12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

Monday's are just THE worst day to start thread after a lost to a divisional rival. Now that everyone has calmed down a bit, myself included, I think we can get our perspective on. (I know that's not good grammar, but oh well) Here are five reasons I think we can feel good despite what happened Sunday.


[B]1) It's only one game:[/B] Anyway you slice it or dice it, it's still one game and one lost. Not one of us here expected this team to go 16-0. Heck, we're not even looking for 12-4, to be honest. I'm willing to bet, we'll win one or two games that we're "supposed" to lose too. Isn't that the way the NFL really works, any given Sunday? Tom Brady are you reading this?

[B]2) This could be the worst game the Skins play all year.[/B] I'm glad we got this stinker out of the way in the third week, instead of the 12th or 13th week. If and when we lose another game, we probably don't stink it up like quite like this. Chances are we'll punch everything in from the one yard line here on out.

[B]3) Bye Week:[/B] Contrary to popular belief, these guys read the papers and listen to the media. We'll have a week to lick our wounds, look at what went wrong, and get pissed off for Detroit. Not to mention work out some kinks on the right side of the offensive line and timing with the receivers. And don't forget our divisional rivals play each other this week, and the high flying Cowboys face a winless Rams team. [I]Somebody's falling to 1-3 this week folks[/I][I]. [/I]

[B]4) The NFC is upside down this year:[/B] If I had told you five weeks ago, the Redskins would be in second place in the division, and that Chicago, New Orleans, and the Rams would all have losing records, you'd be pretty encouraged. I'm starting to like our chances of getting in the playoffs. Hey, I know it's only week three but let a brotha dream.

[B]5) See reason number 1:[/B] While I haven't been overly impressed with our coaching staff's ability to make half-time adjustments, I do feel confident they can make proper adjustments between games. It's only one game, and hopefully, hopefully, we come out of week four 3-1. [I]Three and one![/I] Now that [B][I]one [/I][/B]doesn't sound too bad afterall.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

I'd like to point out that were were one yard from tying the game and sending it to overtime.

I've been saying this in thread after thread, but I'll say it again, the line between winning and losing in the NFL is VERY thin. We were in position to win on Sunday, and we should be in position to win most of our games the rest of the way.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

Also, if you told me the Skins would be at the other team's 1 yard line, with one minute to play, and had 1st and goal, I'd tell you we'd punch it in for a TD 8 or 9 times out of 10.

This was just the one time we lost out in that situation. I still like our chances going forward.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=Schneed10;357128]Also, if you told me the Skins would be at the other team's 1 yard line, with one minute to play, and had 1st and goal, I'd tell you we'd punch it in for a TD 8 or 9 times out of 10.

This was just the one time we lost out in that situation. I still like our chances going forward.[/quote]

Same here. Noted on the one yard line:)

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

I can't reiterate enough the fact that the Eagles or the Giants are going to be playing catch up for the rest of the season.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;357128]Also, if you told me the Skins would be at the other team's 1 yard line, with one minute to play, and had 1st and goal, I'd tell you we'd punch it in for a TD 8 or 9 times out of 10.

This was just the one time we lost out in that situation. I still like our chances going forward.[/QUOTE]

I agree to an extent.. I firmly beleive we didn't get in to the endzone because of playcalling, not the opponent's defense. I have some concerns that we wouldn't see much difference in the playcalls in an identical situation.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

Here's sort of 5 more.



1) With the emergence of [B]Antwaan Randel El[/B] as a quality, top tier #2 WR in the NFL right now, this speaks wonders to the opportunities that present themselves.

2) [B]WR Reche Caldwell[/B] will get the opportunity to attack the doubters. He'll be given a legitimate chance to earn some playing time, and knock any naysayers that think he isn't a legit threat on the field.


3) [B]TE Chris Cooley[/B] will get the chance to improve his blocking, and will have more opportunity to be incorporated more in the passing game. I feel as if Cooley has been hurt by the loss of Randy Thomas more than any other weapon we've got. Does this mean he'll benefit from the addition of Demulling the most as well? With the o-line working together for a few weeks, this gives our offense, especially the minds behind it, the chance to work on some new strategies.

