Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Dread Bye Week Post


Now with 100% more Jason Campbell

The Redskins are taking the week off but the staff of The Curly R never sleeps.

=====

You think this is bad this ain't bad: It's almost funny to go back and look at the Redskins on the bye last season which occurred the first weekend in November. No matter the level of concern registered this year the Redskins are in a better place this season and let us keep that in mind as we evaluate the team at the break.

The Redskins are 2-1 at the bye, winning small against the Dolphins and Eagles and losing small against the Giants. In all three cases the game could have gone either way. Now as a proponent of 'system' football one could make the case that by the fourth year of a coaching regime expecially one with so much control as Joe Gibbs is alleged to have that if you have to see games come down to the wire then you are winning them.

Last season the Redskins played 10 games that ended in a difference of seven points or less, winning four and losing six though to be fair one of those wins was the magical win at home against the Cowboys where the Mike Vanderjagt kick was blocked by Troy Vincent, Sean Taylor recovered and then was facemasked by Kyle Kosier then Nick Novak got to make a long kick on an untimed play, that just doesn't figure into how you win games.

So far this season two of three games have ended in a differential of seven points or less, 16-13 and 24-17 with the third an eight point diff. If the team is going to play it this close they need win them.

=====

It's his team: Jason Campbell is to my way of thinking a good quarterback and showing signs of improvement though statistically you can't tell, his completion percentage in seven starts in 2006 (53.1%) is nearly identical through three games so far this year (52.4%). Still, watching Jason work under pressure and find receivers open for long gains is refreshing considering how in recent seasons when the Redskins need to score defenses would just collapse into a short zone because there were no long options.

Tom Boswell has a good column on the painful but positive growth of Jason Campbell. I think we'll keep him around for a while.

=====

I don't know nothing I just work here: Oh shit here come the backfield controversy. After Clinton Portis bobbled the handoff in the Giants game he did not carry the ball again as the team rushed down to try and tie the game. Ladell Betts got the carries and could not score twice from the one yard line. After the game Joe Gibbs insisted there was no issue with Clinton but he seemed a little over explainey in so doing.

Then Clinton went on the air (with audio link) on WTEM SportsTalk 980's John Thompson show with former Redskin Brian Mitchell and practically popped a vein insisting he's a 'team player,' it was Joe Gibbs' call to keep Ladell in there and besides he and Ladell are interchangeable and for someone that insisted he doesn't read papers or follow the media narrative on him and the team he pretty well tried to settle a score with Brian for being such a critic of Clinton's, at one point pretty much shouting at Brian.*

For the record I do not think Brian is a 'critic' as much an insightful analyst with playing experience. It's fair to ask Clinton if he understands why 'people' would wonder why the franchise back that cost the team so much (Champ Bailey and a second round choice in trade then 50 million over eight years in contract) was not in the game at the end and not expect a tirade in response. George Solomon, thy legacy is the conventional wisdom of Washington DC sports.

Clinton's salad days in Washington are over and he will probably be gone next year. Hat tip to Ryan Wilson at Redskins AOL Fanhouse.

=====

Bumps bruises: The injury bug is already getting to the team and I wonder if it's not really worse than the team says. The Redskins have good depth everywhere except offensive and defensive lines but all these starters with questionables after three games bodes ill: WR Santana Moss, DT Cornelius Griffin, LB Rocky McIntosh, LB Marcus Washington, Fred Smoot.

This is what you get with a veteran team.

=====

HALO stands for Help Assist Lloyd Out: And speaking of injuries and receivers, where is Brandon Lloyd? He has no catches for no yards so far this season and is barely on the field, usually in the same packages as James Thrash meaning they are run sets.

Oh yeah, he's at home playing video games. And he wonders why people think he is out of touch. Lack of heart is about to swallow another NFL career as the Redskins have signed Reche Caldwell as Santana insurance and appear ready to sign 37 year old Keenan McCardell tomorrow as Reche Caldwell insurance. Brandon Lloyd, man he's just pissing it all away...

=====

It's a new line every week: The offensive line will be interesting to see after the bye. Center Casey Rabach is the last man standing with every position to his left and right facing some serious challenge and now the only other original starter is the guy that sat out the entire preseason with injury. The offensive line is a team's heart and the team cannot afford much more adversity.

=====

Tampa-2 explained: A hat tip to Master4Caster at Running Redskins for linking up to Matt Bowen's Washington Examiner column. I read Matt's column every week on the Metro and this is a particularly enlightening one, everything you ever wanted to know about Tampa-2 but were afraid to ask.

=====

Not getting it: Dan Snyder finally gave an interview, to former WRC NBC channel 4 sports anchor George Michael who actually led a question with

But they're saying you want to control the media by having your own Internet
LOL your own internets. George was at one time an innovator with the original sports clip show The Sports Machine and now he is just an old guy that can't open his email.

It was amusing to me that the real media with their 26 year old reporters reported on Dan Snyder's grand Redskins media strategy, one component of which is trashing the media that ensures people care about the team. It's not really shooting yourself in the foot as much as dropping an anvil on it again and again.

=====

Noise about noise: ESPN linked up to our piece on the Redskins possibly piping in crowd noise over the PA system at the Giants game. The original source is a Redskins bulletin board (ExtremeSkins), I heard it on Sirius NFL Radio then saw it on Redskins AOL Fanhouse then I wrote about it then an ESPN blog picked it up. If it's true I hope they stop it not only because it's against the rules, lame and unsportsmanlike, it's annoying, a football game is noisy enough without fake noise.

=====

Department of Hospitality: Finally, apparently the Redskins charge the opposing team 25 thousand dollars if they want to use a luxury suite during a game and also charge the press and opposing team to park. The Redskins Stadium press box has no free internet and no wireless at all. See also Not Getting It.


Redskins come back to practice tomorrow (Monday) and the news will resume its flow then it's thirteen straight weeks of football if not more.



Heroic picture of Jason Campbell: Joe Murphy / Getty Images from here.

If I May


On the road of life there are football fans and there are Steeler fans

I have observed over my years of football that Steeler fans are not particularly obnoxious in that Eagles fan - Raiders fan - Giants fan way, nor arrogant in that Cowboys fan - 49ers fan way. They are however like genital warts, it seems like one in five Americans is afflicted.

In related news I have also noted that Pittsburgh, like New Jersey, is a popular place to be 'from,' as in I'm from there but sure as shit don't live there anymore.



Steeler fan's fly sleeper cab from here.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Blogger Deathsport: Week Four Picks


The worldwide leader in linking to Curly R

Week four of Blogger Deathsport: NFL Pick'em is in effect, made with these Wednesday lines against these alternative media outlets. Winner posts on the other blogs whatever he or she wants. Curly R is tied for first place and your latest weekly winner.

