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.

Preseason Week 3: New England

Preseason week three…if any preseason game means jack, it’s this one. Starters typically play at least a half and should be putting in the final tweaks to prepare for the regular season. I’ll be up in Landover again tonight, and there are a few things I’m looking for…

• Please don’t rain again. Misha and I stuck it out for the full game last week, and it was a soaked mess. I’d rather NOT sit in the rain again tonight.
• Jason Campbell HAS to show some accuracy and it has to be beyond the first down marker. It seems that Campbell has earned the reputation of a guy that can’t hit receivers downfield, and only completed over 60% of his passes last year because of check-downs. That’s a fair assessment right now. Campbell missed on two long ball shots last week (underestimating Malcolm Kelly’s speed, apparently…) and really didn’t contribute anything significant. This is his last true tune up if he doesn’t want to get worked in week 4. We should all pray that we don’t need to see more of him next week.
• Running Back competition: Dorsey or Mason…who steps up with Rock out of the lineup? This is their big audition.
• What can Albert Haynesworth do in a XXXL jersey? He complained that he couldn’t breathe well last week which is why he took fewer snaps. Let’s hope they made the jersey big enough this time so we can see #92 eat Mr. Butt Chin Brady for dinner.
• Thomas, Kelly, and Mitchell, can continue to inspire optimism, and will one of them take a step beyond Randle El and become the #2 guy? That would be ideal.
• The big grudge match of Daniel vs. Brennan will be one to watch, although the competition is overhyped/overvalued.
• Finally, can Brian Orakpo continue to impress? He’s gotten nothing but praise since he donned the burgundy and gold. Let’s see him pull some Osi Umenyiora moves on that New England line tonight.

I’m excited that I don’t have to deal with any Pittsburghers this week, as well as taking two of my teacher friends (although one is a Pats fan). It should be a good time. The only thing I can think of to give New England crap about is the fact that they cheated their way to their rings. Joe Gibbs would have never done that. I will always hate Bill Belichick for the way he ran the score up on ole Joe just to be a dick...oh and New England had about 1400 real fans before 2001. They were AT BEST third in the pecking order (behind the f*ckin' saaawxxxxx and the Celtics) until Tom Brady came around, so not many people from New England can claim that they're long-time dedicated fans. Oh and I hate them because Matt Wallace is a bandwagon fan and I like to see him suffer. That's right Matt...I hope butt chin breaks his leg tonight, just so I can be there to see it.

All that hate is in partial jest. It's just a preseason game, so let’s just hope the offense can look polished and the defense can continue to look dominant. A win would be nice, but isn't the be-all, end-all tonight.

Redskins 27
Patriots 24

Come on back for tomorrow...fun thoughts from the mini-feed and a recap.

Why Florida State and Miami Fans are Garbage

This is how empty Doak could be against Miami on Labor Day (just kidding...but seriously).

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the big grudge match between the Canes and Seminoles is not selling out, and isn’t even close to doing so in the near future. How is it that one of the country’s “best” rivalries can’t even manage to draw 80,000 plus people to Doak Campbell Stadium for a primetime matchup on national television? Because their fans collectively suck…that’s how. For two programs that have succeeded more than most others nationally over the last 25 years, their fans don’t do very much to support their teams. Andrew Carter offered a few reasons (read: excuses) why the game is not sold out to this point, and I felt it necessary to offer my opinion (argument against) each of them.

Reason No. 5: Florida State-Miami is more of a national rivalry than a local rivalry.

The rivalry might be impassioned on the field because there are a lot of Florida guys playing on each team and there is some bad blood between the two. However, fans have to make a rivalry as well. This is college football folks, and fans make it more fun than anything else. By saying that FSU-Miami is a national rivalry is to say that they both have bandwagon fans that latched onto their success in the ‘80s and ‘90s, without any loyalty of affiliation with the universities whatsoever. It’s like my friends that like the Patriots or the Lakers and always have some sort of BS excuse why they’re justified in being fans of those teams. The reason those guys have fans is because they win, not because there is any sort of loyalty there…we’ll see that arise again further down the list. People also argue that this still draws huge ratings no matter when it’s played, but I believe that’s at least partially due to schadenfreude. People tune in nationally to see what kind of train wreck kicker Bowden will send out to lose the game or to see whether or not Miami players will start a brawl…not because they care at all about either team or even who wins.

Reason No. 4: The economy is still bad.

You’ve got to be freaking kidding me with this one. If football fans care about their teams, they tend to find enough dough to go and check them out live, and if not, your 40,000 students should at least help the problem a little. You have teams in poorer areas of the country packing stadiums for lesser rivalries, and it’s a non-issue. Florida State-Miami should sell out regardless of the economic climate if the rivalry is such a big deal.

Reason No. 3: Tallahassee is remote enough – but seems more so for a weekday night game.

Yes, Monday isn’t ideal for fans, especially with work on Tuesday morning. Thursday is much better because people are more likely to take a Friday off…however, either way, I don’t believe it’s asking too much for a rivalry that’s supposed to be fierce. I would argue that over 70% of the Hokie alumni base resides in either the DC area or Richmond/Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach, which puts them at least three hours away (but usually 4+). Most of those people cannot just leave work on Thursday afternoon and get to the night game on time, so they have to deal with taking two days off, and somehow Lane is always wilder on Thursdays. Also, if you want to compare boring I-10 and eighteen-wheeler-filled I-81 at night, I don’t think either is a picnic for fans to navigate. There are plenty of schools in the “middle of nowhere” that don’t have trouble putting butts in seats.

Reason No. 2: Doak Campbell Stadium is too big.

Bull. For a team that spent the ‘90s and early ‘00s in the top 5 (and winning conference championships EVERY season), 80,000 seats should be no trouble to fill up. Their alumni base is large (considering their enrollment) and less-storied programs fill up bigger stadiums for lesser games.

Reason No. 1: Florida State isn’t back. Not yet.

So you don’t show up because your team wins at least eight games a season with the second-winningest coach in college football? For a program that has supposedly elite talent and great tradition. If you don’t come to games because your team isn’t in the national championship every season, go burn your Seminole/Cane gear right now. It’s not called having high standards; it’s called being a bandwagon fan. No team in the history of anything has won a championship (or played for one) every year of its existence, and to think that they should is not only extremely arrogant, but ignorant. At the very least, show up to boo what you consider to be poor effort/performance out on the field. Show your disapproval as a fan to get some change into the program. If that was the philosophy of the other 118 schools in the country, college football never make any money and wouldn’t exist in the state it does today.

FSU and Miami fans try to throw out the “there’s nothing to do in Blacksburg” argument in Hokie fans’ faces on this one, and that’s also complete bullshit. If you put the same fans and same program in Miami, the stadium would still be packed, because we have a legitimate alumni/fanbase that cares about the school and the program. I’ll give FSU fans a little more credit in not being ignorant when it comes to arguments with other programs (and FSU has owned the Hokies for the last 40 years), but to say that either FSU or Miami is a better program that Virginia Tech RIGHT NOW is a joke, and their fans indicate that with their poor attendance. Show up to some games and then come talk to me guys. Until then, your schools, your programs and your “rivalry” are all jokes.