Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins Game Recap

It wasn’t pretty, but at this point, a win is a win. If the Eagles want to make the playoffs, they have to beat the teams they’re better than (Washington,) and play hard and beat a team or two that’s on their level (New York and Atlanta.) This is just one more step towards the postseason.

Were the three keys successful?

1) AVOID A LETDOWN. Success. They won, didn’t they? Still, they did everything mentioned earlier this week. Flat offense? Not the case. They finished poorly, but in the first half, they put up 14 points, and put the game almost out of reach. There weren’t any turnovers by the offense, and only a couple of penalties, which is way down from last week. The defense and special teams had a pretty rough week, but overall, they did what they had to do to win. That effort only beats the Redskins though. The whole team needs to step it up another notch when they travel to the Meadowlands next week, and then again after that, and again after that. They need to stay focused, and come ready to play each week.

2) TACKLE. Fail. Oops. I said if they don’t stop Betts they’ll lose, but I was wrong. They didn’t stop Betts, but they squeaked out the win. The defense was back to its old ways again, but some clutch plays by Dawkins and the pass coverage and a decent job by the offense bailed them out. Walker and Considine were the biggest perpetrators today. They missed tackles in the backfield, downfield, and all over the field, really. Betts ran free all game long, and no one could touch him. The run defense was absolutely awful, and I fear what Tiki Barber might do to them next week. The defensive line failed to get penetration again, the Linebackers didn’t get to the ball, and there were too many bad tackles. It was ugly, and it’ll only get worse.

3) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WASHINGTON’S SECONDARY. Success. Garcia threw for two touchdowns, and the passing game hit on a couple big plays. Although Troy Vincent didn’t play much due to injury, Vernon Fox stepped in and did a good job of being ineffective. Carlos Rogers was picked on quite a bit, and gave up a couple big plays. Sean Taylor actually did a pretty good job this game. He wasn’t bad in coverage, and he wrapped up and delivered some nice hits. Springs seemed to have a pretty good game, so really, Carlos Rogers was the only victim. The secondary allowed just enough for the Eagles to get out in front early, and give them a nice lead to play with that turned out to sustain them for the second half.

How did the matchups turn out?

1) SANTANA MOSS VS. EAGLES’ SECONDARY. Moss did next to nothing, and the Eagles did a good job of keeping two guys on him almost every play. They seem to have the right formula for shutting down number one receivers, and hopefully it carries over to next week against the Giants and Burress. When Moss had his success (2 catches) was when he got to the middle of the defense in a soft zone coverage with no pass rush. By having a corner run with him step for step in front of him and a safety coming over the top, it takes out where Santana is most dangerous, deep down the sidelines. Overall, he had a pretty unproductive day, and with Moss virtually being taken out of the game, Washington’s passing offense was out too.

2) LADELL BETTS VS. OMAR GAITHER. Betts had a career day against the Eagles, which isn’t a surprise to anyone who watches the team. Betts ran through, around, over, under, and probably a number of other prepositions against the Eagles. He could do no wrong. The Redskins Offensive Line opened up huge holes all day, Betts found them, got into the secondary and had himself a nice game. Whether it be spinning away from tackle, dragging someone five yards or making someone miss, he just embarrassed the defense. That’s not to say Omar didn’t have a good game though. He continued to show improvement and show that he could be a good Linebacker in this league. Gaither is just one player though. The other ten, and anyone else that substitutes in on defense, all have to step it up or this season will be over before we know it.

3) AL SAUNDERS VS. JIM JOHNSON. I was legitimately disappointed by how this game turned out. The screens were conspicuously absent from Washington’s offense, and Johnson’s trademark blitzes were few and far between. Both of these guys came in with a game plan that’s the polar opposite as their usual plan, and the game just didn’t have the same feel as it usually does. Saunders did exactly what he had to do to have his offense prepared. He mixed in runs, short passes, runs, a trick play or two, runs and a well timed deep ball plus some more runs. There was some poor execution from Campbell, which probably took some points off the board, and some suspect play calling and personnel packages that hurt the team too. On Johnson’s end, he continued to prove why the Eagles defense needs a new direction. No pressure on Campbell, a defense that continues to get embarrassed by the run… it’s bad.

