Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Redskins Giants Fourth Quarter

Good job by the defense, turning a second and one into a fourth and one and a punt. Jacobs got stonewalled twice and the Redskins have some life as the fourth quarter starts.

11:09—The teams exchange three and outs and with still plenty of time left, the Redskins still have a chance. The New York running game still is spotty, although both Ward and Jacobs have ripped off some pretty good runs in the second half. As long as Manning has to keep throwing, the chance for a pick is there.

9:26—The chances just got a lot dimmer as Portis gains nothing on fourth and two, giving the Giants the ball back at the Washington 40. Even if the Giants go nowhere and punt, it will be a long field for the Redskins to negotiate. By the way, the imagination went away on that play, just a straight dive up the middle.

FG Carney 39
Giants 23, Redskins 7

Just two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to send this one into overtime.

3:25—The final, final chance goes awry then a fourth-down pass falls to the ground. There probably should have been a pass interference call on it, but it's not worth getting worked up over at this point in time.

I'm going to go ahead and wrap this up early, assuming that the final will remain as it is now, so that I can get downstairs to the locker room. I'll update via Blackberry if necessary.

Final Score
Giants 23, Redskins 7

Redskins Giants Third Quarter

It will be very tough for the Redskins here, but they're not out of it. New York gets the kickoff and another turnover would be ideal.

By the way, I think the Skins have to find an alternative to Suisham. He has lost it and this is no time for him to try to find it.

13:20—A four and out for the Giants and the Redskins will get the ball at their own 20. Hall had an interception, but Springs swooped in and in the collision the ball fell to the turf. They would have had the ball right about where they are anyway.

12:29—Campbell gave Kelly a chance to jump up and make a play, but he dropped the deep sideline pass. That's two third-down conversions in a row that have been killed via the drop. To be fair, it does look like a Giant grazed the ball, but it did hit Kelly in the hands. I like the approach, it's getting more aggressive, but the execution hasn't been there.

Jacobs 1 run (Carney kick)
Giants 20, Redskins 7

The Giants could be at the point where the Redskins can't catch them after that. It's not out of the question that the Redskins could get two more touchdowns if they hold on to third-down passes. But the prospect of holding the Giants scoreless for the rest of the game is very dim.

6:36—Another trick play works as Randle El goes to Cooley for 11 yards and a first down.

It's for naught, though, as a deep Campbell pass down the middle gets picked off. It was not a good throw at all, late and shallow.

3:50—It looked like the Redskins had come up with a big play, a third-down sack, but an offside flag wiped it out. A very big little penalty as it gives the Giants a first down and they're on the move.

End of third quarter
Giants 20, Redskins 7

 

Redskins Giants Second Quarter

14:50—Again, throwing short of the first down marker on third down. This time it was incomplete but it wouldn't have mattered as it was a good three yards shy of the line to make. That's a situation where you might as well go deep since if it's picked it's as good as a punt. Better, probably, since Plackemeier has now put two into the end zone from around midfield.

14:02—Look up "picking them apart" in the NFL glossary and you'll see a picture of Eli vs. the Redskins today. He has all day to throw, still, and he's zipping the ball on target almost every throw. Sometimes the defenders are nearby, sometimes they're not because the receivers have worked their way open since Manning has so much time.

12:26—The good news is the Giants can't run the ball, so they're having to settle for field goals when things go awry in the passing game.

FG Carney 42
Giants 13, Redskins 0

12:01—It's time for Zorn to break out a little imagination here. I'm not necessarily talking about a triple reverse or anything, but they have to be more aggressive. If the Giants score again before the Redskins do, it's over.

8:43—With Betts now in after Portis got slammed down on screen pass, the Skins are on the move to the Giant 29.

Moving into the end zone, in fact.

Thomas 29 run (Suisham kick)
Giants 13, Redskins 7

Excellent fake on the reverse and a great effort by Devin Thomas to get into the end zone. That's what a little imagination will get for you!

4:10—A huge play by DeAngelo Hall, getting an interception on a third and six play in Redskins territory. The Redskin stay alive.

3:11—And they have even more life after a 20-yard pass to Sellers, featuring a hurdle by #45. Portis is back in, by the way.

2:37—Things were going well until a third-down drop by Thrash—on a ball actually thrown past the first-down marker—and then Plackemeier boots it into the end zone again. Good opportunity lost, but field position was gained.

1:00—The Giants are now finding some running room with Derrick Ward getting most of the yardage. The Skins need to keep them out of the end zone on this drive, which has them with a second and 10 on the Washington 46.

0:26—The Redskins hold on fourth and one, pending a review of the play. I'm not sure how they could change the call, but I didn't think that the previous review had any merit, either and it was reversed in favor of the Giants.

A great drive to get the Skins into field goal position at the end of the half. We'll see if it's in his range.

0:04—No, Suisham was wide right from 42 yards. That is going to prove to be huge. Still, after the way the game started out, I'll take the halftime score.

End of first half
Giants 13, Redskins 7

Redskins Giants First Quarter

13:15—Not a very aggressive first series there for Zorn. A four-yard pass to Thrash, who has no RAC ability, on third and six isn't exactly pushing the envelope. It resulted in a three and out and a quick punt back to the Giants.

