Game 13: Redskins (7-5) at Ravens (8-4)

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Out of the box: a contrived non rivalry renews up the road as the Washington Redskins travel to Baltimore to play a prime time game against the Ravens, 8pm ET. Two rookie coaches, two teams fighting for playoff spots, maybe two teams heading in different directions. Break out the Natty Bo hon, there's a game tonight!

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The story so far: well here we are again, the Redskins staggering through the middle of the season, needing to rip off a bunch of wins in order to make the playoffs. In 2005 the Redskins took a 5-6 team and went five straight to the playoffs in Tampa and last year in 2007 Washington was 5-7 and reeling from the death of Sean Taylor and the game loss of Jason Campbell to a dislocated kneecap. All the team did was mount Todd Collins and win four straight on the way to the playoffs in Seattle. Can the Redskins do it again? It looks like they may have to, as of this writing the Redskins are fourth in line for two wildcard playoff spots, the NFC is improving and there is a possibility a ten win, or even an eleven win NFC team may not make the playoffs.

That four game road is no cakewalk and the kickoff to band four is no pushover, the Ravens have put or kept together a damn good team, and in a fairly unlikely fashion, with a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback who was a University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hen last season.

Things do not get better for the Redskins after tonight and Redskins fans, coaches and players alike are all looking around, wondering aloud but with glazed eyes what is going wrong, what has changed from the Redskins 6-2 start through their 1-3 November and now into a December of uncertainty.*

The quick answer as usual in football is a combination of things. Injuries, a bunch of them, only a couple of which have forced the team in another direction, most of them lingering and affecting team performance. Age, the offensive seems to be running out of gas, getting a little worse every week. Limitations, there is no serious deep threat on this team other than Santana Moss, so teams just key on him and force Washington to dink and dunk, mainly to the tight end (ibid.) who catches lots of passes but does not score. Special teams, weak legs and lots of mistakes mean the Redskins are not putting themselves in the best position with that unit.

And there is another probem. Head coach Jim Zorn has been around long enough to have some tape on him, stuff that can be reviewed by other teams. He has also probably found his limits for this year, he took on a huge job as an unheralded rookie head coach and despite his energy and enthusiasm, he is hitting the wall, note the uninspiring play calling in the past month and the uncharacteristic poopy behavior in the rain against New York. That of course is not to say that coach Zorn is topped out or will not regroup or cannot improve. With an offseason to get organized, put his stamp further on the team and really assess his priorities as head coach he will increase his and the team's overall capacity. Looking at it from where I am sitting, I like what Jim Zorn is doing now, creativity issues aside, I will like what he can do in a year or two.

All of that said, this existentialist treatise will not help the Redskins win tonight. This game is going to be a bitch. A cold hard bitch.

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Curly R aside: for the last time, Jason Campbell is not the problem with this team. And I am not even going to dignify the relativist notion that Jason is not quote unquote all the problem or quote unquote the main problem, it is not Jason at all. His performance has suffered with the rest of the team, sure. And when the team gets it back so will Jason.

For this entire season I have espoused the notion that Jim Zorn has been good for Jason Campbell two ways. First, coach Zorn's offense it turns out, does work with Jason. He can run this type of timing offense, I look forward to a time when Jason really has multiple legitimate targets to catch the ball. Second, there is simply no arguing with the fact that Jim Zorn is really a coach in the purest sense of the word, he knows the quarterback position and has worked hard actively to impart that knowledge on Jason Campbell, and Jason has accepted that coaching and learned from it. Everything we thought was hokey in training camp, stay lower in the pocket, the pad drill, the slip n slide, stay medium, get faster, concentrate on concentrating, all that funny bunny look at me I'm a quarterbacks coach stuff, it turns out it works.

It is also worth noting that part of that learning, that maturing process with which coach Zorn is helping Jason Campbell, it is knowing that the quarterback gets too much praise when things go well and too much criticism when things do not, and really internalized that message. Jason can take it and when things turn around he will not hold it against Redskins fans for knee jerk reactions calling for his demotion. And don't expect Jason's teammates to go along with the story.

So fuck all yall that want to see Jason Campbell benched, he is the man and I need to see the Redskins step up with a seven year contract immediately this offseason.

