Weak Six

Of course. Classic trap game and the Skins fall right into the trap.

Everything pointed to the Rams pulling off the upset. The 0-4 Rams were in a desperate funk, most importantly, had two weeks to prepare, had re-installed Marc Bulger as starting QB, and were determined to make a strong first impression with Haslett at the helm. In addition, the potential has been there all along - they just hadn't pulled it all together. The record obviously belied the talent. In addition, the Skins were huge favorites and all the pundits had finally jumped on the bandwagon.

In some ways, it's good that the team deals with this adversity now so that after they get past the next few games, they don't suddenly spiral downwards when encountering stiff competition. That would be the Norv Turner team that started 6-2 but finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

The Skins ran the ball well. On the other hand, the Rams obviously found something to exploit in the Redskins offense that led to stalls, breakdowns and the first offensive turnovers of the season. The 4-1 start had many fans irrationally exhuberant, including yours truly.

However, it's reasonable to assume that the second half of the season will be much tougher than the first half. Coordinators will have much more film on both Zorn's and Blache's plays and tendencies and will better able to game-plan Washington on both sides of the ball. A 10-6 season and playoff appearance would definitely make for a successful season.

Just as I feared the inevitable trap loss to the Rams, I believe the team will solidly bounce back with a nice victory in Week 7.

Week Five

Not panicking. Not abandoning the game plan. Jim Zorn has done a remarkable job with this veteran football team in keeping everyone even-keeled. Staying the course. Whatever you want to call it. The Redskins spotted the Eagles a great first drive and DeSean Jackson's punt return to be down by two touchdowns. By sticking to the plan, the team then scored 23 unanswered points before Akers' last FG.

What's better is that Zorn and Jason Campbell didn't force the long ball to Santana Moss when it was obvious that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson insisted on taking it away. So Moss ended up without any catches. Contrary to Terrell Owens, though, Moss was glad as long as his team won. Clinton Portis and Cooley, the two other primary offensive weapons, picked up the slack as would be expected with the attention paid to Moss, and both had huge days. Portis has talked about it before - "Pick your poison," he says. What will get the offense to the next level is improving depth. Ladell Betts needs to be able to provide the same mojo in the running game without Portis. Fred Davis needs to step up his game so he not only supplants Todd Yoder as the backup TE but develops into a full-fledged TE weapon. If and when Davis can develop to his full potential, Zorn will be able to employ a bevy of two TE sets that challenges every opposing defense.

Looking ahead, the ExtremeSkins blog summarizes what just about every Skins fan is thinking about the upcoming game with the winless Rams. It's a trap game against a team looking to break out. They've had a bye week, meaning an extra week to heal up and develop the perfect game plan. The Rams still have Steven Jackson, Marc Bulger, Orlando Pace, and Torry Holt.