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SKINSGRIDIRON EXCLUSIVES
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly vs. St. Louis St. Louis, Mo. - The Washington Redskins did a complete 180 Friday night. One week after their dominating, 17-0 win over the Miami Dolphins, the Skins were given a lesson in humility from the Greatest Show on Turf, the St. Louis Rams. "We didn't play Redskins football and we paid the price for it," Joe Gibbs said. "We'll get home, take a look at the film and see what we think." The first quarter was relatively uneventful for both teams, but Washington still managed to come away with a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by John Hall with 8:06 left in the quarter. But from that point on, it was all down hill for the Skins. Rams wide receiver Torry Holt led the way with seven catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Rookie running back Steven Jackson, a first-round pick (24th overall) out of Oregon State, was just as lethal on the ground, rushing 25 times for 125 yards and one touchdown. The Rams led the Skins at halftime, 14-3, behind Holt's 7-yard touchdown catch from Marc Bulger and backup quarterback Chris Chandler's 1-yard quarterback sneak. Jackson added his score in the third quarter and Chandler hit Shawn McDonald for a 35-yard score to give St. Louis a 28-3 lead. The fourth quarter was a snoozer and the Rams held on for an impressive 28-3 victory. "You could probably say we were disappointed in every single phase," Gibbs added. "We didn't run the ball well. I didn't feel like we did much on offense. On defense we struggled. It's hard to pick out one thing. I can't think on anything we really did well."
The Good Seriously, though, we have to be appreciative of the fact we didn't suffer any major injuries. Chris Samuels sprained his ankle, but the x-rays came back negative and he's not expected to miss the season opener against Tampa Bay on Sept. 12. That's definitely good news. The most impressive performance of the game for the Redskins was their special teams play. The Redskins punted six times, but only four of those were returned. And on those four returns, the Rams were held to a total of 15 yards. Washington punter Tom Tupa averaged 46.8 yards per punt including a 56-yarder. The success of the special teams in the preseason can be directly attributed to the position battles going on as the first preseason cuts near. Some guys know the only way to make the team is to make a name for themselves on special teams and that's just what they've done. More good; the offensive line didn't give up a sack. All three quarterbacks played in the game and while each got pressured by the Rams speedy defenders, none were sacked. Taylor Jacobs makes the "Good" and "Bad" sections this week. First, the good; he made a couple of nice catches and led all Redskin receivers with 49 yards. Sultan McCullough showed his versatility Friday night pulling down four catches for 23 yards to lead all Redskin running backs in receiving. Sticking with the running backs, Ladell Betts saw his first action of the preseason and on his first carry, he ran for 10 yards and a first down. Of course, he managed only five yards on three more carries, but he proved to the coaches that he can still hit the gap. Sean Taylor also makes two lists this week. His "Good" contribution was an interception at his own 5-yard line in the closing minutes of the first half, his fourth INT of the preseason. Joe Gibbs kept his promise and allowed Patrick Ramsey to compete for the starting job. And even after struggling in the first quarter, Gibbs kept the third-year quarterback in the game, giving Ramsey the opportunity to learn and take his lumps.
The Bad Taylor's indiscretion could have been costly. After picking off Chandler's pass at the Redskins 5-yard line with 36 seconds left in the first half, he tried to lateral the ball to Andre Lott, who was tackled at the 3 yard line. Lott was barely able to get possession of the ball because he wasn't expecting a lateral, especially since he was on his own goal line. That's a mistake Taylor won't make again. Ramsey, despite his respectable stats (5/10 for 81 yards), once again looked unsure and uncomfortable in Gibbs' offense. He made some poor decisions and if there was doubt in anyone's mind that Brunell will be the starting quarterback for this team, Ramsey's performance Friday night should put to rest any more talk of a quarterback competition in D.C. The secondary also has a lot to work on. Fred Smoot, the man who willingly accepted the role as Champ Bailey's successor, looked like a rookie against the Rams. He was assigned to cover Holt, but did a lot more chasing than defending. Granted, Holt is one of the most explosive receivers in the game today, but Smoot has talked the talk of a world class cornerback. Too bad he didn't walk the walk. The defensive front seven, while not playing poorly, didn't play particularly well either. Rarely did they put any pressure on Bulger or Chandler. Linebackers LaVar Arrington and Michael Barrow, and defensive end Phillip Daniels all sat out this game, so perhaps with those three in the lineup, Gregg Williams' defense could have been a little more disruptive to the Rams' offense.
The Ugly The entire game, from the Redskins' perspective, was ugly. There were very few positives, but as one SG.com poster (Hog Lover) commented during the game, it almost appeared as though Gibbs wanted his team to get kicked around a little, just to see how they would respond. He got his answer and it appears he has some more work to do before Sept. 12.
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