4) This bye week appears to be located at a particularly useful time. There are many players nursing injuries, and this team needs to suck it up... and get the train rolling. This team isn't going to blow anyone out yet, but has the [B]propensity for winning ugly[/B]. Don't be surprised when we beat the Patriots 17-10. That's right, I said it.

EDIT: Don't forget, it's huge for a team like ours to have a decent kicker. So far Swisher Sweet has looked damn good, and that's a staple for the kind of team that wins by 6 or less.

5) [B]Turnovers[/B]. No-one appears to be talking about the great job our defense did last week forcing turnovers. I expect our defense to come out with that same fierce attitude from the first half of the Giants game against Detroit. They will certainly try to beat us deep with their threats at WR, and I think we're due for a Shawn Springs interception.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=Paintrain;357133]I agree to an extent.. I firmly beleive we didn't get in to the endzone because of playcalling, not the opponent's defense. I have some concerns that we wouldn't see much difference in the playcalls in an identical situation.[/quote]

I couldn't disagree with you more on that one. The Giants blew off the ball like nobody's business on the 4th down play. They got so much penetration that they knocked Sellers back into Betts, and Betts tripped over Sellers at the 3 for a loss of two yards.

Playcall or not, the Giants got into our backfield against the stronger side of our offensive line.

The spike on 1st down was questionable, there was no need to hurry so much on 4th down, so that was questionable too. But I'd run left all day long given the status of our team right now.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=Schneed10;357128]Also, if you told me the Skins would be at the other team's 1 yard line, with one minute to play, and had 1st and goal, I'd tell you we'd punch it in for a TD 8 or 9 times out of 10.

This was just the one time we lost out in that situation. I still like our chances going forward.[/quote]

fair point, but it should have never come to that...and in the end, the yard may as well have been 99, because we didn't get it...football ain't horseshoes

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=RobH4413;357137]Here's sort of 5 more.



1) With the emergence of [B]Antwaan Randel El[/B] as a quality, top tier #2 WR in the NFL right now, this speaks wonders to the opportunities that present themselves.

2) [B]WR Reche Caldwell[/B] will get the opportunity to attack the doubters. He'll be given a legitimate chance to earn some playing time, and knock any naysayers that think he isn't a legit threat on the field.


3) [B]TE Chris Cooley[/B] will get the chance to improve his blocking, and will have more opportunity to be incorporated more in the passing game. I feel as if Cooley has been hurt by the loss of Randy Thomas more than any other weapon we've got. Does this mean he'll benefit from the addition of Demulling the most as well? With the o-line working together for a few weeks, this gives our offense, especially the minds behind it, the chance to work on some new strategies.

4) This bye week appears to be located at a particularly useful time. There are many players nursing injuries, and this team needs to suck it up... and get the train rolling. This team isn't going to blow anyone out yet, but has the [B]propensity for winning ugly[/B]. Don't be surprised when we beat the Patriots 17-10. That's right, I said it.

EDIT: Don't forget, it's huge for a team like our to have a decent kicker. So far Swisher Sweet has looked damn good, and that's a staple for the kind of team that wins by 6 or less.

5) [B]Turnovers[/B]. No-one appears to be talking about the great job our defense did last week forcing turnovers. I expect our defense to come out with that same fierce attitude from the first half of the Giants game against Detroit. They will certainly try to beat us deep with their threats at WR, and I think we're due for a Shawn Springs interception.[/quote]

On the turnovers note, does Phillip Daniels get more blocked passes than any other DE or what? He can't sack a damn thing, but he can get those hands up there.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=BrunellMVP?;357143]fair point, but it should have never come to that...and in the end, the yard may as well have been 99, because we didn't get it...football ain't horseshoes[/quote]

To quote Pacino in Any Given Sunday...."This is a game of inches....there are inches all around you." I love it!

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;357138]I couldn't disagree with you more on that one. The Giants blew off the ball like nobody's business on the 4th down play. They got so much penetration that they knocked Sellers back into Betts, and Betts tripped over Sellers at the 3 for a loss of two yards.

Playcall or not, the Giants got into our backfield against the stronger side of our offensive line.