Wednesday update: Results are in, Curly R scores 9 wins, 5 losses, good for a tie for second with Hogs Haven and not enough to best CommonPrejudice at 10-4. Post Game Heroes once again was in last place..


Sunday
BAL (-4) @ CLE
Pick: Browns. Platooning quarterbacks as a strategy, on the road, against the team that you used to be? Bad idea.
Result: Browns. Could they be the Forrest Gump of 2007?

TB @ CAR (-3)
Pick: Buccaneers. Tampa has screwed me every week, I bet this week is no different.
Result: Buccaneers. In college we called them Carowhina.

CHI (-3) @ DET
Pick: Lions. This is an easy one and the secret hint is spelled B-R-I-A-N G-R-I-E-S-E.
Result: Lions. I hear Brian Griese is fun when he drinks.

STL @ DAL (-13)
Pick: Cowboys. The Rams are done, the Cowboys can score, the Tony Romo honeymoon continues.
Result: Cowboys. As a Redskins fan my only hope is Tony Romo getting busted in an airport homaseckshul sting.

GB (-1.5) @ MIN
Pick: Packers. In a close game bet on Brett and this will be a close game.
Result: Packers. If I were Roger Goodell I'd see if Brett is back on the Vicodin.

HOU (-3) @ ATL
Pick: Texans. Matt Schaub, the neglected heir, the former stepchild to His Vickness coming back to Atlanta? This should be fun. Wahoowa!
Result: Falcons. Another reason to hate Atlanta besides Coke.

DEN @ IND (-9.5)
Pick: Broncos. They lose but cover.
Result: Colts. Peyton Manning could light up asbestos.

OAK @ MIA (-4)
Pick: Dolphins. Cam Cameron may be the Little Norval but Lane Kiffin doesn't even have pubic hair yet.
Result: Raiders. 75 passing yards and five total TDs for Daunte? The very definition of fluke.

NYJ (-3.5) @ BUF
Pick: Bills. This will be a close game and I can't pick the road favorite.
Result: Bills. How classy is this, the Bills have already cleaned out Keven Everett's locker.

PHI (-3) @ NYG
Pick: Eagles. I hate all this fucking NFC East bullshit I can't tell who's good.
Result: Giants. Hard to feel bad about this one.

PIT (-6) @ ARZ
Pick: Steelers. Opened a point and a half toward ARZ then moved, in these cases I bet the momentum.
Result: Cardinals. Steeler fans everywhere clutching their beer guts for comfort.

KC @ SD (-11.5)
Pick: Chiefs. Opposite use of the momentum rule, this line opened a point and half toward SD then moved.
Result: Chiefs. The Chargers are in the midst of one of the worst turnarounds in league history.

SEA (-2) @ SF
Pick: Seahawks. Half point of movement does not impress me one way or another.
Result: Seahawks. Like beating up on a girl, you feel better now Mike?


Monday
NE (-7) @ CIN
Pick: Patriots. This is the maybe they're overrated week. They're not.
Result: Patriots. Shallow corporate raiders, Bill Belichick would put his mother on the street.


Redskins are off this week, take the opportunity to enjoy football for a change. Results tallied Tuesday.



ESPN logo from here via here.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Bunker Mentality


He really doesn't get it

Redskins owner Dan Snyder finally gave an interview. Some years ago, I think it was 2001 or 2002, the Redskins were hosting a ceremony for some oldster players at halftime and Dan Snyder walked out onto the field at Redskins Stadium. Far from the fans adoring him he was booed mercilessly and from the expression on his face it was clear that right up until that moment he really believed he was the gods' gift to Redskins football.

With the exception of this comically softball interview in the Washingtonian from September 2006 I have never seen Dan give out a formal interview since and we do not see him on the big screen at games.

The interview was on Comcast SportsNet, I guess where old George Michael landed after he was pushed out at WRC channel 4 in Washington last year along with forever entertainment reporter Arch Campbell, guess what was old is young again. Go read the DC Sports Bog piece, Dan Steinberg knows what he's talking about.

And it begs some comment from this peanut gallery. Dan Snyder:

Well I think part of the problem with the media is that there's a landscape change in the media. And newspapers, for example, their circulations are declining rapidly, three, four percent a year. So what they need is controversy to sell, they need negativity. And I think when it all comes down to it, it becomes a sort of feeding frenzy for them.
Where do I begin, this is bullshit.

First, newspaper circulation has nothing to do with reporting. Newspapers are only good for three things: riding the Metro, taking a crap and avoiding discussion at the breakfast table. For everything else I use the internet and that includes Washington Post reporting and I think the Post and other major outlets realize that, look at the New York Times, they just stopped selling access to their opinion pages because they realized it's more lucrative to give it away on ad-supported pages than to charge, and the NYT had 272000 subscribers paying for the privilege (quick math 272k X 50 bucks = 13.6 million dollars a year, that's just for the opinion pages and archives, that pays for a lots of stuff).

The Washington Post is a news business not a newspaper and believe me if the Post could figure out a way to get out of the newspaper business they would, the online business is much more profitable and the print version is just the cost of legitimacy at this point.

This negates Dan's point about negativity and anecdotally I think it's bullshit anyway since when the team is doing well the area is all happiness and joy and no one gives a crap what Dan Snyder does. When the team is not doing well they ask the hard questions, look at the decisions and analyze situations just like yours truly.

Oh by the way I forgot to mention that 'doing well' is defined as winning games and not as cashflow, profit or operating margin, people that read stuff about football don't give a rat's ass about that.

More Dan:
If you look at the more modern media, newer technology, whether it be Comcast SportsNet or what have you, it's almost a little bit less biased because there's less agenda.
WTF?

Newer technology? Like Comcast SportsNet, a second rate sports network populated with castoff talent and dark studios? Or do you mean teh internets, like...washingtonpost.com, curlyr.blogspot.com or redskins.com? Believe me all three of those have an agenda, one is to make money the other is to make a better football team and the third is to control the message. The plurality of voices in that there 'newer technology' means I don't have to permit the team to tell me what I think.

More:
Michael: "GM: So you're saying that you give the fans MORE through your Internet and everything?"

DS: We give them unfiltered.

GM: What does that mean?

DS: Well it's not filtered by a 26-year old reporter that really doesn't know necessarily what's really going on. Doesn't necessarily meet with the coaches, the players, that doesn't have a clue but yet makes an opinion about a left tackle in comments that you say to yourself, 'You know, they obviously don't have a clue what's really going on.' So what we're delivering is the truth.
Ok so not more. More is Jason La Canfora and Les Carpenter putting together stats, it's Dillweed looking at DVR for hours, it's me digging through the archives for references to prove my point. More is not email reminders, video of daily pressers or marginal reporting by the team of of the team.

