Redskins Rehash-- on a Rollercoaster...

Please keep your hands inside the car at all times. A 16-13 overtime win over Green Bay (one of the NFC favorites) with defending AFC champ Indianapolis coming to Fed Ex Field for a Sunday Night Showdown! Put your sunglasses as well as any and all valuables away where they can't fall out. Unlike the Gibbs II Regime which was optimism clouded with reality, or the Maroon and Black Era which was turned into pessimism clouded with reality... the Shanahan Era is a pendulum thus far. Beating Dallas! Woo hoo! Losing to Houston-aww. Collapsing at St. Louis! Damn, I knew this wouldn't work. Back to back wins over Philly and Green Bay! All right!! (White Shoes' World Interruption: "You know, the Eagles technically won that game-- you take away the first three drives and it's 12-0 Philly. Think about it".) Before things settle in (aka better personnel, the learning of new offensive and defensive systems), be prepared for extremes. This team will look incredibly good and incredibly bad week to week-- and even half to half. Enjoy the Redskins Rollercoaster... but do not stand at any time and keep the safety bar down..



Second Half Shakeup-- for the first time all season, the Skins outscored the opposition after intermission... and outgained the Packers 302 yards to 179 after halftime. Complete reversal of the first four weeks where they were outscored 54-13 after the break.


Donovan and Distance-- Mr. McNabb threw for 357 yards, 225 after halftime. What's nice to see is how the team is stretching the field with long throws... something that wasn't done at all last year. Whereas Jason Campbell may have been efficient in defeat, Donovan McNabb is effective in victory.


Zach Attack, and PA problems-- Two changes behind the scenes recently deserve mention: this summer the team fired Director of Media Relations Zach Bolno. I don't know what the situation was, but I'm sorry to see him go-- Zach was a class act and it's a shame an NFL team decided to change it's media relations guy so close to the regular season when finding a similar gig is unlikely. There's also been a change in the press box PA announcer-- but the person manning the mic now isn't the one they originally hired. As I understand, the Redskins waited until the new announcer showed up at Fed Ex Field on opening day and told her they didn't know she worked for a competing radio station... and said they would go in a different direction. I don't know all of the particulars, but these are just two instances where the public perception of the franchise suffers.

Band-aid on the Run-- With Clinton Portis on the shelf with an injured groin, the ground game managed just 51 yards on 21 carries... an average of 2.4 per carry. Ryan Torain did catch four passes out of the backfield, though.


Double L helps deliver the W-- Laron Landry's interception set up the game-winning kick. The safety also notched 13 tackles and forced a fumble. Credit Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett with recognizing Landry's a better fit at the strong safety spot instead of the free safety position he languished in last year.


Dissecting the division-- the Skins 2-0 division record means they own the tiebreaker with Philadelphia and the New York Giants among the NFC East's three 3-2 teams. The Giants have the better division record (0-0 to 0-1) than Philly while Dallas has sole possession of the cellar at 1-3. And they don't even look that good. White Shoes' World: "You see-- the division is completely set up for the Eagles to win... you take their loss to Washington away, and they have a better record than the Redskins!"


Tracking the Triumvirate now a solo showcase-- the release of wide receiver Devin Thomas means the 2008 draft second round trifecta is now merely tight end Fred Davis... who failed to catch a pass for the second straight week (his running total for the year is 3 receptions for 73 yards)-- he did notch a tackle on special teams, though.

Third Down and Out-- Okay, so 5 of 17 isn't that much of an improvement on the Skins' season-long struggles moving the chains, but the defense held Green Bay to just 2 of 13 on third down. And don't forget the Skins then held strong on a fourth and goal from the one in the first half that changed the game's momentum.

Seventh Heaven-- Chris Cooley and Santana Moss each caught 7 passes against the Packers... the duo's tally of 52 combined catches is over 50% of Donovan McNabb's completion total-- let's just say #5's found his go-to guys. MossCooley's contributions have allowed Anthony Armstrong a chance to shine, though-- the newcomer caught a 48 yard strike from McNabb in the fourth quarter to turn a plodding ten point loss into anybody's game.

Whaddaya Gano?-- less than a month after missing two late field goals against Houston, and less than a game after missing a field goal against the Packers, Graham Gano kicked a 33 yarder to give the Skins a three point victory. He also made attempts of 25 and 47 yards... and puts the "we have to get rid of this kicker" conversation off the table for one more week. Enjoy the rollercoaster, folks.