Close Calls and Hard Knocks

Trent Williams going down was the worst moment of last week's loss to the Texans. Giving up a 17 point lead was pretty bad, but losing Williams for any extended period of time would be a disaster. So far he has been the MVP of the offense, and the drop off between he and Heyer is more severe than the drop off between McNabb and Grossman. Neither of the latter two would have an opportunity to stay upright and throw the ball without Williams, as evidenced by Heyer's holding call as soon as he came in the game.

The unfortunate loss of the 17 point lead could be attributed to the the lack of athleticism in the Skins secondary. While Sean Taylor will always be missed, it hurt a little more on Sunday when Johnson came down with the ball in the endzone on 4th and ten. That would never have happened with 21 back there, and you have to credit to Shanahan and Haslett for keeping the Texans offense in check as long as they did. Shanahan plain out-coached Kubiak for most of the game, and Kubiak only won once he let his team's superior athleticism shine. For the fans that are mad about Kubiak calling the timeout, its part of the game. We would have loved it if that move had worked in our favor. There will never be a rule put in place to stop it; if there was coaches would just trot out 10 guys on defense as an excuse and still call timeout if they think that it would still work. Shanahan did not do the same on Rackers because I think he was trying reverse psychology. Rackers was expecting a timeout nad could have half-kicked it; he made his kick anyways. Sometimes kickers will have to make the same kick twice, its how the game is played.

Some fans are negative on Shanahan cutting Johnson. Some wondered if there was a little bit of chaos within the organization as Johnson was cut for not "fitting in the scheme." I think it is a great move. Its a pretty simple scheme and he didn't throw a wrench in it just once. The scheme is Shanahan prefers veteran players who make smart, veteran plays. When Johnson stepped out of bounds against Dallas when we were running out the clock, he should have considered himself on the bubble. When he ran 10 yards backwards in a similar situation against the Texans, his fate was sealed. That ten yard loss all the way back to the ten yard line was as good as a forty yard interception or getting an unnecessary roughness. Its a mistake that would have gotten a so-so QB benched, a borderline defensive player cut, and as it turned out, a borderline RB cut no matter how many yards he rushed for four years ago cut as well. Keiland Williams can make dumb mistakes like that and get some experience for the future in relief of Portis.


Finally, Skins fans should not panic over the lack of a running game. The Cowboys, even with all of their faults and the probability that they are going to go 0-3 this week, have a great defensive front seven. The Texans were stacking 8 or 9 in the box all game long and wanted to see what McNabb and the Skins line would do. I don't think many teams will try that out the rest of the year if the line stays healthy. The team will run this week to try to pipe down a domed crowd. And play another close game. The Skins are a good team, but not an elite team. While we played neck and neck with an elite team last week, we overachieved. All of the Skins games save two will be within 14 points. Shanahan has this team in position to compete with anyone, but dominate no one. Maybe we will steamroll one team along the way, like we will get our butt kicked in at least one game, but we are still a year removed from a Cerrato-lead team. Bradford is the real deal if his exploitable line can keep him upright, and I would trade Portis for Jackson at the drop of a hat. The Skins will establish a running game, but don't expect another 400 yard passing game. And don't panic at a 20-13 win Skins fans. Its always better than a 30-27 loss, no matter who you may be playing.


(And Caps fans: don't buy into this co-team Hard Knocks for the NHL. Its another league promotional vehicle for the league's favorite special guy Crosby. They'll portray Crosby as the "go-to-work Canadian player" with his Russian (Robin/Malkin) sidekick, while OV will be the fast car-driving, reckless Russian with his misfit joker cronies. Just bet your fellow Caps fans on what tries to portray the best player in the NHL worse; the "tell all" book on OV coming out by the Canadian author who hates the Caps, or the chop job that will take place on film if the league office that hates the Caps gets its hands on the footage. The poster for the show is in black and gold. Enough said.)