Redskins Rehash-- Ramming into the Bye...

There are hot and cold ways to enter one's bye week. This was kind of lukewarm. Yes, the Redskins beat St. Louis 17-10. But they got a lot of help from the Rams in this one. After three quarters of dominant play they tried to politely hand back their blowout-in-progress victory with a sad sack fourth quarter. But somehow the early Christmas gift offered by Skins was turned back. This teaches us two things: the Rams are really bad, and the Redskins are really fortunate. But the third thing we need to know is "fortunate wins" count as much as "deserved wins" in the standings-- and the Skins are 3-1.



Defense the Difference-- the Skins D earned an A and set the tone in the first half: holding the Rams to 103 total yards, 3.0 yards a carry, Sam Bradford to under 50% passing while sacking him three times. The third quarter then yielded two three and outs-- and minus four yards. Even with prime opportunities in the fourth quarter (average starting position of a Rams drive was the Redskins 45) the D kept the Rams at bay. Of the 13 Ram possessions, only 2 netted 25 yards or more.

Turnoverasaurus Rex Lives-- Mr. Grossman began the game with a bang (a six yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss on their second possession) but ended the game on a major whimper (1-5 in the fourth quarter with 2 interceptions). And this was against a Rams defense that came into the game allowing 32 points a contest. Thankfully there were no lost fumbles.

Third and maybe-- after a Washington Post article focused on the Skins 18th place ranking on third down efficiency, the team converted half of their third down opportunities Sunday (9-18)
with Grossman converting more than a few third and longs (5-9 on third and 6 or longer). Unfortunately, just 1 of 4 in the crucial fourth quarter when moving the chains became more of a priority against a rallying Rams team.


Taking the Torain-- this time the running game was in the hands of Ryan Torain... who responded with 135 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. It's nice to have a rotation with the bulk of the carries going to the hot hand (or perhaps it should be hot legs). Shades of Shanahan football at its finest.

Selling Short-- it was a day of checkdowns as the Skins averaged under 10 yards per completed pass... with a long of 20. This coming one week after the Rams were roasted by the Ravens and Torrey Smith (5-152 with 3 td's). So maybe St. Louis worked overtime to lock down the deep passing game. Or maybe Santana Moss may be losing a step-- each year since 2004 he's averaged less yards per catch than the year before; so far this season he's tallied 11.7 yards per reception.

Feeling Fredtastic-- Mr. Davis caught 4 passes for 34 yards against the Rams...increasing his total to 16-248 with one touchdown (only five catches away from matching last season's tally). Meanwhile, Chris Cooley caught a four yard pass and has less than half the receptions Davis has this fall. While there's no official changing of the tight end, it certainly seems that way as Cooley was targeted just twice Sunday.

Rookie on the rise-- Ryan Kerrigan continues his impressive autumn with five tackles, one assist, one sack and a forced fumble... increasing his early numbers to 12-6-2.5-1. And that doesn't include his interception return for a touchdown in week one. Each game he's provided one "impact defensive play" (sack-interception-fumble forced or recovered)... and it's nice to have a defensive difference maker. This from a Big Ten defensive end. Drafting has been called both science and art... but the idea is to see things in players nobody else does. And for the Skins braintrust to anticipate they could have this kid change positions and be the impact player he is has been a major plus.

I aint Missing You at all... since you've been gone, away-- Donovan McNabb completed 18 of 30 passes for 202 yards plus two touchdowns and an interception in Minnesota's 22-17 loss against Kansas City. McNabb's season numbers: 58%, 170 yards per game, 4 touchdowns with 2 interceptions and an 0-4 record. Meanwhile, Albert Haynesworth was inactive for the second straight week-- keeping his line for the Patriots at 2 tackles.

Dissecting the Division-- due to their week one victory, the Redskins are in first place over the 3-1 New York Giants... who rallied past Arizona 31-27. Dallas's ridiculous collapse from 24 points ahead places the Cowboys in sole possession of third place, because Philadelphia wasted a 20 point lead against San Francisco-- falling 24-23.

Unbeaten and Winless-- Buffalo slips from the ranks of the unbeaten... 23-20 at Cincinnati. Three of the Bills' four games have been decided by a field goal. While Green Bay seemed in control for most of their 49-23 rout of Denver, Detroit's 34-30 rally past Dallas was the stuff of legends. In the winless world, Kansas City leaves the club with a 22-17 victory (if you will) over now 0-4 Minnesota. St. Louis and Miami are also 0-4: while the Rams are getting routed by an average score of 28-12 the Dolphins are falling by a much more respectable 25-17 count. And Indianapolis aims for its first win of the season Monday against Tampa Bay. Curtis Painter helped end the Colts unbeaten run in 2009-- can Painter end their winless 2011?