Vision Quest: An Open Letter to the Fans at Fed-Ex

Dear Fed-ex Fans,

Thank you.

Seriously, Thank you.

You won the game for the Redskins with an impressive performance late in the game, and on behalf of all those watching our beloved in enemy territory we salute you.

As many of you know I live in Upstate NY. The regional fox station here in Syracuse, NY plays the NY Giants game whenever they are on, and if they are not Philadelphia gets heavy play due to Donovan McNabb playing college here at SU. Even when the Redskins play an AFC team I have to hope the Bills and the Jets are not playing at the same time.

So as you can see I barely get to see a game at home. Unless it is Monday Night, Sunday Night, Thanksgiving or my annual trip to DC (this year November 20th Oakland can’t wait) I am relegated to the local sports bar more often then not. But that is not so bad. There are about a dozen Redskin fans that go there early in the season, and lately only six of us that are dedicated enough to be there at the end also. We get there early and try and get the best TV in the house and oh yeah, we are the loudest and most proud of all the fans in the joint.

This week though we were supposed to be on the TV. Fox, meaning the NFC, had the doubleheader. The Giants were on at 4 and the Eagles are playing on Monday. Bears at Redskins were the national game and I was at home with my Dog ready to watch. I even had arranged for my Wife and 16-year-old daughter who hate football to go school cloth shopping while I watched the game. And as Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey were singing I felt everything was perfect. Everything but Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey singing. (Seriously I know they can both sing and are eye candy to both men and women, but they butchered America the Beautiful. Why can’t pop stars just sing without all this modulation in their voice?).

But then a feeling came over me. The last time I felt it was right before Testaverde threw that long bomb to beat us in the last minute last year. I asked my wife to wait for the game to start because we are a one-car family and I just felt that despite my Cable guide, TV guide and today’s paper all assuring me the Redskins game would be pre-empted. And it was sure enough. The local station decided to play the Carolina – New Orleans game.

So up off the couch I sprung, changed out of my sweats and into some jeans and un-showered and smelly my wife drove me to the local sports bar where sure enough the gang came stumbling in one by one. All with close to the same story to tell. I missed the first quarter of the game thanks to the local station manager’s “FEMA like” decision-making abilities. But then again I missed Ramsey’s interception too so there is a silver lining.

Why did I decide to write an open letter thanking the fans at FedEx for the win? Well with 7:38 left in the Fourth quarter and the Redskins up 9 to 7 the Chicago Bears were driving for the go ahead score. It was 2nd and 13 on the Washington 37. The Bears just needed 10 yards to assure the go-ahead field goal. But the crowd came alive. First the offensive tackle Fred Miller false started. 2nd and 18. The crowd got even louder. Then the other offensive tackle committed a false start. 2nd and 23. The crowd roared with RFK like frenzy. Then the offensive Guard Reuben Brown committed the third false start in a row. 2nd and 28. In three plays the 12th man killed the best chance Chicago had at coming back. Fired up by the crown Demetric Evans sacked Kyle Orton making it an impossible to convert 3rd and 28. A feeble pass to Muhammad fell incomplete and the Bears had to punt.

So Fed Ex. I chalk this win up to you. It reminded me of the days I would see RFK’s stands shaking with excitement and frenzy. You got the guys up in Syracuse fired up and showed that 90k people cheering as one can actually will a team to win. And you guys did it. I can’t wait to join you in November.

Pass or Fail

Saturday I listed five offensive and defensive keys to winning the game. Each week I will try and re-examine them giving the Redskins a simple Pass, Fail or incomplete.

Offensive Keys

1.) Ramsey INCOMPLETE
Sure he threw an interception early and was kind of ineffective, but he went out too early in the game to give a complete grade to. I am not sure if he will be back against the Cowboys this week. Gibbs isn’t either. He did pass for more yards and a better comp % then Brunell, but it seemed like Brunell made better decisions.

2.) Clinton Portis needs to get started early and often FAIL
Portis may have finished strong but he surely did not start that way. In the first quarter he had 7 attempts for 10 yards. It is a testament to how he finished the game that he ended up with 21 carries for 121 yards. However his slow start kept us from moving the ball early and establishing a dominant lead.

3.) Moss, Patten, and the other small guys need to establish the ability to gain separation in both short and long routes. PASSED
The receivers consistently got open on short and long routes. The problem was the QBs didn’t get it to them. However when the passes got there the receivers had running room. Moss was the A student here. He owned the field and showed why we traded him for Coles (by the way Coles had 6 catches for 66 yards, Moss 4 for 96. Get used to that 10-11 YPC average Jets fans…I still say we got the better in the trade.).

