It's Complicated

Nothing complicated about that. Might even call that easy.

Takeaway drill: A slopfest only for the hardest of the hard core, some obvious roster calls and some not so obvious takeaways, on balance we learn nothing new, bring on the real games.

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Monday Saturday walkthrough: The starting unit on offense gets all of one drive, the starting defense gets about two and that is it, all evaluation and last gasp tryouts from there as the Redskins lose 24-17 to end the preseason 1-3. Many players stood out, most the good way, a couple the bad way. Cuts are next.

The Jaguars won the toss and elected to receive to start the first quarter, David Garrard and the Jacksonville offense moved easily on their first drive over seventy yards, the Redskins held at the goal line and the Jaguars were forced to kick a 23 yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Washington's first possession... never happened, Anthony Aldridge took the kickoff at the two yard line, took it thirteen yards and fumbled trying to switch the ball to his outside hand, Jaguars defensive back Tryon Breckinridge scooped up the fumble and took it back for the touchdown, Jaguars now lead 10-0 with more than seven minutes still left in the quarter. Anthony managed not to fumble the next time and the Redskins actually started their first possession, Jason Campbell in the game, it is a hard fought drive, ten plays over only 30 yards, penalties help to cut it short and the Redskins are punting. The Jaguars begin their second possession, starting offense still in the game, starting defense still in the game, the Redskins serve up some punishment and the Jaguars are three and outing. Chase Daniel comes in for the Redskins second possession, along with Marcus Mason, one play and that was it, quarter ends 10-0 Jaguars.

The Redskins continued their second possession into the second quarter, on third and ten on their own territory Chase throws a four yard route and the Redskins are three and out. The Jaguars third possession sees the Redskins second team defense come out and it showed on the first five plays but not the next three as the Washington defense poured into the Jacksonville backfield, the Jaguars then kick an improbably long 52 yard field goal to move ahead 13-0. Washington comes out for their third possession and laid another egg, a busted play forces Chase Daniel to scramble for one yard, then Marcus Mason is hit in the backfield then Chase is hit for a sack, he fumbles, the ball is recovered by Jacksonville at the Redskins fifteen. The Jaguars fourth possession starts with a short field, Jacksonville only needs three plays to score, with the two point conversion the Jaguars now lead 21-0. The Redskins fourth possession is scrap and claw, another penalty, this one a block in the back by Marko Mitchell, helps cut it short and the Redskins are punting after moving the ball nine yards. Jacksonville starts its fifth possession, this drive is characterized by solid Redskins defense at the line and spotty defense in the secondary, Jacksonville moved down the field to the Redskins two yard line and with a touch of preseason politeness opt to keep driving and not kick the field goal, time runs in the half before the Jaguars can score, Jacksonville leads 21-0.

The Redskins get the ball to start the third quarter, Washington's fifth possession, Chase Daniel still in the game, Rock Cartwright now in at tailback, this drive starts out well and stalls at midfield, time to punt. The Jaguars get the ball for the sixth time, it is starting to get hard even for me to evaluate play and individual players, the Jaguars seem to be moving easily until Justin Tryon stepped easily in front of receiver Jarrett Dillard and returns it 24 yards but a personal foul on linebacker Robert Henson called it back fifteen yards. Washington's sixth possession starts with excellent field position, Colt Brennan is in the game, all passes and not good ones at that, the Redskins set up and kick a 48 yard field goal, incumbent Shaun Suisham, the Redskins get on the board 21-3 Jaguars. Jacksonville's seventh possession looks good... for the Redskins defense, Chris Wilson and Robert Henson are everywhere, then facing second and thirty (30!) from the Washington 38, Todd Bouman hooks up with tailback Rashad Jennings on a 21 yard catch and run, Rashad simply ran over everyone in his path, including Doug Dutch and Robert Henson, that's it for the third quarter, Jaguars lead 21-3.

The fourth quarter starts with the Jaguars continuing their seventh possession, one more play and Jacksonville kicks a 42 yard field goal to extend its lead to 24-3. The Redskins get the ball for the seventh time, Colt Brennan still in the game, and DAMN Washington's offense comes to life, Dominique Dorsey on the ground, four carries for eighteen yards, and Colt Brennan, 4-5 for 58 yards, Dominique carries it in from three yards out for the touchdown, 21-10 Jaguars. Jacksonville gets the ball for the eighth time, Alvin Pearman in the game for Jaguars (Wahoowa!) and he looks good, on first and ten in Washington territory quarterback Todd Bouman trips trying to hand the ball off and fumbles, linebacker Robert Henson is once again in the right place and scoops up the ball, Washington gets the ball for eighth time. Clearly the coaches have made their decisions on tailbacks and are making Colt throw on every down, he appears hurt, is clearly favoring his left side, Colt comes out of the game and is replaced by Chase Daniel, wait, why is Colt on the trainer's table on the sideline? A turnover on downs and the Jaguars get the ball for the ninth time, there is nothing happening, Jacksonville turns it over on useless downs and the Redskins get the ball for the ninth and final time. Chase Daniel is on the field as Colt Brennan limps along the sideline, Chase moves the team 63 yards in one minute on an awesome drive, ending with a four yard touchdown pass to Marko Mitchell, Redskins pull to 24-17 Jaguars, it is now a one score game with under a minute to go. The Redskins line up for the onsides kick, Jaguars receiver Ernest Wilford pulls it down, two kneeldowns comprise Jacksonville's tenth and final drive, game over, Jaguars win 24-17, and that's a wrap on the preseason.

