First things first, congratulations on your victory. I didn't come here to make petty excuses, or tell you how you're in for a beating next time. I just came to give a Commander's fan view of the game, which believe it or not is slightly more elaborate than, "Wow, we sucked."
Personally, I don't think either team played too well. Obviously the Commanders were far worse off, primarily on offense, but the Cowboys have some kinks to work out as well. The dropped passes and penalties are going to be a problem for you guys, but luckily you went up against a team that was so obviously unprepared it didn't even matter.
There were 3 people that are ultimately responsible for the loss the Commanders took tonight.
1. Mark Brunell - Mark, have you forgotten that you are actually capable of being a good Quarterback? This guy proved last year that he still had it in him, but I think he's proving that he's not capable of operating a new offense. What the hell is with the dropping back? When you drop back 15 freaking yards, you're going to have to throw the ball 25 yards to get a 10 yard game. Simple math, yet you continue to drop back marathons.
Brunell's doesn't have the strongest arm. He keep choosing to throw these sideline routes where it seems like the ball takes two seconds to get to his target. If this guy wants success he needs to start working the seams- the sideline crap isn't cutting it.
Find a happy medium- he's either holding onto the ball way too long, or letting go way too early. The guy will throw the ball away when he's still got a few seconds to look for something developing, yet he'll hold onto the ball when it's obvious there is nothin' doin'.
Brunell was bad out there. Real bad. I've been a Brunell supporter this entire offseason and all last year, but he proved to me tonight that the lights are dimming.
2. Al Saunders - What the hell? We've got a stellar recieving core in Moss, Lloyd and Randle El, not to mention Cooley, yet every other play was a dump off to Ladell Betts. What is with the run on first and second down philosophy? One would think that after we have like 65 bloody 3rd and longs we'd throw the ball. I'm still willing to see how this guy's playcalling developes, but he was just straight up dumb tonight.
Of course we can attribute some of the lack of offense to a great performance by the Cowboys secondary, but I think it was primarily terrible playcalling by Saunders, which put us in horriblely obvious situations, and Brunell's straight up abysmal performance.
It's a very, very primitive concept. Get the ball in the hands of your playmaker. Santana Moss is our playmaker. Last week we ran like six wide reciever screens. This week, until that last meaningless drive, Moss touched the ball twice. He had the medium gain catch, and thirty yard or so reverse. Why wouldn't either give him a screen, or take a shot downfield at least once? It is how we beat this team last year, afterall.
3. Gregg Williams - Where are the blitz packages? For someone who's so famed for having such efficient blitz setups, he sure was entirely too conservative tonight. Especially with the lack of pressure from our front four.
Some other observations:
Of course I'm sure the Roy Williams vs Sean Taylor debate is hot as ever, as both of them made cases for 'who is the better safety.' Both played well tonight, Taylor with a few big hits and the forced fumble, and Williams with the 3rd and 1 stop and the Interception. (The TD to Glenn was not Taylor's fault. He was trying to cover for whoever blew that coverage.)
I still stand by what I said awhile ago about these two: Commanders fans will always think Taylor is better, and the same goes for Cowboys fans and Williams. No matter how they play, those ideas will always be engraved in my mind. I will say however, that anyone who said Sean Taylor can't put on a big hit (believe me, some people on here have said it) have been quieted. Then again, everyone who said the Skins would win were also quieted.
It's so hard to remember some times that it's the beginning of the season. We're 0-2, you are 1-1. Both of those starts are dissapointing considering the esteem we hold our teams in. This loss was demoralizing in every way, but even so, we're only one game out of the 3 way tie. There's a lot of football to be played.
Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.
It will be interesting to see how this season plays out. Hopefully the refs will be a little less quick to their flags and let the players play a bit. There were entirely too many flags for both teams tonight.
Congratulations once again. You guys wrote this chapter of our rivalries book, and there's no denying you outplayed us. I can only hope the next chapter plays out a bit differently. Good luck to you all.
Kevin
