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.

Week Four (surprise!)

I didn't have high expectations for Washington this week. I just dearly hoped that they would not be absolutely blown out of the water by the high-powered Cowboys.

Instead, what happened was that the Jim Zorn-led Skins kept pace with Dallas for the first half. Then, in the second half, Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, and mates consistently drove into Dallas territory to come away with three field goals. Meanwhile, the Skins defense contained Romo, Barber, Witten, and TO, keeping them from any meaningful drives until their last touchdown. It's hard to draw convincing conclusions without the benefit of studying the "NFL Matchup" show's famous coaching tape but it sure seems that defensive coordinator Greg Blache is coming up with all the right game plans. He's even doing it while shorthanded - Jason Taylor was out, Marcus Washington was playing hurt, and corners Fred Smoot and Shawn Springs were sitting on the sidelines during the game. It's still early to call it a masterful job by Blache but the early returns are certainly encouraging. The Horton interception was absolutely a beautifully designed and executed defensive play. Romo never saw it coming.

Now Washington travels to Philly to take on the rejuvenated McNabb and the Eagles at the Linc. Can Zorn handle Jim Johnson's blitz schemes? Will Blache dial up the right defensive plans to contain McNabb and Westbrook (assuming he returns from injury)? The Skins are building up confidence. Let's hope that they can respond if they run into adversity early on next week.

Week Three

True grit. The Skins hung tough and pulled out the win against a rising Cards team. Two wins against some decent teams. Can they continue the momentum?

Aside from Campbell's development, what I've been most impressed with the last couple weeks are Zorn's gutsy play-calls to close out the game. Against the Saints, he went for it on fourth-and-two and the slant to Moss gave the Skins the necessary first down to run out the clock. Similarly, against the Cardinals, Campbell rolled out on a naked bootleg after a play-fake to Portis and dumped a nice pass under pressure to Cooley. Cooley easily got the first down and more.

In comparison, Joe Gibbs would have gone for the safe calls - running the ball and milking the clock. The great thing about Jim Zorn's calls is that they are tremendous boosts of confidence for the players - it lets the Skins O control the end of the game, instead of hoping that the opposing offense runs out of time. On the Cooley pass, it was very well executed, as play-by-play man Larry Michael was fooled along with the Cardinals defense. Sellers and Portis sold it well.

The next two games are true tests on the road. The Cowboys are looking invincible. The Skins will have to be on their top game to stop the Boys. The last time they faced Dallas, Sean Taylor was missing and TO had a monster game. Let's hope that Blache can call up another great defensive game plan.

Week 2 Surprise

After the clunker in Week One against the Giants, I was sure that the Redskins were doomed to a woeful season of ineptitude, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Instead, the offense came up with plenty of huge plays on Sunday.

The Saints are a high-powered team with a standout quarterback in Brees and the most versatile player on the field in Reggie Bush. Shockey's no slouch, either. Fortunately, the Redskins didn't have to contend with Marques Colston. His big-play ability would definitely have changed the complexion of the game.

The big change was Jason Campbell. He was decisive in his throws and when the first option wasn't there, he went through his progressions. Amazing what a difference a week makes. All Skins fans hope that the progress continues against the scary Cardinals this Sunday.

The Cardinals offense is so explosive, it's scary. The Skins D will really need to pull it all together to contain their playmakers - Boldin, Fitzgerald, triggerman Kurt Warner, and Edgerrin James. The Skins were very lucky last year to escape with a win on a long missed field goal by Neil Rackers. They need more than luck to take on the 2-0 Cards.