Pouring like rain
Takeaway drill: A lot more fun to watch, Clinton Portis makes a real different in this offense; Pittsburgh is not so formidable without Big Ben; the Redskins defense at times must have seemed to Pittsburgh quarterbacks like it was a whiteout.
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Monday Sunday walkthrough: The Redskins turn in a different kind of preseason performance, excellent defense and good enough offense, the Redskins went toe to toe, unit to unit with the Steelers and win 17-13 to move to 1-1 in the preseason.
The Redskins took the ball to start the first quarter, Jason Campbell started Washington's first drive with a long bomb to Malcolm Kelly, it came down near Malcolm into coverage and was incomplete. A near intentional grounding and a tipped pass over the middle and it was time to punt... except Washington ran a fake punt to Rock Cartwright, after some confusion and a penalty the Redskins had a first down. The Redskins go on from that near three and out to execute a nearly perfect drive, Ladell Betts cannot get in to the end zone on third down and the Redskins settle for a short field goal to go up 3-0. The Steelers get the ball for their first drive, it was like Pittsburgh was playing in a whiteout, only a bad penalty call extended the drive, the Steelers punted after eight plays covering six yards. The Redskins got the ball for the second time and looked wild, it was a three and out. Pittsburgh's second possession started with more harassment by Washington's defense, the Steelers abandoned the run and three big pass plays got them down to the goal line, Willie Parker goes in from three yards out to make the game 7-3 Steelers. Washington's got the ball for the third time, two Rock Cartwright carries and the quarter was over, Steelers lead 7-3.
Washington continued its third drive into the second quarter, one Jason Campbell incomplete and the Redskins were three and out, three drives and Jason Campbell is now one for six. The Steelers third possession starts with more Redskins in the Pittsburgh backfield, three and out. Todd Collins and Marcus Mason come in for Washington's fourth possession, both are productive but the Redskins stall at midfield and punt. The Steelers' fourth possession stalls after seven plays, punt. The Redskins get the ball for the fifth time with good field position, all solid backups at this point and it shows, three and out. Pittsburgh's fifth possession is long and ugly and mostly passing and ends with a 34 yard field goal to put the Steelers up 10-3. Washington gets the ball for the sixth time and struggles before Todd Collins throws an interception, Devin Thomas was in poor position. With three seconds left the Steelers attempt a 53 yard field goal with their sixth possession, it is no good but an offsides penalty on Washington gives Pittsburgh a second try from 48 yards, also no good, the clock expires and the half ends with the Steelers leading 10-3.
Pittsburgh gets the ball to start the third quarter, its seventh possession, three runs and it is time to punt. The Redskins' seventh possession finds Todd Collins and Marcus Mason still in charge, a long and serious drive, Chase Daniel may have replaced Todd Collins midway in this drive, it was all about Marcus Mason, seven carries, one catches for 37 total yards on this drive, Chase floats one to the left of the end zone and Marko Mitchell pulls it in for a touchdown, 10-10 tie game. The Steelers' eighth possession is another long one, six passes and no runs and end with a 41 yard Pittsburgh field goal, 13-10 Steelers. Washington got the ball for the eighth time, Chase Daniel and Dominique Dorsey in charge, six plays later the quarter was over with Pittsburgh leading 13-10.
Washington's eight drive continued into the fourth quarter, three plays in and the Redskins were stalled at midfield. Hunter the Punter Smith punted, the Steelers' Joe Burnett fielded the punt, Fred Davis hit him and he fumbled, linebacker Darrel Young recovered and the Redskins moved to their ninth possession. Which was one play as Chase Daniel found Fred Davis eighteen yards for a touchdown, 17-13 Redskins. Pittsburgh's ninth drive starts with another terrific kick return, ends with a three and out. Colt Brennan came in for Washington's tenth drive, Dominique Dorsey looked good carrying the ball and the Colt magic was back, the Redskins moved easily down the field until his pass to the goal line was intercepted, Steelers ball for the tenth time. Pittsburgh scrumped and dallied from their 35 to the Washington 35, it was pretty ragged overall, on fourth and six Jeremy Jarmon put pressure on the pocket and the pass was incomplete, Redskins got the ball for the eleventh and final time, victory formation, two kneeldowns and game over, Redskins win 17-13.
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Soapbox: If this is more what the real Redskins look like (pun intended Rich) then I am very pleased. Washington's starting offense moved easily, at least on the ground. All the way down the depth chart the front seven defense dominated.