I want my football news filtered. Someone to read the body language, pore over the stats and call bullshit when bullshit needs to be called. Also to recognize when praise is deserved and all the little things that get reported when a team does well. The team just wants me to engage in the hero worship of NFL football and I want to know the team as a collection of individuals working together for a purpose.

And dude using someone's age to make a point about their competence or intent, that's just cowardly. Weren't you 34 when you bought the team? I guess it's that extra eight years that made you the man you are.

Finally,
DS: When you're losing, it's brutal. When you're, winning it's not.
The cardinal rule Dan, the cardinal rule.

Dan, it's our team, you and Joe Gibbs are just the stewards.


Hat tip to Michael David Smith at Redskins AOL Fanhouse for the link. And Dan Steinberg must have been pissed when he wrote that piece, he linked over to the 'Deep Cover' Thanksgiving piece on the Redskins from ESPN last year.



Dan Snyder from here.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Blogger Deathsport: Week Three Boast Post


If you don't get help with us get help somewhere

Are you down? Is your gameday preparation unfulfilling? Do you yearn for the traditions of a real football team, one with more history than your 95 Corolla?

Then you might be a Ravens fan. And you're not alone.

It's called desperate fan syndrome or DFS and it affects nearly every Ravens fan. Warning signs include living in the hole between Washington and Philadelphia and symptoms include flaccid routines, weak stream of cheering and incomplete emptying of lungs on third down.

Now there's help. It's called a real football team and two out of three Ravens fans that tried it stayed with it for more than a season. Side effects are mild and include respect for history, gameday fulfillment and a sense of community. Very rarely a serious side effect known as starting a blog can occur, if this occurs seek help immediately.

Ask Mel Kiper if a real football team is right for you.


Ed. note: this piece originally ran on these three sites on 27 September 2007.

Ravens fan from here.

Blogger Deathsport: Week Three Results


I retain them this week, I win.

Blogger Deathsport: NFL Pick'em wraps for week three. Your results:

1. Curly R with 7 wins, 6 losses and 3 pushes. Pfft I laugh.

(TexSkins had 6-7-3, he joined the compeition formally in week 8)

T-2. CommonPrejudice NFL, 4-9-3. The ringer gets his bell rung.

T-2. Post Game Heroes, 4-9-3. The shame of pity.

4. Hogs Haven, 3-10-3. Time to try sumpin new.

I win, go look at my boast post up on our fellow sites here, here and here. It's a very important message and I hope you all read it.


Season records through three weeks:

T-1. Post Game Heroes: 22-20-6 or 52% with one weekly win
T-1. Curly R: 22-20-6 or 52% with one weekly win
(TexSkins 22-20-6 or 52%)
=====50%=====
3. Common Prejudice NFL: 20-22-6 or 47%
4. Hogs Haven: 15-27-6 or 36%

Pushes are excluded from percentage as they can neither be won nor lost, next picks due Friday from today's lines.



Bragging rights from here.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

I Hope this Is Not True


Because that would be a football fraud

I was wondering when I would read this story. Yesterday in my car on The Opening Drive with Bob Pappa and Randy Cross on Sirius NFL Radio I heard them talking about someone accusing the Redskins of piping fan noise through the stadium PA.

Later in the day I read the Sportz Assassin's story on Redskins AOL Fanhouse picking up from the original bulletin board comment and thread referenced by Bob and Randy so we are talking about one post on one bulletin board here. ExtremeSkins is an 'official' Redskins property associated with the team so do not be surprised if the thread mysteriously disappears presently.

Sadly I believe it, I believe the Redskins pipe in fake crowd noise. I think so because I have heard it myself. Always with a tiny bit of doubt but last season at the Eagles game I specifically noticed it coming and going between plays in a very unnatural fashion. As a former live sound engineer I may not have any more insight than any other fan but I know amplified sound when I hear it.

Wilbert Montgomery and I will be attending the November Eagles game and you can bet I will be paying close attention.

If the Redskins are doing this it should be exposed, they should pay the fine and be subject to all those pieces about how FedEx Field does not hold sound like RFK did, how the team cheats and how maybe the Redskins don't have a great home field advantage after all because piping in fake crowd noise is against the rules and gutless.



Stadium loudpseakers from here.

I Meant to Do That


Methinks thou doth protest too much

Joe Gibbs is perfectly insisting that the Redskins were in control and the team and coaches knew exactly what they were doing at the end of the Giants game Sunday, that they had the clock, the sets and the playcalls all right, all the way they wanted, the last play just did not go off.

Jason La Canfora from the post link above:

Joe Gibbs provided a detailed explanation... Gibbs,...went into uncharacteristic detail...On their final possession, the Redskins spiked the ball on first down in a planned move...Despite what may have appeared to be chaos on the sideline to some on the final Redskins possession, Gibbs was in control, he said... "It's what we wanted to do," Gibbs said...
Someone is telling a story, like when your mom asked you what happened to the lamp and she just sat there with her arms crossed and let you go all the way through a story of incredible coincidences, wild animals and maybe even a home intruder who was here but is gone now and that's what happened mom honest we werent kicking the ball inside.

Bram Weinstein must have been at the same presser because he has equally hilarious fibs in his story:
On the decision to spike the ball at the one, Gibbs explained that he "could have run a QB sneak," but because the team had what they call their "nickel" offensive package with 3 WR's, they wanted to spike the ball to get the right "package into the game." So the Skins went with a jumbo package there but threw coming out of it and then had the two failed run plays...[Gibbs] also insinutaed [sic] that the team did everything they wanted to do except execute essentially taking exception to the notion that the Skins blew their two minute offense or had trouble with time management [in the Eagles game].
Quoting Bram is tough because it's clear he types at breakneck speed, has no spellcheck and often crams multiple thoughts into one sentence.

I'm going to call bullshit on coach Joe. There are too many cooks and when seconds matter the team can't get their message out to the field. There are too many layers and the playcaller (Al Saunders) is too far removed from the action and by that I don't mean in the booth I mean he appears to have no interaction with the players during the game. If he does and the team wants us to know about it all they have to do is put Al out there with a player from time to time which they never do.

The delay of game penalty at the end of the Eagles game was uncalled for. Jason Campbell had to spike the ball because Antwaan Randle El was stopped in bounds even though it looked like he was pushed out of bounds and the team had 40 seconds to get it together and still took the clock penalty.

In the Giants game, Santana's last catch resulted in his getting hurt, you could see him limping at the line, trying to get off the field but Jason lined up to run the quick play and Santana stayed in. Jason fumbled when the snap came too early and he had to spike it on the next play to save clock. Jason should have known Santana was hurt and if he missed it the coaches should have spotted it and calmed him down.

Then at the end after Antwaan's big catch all this business about switching from a three wide to heavy jumbo and then throwing from that set then two consecutive runs of the same play? Not good. Jason had an extra 15 seconds at least on that last play and if he can't calm down the coaches should be calming him down.

