Smoot Lays the Smack Down (Redskins vs Cowboys)

[SmootSmack]

Look, even when the guys on ESPN (or any other network) are saying positive things about the Redskins, I just don't care to listen to it when all I'm doing is waiting for next week's game...which I hope is a merciless blowout of the Seahawks.

Instead I'll just subject myself to another week of "Whither the GOP now?"

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Look, even when the guys on ESPN (or any other network) are saying positive things about the Redskins, I just don't care to listen to it when all I'm doing is waiting for next week's game...which I hope is a merciless blowout of the Seahawks.

Instead I'll just subject myself to another week of "Whither the GOP now?"

Haha. I'm right there with you on both points.

To add to your first post:

Home Field Advantage: Ummm, where is it? We've lost 3 out of 4 at home. It's so tough to win on the road in this league, if you can't take care of business in your own house, you're not going far.

Pass Rush: Demetric Evans is better than Jason Taylor. Plain and simple. Everyone can look at past statistics and accolades, blah blah blah. Demetric leads the team in sacks and is better against the run. I don't know if Taylor is still injured or if he's just lost it, but he doesn't deserve to be on the field right now.

4th Quarter Defense: With the game on the line, they run Marion Barber down our throat 11, yes ELEVEN straight times, and we can't stop it at all. You're playing at home against your archrival in a game you've dubbed "must win," you know exactly what's coming, and you can't stop it? Embarrassing. The D has been our strong suit overall, but that was a sad showing to end the game.

On a side note, I've seen a few comments about Buges not being in it. Our O-line starters have been around long enough to know their assignments. Buges not mentally being 100% for a few weeks has not caused this regression. Age and quickly diminishing skills have.

When I look at our bad O-line and lack of pass rush, I can't help but think of how we used our 3 top picks on pass catchers, and two of them can't even make it on the field.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Haha. I'm right there with you on both points.

To add to your first post:

Home Field Advantage: Ummm, where is it? We've lost 3 out of 4 at home. It's so tough to win on the road in this league, if you can't take care of business in your own house, you're not going far.

Pass Rush: Demetric Evans is better than Jason Taylor. Plain and simple. Everyone can look at past statistics and accolades, blah blah blah. Demetric leads the team in sacks and is better against the run. I don't know if Taylor is still injured or if he's just lost it, but he doesn't deserve to be on the field right now.

4th Quarter Defense: With the game on the line, they run Marion Barber down our throat 11, yes ELEVEN straight times, and we can't stop it at all. You're playing at home against your archrival in a game you've dubbed "must win," you know exactly what's coming, and you can't stop it? Embarrassing. The D has been our strong suit overall, but that was a sad showing to end the game.

On a side note, I've seen a few comments about Buges not being in it. Our O-line starters have been around long enough to know their assignments. Buges not mentally being 100% for a few weeks has not caused this regression. Age and quickly diminishing skills have.
When I look at our bad O-line and lack of pass rush, I can't help but think of how we used our 3 top picks on pass catchers, and two of them can't even make it on the field.

No one is arguing that. The comment about Buges was just an observation.

[Gmanc711]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Look, even when the guys on ESPN (or any other network) are saying positive things about the Redskins, I just don't care to listen to it when all I'm doing is waiting for next week's game...which I hope is a merciless blowout of the Seahawks.

Instead I'll just subject myself to another week of "Whither the GOP now?"

I'm the same way...and here is why. I don't care if they say something bad about us...belive me, this week I'm going to be saying lots of bad things about us...what bothers me from the national media....is I know more about this team than they do, and alot of what they say is wrong. Plain and simple. Its perfectly understandable, because they have 32 teams to cover, and all I watch is the Skins'. Thats not to say my knowlege about the sport of football is better than theirs, or that they dont have access to information I dont...but when it comes to the Redskins, unless its an interview, I feel like its not doing anything for me, or it just pisses me off, so I dont really watch much either.