How about the key players?

PHI:

1) Jeremiah Trotter- Didn’t do much at all. Not a good game.

2) Donte Stallworth- Caught a touchdown, and a key third down pass at the end of the game.

3) Lito Sheppard- Hardly saw him all game, which can only be a good thing.

WSH:

1) Sean Taylor- Wrapped up and made some nice hits, wasn’t a liability in coverage.

2) Jon Jansen- Completely dominated.

3) Carlos Rogers- Gave up a couple big plays, he struggled.

Key Injuries:

PHI- QB Donovan McNabb

PHI- DE Jevon Kearse

PHI- LS Mike Bartrum

WSH- RB Clinton Portis

Garcia and Dorenbos continued to do a good job in place of our Pro Bowlers, and we continue to miss Kearse badly.

Betts did a great job filling in for Portis. I can’t imagine what he would’ve done to the Eagles, ouch.

Number to remember:

3. It’s the number of times Santana Moss will catch some sort of screen pass.

None, surprisingly. Saunders didn’t bring the screen game to the stadium this week.

Final Score:

24-14 Eagles.

Pretty close. Got the winning team right this time, at least.

Garcia- 250 yards passing, 2 TD, 1 INT.

Westbrook- 150 total yards, 1 TD.

Stallworth- 80 receiving yards, 1 TD.

The Eagles offense was simply on the sidelines for a good portion of the game, and that accounts for the overestimated yardage stats. Garcia and Stallworth got the right amount of TDs.

Campbell- 200 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Betts- 140 total yards, 1 TD.

Moss- 5 catches, 65 yards.

Betts ripped us up and besides the turnovers, Campbell had a nice game. Moss was a non-factor.

My last thoughts to put the Redskins season sweep in the books:

- Jeff Garcia has to be one of the best backup QBs in the league. I take back everything I said about him. This guy can play. Give me Garcia when McNabb’s still out next year too.

- Westbrook is five yards away from 1000 on the season. Who said he couldn’t do it? This guy should start in the Pro Bowl.

- Speaking of RBs, where on earth is Buckhalter? I don’t get it.

- It was tough to see the drops come back this week. Gotta get those balls, Donte and Reggie. L.J. Smith made a nice move on that touchdown.

- I was at Wawa for the beginning of the third quarter, and I come in to see Nick Cole at Center. What happened to Jackson? Glad to see him return though.

- Where is the pass rush? Howard? Cole? Someone, please? Juqua Thomas is going to be a helluva pass rusher from Outside Linebacker for a team like the Patriots or 49ers next year.

- Darwin Walker should hang em up after getting embarrassed by the Betts spin. Whoever got owned by Westbrook should join him.

- Omar Gaither is going to be a good player. I called this in preseason, and his two games have reinforced it. I wouldn’t mind going into next season with him starting. Jones-Trotter-Gaither next year however, is unacceptable. Gocong being in one of those places is slightly less unacceptable. Jones has to go, Trotter has worn out his second welcome, and changes have to be made.

- What the hell happened to Sheldon Brown? He’s had a bad year. While I’m on the corners, William Peterson blows. I remember when he and Allen were supposed to be the next great corner duo. Oops. The Eagles defense used to pride themselves on being disciplined and not falling for those dumb trick plays. He screwed it up.

- I wish we still had Ron Rivera. It’s too bad we’ll have to fire Andy Reid to ever get him back here. Let me call it now. Ron Rivera will be the Eagles’ next head coach.

- Brian Baldinger is the worst. He states the complete obvious, doesn’t provide good analysis, and just sucks at his job. The whole broadcasting team, really. Their production crew did a bad job.

One third of the gauntlet is done, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The Wild Card could come down to next week in the Meadowlands.

And yes. I find the huge spaces between everything to look ridiculous.