Game 6: Redskins (3-2) vs. Cardinals (3-3)

vs.

The Redskins invite the St. Louis Phoenix Arizona Cardinals into the cozy confines of Redskins Stadium for a 1pm ET tilt with the future of civilization at stake to put it bluntly.

After losing a game they should have won last week the Redskins need to win this game to keep pace with the division leading Cowboys, winning this game will reduce the sting of losing to the Packers.

Curly R aside: players and a team trying to take blame, taking responsibility for a loss, this is a good thing and is a great sign for team cohesion. It means that the players are comfortable enough with one another and with the coaches that they can admit mistakes and not feel exposed. It means they believe they will do better and they trust one another. Also, one more hangover from last week, I tend to agree with Mike Wise, Al Saunders runs an effective NFL offense but at times his playcalls appear to me to be tonedeaf to the situation.

The sore thumb this week, more like the anvil on the foot is the Redskins offensive line. Right tackle Todd Wade aka Big Head Todd aka 8 Ball, center Casey Rabach aka Casey Nutsach and backup tackle Stephon Heyer all suffered hamstring or groin injuries last week and two of those three guys are already replacements. Read here, here and here to see all the possible combinations of starting lineup but the shorthand is that the Redskins offensive line, a lonely bright spot in 2006, is in shambles and as the line goes so goes the Redskins running game, a critical component of the gameplan.

The solution? In the first place Chris Cooley and Mike Sellers are going to have to stay home and help with blocking which they may anyway since the Cardinals defense stuffs the center of the field which means fewer options for Jason Campbell and Lorenzo Alexander aka Scarface, a defensive end, took some reps with the offensive line, he will be the emergency go to guy.

Then, sign two guys off the street, Calvin Armstrong and Kevin Sampson. And it is not helping that practice squad lineman Kili Lefotu went out last week, got drunk, harassed a bunch of restaurant customers, destroyed some property, getting himself arrested and then cut in the process.

A young quarteback and a power running game? These are facts of life for the Redskins and if the line continues to deteriorate the team will be forced to try and change its personality, something teams don't do well. The running game is already suffering (Ladell Betts is averaging a whopping 2.3 yards per carry) and the top two receivers were hurting last week. This is not good and the offense will have to win conservatively.


Defensively it creates something of a challenge when a team cannot prepare for a quarterback with certainty (op. cit.) but this is not a serious problem (see below). The Cardinals run a spread style offense that attacks at short range with a few pops downfield. Edgerrin James is looking more like his old self but still not the dominant back the Cardinals thought they were getting. That's because when Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm arrived in Phoenix there was no offensive line to speak of.


For the Cardinals, they've had some problems at quarterback. Matt Leinart started the season as the starter, he struggled a bit and new head coach Ken Whisenhunt platooned Matt with Kurt Warner aka Bagger with some success then Matt broke his collarbone, it must have been a bad break to force him out for the rest of the season, and Bagger was hurt last week tearing ligaments in his non throwing arm so the Cardinals signed Tim Rattay and former Redskin Tim Hasselbeck. Bagger is expected to start but the Tims will be ready.

I would expect Gregg Williams' defense to try and get some pressure on the Cardinals quarterback no matter who it is, you got a guy that's hurt and two guys that were on the street last week.


8 Ball and Casey Nutsach were first listed as probable, then Casey Nutsach was downgraded to questionable, Redskins final injury report here, Cardinals here.


Washington Post game preview, Redskins Gameday (PDF).

Other previews: Hogs Haven, Greg at Hog Heaven, The Redskin Report statalicious and preview.


One other thing losing last week means for the Redskins? Time to start a new winning streak.

This is a gameday open thread.