4.) Offensive line must protect Ramsey. FAIL
Ramsey was under constant pressure. It may have been his fault, and it may have been the anemic running game under him. However before he went down to injury he was under constant pressure. Brunell seemed to move better and the line picked up the blitzes, but for Ramsey for whatever reason, the protection was not there.

5.) Run Screens to keep Urlacher at bay. FAIL
I did not see one screen all day long. A couple of dump passes to Patten do not count. When the Redskins run the screen they open up running and passing lanes, period. They didn’t so it this game and that is why we scored 9 points.

DEFENSE

1.) Introduce Kyle Orton to the Turf. FAIL
Only 2 sacks on the day, but Orton was not under constant pressure. Many times Williams rushed only three guys and they rarely got near Orton. The front four needs to generate more pressure on the QB and the blitzes have to be more effective.

2.) Be Aware of Mohammad but do not lose focus of other receivers. PASS
The Redskins always seemed to be around the receiver when they caught the ball. There were a few miscommunications but with no reception over 22 yards, the secondary did the job. Especially when you consider the little pass rush they had to work with.

3.) Do not let Thomas Jones get started. PASS
Jones had 15 rushes for 31 yards and the 1 TD came courtesy of Antonio Brown (more on him later). In addition Benson had 3 rushes for 10 yards. The Redskins shut down the run all day and controlled the line of scrimmage. Defenders flowed to the ball and gang tackled the runners. It was the most effective part of the defense.

4.) Daniels needs to show up. PASS
Daniels only had two tackles but he had a couple of QB hurries and occupied blockers to allow LBS to fill and stop the run. I give him a passing grade, but just barely.

5.) Let Lavar loose. FAIL
For whatever reason the Redskins are still playing Holdman more then Lavar. The regular season has started, time to stop the bringing along slowly plan. Lavar had only 1 tackle in the game. He was somewhat effective rushing the passer but not nearly enough. Bringing Lavar in on passing downs allows opponents to game plan for him. Keeping him in there all the time will not allow opponents to keep an eye on him all the time. I know Holdman had the tip that set up the Lemar Marshall interception; still Lavar needs to start and play 90% of the snaps. It is what we pay him for.

OVERALL POINT: Do not play to the level of your opponent. FAIL!!!!!!!!!!!
Disgusting. They did it again. Chicago should not be even in our league. Starting a 4th round rookie QB we should have been all over them. This should have been 28-0, not 9-7. Stupid mistakes and a lackluster offense once again lead to a win but barely to a team that is not our equal talent wise. Next week we got a big test in Dallas. We need to come with our A game. If not it could get ugly next week.

Goats and Heroes

OFFENSE

HERO: Clinton Portis GOAT: Patrick Ramsey
21 carries for 121 yards 6/11 105 YDS 1 INT 1 FUM

Clinton Portis may have gotten off to a slow start but he absolutely showed up for the rest of the game. The 41-yard run when the Redskins were backed up against the end zone at the end of the third quarter was nothing less then a game saver. Ramsey though was responsible for two turnovers even though one was a result of an uncalled illegal hit. However when you are the anointed starter you have to come up better then that.

DEFENSE

HERO: Marcus Washington GOAT: The Referees
7 tackles n/a

Marcus Washington once again showed why he is the only pro-bowler from last year’s squad. He may go down as the best free agent signing Snyder has had so far. He was all over the field and even applied pressure several times. I know it is early to start complaining about officials but I have never seen so much holding not called since Cooley’s cheerleader fiasco. If this keeps up, whoever is our QB should pull an Adam Sandler and start drilling Zebras left and right. As a bonus the Cooley Pass interference call was pure ****Censored By Spence****. Last time I looked when the contact happens after 5 yards and it is initiated by the Defense, which it was, it is either incidental or defensive pass interference.

SPECIAL TEAMS

HERO: John Hall GOAT: Antonio Brown
3/3 Field Goals (40,43,19) 2 Punt Returns 2.5 Avg.
1 KO Return 16 YDs
Lost Fumble

Hall might have been the offensive MVP to. I hope his quad pull will heal because we need his strong leg next week. Otherwise Chandler better not move to Sweden. Antonio Brown could be looking at losing his roster spot here. Gibbs intimated that Betts might be the guy to take kickoff returns from now on. If Brown does not show some offensive abilities he could be in trouble.

That's it. I will have keys to beating Dallas next weekend. Until then dream of Cowboys being scalped.