Tomorrow you rise Redskin
Takeaway drill: what else would you expect, another nailbiter comes down to the end just don't check those total yards and time of possession stats. Some demons are exorcised and Jim Zorn says a final farewell to Seattle.
=====
Monday walkthrough: on a great night in Seattle the Washington Redskins play a back and forth game with the Seahawks, win at the end in dramatic fashion 20-17 to move to 7-4, still tied for second in the division with the Cowboys. Every game is meaningful.
The Redskins won the toss and elected to receive in the first quarter, Washington's first possession is two runs and an incomplete on third. Seattle got the ball for their first possession near midfield, Matt Hasselbeck has to scramble on first down and Shawn Springs saves a TD to Koren Robinson on the next play. Nice to have Shawn back. Third down is incomplete and the Seahawks punt. Washington's second possession starts with a near sack through Chris Samuels, Mike Sellers barely converts on third down but he does. Jason Campbell is sacked on third and three and the Redskins are forced to punt. Seattle's second possession starts with Maurice Morris breaking through the middle for 44 yards, the Seahawks cannot capitalize and are forced to settle for a 45 yard Olindo Mare field goal and Seattle goes ahead 3-0. Washington's third possession features an 18 yard Jason Campbell scramble, a play action pass to Santana Moss that fooled the camera man but the drive ends sloppy and the Redskins go for a 43 yard field goal, Shaun Suisham clangs it off the crossbar and it's no good. Seattle's third possession starts with a run for a loss, then another then a weak short pass and the Seahawks are punting. Washington's first play of their fourth possession is a deep pass to Santana Moss, incomplete. Two penalties in a row and then it's Clinton Portis on a 16 yard catch for a first down and the quarter ends 3-0 Seattle. (Quarterly reports: Washington Post)
Washington continued their fourth possession into the second quarter, blah blah blah Julian Peterson blah blah Redskins punt. Seattle's fourth possession is a big nothing and the Seahawks punt. Washington's fifth possession starts with a catch by Malcolm Kelly, wow get Guinness (op. cit.), then Clinton Portis for 20 yards up the left side, good blocks by Chris Samuels and Santana Moss. After a silly Santana Moss unnecessary roughness penalty then pass interference to Santana's benefit it was Redskins ball at the Seattle 14. Chris Cooley nearly broke in for the score on first down then it was first and goal. Clinton Portis nearly scores but is hurt on the play and Ladell Betts goes in for the touchdown on the next play and the Redskins are up 7-3, it was Ladell's first touchdown since last December (ibid.). Seattle's fifth possession starts with a great pass to Koren Robinson and Seattle can move the ball easily and suddenly it is first and goal Seahawks. Then Maurice Morris catches a dumpoff and scores and it is 10-7 Seahawks with less than 30 seconds left in the half. The Redskins screw up the simplest things and the half ends with the Seahawks leading 10-7. (Quarterly reports: Washington Post)
Seattle got the ball for the sixth time to start the third quarter, Josh Wilson took Shaun Suisham's short kickoff and ran it back to midfield, good stop by Devin Thomas to save the touchdown. Seattle moves the ball until Rocky McIntosh sacks Matt Hasselbeck and then Olindo Mare misses a 53 yard field goal to give the ball back to the Redskins for the seventh time near midfield, Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Mike Sellers and Chris Cooley all figure then it is fourth and one AND CLINTON GETS IT!! Washington stalls at the Seattle 13 and Shaun Suisham kicks a 26 yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10. Seattle gets the ball for the seventh time and ride Maurice Morris three times then it is third and twelve in Seattle territory and Matt Hasselbeck throws lazy, it is picked off by LaRon Landry and Washington starts their eight drive on the Seattle 35, after a sack of Jason Campbell it is Cooley > Portis > Antwaan Randle El from eight yards out to put the Redskins up 17-10. Seattle gets the ball for the eighth time and moves 15 yards in six plays to end the third quarter with the Redskins leading 17-10. (Quarterly reports: Washington Post)