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Soapbox: Not much to go on with this game, it produced lots of, as we say in he consulting world, bad data. I really think at this point in the season management and the coaches have their minds made up and are just going through the motions, waiting for someone or something to come along and change their minds. As a result it is hard to view the game critically as anything other than a bunch of people running around.

The competition for number three quarterback was not decisive, Chase Daniel was midding against the Jaguars starting defense, Colt Brennan was good against the backups until he got hurt, then Chase was good against the scrubs. I think it has to come down to your gut if you are head coach Jim Zorn, who has the better upside and I think that is still Colt Brennan.

And speaking, how bad was Colt hurt? He says it is not serious (op. cit.) but Joe Theismann in the broadcast booth started talking about how putting Colt on injured reserve could create problems for the Redskins, did Joe know something. As we now know, Colt was in fact put on IR with hip and hamstring problems.

Receiver Malcolm Kelly appears to have won the starting spot opposite Santana Moss (op. cit.), Malcolm was out with the starters.

There are other decisions down the depth chart, will the Redskins keep a fourth tailback? Marcus Mason has been a Curly R fave the past three training camps so count us as a hopefully yes on this one.

Defensive tackle Anthony Montgomery has been an on and off starter since the team drafted him in the fifth round of the 2006 draft, last year he fell to backup of Kedric Golston after supplanting Kedric as starter in 2007. Now he is the number four defensive tackle, will the team keep him for depth, knowing Albert Haynesworth has not played sixteen games in a season since his rookie year and that he cannot go every play on every game?

All in all, hard to argue with a training camp and preseason with no major injuries (ibid.).

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Chattering class: Of all the pundit pieces written about the Redskins the day after this game, the first one I read was this one from Tom Boswell, it is about the Redskins ticket scandal, the selling of tickets directly to brokers, tickets that do not go to Redskins fans on the waiting list and which end up in the hands of fans of opposing team; the suing of season ticket holders that have defaulted on multi year packages in this age of mega recession. It is one of the most damning pieces ever written about Dan Snyder. And for the record, I agree that some of these rich guys buy professional sports teams to fill holes, to get the attention they missed as a child or to fill some outsize ego that comes from privilege, yes that is true and I think that is true in Dan Snyder's case. However I think there is a much simpler, more elegant explanation for why an organization like the Redskins would take our generations of goodwill and routinely and seemingly for no reason try their hardest to squander it: they are bad businessmen, bad football people, bad managers, shortsighted and greedy with the belief that the Redskins have an infinitely elastic demand, Dan Snyder chief among them.

They will get theirs, one day very soon, maybe even this year we will learn the truth about the sham season ticket waiting list, as the Redskins approach blackout status you will see them get increasingly desperate, realizing too late that trying to harvest every single dollar out of every single sucker with a burgundy and gold hat was not a smart way to run a business that depends ultimately on fannies in seats.

Let me reiterate something about the Redskins and all the other entities occupying similar places in society and in the hearts of their fans and supporters: the Redskins do not belong to Dan Snyder, they belong to us, the fans, Dan Snyder and his crew of overpaid hack managers are just the stewards. The Redskins will still be a part of the DNA of this city and the of the legions of displaced and distant fans when Dan Snyder is long long gone.

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Omnibus: Mike Patrick was gone from the broadcasting team, replaced by Kenny Albert, teamed up with Joe Theismann. Kelli Johnson from Comcast SportsNet and Lindsey Czarniak from NBC-4 as usual are on the sidelines, is it me or is it inappropriate for the broadcast team to wear Redskins attire? It is preseason and it is a production of the team so maybe, it just seems awkward to me.

Seventy-eight degrees at kickoff and the stadium was empty, does not seem like the Jaguars have the attention of Jacksonville, at least from that pregame shot. Maybe the parking lots are full of Floridians getting drunk.

Amateur broadcast coverage: on the opening play David Garrard went back to pass, threw the ball... and the camera stayed on David. The pass was caught but we did not see it. This is why the big networks do this stuff for real.

On defense London Fletcher, Carlos Rogers and Albert Haynesworth did not play, London I assume is a veteran getting the night off, Albert we knew had a stomach bug and Carlos was sketchy. I am worried about Carlos being ready for game one next week. On the offense Clinton Portis and Randy Thomas did not play.

