Skins need to further invest in the trenches next season

A healthy Ed Reed turns hanging balls into pick 6s.

I still want to know where the effing corner was on that play. It was 3rd and 10 and we release the best WR in football on our safeties? Big time lapse by the coordinator.

It was 4th and 10

What I'm saying is: the rushing offense is clearly the achillies heel of our team. You need a strong running game to finish off blowouts. This game should have been a blowout, but we were ahead of them because McNabb was playing other worldly for nearly three quarters.

He played more in line with his career numbers in the fourth and that great running game he didn't have in Philadelphia that Shanahan was going to provide him with to help him extend his career...well, that was a fun myth while it lasted, was it not?

plain and simple...if you bring the NOISE to the QB and don't get to him...he's going to pick you apart...unless said QB is Jason Campbell.

on a more hilarious note, did anyone see who got benched today?

I'll give you a hint.

it starts with over and ends in rated!

Does Larry Johnson do anything well? Why is he on this team again?

Yeah, the 497 yards passing we allowed has to make it on the "things we did bad today" list somewhere.Where is 44Deezel to talk to us about how Schaub inflated his numbers in garbage time?

Up by 17 in the third quarter is about as favorable of a running situation as there is in the game of football.

You pass to get the lead, which we clearly did today, but running the football efficiently is still critically important to run out the clock. We did a really bad job running out the clock at the end of the game with the opponents on the rope.

That's pretty much the only thing we did bad today.

That's why I found the play call of the ill-fated end around rather annoying. There was no reason to get cute. Portis was starting to get some traction; just run off tackle in that situation.

Up by 17 in the third quarter is about as favorable of a running situation as there is in the game of football.

You pass to get the lead, which we clearly did today, but running the football efficiently is still critically important to run out the clock. We did a really bad job running out the clock at the end of the game with the opponents on the rope.

That's pretty much the only thing we did bad today.

There were 3 offensive series in the 3rd Quarter. 2 of them belonged to the Texans and they resulted in a field goal and TD respectively. Our 3rd Quarter drive resulted in a Chris Cooley TD pass. Score going into the fourth 27-17.

At the start of the 4th Quarter the Skins tried to run the ball but something funny happened.
1-10-WAS 20 (15:00) 27-L.Johnson left end to WAS 10 for -10 yards (29-G.Quin).

Obviously we had to pass when we're looking at 2nd and 20. Remember the score is 27-17 at this point and we're facing a high powered Texans offense that dominated the third Quarter. If we get a first down we can go back to the run, but on 2nd and 20 we'd be stupid to run it.

Next drive results in a Texans FG, now it's 27-20. It was on our next drive that drive where we actually started running the ball well.

(9:39) 26-C.Portis up the middle to HST 26 for 2 yards (95-S.Cody).
2-8-HOU 26
(8:59) 26-C.Portis left end pushed ob at HST 14 for 12 yards (21-B.McCain).
1-10-HOU 14
(8:28) 26-C.Portis right guard to HST 9 for 5 yards (92-E.Mitchell).
2-5-HOU 9
(7:49) 26-C.Portis left end to HST 5 for 4 yards (31-B.Pollard, 29-G.Quin).
3-1-HOU 5

Here's where everything really started going downhill.

(7:49) PENALTY on WAS-77-J.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at HST 5 - No Play.

3rd and 6 27-27. Do you want to run it here?
3-6-HOU 10 (6:45) (Shotgun) 5-D.McNabb pass incomplete short middle to 89-S.Moss (26-E.Wilson, 72-J.Nading).

Still hurts to even think about this play
[/B]4-6-HOU 10 (6:40) 4-G.Gano 29 yard field goal is BLOCKED (31-B.Pollard), Center-57-N.Sundberg, Holder-6-J.Bidwell, RECOVERED by HST-95-S.Cody at HST 16. 95-S.Cody to HST 16 for no gain (75-A.Hicks).

So we get the ball back after a failed Texans drive. Now I'll admit, this was pretty dumb
2-5-HOU 46
(4:22) 89-S.Moss left end to WAS 46 for -8 yards (31-B.Pollard). End around

Still it's 3rd and 13 so we have to pass. Incomplete we punt, Houston scores. Now we're tied 27-27. We get the ball back with 2:03 left in the 4th Quarter. Obviously we can't run it now.

