Vision Quest: Have QB Controversy, will travel

Billy Kilmer vs. Sony Jurgenson, Sonny Jurgenson vs. Joe Theisman, Jay Schroeder vs. Doug Williams, Mark Rypien Vs. Stan Humphiries, Gus Ferrotte vs. Heath Miller, Brad Johnson vs. Jeff George. The only thing the Redskin fans savor more then a QB controversy is a win over Dallas. Well the Redskins have one of their wishes and oddly enough it is on the eve of their chance to get another.

After relieving Patrick Ramsey during the first game of the season the day many Redskin fans saw coming happened. Mark Brunell has replaced Patrick Ramsey as the starter. A year ago it looked as Brunell was washed up and unable to play the game. Honestly, I am not so sure he is much better. But Ramsey has not progressed in 4 years with the team and so he is out and Brunell is in.

But that is not the only changes going on here at Redskin Park. Antonio Brown, after being touted as not only the return man for the Redskins but a candidate for the third WR spot has been released after fumbling last game. Brandon Noble is looking at possibly season ending knee surgery, again. Jon Hall strained his quad, again, and we signed a rookie kicker to possibly replace him.

What the ****Censored by Spence**** is going on at Redskin Park?

Look I understand the Ramsey benching. Hell I even agree with it. And despite what many fans are saying, Gibbs gave Ramsey every chance to improve and he didn’t. He went out and got small fast receivers to run deeper routes to take advantage of Ramsey’s arm. He installed the shotgun formation specifically for Ramsey, as the more mobile Brunell and Campbell don’t need to use it.

But Ramsey continued to stare down his primary receiver, throw silly interceptions, and Hold onto the ball too long. Coach Gibbs must have been silently eating his words proclaiming Ramsey to be the anointed starter this year. This shows with the Campbell selection in this year’s draft and Ramsey getting the hook faster then a mime on “The Gong Show”. Joe is a Christian and I know for a fact he never wished for Ramsey to get injured, but I think part of him is relieved it happened because it gave him his excuse to switch to Brunell.

This is a simple decision for Coach Gibbs. Start Ramsey and with that you have the possibility of interceptions as well as great plays. Or Start Brunell who brings experience and offers mistake free unspectacular play. With Ramsey you have to worry about resigning him after next year. With Brunell you can look forward to him retiring and easing Campbell into the starting job.

Our defense is so good that Brunell might be the smart choice. We only need to look at the Ravens and Trent Dilfer for proof that a team with a stellar defense, decent running game and a sub-par but mistake free quarterback can make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. And Brunell may not make many plays but he won’t throw interceptions in the end zone on a consistent basis either.

My only real criticism of the move is a case of hindsight being 20/20. However the criticism itself is strong enough to warrant consideration. If Gibbs did not like Ramsey from the very start why did he keep him? It is very clear now that Gibbs never wanted Ramsey to be the QB in DC. He should have taken the first round pick offered by Miami for Ramsey before the 2004 season. Now league sources are indicating Ramsey’s trade value being no more then a 6th or 7th rounder.

For now I trust in Gibbs and hope Brunell is recovered from the hamstring injury from last year. I also hope Betts and Portis are limber and ready to go. Before the season is over we could run the wishbone with Cooley as the third back.

Dallas Week is here!!!

Only a QB controversy can push the Dallas game to the second headline. But then again a hurricane has moved the game itself to an also-ran on Monday Night.

What has happened to this rivalry? It was once the penultimate of grudge matches. The match-ups during the 80’s and the 90’s always were about playoff positioning and setting up your season for a run at the title. Future Hall of Famers, and should be HOFers (Art Monk thank you), were on both teams. The overall series was even and master coaches were on both sidelines.

Right now only thee master coaches part ring true. An unfortunately the Redskins are to blame for most of this. With only one playoff year in 12 seasons the Redskins have not been a competitive rival. At the start of the 1996 season the Cowboys lead the Redskins in the overall series by 40-33-2. Not bad for a rivalry. One team with a slight edge but the other very respectable. The Redskins then lost 14 of the next 15 games. 8 long years on inadequacy. The last victory? A meaningless victory during Spurrier’s rookie coaching year. The series now stands at 54-34-2. How bad is that? France’s army looks at that winning percentage and says “Sacre bleu that is a bad!”

Is this the year we are going to turn it around? I don’t know. On paper we are a better team. We have a great defense; the Cowboys are struggling with the transition to the 3-4. Our offense, believe it or not, is better then theirs. We should win this game, but in my mid we should of won the last 14 out of 15 as well. We always find a way to lose.

And the last year was no exception. Our first game Mark Brunell played one of his finest games leading the Redskins to an 18-18 tie with 4:30 to go. However Dallas’s next drive took up all but 21 seconds and they kicked the go ahead field goal. Rod Gardner caught (yes I said caught) a desperate 46-yard pass to get to the Dallas 21 but could not get out of bounds and the Redskins had no timeouts. Game over.

Then there was the second game. Leading 10-6 with 55 seconds to go the Redskins were looking to not only win against the Cowboys but the possibility of a playoff spot on the line. However Patrick Crayton left wide open scored on a 39 yard pass from walking zombie Vinny Testaverde. It left the Redskins listless and most fans with a pit the size of Parcell’s head in their stomach.

