Monday Morning H-BackThe Detroit Lions are who we thought they were. They are 0-7 with a bullet, brothers and sisters. A performance like Sunday's, against any other operation, and the Skins lose. That Detroit defense is a joke. The Skins could back up to third-and-30 and still pick up first downs when they had to. You don't overcome the holding penalties and personal fouls against decent football teams. Teams with anything going for them don't allow that bizarre drive at the end of the half with the long field goal.Skins commit a hold to negate a 19-yard gain, back themselves up to their own 9 inside the two-minute warning, then have an offensive pass interference wipe out a 17-yard gain. On the drive the Skins faced second-and-19, second-and-27, third-and-19, first-and-20, first-and-15 ... and still picked up four first downs, moved 58 yards on eight plays in 2:22 and connected on a 47-yard field goal at the end of the half.Rod Marinelli must have wanted to gather his entire defense on the sideline and do his best impression of Jim Zorn ripping Durant Brooks/Clinton Portis. Yikes. That's bad football.As we always say, you take the ugly win every time, but the time will be coming soon when winning ugly won't be as easy. It's been a while since we've seen a sound, disciplined outing on all phases of play, and should the Redskins continue the penalty/turnover/miscue fest against the Steelers, they could get embarrassed on national TV Monday night.As for the game, you guys tell me how a team could compile the following statistical domination in the opening half and yet trail:The Skins outgained the Lions 250-90, held the ball for 21:27, ran 39 plays to just 19 for the Lions and Detroit completed just three passes. Well, the six penalties for 48 yards sure had a lot to do with it, and the shoddy pass protection - which led to sacks and fumbles - didn't help, and the lack of pass rush/turnovers from the defense - against a team as hell-bent on imploding as the Lions are - doesn't help, either. And the Skins getting six points out of three trips to the red zone, and the Lions getting 14 out of their two trips goes a long way to explaining the situation as well.It's clear there are a few issues that need to be corrected here at the midpoint. On offense, all of a sudden it's impossible to score more than a TD or two a game.They have to finish drives, and the litany of errors around the goal line on that opening dive was brutal (Skins also became the only team to allow the Lions to score in the first quarter all season, off that turnover; it was 55-0 entering the game). Santana Moss's individual brilliance, coupled with what was essentially a statistically perfect outing from Jason Campbell, was enough to overcome the collective malaise.On defense, the sacks/turnovers quotient is going to have to be there to win games in January. It's vital. Carlos Rogers is playing like a total stud, but those dropped INTs are the difference between putting inferior teams away early, and playing another four-quarter battle royale. If Jason Taylor is indeed playing at 60 percent as he says he is, then save him from himself and play someone else until he is healthy. The procedure he is supposed to have might end up doing that for the Redskins, but especially with Cornelius Griffin coming back and Demetric Evans not having to play as much at tackle, give Demetric Evans the bulk of the snaps at right end. He's thriving and had another excellent game yesterday. Taylor needs to sit.On special teams, the penalties are crippling. LaRon Landry's diving block in the back directly in front of an official was flawlessly executed (he's beginning to fall into the penalty rut that was a big issue in his rookie season). There seems to be at least a few potentially-damning teams penalties each week. And the punting game needs to become more consistent. I think Ryan Plackemeier will be okay in that regard.As for the game itself, I thought that Zorn was just being Zorn in the sideline thing with Portis. That's who he is and I think it was great of him to seize the moment and express how he feels. And I also think it's hardly that big a deal and is the kind of thing that happens all the time in this league. Would the previous coach ever have dreamed of doing it? No way, but he also gave Portis special treatment. The rest of the coaches and players knew it, and that's why Zorn handling his issues with Portis in the same direct manner he would have with Brooks or anyone else was well received.That's football, folks. People get angry and coaches expect and demand certain things. Then the moment passes, you feed the guy the ball and you move on.The game again had the feel of the Gibbs-led Skins. Zorn favored the run and didn't take too many shots, it again had the look of the Gibbs offense and not the typical West Coast approach (power running, deeper drops for Campbell), just with