Tonight just confirms what we already knew...

[Stash]

Ahh, while watching preseason games, I really don't think real football fans put too much stock into records or wins and loses. I think its how well they play and the mistakes they make. Showing the Raiders and Colts preseason record means nothing. For example, we won but we played well and looked pretty good while winning. The Foreskins won but looked absolutely terrible while doing so.. It's how you play in preseason, not your record...

If you just saw the final score, you'd think that the Commanders won that game last night!

 

[Jack-Reacher]

Ahh, while watching preseason games, I really don't think real football fans put too much stock into records or wins and loses. I think its how well they play and the mistakes they make. Showing the Raiders and Colts preseason record means nothing. For example, we won but we played well and looked pretty good while winning. The Foreskins won but looked absolutely terrible while doing so.. It's how you play in preseason, not your record...

I agree with that, and I think you need to look at the makeup of the team as well. The Colts have an amazing team, but once you look beyond the starting 22 the talent level drops off radically. Since the preseason is by its very nature designed to take a look at your backups, looking at wins and losses is misleading. Look at our game against the Colts. We managed to hang all of 6 points on them with our starters? The rest of our points came against backups. I wouldn't be too excited about that. I found a lot in that game to be excited about, but the final score was not one of them.

 

[InmanRoshi]

When you have an area or troublespot that was bad the previous year, and it still looks bad in preseason .. that's not good.

See Jon Jansen.

 

[Mansta54]

When you have an area or troublespot that was bad the previous year, and it still looks bad in preseason .. that's not good.

See Jon Jansen.

Amen!!! He's terrible and BP basically said so last year. He's so OVERRATED. The guy is very good anymore. Foreskin fans who are my friends see it tho.. Joey Porter and Jason Taylor will give Christina Samuels and Janson BIG problems on opening day..

 

[Avery]

I was alarmed how bad Jansen looked last night. If he doesn't improve quickly, tackle is suddenly a huge question mark.

Only a preseason game, but he looked nothing like his former self.

 

[Mansta54]

I was alarmed how bad Jansen looked last night. If he doesn't improve quickly, tackle is suddenly a huge question mark.

Only a preseason game, but he looked nothing like his former self.

Christina Samuels is hurt with a knee and Janson gets beat like a drum and they open up with Jason "DPOY" Taylor and Joey Porter coming off both edges.. Loooong day for JC.

 

[TunaFan33]

Ahh, while watching preseason games, I really don't think real football fans put too much stock into records or wins and loses. I think its how well they play and the mistakes they make. Showing the Raiders and Colts preseason record means nothing. For example, we won but we played well and looked pretty good while winning. The Foreskins won but looked absolutely terrible while doing so.. It's how you play in preseason, not your record...

Again-it doesn't matter how good/horrid these teams look.

For example, 2 years ago-Big Ben started rolling heads in Pitt b/c his awful mechanics problem that ended in '04 carried over in the preseason(he continued to make high throws)-however, miraculously, his mechanics somehow got *cured* from the opening kickoff in wk 1.

Same with the Skins that same preseason-they looked HORRID(with their lone win coming against struggling Big Ben). And they had HUGE q-marks about their O-Line-look what happened thereafter. And FWIW too-Gibbs teams rarely ever look good in the preseason anyways(that '91 team went 1-3).

And I posted the same thing about the Saints in another thread and their woeful '06 preseason.

Yes-I was rather pleased that this team is more relaxed and playing with more enthusiasm(which never happened under Parcells). But again-we have a LONG, LONG way to go. We're EVALUATING players now.

 

[Mansta54]

Again-it doesn't matter how good/horrid these teams look.

For example, 2 years ago-Big Ben started rolling heads in Pitt b/c his awful mechanics problem that ended in '04 carried over in the preseason(he continued to make high throws)-however, miraculously, his mechanics somehow got *cured* from the opening kickoff in wk 1.

Same with the Skins that same preseason-they looked HORRID(with their lone win coming against struggling Big Ben). And they had HUGE q-marks about their O-Line-look what happened thereafter. And FWIW too-Gibbs teams rarely ever look good in the preseason anyways(that '91 team went 1-3).

And I posted the same thing about the Saints in another thread and their woeful '06 preseason.