The spike on 1st down was questionable, there was no need to hurry so much on 4th down, so that was questionable too. But I'd run left all day long given the status of our team right now.[/QUOTE]

They made 1 play out of 3 (should have been 4, never give up a down inside the 5 yard line) chances.. Of course they blew it up, the offense ran the same exact play the play before.. Don't you think the defense was expecting the play to run to the left 'all day long' also? Same formation, same motion, same play, same result.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

I would like to be optomistic about our team. Fact is i am just not seeing it. Yes, we are 2-1. that is great, better than 1-2 or 0-3. As far as encouraged, I dont know that I am encouraged about what I am seeing.

Defensively - no pressure from front 4 continues to be an issue, which is not going to change during the season. We lack aggressiveness. Corners play has been sub par really. I just dont understand why we went away from what made GW "the great defensive mind"? His aggressiveness is what made him great, we are just not aggressive the last two years. We bend, but dont break. well we broke last week, against a team that has options. Had McNabb hit some of his misthrows last week, it would have been a different story. I remember the 1st two years of constant pressure, forcing teams hands, making them react instead of us reacting. Every team we faced those two years said we were one of the best D's they have or will face. I believe we have the players to be more aggressive. Our corners just aren't that good at covering people for extended times, we need to force the offenses hand, make them get rid of the ball. they sit back there and have all day, we will and HAVE been picked apart.

offensively - what transpired against the Giants was absolutely a joke. This is the same crap that we have dealt with for years. We played really good in the 1st have, mixing up plays. Why in the hell did Portis run the ball 6 times in the second half? we were up 14 freaking points. We were up 10 and trying freaking reverses?? what the hell is that? Playcalling, clock management, timely penalties has been the song we have been singing for years also. I like Jason Campbell - I think he will be a really good QB for us, but we can't have him out there throwing 35 times a game. The Giants did not take the lead until 5 minutes left in the game. This reminded me of the Atlanta Game last year, were up 14 points, and all of the sudden we forget to run the damn ball, and lost giving up 17 unanswered in the second half. WE are a running team, that is our identity. Where are the screens we ran so well last year? I understand Jansen and Thomas are hurt, but hey they aint coming back anytime soon, so that excuse has to stop.

Its only 1 game - correct, but how many years have we had the same issues?? and when the hell are we going to be able to cover the middle of the damn field??

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=#56fanatic;357170]I would like to be optomistic about our team. Fact is i am just not seeing it. Yes, we are 2-1. that is great, better than 1-2 or 0-3. As far as encouraged, I dont know that I am encouraged about what I am seeing.

Defensively - no pressure from front 4 continues to be an issue, which is not going to change during the season. We lack aggressiveness. Corners play has been sub par really. I just dont understand why we went away from what made GW "the great defensive mind"? His aggressiveness is what made him great, we are just not aggressive the last two years. We bend, but dont break. well we broke last week, against a team that has options. Had McNabb hit some of his misthrows last week, it would have been a different story. I remember the 1st two years of constant pressure, forcing teams hands, making them react instead of us reacting. Every team we faced those two years said we were one of the best D's they have or will face. I believe we have the players to be more aggressive. Our corners just aren't that good at covering people for extended times, we need to force the offenses hand, make them get rid of the ball. they sit back there and have all day, we will and HAVE been picked apart.

offensively - what transpired against the Giants was absolutely a joke. This is the same crap that we have dealt with for years. We played really good in the 1st have, mixing up plays. Why in the hell did Portis run the ball 6 times in the second half? we were up 14 freaking points. We were up 10 and trying freaking reverses?? what the hell is that? Playcalling, clock management, timely penalties has been the song we have been singing for years also. I like Jason Campbell - I think he will be a really good QB for us, but we can't have him out there throwing 35 times a game. The Giants did not take the lead until 5 minutes left in the game. This reminded me of the Atlanta Game last year, were up 14 points, and all of the sudden we forget to run the damn ball, and lost giving up 17 unanswered in the second half. WE are a running team, that is our identity. Where are the screens we ran so well last year? I understand Jansen and Thomas are hurt, but hey they aint coming back anytime soon, so that excuse has to stop.

Its only 1 game - correct, but how many years have we had the same issues?? and when the hell are we going to be able to cover the middle of the damn field??[/quote]


Welll I think it's easy to be negative if that's all you focus on. Like I said, somebody in our division will be 1-3 by Sunday night, and it won't be the Redskins.

