world. Etc. However, there seem to be some problems Im not sure we can fix in a week. We have a tough first five games and it's possible we start 0-5. I'm hunkering in for a long season until I see proof otherwise.

My comments are inline in bold. As soon as I saw the schedule, I also feared an 0-5 start. Arizona deserved to beat us last year, with Rackers missing the winning kick. The Skins have to play with far greater intensity if they hope to be even mildly competitive in the best division in football.

[MTK]

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.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

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.

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.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

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.

Did anybody DVR the facemask play? They only replayed the initial contact behind the line of scrimmage (clearly no facemask), but never replayed the actual tackle completed by another player. Agree about the quick whistle on Moss - I thought about Freeman also.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

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.

I'm surprised more people haven't said this. That is 100% accurate. That was a terrible call.
Instead people are talking about the pass interferance call...which, sorry guys, was the CORRECT CALL. We all know PI will go against the DB 9 times out of 10, and if you can show me that he didn't initiate the contact with toomer, then I'll change my view. Sure toomer pushed off, but only after contact. If that was Moss, you guys would sing a different tune, but because it was our defensive player that got called, we are seeing things incorrectly.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I'm surprised more people haven't said this. That is 100% accurate. That was a terrible call.
Instead people are talking about the pass interferance call...which, sorry guys, was the CORRECT CALL. We all know PI will go against the DB 9 times out of 10, and if you can show me that he didn't initiate the contact with toomer, then I'll change my view. Sure toomer pushed off, but only after contact. If that was Moss, you guys would sing a different tune, but because it was our defensive player that got called, we are seeing things incorrectly.

I gotta agree,at first glance I thought it was pi,after replay I changed my mind,and I completely agree,if thats one of our recievers no one is saying thats off pass interference

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

I gotta agree,at first glance I thought it was pi,after replay I changed my mind,and I completely agree,if thats one of our recievers no one is saying thats off pass interference

Thank you...I thought I was the only one.

[Jake2008]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

I gotta agree,at first glance I thought it was pi,after replay I changed my mind,and I completely agree,if thats one of our recievers no one is saying thats off pass interference

Ya I agree also. That is a homer call that you agree with if it is your receiver and think it is a bad call if you are on defense. But you see that call made many times thru the season against the defensive guy. You can't initiate contact with the receiver and he clearly did. The best we could have hoped for was a noncall, but that almost always gets called against the db.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

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.

2 good points you bring up,but what can be done about calls like that on Moss? anything? the refs need to quit blowing that frickin whistle so soon,I was hoping zorn would throw the flag to make replay look at it but i'm sure the refs would just say whistle blown,cant review it

[WaldSkins]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

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.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

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 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.

[DIRTEE]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

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.

[sportscurmudgeon]

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...