Steam From Their Ears

Don't make this crowd mad

Takeaway drill: despite losing another offensive lineman (right guard Randy Thomas) the Redskins played steady offense, limited mistakes and made big plays on defense; Donovan McNabb and the Eagles do not look sharp and the home crowd let him have it; the Redskins linebackers were everywhere; Brian Westbrook is a man on fire.

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Monday Tuesday walkthrough: the Redskins win a tough one on the road, 20-12 in Eagles Stadium on Monday Night Football. Thankfully as I was at the game I was spared the commentary of Tony Kornheiser but when Ron Jaworski flashed on the screen the home crowd went wild.

This was a hard fought game, the kind the Redskins usually lose on the road or to this Eagles team anytime. The Redskins were never up by more than 11 points and big plays were everywhere and Jason Campbell was steady in his first start on Monday Night. And although questions about whether the Donovan McNabb and the Eagles can be the team they have been in the past are now surfacing, this win is the type the Redskins need: fundamental, stick to the running game, rhythm in the passing game and playmaking on defense.

The pregame was intense with loud applause for the home team, Eagles fans were ready to forgive and forget a game they gave away to the Packers last week. The Redskins won the toss and elected to receive and the first quarter was basically fought to a standstill. Jason Campbell picked on Will Peterson James and he and Santana Moss hooked up on a good looking 48 yard bomb, a long pass on first and ten, the kind of play that quiets a home crowd and made me get up and shout...on the inside. Shaun Suisham kicked a 35 yard field goal to end the quarter 3-0 Redskins and the Eagles scoreless first quarter streak extends to four games.

In the second quarter the Eagles answered with a nine play 62 yard drive the netted a 24 yard field goal by David Akers, tie game 3-3. Right guard Randy Thomas injured his tricep on this drive, left the game and did not return and as of this writing the projected impact to the season is eight to ten weeks out minimum, maximum the rest of the season.=. Jason Fabini came off the bench in relief. This drive also featured hard running by Brian Westbrook (42 yards on two consecutive runs, very elusive) and short passing by Dono whose one long attempt on this drive was broken up by Sean Taylor and if I were Reggie Brown I'd be pissed because it was not a catchable pass and Sean got to level the boom anyway.

Maintaining momentum after the field goal cornerback Will Peterson James responded to being targeted as the replacement for injured Lito Sheppard and intercepted Jason Campbell's next pass. The Redskins were rattled and the Eagles drove 17 yards until the no huddle betrayed them and they settled for a 39 yard David Akers field goal, 6-3 Eagles.

The teams traded punts on the next two drives and then it got weird.

Remember last week when the Dolphins botched the clock management and wound up going for it on fourth down and goal at the end of the half? It was one of those 'no no no no! YES! Yes yes yes! plays as the Dolphins actually turned bad decisions into points.

And the buzz yesterday on Sirius NFL Radio was Mike Shanahan icing Sebastian Janikowski, calling a timeout right as the ball was being snapped, the kick up and good but did not count and the re-kick was missed.

Roll those two scenarios together and you have the end of the half.

The Redskins drove down to the Eagles one yard line with 14 seconds left in the half and no timeouts on a drive that featured a 20 yard run by Jason, the longest run by a Redskins QB in two years. Jason Campbell spiked the ball to stop the clock then the team could not get the play in and the Redskins were hit with a delay of game penalty, now second and goal from the six. Then Jason Fabini, filling in at right guard for Randy Thomas, is flagged for a false start penalty, now second and goal from the 11.

So Shaun Suisham comes out to kick and right as the Redskins were about to snap it, I see Andy Reid lean to his left and call timeout (our seats at the game were on the 10 yard line behind the Eagles bench to Andy's left). My game partner, lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery laughed because he thought Andy was trying to do to the Redskins what Mike Shanahan did to the Raiders.

However upon closer review, Iggles Blog only counted nine Eagles players on the field so Andy was not trying to ice Shaun, he was trying to prevent the Redskins from running a play with a two-man advantage on the field. Yes, Andy has had some game and clock management problems in Philadelphia.