Dan Steinberg is also wondering about the veracity of Joe's story of game management at the end.

I wonder if Joe Gibbs is protesting so loudly that everything went the right way just not the right way because contrary to the team's insistence he was calling the plays on that last drive and just totally fouled it up?

If that's the case the old Joe would have said the problem was on him because he did call all the plays but now that Al calls them Joe cannot afford a fan or media uprising against Al so instead of saying yeah we didn't get that one he has to insist that despite the appearances of confusion, yep we had it all under control until we hit that telephone pole.



Joe Gibbs: Rusty Kennedy / AP photo from here.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Disappearing Act


A bright spot

Takeaway drill: a great start, a complete second half collapse; no guts on third down; Clinton Portis in the doghouse; the Redskins have two receivers and apparently no more; the Redskins have a return game; despite giving up 21 unanswered points and struggling all second half the game came down the last play; Plaxico Burress is awesome.

=====

Monday walkthrough
: Redskins lose 24-17 to the Giants after losing a first half two touchdown lead to poor execution, bad playcalls and Jason Campbell's inexperience. The Redskins roll into their bye week 2-1 and give away a home game against a division rival, wasting a great day and a record crowd.

As frustrated as I was yesterday upon sober reflection I saw only one structural problem, the offensive line. They need to jell together and get better because if that unit falters the whole offensive gameplan falls apart.

That said, the Redskins played a HORRIBLE second half with many mistakes and still had a chanceto tie it up or take the lead at the end of the game so while we are boo hooing today let's don't forget the Redskins totally collapsed and still just barely lost.

The first quarter saw Shaun Suisham's first missed field goal this season and the Giants turn that into three points. London Fletcher picked up a loose football caused by mean Andre Carter on the sack-fumble of Eli Manning (lol) and the Redskins turned that into a Clinton Portis touchdown, end of quarter was 7-3 Redskins.

In the second quarter Jason Campbell and Santana Moss hooked up on a 49 yard bomb, they have one long pass each game so far and opposing defenses must account for this deep threat. Chris Cooley pulled in three catches including the touchdown. Later in this quarter London Flectcher feathered his nest with his second turnover of the day, an interception on a pass intended for Jeremy Shockey, who may or may not love cocky. The Redskins played that gift conservatively and scored a field goal to end the half winning 17-3.

Then something happened.

The Giants opened the third quarter by going on a 61 yard drive that included three for three on third down and scoring from a yard out. The Redskins three and outed but safety and wildman Sean Taylor saved them on the next Giants drive by intercepting a pass that Eli never should have thrown. The Redskins did nothing, three and outing again and then the Giants started marching when the quarter ended 17-10 Redskins.

The Redskins still had plenty of chances and took alomost none of them in the fourth quarter. The Giants finished their third quarter drive, scoring on another Reuben Droughns short yardage play, the Redskins three and outed then the Giants punted.

Here we go we said sitting around the TV at my neighbors' outdoor tiki bar, time to get hard on offense and regain control of the game. Instead Clinton Portis and Jason Campbell fumbled the handoff on a second down run and former Redskin Antonio Pierce recovered.

Almost as if to say we were not ready for that Carlos Rogers and the Redskins defense gave up a 33 yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress who had a big day that could have been bigger if he had not dropped three in the first half.

The next Redskins series was eight consecutive pass calls before Jason Campbell finally fumbled but recovered and the team punted. The Redskins used timeouts and run defense to force the Giants to three and out and only too 17 seconds off the clock.

The long and short of the rest of the game was Casey Rabach fucking it up for the rest of the team - his holding penalty on third and eleven negated a 25 yard catch by Antwaan Randle El to the Giants 11 and then his false start moved them back after a good gain by Santana. While Clinton watched and Santana limped the game ended on bad decisions and good defense by the Giants.

=====

Soapbox: well what did we learn today?

The Redskins retooled offensive line had its first bad day. Chris Cooley stayed home most of the day to block which is not a good thing. Chris is a receiver and it is a bad sign when the team needs him on the field to catch passes but also to keep Jason Campbell off his backside. Guys, gotta knock off the false starts.

The Redskins' receivers can get open downfield. This is a pleasant change from recent years when if Mark Brunell did not have his main read everything turned into a dumpoff. Have the Redskins even run that receiver screen to Santana that they ran a million times last season? Defenses must respect the fact that Jason Campbell can place it further than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage.

And in that vein we also learned how to rattle Jason Campbell. The adjustments Tom Coughlin made at half time, they worked. The Giants could not run with Santana and Antwaan so they backed off to a zone and clogged the lanes. This in turn forced Jason Campbell to check down to find an open man. Couple this with weak offensive line play and the Giants could pressure Jason into mistakes. Rush him hard and make him think about it.

What was up with Clinton? He dropped a third down pass in the fourth quarter and then on the next possession he and Jason botched the handoff. He did not carry the ball again and the cameras showed him on the sideline as the Redskins tried in vain to get in the end zone for the tying score. Is Clinton in the dog house?

So much for third down efficiency. The Giants offense was 9 of 16 on third down and the Redskins defense looked in the second half like that awful bunch from 2006. A bunch of nicks and scrapes on defense as well, HB Blades was only in the game because of an injury to Rocky McIntosh but he had a hell of a hit on Derrick Ward in the 4th quarter.

We can lose the new uniforms. And I never saw LaVar Arrington in the stands, even though his tenure with the Redskins ended poorly I still blame his agent, I thought highly of his good years and I was sorry to hear about his motorcycle accident and the entire staff of The Curly R wishes LaVar the best as he recovers and attempts to resume his football career.

Plaxico Burress who was supposed to be hurt had the hot hand and if he had not dropped three that hit him on the hands this game would not have been that close.

As Wilbert Montgomery and others can attest I have had a conspiracy theory for some time that the Redskins will return to Washington DC proper and now there is more fuel for this kind of kooky thinking (op. cit.), this is a developing story and Curly R will address it at length here on the bye week.

=====

Chattering Class: Mike Wise at the WaPo thinks this was a blowed up game: poor playcalling, wrong personnel, bad decisions on the field. He's right and they a week to shake it off.

Tom Boswell also at the WaPo walks through the Redskins' last four plays, the team needs to work execution but also game management.

=====

Omnibus: the Redskins have a return game dadgumit. Rock Cartwright averaged 28 yards on punt returns and Antwaan averaged 12 yards on kickoff returns including 27 yards on the return that set up the Redskins last desperation drive.

Aside from the missed field goal the special teams played well, and man can Derrick Frost boot it.

The box score literally has only to receivers credited with catches, Santana and Antwaan. I'm telling you all this fuss over who will be number three number four and number five is all irrelevant, the Redskins run a two receiver offense.

