Off The Mark: NFL Week 10 in Review

For the first time this season, the Redskins lost a game they shouldn’t have. Not only that, they invented a new and exciting way to lose. As a Redskin fan, it is hard to imagine that the Skins could come up with a new way to lose each season. The past seven or eight years, they have blown more games than most franchises (except perhaps the Saints and the Seahawks). From quarterbacks butting their heads against a wall, to the giving up of 13, 14 and 21 point fourth quarter leads (all against Dallas) and countless missed field goal attempts, the Redskins have done it all. Add this game to the list.

First of all, I’m not going to be the typical Redskin fan and blame the refs. I thought Mike Alstott was in on the two-point conversion. The Redskins had him stopped, but he lunged forward for the extra half-yard that got him in. You need to finish that play. I also thought the Redskins were clearly offsides on the blocked extra point attempt that led to the two-point conversion. The only play that Joe Gibbs has been complaining about that the refs actually missed was the early 34-yard completion to Joey Galloway. Galloway was clearly out-of-bounds, but the Redskins couldn’t challenge because the refs ruled that Galloway had been forced out-of-bounds, which was also wrong. But, I thought Ladell Betts stepped on the sidelines during his kickoff return touchdown. So had that play been called correctly, the Bucs wouldn’t have needed the two point conversion attempt late in the game. The calls evened out.

How many bad plays is Walt Harris going to give up before the Redskins bench him? Harris gave up the last second touchdown to Edell Shepherd (who is Edell Shepherd…I’ve never heard of this guy. Are we sure it isn’t Leslie Shepherd trying to make a comeback?). Harris also was the player who jumped offsides on the extra point attempt. Many are saying that Shawn Springs was the one who jumped, but he actually timed the snap perfectly. And it’s a shame that Harris jumped, because Springs blocked the PAT, and if Harris hadn’t jumped, the game would have been over. If you are going to be offsides on an extra point, at least be the one to block the kick. I’ve been calling for Carlos Rogers to start for the past month…maybe this will be the game that wakes up the coaching staff.

Chris Simms obviously played better than I expected. But can everyone in the media settle down a bit. It wasn’t like he scored 35 points by himself. In fact, the first three Tampa touchdowns were set up by the bad call by the refs on the Galloway catch, and Mark Brunell fumble, and the Tampa running game respectively. Simms didn’t do anything until the fourth quarter. Of course when Simms did wake up, the Redskins couldn’t stop him.

This game also showed a fundamental flaw in Greg Williams’ defensive play-calling. He isn’t blitzing enough. When Williams does send the blitz, he often sends a delay blitz. I hate these delay blitzes. They rarely work. You don’t see Pittsburgh or Dallas or Chicago doing these crappy delays. Those teams let you know the blitz is coming and they get through anyway. Why can’t Lavar and Marcus Washington just go straight in? They are phenomenal athletes and they don’t need stunts and delays and fancy packages to hit the quarterback. These guys just need the right play call.

Finally, great call by Jon Gruden. Like I said last week about Dick Vermeil, I love a coach who isn’t afraid to go for the win…even if in doing so he can cost his team the game. There are too many conservative coaches in the NFL. Gibbs had a chance to be aggressive and was predictably conventional. With the Redskins facing a third and three with about 2:30 left, Gibbs called Portis’ number up the middle. Everyone in the stadium knew it was coming. The Skins got a yard, punted it away, the Bucs got the ball back, and the rest is history. A three or four yard swing pass to Chris Cooley or Mike Sellars would have been the better call. If the Skins get the first down, the game is over. Instead, they suffer a costly loss.

Oh well. Back-to-back home games should help the Skins get back on the right track.

Elsewhere around the league:

What happened to everybody predicting that sexy Colts-Giants Super Bowl? All it takes is one game I guess. If you colorless, gutless analysts on ESPN predict something, one week’s result shouldn’t change your opinion (*cough* Sean Salisbury *cough*). Just because Tampa won with Chris Simms this week doesn’t mean I think that they’ll make the playoffs. They are still going to collapse. Why does every analyst run away from a prediction if one week’s game proves otherwise? Have some guts and stand by your call.

Speaking of the Giants, they have clearly been overrated. Unlike most, I saw no chance of a Colts-Giants Super Bowl occurring this year. What is so great about the Giants? Their offense doesn’t excite me. Their defense is nothing special. They can’t win on the road (and they certainly aren’t going to have homefield advantage if they make the playoffs). And now, they lose to a Vikings team that had six total yards from scrimmage in the first half. And this was a home game. Yeah, this is a Super Bowl quality team…

I’ll keep saying it because no one else is…the Seahawks are for real, the Seahawks are for real, the Seahawks are for real…

The Chiefs could be in real trouble. They couldn’t afford that loss to a hapless Bills team without their starting quarterback. Now Kansas City is two games behind Denver with a tough schedule coming up. After their game this week against Houston, they play New England, Denver, at Dallas, at the Giants, San Diego and Cincinnati. What’s worse is Trent Green is finally starting to look his age. He has really struggled this season. With the exception of his 347-yard performance at San Diego, Green hasn’t been close to throwing for 300 yards in any other game. Including the game against the Chargers, Green has topped 250 yards only twice in nine contests…

Brett Farve’s cheering section (otherwise known as ESPN) has something to get excited about. Until next week…

Because Green Bay won, and the Texans played the Colts tough for the better part of their game, the worst team in the NFL now resides in the great state of Maryland (no, not the team in Landover). The Ravens got thumped 30-3 by Jacksonville, in a game that the Washington metro area was subjected to. We here in Montgomery County, while waiting for the Redskins tilt at 4:00, saw the Ravens get manhandled in every aspect of the game. It was kind of entertaining for a while. By the third quarter, it was more pathetic than amusing. Resident Baltimore genius Brian Billick will try and rally the team to a 4-12 record…

Nice throw last night Donovan. Roy Williams couldn’t have been more open…

Check back in a couple of days for another set of amazing picks.