Preseason Game 3: Redskins (1-1) vs. Patriots (1-1)

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Out of the box: The most meaningful of all the meaningless games is upon us, the proverbial third preseason game, the best barometer so far of real team progress, the Redskins host the New England Patriots for a preseason game tonight at 8pm on CBS.

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The story so far: You always have to keep preseason in perspective. With even more secrecy than the regular season coaches make decisions about what to show the rest of the league when ramping up a team. Is the team running the real offense? What elements of the performance are weighted the most for grading? What are the players really being asked to do?

It is in this context that the Redskins arrive at the third, traditionally most consequential preseason game. It is the next to last preseason game, the teams that play in the Hall of Fame Game have an additional fifth preseason game, that starters traditionally play a half or more and try to get into a rhythm simulating the regular season. As teams move to the final preseason game starters usually sit after on drive and the rest of the game is making decisions about bubble players.

For reference, last year's preseason game four, Washington played in the HoF Game and so their and the Colts' game four was everyone else's game three, was a face first 47-3 wipeout against the Panthers, the starters played the entire first half and Jason Campbell had to wait until the second quarter to get his first completion.

Meanwhile back in this year the starting offense has not scored a touchdown. The starting defense has not forced a three and out. While the city seems to burn all around them, head coach Jim Zorn and quarterback Jason Campbell, their fates intertwined in 2009, are taking the long view; their measures of progress are clearly not shared by the entire city.

The depth chart continues to come together, no real surprises so far. Todd Collins was named the number two quarterback and coach Zorn emphasized the race for number three is still on, as Rick Snider writes in today's Washington Examiner, even if the competition is not serious, coach Zorn has to say it is so Colt Brennan will not get comfortable and so as not to disrespect Chase Daniel. John Keim also at the Examiner disagrees, says it is a real competition. In the end, it will be Colt as number three and Chase gone or on the practice squad.

Could it be that the offensive line is not total trash? Coach Zorn seems to think so and if the performance in the main against the Steelers is an indication, with good protection, time for the quarterbacks to set up their throws and lanes for the runners. Joe Bugel certainly is high on his line (ibid.), then again he thinks he could coach up Sailor Moon to play guard. And the sham competition is finally over, Stephon Heyer at right tackle, Mike Williams looks to make the roster but is more bubblier than Jeremy Bridges, simply because Jeremy can play two positions, in theory.

Players continue to develop and in praise you can hears hints of a roster spot. Defensive end Chris Wilson, potentially an odd man out at a loaded DE position continues to draw praise in making the move to strongside defensive endbacker (op. cit.), the same hybrid position that will be played by rookie first round pick Brian Orakpo. Chris Wilson is a Curly R favorite and I hope he makes the team.

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall has a bit of a chip on his shoulder for this season, after the Raiders gave up the farm to acquire him from the Falcons in 2007 then blew him up and released hom from the richest ever contract for a cornerback eight games into his first season in Oakland, DeAngelo worked out all summer and is ready to come and kick ass. He says the money affected him in Oakland, let us hope it does not here. At least not as much.

The last time these teams met it was a brutal 52-7 blowout on the Patriots' way to an undefeated regular season, cornerback Carlos Rogers blew out his right knee in gruesome fashion and there was hand wringing about whether New England was running up scores disrespectfully. That was a rough week for Redskins fans, about as bad as it got, until Sean Taylor was shot and killed.

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Curly R aside: Does anyone here miss Shawn Springs? I am comflicted about Shawn, he was inarguably a shutdown corner when he was on his game, I still harbor some ill will about his waiting until training camp to get his separated abdomen looked at when that old injury had originally been seriously aggravated back in the January 2006 playoff game against Seattle, and over his five seasons in Washington he missed sixteen games, fourteen of those in the final three seasons. After a while I began to get the sense that he did not really want to play. I hope things go well for him in New England, with our luck they will win the Super Bowl this year.

Curly R aside continues: who is this town's top sports star? It seems to come down to Clinton Portis and Alex Ovechkin for some reason. I would say Ovie in a walkover. Clinton's apex was 2005.

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Oppo research: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the steely eyed bad guy from the movies reduced to a simpering henpecked shell of a married man making the bed every morning and moving his porn stash to a new hiding place every month, is back from the knee injury that kept him out for all but one quarter of play in 2008, last season he had all the time in the world to figure out exactly how Gisele likes her oatmeal and practice his expressions of dinner conversation interest in the mirror. Hey Tom, just don't think of Leo DiCaprio up in there.

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Trainer's table: Cornerback Carlos Rogers aggravated his strained left calf in the Steelers game, he was expected to play tonight(op. cit.) but will not, this concerns me, the team will now be relying more on 2008 fourth round pick cornerback Justin Tryon, which I am not sure is a good thing (ibid.). Kick returner Rock Cartwright has a groin pull (op. cit.) and also will miss this game (op. cit.).

Left tackle Chris Samuels had a sore knee early in the week, and fullback Mike Sellers and tailback Ladell Betts were sore to start the week (op. cit.), all three are expected to play.

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Gameplan: Put the starting offense in, let them go as long as they can, do not punish them with needless playing time if it is not working. Keep it vanilla, put the receiving plays in the hands of Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly, one of these guys has to take the number two spot. We already know what Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El can do.

On defense do not keep it vanilla. Let Albert Haynesworth and Brian Orakpo and the case of thousands of Redskins in your backfield run loose. Let the league get a gooood long look at what is in store for them. If the Redskins start preoccupying all their 2009 opponents with gameplanning the Redskins defense, maybe the offense can sneak in for a few points. And work on that pesky third down problem (op. cit.).

In the second half, put those young players out there and see if they can win it again. Paraphrasing fullback Eddie Williams from this week, these games may be meaningless to most of us, they mean something to those trying to make the team.

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My take in 60 words or less: Let's see some first team offense. Let's see some more first team defense kicking ass in the opponent's backfield.

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SkinsCast weather, rainy and 70s, bring your summer slicker.


Enjoy the game, I will be in attendance at Redskins Stadium with the neighbor we call Tony Almeida and neighbor Bill, I will be DVR'ing the game for a review late tonight or tomorrow.


This is a gameday open thread.



NFL helmets from here.