Did anyone expect anything different? Sherman Lewis' play-calling Monday in the Redskins 27-17 loss to Philadelphia wasn't that much better or worse than Jim Zorn's over the first six games... to quote ex-Tampa Bay coach John McKay when asked during one of the many Buccaneer double digit loss seasons-- "what did one think of the team's execution?-- "I'm all for it".
Bounced by big plays-- a 67 yard end around for a touchdown... a 57-yard pass for a score... a tipped pass intercepted for a TD... outside of that the Eagles didn't create much-- unfortunately they didn't have to...as the offense (with the exception of the now-customary end of half hurry up scores we've grown to know and love) sputtered again.
Perhaps they should have double-downed?-- Once again the Skins were held to 17 points--- they met that mark against the Giants and Carolina. In blackjack barring the dealer having a "bust card" showing (2 through 6) I'll hit on 16 but stay on 17. Unfortunately in this game, staying at 17 means 0-3... with the offense getting cleaned out.
Third and no longer-- the Skins converted just 3 of 12 third downs... bringing their total for the season down to a paltry 29.1 percent... ranking 28th in the NFL. During the team's three game slide from pretender to cellar-dweller the offense has moved the chains 7 times in 35 attempts (20%).
Sacking the air out of the offense-- no matter who is calling the plays, it has been proven that Jason Campbell cannot throw to the open man when lying on his back. Six sacks by the Eagle D gives the Burgundy and Gold a total of 23 allowed for the season...third most in the league. And that doesn't count hurries or the gameplanning adjustment from 7 step drops because of the Swiss cheese masquerading as an OL.
Walkin' on a thin line-- Chris Samuels injury has left the team scrambling for OL depth. It's a shame we can't go back in a time machine to 2008 draft day when the following players were available: a pair of tackles in USC's Sam Baker and Virginia Tech's Duane Brown -- both went in the 20's... Baker has started six games for Atlanta (who took him with the REDSKINS first rounder) while Brown has started seven games this fall for Houston. Center Mike Pollak out of Arizona State picked by 28th overall by Indianapolis and converted to guard where he has started 19 games. USC guard Chilo Rachal was taken in round two by San Francisco and has started 16 games for the 49ers.
I'm not saying the Skins erred by taking three receivers in the second round, but instead of my award-snubbed "Tracking the Triumvirate Feature" any of these players could be helping keep Jason Campbell upright.
What's a Haynesworth?-- three tackles, an assist and a sack for the 100 million dollar man... and the pass rush as a whole notched three sacks (including one from Reed Doughty on a safety-blitz) while the run-stoppers held the Eagles to 55 yards on 26 carries if one takes away the DeSean Jackson end-around. But as we've learned, the defense isn't the problem.
High risk, low returns-- what is going on with the Skins punt returns? Antwan Randle El and Santana Moss combined for 10 yards on three attempts against the Eagles... and the lack of yardage on punt returns has been an issue all season. Randle El ranks 25th in the league while the Skins as a team rate 29th. Combine that with the second lowest net-punting unit-- and it's like paying interest on a credit card: you don't notice it, but over the span of sixty minutes the Skins are slowly leaking yards and field position.
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