Thoughts from the Mini-Feed: Redskins WIN 17-13

Images Courtesy of CSN

So after sitting in the rain for 2+ hours leading up to and through kickoff, I was able to take in a pretty decent game last night. It felt good to be back in the old seats, and despite the obvious lack of character at FedEx, I did feel very at home. However, before we get to the football aspects of last night, I’m going to take a few paragraphs to paint a picture of last night’s game environment for you.

According to Steinberg, the crowd was about 60-40 in favor of the home team. I would tend to agree. I did see a lot of stupid yellow towels, but they were definitely outmatched in terms of cheers when the teams were introduced. My section probably had about the same ratio, but there were certainly some interesting sights before and during the game. I did spot one dude in a DeSean Jackson Eagles Jersey with a Steelers Super Bowl Champs hat down to my left (I would have snapped a picture but it would have been a little TOO obvious). The Steeler fans were VERY antagonistic towards the Redskin fans, and the Redskin fans did not back down. There were a few fights, and a few tongue-lashings, but nothing too major. Every argument ended in the same six-fingered gesture from every Pittsburgh fan (see item #3 from yesterday). By the looks of them, it didn’t seem as though some were even capable of counting to six, so I came off mildly impressed.

Don’t get me wrong…Steeler Nation can be very dedicated and very loud, and I commend them for that. However, coming from a rabid fan base in Blacksburg, I know that there are certain ways to handle being a group of crazy fans. First of all, Pittsburghers cheered louder when the Steelers ran out for their opening drills, they drew some solid cheers and a good smattering of boos. However, they cheered at least twice as loud when the team started stretching...WHAT? They seemed to cheer for really stupid things (hence my tweet that they act like they’ve won a championship when Hines Ward bends over to tie his shoes), and don’t cheer at the right times. I cannot count how many times they added to the crowd noise when they were on OFFENSE and trying to call/run a play. If they’re going to be loud and obnoxious, at least they could channel it into disrupting the opposing team’s offense. Speaking of their intelligence, two guys in the front of my section decided they were going to fly a Steeler flag, but the first 3-4 times they put it up to wave it, they held it upside down. When a nice gentleman in a Clinton Portis jersey decided to point out their mistake, one of the gentlemen decided to jump into a towel waving clinic, yelling and cussing while gyrating his hips and twirling his cool yellow towel. Needless to say, he looked VERY intimidating and badass.

This leads me to Mrs. Quiet Steeler fan sitting in front of me. Keep in mind that I know I can be very loud, and very obnoxious when provoked, but I was not even that dialed in last night (after all, it was only preseason). I did not have a drop of alcohol in my system, nor was I cussing or using offensive language. My meanest comments during the game were “Six and Pitts don’t rhyme!!” and “Go back to Pittsburgh.” At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the middle aged woman sitting the row in front of us (and a few seats over) decided to pipe up after my “wow, you can count to six” comment. She turned around and said “Can you please SHUT UP?! I’ve had to listen to your crap all game!” After posing the fact that I wasn’t being obscene, she told me that she wanted to “enjoy the game in some peace and quiet.” Peace and quiet. At a professional football game. Right.

She then tried to say that I hadn’t said cheered for the Redskins at all and that I was rude, and I proceeded to remind her that she was an opposing fan in a different stadium, not at Heinz Field, and if she had a problem with it she should go back to Western Pennsylvania. She then admitted that she was actually from DC and then threw up a “talk to the hand” before I could retort. Misha and I spent the rest of the game cheering as loud as humanly possible in a positive way for the Redskins, and I think it made her ears bleed. Awesome.