The fourth quarter started with the Seahawks continuing their eighth possession, Carlos Rogers batted down a Matt Hasselbeck pass on first down, Andre Carter was hurt on the play. Matt Hasselback then goes to Bobby Engram then to the tight end John Carlson and it's a touchdown, tie game 17-17 after a 10 play five minute drive. Washington's ninth possession starts on their 30 with Clinton Portis for eight, an offsides on the Seahawks gives Washington a first down, Mike Sellers gets a touch then Santana Moss catches a receiver screen for 24 yards. Clinton > Antwaan then Malcolm Kelly catches another, someone call a priest I think this is it. On third and a foot Mike Sellers can't get the handle and Shaun Suisham kicks a 22 yard field goal to put the Redskins up 20-17 with just over nine minutes left in the game. Seattle's ninth possession starts with Maurice Morris for a first down but then Lorenzo Alexander aka Scarface sacks Matt Hasselbeck and the Seahawks are in second and long. Two plays later on third and eleven Chris Horton gets through and hits Matt Hasselbeck after the throw and Matt's own lineman falls on him, Matt may be done for the night. Seattle punts and Washington gets the ball for the tenth time, it is a steady diet of Clinton Portis with four runs in a row, two more to Ladell Betts then Santana Moss on third and six for a first down. Now it's the two minute warning and tick tock. Clinton Portis gets the first down and I am frustrated because the Redskins are not covering. Then tragedy strikes, on second and nine in Seahawks territory Ladell Betts fumbles the ball away and it is Seahawks ball on their own 22. The football gods were not happy with Ladell's fumble and Matt Hasselbeck's first pass is picked off by Shawn Springs to give the ball back to Washington. Add victory formation for two plays and that's the game, Redskins win 20-17. (Quarterly reports: Washington Post)
=====
Soapbox: what to say about this game? Another week, another close game. Another game where the Redskins dominated the box score but not the scoring column: 30 more plays, 100 more passing yards, a third the penalties, seventeen more minutes of possession.
Is there a risk Redskins fans are too comfortable with Clinton Portis? That we might fail to recognize when he has a great game but always know when he doesn't? In today's game Clinton ran 29 times for 143 yards, that is a season high in carries and the carries and yards combined are more than the Cowboys and Steelers game totals combined. The guy goes and goes and goes. We may be witness right now to the greatest Redskins tailback of all time.
If you are looking for a good example of excellent offensing, this game was not it. Both Jason Campbell and Matt Hasselbeck were jumpy in the first half with the two teams combining for one intentional grounding, one illegal shift, one delay of game, one false start and two unnecessary timeouts.
There were several times when Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck seemed to get very frustrated, notably after both interceptions. Almost like the Redskins defense was in Matt's head? Wonder how that might happen...
=====
Chattering class: the Washington Post's Redskins blogger and beat reporter Jason La Canfora continues to evolve into the wonkiest football columnist covering the Redskins, here (op. cit.) he discusses how Jim Zorn's detailed knowledge of Seattle's offense in general and passing game in particular benefited Greg Blache and Washington's defense.
And in what must have been a first in some time, maybe since 2006, THERE WAS NO FRONT PAGE A1 LES CARPENTER PIECE ON THE REDSKINS!!!!1!! Instead Les has to line up in the E section just like the rest of the sad sacks. Sorry Les, maybe you'll get em next week against the Giants. Anyway, Les writes about Shawn Springs and his special return to the team and city that drafted him, Shawn played for the Seahawks from 1997 to 1993 before signing as a free agent with the Redskins before Joe Gibbs' first season back in 2004.
Mike Wise writes the obligatory yet still satisfying pupil defeats teacher piece. Money quotes:
It might be too early to say [Paul] Allen, the owner, hired the wrong man to replace Holmgren after this season in Jim Mora But it's not too early to say Zorn was compartmentalized in Seattle, put in a cubicle by an organization that figured he knew how to get a quarterback ready but was hardly head-coaching or even offensive-coordinator material...