Looking back the End around to Moss, the Chanelling Barry Sanders moves, and the Jamaal Brown false start on 3rd and 1 combined with our defenses second half breakdown prevented us from using ground and pound to finish the game. As painful as it is to relive it's by no means a personnel problem.

There were 3 offensive series in the 3rd Quarter. 2 of them belonged to the Texans and they resulted in a field goal and TD respectively. Our 3rd Quarter drive resulted in a Chris Cooley TD pass. Score going into the fourth 27-17.

At the start of the 4th Quarter the Skins tried to run the ball but something funny happened.
1-10-WAS 20 (15:00) 27-L.Johnson left end to WAS 10 for -10 yards (29-G.Quin).

Obviously we had to pass when we're looking at 2nd and 20. Remember the score is 27-17 at this point and we're facing a high powered Texans offense that dominated the third Quarter. If we get a first down we can go back to the run, but on 2nd and 20 we'd be stupid to run it.

Next drive results in a Texans FG, now it's 27-20. It was on our next drive that drive where we actually started running the ball well.

(9:39) 26-C.Portis up the middle to HST 26 for 2 yards (95-S.Cody).
2-8-HOU 26
(8:59) 26-C.Portis left end pushed ob at HST 14 for 12 yards (21-B.McCain).
1-10-HOU 14
(8:28) 26-C.Portis right guard to HST 9 for 5 yards (92-E.Mitchell).
2-5-HOU 9
(7:49) 26-C.Portis left end to HST 5 for 4 yards (31-B.Pollard, 29-G.Quin).
3-1-HOU 5

Here's where everything really started going downhill.

(7:49) PENALTY on WAS-77-J.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at HST 5 - No Play.

3rd and 6 27-27. Do you want to run it here?
3-6-HOU 10 (6:45) (Shotgun) 5-D.McNabb pass incomplete short middle to 89-S.Moss (26-E.Wilson, 72-J.Nading).

Still hurts to even think about this play
[/B]4-6-HOU 10 (6:40) 4-G.Gano 29 yard field goal is BLOCKED (31-B.Pollard), Center-57-N.Sundberg, Holder-6-J.Bidwell, RECOVERED by HST-95-S.Cody at HST 16. 95-S.Cody to HST 16 for no gain (75-A.Hicks).

So we get the ball back after a failed Texans drive. Now I'll admit, this was pretty dumb
2-5-HOU 46
(4:22) 89-S.Moss left end to WAS 46 for -8 yards (31-B.Pollard). End around

Still it's 3rd and 13 so we have to pass. Incomplete we punt, Houston scores. Now we're tied 27-27. We get the ball back with 2:03 left in the 4th Quarter. Obviously we can't run it now.

Looking back the End around to Moss, the Chanelling Barry Sanders moves, and the Jamaal Brown false start on 3rd and 1 combined with our defenses second half breakdown prevented us from using ground and pound to finish the game. As painful as it is to relive it's by no means a personnel problem.

Nicely done. You nailed it. Outside of the end around (and you know the rule there too: if it works he's a genius) I don't have a problem with the way Kyle called the game -- McNabb was lighting up the field, and they went with it.

The point-by-point plays you've outlined here should silence the "they should have run it more" crowd.

Good breakdown.

I'm not ready to panic when it comes to the running game either. The game plan today clearly was to attack the weak Texan's secondary.

What I'm saying is: the rushing offense is clearly the achillies heel of our team. You need a strong running game to finish off blowouts. This game should have been a blowout, but we were ahead of them because McNabb was playing other worldly for nearly three quarters.

He played more in line with his career numbers in the fourth and that great running game he didn't have in Philadelphia that Shanahan was going to provide him with to help him extend his career...well, that was a fun myth while it lasted, was it not?

I agree...any idea why?

I have my suspicions that our OLinemen are mostly just average run blockers and our backs are mostly just average backs. I have watched plenty of football the last few weeks and the thing that sticks out to me on offense is that all of our backs look so damn plodding. No quickness, no explosion. CP does a lot of good things but he simply isn't the runner he used to be. It's too bad because he still catches the ball decent and blocks far better than other RBs. Watching us try to run the ball is an exercise in utter frustration.