Blache-isms

Since Coach Zorn has come to town, much has been made of his open enthusiasm, and frank style. Lately, though, Greg Blache has been giving Coach Z a run for his money. After we beat the Lions (holding them to 57 yards rushing, and 274 yards overall!), he said that, "We played like the south end of a northbound skunk." Did I mention he holds the defense to a very high standard? In reference to how beat we looked after the game, he said we looked "like the Confederate army going home." In reference to the fact that the Skins have sacked the QB 10 times this year, he said, "We applied for a job at Giant and couldn't get it because we couldn't sack groceries." Then, to describe our general style of play, "We've got to wash our face, put on our makeup and comb our hair, or nobody's going to ask us out. We’re not that good looking." Then, of course, my favorite, when someon asked him if he had aspirations to a head coaching job, "I have no interest in a head job. All I want to do, I want to win Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins a Super Bowl championship, that's my goal. Past that, a good glass of wine, a good Cuban cigar, and hell, life is beautiful." Gotta admire the man's taste...

Ugh...

Someone Has Way Too Much Time on Their Hands!

I don't know which is worse, that someone took the time to create this, or that I took the time to post it. You make the call... Say, that reminds me, does anyone else remember those old "IBM Presents: You make the call..." snippets during NFL games? They would show a clip of some controversial call from a football game, and ask whether the ref made the right call or not. Then, they would pull some obscure rule out of their asses to justify why the ref made the right or wrong call. Those were pretty cool. I'd like to try those again, now that I actually understand the game. Back then, I just watched because my Dad was watching.

A Skins Win is Like Pizza and Sex

Even when it's bad, it's good. It may not have been pretty, but yesterday's 25-17 win over the truly pathetic Lions was still a mark in the W column for the Skins. We tried like hell to give it away (8 penalties for 67 yards, 2 fumbles, 1 lost), but in the end, the Lions couldn't overcome the fact that their entire team did not cover as many yards as Moss (140 yds receiving and an 80-yd PR) and Portis (126 yds rushing and a 6-yd reception). Did I mention Campbell (230 passes w/ out an INT - knock wood) had a near perfect game (23 for 28, 127.4 QB rating)? Did I mention CP became only the 2nd player in NFL history to run over 120 yards in 5 consecutive games twice in his career? The first was OJ. Even with all that, we went in to the locker room at the half down by 4 points. Not only that, but we were the first team all year to allow the Lions to score in the first quarter! Previously, they were outscored 55-0 in the 1st Q. Yet, somehow, we managed to pull a win out of our asses. I worry about next week's game against the Steelers, but hopefully, we will continue to play to the level of our competition, and bring the pain.

Dare I Say It?

Ok, so we kicked ass in a way that I didn't think possible against the Eagles. I was worried after that 14-0 start. Forget that the 2nd TD should have been called back due to penalty. It wasn't. Who knows how the rest of the game would have gone if it was? Now, we're going into a 3-game run (2 at home) against teams with a combined record of 1-11! That means there's a better than good chance that (dare I?...) we're going 7-1. Especially if we can stick to Coach Zorn's mantra of Playing Medium. We didn't get down on ourselves after going down early in the Eagles game. We didn't get too full of ourselves after beating the early Super Bowl-favorite Cowboys.

Every week, I'm increasingly impressed with Jim Zorn. I like the aggressive play calling. I like the honesty when he gets to the microphone. I like the enthusiasm for the game. I really like his willingness to let banged-up players rest, so that they'll be healthier for the long run. Along with that, he has the confidence in the 2nd and 3rd string players that they will pick up where the starters leave off. Most of all, I like the attitude he instills in the players. He loves the game, has fun with the game, and he lets the players know that yes, he wants them to have fun too, but most of all, he won't accept anything less than their best on and off the field.

So. Not to be overconfident, but I think we'll win today. And the next two weeks. I won't go into predictions past that. GO SKINS!!

Skins/Eagles

Well, it looks like it's gonna be a tough day today. Big win against Dallas last week, but today's going to be rough. First off, there's the drop-off after such a big win last week. It's going to be difficult to sustain the energy after that. Second, Westbrook is back for the Eagles. So is LJ Smith. For us, Springs is out. Taylor and Heyer were expected, but Springs was iffy through Friday. Also Marcus Washington's inactive for today. That's a lot of injuries. Key for us is going to be our O-line. Johnson's D is aggresive and one of the toughest in the league. Our line has got to open holes for Portis to run and keep Philly off of Campbell. If we can keep our QB off his ass, we will have a shot. Unfortunately, I think our streak of 0 offensive turnovers will end today. I hope not, but I think it will. Our secondary is going to have its hands full without Springs.