We played one good half, and one bad half. Think about that, we didn't stink up an entire game, we blew it in the second half. I think we have some things to correct, yes. But you can't tell me if we beat the Lions, no matter how we beat the Lions, you'll feel good.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

I think it's funny some keep complaining about the lack of pressure from up front but I really don't see it as a major issue especially when compared to recent years. Andre Carter is off to a nice start.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=12thMan;357176]Welll I think it's easy to be negative if that's all you focus on. Like I said, somebody in our division will be 1-3 by Sunday night, and it won't be the Redskins.

We played one good half, and one bad half. Think about that, we didn't stink up an entire game, we blew it in the second half. I think we have some things to correct, yes. But you can't tell me if we beat the Lions, no matter how we beat the Lions, you'll feel good.[/quote]


my point is this - how many games did we blow last year when leading by 10 or more in the second half. If we are still doing the same as last year(albiet on game) how is that encouraging? I find it discouraging. of course I will be glad that we beat lions. If we have a hard time stopping Manning w/ and injured shoulder and Plaxico, I think we may have trouble stopping Kitna, Williams, Furrey, Johnson. Just a huntch.

I hope I am wrong.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=#56fanatic;357180]my point is this - how many games did we blow last year when leading by 10 or more in the second half. If we are still doing the same as last year(albiet on game) how is that encouraging? I find it discouraging. of course I will be glad that we beat lions. If we have a hard time stopping Manning w/ and injured shoulder and Plaxico, I think we may have trouble stopping Kitna, Williams, Furrey, Johnson. Just a huntch.

I hope I am wrong.[/quote]

You're right about last year, but this is a bit of a different team if you ask me. Last year's team didn't start 2-1 either.

I bet we'll have something for the Lions too. And I'm not just saying that. However, if we blow this game against the Lions in similar fashion, then I'm worried. Not concerned, but worried.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=Mattyk72;357179]I think it's funny some keep complaining about the lack of pressure from up front but I really don't see it as a major issue especially when compared to recent years. Andre Carter is off to a nice start.[/quote]


why not complain about pressure - teams that can apply pressure are able to produce more turn overs, win field position battles, force more 3 and outs. Lets compare defensive units from 04 and 05 to 06 and 07. 04 and 05 - consistant pressure style of D - top 5 in 04 and Top 10 in 05. Granted the pressure was not from the front 4 on a consistant basis, but we got to the QB. year 2006 - changes styles to a cover 2 read and react, got beat like a drum week in and week out - couldn't stop the run, nor the pass - set record for fewest turnovers - ended up 31st. This year is still in question.

The pressure or lack of is an issue - even coaches talk about getting pressure on the QB consistantly. No Defense is successful sitting back and letting people pick you apart. Do you think the Lions, Pats, Packers, Cowboys aren't going to air it out and lets those QB's just pick us apart? Not saying it will, but hard to think it wont happen.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

Hey, we're 2-1. If we win 2 out of every 3 games for the rest of the year, we'll have 11 or so wins. :)

We should beat the Lions, Cards, Jets, Bucs, Bills, Vikings the Giants next time and yes, even the Bears who look horrible. Favre looks great but they have no RBs, can they keep THAT up? The Pats and Cowboys won't win every game, maybe we can ensure that. Anything can happen in the NFL.

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Again, I think Carter is off to a nice start and has consistently applied good pressure, and I think Washington has done a nice job rushing as well. Has the problem been fixed completely? No, but it's been improved.

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[quote=Mattyk72;357191]Again, I think Carter is off to a nice start and has consistently applied good pressure, and I think Washington has done a nice job rushing as well. Has the problem been fixed completely? No, but it's been improved.[/quote]I don't think Carter has consistently applied good pressure.

He's got 2 sacks, on pace for ten, and one great strip of Manning. But going over the stats last year, I noticed a disturbing trend. Carter had one third the hurries of Phillip Daniels. Yeah, hes going against better tackles, but he also takes himself out of a lot of plays with his speed rush. Sure 2-3% of passing plays he beats the LT clean and gets there for the sack. But what about the 90% where he's nowhere near the passer? I personally would trade 4 sacks for 20 hurries from the DE position.

One thing I have to give him, he's been a LOT better against the run this season. You can still beat him by running straight at him, but in general he's doing a better job not overpursuing and taking away cutback lanes beautifully. He's just nothing more than an average pass rusher at best.