Jason Campbell was not impressive, finished one for seven. I am not ready to hold it against him yet. Next game, the proverbial third preseason game is when the starters go the longest. We shall see then.
Marcus Mason finally had a chance to shine.
Did I mention the defense was terrific?
Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward are both great NFL receivers.
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Chattering class: Rich Tandler writes there is no reason to get to bummed about Jason Campbell's performance and kind of bitchslaps two tradmed columnists.
Mike Wise at the Washington Post either had a hangover or blueballs when he wrote this column. 1) Dude lighten up, you were the one two years ago telling us to lighten up so take some of your own advice and stop talking about how shitty everything is and 2) The self-inflicted FAIL trifecta: attacking Redskins fans for either coming out in the rain or not coming out in the rain I cannot be sure of what you are unhappy about there, complaining about working preseason games and mocking Washington Post management for sending a platoon of reporters to cover the Redskins, that one subject guaranteed to excite all WaPo readers at a time when excited readers are more valuable than ever? Well played.
Tom Boswell also at the Washington Post writes that the Redskins are still no good no matter what you thought you saw at that game. Two preseason games in and already Tom is calling it another uninspired and mediocre season from the Redskins.
Did Emilio Garcia-Ruiz hold an editorial meeting and tell his columnists to dump on the Redskins for a week just to see what would happen?
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Omnibus: Once again the Redskins Broadcast Network has Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann as the broadcast team. Over at neighbor Bill's house so we get to see it in high definition.
Uniform watch: preferred home uniforms featuring white jerseys and burgundy pants.
The game at Redskins Stadium started in a complete fog of smoke from fireworks, the humidity kept it hanging around.
A fake punt?! The Redskins threw three consecutive passes, if you can call the second down nearly intentional grounding a pass that consumed all of 30 seconds then kept the drive alive with a fake punt, the Steelers committed a holding on the play to tack on another five yards.
On that Redskins first drive Jason Campbell took off to scramble and was tackled by Brett Keisel, the Steelers defensive end that nearly ended Jason's season with a dirty hit, Brett was ultimately fined $12k5 for that hit.
Almost did not recognize head coach Jim Zorn in that burgundy baseball cap, which featured the Redskins Indian logo, not the curly R, I guess maybe coach Zorn will let that one stay with Joe Gibbs.
The Redskins were jobbed at the end of that first excellent drive, Ladell Betts appeared to me to cross the first down line inside the one yard line on second down, then on third down fullback Mike Sellers missed a block that might have sprung Ladell. All in all a typical Redskins drive from 2008, looks good in the middle of the field, cannot hit paydirt in the red zone.
Shaun Suisham came out for the field goal at the end of the first drive, coach Zorn giving the incumbent the first crack over challenger Dave Rayner.
Ben Roethlisberger did not play, he was hurt two days ago in practice. Charlie Batch came out when the Steelers got the ball for the first time.
On Pittsburgh's first offensive play we got the daily double, Andre Carter batted Charlie Batch's pass and the holding penalty on the Steelers. That drive would have ended three and out for the Steelers, DeAngelo Hall drew a fucking bogus penalty when he ran into the receiver. DeAngelo could not alter his trajectory and tried to pull up, it is not DeAngelo's fault the ball was well overthrown and uncatchable. That drive ultimately went six yards in eight plays.
First quarter quote by Joe Theismann: the Steelers have always complemented (complimented?) themselves.
Clinton Portis came out after the second drive, Rock Cartwright came in for the third and the drop off was obvious, I love Rock, he is not a serious option at tailback.
Kelli Johnson interviewed Santana Moss right after they showed Keith Eloi's YouTubes jumping into a pick bed and backwards out of a pool filled with water, Santana felt compelled to tell us he had a 45 inch vertical coming out of college, little self conscious Santana?
Two games now and I am ready to say it: Reed Doughty looks a lot better this year, two great consecutive plays in the second quarter. I was ready to let Reed go after last season. Maybe that back injury really was bad. Welcome back Reed.
Dennis Dixon, the Steelers third string quarterback is pretty good. Strong arm, fairly accurate and damn quick on his feet, we will be keeping an eye on Dennis.
Jimi Hendrix award? At the end of the first half the broadcast team harangued Brian Orakpo for getting tired in the second quarter while lauding him for his college qualifications which included, according to Joe Theismann, the Jimi Hendrix award. What he meant was the Hendricks award, named after Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks, given to the nation's best college defensive end. The Jimi Hendrix award is something totally different.
