Redskins-Colts, Best and Worst

[MTK]

D.C. Sports Bog - Redskins-Colts, Best and Worst

If I'm taking one thing from last night, it's this:

Best Feeling: Remember the swinging gate on Monday Night Football a year ago? Needless to say, Washington's professional football team will no longer embarrass itself in primetime on national television. You will be entertained for a full 60 minutes. "We didn't give up, like the Redskins of last year," Fred Davis said on Comcast SportsNet's postgame show.

[Ruhskins]

Honestly (to the surprise of many from the game thread) I feel that there are more positives than negatives from this game. While I like the moral victory, it still bugs me that this team could have easily beaten Peyton and the Colts

Positives:
- We held our own ground against Peyton Manning and the Colts
- We seem to have a RB of the future, and I think our running game will get even better once CP returns as the 2nd RB
- Trent Williams pretty much held Freeney in check
- Lorenzo Alexander is still a beast
- We forced and recovered to big fumbles

Negatives
- Roger's hands are not only terrible but they are contagious (see Kareem Moore)
- We can't drop 4 INTs against Peyton and the Colts
- McNabb's pick in the first drive

[MTK]

It was really a game of blown opportunities. I can't even get mad at Rogers anymore, I expect him to drop INTs. Moore on the other hand...

[Lotus]

Our lack of a real 3-4 defensive line was exposed...again.

The fact that we are in a rebuilding year, of sorts, was exposed...again.

But we were competitive on national tv and almost beat Manning on a night when he was in a groove. That is satisfying.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

Honestly (to the surprise of many from the game thread) I feel that there are more positives than negatives from this game. While I like the moral victory, it still bugs me that this team could have easily beaten Peyton and the Colts

Positives:
- We held our own ground against Peyton Manning and the Colts
- We seem to have a RB of the future, and I think our running game will get even better once CP returns as the 2nd RB
- Trent Williams pretty much held Freeney in check
- Lorenzo Alexander is still a beast
- We forced and recovered to big fumbles

Negatives
- Roger's hands are not only terrible but they are contagious (see Kareem Moore)
- We can't drop 4 INTs against Peyton and the Colts
- McNabb's pick in the first drive

Ruhskins we could lose 59-0 and you'd still find positives. :-)

[skinsfaninok]

Yea a L is a L but I feel really good about this team. I still say 9 wins

[Big C]

worst: playcalling on 3rd and 1 just off the landry fumble recovery, and to call a bomb on 4th and 10 on the 2nd to last series.

[skinsfan69]

The Colts are not the team they were last year. They lost to Jacksonville! But there were some positives...Really like the way Torain is running. Santana is coming up big every week. Defesne creating turnovers despite missing some opportunities.

But same old same old...defense giving up 170 rushing yards to Indy is pathetic. McNabb misses too many open guys, Moore is now starting to look like Rogers. Too many WR's running wide open.

[MTK]

The Jags always play the Colts tough.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Big C

worst: playcalling on 3rd and 1 just off the landry fumble recovery, and to call a bomb on 4th and 10 on the 2nd to last series.

Davis was open underneath, so the call wasn't the problem, McNabb just didn't see him for whatever reason.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Davis was open underneath, so the call wasn't the problem, McNabb just didn't see him for whatever reason.

This bugs me a bit. I know we have a playmaking QB that will take a shot down the field. And someone told me during the game thread that we are up there in the league in terms of long yardage plays. But it's just very disheartening to see a wasted throw on a deep bomb to a guy in double coverage. I do think that pressure had a lot to do with this...it's just that I think this is the second time I see McNabb throwing a bomb to a covered guy when we needed just a few yards to get the first down.

[SmootSmack]

Best

-ATV! All you non-believers can now go choke on your Hatorainerade
-Orakpo. Overall a so-so game to be honest, but made a huge play when we needed it. Star players do that
-"Fight for Old DC": Considering we didn't play our best, the fact that we fought with the Colts to the end is a positive sign
-Trent Williams: Still not fully healthy, but he's been impressive throughout his initial baptism by fire these past few weeks

Worst

-3rd and 1: I'm still shaking my head over that playcall. Simply made no sense to me
-Cooley: Missed a couple of necessary catches. Not saying either was easy. But you need to make the tough catches.
-Keiland Williams: There were a couple of times when he should have popped up for a quick screen that McNabb could turn to, and he didn't
-Fred Davis: When time is a factor, it's stupid to start jawing with a defender and let the clock run down more. And back to that 3rd and 1, just before that on 2nd and 6 Davis got 5 yards. Fight for that extra yard
-Kareem Moore: I've come to expect it from Rogers, though it's still inexcusable. But Moore has had a knack for getting the ball.
-Special teams penalties: Becoming too much of a pattern for this team

I think when the season started most of us had us losing to the Colts (I had us losing to the Packers, and beating the Colts though) and while it's true there is no such thing as "moral victories" there is such a thing as building an identity and fighting. Our identity is now a team that you have to take seriously and one that doesn't give up until the final clock. Just a little more air under that McNabb pass to Galloway at the end and we're 4-2. But if we're going to lose a game, good to lose this one. Now we need to pick up wins against the Bears and Lions and rack up the NFC wins.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

This bugs me a bit. I know we have a playmaking QB that will take a shot down the field. And someone told me during the game thread that we are up there in the league in terms of long yardage plays. But it's just very disheartening to see a wasted throw on a deep bomb to a guy in double coverage. I do think that pressure had a lot to do with this...it's just that I think this is the second time I see McNabb throwing a bomb to a covered guy when we needed just a few yards to get the first down.

Probably.

Still, I'll definitely take his aggressiveness over what we saw the past few years. And damn, that last play that got picked was just inches away from being a miracle bomb for the win.

[Longtimefan]

479 yds. of offense given up, even to the Colts is not good = worst.

Youth making it's mark, Armstrong, Banks, Torain and Alexander [among others] which bodes well for the future = best.

The team is struggling to find consistency on both sides of the ball. It's going to be difficult to adaquately define what this team is all about until answers are found for the struggles.

[Paintrain]

Positives:
-60 minutes of effort and committed football, a welcome change from the past decade-plus.
-Torrain getting more comfortable and effective.
-Rak still causing problems in opponents backfields. Cutler is soiling his shorts right about now because he knows that it's gonna be a long Sunday next week.
-We're done with the QB gauntlet part (Vick, Rodgers, Manning) of our schedule. I think our schedule gets easier from this portion and most 'analysts' would have had us at 1-5 at this point in the season so I am optimistic about our season.
-Lo Ax is a beast. He's well on his way to becoming a franchise favorite because of his effort and what he represents.
-Landry continuing at mostly an All Pro level. He's still a sucker for a play-fake but he's playing great.

Negatives-
-Kyle's play calling in the red zone. I don't know why he always seems to get cute in the red zone. In short yardage let's either man up or run simple routes. Pump left, spin and throw right is fine on the 30, not the 3.
-Rogers, Rogers, Rogers. Man, he has the worst hands on a human. Yeah, I get the argument that at least he's in position to make the plays but you have to MAKE THE PLAYS! At least 30% of the time, damn man-you're a pro!!!
-Cooley's concussion. While I love seeing Davis getting more time, Cooley's a proven commodity and we need his production.
-McNabb's decision making. I have been pretty hands off in my criticism of him, but his last 2 throws (4th and 10 bomb & last pick) were ones that seemed like major forces.

** Bonus negative **-Cris Collinsworth. Everything he says just annoys the sh*t out of me. Manning is already annoying but listening to Collinsworth stroke him for calling out a snap cadence for 3 hours was just friggin torture.