POSITIVES from the game...

[SUNRA]

Classic Gibbs is to come out after half time and turn his team around. The offense got a boost from Gardner, Portis, Cooley and Thrash. Thrash is a Redskin by nature. He made three catches in a row and proved he belongs on this team. The play calling in the second half is what we should get used to seeing in the near future. While Gibbs wanted to start slow, he realized that this team can protect the passer and allow the TE's to get more involved. Let's look to scalp the Brown and get back to 500.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Huge positive from last night was the absence of a lot of stupid penalties - false start and lining up in the neutral zone. Those are killers; the Skins avoided them for the most part.

Frankly, I thought Marshall played a very solid game in pass coverage.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by illdefined

wow.
cant believe none of you guys mentioned CLINTON PORTIS.

he had an AWESOME game. he played EXACTLY how Gibbs wanted him (except at the goaline, but thats partly his frame, partly the Oline's fault). he would eke out 4-5yds after contact, always jumping 3 yds north as he's falling down. even Madden had to say it. he caught passes, and have you guys noticed his blocks all season?? HE IS NOT AFRAID.

i've NEVER seen such a talented athlete in a Skins uniform. what a frickin WEAPON.

I'm hoping last night will put an end to the stupid "If you take away his 64 yard run he's only averaging 3 yards per carry crap".

He had a solid night and consistently cranked out yardage. He can definitely do it all, run, catch, block, line up wide, etc. A great team player.

[Duffman003]

I don't think you can blame the offensive line for anything last night, most of the sacks were on blitzes and Mark was standing in the pocket for a long time and should have gotten the ball out sooner.

[illdefined]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

He had a solid night and consistently cranked out yardage. He can definitely do it all, run, catch, block, line up wide, etc. A great team player.

he's got all the intangibles too. you can feel his presence through the TV, imagine what he's like in the lockeroom or around the facilities. smart, always upbeat, funny, supremely confident without a speck of that ultra annoying arrogance of a Deion or TO. you see how he took that 2 fumble game last week? brushed his shoulder off, 'even Barry and Walter fumbled, it happens' , he can't be denied. what a HUGE find for our team. on the field and off.

good RIDDANCE Champ. hope you're enjoying those new contact rules...

[SUNRA]

James Thrash had a great game. Three catches in a row is exceptional for a 3# wideout. Chad Morton is not performing up to his abilities. Thrash should be allowed to be given a chance to return a couple of punts. I would like to see McCants but I'll be patient with this new offense.

[GoSkins!]

The offense is starting to come around. I still think that we have 3 or 4 more games before we will start to see the offense start putting up 24 points or more. I saw real continuity for the first time last night in the second half. If Gardner would have drawn that pass interferance call in the end zone we would be 2 and 1 now instead of 1 and 2. Gibbs just needs to keep working at the game plan, Brunnell needs to get more comfortable with the receivers, and Portis needs to keep being Portis. When the Redskins get a two touchdown lead one of these days, we will get to see some huge numbers from Portis. I f we can go 4 and 4 at the halfway point, we should be in good shape for a strong finish.

[backrow]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

The Good:

#1) Rod Gardner Bad No-Call on his certain TD!
#2) Walt Harris, I am glad he is healthy. That was a really bad pass interference call against him.
#3) Ron Warner - Another great addition.

#4) Cornelius Griffin & Joe Salavea - Two great additions.
#5) Renaldo Wynn got yet another sack last night
#6) James Thrash- great.

#7) The Old Man - Ray Brown is playing mistake free. I'm Positive that Ray Brown is really #3 on the Depth Chart, and should stay there, if not be replaced by one of the two Rookies, Molinaro & the other guy!

The Bad:

#1) Who is #25 safety Ryan Clark?
#2) We really missed#56 Lavar Arrington.

#3) #66 Derek Dockery had two key penalties that put us in a hole.

#4) Ade Jimoh - had at least one penalty on special teams and should be cut!

If there is ever a penalty on ST or in the Secondary, I have begun to especially look for Jimoh! I hope the coaching staff realizes he is more of a detriment!