Yes-I was rather pleased that this team is more relaxed and playing with more enthusiasm(which never happened under Parcells). But again-we have a LONG, LONG way to go. We're EVALUATING players now.

This is so incorrect! When a team plays well in preseason and by playing well I mean executing, tackling, and commiting few penalties, generally plays well during the season. No, I'm not talking about wins and losses either. You can get a good read during preseason games on what to expect from your team during the regular season if you know what to look for.

 

[Hostile]

Brunell as a back up is alone pretty decent depth, add in Collins who knows (or should) the offense pretty well. WR for the needs of the offens emakes sense, they all fit the system, DL is better than most would like to admit, there is some tenure, and some young guys who are decent but still raw.

I can't agree with you here. I think Brunell and Collins are the same boat as we are with Johnson.

I look at your WRs and can't imagine how you think they fit the system. Moss is the only one who could start for other teams and I don't know that he'd the #1 on most teams.

Same with D-line. I think it needed to be addressed and hasn't been. 19 sacks just doesn't cover my expectations. I admit they are at times epicurean in nature.

I look at our team and see a need in the very near future to upgrade in a couple of areas and inject youth in others. I look at your team and see a glaring need to inject some youth.

Pretty sure he meant last night.

On a side note, I like your point about FAs or players traded for, but that is across the board in today's NFL. T.O., Moss, Portis, Glenn, Davis, Fletcher, etc.

I was pretty sure he did too, but I didn't want to assume that he wasn't talking about the Washington win last year.

TO is a perfect example of what I am talking about. He had always been in a West Coast system before coming here and had success. As such he didn't work as hard as he needed to to learn our system, and he complained a bit about it at times. "Why did you bring me here."

I will ALWAYS prefer draft picks and UDFA's who start with the Cowboys to Free Agents. I believe they are more respectful of team and less focused on themselves. I have been saying this for years now and Skins fans have disagreed with me because you squander draft picks for Free Agents and say things like proven players > draft picks. I disagree. I always have, I always will.

I would rather draft a Terence Newman than sign a Deion Sanders.

 

[Mansta54]

I can't agree with you here. I think Brunell and Collins are the same boat as we are with Johnson.

I look at your WRs and can't imagine how you think they fit the system. Moss is the only one who could start for other teams and I don't know that he'd the #1 on most teams.

Same with D-line. I think it needed to be addressed and hasn't been. 19 sacks just doesn't cover my expectations. I admit they are at times epicurean in nature.

I look at our team and see a need in the very near future to upgrade in a couple of areas and inject youth in others. I look at your team and see a glaring need to inject some youth.


I was pretty sure he did too, but I didn't want to assume that he wasn't talking about the Washington win last year.

TO is a perfect example of what I am talking about. He had always been in a West Coast system before coming here and had success. As such he didn't work as hard as he needed to to learn our system, and he complained a bit about it at times. "Why did you bring me here."

I will ALWAYS prefer draft picks and UDFA's who start with the Cowboys to Free Agents. I believe they are more respectful of team and less focused on themselves. I have been saying this for years now and Skins fans have disagreed with me because you squander draft picks for Free Agents and say things like proven players > draft picks. I disagree. I always have, I always will.

I would rather draft a Terence Newman than sign a Deion Sanders.

No draft picks is also why they have no depth.. NONE!!!

 

[redskins1]

Amen!!! He's terrible and BP basically said so last year. He's so OVERRATED. The guy is very good anymore. Foreskin fans who are my friends see it tho.. Joey Porter and Jason Taylor will give Christina Samuels and Janson BIG problems on opening day..

we gave up just 19 sacks the whole year last season.3rd best in the league..jon jansen and the rest of my oline know how to play..dont read to much into preseason play..you know better!!!

 

[DallasDomination]

I wont count out the NFC east rivals just yet. They always give us a hard time, even when they stink horribly.

But I agree with everyone here, Washington and NY looked horrible. if you cant do anything against the Titans first team defense you are in trouble. The titans are a Joke on both sides of the ball. And NY not being able to stop the panthers?..god, another team that isnt worth mentioning. Cowboys have it all laid out to win the East and represent the NFC in the SB.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

The East is a two team race. This may be the worst Washington team this decade (That is saying something), and the Giants will not pose much of a threat after losing their 2 best players

I wouldn't say that just yet.