Now outside of the circus in the stadium, there was actually a football game, and these were just a few of my observations:

• Jason Campbell was not sharp, but I’m not ready to write him off after at least two of his plays were blown up by Troy Polamalu. One of them was a breakup that only Ed Reed and Adrian Wilson could have duplicated.
• Chase Daniel has a firm grip on the number 3 spot over Colt Brennan right now, and Brennan looks almost lazy and bored in the pocket. His interception was terrible.
• Brian Orakpo is the real deal, and he looked much faster in person. He’s got a great motor and has a bright future, especially with that group in front of him playing the way they did.
• Speaking of the D-line, Haynesworth ate at least two blockers on the first series, and was VERY disruptive overall. Jeremy Jarmon also had a great motor and was consistent in giving the Steeler offensive line a handful.
• Kevin Barnes had a great pass breakup in the third corner and looked good in coverage most of the night.
• Justin Tryon is still terrible.
• Marko Mitchell has to be the clear #5 wide receiver. I haven’t seen the Redskins complete a fade pass for a touchdown since…well probably Art Monk.
• The third and long defense was terrible, just like much of last year, and our linebackers did not do a good job of dealing with Dennis Dixon’s mobility.
• DeAngelo Hall had no business drawing a flag for unnecessary roughness when he hit Heath Miller about .02 seconds after the ball passed by him. Surprise surprise, a Wahoo can’t take a hit from a Hokie, even in the NFL.
• The run game looked really solid overall, and the coaches have a tough decision to make with regards to who to keep. Dorsey and Mason both look solid.
• Nice bounce back game Fred Davis, one forced fumble and one touchdown. Guess you can’t fumble when you catch it in the endzone!

Overall I was very encouraged by the performance, and I think that they’ll continue to improve. The effort and energy levels weren’t in the same league as last week, and they really came out to play last night. The offensive starters are expected to play AT LEAST the first half next week, and could go longer. We’ll really get an idea of where they stand after Friday.

I’ll leave you all with my mini-feed posts (which were live tweets from the game) and responses from Steeler fans. It got a little out of hand to say the least.

Me: i wonder if anyone's told burghers that 'pitts' and 'six' don't rhyme

Steeler “Fan” #1: Well, apparently, nobody told you that in the dialect of American English spoken in southwestern Pennsylvania, and parts of northern West Virginia and southeastern Ohio, which is related to the older Appalachian dialects, which have, in turn, developed less than other US accents due to longer geosocial isolation, and are somewhat more related to ... Read Moreolder Scots and Irish than either group is to modern American English as far as vocabulary and intonation, the phoneme groups ``ts'' and ``ks'' are often conflated, such that ``Pittsburgh'' would be pronounced similarly to ``Pixburgh''; it is from this that ``Sixburgh'' became popular; in that dialect, they actually would be considered to rhyme. But if you wish to be culturally insensitive and politically incorrect, that is okay, too; I find that being either can often be a source of amusement.

Wow…take a breath and get a life. I’ve never EVER heard anyone from Pittsburgh legitimately say Pixburgh, and if they did, I think I’d hit them. I bet anyone that says Pixburgh would come off something like this.

Me: steelers fans act like they won the super bowl when hines ward ties his shoes

Steeler Fan #2: Uh, I'm pretty sure we did win the SB. So...you can have the preseason game.

Congratulations on not getting the joke. Oh and I’ll take our 42-31-3 all-time record against Pittsburgh.

That’s about all for the recap. Hopefully you all didn’t have to put up with as much crap as I did last night, but it was still fun to be back at FedEx nonetheless.

Preseason Week 2: Pittsburgh

Tonight marks my first trek back to Fed Ex Field since the 2003 Dallas game, where the Redskins were shellacked 27-0 in a driving freezing rain. That was the last game before college and before we gave up our season tickets, but now I have them back. Nosebleed, Section 414, Row 16, Seats 7 and 8. I couldn’t be more pumped about a preseason game, just because I love going to see the Redskins live more than almost anything. Tonight is also the true debut of my good buddy Doug Roberts as a member of the Washington Redskins marching band, so if you’re in attendance tonight, make sure to yell for that cool kid playing the trombone. Congrats Doug!