[JWsleep]

I think it was not a bad call to go for it on 4th down. The cowboys got the ball back and we couldn't stop them. Why think we would have stopped them from the 20?

As for the play--hard to say (outside of the obvious fact that it failed). JC did not throw right away. He got pressure up the middle. Then he went to Moss and it was too late. Zorn said that the play was designed to Santana, but that JC should have come off of him after the initial pressure. Not sure what the other options were or if they were open. But again the lack of pass pro disrupted things, which is a problem in a timing/rhythm offense.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Andre Carter I was your biggest fan on this site, before you even signed with the team and last year you proved me right. But this year? I don't know man, you're just not getting it done.

The only difference between Carter last year and Carter this year is that those sacks are becoming pressures in which the QB can get rid of the ball. This is because:

1) No pressure from non-Carter DL players allows QBs to slide away from Carter's pressure.

2) Man coverage schemes that allow the Quarterback to pick out where they are going with the ball presnap and throw it there when they feel pressure.

Carter's sack totals are down, but we can't confuse that with him being ineffective. We've gotten a lot of pressure on Quarterbacks and that's mostly his doing. I agree that he did not do a whole lot tonight.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

The only difference between Carter last year and Carter this year is that those sacks are becoming pressures in which the QB can get rid of the ball. This is because:

1) No pressure from non-Carter DL players allows QBs to slide away from Carter's pressure.

2) Man coverage schemes that allow the Quarterback to pick out where they are going with the ball presnap and throw it there when they feel pressure.

Carter's sack totals are down, but we can't confuse that with him being ineffective. We've gotten a lot of pressure on Quarterbacks and that's mostly his doing. I agree that he did not do a whole lot tonight.

Good points on AC. I think he's playing well, the sacks just aren't coming. As you say, you can't confuse the lack of sacks for him being ineffective.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Good points on AC. I think he's playing well, the sacks just aren't coming. As you say, you can't confuse the lack of sacks for him being ineffective.

The fear of this effect is what led us to trade for Jason Taylor. In this case, Vinny correctly diagnosed the need (which is more than a lot of GMs in the NFL are good for), but under the pressure of time, he made the wrong decision to solve it.

This is actually a very significant trend with Cerrato's moves. If the move is made under stress, or is time-sensitive, Ceratto's track record is awful.

EXAMPLES: Jason Taylor, Shaun Alexander, passing on DJ Hackett, the 2008 draft second round, DeAngelo Hall?

Can we put TJ Duckett here, or is that one on Gibbs?

But if he sticks to his plan, and has ample time to evaluate a move, he's actually very good.

EXAMPLES: Pete Kendall, trading out of the first round in 2008, a great first round track record, and recently uncovering gems in late rounds on defense.

[CrazyCanuck]

OL - Pitiful. Disastrous. Back to back games now where our pass protection was non-existant. Our offense won't go anywhere unless we fix this. Any team with a half decent pass rush will continue to send the house just like Pitt and Dallas did. No matter how good our run game it is it will not offset this glaring deficiency. Stop wasting our draft picks on receivers and punters, we need linemen.

Springs - I think you are great when healthy (top 5 CB in the NFL). I have defended you for missing games and can live with you missing games like Detroit and Cleveland. But to miss this Dallas game was unacceptable. You were the main reason we won the 1st Dallas game and we needed you more than ever last night. I will not accuse you of being soft because I don't know enough facts about your injuries. But you are either soft or injury-prone, and either way you are not worth the big money we are paying you. As far as I'm concerned your days as a Skin are over and it's a shame.

Offense/Coaching - Let's get organized!! I've never seen a team take a delay of game penalty THEN waste a timeout, all to come up with a useless play. Then there was the inexcusable sack to turn a 35 yard FG into a 48 yard FG on a windy night. These are the little things that good teams don't do. Every game (especially NFC East games) comes down to a few plays here or there and we can't afford to waste opportunities when they arise. We could've won last night and we even coulda won the Pitt game if we put them away early. Get organized!!