Toomer 40 pass from Manning (Carney kick)
Giants 7, Redskins 0

That was too easy for the Giants. Manning easily converted a couple of third and long situations, primarily because he had all day to throw the ball. Smooth was with Toomer on the TD pass, but he didn't make a play on the ball. It goes without saying that the Skins can't get into a shootout here.

8:58—A quick slant to Moss batted away at the line, Portis up the middle for one and then a six-yard pass to Cooley on third and nine that time. I know you have to watch out for the pass rush and all, but come on, Jim. The defense had better tighten up or this could be over in a hurry.

3:23—The Redskins are generating no pass rush at all. Manning has time to survey the field a few times over.

2:42—That is, until Montgomery gets a hold on Manning's jersey for a sack on third and goal, setting up a field goal try.

FG Carney 31
Giants 10, Redskins 0

2:11—They just assessed Ryan Boschetti for five yards for an illegal fair catch on a kickoff. At least he didn't try to run with it ala Pete Kendall. Still, cut the guy some slack, he was watching on TV a week ago.

0:57—Back to back first downs, with the second coming on a nice pass to Moss on which Campbell had some nice touch. The Redskins are in Giants territory.

End of first quarter
Giants 10, Redskins 0

Live blog on Sunday with a new twist

It's a home game, so I'm trying a new work-around for the Wi-Fi disabled press box at FedEx Field. If you look to the left sidebar, you'll see a new box for updates via Twitter.

Twitter is a dumb name for a pretty cool and useful service. It's a social network service that lets you send the world messages in 140-character units. The messages are supposed to be an answer to the questions "what are you doing now?", but they can be anything, including updates about the Redskins.

So, if something urgent happens like an injury update or any other information that needs to get out in between the quarterly updates of the blog, I can fire it off and you can see it in the box.

Of course this new toy will supplement the quarterly updates, it will not replace them. Look for them at the end of each period.

Redskins-Giants Injury Report, Predicitons

The Washington Redskins should not have to worry about covering Plaxico Burress on Sunday. The New York Giants may or may not have to worry about tackling Clinton Portis.

Burress, who torched the Washington secondary with 10 catches for 113 yards in the season opener, is listed as out with a hamstring injury. As has been the case for the last two weeks, Portis is questionable with a knee sprain. Linebacker Marcus Washington is out with a high ankle sprain.

Portis has a lot of company in being designated as questionable, with a 50-50 chance of playing. Andre Carter, Cornelius Griffin, London Fletcher, Kedric Golston, and Chris Samuels are questionable for the Redskins while running backs Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs and defensive tackle Fred Robbins are in that category for the Giants.

Regardless of the status of the banged up players, I don't see this game as being an impossible challenge for the Redskins. Washington will not have to score a ton of points to win. As I seem to have to keep reminding people, the Redskins have a damn good defense. It's a balanced defense, third overall, fourth against the pass and seventh against the rush, fifth in scoring defense. Yes, they don't get the sacks and they don't get the turnovers but they still make it difficult for the other team to gain yards and score points.

The magic number for the Redskins is 17. If they can get to there, they can win or at least get it into the last minutes or into overtime. It's probably asking too much for the Redskins offense to post 17 on its own given that the unit has difficulty posting 20 against normal to mediocre defensive units. That doesn't describe the Giants D, which is highly ranked and gets the sacks and gets the turnovers.

So, that leaves it up to the defense or special teams to score or set up a touchdown. It might happen, but there is nothing that would indicate that it's likely.

Giants 17, Redskins 13

What Redskins Fans Should be Thankful For

Redskins fans have plenty to be thankful for on this day:

• The Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles—This seems a bit odd, but stay with me. The Redskins get to play six games a year against three of the most storied teams in the entire NFL, teams with long traditions (well, except the Cowboys) of championship-caliber play (well, except the Eagles). How could you get pumped up for games against Detroit or Cincinnati twice a year? An NFC East game is never, ever just another game.
  
  
• Ryan Boschetti—This guy is an all-time, all-effort football player, and that's not even the best thing about him. He is the consummate team player. I'll never forget talking to him in training camp when Kedric Golston and Anthony Montgomery were rookies. He told me that he was spending a lot of time with them both in practice and in meetings, teaching them about the pro game and about the Redskins' defense. The two rookies made the roster, Boschetti was cut. It's great to have him back.
  
  
• London Fletcher—Calling him a student of the game is faint praise. He's the professor of the Redskins defense, sometimes even giving coaches tips on how it needs to be run. His anticipation for the play at times makes you think that he lined up in the other team's huddle and that this radio headset is also tuned into the frequency of the offense. As soon as the ink was dry on his contact he became the team leader on defense.
  
  
• Chris Horton—The rookie burst onto the scene with a three-takeaway performance in a game that he didn't even know he was starting until that morning. While the takeaways have not come as easily lately, Horton is learning on the job, he's not getting beaten in coverage often, and he displays a great nose for the football. Not bad for a seventh-round pick.
  