[SkinsRock]

1. Gardner!!! Wow, what a performance! Coles had a bad game, but just imagine when both of them are playing at the level Rod was.
2. Good to see Thrash getting involved. He is a clutch guy. Add him to the above statement, and our WR's will be unstoppable!
3. Portis - came "this close" to busting a big run at least a couple times. But even though he didn't, he fell forward for 3 more yards. This guy is amazing!
4. Brunell started out shakey, but pulled it together and "played his guts out". Towards the end of the game, I think we got a glimpse of what he and this offense will be able to do.
5. Defense played well again. 50 yards rushing....yeah, Dallas sucks at rushing, but our D is earning a very good reputation regardless. The pass rush was alright....pressured Vinny quite a few times, but only 1 sack (need LA back!). Fro the most part, the D-line is playing above their ability...the back-up DT Evans got good pressure on VT a couple times (I was like who the hell is that?)
6. Our CB's are a very, very solid group. Champ who???
7. Gotta love Cooley! The kid just makes plays. A steal in the 3rd round!

Overall, despite the loss....yeah, it really stings, but I think this game was a good step forward in everyone getting comfortable with the system. The offense seems to be on the verge of taking off, and the defense is proving to be top 5. We should beat Cleveland, then the big test will be against Baltimore....moving the ball and scoring on their defense, along with stopping Jamal. To me, that is the biggest non-division game that we need to win....if only for regional bragging rights for another few years!

[Gmanc711]

The Good ....
-Gardner steped it up, bigtime. I know he proboly wont have a game like that again this year, but if he can be somewhat consistant, he will have everyone off his back.
-Portis is the best thing to happen to washington in a long time. He continuoulsy pounded the ball. There was the one fumble, but I dont know if that was on him or Brunell.
-Defense. This is a very good unit. Granted they let in 2 TD's ( that first one was bogus ), but they still kept us in the game after a poor first half on offense.

The Bad...
- Bowen needs to be back on the feild and quick. Ryan Clark got beat on 3 straight plays.
- Sean Taylors tackling. We need to wrap up Sean! Hes a rookie though, he will learn soon enough.
- Last night, for the first time, Coles. He made that one really nice catch, but he had a terrible game. THose drops were inexcusable.
- Goal Line play calling. Lemme tell you somthing. Clinton Portis is one of the best, if not the best RB in the league. But hes not a guy you send up the middle in a goaline or 4th and 1 situation. You need to either toss him the ball so that he can use his speed, or get Ladell Betts in there. Portis is a OUTSTANDING running back, but hes just not the 4th and 1/ Goal Line guy. 1st and Goal at the 1 , and just getting a feild goal out of it, is inexcusable.

[Defensewins]

Originally Posted by backrow

I'm Positive that Ray Brown is really #3 on the Depth Chart, and should stay there, if not be replaced by one of the two Rookies, Molinaro & the other guy!
If there is ever a penalty on ST or in the Secondary, I have begun to especially look for Jimoh! I hope the coaching staff realizes he is more of a detriment!

Good point about Jimoh. IF he keeps committing penalties on special teams the coaching staff needs to revalute his paticipation. But I thnk they like his potential. They will keep giving him a chance.
Regarding Ray Brown, I am sure Joe Bugel would start Molinaro or Mark Wilson if they actually were ready or good enough. They are obviously still works in process.

[Gmanc711]

I agree about the rookies. Do you remember Dockery last year. He made some huge errors, that proboly cost us that Philedalphia game. Ray Brown isnt exactly Jon Jansen or anything, but hes still proboly bettre than the rookies.

[BIGREDSKINFAN63]

positives-thought the offense and brunnell looked really good in the 2nd half,portis looked comfortable in the offense finally.gardner proved his worth,tupa has to be leading the league in punting.the defense only gave up 50 yds rushing to a pretty good o-line,not as many stupid penalties,gave up less than 300 yds passing.i would say the defense has to retain number-1- ranking.==negatives,inability to score on 1 yard line,where the hell is mike barrow?too many easy drops by coles,some of the subs in the secondary really showed how green they are.also can somebody tell me where TF darien mccants is?is he in gibbs doghouse?

the best positive of all,WE STILL ALL ROYALLY,TRULY,HATE THE DALLS COWBOYS DO'NT WE????????

[MTK]

Portis was a very good goal line/short yardage guy in Denver, seems to me the lack of push up front was more of the problem than Portis. Give the guy a crease and he'll slip through.

[SkinsRock]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Portis was a very good goal line/short yardage guy in Denver, seems to me the lack of push up front was more of the problem than Portis. Give the guy a crease and he'll slip through.

Exactly. That was my main gripe with the play-calling....if the formation wasn't so tight, the defense would have been a little more spread out, and the chance of a crease would have been greater...he doesn't need much!
Portis can be successful on short-yardage/goal-line, but he is not a "heavy-jumbo" package type back.