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Sorry, guys. To lose a game to a division rival at home when up by 14 at the half is inexcusable. The truly good teams win games like that. We didn't. To be outscored 21-0 by that crap Giants team in the second half is an embarassment. If we won that game, NY fans would be scraming for Coughlin's head and the G-men would be in a really big hole. (Not to mention, with the jerkweeds they have on that team, they'd probably start in-fighting and their season would implode.) Now, we've given them life and dropped a game that we should have had well in hand. (We even won the turnover battle for a change.) Let's hope that was our worst effort of the season. The only bright spots, as far as I am concerned, were (1) Rock's returns, and (2) Campbell completing some big 3rd and 4th down throws.

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To the negative commentators in this thread--we've got lots and lots of threads hashing and re-hashing the negatives. No one is denying that they exist. This thread rightly picks out some positives. Yes, we've got things to fix. But we've also got some good things going.

Post the good here, the negatives in one of the umpteen many threads on those issues!

:bdh:

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=JWsleep;357259]To the negative commentators in this thread--we've got lots and lots of threads hashing and re-hashing the negatives. No one is denying that they exist. This thread rightly picks out some positives. Yes, we've got things to fix. But we've also got some good things going.

Post the good here, the negatives in one of the umpteen many threads on those issues!

:bdh:[/quote]


amen to that.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=JWsleep;357259]To the negative commentators in this thread--we've got lots and lots of threads hashing and re-hashing the negatives. No one is denying that they exist. This thread rightly picks out some positives. Yes, we've got things to fix. But we've also got some good things going.

Post the good here, the negatives in one of the umpteen many threads on those issues!

:bdh:[/quote]


Yeah seriously, there's enough pissing and moaning around here let's leave at least one thread to focus on the positives.

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[quote=GTripp0012;357197]I don't think Carter has consistently applied good pressure.

He's got 2 sacks, on pace for ten, and one great strip of Manning. But going over the stats last year, I noticed a disturbing trend. Carter had one third the hurries of Phillip Daniels. Yeah, hes going against better tackles, but he also takes himself out of a lot of plays with his speed rush. Sure 2-3% of passing plays he beats the LT clean and gets there for the sack. But what about the 90% where he's nowhere near the passer? I personally would trade 4 sacks for 20 hurries from the DE position.

One thing I have to give him, he's been a LOT better against the run this season. You can still beat him by running straight at him, but in general he's doing a better job not overpursuing and taking away cutback lanes beautifully. He's just nothing more than an average pass rusher at best.[/quote]

10 sacks is a nice pace to be on. He seems to have picked right up where he left off last year.

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How about Frost!! He has looked good all year and I'm glade we have stuck with him.

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[quote=firstdown;357296]How about Frost!! He has looked good all year and I'm glade we have stuck with him.[/quote]

Great call: Frosty is third in the NFL right now. Looks like we got a Pro-Bowler on our hands boys.

Shall we rename this thread: Six things to be encouraged about?

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[quote=12thMan;357299]Great call: Frosty is third in the NFL right now. Looks like we got a Pro-Bowler on our hands boys.[/quote]

If he gets to the Pro Bowl, I hope he doesn't try to run a fake punt and get destroyed by the AFC equivalent of Sean Taylor.

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[quote=Southpaw;357300]If he gets to the Pro Bowl, I hope he doesn't try to run a fake punt and get destroyed by the AFC equivalent of Sean Taylor.[/quote]


There is no AFC equivalent of Sean Taylor:)

That was one nasty hit though!

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[quote=Buster;357190]Hey, we're 2-1. If we win 2 out of every 3 games for the rest of the year, we'll have 11 or so wins. :)

We should beat the Lions, Cards, Jets, Bucs, Bills, Vikings the Giants next time and yes, even the Bears who look horrible. Favre looks great but they have no RBs, can they keep THAT up? The Pats and Cowboys won't win every game, maybe we can ensure that. Anything can happen in the NFL.[/quote]

With that said, we should have beat the Giants, the team was horrible and in absolute dissaray, no excuse for that loss at home. The Lions and Cards both have explosive recievers which doesnt bode well for Carlos Rogers, Im still on the C-Los bandwagon, I love the kid and think he has a world of talent, but he needs to start showing it. The buccaneers is nowhere near a (we should beat) game, they are improved and absolutely dominating teams, there really good. This is the first time in a long time that we have a quarterback with a ton of talent and a monster defense, my only problem is that our coaching staff doesnt seem like there up to the challenge, Joe Gibbs is the man for the job and I dont think we should have picked up Al Saunders. Constantly reverting back to the cover-2 is killing this defense in important situations, I just dont understand it. Im very optimistic about this team, there just seems to be too much talent to lose, but we have had teams like that before. Were always the team that plays up to the competition and then the next week down to the opposition, it was sad to see the Giants jumping around on fedex field like they accomplished something great, if the players dont start taking this season seriously theres going to be more sundays like that.

