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SKINSGRIDIRON EXCLUSIVES
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Ashburn - What a long, strange and exciting preseason it's been for the Redskins. Joe Gibbs' first game of his second term was a victory before the first snap. The Skins, in an unimpressive and "vanilla" showing, beat the Denver Broncos on a last-second field goal by Ola Kimrin, who was cut over the weekend. Unimpressive or not, Gibbs was back. Coach Joe's first game in FedEx Field was spine-tingling for Redskins fans everywhere, especially the faithful, who braved torrential downpours to see the third-string quarterback Tim Hasselbeck throw two interceptions, helping the Carolina Panthers beat the Skins, 23-20, in overtime. Next up, a dominating performance in Miami against a Dolphins team that was still reeling from the sudden retirement of running back Ricky Williams, who'd rather take a bong hit in Cambodia, than take a hit from a linebacker. Then they lost newly signed wide receiver David Boston for the season. The Skins pounced on an injury-riddled secondary and blanked the Dolphins 17-0. Just when the Redskins fans were hearing increased chatter about a Super Bowl season, Gibbs' took his team on the road to St. Louis where the Rams torched the Skins' secondary, Fred Smoot in particular. Torry Holt was unstoppable as the Rams went on to win, 28-3. Hey, maybe that Miami game was a fluke? Finally, there were the Atlanta Falcons and Michael Vick, who hadn't seen much preseason action because of a tender hamstring. Vick looked mortal in his two series, turning the ball over twice while under extreme duress. First, he threw an ill-advised pass to avoid the sack, but it was picked off and set up a Redskins touchdown. The second series, Vick got jacked by LaVar Arrington and fumbled the ball. The Redskins recovered and later scored. Final score: Redskins 27, Falcons 0. As we embark on the final Good, Bad and Ugly of the preseason, let us keep in mind that the preseason means absolutely nothing. Repeat, the preseason means nada. With that bit of knowledge firmly lodged in our craniums, we may proceed.
The Good Danny Smith has done an outstanding job with the special teams. Essentially what Gibbs has asked him to do is to convince a bunch of second- and third-teamers that their only real shot at making the team was to play their guts out on special teams. And after a slow start, they finished strong, limiting opponents to single digit returns and laying some smack down with some highlight reel hits. Defensively, Gregg Williams seems to be doing a great job, especially with the d-line. Considering he has no real experience at that position and no big names (other than Phil Daniels who hasn't played much because of an abdominal strain), they've managed to get some decent pressure and force opposing quarterbacks to make some bad decisions. And aside from the Rams' Steven Jackson, who rushed for 125 yards, the line held up pretty well. LaVar Arrington and Marcus Washington were flying all over the place, delivering bone-breaking hits and loving every minute of it. LaVar on the loose means bad things for quarterbacks, just ask Mike Vick, who's still trying pulling yellow out of his teeth from that hit Arrington laid on him. And of course, there's the secondary, which played well except for the disaster in St. Louis. Smoot played well before and after the Rams game, which he probably needed to knock his ego back down a notch. Sean Taylor has played very well, but again, against the Rams, he looked like a rookie and that was a good thing according to Williams who wanted Taylor's ego to get checked before the regular season. There's nothing like playing the Greatest Show on Turf to give your team a dose of humility. The first half of the preseason the offensive line could have been in the "Bad" section, but their play in the last couple of games moved them to the "Good" in my mind. Despite the injuries and lack of experienced backups, Joe Bugel has apparently worked another miracle with this group and if they continue to play as they have, Mark Brunell shouldn't have much to worry about. Even the rookies looked good! It may be too early to say this, but Bugel may be a genius.
The Bad The running backs didn't look terribly impressive and I don't believe we had a single 100-yard game during the preseason. Again, I realize it's the preseason, but based on what we saw, there's nothing to rave about right now. Going into Sunday's game against Tampa Bay, we have Clinton Portis, who isn't the bruising back the Gibbs would prefer in his running-oriented attack. And I've said this since the Skins traded for him, I'm not sold on Portis in this offense. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think he's the "can't miss" that everyone seems to think he is. His backup is most likely Ladell Betts, who's had a tough time staying healthy this preseason, so it remains to be seen what he can do in a regular season game. Likely, he'll be a third-and-short back, while Portis is the every-down running back. Behind those guys is Chad Morton, who showed absolutely nothing this preseason, and Rock Cartwright, the converted fullback. I wouldn't expect to see either of these guys in the backfield much this season unless Portis or Betts is injured.
The Ugly So, no "Ugly" this week from the team. But I will give an "Ugly" rating to Dan Snyder, overpriced concessions, partially obstructed seats, $25 parking and the second most expensive seats in the NFL for three years running. Does it stop us from seeing our beloved Burgundy and Gold? Hail (to the Redskins) no!
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