=====

Area 51: Sean Taylor's and LaRon Landry's names are all over this game, they played well and Sean scored an interception, LaRon a crushing 'no layups' hit on Plaxico Burress as he crossed the goal on his 33 yard catch and run. They both finished with six tackles which is as much good play as it is with a weak second half defense the action moved past the line and linebackers and forced Area 51 to pick up the slack. Need to see less of this.

Freddie Your Cruise Director: Fred Smoot was on the inactive list for the second consecutive week with a hamstring. One more week and I will be concerned, we saw Shawn Springs out there limping a bit late in the game and with Santana's hammy, Loveboat Freddie's hammy (both op. cit.) and the Shawn Springs mini-controversy over his hammy from two weeks ago I'm getting a little nervous.

NFL recap, box score, full play by play, Gamebook (PDF), photos.



Other gamewraps: Running Redskins, Bram Weinstein's Covering the Redskins, Redskins AOL Fanhouse.

Note to self: Chris Cooley should not block Michael Strahan one on one. Up next, the bye week and then the Mike Martz, Jon Kitna and the reborn Greatest Show on Turf Lions on 14 October, they just got shellacked by UCLA.

Santana Moss making one of his three catches between Sam Madison and Corey Webster: Greg Fiume / Getty Images from here. Mike Martz and Jon Kitna from here.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Game 3: Redskins (2-0) vs. Giants (0-2)

vs.

The winless Giants come to town today to play the undefeated Redskins, a great chance to see if these teams are really as they appear: the Giants seem to be a team struggling with injuries and weak tea on defense and the Redskins seem to be a team with a conservative offense, mounting injuries and an effective defense.

The Redskins owe the Giants an ass whooping after the 2005 36-0 shutout viking funeral game for Wellington Mara and another for letting Tiki Barber run all over them to put the Giants into the 2006 playoff with an 8-8 record.

Tiki is gone, still living in New York and talking bad about his former coaches and teammates. Tiki learned a lot and this feud is good for his Q rating and bad for the team, they should just stfu about Tiki and play football.

Speaking of football Michael Strahan was out soul searching in California during all of camp while racking up over 400 thousand dollars in fines about half of which the team forgave. He's not in football shape yet, the outside linebackers are not strong and in the secondary RW McQuarters and Corey Webster can't cover toast with butter.

This is a game the Redskins shoud win and win big. Of coarse I say should because this is also the exact type of game the Redskins typically lose, a chance to make a statement, get a real personality.

3-0, that's all I want to see, 3-0 teams turn weird stuff and coaching errors into points and despite a winnable game 4 (4-0 would be insane so don't even mention it) I'll be happy at 3-0 so get's walk through it:

One of the stories this week was the Redskins movement to youth. The defensive line, linebackers and secondary all have starters under 25 and on offense only the line is aging with young Stephon Heyer maybe a future starter. Another was how well the Redskins are executing third down, on both sides of the ball. These numbers are vastly improved from last season.

I agree with the WaPo (PDF): great opportunity for a Redskins letdown; need more points from the offense (the defense can't win all 16 games); prove the third down efficiency is real not fluky; the right side of the offensive line will be tested.

Other things to watch today:

The quarterback: Jason Campbell has been in sync with his receivers so far despite a low quarterback rating for a starter. He hasn't been called on to win a game yet, only not lose a game. This week may not be any different and he may get the chance to have a big game.

The offensive line
: it continues to evolve, the latest changes due to the left triceps tear Randy Thomas suffered last week which required surgery and will put him out until the end of the season. The line has changed every week with injury, not right guard Jason Fabini becomes the latest new starter who's already 'getting to know' his right side mate elevated backup Todd Wade aka 8 Ball, they better get a routine because they are replacing establshed and quality players. The team also signed Rick DeMulling off the street, by week five he'll be a starter. The Giants have not been solid at the defensive line and this game is a chance to learn and win.

The running game: so far I like the way Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts are being used in tandem and thanks Mike Sellers but no thanks we need to keep your carries to a minimum, if the Redskins can continue to put out 160 yards per game and limit Clinton to injury exposure and Ladell to fumble exposure by working them as a unit I'll be satisfied. The Giants run defense is in the middle of the pack.

The defensive line: so far the line has outplayed my expectations. With Philip Daniels sidelined last week young and untouted players were forced to carry the load and did, two games with good pass rush and one game with good run defense. Anthony aka Tony Montgomery was an afterthought last season as Kedric Golston evolved into a starter and now he's in better shape and about to start his fourth game. Progress, progress. Eli Manning (lol) has taken quite a beating and I hope to see that continue.

For the Giants, Brandon Jacobs is still out, Eli is playing with a hurt shoulder though the Redskins have not been able to get to him recently and allegedly (PDF) are not going for his injury (right), Osi Umenyiora will be back buy is slowed and now Plaxico Burress, the team's leading receiver has been limited by an ankle injury (op. cit.). Bascially they are a mess, Tom Coughlin is dead man walking. The team has gone into a shell and the New York media sharks smell blood in the water (example 1 / example 2). I can't wait until Eli has to get up on a podium to speak and his voice breaks bwahahaha I love watching him shrink slowly into a bust.


Other previews: Washington Post Redskins Gameday (PDF), Post Game Heroes, Hog Heaven, The Redskin Report (preview / statalicious), Hogs Haven 5 Questions with Giants' Big Blue View.

This is a gameday open thread.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Michael Wilbon Inflames Race War


Where the white women at

What an idiot. Michael Wilbon wrote a column that was published two days ago in the Washington Post and I can't believe what I am reading. He insists on stoking racial conflict that I believe is rapidly exiting the NFL and left Eagles Stadium a long time ago.

The background for this piece of crap is Donovan McNabb's interview with HBO wherein Dono says black quarterbacks are subjected to greater scrutiny and face a higher bar to acceptance than white quarterback equivalents. Unfortunately this interview aired the day after the Redskins beat the Eagles in the Philadelphia home opener and as such with the fans already down on Dono there has been a multiplier effect and it's all the buzz. Dono did not back down and stands by his comments.

In the first place any time you or your team is struggling and you want to talk about something other than the team's performance you invite negative coverage and so there is an infinite regression aspect to this story and the Onion can have this headline for free: Black Quarterback Unfairly Attacked Over Unfair Attacks On Black Quarterbacks.

Now here comes Wilbon and right out of the gate he has a 'friend' that prowls Eagles Stadium and hears Dono referred to as that nigger quarterback with regularity and as someone that has gone to around two dozen Eagles football games in two Eagles Stadiums that

this is complete bullshit

I have never heard that word, the n-word, nigger, at an Eagles game, ever. Has it been said there? Sure, if we pinned that map with everywhere it's ever been said we'd run out of thumbtacks but I'm here to tell you that the Eagles crowd is mostly white and not at all racist.