Alright, down to business…the defending world champion Pittsburgh Steelers come to town in a game many people could care less about, but it was only 9 months ago when we all had to endure the Terrible Towel debacle on Monday Night Football. As many of you know, my sister married into a Pittsburgh family, and my generalizations about the city of Pittsburgh and their teams do not apply to my brother-in-law. He’s never been an ass about how successful Pittsburgh has been in recent years when it comes to just about anything football or hockey. However, beyond the family ties, Pittsburgh fans REALLY piss me off. Not only is the DMV populated by millions of transplants from Western Pennsylvania, but they all love to tell you how DC is such a shithole and how Pittsburghers are far more loyal and vastly superior in every way to someone from this area (we’ll refer to this complex as Pittsburgh Transplant Syndrome OR PTS). Here are some of the things that REALLY piss me off about ‘burghers when a Washington vs. Pittsburgh game comes up on the schedule:

1. There are more Northern Virginia-raised kids that I can count that have managed to find some reason to be Steelers fans: a la “my family’s from there” or “my best friends mom’s dog was born there”…you get the point…it’s all bullshit. They all find the need to fly their black and gold allegiances and tell you how much DC teams suck, even though they were born and raised around here.

2. Their fans not only show up to away games, but they show up in DROVES and all seem to suffer from PTS AND Diarrhea of the mouth. Neither of these make for fun conversation in the stands.

3. Speaking of conversation, every one with a Pittsburgher ends in some sort of put down about how ugly Alex Ovechkin is (or how he doesn’t backcheck or kiss Gary Bettman’s ass like Crosby), how they have twice as many Super Bowl victories as us, or how the traffic around this area blows (to which they contribute significantly) . Fans from every city have their shtick arguments, but I just tend to hear the one from Pittsburgh more than any other.

4. Their goddamned towels that go everywhere...and Dan Snyder finds the need to copy…and are obnoxious.

5. That stupid guy in the pink polo shirt (and a popped collar) at the Caps/Oilers game last February who heckled Ovi the whole game for all of the items mentioned in #3. Get a life and watch a game where your team is actually involved.

6. The word yinz, which doesn’t make any freaking sense and should never be used in any context EVER.

7. Their quarterback has two Super Bowl rings, but apparently he doesn't know what hockey team plays in their city.

Ok, deep breaths. I’m really pumped about the game tonight, but I don’t want to listen to Pittsburgh fans. That’s the gist. As far as the game, it looks as though we’ll get to see Albert Haynesworth and Clinton Portis, and the starters could see about a quarter and a half of play. Here are a few things to keep an eye on:

· Haynesworth’s disruptiveness: It’s only preseason, but keep an eye on how many snaps Haynesworth gets and what he does with them. Additionally, look to see how his presence affects the pass rush and how long the Steeler have to hold onto the football.

· Portis’s health: Let’s see how hard Clinton hits the hole tonight. Everyone knows his feelings on preseason, but he didn’t look healthy at the end of last year, and he needs to have fresh legs to start this season. Although he hasn’t hit 30 yet, he’s got enough wear on his tires to run like someone older, so it will be interesting to see if he can keep his play up to his high standards.

· Orakpo’s development: How will #98 perform in his second live-action setting? He seemed to settle in pretty well against Baltimore, and really has potential to be a star in Greg Blache’s defense. If he can perform well again tonight, the town is really going to start some buzz about him.

· Nickel corner: Who won’t shit the bed this week against Pittsburgh’s receivers? I see Justin Tryon getting absolutely shredded by Limas Sweed tonight.

· Fred Davis’s hands: Will Fred hit that snooze button again tonight? The fumbles have to stop.

· Points: The offense HAS to put up something, or Jim Zorn is really going to hear it. Two shutouts in a row won’t go over well…especially if I have to sit out in the rain to watch this game.

I think that’s everything. I’ll be back with a recap tomorrow morning.

Prediction:
Redskins 23
Steelers 16

Thoughts from the Mini-Feed: Redskins Fall 23-0

Images Courtesy of CSN

There are not a whole lot of positives to pull out of last night’s debacle. The secondary looked shoddy, there was inconsistent pass rush, and the offense was nonexistent. However, it is only preseason, and I’m not hitting the panic button and neither should you. As a little lighter approach to a recap, let’s start with a few of the smartest comments from my facebook mini-feed from the last 12 hours (with my commentary added in italics):

Eagles Fan #1: its only preseason but damn cowboys and redskins looked like some shyt lol

…and you all dominated New England, huh?