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im encouraged that despite our terrible start. (2-1), i can still grill 100 steaks while drinking 10 beers.

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[quote=GiantsSuck703;357302]With that said, we should have beat the Giants, the team was horrible and in absolute dissaray, no excuse for that loss at home. The Lions and Cards both have explosive recievers which doesnt bode well for Carlos Rogers, Im still on the C-Los bandwagon, I love the kid and think he has a world of talent, but he needs to start showing it. The buccaneers is nowhere near a (we should beat) game, they are improved and absolutely dominating teams, there really good. This is the first time in a long time that we have a quarterback with a ton of talent and a monster defense, my only problem is that our coaching staff doesnt seem like there up to the challenge, Joe Gibbs is the man for the job and I dont think we should have picked up Al Saunders. Constantly reverting back to the cover-2 is killing this defense in important situations, I just dont understand it. Im very optimistic about this team, there just seems to be too much talent to lose, but we have had teams like that before. Were always the team that plays up to the competition and then the next week down to the opposition, it was sad to see the Giants jumping around on fedex field like they accomplished something great, if the players dont start taking this season seriously theres going to be more sundays like that.[/quote]

You know, you guys are pointing out a lot of "intersting" things in these so called arguments.

The Giants are horrible, this and that. Whatever. First of all, stats mean very little to me during the first three games. And for the record, I personally picked the Giants to finish last in the division this year, but I hedged myself by mentioning this team can explode on any team on any Sunday. We saw it against Dallas and we saw it against the Redskins.

Fact is, somebody in our division will be 1-3 come Sunday night, and it won't be the Redskins. So If we want to bitch and moan, there's something to bitch and moan about.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=12thMan;357304]You know, you guys are pointing out a lot of "intersting" things in these so called arguments.

The Giants are horrible, this and that. Whatever. First of all, stats mean very little to me during the first three games. And for the record, I personally picked the Giants to finish last in the division this year, but I hedged myself by mentioning this team can explode on any team on any Sunday. We saw it against Dallas and we saw it against the Redskins.

Fact is, somebody in our division will be 1-3 come Sunday night, and it won't be the Redskins. So If we want to bitch and moan, there's something to bitch and moan about.[/quote]

No, the Giants were a bad team missing there starting RB, not to mention the bickering back and forth in the locker room, and the talk of firing Tom Coughlin running rampant. The Giants were dismantled the week before at home by the Packers, its not bitching and moaning, it was a game we let slip away, if someone is not allowed to be upset about it, then whats the point of being a fan, are we just supposed to walk around with a smile on our face all week? It sucks to lose like that, but I will never leave the Redskins side, there my team, Im just not always happy with them.

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[quote=GiantsSuck703;357309]No, the Giants were a bad team missing there starting RB, not to mention the bickering back and forth in the locker room, and the talk of firing Tom Coughlin running rampant. The Giants were dismantled the week before at home by the Packers, its not bitching and moaning, it was a game we let slip away, if someone is not allowed to be upset about it, then whats the point of being a fan, are we just supposed to walk around with a smile on our face all week? It sucks to lose like that, but I will never leave the Redskins side, there my team, Im just not always happy with them.[/quote]


Was it a game we should have one, absolutely. But not because the Giants are so horrible, but because we just let them off the ropes.

I'm a bit concerned now that we've given them just the boost they needed to climb back into this thing.

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Another positive (don't know if this has been mentioned): Rock and ARE's returns were great. We really wasted a good specials day out there, but it's nice to see that facet, at least, working pretty well.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

I agree there are reasons to be encouraged although I think its better to refer to them as 5 silver linings b/c for every one of those 5 reasons we have a bigger, recurring problem.