Dallas is so assured of a victory they have decided to hold their “Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime. They are going to honor Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and others ****Censored by Spence****’s when we come to play them, their supposed rivals. This is their NFL equivalent of the “Homecoming Game” and we are Ball St. This is a slap in the face and the Redskins should be mad as hell. I would pay real money for Lavar to come charging out of the tunnel at halftime and talking Troy Aikman off the podium knocking him out of the ceremony.

Now, early in this season, is a must win game for our Redskins. They need to win this game, not just because of the Rivalry. Not just because of last year’s losses. Not just because they need to settle their QB situation. They need to win it because of us, the fans. Because we need a sign that this season is different then the last 8. They need to send a message to the rest of the NFL that this is the first step at returning to glory of our past.

And most of all to regain our honor and glory that once was the Washington Redskin Football team.

Keys to Winning against the Cowboys

As usual here are my 5 offensive and 5 defensive keys to winning the game.

OFFENSE

1.) Take advantage of the new Cowboy 3-4 Defense. I hate the 3-4 defense. I don’t understand the sudden fascination with it in the NFL. It is one of the main reasons the NFC dominated the AFC in Super Bowls during the 80’s and 90’s (the other two are Denver and Buffalo). With only three down lineman a patient and productive between the tackle running attack is more then effective. Run Portis and Betts up the middle and when the LB’s creep in, run a few screens and stretch plays to keep them honest.

2.) Field Goals are not good enough, get touchdowns. Ok this one gets the obvious key of the week. Score more points, duh! But with last week not scoring a TD and only 3 FG’s in a win against the Bears and a possible rookie Kicker in Nick Novak (if Hall remains injured) and a rookie holder in P Andy Groom, we just can’t rely on the FG’s to be good let alone hold up.

3.) Get Cooley going early. Although most of the offensive plays should be run plays, use Coley in short and medium route to keep the linebackers off the line of scrimmage. Cooley is a budding superstar, as well as a stud Cheerleader magnet (it just does not get old). Moving him around in different sets and spreading him out at times will confuse the defense and open running space. Getting a one-on one Match-up on Demarcus Ware who is learning the 3-4 defense after being a 4-3 DE is essential.

4.) Don’t change the Game Plan entirely. We spent the entire off season getting speedy receivers to get downfield. We need to find a way to connect on a few downfield passes. Brunell may not be as accurate over 20 yards as Ramsey but we need to stretch the field to keep Williams from making it a 3-5 defense instead of a 3-4. Send Patten and Moss long on occasion early on.

5.) Game management is key. Get the plays in on time and do not waste timeouts early. In addition try to control the clock by making first downs and running the clock as much as possible. These two things rely on fast decision making and proper route running. If it is 3rd and 4 do not run 2 yard curl routes for heavens sake.

DEFENSE

1.) The QB must go down and he must go down hard. Apparently Vinny Testaverde was too fleet footed for Bill Parcells so he went with Drew Bledsoe. Drew Bledsoe is about as fleet footed as the George Washington monument. Greg Williams lives for this kind of QB. Blitz packages you have never seen before are being thought up right now somewhere in Redskins Park. Watch for all the stops to be pulled out. Corner blitz, safety blitz, delayed blitz, water boy blitz….everything on every play.

2.) Julius Jones cannot get traction. This guy has to be the most overrated young running back in the NFL. He is a decent running back, but not the monster everyone was talking about at the end of last year. The Cowboys are going to try and get Bledsoe some time by running the ball to offset the blitz. The front 4 need to shut down running lanes and allow the safeties and linebackers to swarm and fill.

3.) Don’t Key on Keyshawn, he ain’t that good. This one is for you Taylor. DO not get obsessed with Johnson’s trash talk and forget about your coverage. Keyshawn is a shadow of his former self and one in a long line of former Jet’s receivers who just can not get it done anymore (Hey Coles how is the toe). If you look at the game tape of Crayton scoring Springs is expecting deep help and lets Crayton go, Taylor is over double teaming Keyshawn. Taylor needs to keep Keyshawn in mind but play the whole field, not one bad mouthed washed up receiver.

4.) The Front four needs to create pressure. On the occasions we do not blitz the front four needs to generate some kind of pass rush. Any time we rushed 4 down linemen or 3 down linemen against the Bears we got no pressure at all. Drew Bledsoe is too good of a QB for that and you can not blitz all the time. The front four must get some kind of pressure on its own.

5.) Don’t get complacent. This is Dallas. No lead is safe when they are playing the redskins. The Redskins can not let up even for one second. It will be a miracle if the offense gives you a two possession cushion. And they can’t be counted on for long drives to win the game. The defense must punish the Cowboys on each and every series.

OVERALL

DO NOT PLAY TO THEIR LEVEL. If this sounds familiar it is because it is. The Cowboys are not as talented as our team. Period. We have the edge at everything but QB and defensive line, and the margin there is not that big. We played well against the Bears but should have dominated. We should win this game despite what Vegas or the other experts say. Time to go out and prove it.

Hail Redskins!!!!