Randall Cunningham was black and a playoff quarterback so there's nothing new about a black QB in Philadelphia. Black men have dominated most positions in the NFL for some years now so football fans are quite comfy watching black men compete for their pleasure.

I think Wilbon's comments on how freely Eagles fans throw around the word nigger before the word Donovan are irresponsible.

But that's not all, that's just a stupid thing you can say because you've got a 'friend' you can quote and so you are protected. It's Wilbon's comments on Vince Young and the new generation of black quarterbacks (that I assume includes Jason Campbell) and how because they never were forced to change positions or to leave the country to play or not get the opportunity to play at all that Vince Young et al are somehow disrespecting the heritage and struggle of the black athlete. Wilbon:

What really annoys me is that some young black quarterbacks don't seem to have any idea of the context of the issue. Don't get me wrong, it was great to hear Tennessee's Young and the Redskins' Jason Campbell (two kids who played quarterback in the South) say they hadn't faced any particularly stinging criticism. It's yet another sign of great progress. But there also was a naivete about their comments, especially Young's, when he said the notion of black quarterbacks dealing with unfair criticism is "not my fight to fight."
I say again

this is complete bullshit

Those athletes, Warren Moon, James Harris and others, more broadly high profile black athletes, more broadly still black athletes. and still more broadly black people in general, suffered and still suffer for their rights and I understand that. Specifically they suffered through loss of opportunity in order that later generations of players would not be forced into the same fate.

I believe that if you ask Warren Moon or Doug Williams questions about this subject they will first and foremost answer as quarterbacks and then as black quarterbacks. I don't believe Warren or Doug begrudge the success and acceptance of Vince Young at all and in fact are proud that Vince is a quarterback first, a black quarterback second.

No it is not Vince Young's fight to fight anymore. He's in the NFL, a high first round pick, a rising star and respected throughout football. Somebody tell Wilbon it's ok not make everything about race.

And for the record I don't think black quarterbacks are subjected to more scrutiny. For the simple reason that the quarterback position is the most scrutinized position in sports and they all are watched closely. The fans in Philadelphia have been hard on their quarterbacks since time immemorial and Dono needs to worry about his play and not what people think of him because once you start buying the hype that you're broken down you will see knives around every corner.



Michael Wilbon and some white girls from here.

Friday, September 21, 2007

I Know the Master Chief and Brandon Lloyd is no Master Chief


But he is like a Microsoft product: crappy and overpriced

Brandon Lloyd came over in trade to the Redskins and got a 30 million dollar contract with 10 million dollars guaranteed. Having witnessed him in the 23 October 2005 game at Redskins Stadium I thought he was the best thing on that 49ers team and I confess that when the Redskins acquired him I was very excited.

We know how it turned out, he threw his helmet, was on the bench by the end of the season and tallied a whopping 23 catches as a starting receiver, one of the worst statistical performances ever in the NFL (op. cit.).

So far not any better for Brandon as Antwaan Randle El has become the number two receiver, and Brandon has tallied a grand total of zero catches in two games. With the team signing Reche Caldwell it seems to me that the string is there for Brandon to play out. He's effectively off this team no matter how upbeat and out of touch he seems.

So I open my paper yesterday and there is Brandon in the business section, Microsoft has chosen Brandon to try out Halo 3, the latest game in the awesome series about Master Chief fighting aliens in far off space. Microsoft outfitted Brandon's house with big screen TV's and his team of Redskins players duel online with teams of players from other NFL teams.

For Microsoft's part they may want to think about which players they associate themselves with. He may be popular in the rarified air of NFL lifestyles but to football followers he is a joke and this latest endorsement is one more step in his transformation into Anna Kournikova, a tennis player with great promise who by the time she stopped playing competitive tennis was better known for her endorsements and for which Russian NHL player was banging her at the moment.

And for Brandon's part, talk about tone deaf. Dude you are a Washington Redskin. You make huge coin and the team needs you and all you have done is piss moan and suck. No matter how cool you think you are you are a clump of football dogshit right now, drying in the sun by the roadside. Go win some games for us. To wit:

Lloyd called his advance look at Halo 3 the "number one" perk he's gotten as an NFL player.
We all know you guys are all rich and live in big houses and waste a lot of time given that you don't work year round but you're no John Riggins, I advise you to get a lot better at football before you start running your mouth to the newspapers about the things in life that are important to you other than football.
"Playing video games is such a major part of my life. This is what I do to unwind. This is what I do to be by myself and escape. I go in my game room and play video games."
I like video games too, in fact after I finish this post I'm going to the neighbors to play Halo 2 in advance of his Halo 3 arriving. However I might note that what Redskin fans want to hear you curling up with is a playbook and a DVD of the offense. I can imagine you reading this and saying, football is what I do, not what I am and that is the problem, you are a Washington Redskin. How did Tony Banks do in this town?

If there is a Master Chief on the Redskins it is Santana Moss.



Master Chief from here. Brandon Lloyd uncredited photo from here.

Blogger Deathsport: Week Three Picks


When in doubt just put up a picture of Chloe packing heat

Tuesday update: The results are in, Curly R scores 7 wins, 6 losses and 3 pushes, overall results reported tonight.

On we go, the lines are particularly tight this week.

Sunday
ARZ @ BAL (-8)
Pick: Cardinals. ARZ and BLA both socked it to me last week so fuck all y'all on an 8-point line.
Result: Cardinals. I's right sommatime.

CAR (-3.5) @ ATL
Pick: Panthers. Lots of camera shots of Byron Leftwich on the Atlanta sideline, not much other action.
Result: Panthers. Watch as the Atlanta line grows and grows.

DAL @ CHI (-3)
Pick: Bears. Chicago is playing great run defense and below-average pass defense. They turn that around this week.
Result: Dallas. I've got a bad feeling about this.

JAX @ DEN (-3)
Pick: Broncos. Lotta 3 point hometeam spreads I treat as tossups.
Result: Jaguars. Is there no justice in this world?

IND (-6) @ HOU
Pick: Colts. Houston wakes up from a lovely dream.
Result: PUSH. Fool me once shame on you.

MIN @ KC (-3)
Pick: Chiefs. C'mon if you can't beat the Vikings this week, at home then you are dead to me.
Result: PUSH. Fool me twice well we won't get fooled again.

BUF @ NE (-16.5)
Pick: Patriots. Universal rule when picking against the spread: any spread larger than 14 points is too big, take the underdog. Exceptions to this rule apply when cheaters are involved.
Result: Patriots. The rest of the league is now a permanent underclass.

MIA @ NYJ (-3)
Pick: Jets. Insert comment here.
Result: PUSH. If I can't get the win no one can.

CLE @ OAK (-3)
Pick: Browns. What the hell it's a three-point spread and they boned Cincy for 51 last week.
Result: Browns. Lane Kiffin does Mike Shanahan muwahahaha!