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Oppo research: Washington and Baltimore actually have a long football history, one that goes back to Johnny Unitas and Sonny Jurgenson. Sadly for Redskins fans, most of that history goes in Baltmore's favor, as does all the recent history with the Ravens. Sadly for Baltimorons and their Washington inferiority complex, we do not really think of this as anything like a regional rivalry, Washingtonians are an effete and entitled lot.

A rookie head coach himself, John Harbaugh of the Ravens, brother of former Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh, one of my favorite players of all times, is doing and saying all the right things. He got dealt a crappy hand early with Kyle Boller's shoulder giving out and Troy Smith getting infected tonsils so when coach Harbaugh had to go with rookie Joe Flacco and it worked out, well it would have been easy for a rookie head coach to overthink the problem and create other problems for himself.

It also does not hurt that Baltimore's goddamn defense still keeps chugging along, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and nose tackle Haloti Ngata, that defense will create problems for the Redskins. The Ravens defense is ranked number two overall, number two against the pass and number three against the run.

No way to sugarcoat this kids, the Redskins have not played well against good defenses so put on your bourbon blanket tonight and hope for the best.

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Trainer's table: as has been the case for much of the past month, the Redskins are stacked with injuries. Middle linebacker London Fletcher, who has not missed a game in his professional career and is not about to if he can help it, was in a boot all last week after hurting his foot in the game against the Seahawks, was back in the boot after the Giants game with swelling in his foot and was projected early in the week as a game time decision for tonight (op. cit.), looks like he will play (op. cit.).

Defensive end Andre Carter's foot is still sore, he is a game time decision. Defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery, recovering from a strained Achilles, was back in the game against the Giants and even had a sack, he should be fine for tonight. Tailback Clinton Portis added neck to his list of ailments after the New York game and is looking at another week off practice, he is also a game time decision (ibid.) which means he will play. Shawn Springs aggravated the calf injury that has caused him to miss six games this year, he looked to be ok early in the week but then missed a lot of practice (op. cit.) and now it looks like he is out for tonight, maybe Shawn hurt his calf interfering with DeAngelo Hall's easy interception of Eli Manning. LaRon Landry got hit in the calf (what's with the calf injuries?) on Thursday in practice and sat out Friday practice but is expected to play (ibid.). Kedric Golston, Chris Samuels and Cornelius Griffin all are hurting but should play. The only player for sure we know to be out is Marcus Washington with his high ankle sprain (all op. cit.)

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Gameplan: defensive coodinator Greg Blache is the one responsible for generating the plan to stop Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense and you know coach Blache feels confident he can confuse an opposing quarterback when he heaps such effusive praise on him (op. cit.). For coach Blache's unit the key will be keeping Joe the Rookie off his center, getting some pressure on the Baltimore pocket, disrupting receiver routes at the line and jamming the flat with bodies to take away the short game. If the Redskins defensive backs, who as a unit are all outstanding despite the Steelers, Cowboys and Giants games, can get an interception or show they can run with the Ravens receivers early in the game, it will make Joe the Rookie think hard about tossing it long.

On offense, well it is a horror show for opposing offenses in Baltimore. Here is the list of things that have to change if the Redskins are going to move the ball consistently against the Ravens: blocking, rushing, ball throwing, ball catching, tight ending.

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My take in 60 words or less: in order to win this game, the Redskins will have to not just better than they have lately, they will have to do a lot better.

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Washington Post / AP preview, Gameday (PDF), the Zorn Zone, injury reports, Redskins projected starters. SkinsCast weather, it is going to be cold as balls. Broadcast coverage is national, this is a prime time game.

Other previews: my good buddy Mark Newgent at Redskins Examiner has a Q&A preview with Ravens Examiner blogger Phil Macek, the Ravens have male cheerleaders lol.


Enjoy yourselves, I will be watching the game at neighbor's as usual. Maybe some Redskins fans will return the Pittsburgh favor to Baltimore. Let's go Redskins!


This is a gameday open thread.



* That is the single cheesiest thing I have ever written on Curly R. My apologies.

NFL helmet logos from here.