Recap: Redskins Downed By Pats 27-24

Images Courtesy of CSN

Well my score prediction was pretty damn close to being right. The wrong team put up 27, but that’s still pretty good. Last night was a mixed bag, but when you’re a middle-of-the-road team against the Patriots, that’s not such a bad thing in the preseason. I have that benefit of a Madden-like view in my FedEx seats, so last night afforded me a nice opportunity to compare how Tom Brady ran through his progressions in comparison to Jason Campbell. Campbell surprised me a bit last night. He was very methodical and didn’t seem to stare down his receivers. He kept a decent rhythm and saw the field pretty well. In the stadium, Campbell was knocked often for holding onto the ball too long (shocker), but JC actually managed to get the ball out most of the time. The only time he took shots, the secondary had great coverage, and there wasn’t a lot he could do. He also did a good job of avoiding staring down receivers. In comparison, Brady is just too damn good. I’ve only seen him play live once before, and he’s taken his game to such a higher level since the last time I saw him (which was early 2000s at some point…I’m too lazy to look it up). Don’t get me wrong, he’s always been good, but his ball placement was perfect for a guy that’s sat out for a year, and he was INCREDIBLE with staring down a receiver and delivering the ball to another guy. Once Randy Moss opened things up in the middle of the first, Brady used him as a decoy to perfection. It was damn impressive. Here are a few of the other things I noticed.

• Colt Brennan can only be an effective QB outside the Red Zone. The fact that his throws look like a gunshot don’t help his case near the goal line. Both of his interceptions (last week and this) in the red zone were bullets that actually needed some loft under them. When you hit NFL corners in the chest, they’re going to make you pay.
• Devin Thomas is running like a man on a mission. His kickoff returns even had a lot of intensity, and he looks like he has something to prove. He’s not blowing away people with his stats, but he certainly looks more focused than last year.
• LaRon Landry is a rangy player, but he can never replace the size of Sean Taylor. Taylor would have at least been able to contest Randy Moss on that second touchdown with his height. Brady just placed the ball perfectly over Landry into Mosses hands.
• Santana Moss just abused the New England corner on that play where Campbell overthrew him. His speed was just nasty on that play.
• The line seems to be gelling in pass protection. They’re giving Campbell at least 3-5 seconds to roll through his progressions, and that’s encouraging, but they have to get better with the run blocking.
• Marcus Mason SHOULD make this roster. He runs with a head of steam, he’s fast and he’s smart. He laid a wicked block on a New England corner on a screen pass, and I think he’s earned his keep.
• DJ Hackett played his way off the roster last night. While Colt didn’t throw an ideal ball on that pick, Hackett didn’t come back to the play AT ALL. Not a strong showing.
• Don’t get too alarmed with the secondary. Greg Blache gave the corner going against Randy Moss (typically DeAngelo Hall) help on one play, at best. Typically Moss was one-on-one or lined up in the slot and covered by a backer and a safety. Blache ran a very basic defense until late in the second corner, so I’m not panicking. It wasn’t an encouraging performance, but it wasn’t a season-defining performance either.

With regard to Patriots fans, they were very classy. And smart. I’ll lay off them for the time being. They knew when to clap, and when to shut up. They supported their team but weren’t obnoxious, and considering it was preseason, that’s pretty good. I’ve also figured out that the dumbest 1/3 of Redskin fans show up for preseason because they’re given tickets by season ticket holders. I can’t wait for regular season fans.

No thoughts from the mini-feed this week, since there weren’t any Pats fans that said anything stupid. Good for you New England. Just wait for Philly week. Speaking of Philly, there were three Eagles fans in my section heckling Pats fans and cheering for the Redskins. Three thoughts for those people:

• Get a life…spend your Friday night doing something better than attending a preseason game where your team is involved and screaming at a guy that isn’t even giving you crap. Plus beer is cheaper at home.
• You don’t have an argument. You’re talking crap to two organizations that have won a championship in the last 50 years…waste of time. Don’t feed me “what’s happened in the last 10 years” either. Your organization is three steps below the 1990s Braves. Not a whole lot to brag about.
• You spent your evening rooting for a division rival, against a non-conference team. That’s not fandom, it’s idiocy.

Also a random side note, I’ve been reading back through the comments, and it’s good to see people have posted a few. They’re definitely welcome. I don’t care if you disagree, you call me an idiot, or whatever…I don’t write this blog to have everyone tell me how amazing I am. Please, keep them coming.