But it still gets weirder.

After the non-iced kick the Redskins send the offensive unit back onto the field at second and goal from the 11. That play is stopped by another false start by Jason Fabini, second and goal from the 16. The Redskins are undeterred and run the offensive play that results in a 16 yard touchdown pass from Jason Campbell to Chris Cooley, PAT is good, Redskins kick off to Eagles who run one play, Brian Westbrook up the middle for two yards before the half ends to thunderous boos from the home crowd, Redskins lead 10-6 at the half.

The third quarter saw both teams come out and try to control the game. The teams traded punts, Jason Campbell made a key first down with his feet and Rocky McIntosh sacked Dono. The Redskins stuck to the ground game despite short gains and the Eagles got through the quarter on the combination of short passing and Brian Westbrook running. Both teams netted a field goal and it was 13-9 Redskins going into the fourth quarter.

That fourth quarter started with the Redskins holding the ball and tight ends Chris Cooley and Todd Yoder figured into this drive. It was tackling Todd Yoder after an 18 yard gain that send Eagles safety Brian Dawkins out of the game with a neck stinger. This drive ended with Clinton Portis going around the left end to score a touchdown, PAT good, Redskins lead 20-9.

The Eagles then drive 61 yards to the Redskins four yard line and with the change of end zones after each quarter the action was right in front of me and I could see how huge these guys are. On first and second and ten from the Redskins 11, the Eagles got a no-gain run and an incomplete. The home crowd was restless. Then after a seven yard pass on third and ten (the Eagles would have had to get to the one yard line to get goal to go) out trotted the field goal unit and there were boos. The home crowd wanted the team to go for it, make or break, get the TD now and worry about the field goal later, there were still 6 plus minutes left.

It's up and good, David Akers from 22 yards, Redskins lead 20-12.

Predictably the Redskins come out and three and out and punt after one run and two pass calls. The Eagles then start the do or die possession, down by eight points, first and 80 on the Eagles 20, 4:52 to go, plenty of time.

The Redskins were leaving frustratingly large gaps in the middle of the field and everything was short passing and Brian Westbrook running. If this was a hurry up drill it did not look like it as the clock kept running until finally the Eagles had used three minutes 40 seconds on 11 plays to get to fourth and six on the Washington nine.

Here is where, and I've seen it many times, the Eagles find a way, there is a man open or Dono finds a way to get that first down and extend hope. But he could not get it done this time, his pass to Kevin Curtis was incomplete on a LaRon Landry jam at the line.

Redskins take over on downs, two Jason Campbell kneeldowns and it's over, I do the old 23 skidoo, Wilbert Montgomery and I get to the car before midnight and roll back into Curly R worldwide headquarters at 2:49 am ET.

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Soapbox: as one who has dealt with some unruly fans at Eagles games and keeps coming back and wearing my colors, I was pleased Clinton Portis' mother decided to keep coming to games in Philadelphia, even after getting doused with beer here two years ago. And was that Clinton laying hits after interception turnovers in both weeks one and two (op. cit.), the same kind of hit that caused his separated shoulder in the preseason last year? Maybe I have been wrong about Clinton all along.

The game journal on my trip to Philadelphia comes out later today, but can I just say it was nice to get a win? There were not many burgundy shirts in the stands and I got yelled at a lot and the Redskins have not had a lot of luck at Eagles Stadia. Since Wilbert Montgomery and I started our streak of consecutive Eagles-Redskins games in 1999 there have been only three Redskins wins in Philadephia, the 2000 game I missed, the only miss in the past 17 games, the 2005 season finale and last night. I could tell the Eagles fans were unsettled about this game and were not really surprised when the Redskins lost. Howard Esskin is a goofball.

I liked what I saw from both sides of the ball. The Redskins played offense with tenacity, fighting through Randy Thomas' loss and even though promoted backup Jason Fabini was called for at least two penalties the Redskins did not go all Steve Spurrier and try to get it all back in the air.