a few more multi-receiver sets. Some of the constant issues from Gibbs 2.0 are cropping up with more regularity now (penalties, turnovers, not finishing drives) and again the Redskins had to scramble late to get out of the stadium with a win (if Jon Jansen hadn't pounced on that late fumble, the Lions might have just pulled this thing out).Chris Samuels can't come back soon enough for Campbell's health. Stephon Heyer had a rough, rough day, and let me tell you that was docile a road environment as you will ever find. There were empty seats all over the place and the crowd had no detectable pulse. Samuels' knee problem is not said to be too serious, and the way Pittsburgh moves those LBs in that 3-4 scheme and stunts and overloads ... yikes. It's very difficult coming in cold after being out with injury for a while, and having to switch to the left side on top of that, and Heyer will battle, but that was a rough outing.Kedric Golston put together a second straight excellent game, and Evans does not get nearly as much credit as he deserves filling a huge role with Griffin out. He got a big sack and was a presence, which is saying something on a line without Griffin and with Taylor not adding much. They need to get more big plays out of their starting ends - Carter and Taylor combined for one sack.I thought the Skins did a nice job on Calvin Johnson for the most part - with Landry shaded over him on a lot of obvious passing downs - save for a few missed tackles. Devin Thomas's growing affinity for special teams is a positive sign, and he made another big play Sunday (though nearly knocking down Moss on that punt return might have been huge).As much as Moss adds to the return game, it really is a risk. With no real complimentary deep threat emerging, he's on the field constantly, and also returning punts is tough. Losing him would be crushing and that hamstring was barking a little Sunday, at least enough for the team to put him on the injury list. Hammies have not been kind to him and I'm sure they will watch it closely.I thought it was a little odd that Fred Davis never got on the field after being featuring in three-wide sets, with an emphasis placed on getting him the ball, and I wonder if Greg Blache starts giving Chris Wilson a few more chances to rush the passer on third down (I didn't think Marcus Washington made much of his opportunities to blitz Sunday). I thought Mike Green did a heck of a job as a starting safety in a last-minute change of roles after being here only a week or so.Bottom line, is few people around the NFL expected the Skins to be 6-2 at the midway point, me included. The first half was tough and they found ways to win, and string victories together. They actually have a little margin for error with NFC East games upcoming and if they beat the teams they are supposed to beat, they should be in line for a playoff push.
efensive end Jason Taylor will undergo a second surgical procedure Monday to have fluid drained from his left calf, Coach Jim Zorn said after practice today at Redskins Park."There's been talk about it, but to be honest, I don't even know what the game plan is right now," Taylor said late this afternoon of his upcoming surgery. "I'm going to the hospital now to find out what we're going to do. The only thing I'm really focusing in on right now is hopefully playing in the game on Sunday and trying to help this team beat the Lions. The rest of it doesn't really matter right now. I've been hurt for a month, and it hasn't changed."Taylor, whom Zorn said would play against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, has healed slowly after having emergency surgery Sept. 22 to relieve acute compartment syndrome, a buildup of pressure on muscle groups because of internal bleeding. It is unclear whether Taylor would miss the Nov. 3 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedEx Field.The former NFL defensive player of the year has healed slowly, in part, because he has played the last two weeks against the St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns. The constant pounding on Taylor's calf has had an adverse effect on the healing process, Zorn said.Taylor underwent tests Thursday to determine if an infection could be contributing to his lack of progress in healing. He has no infection, Zorn said.By Cindy Boren | October 24, 2008; 1:17 PM ET
Now if he could get healthy and start to really produce on the field.
Now if he could get healthy and start to really produce on the field.
Unless, by "objective and detached of a voice" you mean "knows nothing about the NFL or even about males in high levels of competition".
Unless, by "objective and detached of a voice" you mean "knows nothing about the NFL or even about males in high levels of competition".
As long as TB and I are in agreement that SJ is a hack, at best, when it comes to Redskins "reporting", all is well in the world. 