Anthony Aldridge fumbling Washington's opening kickoff? Buh bye, that's a cut.

Although back to back penalties against Washington helped to kill Jason Campbell's only drive, penalties were not as prevalent in this game. Good looking last pass by Jason on that first drive, a deep one to Antwaan Randle El, it was not tipped and was right on the money, Antwaan just missed it.

Nice Redskins defense to start the Jaguars second drive, Brian Orakpo coming across from the backside of the play forced the fullback to commit a hold. The second play was a coverage sack, then punt. Love it.

Effusive praise by Joe Theismann for linebacker HB Blades? That he has done everything he needs to emulate London Fletcher? Has HB become that good of a linebacker?

Oofuh, on the Jaguars third possession Torry Holt showed why he has been in the league so long by simply torching rookie cornerback Kevin Barnes.

Damn! Was that Reed Doughty in the second quarter sneaking through the line then coming up to sack David Garrard from behind the play? And damn was that Chris Wilson forcing a near intentional grounding on the next play? And was that Reed Doughty again on the next play, hitting David Garrard as he threw?

Washington's third possession was brutal, on third down former 400 pound man right tackle Mike Williams lets defensive tackle Derek Landri go wide and get back to Chase Daniel, causing the fumble. Not quick against the edge players that Mike Williams.

Joe Theismann made a good comment, with six minutes left in the second quarter the game already looked like it was the end of the fourth quarter of a preseason game, slop.

Great halftime Redskins Legacy piece on Charley Taylor, Hall of Fame receiver from 1964 to 1977, I did not know that he was drafted and started his NFL career as a tailback before switching to receiver. When Charley retired in 1977 he was the all time leading receiver in NFL history with 649 catches. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. Great piece, but where was Charley? The only spot of him talking looked to be filmed in the 70s. Charley still lives in the DC area, is he still bitter about being fired from the receivers coach position under Norval Turner in 1994? If so, that was before Dan Snyder, he would have had plenty of opportunity to rebuild bridges.

As Washington came out for the second half it appeared as though the blocking schemes were changed to run quicker plays requiring less protection. Which is good because there was not a lot of protection going on back there. The one time on that first drive of the second half that blocking was needed, the second and twelve deep pass to DJ Hackett, it was not there and forced Chase Daniel to throw up a pass before he was ready.

Thanks to the broadcast team for reminding me, I had forgotten that the Jaguars had the draft the Redskins should have had, Jacksonville pulled down Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, it looks like these two rookie tackles will be starting on opening day and if they work out, the team is set for five years or more at the tackle positions.

Jaguars sixth possession, third quarter, receiver Jarrett Dillard was not even looking for Todd Bouman's pass, Justin Tryon had no competition for the ball, man is he fast on the return, I hope to see him have some more opportunities to do that trick in the future.

We did not get a great look at the Todd Bouman fumble on a hit by Chris Wilson on the Jaguars seventh possession third quarter, due to the inane Lindsay Czarniak interview with injured cornerback Carlos Rogers, the holding penalty on Jacksonville was obvious, Chris Wilson still fought through it to force the fumble but we never saw the illegal contact by Redskins rookie linebacker Robert Henson. That was Robert's second penalty of the night. Two plays later Robert makes a head up play to stop a catch short, then on the next play gets caught out of position for a long Jaguars catch, then on the very next play Chris Wilson again is in the Jacksonville backfield, this time forcing an intentional grounding. Great work for both players, Robert is a good prospect and needs to keep his head., Chris is of course a Curly R favorite.

Does Joe Theismann know something we do not? Colt Brennan was obviously hurt on the Redskins eighth drive, fourth quarter, stayed in a couple of plays and then came out and limped over to the trainer's table. Immediately Joe Theismann begins to talk about what were to happen if Colt were to go on injured reserve. At this point they are calling it a hamstring, we know Colt has had hip problems.

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Shooter: One series for quarterback Jason Campbell, back to back penalties against tight ends Robbie Agnone and Todd Yoder put Jason in a bad spot, he almost erased all that with a deep post to Antwaan Randle El, Antwaan could have caught the ball but heard footsteps and it went off his fingertips. Jason is rock hard and ready to go.

Fat Contract Albert: Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth did not make the trip to America's City, he was balled up with cramps, I offered him some of my wife's Midol.

OH CRAPPO: As with the previous game, hybrid defensive endbacker Brian Orakpo was in the game with the starters, he hustled but did not stand out, I think the team was keeping the defense under wrap.

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Washington Post recap, photos. NFL recap, box score, full play by play, Gamebook (PDF), photos, video highlights.

Next up, a live game kids, the Redskins take on NFC Beast division rival New York Giants and beady eyed Tom Coughlin in game one of the 2009 NFL season.



The high class ladies of Jacksonville, Rick Wilson / Jacksonville Times-Union from here. Tom Coughlin tenderly caressing the Super Bowl trophy: John McDonough / Sports Illustrated from here.