Washington's defense will be tougher this year. They did use their playbook against the Titans and Kerry freaking Collins. But they looked much better at LB, DT, and the secondary. I don't think their pass rush will be all that great against decent teams with decent QB's because it's relying on the blitz, but their corner play was much better than it was in '06. I think Fletcher-Baker and McIntosh look like upgrades. I think you can run at Fletcher-Baker, but he was getting great protection from the DT's and of course he'll kill perimeter plays flat. Offensively I question how Campbell will do against teams that can get decent pressure on him. That first sack was his fault (missed a pre-snap check -- confirmed by Campbell) and Jansen was horrible last night with Wade not looking much better. Still, I can see them being a 7-9 team or better and giving other teams fits. If they catch some teams at the right time, they could be even better.

And while this was the best I've seen a Dallas team look in the first preseason game, from starter to backups that will never make the team, there's some concerns I see.

If Flozell gets hurt soon, then things get dicey and I don't think Free is ready just yet. And we can't afford to lose Gurode as we have nobody backing him up. It may not sound like much, but those two things can make a good situation go bad in a hurry.




YAKUZA

 

[Mansta54]

I wouldn't say that just yet.

Washington's defense will be tougher this year. They did use their playbook against the Titans and Kerry freaking Collins. But they looked much better at LB, DT, and the secondary. I don't think their pass rush will be all that great against decent teams with decent QB's because it's relying on the blitz, but their corner play was much better than it was in '06. I think Fletcher-Baker and McIntosh look like upgrades. I think you can run at Fletcher-Baker, but he was getting great protection from the DT's and of course he'll kill perimeter plays flat. Offensively I question how Campbell will do against teams that can get decent pressure on him. That first sack was his fault (missed a pre-snap check -- confirmed by Campbell) and Jansen was horrible last night with Wade not looking much better. Still, I can see them being a 7-9 team or better and giving other teams fits. If they catch some teams at the right time, they could be even better.

And while this was the best I've seen a Dallas team look in the first preseason game, from starter to backups that will never make the team, there's some concerns I see.

If Flozell gets hurt soon, then things get dicey and I don't think Free is ready just yet. And we can't afford to lose Gurode as we have nobody backing him up. It may not sound like much, but those two things can make a good situation go bad in a hurry.




YAKUZA

I think McQ steps right in and plays well just as he has so far. He's more then ready..

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I think McQ steps right in and plays well just as he has so far. He's more then ready..

Yeah, I'm probably more worried about the center spot. If one tackle goes down you can usually make up for it by protecting the backup. But Proctor didn't look good last night. It's not that he just had a bad game, it's that he doesn't look like he has that much ability to begin with or at least not enough to play at this level.




YAKUZA

 

[burmafrd]

There are two critical positions that we have no good backups at:
CENTER and NT. Now I THINK that Ratlif or Spears could step in at NT, but they would be green and get schooled some. Being weak up the middle is not a good thing.
CENTER to me is the absolute weak spot- we have NO one who has played any amount of time at center except our starter- GUrode is tough and has not had an injury problem but then again that COULD have been said about the Hotel before his injury.

 

[5Stars]

There are two critical positions that we have no good backups at:
CENTER and NT. Now I THINK that Ratlif or Spears could step in at NT, but they would be green and get schooled some. Being weak up the middle is not a good thing.
CENTER to me is the absolute weak spot- we have NO one who has played any amount of time at center except our starter- GUrode is tough and has not had an injury problem but then again that COULD have been said about the Hotel before his injury.

Remember though, after the final cuts the team might address that. If they don't then I guess they have other options...

 

[firehawk350]

I wouldn't say that just yet.

Washington's defense will be tougher this year. They did use their playbook against the Titans and Kerry freaking Collins. But they looked much better at LB, DT, and the secondary. I don't think their pass rush will be all that great against decent teams with decent QB's because it's relying on the blitz, but their corner play was much better than it was in '06. I think Fletcher-Baker and McIntosh look like upgrades. I think you can run at Fletcher-Baker, but he was getting great protection from the DT's and of course he'll kill perimeter plays flat. Offensively I question how Campbell will do against teams that can get decent pressure on him. That first sack was his fault (missed a pre-snap check -- confirmed by Campbell) and Jansen was horrible last night with Wade not looking much better. Still, I can see them being a 7-9 team or better and giving other teams fits. If they catch some teams at the right time, they could be even better.

