Funny pictures

A graphic from Sunday's game. Trend?:

I couldn't have put it better myself Riggo:

How'd Brady beat out this stud for the GQ cover?

Grading Sunday's performance in Philly

Washington fell to 3-8 Sunday after losing to division rival Philadelphia 27-24 and I must admit I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find new and different things to say about a team that simply makes the same mistakes over and over again.

Washington forfeited an 8-point lead late in the fourth. Already seen it. Landry went for the kill-shot and missed a crucial open-field tackle that led to a pivotal touchdown. Surprise, surprise. The offense carelessly turned the ball over multiple times early in the game resulting in 6 easy points and an uphill climb to get back in the game. Story of the season.

This week, in spirit of finals week looming, I'm giving out grades.

Run offense: C

Rock had 38 yards on 15 carries. Ganther added 32 on 5. Campbell would have contributed a few more had holding penalties not wiped out impressive scrambles. It's hard to scrutinize a unit composed of backups in the wake of injuries to Portis, Betts, Samuels, Thomas, Cooley, Rhino, Mike Williams, and now Sellers. That's why I left off the minus. Credit the Philly run defense for stopping Washington's ground attack but 82 total yards minimizes time of possession and sabotages any possibility of play action. Most alarming stat: four first downs rushing. Nothing to be thankful for.

Pass offense: B-

The 2 second quarter INTs were devastating. But the Skins were leading 14-10 and 14-13 when they were thrown so some of the blame falls on the play-calling for not protecting the lead. Excluding those 2 throws, Campbell played well. He again extended plays with his feet and threw an accurate deep ball. He found nine different WRs and completed passes of 27, 29, and 35 yards. Most importantly, he engineered 2 different 80-yard scoring drives - noteworthy of any 21st century Redskins QB. Sad.

Washington allowed 1 sack but Campbell was hit 5 times and pressured countless more. Levi Jones struggled against a faster, quicker Trent Cole and Stephon Heyer appeared to have been playing with headphones on after being called for 2 false starts. It goes without saying what I think needs to be primarily addressed in the offseason regardless of whether Samuels returns or not.

Run defense: C-

There's a reason why Washington's pass defense is ranked tops in the league: why throw when you can run? With Haynesworth out of the lineup for the second week in a row, Washington surrendered 123 yards on the ground. Starters McCoy and Weaver averaged 4.5 and 7.3 YPC respectively and recorded runs of 12, 12, 18, and 19 yards. Unacceptable. Success in the running game led to success in the play-action game and the Redskins secondary just isn't good enough at staying disciplined on double moves. It's amazing to me that Fletch played as well as he did without Haynesworth in front of him. $100 mill? It's too early to tell but the ineffectiveness of Carter and Orakpo during Big Al's absence in the past 2 weeks substantiates his value.

Pass defense: C+

As the season goes on, the secondary's play is beginning to cause some concern for those who felt the entire summer could be focused on improving the offense. Now it seems to need to be addressed come February. Hall's out for a few weeks. Horton's out for the season. Rogers can't cover. Landry can't tackle and Barnes and Tryon, well, have proved Vinny to be the judge of talent we all know he is (see earlier posts for further Vinny-bashing).

Washington's secondary made McNabb and Co. look like the 2000 Rams. Even after Fletch knocked out Jackson, Maclin and Avant were effective in moving the chains against an increasingly suspect pass defense. It seemed their only chance of stopping the big play was getting to McNabb before he could deliver it. Hence, Tryon's interception off Chris Wilson's tip.

Special Teams: B

This one was tough. Sure Suisham made his only attempt from 25 out and Washington dominated on both sides of the kick return game from the opening kickoff, but Hunter the punter kicked 2 balls into the end zone wasting critical field position. When he wasn't sailing balls out of the end zone, he was outkicking his coverage; Jackson returned one punt 29 yards.

Washington's defense forced 5 Sav Rocca punts but the special teams only notched one return yard. Although admittedly reliable, the Redskins special teams generates zero big plays. No blocks, no big returns, few punts within the 5 yard line, and only recently have they executed game-changing fakes. The Redskins have ended up on the losing side of close games seemingly the entire decade. It leaves me wondering how many games would have gone the other way had Washington consistently sent out Santana or DeAngelo Hall rather than Randle El, Cartwright, or journeyman James Thrash.

Coaching: B-

Because of the injuries and, thus, the JV squad Washington sends out every week, it's hard to accurately grade the coaching staff. The play-calling system is ludicrous. Coach X calls the runs, coach Y calls the passes, coach Z calls the pizza guy at halftime.

The game management is laughable. The Redskins again found themselves without timeouts to stop the clock at the end of the game. Up 14-13 with less than a minute ago in the first half, Zorn neglected to run the clock out resulting in an INT that gave Philly the lead and the ball at half.

That being said, I applaud the coaching staff for finding ways to motivate their players into playing the way they do this late in the season with nothing to play for. Sure the playoffs are out of the question. So is the division and, realistically, a .500 record. But some haven't forgot who they play for: the fans. I think Zorn understands that and that earns my respect.

Offensive MVP: the 2008 second rounders

10 catches, 139 yards, and a TD. Thomas added a few nice kick returns on special teams. If/when the offensive line's shortcomings are ever adequately addressed, in my opinion, the next unit that needs to be confronted is the receiving corps. However, on Sunday, it seemed as if they had arrived. For the first time since being drafted, it seemed as if they knew their assignments, ran good routes, and capitalized on those opportunities. Maybe it was a fluke, maybe we'll never see this much Fred Davis again when Cooley returns to the lineup next season, but on Sunday, they all got open, some got deep, and one scored. And that's a start.

Defensive MVP: London Fletcher

... duh. Peep this box score: 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass deflection, 1 QB hit, and one knockout of DeSean Jackson, not to mention the countless other times Fletch "ear-holed" Philly offensive players.

Here's the link for Pro Bowl voting: http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot. Do it now. The man is 3rd in the league in tackles (7 behind 1st place), and is the undisputed leader on a top 10 defense. When all else fails, London doesn't. While others point fingers, London is already thinking about next week. And if anyone is going to finish the season, it's London Fletcher.

After the game, in the locker room, rookie LB Brian Orakpo was overheard mentioning the Skins have nothing left to play for but pride. Washington has 5 games remaining, the next of which is against undefeated New Orleans. It would be indescribable for this dispirited franchise and its fans if Washington was the one to hand them their first loss.

Fletcher's reply: "Next week, we'll be playing hard."