Right over the head of Gay? To end the first half Todd Collins threw a pass to DJ Hackett, it was high and went over the head of Pittsburgh cornerback William Gay. The only way to improve on that spoken boner is if DJ had caught it and Gay forced it out with a reach around.
Preseason bloopers: in the third quarter, Pittsburgh's eighth possession, the Steelers sent the field goal team on the field... on third down. They were pulled back, incomplete pass then they went with the field goal team again, successfully.
Run Chase run, on the next drive, the Redskins eighth, Chase broke the pocket on third and long and was damn fast downfield for a first down.
Saw Jeremy Bridges lined up at left tackle in the fourth quarter. That is three spots away from his best position.
Fast forward to the post game, good interview with Jim Zorn, talking about the need for the team to up the intensity, then Jason Campbell came out to talk to Kelli Johnson still in the flak jacket quarterbacks wear under their pads, it was kind of a disarmed look, could our Jason be getting more comfortable with himself and our attention?
Then defensive coordinator Greg Blache was up for the post game TC interview, dude is awesome, had the full rundown of how each unit did in each segment of the game, and ended up prescribing a better performance next time for this team.
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Shooter: Jason Campbell was a disappointing one for seven on three drives, at least two of those incompletes were good passes missed by the receivers. After the game being interviewed by a hot blonde while essentially wearing his underwear, he was upbeat which tells me it did not hurt his confidence.
Fat Contract Albert: Prize acquisition defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth made his preseason debut and what a difference one player can make. The Redskins defensive line was already upgraded with Brian Orakpo, the return of Phillip Daniels and Jason Taylor dancing out of Washington, throw in man mountain Albert and it was blizzard conditions for the Steelers quarterbacks.
OH CRAPPO: once again Brian Orakpo was incredible, the dude looks like a serious player. The broadcast team pointed out in the second half that maybe Brian was winded, that might be his only weakness so far, having a rookie's endurance and conditioning.
=====
Washington Post recap, photos. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap. NFL recap, box score, full play by play, Gamebook (PDF), photos, video highlights.
Next up, another game at Redskins Stadium as the Patriots come to town, Tom Brady is back from missing a year with a knee injury and I sure as hell remember that 52-7 beatdown in 2007.
Cornelius Griffin meeting Charlie Batch: Peter Diana / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from here. Tom Brady carrying Gisele Bundchen's shit around from here.
Takeaway drill: A lot more fun to watch, Clinton Portis makes a real different in this offense; Pittsburgh is not so formidable without Big Ben; the Redskins defense at times must have seemed to Pittsburgh quarterbacks like it was a whiteout.
=====
The Redskins took the ball to start the first quarter, Jason Campbell started Washington's first drive with a long bomb to Malcolm Kelly, it came down near Malcolm into coverage and was incomplete. A near intentional grounding and a tipped pass over the middle and it was time to punt... except Washington ran a fake punt to Rock Cartwright, after some confusion and a penalty the Redskins had a first down. The Redskins go on from that near three and out to execute a nearly perfect drive, Ladell Betts cannot get in to the end zone on third down and the Redskins settle for a short field goal to go up 3-0. The Steelers get the ball for their first drive, it was like Pittsburgh was playing in a whiteout, only a bad penalty call extended the drive, the Steelers punted after eight plays covering six yards. The Redskins got the ball for the second time and looked wild, it was a three and out. Pittsburgh's second possession started with more harassment by Washington's defense, the Steelers abandoned the run and three big pass plays got them down to the goal line, Willie Parker goes in from three yards out to make the game 7-3 Steelers. Washington's got the ball for the third time, two Rock Cartwright carries and the quarter was over, Steelers lead 7-3.
Washington continued its third drive into the second quarter, one Jason Campbell incomplete and the Redskins were three and out, three drives and Jason Campbell is now one for six. The Steelers third possession starts with more Redskins in the Pittsburgh backfield, three and out. Todd Collins and Marcus Mason come in for Washington's fourth possession, both are productive but the Redskins stall at midfield and punt. The Steelers' fourth possession stalls after seven plays, punt. The Redskins get the ball for the fifth time with good field position, all solid backups at this point and it shows, three and out. Pittsburgh's fifth possession is long and ugly and mostly passing and ends with a 34 yard field goal to put the Steelers up 10-3. Washington gets the ball for the sixth time and struggles before Todd Collins throws an interception, Devin Thomas was in poor position. With three seconds left the Steelers attempt a 53 yard field goal with their sixth possession, it is no good but an offsides penalty on Washington gives Pittsburgh a second try from 48 yards, also no good, the clock expires and the half ends with the Steelers leading 10-3.