DET @ PHI (-6)
Pick: Lions. Eagles may win but not cover. If the Lions win outright expect the mayor to firebomb the stadium to protect the city.
Result: Eagles. They live.

SF @ PIT (-9)
Pick: Steelers. Niners suffered a big loss on defense this week and will safely return to earth.
Result: Steelers. Nothing's bigger than Big Ben.

SD (-5) @ GB
Pick: Chargers. Despite sicking wind in the passing game last week the Packers could not stop Derrick Ward. DW is no LT.
Result: Packers. Heard at midfield: you got your anabolic steroids in my geritol!

CIN @ SEA (-3.5)
Pick: Bengals. Tough one.
Result: Bengals. I was write.

STL @ TB (-3.5)
Pick: Rams. There. Is. No. Way.
Result: Buccaneers. Look like rain in St. Louis.

NYG @ WAS (-3.5)
Pick: Redskins. Don't look at me like that.
Result: Giants. Not that there's anything wrong with that.


Monday
TEN @ NO (-4)
Pick: Titans. The gumbo needs more time.
Result: Titans. If you took the Titans and 15 you lost!




Mary Lynn Rajskub aka Chloe O'Brian with pistols from
here.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Blogger Deathsport: Week Two Results


I do not retain them, again.

Blogger Deathsport: NFL Pick'em wraps for week two. Your results:

T-1. Hogs Haven, 8 wins, 7 losses, 1 push, looks like the Constanza method is working for you counselor.

T-1. Common Prejudice NFL, 8-7-1. Brian is hoping to keep it close, put himself in the best position to win and wait for a break.

(TexSkins had 7-8-1, he joined the competition formally in week eight)

T-3. Post Game Heroes, 6-9-1. Thud.

T-3. Curly R, 6-9-1. Too goddamn many teams playing well or badly, mostly.

Ties push to the next week in this game and so with a tie there is no boast post from no one. Week three picks are due out tomorrow.


Season records through two weeks:

1. Post Game Heroes: 18-11-3 or 62%
2. Common Prejudice NFL: 16-13-3 or 55%
(TexSkins: 16-13-3 or 55%)
3. Curly R: 15-14-3 or 51%
=====50%=====
4. Hogs Haven: 12-17-3 or 41%

Pushes are excluded from percentage as they can neither be won nor lost.



Bragging rights from here.

Convenience and Service


Yeah and could I get fiddy thou in 1s and 5s, I got a date tonight

This is hilarious, I just came across it from a few days ago. Chris Cooley deposited his nine million dollar signing bonus at his bank's drive through window. Nothing wrong with it, I just have this image of a scruffy dude in an old beater Chevy Blazer wearing a wifebeater and slurping a big gulp and not Chris in a business suit and wingtips going in and sipping espresso while the bank manager kisses his ass.

Don't go changing baby.

Neon drive thru sign from here. Captain Chaos logo from here.

Game Journal: Redskins at Eagles, 9/17/2007

Here's the big news, I was not mugged or beat up, the Eagles fans were downright accommodating last night.

=====

The tradition continues, lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery and I trekked to Philadelphia last night for game two, marking the 16th of the past 17 Eagles-Redskins games we have attended regardless of venue and 14th in a row for me, a streak dating back to 1999 and encompassing three stadiums. The weather was great, the food was good, the people were not too too mean and the Redskins won, not too shabby for a school night...

This being a Monday night game we had to get a move on early and wanted as much time as we could to tailgate and take it all in. We finally hit the road around 2:00 pm from Alexandria Virginia and after a bit of traffic to start with we rolled onto Packer Avenue in Philadelphia around 4:30 pm and then into our standard parking spot on South Lawrence Street.



















How I know I am in Philadelphia, the Liberty Fish Company sign.



















Wilbert Montgomery, enjoying a beer at our tailgate.





















Well we are in the fishpacking section of town. From Packer Avenue down South Lawrence Street all the way to Pattison Avenue it's all seafood so a little dead fish in your tailgate is no big deal.




Wilbert Montgomery created a tailgate feast as always with Smokey Joe in tow. Monday it was steak and salmon and the fish didn't even com off the ground!

Hovering law enforcement helicopter number one directly overhead...

...and number two over the stadium though actually it's hovering the baseball stadium.


















Your blogger reflected in Wilbert Montgomery's car window. One minute and 42 seconds, that is the interval between when I first donned my number 89 Santana Moss jersey and when I received my first obscene taunt, a new record.



















Tailgating by the freeway entrances, love Philadelphia but hey the parking's free.

Wilbert Montgomery's sister's stepdaughter's 'friend' and Wilbert Montgomery's sister's stepdaughter. She was completely unprepared for the terrain and in refusing to pee on the ground between cars they were forced to enter the game more than an hour ahead of schedule.





















Sunset over the chainlink in Philadelphia. You can almost feel the love.

A couple of in-motion flag pictures, lots of flagpoles at an Eagles game.




















The crowd on the way in, I saw several of these Redskins number 17 Doug Williams jerseys. Jason Campbell is also number 17.














No, I'm not but thanks for asking. I take a picture of this tricked out RV every time I come to a game.





















Wilbert Montgomery's sister and Wilbert Montgomery leading up to the gate.



Open to the public roughly translates into please don't start too many fights.



















The facepainting booth, note the line. Gotta support the team.

We made our way in, got some beers (very reasonably priced Budweisers at $5.50 I might add) and made it to our seats, section 136, 10 yard line on Andy Reid's left. Unfortunately my digital camera is not excellent and many of the ensuing pics of gameday action are slightly blurred. Curly R apologizes for the inconvenience and headaches associated with viewing blurry images.



















Here is the kicking unit practicing before the game. After so much turmoil in the kicking game over the past few seasons, John Hall, Ola Kimrin, Brett Conway etc etc the kicking game has gone surprisingly smoothly so far this season.



















And an action shot of the Eagles Pep Band, the three guys in warmups and backwards hats that run out to midfield with wireless microphones and lead the faithful on a rousing go of Fly Eagles Fly, boy you never get tired of that thing do you:

Fly Eagles fly
On the road to victory
Fly Eagles fly, score a touchdown one two three
Hit 'em low
Hit 'em high
And watch our Eagles fly
Fly Eagles fly
On the road to victory
E! A! G! L! E! S! EAGLES!
When they run out of things to say on the pregame call-in show on WIP or Howard Esskin smacks them down they just revert to this. That and the 'ass...hole' taunt directed at me with pointed finger are the good times. It's especially endearing when the fathers smack their small children in the head because they are not aggressively enough calling the guy in the Redskins jersey an asshole.