...Bottom line, Zorn beat his mentor in the stadium where Gibbs coached his last NFL game a year ago, the place where the Redskins twice could not advance in the NFC playoffs during his second tenure. These Seahawks weren't nearly as good as those teams, but in an almost must-win affair in November, the newbie head coach outguessed his old mentor.
Tom Boswell writes that the Redskins are doing just enough to stay head of the curve, as fans we know these Redskins will always play it close, we should be happy a Redskins team can win the close ones. That was a hallmark of Joe Gibbs second run, he lost the close ones.
=====
Omnibus: it has still only been two games since the dreadful burgundy on burgundy uniforms so I am still tracking them, today is the bonus road white jerseys with burgundy pants.
Is it just me or do these teams seem to play each other a lot (op. cit.)?
At the top of the broadcast they showed a closeup of Jim Zorn's number in the Seattle ring of fame. Pretty cool.
I love when a play action pass fools the camera man. On first down of the Redskins third possession in the first quarter the camera followed Clinton Portis through the right side before finding Jason Campbell who still had it and completed the pass easily to Santana Moss.
Three minutes and twenty seconds left first half, that is how long it took Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to connect with a receiver (op. cit.). That not good.
Department of missed it by that much: Shaun Suisham's 44 yard clanger and Santana Moss' deep incomplete in the first quarter, Mike Sellers near touchdown catch in the fourth.
10:43 left in the third, play by play commenter Matt Vasgersian mentions that Chris Cooley will have plenty to blog about after this game. Blogging lol.
22 for 104 / 26 for 116, that was the run/pass and yardage balance with eight minutes left in the third, that is more in line with the Redskins winning formula than the last two games.
Former Redskin TJ Duckett got a carry in the third quarter. I wonder if anyone on the Seahawks blogs is running Duckett Watch (Curly R feature in 2006 when the Redskins had TJ for no good reason).
With LaRon Landry's interception of Matt Hasselbeck in the third quarter, LaRon now has three career INTs, all against Matt Hasselbeck. LaRon had two fourth quarter interceptions of Matt in the Redskins-Seahawks playoff game in January.
Shaun Suisham seems to be having problems, missed field goals in the last two games and short kickoffs. I wonder if he is having leg fatigue.
The defensive line was the biggest hit by injuries in this game (op. cit.), Kedric Golston left the game in the first half with an injury to his ankle and Andre Carter came out of the game in the fourth quarter with what wound up being a tear of his plantar fascia, the strip of muscle on the bottom of the foot (it's painful). Cornelius Griffin also played through pain and London Fletcher came out of the game briefly. There is no projection for next week for any of them.
=====
Rediscovering old Zorn: better play calling with a side order of power running does Jim Zorn well in his homecoming, rises to 7-4 as head coach, 7-4 career, if you can stay medium coaching another team, after seeing your number in the ring of fame, where you coached for seven years and went to a Super Bowl, you have what it takes.
Shooter: not exactly a picnic for quarterback Jason Campbell today, he was sacked twice and finished as the Redskins second leading rusher with six carries for 32 yards (better than five yards a carry!), those were all from being flushed out of the pocket. Still, there were only 35 passing plays compared to 41 rushing plays, this is balance Redskins fans can believe in, Jason finished 20 of 33 for 206 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Note to anyone reading this far down the gamewrap, it is time to get our boy Jason paid. As in longer term contract.
Coltrolled:
=====
Washington Post / AP recap, box score, play by play, photos. NFL recap, box score, full play by play, Gamebook (PDF), photos.
Other recaps:
Next up, New York Giants at home (ibid.) to close out band three, the Giants are the class of the NFC and this game is key to Washington's playoff hopes.
Jim Zorn: Otto Greule, Jr. / Getty Images from here. Eli Manning: All Bello / Getty Images from here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment