Monday, October 6, 2008
Playoff bound?
PHILADELPHIA — The biggest sign that a road team is taking care of business: The loudest cheers come when news is relayed of the fortunes of the home town's baseball team.
The crowd at Lincoln Financial Field was raucous early Sunday. But by the time the Redskins had rallied to a 23-17 victory, fans were left to boo Andy Reid (justified) and cheer the Phillies' National League Division Series-clinching win over the Milwaukee Brewers (ditto).
The Redskins' season continued to take shape in an unlikely manner with their third win in four years at the Linc. Last week Santana Moss was the star; Sunday, it was Clinton Portis.
After reviewing the impressive events of the last two weeks and a schedule that next brings up St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit (a combined one win), it's time to declare 2008 a disappointment if the Redskins don't make the postseason.
Q: Things ended great but started awful. What were the keys to keeping the Redskins in the game?
A: Two things: The Redskins' defense - minus starters Shawn Springs, Jason Taylor and Marcus Washington - stifled the Eagles, and the offense was able to mount three scoring drives before halftime. Narrowing the deficit to five points (14-9) instead of 14 or 11 was huge.
The defense allowed only 32 yards in the second quarter. By executing the two-minute drill, the Redskins set the tone for the second half.
Q: Portis led the way in the fourth quarter and finished with 145 yards against a defense that had been allowing an average of 53.8 a game. Is No. 26 good for the long haul?
A: Tough to say - he takes such physical abuse every Sunday. The hit he absorbed from Sheldon Brown in the first half was vicious, and it sent Brown to the sidelines with a stinger.
Portis hasn't exceeded 29 carries (his total Sunday) in any game this season - that's good. But he already has a total of 115 in five games - that's bad. Still, coach Jim Zorn is holding to his promise to let Portis be the offensive bellwether.
Q: The Eagles looked gassed in the second half. Bad conditioning by the Eagles' front four or good execution by the Redskins?
A: The Eagles definitely were hands-on-hips tired in the fourth quarter, and they had good reason to be. The Redskins held possession for 23:44 (compared to 6:16 for the Eagles) in the second and third quarters. Tired defensive linemen don't play the run as well.
As Jon Jansen pointed out afterward, all those Clinton Portis stretch runs force big fellas to go sideline to sideline in pursuit. That takes a toll.
Q: Eagles coach Andy Reid basically said after the game he was outcoached by the Redskins' staff. True?
A: Probably. The Eagles' playcalling, headed by Marty Mornhinweg, was suspect, and Jim Johnson didn't dial up the defensive pressure as expected on a few second-half plays by the Redskins' offense. In one instance, Jason Campbell was allowed to scramble up the middle for a first down when the Eagles opted to play coverage.
Zorn made decent calls on going for points with a first-half, two–minute drill and great calls on the touchdown pass by Antwaan Randle El and Portis' fourth-down run.
Q: The loss could turn out to be costly for the Eagles, who now are 2-3. Where does this put the Redskins and Eagles in the division pecking order?
A: The Eagles could be in big-time trouble. Last year they didn't start winning until it didn't count. This year, they're already 2-3 overall, 0-2 in the division and bringing up the rear. The Giants remain the team to beat because they're 4-0. The Redskins have an edge on the second spot because of their 2-1 division road record.
Q: Now that the NFC East gantlet is complete, how does the Redskins' schedule shape up?
A: Perfectly. The Redskins should be 7-1 when they host the Steelers in a Week 9 Monday night game, and they will have no excuse for anything less. The Rams and Lions are winless, and Cleveland's only win is over Cincinnati.
Zorn likely will maintain the same approach, whereas Joe Gibbs 2.0 might have started taking fewer chances and letting his defense dominate bad teams.