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O K, so maybe it was a meaningless pre-season game, but you have to admit that after three quarters of pretty bad football, the 2004 season debut of Monday Night Football gave us a dramatic and entertaining final quarter--espeically the last six of so minutes of the game. Seeing Denver tie the game with just under two minutes to go and then the Redskins drive down field for a dramatic, game-winning field goal was kind of nice. Of course, at that point, it was third-teamers taking on third-teamers, but it still was pretty exciting and it made watching the game to the end worth it all.
Because otherwise, it was a pretty all around sloppy affair. There were penalties galore--so many on one drive that the crowd cheered when a play finally got completed without a penalty of some sort. The Redskins' offense sputtered under the two potential starting QBs, the run game looked pretty much non-existent at times and the defense looked extremely porous. About the only real highlight of the game--besides the game-winning drive by third-string QB Matt Hasselback--was the play of our rookie safety, Sean Taylor. Two interceptions--one in the end zone to kill a drive and Denver's momentum and then a pick-off for a TD that put the Skins ahead 10-9.
Joe Gibb's return to the sidelines came at a huge price to the team--in the first quarter, our most experience offensive lineman, Jon Jansen went down. Reports are that he ruptured his Achilles' tendon and is done for the year. One of the Joe Gibbs strengths is a big o-line and the running game. Without Jansen there, a shuffle will have to be done and hopefully done in time for the season opener against Tampa Bay.
However, it was good to see some classic Joe Gibbs calls. One was the infamous counter trey being used again. We don't quite have it down to the perfection that was evident during the former Gibbs' time on the sidelines, but we've also got a month to work on it. Also, the philosophy of if you can't protect the QB, you don't call the pass route is good to see. After Ramsey and company got treated like rag dolls last year back there, it's good to see that the coaches won't call plays without giving the QB a chance of success. Not that I'm running to pick up any of these QBs in my fantasy league, mind you. At least, not yet.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 8/10/2004 08:14:00 AM |
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