[rypper11]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

EXAMPLES: Jason Taylor, Shaun Alexander, passing on DJ Hackett, the 2008 draft second round, DeAngelo Hall?

Jason Taylor at this point looks questionable, at best and I've hated the 2008 second round since April. But DeAngelo Hall? He looked good in his one game with us and he's paid very little (compared to other NFL nickel backs). He actually held onto an interception so Hall could be a great pickup. Shaun Alexander came in knowing the offense which makes him better than options at the time. And passing on DJ Hackett could be the best move of the offseason. With Carolina he has a whopping 11 catches for 144 yards and a lost fumble. By contrast, Devin Thomas, who none of us are really happy with, has 11 receptions for 77 yards and has been great on ST.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by rypper11

But DeAngelo Hall? He looked good in his one game with us and he's paid very little (compared to other NFL nickel backs). He actually held onto an interception so Hall could be a great pickup.

My impression was that Hall played decent, but that is really based on nothing since I haven't seen the coaches tape. My other impression is that he will likely turn out to be a better player than Smoot, but that might be a bigger indictment of Smoot's poor coverage than anything else. I was also very excited about Hall's interception, but let's be honest here, Hall was actually beaten very badly on the play. Romo made an absolutely horrible pass that was a yard behind Owens (which happened to be where Hall was trailing after being beaten on the slant). Now Hall held on to the ball, which for Redskins fans is (understandably) quite a feat to behold. I think Hall does help in the short term and was an upgrade over Torrence in coverage. The real proof will come in the offseason when the Redskins think about re-signing him and we see if they back the Brinks up for the guy. That will be where the potential mistake could come.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

The fear of this effect is what led us to trade for Jason Taylor. In this case, Vinny correctly diagnosed the need (which is more than a lot of GMs in the NFL are good for), but under the pressure of time, he made the wrong decision to solve it.

This is actually a very significant trend with Cerrato's moves. If the move is made under stress, or is time-sensitive, Ceratto's track record is awful.

EXAMPLES: Jason Taylor, Shaun Alexander, passing on DJ Hackett, the 2008 draft second round, DeAngelo Hall?

Can we put TJ Duckett here, or is that one on Gibbs?

But if he sticks to his plan, and has ample time to evaluate a move, he's actually very good.

EXAMPLES: Pete Kendall, trading out of the first round in 2008, a great first round track record, and recently uncovering gems in late rounds on defense.

Not sure those examples are the greatest. I agree Taylor is worth questioning. Alexander was a low risk move as was Hall. What exactly has Hackett done this year to make us regret not picking him up?

[dmek25]

i was at the game. Carter was doubled alot. its Taylor, and the rest of the crew that are totally not getting anything done. the 2 biggest problems are the o line, who keeps getting pushed around. and Smoot. he simply cannot cover in man to man. and for the first time, Zorn looked alittle shaky. that challenge was down right brutal. the use of timeouts at the end of the first half. and the play calling

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by dmek25

i was at the game. Carter was doubled alot. its Taylor, and the rest of the crew that are totally not getting anything done. the 2 biggest problems are the o line, who keeps getting pushed around. and Smoot. he simply cannot cover in man to man. and for the first time, Zorn looked alittle shaky. that challenge was down right brutal. the use of timeouts at the end of the first half. and the play calling

I'm sorry but no one on this site or any smart Redskin fan should bitch about the defense. The offense constantly keeps sending them out on the field yet they ALWAYS keep the game close. They gave up 14 points to a very very good offense. It's painfully clear we can't rush the passer. But Blache and his guys should get more credit. They are doing it with smoke and mirrors.

[CrazyCanuck]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I'm sorry but no one on this site or any smart Redskin fan should bitch about the defense. The offense constantly keeps sending them out on the field yet they ALWAYS keep the game close. They gave up 14 points to a very very good offense. It's painfully clear we can't rush the passer. But Blache and his guys should get more credit. They are doing it with smoke and mirrors.

AGREED.

This is not a great defense. It's a good defense that is playing over its head.