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Redskins-Ravens Winners & Losers
By Jamie Mottram | December 8, 2008
Handing out labels following Skins games. Today: a 24-10 loss at Baltimore.
WINNERS: Benny T. (pictured) – For wearing those pants to the game in Baltimore, where the Redskins fanbase was well-represented.
LaRon Landry – He made some mistakes, namely missing Rice in the open field and letting Heap catch a deep floater, but his two turnovers late — the interception on Flacco and forced fumble on McGahee — were great plays and reminders of how good Landry can be.
LFB – Bad foot be damned, he made 10 tackles, including a stand-up stop on Joe Flacco, who had a head o’ steam.
Devin Thomas – Caught a first down! And a second pass! And a third!
Mike Sellers – Hurdled a defender, which Al Michaels said “he is noted for.”
LOSERS: The zebras — There’s a debate on this in the early edition, but I don’t think Portis’ fumble, which was scooped up by Ed Reed for a TD, was a fumble. Seems he had it all the way down before the ground forced it out. Once the refs upheld the call though, it was pretty much game over.
Clinton Portis – It’s a fumble in the box score, alongside 11 carries for 32 yards, and there’s something weird brewing between him and Zorn.
Jim Zorn – Didn’t have an answer for Baltimore’s blitz. Seven penalties, most of which were of the false start/illegal formation/offensive fuckup variety. They didn’t get into the red zone until the end of the third, and even then it was thanks to a turnover … and even then they got knocked out of the red zone before attempting a 43-yard field goal.
There were questionable decisions aplenty: 1) Punting on 4th-and-2 from the Baltimore 40-ish with under two minutes left in the half. 2) Challenging a four-yard spot early in the fourth. 3) Running downfield plays at the very end when all hope was lost. It was a debacle of a game, which is now their norm against good teams. With the offense struggling and the season teetering, Zorn Star better be able to handle the shitstorm.
Chris Samuels – Let Terrell Suggs get to JC nearly untouched, causing Campbell’s first INT. Came out with a triceps injury in the fourth, which brought in some guy named Justin Geisinger (who’s apparently a center, btw) to play LT. He was immediately terrorized by Suggs for a sack.
Malcolm Kelly – It was a garbage-time drop, but a drop nonetheless.
Jason Taylor – You never hear his name. It’s like he’s not even there.
The D-line – Actually, it’s like none of them are there. Probably because the organization hasn’t drafted any this decade.
Special teams – Under Danny Smith’s steady hand is a comedy of errors. To wit, on back-to-back first-half punts the punt coverage downed the ball before it stopped rolling. Thrash did the first time, Cartwright the second. I realize this is small potatoes. Each play may have only cost them a yard or so. Still, it’s brainless.
Shaun Suisham – Missed a 48-yarder, and has now missed from between 42 and 48 yards in four straight games, which may be some kind of record.
Muffin Top – Seven punts, 35.1 yards per.
Carlos Rogers – Let Derrick Mason, who is so old that Al Michaels rightly referred to him as a “one-time Oiler”, burn him for a deep touchdown.
MEDIUM: Greg Blache – Played zone instead of man, and, for the most part, was effective in doing so.
Jason Campbell – He missed a couple of short throws and generally held onto the ball too long, but, again, the porous offensive line and ineffective receivers are more to blame than the quarterback. And in Baltimore with little to no help, no QB is going to give you much more than a 57% completion percentage and 5.9 yards/attempt.
Al Michaels and John Madden – Michaels is a master, Madden a mixed bag. The former was right to question Zorn’s fourth-quarter challenge of the spot, and the latter justly killed the Thomas-Kelly-Davis trio (“They’re trying [to work them in], but they’ve always been trying.”). What kills me though are Madden’s platitudes about one team “playing harder” than the other, or how instant replay “isn’t football”.
NEXT: Washington at Cincinnati Sunday 12/14, 1:00 p.m. ET
Topics: Winners & Losers, Redskins |
14 Responses to “Redskins-Ravens Winners & Losers”
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December 8th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I’d replace the Zebras with the offensive line in the losers section. Of course, I happen to think Portis’ fumble was clearly a fumble. The ball was moving and starting to come out before he hit the ground.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Fear not, Cincinnati is the cure for what ails you.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Just fucking terrible. Zorn is in way over his head and it’s becoming more obvious every week.
Oh, and Michaels hasn’t been a “master” in quite some time.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Whether it was a fumble or not, it certainly wasn’t clear one way or the other. And the O-line’s failure is represented by Samuels and Zorn in the losers section.
Cincy better get beat, or else that Philly game I’m going to in two weeks won’t mean a damn thing. Hell, it might not anyway.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Ed Reed stripped the ball out of Portis’ hand before he hit the ground. It was close, but a fumble.
/breathes a sigh of a relief that Campbell was able to walk off the field at the end of the game
December 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am
With both tackles probably out, at least we will see Rinehart active for a game. With him active, along with Horton, Moore, Kelly, Thomas, Davis and Tryon, Vinny will be able to talk about how the 2008 draft class is contributing this year!
Since 2000, we have drafted 6 QBs and 10 WR/TE. Of those 16 picks, 2 are actually good (Campbell and Cooley). Sure wish a couple of those 16 picks could have been OL or DL.
December 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Do we really need a rap soundtrack for a fumble recovery highlight? Especially one where the announcing might actually be useful?
December 8th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
If the Portis fumble wasn’t a fumble, then neither was the McGahee fumble. I think the right call was made both times. Zorn is terrible.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I’m not sure one has to do with the other, but McGahee’s fumble appeared to come loose before his knee hit the ground. Not much ambiguity there.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I have a big problem with my starting quarterback wearing a loose long sleeve t-shirt during a game. Don’t give Suggs anything to grab onto, JC. Especially with that long delivery.
December 8th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
McGahee’s was definitely a fumble. Portis’ was iffy, I don’t think it was a fumble but I’m not sure there was enough “conclusive” evidence to overturn it.
The O-line is miserable, at least three starters should be replaced.
Puttsfromtherough, I think you should give Kelly and Thomas some time. Thomas looked decent last night and Kelly’s been hurt (Fred Davis is a piece of shit).
I have been saying for months that Mike Sellers is the best offensive player on the Redskins. Better than Portis, better than Moss, better than any O-Lineman. Most people think I’m joking when I say this but I am completely serious. He is an INCREDIBLE blocker and he finally got a chance to show off his ball carrying skills (which are awesome. If he’s not laying the truckstick he’s hurdling mofos). He should have been in the Pro-Bowl the last two years, and if he’s not in Hawaii this year the system is fucked up.
December 8th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Mike Sellers is a solid player and an outstanding run blocker but he looked just as bad as the rest of those bumbs when he was trying to pick up the blitz..
CP needed to be in there in the fourth for his ability to pick off lb’s and safety’s…
Did anyone catch that shot were Buges was about whip Zorny’s ass when he punted on 4th and 2?
Buges would destroy the flat top!
December 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Best part of the night…learning that Madden doesn’t trust chowder…or those sneaky crabcakes for that matter.
December 9th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Which is good, because crabcakes don’t trust him, either.