They play a full 60 in the NFL. But at least this bunch is much more entertaining than last year's crew... a 1-1 offensive disaster that barely beat St. Louis. Proving once again that perspective and context go quite a way.
Diminishing Returns-- Leading by 17 was right where the Texans wanted them—after taking a 27-10 third quarter lead the Skins had 16 plays until the end of regulation… gaining just 58 yards.
Donovan and Distance—421 yards passing for Mr. McNabb… and what was nice this week was that it was more than just Moss and Cooley… 15 other catches between 7 receivers totaling 273 yards. By the way, Jason Campbell was benched in Oakland at halftime of their game with St. Louis.
Three Yards and a Part of Second Base-- the Raiders are one of the few teams playing in a "shared" multipurpose stadium... bringing back the good old days of dirt infield taking up a big chunk of the field-- a nice reminder that once upon a time the NFL was the red-haired stepchild second tenant of baseball parks. Proving that nothing is permanent-- even the runaway success that the league enjoys today.
Ground to a halt—18 yards rushing on 17 carries. Ouch. Clinton Portis left the game banged up after gaining 33 yards on 13 tries (under three yards per carry) and Larry Johnson had his reverse lights on (2 carries, minus-7 yards). Third Down and Out—the Skins converted just 2 of 10 third downs…3 of the Skins last 5 drives were three and out.
Hold the Line— Left Tackle Travis Williams left with an injury late in the game… and is unlikely for next week’s game in St. Louis. What remains to be seen is how the Skins will rotate and shift their OL—Stephon Heyer, Artis Hicks and Jamal Brown all candidates to fill in for the rookie.
Dissecting the Division-- two weeks into the season, the Skins own tiebreakers with 1-1 Philadelphia and the New York Giants (thanks to a 1-0 division record) while Dallas currently resides in the NFC East cellar after a pair of lackluster performances. Next week in Houston-- they'll have a problem.
Secondary a Primary Concern?— Matt Schaub roasted the Skins for 497 yards passing… Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter combining for 23 catches. This coming one week after the Cowboys eschewed a successful running attack to take advantage up top. Reed Doughty’s 14 tackles are nice, but one would rather see 8 tackles with 6 passes defensed.
Kicking themselves in the foot-- Graham Gano's 29 yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter was blocked... shades of last year's game with New Orleans when the Saints sent the game into OT after the Skins were unable to kick the game out of reach. This is the second straight week there have been problems with the field goal unit... as in week one a bad snap kept the ball on the ground instead of sailing towards the uprights. This week a missed block by Fred Davis cost the Skins.
TIME OUT!-- Gano did make a game-winning 52 yarder in overtime, only it came after Houston coach Gary Kubiak called timeout. The retry sailed wide right, leading many Skins fans to moan about what poor gamesmanship it is to call timeout right as the ball is being snapped… only that the pioneer of this tactic is Mike Shanahan from his days in Denver.
What’s a Haynesworth? The 100 million dollar man was de-activated for Sunday’s game against the Texans, and the Skins responded with 5 sacks while holding the Texans to 2.4 yards a carry. Are his bags packed for Nashville or Detroit?
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