Pittsburgh gets the ball to start the third quarter, its seventh possession, three runs and it is time to punt. The Redskins' seventh possession finds Todd Collins and Marcus Mason still in charge, a long and serious drive, Chase Daniel may have replaced Todd Collins midway in this drive, it was all about Marcus Mason, seven carries, one catches for 37 total yards on this drive, Chase floats one to the left of the end zone and Marko Mitchell pulls it in for a touchdown, 10-10 tie game. The Steelers' eighth possession is another long one, six passes and no runs and end with a 41 yard Pittsburgh field goal, 13-10 Steelers. Washington got the ball for the eighth time, Chase Daniel and Dominique Dorsey in charge, six plays later the quarter was over with Pittsburgh leading 13-10.
Washington's eight drive continued into the fourth quarter, three plays in and the Redskins were stalled at midfield. Hunter the Punter Smith punted, the Steelers' Joe Burnett fielded the punt, Fred Davis hit him and he fumbled, linebacker Darrel Young recovered and the Redskins moved to their ninth possession. Which was one play as Chase Daniel found Fred Davis eighteen yards for a touchdown, 17-13 Redskins. Pittsburgh's ninth drive starts with another terrific kick return, ends with a three and out. Colt Brennan came in for Washington's tenth drive, Dominique Dorsey looked good carrying the ball and the Colt magic was back, the Redskins moved easily down the field until his pass to the goal line was intercepted, Steelers ball for the tenth time. Pittsburgh scrumped and dallied from their 35 to the Washington 35, it was pretty ragged overall, on fourth and six Jeremy Jarmon put pressure on the pocket and the pass was incomplete, Redskins got the ball for the eleventh and final time, victory formation, two kneeldowns and game over, Redskins win 17-13.
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Soapbox: If this is more what the real Redskins look like (pun intended Rich) then I am very pleased. Washington's starting offense moved easily, at least on the ground. All the way down the depth chart the front seven defense dominated.
Jason Campbell was not impressive, finished one for seven. I am not ready to hold it against him yet. Next game, the proverbial third preseason game is when the starters go the longest. We shall see then.
Marcus Mason finally had a chance to shine.
Did I mention the defense was terrific?
Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward are both great NFL receivers.
=====
Chattering class: Rich Tandler writes there is no reason to get to bummed about Jason Campbell's performance and kind of bitchslaps two tradmed columnists.
Mike Wise at the Washington Post either had a hangover or blueballs when he wrote this column. 1) Dude lighten up, you were the one two years ago telling us to lighten up so take some of your own advice and stop talking about how shitty everything is and 2) The self-inflicted FAIL trifecta: attacking Redskins fans for either coming out in the rain or not coming out in the rain I cannot be sure of what you are unhappy about there, complaining about working preseason games and mocking Washington Post management for sending a platoon of reporters to cover the Redskins, that one subject guaranteed to excite all WaPo readers at a time when excited readers are more valuable than ever? Well played.
Tom Boswell also at the Washington Post writes that the Redskins are still no good no matter what you thought you saw at that game. Two preseason games in and already Tom is calling it another uninspired and mediocre season from the Redskins.
Did Emilio Garcia-Ruiz hold an editorial meeting and tell his columnists to dump on the Redskins for a week just to see what would happen?
======
Omnibus: Once again the Redskins Broadcast Network has Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann as the broadcast team. Over at neighbor Bill's house so we get to see it in high definition.
Uniform watch: preferred home uniforms featuring white jerseys and burgundy pants.
The game at Redskins Stadium started in a complete fog of smoke from fireworks, the humidity kept it hanging around.
A fake punt?! The Redskins threw three consecutive passes, if you can call the second down nearly intentional grounding a pass that consumed all of 30 seconds then kept the drive alive with a fake punt, the Steelers committed a holding on the play to tack on another five yards.
On that Redskins first drive Jason Campbell took off to scramble and was tackled by Brett Keisel, the Steelers defensive end that nearly ended Jason's season with a dirty hit, Brett was ultimately fined $12k5 for that hit.
Almost did not recognize head coach Jim Zorn in that burgundy baseball cap, which featured the Redskins Indian logo, not the curly R, I guess maybe coach Zorn will let that one stay with Joe Gibbs.
