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Redskins Anonymous

Well the name about sums it up, but here's a video my cousin Scott sent along to me with the tagline "I can't believe it's come to this." Me either buddy. Me either.

Stop Wearing Football Jerseys: Caps Beat Thrash 5-4

I'm growing a little tired of listing scores like 5-4, 6-5, 6-4, 4-3. This Caps team is so damn good, and so infuriating at the same time. I should have known better than to pack it in after Chris Clark's tally put DC up 5-2 in the second period. Between our erratic goaltender and our undisciplined play, there was no way that score would hold up. Shocker...it didn't. Here are my thoughts of the night:

• Ilya Kovalchuk is good. Really good. So when you feed him the puck (stares at Keith Aucoin) in the high slot, he's probably going to bury it. I bet he felt two feet tall after that giveaway...oh wait...


• He looked two feet tall standing up against Antropov after the big red diving machine gave him a little bit of a cheap shoulder in the third. I didn't mean to offend Aucoin with that little height joke, and I like his guts in standing up for himself. Nice pass on the Giroux goal too.


• Brendan Morrison continues to impress me with the little things he does. He had some nice backchecks last night, and really seems to be playing with some consistency, even when he doesn't show up on the scoresheet.


• Speaking of the scoresheet, where has Nicklas Backstrom been? The top line looked lame last night, so thank God for secondary scoring.


• The power play was garbage, and so was the ice. I agree with Boudreau, but I don't know that we have room to talk on the ice condition issue.

I think the penalties are maddening, and although you can yell at the refs for that slashing call on Knuble, it didn't surprise me. The Caps are not only shooting themselves in their proverbial foot at the end of games, but they're now maintaining a reputation for stupid, sloppy play in the third. I think that had a lot to do with the quick whistles down the stretch last night. I don't think a disciplined team doesn't get called for slashing or cross-checking in the same situations. That is the most concerning thing about this loss. Boudreau's run the boys down in practice Herb Brooks-style, and that obviously hasn't done the job. What can he do to alleviate the problem? I say fines. I don't know if that's possible, but fining a guy for a third-period penalty makes me think they would get the message quickly. But that's why I'm behind a computer and Boudreau gets to make ASC commercials, I guess. Get it fixed Gabby.

Kudos Go To:

Eric Fehr. Fehrsie has looked like a man trying to save his job, and it finally paid off last night. Sick hands on that goal. He's also been flying around the net a lot more lately, which I'm sure has a lot to do with #22. Secondary props to Double Nickel on the 3-spot (even if the goal wasn't his), and Clarkie for getting on the score sheet. Does Matt Bradley really have 3 goals already?

Small Delay

Hey guys...there are big things coming around the bend for FFODC, but that's going to require some extra time away from posting over the next few days from me. I promise that it will be worth it. I'll still have my ReCap after the Atlanta game tomorrow morning, but it's a good weekend to get this done with the Skins and Hokies off. Thanks for your patience!

2009-2010 Wizards Preview

So I've kept the Wizards chatter to a minimum, mostly because there hasn't been a ton to talk about with Gilbert's recent "silence." Of course the beginning of football season paired with hockey has taken a little away from the Wiz hype as well. Maybe I'd be more excited if they were the Bullets again. At any rate, the season is now a week away, and with a Redskin/Hokie/Capital bye week, why not give the Bullets their love? Here are some major questions facing the Wizards this season and some things to watch for:

• Coaching...how will Flip Saunders manage the egos and playing time of this roster? As some people have noted, the Wiz are basically a collection of swingmen and scorers, so who gets the minutes? Will Mike Miller become a starter or stay a sixth man? What about "defensive minded" resident psycho DeShawn Stevenson? Will he and his neck tattoos see slashed minutes this season? Will he be able to push Randy Foye and Andray Blatche to their potential productivity? All of these are big questions entering the season with Flip at the helm.
• Depth...speaking of roster management, last season saw Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Dominic McGuire, and Blatche gain some experience with significant injuries. How valuable that experience was comes in to question when you consider that those guys were playing for a lame-duck coach and didn't show a ton of progress as the season slogged on. Will these guys be able to fight their way into a regular rotation, or will they give up their minutes easily to Foye and Miller? Each of these guys is under 25, and the competition has to be helpful for a team that seemed a bit complacent before all the injuries set in.
• Consistency...can the Wizards remember how to win right out of the gate or will they stumble. Once they figure it out, can they maintain a high level of play? Everyone seems to think that they're a lock to be the NBA's most improved team this season, but how they respond to being kicked around for the entire 2008-2009 season will be a story to watch. If they can establish consistency against bad teams (something they couldn't do last year), as well as grab a few pelts from the Bostons, Clevelands and Orlandos of the world, it could be a good season.

The biggest story of the season will easily be the Arenas/Haywood recovery process. How will they perform? Will their presence, plus solid coaching from Saunders allow them to challenge the elite teams in the East, or will their talent alone carry them to a low seed in the conference? Overall, I have to think the season will go somewhere in between. You have to think that the "big three" of Caron, Gilbert and Antawn (considering injury) have lost at least a step since their heyday a few years ago, so it's hard to expect any more than a 4-5 seed in the East. However, while they might not be as good, it seems that the depth (and overall youth) has improved as a result of decent drafting and dealing. Will that be enough to be the best of the non-elite in the East? I think so. I think the best case scenario is for the Wiz to challenge a 50 win season, while the worst is another injury plagued year where they struggle to hit 35. I believe with their talent, they should fall somewhere in between. I'll go with the high side and make my prediction for the season:

44-38, 5th in the Eastern Conference, lose in Eastern Conference Semifinals