The famous Terry Farrell, Jr., Eagles superfan. Our seats are in his section, he's right on the rail and he is on TV every game and Wilbert Montgomery and I often are in the shot. He taunts me every time but he has a heart of gold and the feather boa and Eagles-themed Mardi Gras beads are fun. I also love that even a superfan, one that consistently rates cheers when he appears on the big screen, is not above getting shitfaced and getting kicked out of the game every now and again. I guess if I went to every game and had to perform at the level of a superfan every game I'd take the occasional night off too, we're not all Cal Ripken for christ sake.



















The famous Eagles cheerleaders, I am quite familiar with them though I did not take many photos of them this year.


Perhaps has been a real dropoff in performance and appearance of these women, maybe I'm reacting to this story at Hog Heaven with newfound horndog pride at the Redskins cheerleaders whom I've known for years were the best in the league but whatever I referred to the Eagles' cheerleaders as the Philadelphia Muffintops all night.


















I know that is totally undeserved because every one of these women is nearly perfect and a damn sight out of my league but whatever they were not doing it for me last night, maybe I was too sober facing a three hour drive back at midnight. Life is not supposed to intrude into football but OH WELL.


Air Swoop the low budget inflatable mascot made a pregame appearance in section 136. This is the suit that inflates on the inside and the wearer can do things like flip around and make him do all kinds of weebles wobble but they don't fall down antics but the downside is that the arms of the costume don't really extend so he has these little alligator arms and when he's preparing for a trick like flipping over or walking on his hands he hunches over little arms quivering and it looks a little like he's masturbating so I call him Air Swoop the Masturbating Mascot.


How'd you to like to wear this thing around all night. Wonder if Roger Goodell is testing him for HGH.


































And here's my fave: the smoke from the opening ceremony fireworks (this was the Eagles' home opener and there was no shortage of theatrics) across the field looks like steam coming off Air Swoop's head, like he's been out there cheering hard in the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

Here's the giant American flag they always unfurl, carried out by servicemembers. Someone always falls under or loses their cover on it.





















Boy those Philadelphians love America they just hate Washingtonians.



















This is new, or rather a new one of these, the giant eagle head the players run out of, like so much predigested carrion to be fed to baby Eagles fans.



















A blurred shot of Chris Cooley coming out, I have been worried that mr. moneyman Captain Chaos would have a new-contract dropoff in performance since he does not have to worry about financial stability in the near term and he yet may disappoint but for every dropped pass Monday night he had a touchdown as an offset.



















They had new introduction graphics for the players. Donovan McNabb's nickname is now apparently Super 5.



















Linebacker Takeo Spikes, playing in his first career Monday Night Football game. He had five tackles.



















Cornerback Sheldon Brown, he only had one tackle playing the lead guy with Lito Sheppard out.



















Safety Brian Dawkins. He left the game in the fourth quarter with a neck stinger.



















Rocky Balboa. What is it with this town and Rocky? No Way Out was set in Washington and you don't see us getting all weepy over Kevin Costner.



















6:23 left 2nd quarter Mike Sellers up the middle.



















The Eagles 75th anniversary logo, pretty cool. The Eagles are one year younger than the Redskins but never changed cities or names. They were a 1933 expansion team.



















Halftime stats. Note the Redskins doubling up the passing yards on the Eagles.



















Donovan made a televised plea at halftime for people to please stop booing man, we're doing the best we can and that's not helping.



















Second half action, a little inside baseball football: the camera dude covering the Eagles sideline had a cheat sheet with what looks like the Redskins coaches for lining up closeups. Damn liberal media, always looking to exploit the situation.



















10:33 left 3rd quarter but before the Eagles could line up and send Brian Westbrook up the middle for two Andre Carter squatted down and took a shit right on the field I can't believe he didn't get ejected.



















24 seconds left 4th quarter, Clinton Portis about to earn three yards.



















14:17 left 4th quarter, Jason letting one go for Chris Cooley, a 9 yard gain. Chris is already turning back for the ball and Ladell Betts is pushing Sheldon Brown around the edge on a corner blitz. Good pickup, this play netted a first down.



















Another dude that taunts me every time and remembers me, you could tell the fans just were not feeling it from their team, in the second half this guy started with the JOE GIBBS FUCKING SUCKS JEFF GORDON'S GONNA KICK TONY STEWART'S ASS JOE GIBBS RACING MY ASS right at me at which point I turned to Wilbert Montgomery and asked him to remind me where we were.



















12:08 left 4th quarter, a big screen replay of Todd Yoder's 18 yard catch that put the Redskins at first and goal from the six. Clinton ran it in on the next play to put the Redskins up 20-9.



















This was how the stats looked going into the fourth quarter, before Clinton scored the final touchdown. Clinton and Ladell were matching together what Brian Westbrook was doing on his own and Jason Campbell had 100 more passing yards than Dono.



















The Philadelphia Muffintops. Lotta...buttledge going on down there. I know, it's terrible of me to say that.



















10:50 left 4th quarter, that's LaRon Landry on top of Dono and Cornelius Griffin next to him after sacking him.



















9:52 left 4th quarter, the Eagles huddling up before running a pass play to Jason Avant, man that guy catches everything you throw at him.



















9:23 left 4th quarter, Brian Westbrook on a pass play about to get run out of bounds for a seven yard gain at the Redskins 16 by David Macklin and Rocky McIntosh.



















Two plays later, 8:22 left 4th quarter, Brian Westbrook on another pass play for four yards to the Redskins 11 yard line, getting hammered by David Macklin, Carlos Rogers and Sean Taylor. The Eagles went to Brian five times on this 12 play drive that netted a field goal to trim the Redskins lead to 20-12. Plus, bonus Muffintops coverage, there's a good look at some sweet buttledge.



















The real Swoop finally calling out those muffintop South Philly bitches trying to rally the home crowd, to little avail.



















2:58 left 4th quarter desperation time Eagles trail 20-12, fourth and five yards. Dammit if the Dono did not hit Reggie Brown on this play for 19 yards at which point I knew the Redskins would lose.

And then my camera batteries died.

Not pictured: the Philadelphia masses, all leaving their seats at once, huddling on the concourse with one eye on the game in case the Eagles scored and one foot out the gate, the final play with LaRon laying wood on Mormon Kevin Curtis, Jason Campbell's two kneeldowns and the Eagles fans leaving in disgust heaping boos onto the team, the relatively peaceful walk back to South Lawrence Street (lots of worst case scenarios playing out around us with fans worried if the Eagles will win a game), the rush out to the highway and the drive back to Alexandria, all three hours of it, arriving at Curly R worldwide headquarters at 2:49 am ET, Wilbert Montgomery collapsing on my couch, me collapsing in bed after waking up and annoying the missus.

A great game, a worthwhile trip and the stream continues. We will resume this rivalry and this streak 11 November 2007 at Redskins Stadium for the 17th of the past 18 and my 15th straight Eagles-Redskins game.



All photos by me.