1) Injuries to a line: No matter who we fill in as a stop gap solution the fact is that we are missing 2 VERY GOOD lineman from the beginning of the season (and one more if you count Dock's departure from last year's squad). For a team that prides ourselves on running the ball like we say, its important to have talent on the O-line. Ppl will cite the fact that we have had some great rushing performances but I think that a) they were against poor run defenses b) the rushing success came at the cost of the teams overall offensive production...we had a lotta attempts so we got yards...but we weren't exactly successful at putting points on the board and putting the game out of reach

2) Jason Campbell and the receiving corps' chemistry: Call me crazy, but for some reason our passing game is not clicking. That could be a product of not enough reps in the preseason (but by the 3rd regular season game that theory is pretty much disproven). Campbells immaturity and hesitance to trust receivers enuff to throw it before they break is another big indication of this. Balls are being overthrown left and right and it just looks sloppy

3) Inability to put the game away: In every game this season and what was symptomatic of last year's team, we can't hold a lead. Though our Defense is talented we can't rely on them to shut down a team in the 2nd half (its like they are getting tired and defocused). Also the offensive isn't helping them out by sustaining drives in and putting points on the board in the 2nd half. If it wasn't for Landry's hit we very well could have lost that eagles game as well.

4) Lack of leadership: Offensively and Defensively, to me it seems like the skins don't have an emotional leader (at least vocally) who is getting people fired up on the field. Yes, when landry or mcintosh make a big hit people get fired up and jump around. But when we are on our heels and the game is on the line, it doesn't seem like anyone is smacking people on the helmets and getting the troops riled up. JC is a young QB so he may not be in the position to do this, but nobody else on Offense is stepping up...Clint Portis would be the guy but this new strategy of splitting time with betts makes it seem like he is distant and kinda outta the game. Defensively, there is nobody calling out defensive adjustments and putting people in the place they should be...there is just not enough communication. Which leads me to my final point

5) Confusion: Our football team looks like they are really confused sometimes. The whole situation in Philly when JC couldn't get the play in on time was a debaucle and it is indicative of the confusion of our players AND coaches. It's like they aren't thinking in advance and they are sitting back and watchin to see if the last play was successful. Also this confusion might be the reason that JC seems a little hesitant and probably is the reason why he holds the ball for so long (almost second guessing himself). In addition, when we line up defensively it seems like we wait until the last second for the DB's to find the receiver they are supposed to cover. This confusion also adds to an overall trend that we are not playing as fast as we are. We lose a step when players are second guessing their assignments & coverages and i think this is what is happening. We used to be a swarming defense in 05 (and even in preseason, though it isn't a fair comparison, but we were really gang tackling ppl). It doesn't seem like we are a very cohesive bunch that is beating with one heartbeat at this point. This may also be attributed to our injuries forcing guys who havent gotten reps with the 1st team to be thrust into game situations.

The silver lining as i see it is that most of these problems are fixable with reps and practice, if everyone gets on the same page. But they are not gonna get fixed on their own and certainly not if we don't acknowledge that they are there. The best way to put it is that looking back on these 3 games in retrospect, i am more RELIEVED that we are 2-1 not upset. That in itself is not very reassuring to me because we have our toughest games yet to come and if we play like we did in any of those 3 games against teams like Dallas, New England, Green Bay, (even) Chicago, and others we may not be looking at very many more wins.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

12thMan, I'm sorry that your intention of starting a thread to focus on the positives has been ignored.

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

[quote=SmootSmack;357317]12thMan, I'm sorry that your intention of starting a thread to focus on the positives has been ignored.[/quote]

It's all good. I'm sure I've pissed on few good ones myself:)

Re: 12th's Five Reasons To Be Encouraged
 

Another positive (to get back to the POINT!!!):

The response from the players has been all-for-one, one-for-all. They are not sniping at each other. Most notably, CP's defense of Ladell, but it's not just that. I think this team is going to use this as a rallying point, a chip on the shoulder. They read the papers, and, yes, they use the internet. They see what's being said. It's gotta sting.

Check out Portis's interview on the John Thomson show. It's linked in a thread at extremeskins (Mods: don't know if it's not kosher to link to them--remove if necessary):

[url=http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213563&page=2]EXTREMESKINS.com - Anyone Just hear the entire Portis interview?[/url]