"It's said that it's better to be lucky than good. The Redskins are a variation on that theme: They're a team that needs to be lucky long enough to find out whether it can become good." --Thomas Boswell
That was the forecast when we awoke on a beautiful Sunday morning. It was time to put Saturday behind us--a Saturday that involved finding my right rear tire deflated, and a Saturday soccer match in which my busted right ankle hurt from the beginning and I missed two excellent scoring opportunities in a 3-0 loss.
So after a couple of snoozes, we got dressed and walked out to the car to see if I could finally figure out how to change a spare tire and exorcise the demons of 8 years ago when I jacked up my car before loosening the bolts, and twisted at the spinning tire for an hour or so before realizing what a complete idiot I am. Happy Street (Cortland Street) was gorgeous, with the sun creeping through the oak trees, and leaves just hanging, spinning in the breeze.
I got the donut tire, wrench, and jack out of the trunk, and went step by step through the instructions. The key, I told Joey, is getting the bolts loosened, and then jack that thing up. And after throwing all of my weight and strength into it, it worked.
I felt like an average man! And Joey was very impressed. Then we drove over to the Spring Valley Exxon and ordered a new tire. Steve had hypothesized that the cold weather caused the deflation, and I thought he might be correct because after I removed the tire, the sucker almost completely reinflated. However, when I showed it to the Exxon guy, he immediately recognized that it was busted. After that, we drove to SuperFresh for breakfast items, and I made good on my promise to make Joey pancakes, even though it was ridiculously easy with that Bisquick instant stuff and our new griddle thing. So by noon, I had changed a flat tire and made my wife pancakes to earn husband of the year. Because of the tire, my sore ankle, all the laundry Joey had to do, and because Steve was watching with Greg, we decided it would be easier to just watch the game at home this week.
And boy did everything start out lousy. First play, short run. Second play, Campbell sacked. Third play, Campbell sacked, ball comes out, first down Bucs on our 11. Two plays later, Josh Johnson touchdown pass to Bryant. All I could do is just kind of lean back against the couch and squint: What?!
The offense was sputtering. Campbell wasn't really seeing much of anything, and was throwing like his ankle hurt and/or he just had no confidence and was over thinking everything. Making matters worse was the fact that Hunter Smith pulled his groin, so Suisham had to the punting. He did adequately though, and a total disaster was held at bay. The Bucs were able to move the ball a little on the ground with Cadillac Williams, but the score stayed the same thanks to Bucs Kicker's Mike Nugent hitting screwballs that missed wide right and off the goal post.
Campbell then started getting picked off, the first one occurring on a fourth down and four just over midfield with Campbell just forcing something instead of taking a sack. Later on, on third and short, after a nice run by Marcus Mason, Campbell went deep to Kelly who was totally blanketed, and Talib snatched away the jump ball. Why call that play, I demanded to know. Another promising drive ended with Campbell getting sacked and knocked out of field goal range. I'm guessing everyone else was thinking just end this horrible half. Just end it. And it finally ended with a Bucs field goal to make it 10-0. "This is as bad as could as one could expect," I said to Dad on the phone. I told Joey, you know what, Campbell really needs to have a good half and win this game or it could be his end in Washington. Campbell himself echoed those sentiments after the game.
The Bucs started the second half with the ball, but on third down, Josh Johnson through deep into the zone and DeAngelo Hall was there to make a leaping grab for the interception. The Skins drove it down for a field goal. OK, we needed that, that's fine. We got the ball back, and thanks to a couple of gutsy scrambles by Campbell, the Skins got into the redzone for the first time. After a false start penalty, Campbell found Cooley over the middle who caught the ball just over the goal line for the score. It would have been 10-10, but that a-hole Ronde Barber (damn, he really finds a way to kill us. I think he's got a couple of touchdowns or game saving interceptions against us over the years) came around the end and blocked the extra point, so it was 10-9.
If you're a Redskins fan, you think, that's ok, we've got momentum, its early in the half, we'll score again, AND you also think, oh too bad we're gonna lose by 1 point now life sucks.
The defense got it back for us once again, and we started the next drive at our own 41. On first down, Campbell dropped back, with play action, and delivered a perfect bomb to Santana Moss who had made a double move, caught it and ran it in for the score. Hell yes! 16-10.
Campbell would later get picked off for a third time, again looking deep for Moss. This started a long tortuous drive for the Bucs that lasted about 8 minutes. As they got closer, I continually lamented the blocked extra point. On third and goal, Johnson was forced to scramble to his left, couldn't find a receiver, and was taken down at the four. With four minutes left, I'm thinking, holy shit they're gonna go for it and win by 1. If they kick the field goal, and hope to get the ball back, we're gonna win. They kicked the field goal. I called Dad and said I can't believe they kicked it. If we had stopped them, we'd be at our own four with a QB who's turned the ball over 4 times and a punter who is a kicker. If I was the winless Bucs, I'd have gone for it. The Skins were almost able to run out the clock. Portis needed 5 yards on third down, but tripped and got 4. I got back on the phone with Dad who said: go for it. I said it was tempting, but you have to punt. By the end of the coversation, I was conviced we should go for it, but Suisham punted about 30 yards to the Bucs 20. On third and short, in the shotgun formation, that rookie Jarmon was ready for the draw play, stuck out his hand and forced the fumble that Horton recovered. Game over, V formation.
With expectations recalibrated and lowered, this is a win to feel "happy" about. The NFL experts will say we stink because we can barely beat or barely lose to the crappy teams. But if they were to assume that we are what we are, which is crappy, a win makes us good. It makes sense. We have a solid defense that I think will get better as the year goes on. On offense, they made big plays this week but turned it over. Portis looked really solid considering his bad ankles but I have to wonder whether 25 carries/98 yards is the best he can do right now. On the other hand, they did find some success running on the right side which is cause for a little hope.
Dad says:
It was a Tale of Two Games, and I have to admit, I totally gave up on Jason Campbell. I wanted him yanked for Todd Collins. I had lots of good reasons for this. I recalled how, when Collins came in for Campbell at the end of the 2007 season (Gibbs' last), all of sudden, the ball started coming out crisply and easily. All of a sudden, there were open receivers being hit in stride. It was like we had been riding in sports car all season, with one foot on the brake peddle, and when Collins came in, the brake was released.
I still see that when Campbell is the QB. Sure, I know the O line stinks. And, I have been saying this for at least two years, and now, it stinks even more. We have two no names on the right side (now that Randy Thomas is out for the year), and the left side is too old to matter. So, we are really challenged. And our two year receivers also stink. Still, when Campbell drops back, he looks like he doesn't see the field well or quickly. And, he has a huge wind up, not the quick release I would prefer.
Ok, so that's why I wanted Campbell out. In spite of the weaknesses that appear to be undermining his ability to succeed, I wanted to test the hypothesis that it's not really his fault, because of Collins came out slinging like 2007, then there would be no denying that Campbell is a C+/B- QB who will never take any team deep into the playoffs.
Zorn stuck with Campbell, and with the benefit of hindsight, it worked, at least for one game against a woeful opponent. Campbell made two very nice throws to Cooley and Moss to pull this out of the fire, and he gets lots of credit for that. He gets lots of credit, too, for perserverence and character. I really like the guy. But I remain skeptical that he has the package of skills to get us where we want to be.
Are we really a mediocre team, from A to Z, as I fear we are, or is a large part of the problem Campbell? I still want to know, but Zorn is not gonna make that move for reasons I fully understand and respect. It's a really tough call.
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