"A Play-calling Deathwish"

He's the guy. Give the ball to this guy, not the other guy.

I'm still trying to get my head around this one. The Redskins dominated statistically, but still looked pretty bad, left 16 points on the field and came up short, losing 21-19 to the Eagles for the 11th time in the past 16 games. At least the weather was nice and my seats were good.

Curly R shoutout to Mary Ann from South Jersey and her crewe, brother Mike from South Jersey and Joan the Random Giants fan. I'll have pictures up in my game journal later tonight or tomorrow. Note to self: need to make up Curly R cards to hand out at games.

I think this team is sloppy because it has no real idenitity and therefore no ultimate goals. I'm not talking about playoffs, takeaways, those kinds of goals. I'm talking about a basic goal of being a coherent unit, a team. The Redskins actually had a drive that went backwards, it was 3rd and 32 at one point. What's even funnier is that Reno Mahe muffed Derrick Frost's punt and the Redskins recovered.

If Mr. Betts racked up 171 yards, why mess with it? Why did TJ Duckett come in at the Eagles goal line and run for no yards? Why did the Redskins keep running that 'unbalanced' set that called for an eligible tackle to come in as a tight end in motion? That play went nowhere. Bad playcalling, bad substitutions, weak effort.

Bob Ford at the Philiadelphia Inquirer thinks if the Redskins had a brain that the Eagles would have lost. I tend to agree. Boswellis trying to look at the bright side, or rather documents the team looking at the bright side and when teams are praising themselves after being ineffectual you know it's time to turn out the lights. I can sum it up: Jason Campbell has to get better, develop some field awareness. Those INTs were killers, and the Eagles weren't looking good at the beginning. The Michael Lewis pick-6 was pretty much the killer right there, and the Redskins just wanted the half to end. And get ready to see Redskins in Eagles highlight packages for years to come.

Coming back from the half, the Redskins continued statistical domination, but only could come up with three points. In the final quarter, the Redskins three-and-outed and then put together a decent drive, but choked at the line again.

The defense played well enough, holding the Eagles under 100 yards in the second half, but just when you expect it, they open a hole big enough for Reggie Brown to run through and Carlos Rogers is standing there again with this, damn gave up another look on his face. I can sum it up: the defense stinks when we need it to smell good. Giving up big plays down the field. No pressure on Jeff Garcia. Failing to stop opposing offenses when it counts. Carlos Rogers stinks. We deserve better.

And whoo-hoo we have a kicker! Four for four, get Guinness. Vanderjagt has to wait another week for the call from Vinny. There is no way Dan Snyder can resist this one. Like the drunk girl at the party.

Duckett Watch: was in for the crucial plays of the game. Ladell carried the ball 5 times on the Redskins last drive, needing a touchdown to go ahead. Then, Ladell came out and TJ came in, and...went nowhere. Three carries for one yard. Season now projecting to 28 carries for 123 yards.

B-Lloyd Blues: doesn't even know how pissed coach was, so didn't start and played little. He was a factor though, with the big catch from Antwaan Randle El. His only catch.

Being Mark Brunell: I saw him for a moment on the big screen in a highlight package.

Arch Deluxe: does not appear in defensive stats, and once again, his name appears in no link from this piece. The 30 million dollar benchwarmer.

Hogs Haven recap. Bleeding Green Nation here and here.

My head hurts.



Ladell Betts: Joel Richardson / Washington Post
Hat tip to Dan Steinberg at DC Sports Bog for the title of this post