Although I was not in a position to see every play the stats tell me Todd Wade aka the 8 Ball aka Big Head Todd played well enough at right tackle in his first game as a starter.

I don't know if Brandon Lloyd was even in the house. Wait, I did see him, in the huddle a couple of times with James Thrash which means it's 70% going to be run play. The team has moved on past Brandon Lloyd.

On defense, the line was a little soft but what did I expect with little depth and less experience. The linebackers are freaking everywhere

I got a look at ESPN's Suzy Kolber but she was gone in a flash of sideline beauty before I could get my camera out.

Did I miss something, how many offensive linemen got injured? Because I looked out there in the second half and saw Mike Pucillo out on the field and I have no idea where he was playing.

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Chattering class: Mike Wise at the WaPo reminds us what a debacle last season's game at the Eagles was. It was shitty cold and rainy, I was mugged, the Redskins looked awful and the Eagles had magic. My what a year will do. And read on to see some of the surprising standings after two weeks.

Wilbon has a column about a curious something or other, it sounds iffy to me, this one may have been written by Wilbon's robot double.

Rick Snider at the Examiner says this is one of the greatest wins in the Joe Gibbs II era and says local dentists should be slipping Sean Taylor some kickback. Dan Daly at the WashTimes is surprised at the win and thinks there are bigger problems with Dono. David Elfin at the WashTimes has a handy report card for the game. The only worrisome one is rushing defense, a C.

Iggles Blog has Eagles takeaways from the game.

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Omnibus: Donovan McNabb was booed several times and while up on the concourse in the second half as I watched the video screen they flashed to backup Kevin Kolb, the touted rookie second round pick, pacing on the sidelines. Thankfully I was spared the prattle from Mister Tony and the MNF crew but at least one Eagles fan near me shouted PUT HIM IN!

There has still been no word on how severe Randy Thomas' injured tricep is. This could be no time missed (Ray Lewis is playing with a torn tricep and is still out there murdering people), a few games or the whole season. Update: Bram Weinstein reports today (op. cit.) that Randy may not have a complete tear and could be back as soon as eight to ten weeks and they may not place him on IR. This will of course depend upon the severity of Randy's injury and the play of Jason Fabini and Mike Pucillo.

In a strange turnaround it was actually Fred Smoot that had the hurt hamstring and was on the inactive list, not Shawn Springs. The Redskins are either not on the same page as their starting cornerbacks or are playing a very dangerous game. Newly acquired receiver Reche Caldwell was also inactive so Brandon Lloyd gets one more week.

Other inactives were third QB Mark Brunell, safety Vernon Fox (we saw a lot of three-safety dime packages last night with Pierson Prioleau), DE Lorenzo Alexander aka Scarface, WR Shaun Bodifod, TE Cody Boyd and DE Philip Daniels.

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Area 51: Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry were the garnish on the meal served by the linebackers. Sean and LaRon combined for nine tackles and a half sack and the only reason the hit in the image above was not a sack was because that flailing duck leaving Dono's hand counts as an incomplete pass. Having Sean roam centerfield so far is working out. And the last hit of the game, the one that left undersized receiver Kevin Curtis on the ground with no ball? LaRon.

Freddie Your Cruise Director: Fred Smoot was inactive with a hamstring. Get better Freddie, we will need you.

Mason Nation: Marcus Mason was demoted to the practice squad in the aftermath of Jon Jansen's injury. This feature is hereby discontinued until his return to the regular roster.

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

Other gamewraps: Hogs Haven, The Redskin Report, Hog Heaven, Running Redskins, Riggo's Rag.


A good win, next up (op. cit.) Eli Manning (lol) and the laughably bad New York Giants Sunday 4 pm Redskins Stadium. The rest of the Redskins schedule with local TV coverage is here.



Donovan McNabb and Sean Taylor : Chris McGrath / Getty Images from here. Eli Manning: AP photo from here, detail of photo from here.