The Good, the Bad and the Ugly vs. Dolphins
Gary Cope, SkinsGridiron.com, Aug. 24, 2004

Miami, Fla. - Now that's more like it. The Washington Redskins looked like the Joe Gibbs' teams of old Saturday night as they used a power running game and a fierce defense to stuff the Miami Dolphins, 17-0, in front of more than 72,000. Every aspect of the Skins' game plan seemed to work, from the offensive line schemes to special teams play. There was a lot of good, very little bad, and the majority of the ugly sat squarely on the shoulders of the Dolphins.

The Good The first thing people are going to say about Saturday's preseason win is that it was only Miami, a team that has already been written off for the season after losing Ricky Williams, David Boston and most recently, Adewale Ogunleye (traded to Chicago). But let's not be pessimistic to the point we lose sight of the achievements Redskins fans saw in that win.

Mark Brunell finally looked like the $7 million man we signed in the off season. He was a modest 7-of-9 passing with 79 yards and appears to have locked up the No. 1 job. He looked much more comfortable thanks to some great protection from the offensive line. And remember, this is a pretty good Miami defensive front seven, even without Ogunleye.

Brunell didn't need to do much to impress, especially with Gibbs calling 52 rushing plays in the game. Mark just handed off, patted his tailback on the back and said, "Go get 'em tiger." It's hard to look bad when you only throw nine passes.

The running backs got the majority of the touches Saturday night. Portis carried the ball seven times for 37 yards, capping a 63-yard first-quarter drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Sultan McCullough led all Redskin tailbacks with 56 yards on 16 carries.

But John Simon looked very impressive rushing for 43 yards on 12 carries and leading the team in receiving with four catches for 42 yards. That's the kind of versatility Coach Joe is looking for in a running back.

Rock Cartwright, the converted fullback, also looked solid, picking up 33 yards on 10 rushes and scoring on a 1-yard run with time running out in the first half.

All told, the Redskins rushed 52 times for 181 yards. The Skins kept running the ball after they took a 14-0 halftime lead in an effort to run the clock and the Miami D down.

"When you get a lead like that, you're going to run the ball more and you're going to have more opportunities," Gibbs said. "I felt like we responded. We'll take a look at the film and I'm sure there'll be a lot to learn. I felt like we did run the ball better."

The offensive line was much improved, providing both quarterbacks (Hasselbeck did not play) with ample time to throw and opening gaping holes for the running backs. The backfield broke three runs of 10 yards or more (10, 22 and 23).

The receivers didn't see much work in this game. In fact, Simon led the team in receptions (4) and yards (42).

Finally, there's the play of Sean Taylor and it could probably use a "Really Good" headline. The rookie safety made his first appearance with the first team and didn't waste any time laying Chris Chambers out, forcing a fumble and then recovering it. This kid is a machine. It's like he has a tracking device in his head…where the ball is, he is.

"Sean makes a lot of plays," Gibbs praised. "From what I've seen from the sidelines, he covers a lot of ground and he's a big playmaker back there. We'll look at the film and see how he did, but we're real pleased. We think we got ourselves a real good player there."

Uh, you think?

Between Taylor, Matt Bowen and linebacker Marcus Washington, all known for their devastating hits, the Redskins should get a lot of respect over the middle this season.

The entire defense did an outstanding job as a whole, limiting the Miami offense to 98 total yards and just five first downs (none in the second half). That's the kind of defense we were hoping for from Gregg Williams.

Finally, no turnovers. Amen to that.

The Bad SkinsFanLB and OBX pointed out some potential "bad" aspects of the game. Thanks, guys. First, we don't play Miami at all this season. Bummer. Second, we were without a lot of our starters, including LaVar Arrington, Michael Barrow and Ladell Betts. Most of the injuries are relatively minor and the guys sat out to get some rest. Had it been a regular season game, all but Barrow could've suited up.

Barrow remains the big question mark. He's missed virtually all of training camp and hasn't played in any of the preseason games. Luckily, the linebacking corps is shaping up without him so far, but when he's healthy, Barrow is a playmaker and that's what this team needs. Until he's healthy, Arrington and Washington can handle things.

Betts, on the other hand, looks like he's suffering the most in training camp. He's missed most of training camp while his competition has put up solid performances. That means Betts could be the first to get the boot when cut-down day arrives next Tuesday. He's listed as 50/50 to play Friday night against the Rams, but if he wants a spot on this team, he needs to be on the field and show that he has something to offer this team.

The Ugly The only ugly thing about this game was how Miami played and after watching the Chiefs run roughshod over the Rams Monday night, Friday night's game could be a repeat of Saturday.

Oh, one more thing: While we've seen worse, Patrick Ramsey's 3-of-8 passing certainly qualifies as ugly. At least he looked good handing it off and didn't fumble any snaps.