Steelers Fan #1: Wonders how you spell Betts: Not sure but if your the Redskins you spell it Bettis: Great job spelling your own players name correctly. Looks to be a long season.

How about YOU’RE and PLAYER’S bud? Poor spelling on jerseys in the DMV is tradition now. Pot, meet kettle.

Eagles Fan #2: all you deadskins fans spouting off at the mouth are just pissed you didn't sign vick and you know it. i can't wait for him to dice you up in week 7 suckers! i'll be at fedex in my vick jersey!!

Ok so let’s avoid the fact that you lost last night too. By the way, Deadskins is original, but luckily they won three Super Bowls before they left this world. Talk to me when Vick is relevant on the field again.

Ravens Fan #1: Well, since the Ravens clearly own the Redskins now, did Dany Snyder sell the team to Bisciotti during the offseason or something?

Yes, the old “Ravens dominate the rivalry” argument. I’m glad you were able to destroy us in a preseason game. Congratulations, you’re going to the Super Bowl! Hey, 49ers fans, how did that whitewash in Osaka feel back in ’02?! Spurrier’s taking us all the way! Shut up Baltimore.

…and from my good buddy Wendy: We can only go up from here Redskins, no worries, I have faith!

It’s easy to freak out after a game like the one we were subjected to last night. Personally, I don’t feel all warm and fuzzy after what I saw, but the world isn’t ending either. Here are my few thoughts from Preseason Week 1:

• The fact that Darrell Green has publicly risked his reputation on Justin Tryon scares the life out of me. Tryon looked worse (if that is possible) than he did in 2008 against a maligned Ravens’ receiving corps last night. He had a game-high five tackles, but every one of them seemed to be running a guy down from behind. He’s a liability in coverage right now, and luckily we still have three guys in front of him. Considering he played a huge chunk of the game at one corner spot, which would never be the case in the regular season, I’m not panicking yet. After all, we did draft Kevin Barnes, who…

• …looked like shit a couple of times, most notably on a double-pump from Troy Smith (who played a great game, considering it wasn’t a bowl game…zing!) for a touchdown to Justin Harper. The big hitter didn’t get many other opportunity to shine, and didn’t do much to ease the mind of Tryon-haters.

• Marques Hagans has no business on this roster. Not only is he a Wahoo, he’s never been that good and we don’t need another short, converted QB playing wideout on the team.

• Brian Orakpo is going to be good, but I still don’t know if he should be a linebacker. He seemed much more comfortable with a hand down, but he had a couple of nice shots at the QB, and showed a lot of speed. Let’s see how he progresses, but I have a good feeling about him.

• Speaking of rookies, Jeremy Jarmon looked pretty strong as well. He got a little pressure and seemed to play well against the run.

• Jason Campbell still holds onto the ball too damn long.

• The Hokies seemed to have a good night. Will Montgomery had a strong outing at center, while DeAngelo Hall had a solid breakup at the goal line in his small amount of playing time. Justin Harper whipped the Redskins backups for 57 yards and a pretty touchdown.

• The 2nd Round Flops had 6 catches for 54 yards and two fumbles. WAKE UP FRED DAVIS!!

Overall it was a bad outing and Jim Zorn needs to get his shit together to keep the fans off his back. We must see more offensive consistency during the preseason to enter the regular season with ANY semblance of confidence. I think it will get better, but we’ll have to wait and watch. As far as the other big news of the night, Mike Vick has signed with the Eagles (as shown above). I have to say that I AM glad that he has signed somewhere, partially so we don’t have to hear about it all the time, and partially because he deserves a chance to show what he can do. However, I don’t exactly think Philly is the best fit for him, and I think their fans will be all over him as soon as they realize he isn’t going to perform like a superstar right off the bat. Vick still has potential, but he’s no savior, and people need to quit treating him as such. As far as I’m concerned, he’s still a guy fighting his way back into the league, and I think he’ll do well, but I don’t think that’s the sort of “nurturing” environment that he needs.

Here’s hoping next week goes a little better against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Illegal-Gun-Shooting, Motorcycle-Crashing, Waitress-Raping Steelers. They sure are starting to sound like “America’s Team,” huh? That’s not a compliment Pittsburghers.