Redskins Rehash-- homecoming?

Aren't you supposed to schedule cupcakes for homecoming? The Redskins held their first annual homecoming game and brought the Indianapolis Colts to Landover-- I know Fed Ex is dipping its toe into the college game so here's a pointer: you schedule a major pushover for homecoming. Like Rutgers... Washington State... Temple... or lately, Syracuse (gosh that hurts). Heading into the season I would have put the Tampa Bay game as my homecoming date.

Still, a thrills-chills-and-spills 27-24 loss to the Colts had plenty to chew on...:

Donovan and Distance-- Mr. McNabb passed to for 246 yards... and although he tried to stretch the field was unable to do so against the Colts lay-back defense--averaging under 10 yards per completion. His two interceptions were costly-- as one set up the Colts first touchdown and the other ended the Skins final scoring threat. But he's much better than Jason Campbell was-or is (rating of ten against San Francisco).

Taking the Torain-- Ryan Torain rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns...cementing his status as the Skins tailback for the moment. Clinton Portis, we hardly knew ya.

Hog of Famer-- Russ Grimm received his HOF ring at halftime... and here's hoping Joe Jacoby gets into Canton soon as well. Perhaps with Ray Guy. I mean-- if Jan Stenerud has a mustard jacket, why not the best punter of his generation?

Dissecting the Division-- wins by Philadelphia and the New York Giants kept those two teams tied atop the NFC East. The Giants have the better division record (0-0 to 0-1) so they win the tiebreaker-- with the Skins third and Dallas (1-4) last. White Shoes Moment: "You see? On our way to the Super Bowl baby! By the way, Glee's the best show on TV."

How to grade the D-- granted, there's a bit of a grading curve when facing the Colts. But Peyton Manning carved out 234 passing yards in the first half with plenty of open space in the secondary looks... before the running game pounded out 170 yards to the tune of 6.8 per carry.
But three fumble recoveries helped keep the Skins in the game despite being outgained early and often. The work in progress continues.

Miss me blind-- the game was also kept close thanks to a pair of rare misses by Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri... his first two misses of the season... from 38 and 48 yards(blocked). Graham Gano also missed from 48... doesn't it seem like he misses from somewhere at least once a week? He's 1 for 4 from longer than 45-- so maybe it's a matter of the team recognizing his range.

London Calling-- with Rocky McIntosh out for the game, London Fletcher came up huge with 14 tackles (7 solo) to pace the D. The best player ever to never make a Pro Bowl continues to shine.

Tracking the Triumvirate-- Fred Davis equalled his total for the season... tallying 3 catches (for 23 yards). Malcolm Kelly continues to enjoy his offseason while Devin Thomas has found a home with Carolina. And he's wearing an actual wide receiver number (80 instead of 11). Perhaps that's what was wrong while he was with Washington.

Fly the Flags at Full-Mast-- 7 penalties for 53 yards will not help you against the league's elite... although they're not in Maryland Terrapin Territory (Terps are 11th in the ACC in penalty yardage).