  
• Clinton Portis—Clearly, he brings on a lot of the criticism he takes himself with comments like the one he made about the offensive line. But his productivity speaks for itself. Did you know that his average of 113.5 yards per game from scrimmage is the fourth-best of all time? Only Jim Brown, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Barry Sanders have better averages. Sometime next year Portis will surpass 10,000 career rushing yards. And in the what have you done for me lately category, he leads the NFL in rushing and is the engine that makes the offense of the 7-4 Redskins run.
  
  
• Jim Zorn—The stay-medium but play suddenly, judiciously dice-rolling, hip-hip-hooraying head coach of the Redskins appears to have been quite a find for the Redskins. Few are describing him as the worst hire in the history of the NFL as they were last February when he got a quick promotion from offensive coordinator to head coach. He has scaled back his brutal honesty with the press to some degree, not wanting to alienate himself from his players, but he still makes conversations interesting. His offense still is learning on the job and needs a few new pieces but Zorn has a vision and he is working towards it.

Skins Flexed to Prime Time vs. Ravens

The Redskins' December 7 game against the Baltimore Ravens has been moved from a 1:00 PM kickoff to a prime time 8:30 affair on NBC.

There are those who are complaining about the move given the Redskins' dismal record in prime time games this year. They are 7-1 in games that start under the natural lights and 0-3 under all artificial light.

However, those folks have a short memory. During the Redskins' December drive to the playoffs last year, games in Minnesota and against the Giants in the Meadowlands were flexed to night games. The Redskins were serious underdogs in both but they prevailed in both.

A couple of other notes:

• It's become so routine, we don't notice it any more. With about 3:50 left in the game yesterday, the Redskins were clinging to a three-point lead and facing a third and six at their own 47. They had run the ball from their own four to that point. The play call was not a draw or a little dump pass, but a pass beyond the sticks. Not a huge a Zorn gamble as we were seeing earlier in the season, but still a play call that would not have been made last year. From the shotgun with an empty backfield, Campbell fired a strike to Moss over the middle to move the chains and keep the clock rolling.
  
  
• I goofed yesterday when I said that Clinton Portis trails Adrian Peterson for the NFL rushing lead. Portis has 1,206 yards to 1,180 for Peterson.

Skins-Seahawks First Take

Some initial observations, in no particular order.

• The Washington Redskins went back to the formula that worked early in the year. They battled even through four quarters and then dominated the fourth. Seattle ran all of five plays after they scored to tie the game at 17 with 13:24 left in the fourth quarter. Washington wore down the Seattle defense for 45 minutes and then pounded them in the final 15.
  
  
• Ladell Betts had no business fighting for extra yardage there. When it was clear that he was down, he needed to go down. He should buy Shawn Springs a big steak dinner for bailing him out (or buy Hasselbeck one, what was he looking at?)
  
  
• Portis made up about 60 yards on Adrian Peterson today, but he still trails the Vikings' back by about 60. No matter, if you define it the way you should, he's the league's MVP. No player is more valuable to his team, period. Backed up at the three, crowd alive, he carries three times for 40 yards. It got quiet in a hurry.
  
  
• Santana Moss didn't have a huge day, but he's shaking out of his midseason slump. He had one bomb just get knocked out of his hands, he drew a pass interference flag that converted a third and 20 to set up the Redskins' first score and he set up the Redskins' final score by gaining 24 yards on a bubble screen. The numbers weren't great, four catches for 72 yards, but he was in the middle of a lot of good things for the Redskins.
  
  
• The Washington defense was either on or off. They allowed touchdown drives of nine plays (72 yards) and ten plays (62 yards). No other Seattle drive lasted more than five plays and only one, the one that resulted in their first field goal, covered more than 12 yards.
  
  
• They got two interceptions for the second week in a row. The two last week stopped promising Cowboy drives and helped keep the Redskins in it until the late going. One this week set up a touchdown and the other ended the game. And all four of them have been by different players.
  
  
• Decent offense, strong defense. Special teams? Next question. Suisham short from 43 yards. I thought it must have been wind, but after looking again I saw that the streamers atop the posts were limp. Big kickoff return to start the second half. The defense bailed them out. Plackemeier three punts for a 28.3 gross average.
  
  
• Malcolm Kelly got a few shots. He hauled in two for 12 yards; those aren't numbers that make him that elusive other threat, not just yet anyway, but he bears watching.
  
  
• Zorn went to the Sellers well once too often in the fourth quarter. He's a beast but he's not a pass catcher or ball carrier. Yes, he has to catch that ball, but that's not what he was built to do.
  
  
• The Redskins are in the midst of a four-team chase for the two Wild Card playoff spots. They're ahead of the 7-4 Cowboys based on a better conference record right now, but they won't be if things play out as they should and Dallas beats Seattle on Thanksgiving and the Skins lose to the Giants. Atlanta also is 7-4 and Tampa Bay and Carolina are 8-3. It still seems probable that 10 wins will gain a playoff berth. If they lose to the Giants, the Redskins would have to win three out of four from games at Baltimore, at Cincinnati, at home against the Eagles, and at San Francisco. Of that group, only Baltimore has anything to play for.

Live Blog Skins vs. Seahawks Go Here

Had to start a new window, here it is.