Dan Daly: Halfhearted just won't do

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By Dan Daly

ATLANTA

If Dan Snyder was "embarrassed" before the Redskins played the Falcons on Sunday, what must his level of dissatisfaction have been by halftime? Can it even be printed in a family newspaper?

The Redskins lost more than a football game in their 31-17 defeat at the Georgia Dome. Indeed, in the first half - 30 Minutes From Hell that saw them fall behind 7-0, then 14-3, then 21-3 and finally 24-3 - they lost all semblance of professionalism.

They jumped offside on the first offensive play - or rather, $100 Million Man Albert Haynesworth did - and it disintegrated from there. Before the second quarter was over, Clinton Portis had been knocked woozy with a concussion, Jason Campbell had been sacked into submission and the defense, when it wasn't giving up 30-yard runs to Michael Turner, was piling up 15-yard penalties for mistreating Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan.

As Jim Zorn put it, there have been too many weeks when his team hasn't come out with "the physical toughness that's required to beat your opponent. The games start at 1-oh-whatever [o'clock]. That's when we need to be tough."

And that's when the Redskins are never tough. They've had only one halftime lead all season (10-2 at Carolina). There's a sluggishness - reluctance almost - to the way they begin games. It's like they don't even want to be there.

Between halves Sunday, Boss Hog Joe Bugel, the last link to the glory days of the '80s and '90s, issued a red-faced challenge to his offensive linemen to "step up, be a man, do your job, block the man in front of you and go to work," Casey Rabach said. The larger question, of course, is: Why did he have to?

The Redskins, after all, were coming off their bye week and desperate for a victory, desperate to avoid falling to 2-6 in the ultracompetitive NFC East. The Falcons, on the other hand, were just six days removed from a 60-minute death struggle against the unbeaten Saints in New Orleans. If anybody had the slows at the beginning of the game, it should have been Atlanta.

But no. The Falcons took the opening kickoff and went on a 74-yard touchdown drive. When they finally paused to take a breath, they were up 21.

Let's face it, good teams - and Atlanta, headed for another playoff berth, is certainly one of them - don't need a coach to come slamming through the door at halftime and explain the facts of life to them. They already know the score - what's at stake, what they need to do - the moment they step on the field. The Redskins had 14 days to ponder their situation and decide what they wanted to do about it. The result was their worst half of football all season, their worst half in a season of bad halves.

Oh, sure, they put together a couple of TD drives to narrow the gap to 24-17 early in the final quarter. They've been very good at that this year - letting their opponents get comfortable (Giants 17-0; Eagles 27-7), then spending the rest of the game (when the yards come a little easier) making it look closer than it really was.

Here's all you really need to know: Once the Snydermen got within seven points, the Falcons needed exactly three plays to go 73 yards and double their lead, with Turner weaving the last 58 through less-than-determined tacklers.

Even in the Grits Blitz days of the late '70s, the Falcons never had more sacks in the first half than they did Sunday (five). But then, the Falcons haven't played against many offensive lines as rickety as the Redskins'. Once again, Campbell got dropped for a loss the first time he faded back to pass. In both halves, he was driven to the sideline by injuries (sternum, then ankle) - which, given the pounding he's taken this season, will probably add a few years to his life.

"Horrible" was the adjective Zorn used to describe his offense in the first 30 minutes. (Well, actually, it's not his offense anymore now that others are calling the plays, but he's still the Chief Blame-Taker.) How horrible are we talking about? The Redskins gained a mere 69 yards in the half - and 47 of them came on a pass deep down the middle to Mike Sellers. That pretty much sums up the offense's futility: It's reduced to throwing long to the blocking back.

"There were plays to be made," said Zorn, "and we made a lot of them" - in the third quarter and the first couple of minutes of the fourth, at least. "[But] in the critical moment, we didn't come through."

Part of the reason may be that the Redskins don't seem to understand what critical moments are. They aren't just third downs. They aren't just goal-line situations. In fact, the most critical moment may be when the referee blows his whistle at "1-oh-whatever" and the kicker's foot strikes the ball.

If you're not present and accounted for at that particular moment, you're likely to spend the rest of the week regretting it. Welcome to Week 10 in the Redskins' season of regret.