The Redskins were jobbed at the end of that first excellent drive, Ladell Betts appeared to me to cross the first down line inside the one yard line on second down, then on third down fullback Mike Sellers missed a block that might have sprung Ladell. All in all a typical Redskins drive from 2008, looks good in the middle of the field, cannot hit paydirt in the red zone.
Shaun Suisham came out for the field goal at the end of the first drive, coach Zorn giving the incumbent the first crack over challenger Dave Rayner.
Ben Roethlisberger did not play, he was hurt two days ago in practice. Charlie Batch came out when the Steelers got the ball for the first time.
On Pittsburgh's first offensive play we got the daily double, Andre Carter batted Charlie Batch's pass and the holding penalty on the Steelers. That drive would have ended three and out for the Steelers, DeAngelo Hall drew a fucking bogus penalty when he ran into the receiver. DeAngelo could not alter his trajectory and tried to pull up, it is not DeAngelo's fault the ball was well overthrown and uncatchable. That drive ultimately went six yards in eight plays.
First quarter quote by Joe Theismann: the Steelers have always complemented (complimented?) themselves.
Clinton Portis came out after the second drive, Rock Cartwright came in for the third and the drop off was obvious, I love Rock, he is not a serious option at tailback.
Kelli Johnson interviewed Santana Moss right after they showed Keith Eloi's YouTubes jumping into a pick bed and backwards out of a pool filled with water, Santana felt compelled to tell us he had a 45 inch vertical coming out of college, little self conscious Santana?
Two games now and I am ready to say it: Reed Doughty looks a lot better this year, two great consecutive plays in the second quarter. I was ready to let Reed go after last season. Maybe that back injury really was bad. Welcome back Reed.
Dennis Dixon, the Steelers third string quarterback is pretty good. Strong arm, fairly accurate and damn quick on his feet, we will be keeping an eye on Dennis.
Jimi Hendrix award? At the end of the first half the broadcast team harangued Brian Orakpo for getting tired in the second quarter while lauding him for his college qualifications which included, according to Joe Theismann, the Jimi Hendrix award. What he meant was the Hendricks award, named after Hall of Famer Ted Hendricks, given to the nation's best college defensive end. The Jimi Hendrix award is something totally different.
Right over the head of Gay? To end the first half Todd Collins threw a pass to DJ Hackett, it was high and went over the head of Pittsburgh cornerback William Gay. The only way to improve on that spoken boner is if DJ had caught it and Gay forced it out with a reach around.
Preseason bloopers: in the third quarter, Pittsburgh's eighth possession, the Steelers sent the field goal team on the field... on third down. They were pulled back, incomplete pass then they went with the field goal team again, successfully.
Run Chase run, on the next drive, the Redskins eighth, Chase broke the pocket on third and long and was damn fast downfield for a first down.
Saw Jeremy Bridges lined up at left tackle in the fourth quarter. That is three spots away from his best position.
Fast forward to the post game, good interview with Jim Zorn, talking about the need for the team to up the intensity, then Jason Campbell came out to talk to Kelli Johnson still in the flak jacket quarterbacks wear under their pads, it was kind of a disarmed look, could our Jason be getting more comfortable with himself and our attention?
Then defensive coordinator Greg Blache was up for the post game TC interview, dude is awesome, had the full rundown of how each unit did in each segment of the game, and ended up prescribing a better performance next time for this team.
=====
Shooter: Jason Campbell was a disappointing one for seven on three drives, at least two of those incompletes were good passes missed by the receivers. After the game being interviewed by a hot blonde while essentially wearing his underwear, he was upbeat which tells me it did not hurt his confidence.
Fat Contract Albert: Prize acquisition defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth made his preseason debut and what a difference one player can make. The Redskins defensive line was already upgraded with Brian Orakpo, the return of Phillip Daniels and Jason Taylor dancing out of Washington, throw in man mountain Albert and it was blizzard conditions for the Steelers quarterbacks.
OH CRAPPO: once again Brian Orakpo was incredible, the dude looks like a serious player. The broadcast team pointed out in the second half that maybe Brian was winded, that might be his only weakness so far, having a rookie's endurance and conditioning.
=====
Washington Post recap, photos. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recap. NFL recap, box score, full play by play, Gamebook (PDF), photos, video highlights.
Next up, another game at Redskins Stadium as the Patriots come to town, Tom Brady is back from missing a year with a knee injury and I sure as hell remember that 52-7 beatdown in 2007.
Cornelius Griffin meeting Charlie Batch: Peter Diana / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from here. Tom Brady carrying Gisele Bundchen's shit around from here.
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