Challenge For The Redskins: Defend Michael Vick

Vick Week officially began at 10:15 AM, ET, Monday, September 27, when Wall Street Journal blog, The Daily Fix,published Prepare For a Week of Vick vs. McNabb. Vick vs. McNabb in The journal? Really?

FOX promoted the upcoming Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles game unremittingly during the St. Louis beat-down. We expected that. When The Wall Street Journal blogs about Vick vs. McNabb, we've crossed the threshold of cultural significance. Yes siree.

It helps salve the wounds of the loss to the St. Louis Rams for fans already pronouncing the Dannyhan era a bust. You know who you are and shame on you. It's way too early to draw any conclusion about the season or anyone on the team.

We wonder, however, how can a defense that couldn't pressure rookie Sam Bradford suppress the elusive Michael Vick?

When the Redskins Hog Heaven writers predicted the season early this month, I called the Eagles game a win. Football is played emotionally. The emotion of Donovan McNabb's return to Philly to face the man who replaced him, Kevin Kolb, would sweep the Redskins to an upset win. To my chagrin, and FOX's delight, Kevin Kolb became Michael Vick. Oops! The Eagles are a lot harder to beat now.

Scouting Michael Vick

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Rams Butt Redskins 30-16

(Sigh) Our punter injures himself during pregame warm-ups. Is that a bad omen, or what?

Everyone circled the St. Louis Rams as the beatable team of the early schedule. I did. So did you, brother. And why not, for a team whose rookie quarterback suffered six sacks and five interceptions on the way to a 68.1 Quarterback Rating? The Rams generated 136 fewer yards of offense than the Washington Redskins. They did that against weaker teams than the Redskins faced.

In the euphoria of beating Dallas and the good fight against Houston, it was easy to overlook that the Skins were one holding call away from an 0-2 record going into Sunday's game.

No more.

Credit where it's due. The Rams did not resemble the team of the first two weeks. Sam Bradford was impressive in a game plan that suited him. The St. Louis offensive line was not the sieve we expected. Were the Rams supposed to control the ball that much when Steven Jackson was hurt?

Kudos to the Rams. They deserved the win. Two of their four wins since 2008 have been at Washington's expense. Ironically, Jim Haslett was coaching in each of those wins, as the Rams' interim head coach then and as the Redskins defensive coordinator now.

If you buy the cliché that more games are lost than won, you have plenty of evidence in Washington's 30-16 loss.

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Redskins Are the Highest Ranked Beast Team on Bloguin Power Poll

The Washington Redskins are the highest ranked NFC East team on Bloguin.com's weekly NFL Power Poll. The Redskins gained by precipitous falls of the 1-1 New York Giants and the 0-2 Dallas Cowboys.
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Redeeming Daniel Snyder's Rep

The rehabilitation of Danny Snyder's reputation takes another turn for the better in an upcoming (Oct. 11, 2010) Forbes Magazine profile. The Passion of Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder article was released online today on Forbes.com.

While noting Snyder's desperation to win a Super Bowl and his habit of plowing his fortune back into the team, Forbes author Monte Burke calls Snyder "the most reviled owner in professional sports."

"Naysayers point to the Redskins' failure on the field during his 11-year tenure (only three winning seasons and an overall record of 75--96); his imperious personality (he's been accused of demanding that employees address him as 'Mr. Snyder'); his 'meddling' ways (seven different coaches); his profligate spending on overhyped coaches and over-the-hill players ($5 million a year for college coach Steve Spurrier, who went 12--20 in two seasons; a five-year, $23 million contract for 37-year-old defensive lineman Bruce Smith). 'I have made some mistakes,' Snyder admits."

Would fans prefer a cheapskate, asks Burke?

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Redskins Release Larry Johnson

The Washington Redskins released running back Larry Johnson this afternoon, according to a story by Jason LaCanfora on NFL.com and Gary Fitzgerald's story on Redskins.com.

Both report that the team made the move to make room for someone else in advance of the Rams game this Sunday. Could that someone be a former Ram?

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Five Things To Like About The Washington Redskins

The nature of Washington's play against the Houston Texans gives rise to optimism. It's pretty clear that the Skins are going to be competitive in every game. Washington was competitive last year too, in spite of top to bottom ineptitude. The competitiveness is of a higher quality now.

The fault lines on this team are still there--depth on offense, talent at wide receiver. But after two good showings and with the afterglow of beating Dallas (well, who doesn't?) we're just not going to focus on that today. So here are five things to like about the 2010 Washington Redskins:

1. LaRon Landry leads the league in tackles after two weeks. (London Fletcher ranks third) Landry wasn't cutting it at free safety. Jim Haslett moved him to where his skills are best applied as linebacker-lite, a.k.a. strong safety. Haslett is making better use than Greg Blache did of Landry and all the talent on defense. Lets hope Haslett is open to whatever suggestion DeAngelo Hall has for improved coverage--and that Hall is open to improvement after viewing game tape. We know how that conversation would have gone with Blache. Haslett is still learning about his players and has to do something to fix the bottom-ranked defense in the league. But I digress. Landry can be had in pass coverage and he still tends to hit late, but he's the beast we expected when we drafted him. We can work with beasts.

2. Donovan McNabb....

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Redskins Hold Off Cowboys in 13-7 Thriller

The Mike Shanahan era is off to a good start with a game plan that was not brilliant, but an astute use of the talent on the team, especially the defense. Dallas gained 282 passing yards and a touchdown, and 103 rushing yards, but the Redskins brought pressure to kill drives (five of 13 third downs converted) and disrupt plays. The Skins front seven exploited the Cowboys offensive line. Tony Romo handled that pressure to give Dallas its first lead as time ran out, only to see it evaporate when back-up OT Alex Barron couldn't handle Brian Orakpo.


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