And while this was the best I've seen a Dallas team look in the first preseason game, from starter to backups that will never make the team, there's some concerns I see.

If Flozell gets hurt soon, then things get dicey and I don't think Free is ready just yet. And we can't afford to lose Gurode as we have nobody backing him up. It may not sound like much, but those two things can make a good situation go bad in a hurry.

YAKUZA

I agree with most of this. The defense looked very solid, great at stopping the run, and Griffin wasn't in either. Fletcher is a beast, and I think Taylor is going to do much better now that we have a guy he can trust to stop the run. The secondary had some problems, but for the most part, we stopped the Titans from scoring when they had a short field.

Campbell looked good when Moss was in (the first two drives), driving the team (with no running game to speak of) past the 50 on both. He missed up a pre-snap read, but I don't think that is a mistake he'll make twice! Anyways, he'll take the blame every time I think, it just seems like he's that kinda guy. I thought Heyer should have passed the DE to Wade (who wasn't blocking anybody) since the DE made an inside move and slide out to blitzer. Samuels probably would have made the read better. Probably... Anyways, Cooley had to stay into help block, and assuming that the OL is better, getting Cooley out into the patterns will help a whole lot.

Jansen has always been a slow starter, but he usually does well in the reg season, so I'll wait for a couple of weeks before I hit the panic button.

The running game was embarrassing, but when you have half of your line starting for the first time at new positions or just starting for the first time, your going to have rough spots. If this problem (minus Heyer) isn't better by week 3 (of the preseason), I'll start worrying. I doubt though that taking away a single player will cause a huge OL collapse though, it's probably just a lot of rust.

Anyways, it's too early to tell, and I think it's a bit early to call a previously excellent OL bad because of a bad game.

 

[5Stars]

Anyways, it's too early to tell, and I think it's a bit early to call a previously excellent OL bad because of a bad game.

Pre-season bragging rights...that's all anyone does! It means nothing...nothing at all!

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I agree with most of this. The defense looked very solid, great at stopping the run, and Griffin wasn't in either. Fletcher is a beast

Fletcher is good if he gets protection up front because teams can run at him at will if the DT's are not that good. But last night they DT's played well, and he's just going to eat up perimeter runs. McIntosh looks better and more willing to take on blockers.

While I don't think the Commanders opened up their offensive playbook too much, they did open up their defensive playbook. They blitzed quite a bit and sent a lot of people. I think they blitzed on every third down in the first half.

Campbell looked good when Moss was in (the first two drives), driving the team (with no running game to speak of) past the 50 on both. He missed up a pre-snap read, but I don't think that is a mistake he'll make twice!

Well, pre-snap reads are pretty important and can often make or break the QB. I looked at his play as 2 great throws, 1 bad one, and he was late on a couple of other throws. His footwork has improved quite a bit from last season, but his windup throwing motion is a bit troublesome. But making deep throws doesn't make for a good QB. Deep throws are more often than not easy throws in the game. Rex Grossman and Quincy Carter throw a great deep ball, but that doesn't exactly make them good QB's. And when teams take away the deep ball to Berrian = Train-Rex. And when teams took away the deep ball to Terry Glenn/Joey Galloway = AFL2 Quincy.

If I were a Commanders fans, I'd be happy with the signs of improvement from the footwork and some of the throws. But I'd be concerned about his ability to read more complex blitzes and what he'll do against disciplined defenses that take away Moss on the deep ball.

Anyways, he'll take the blame every time I think, it just seems like he's that kinda guy. I thought Heyer should have passed the DE to Wade (who wasn't blocking anybody) since the DE made an inside move and slide out to blitzer. Samuels probably would have made the read better. Probably... Anyways, Cooley had to stay into help block, and assuming that the OL is better, getting Cooley out into the patterns will help a whole lot.

It wasn't Heyer's fault, the coaching staff stated on the radio that it was Campbell's fault for missing the pre-snap read and then Campbell admitted to it. That was the first thing it looked like to me given how Heyer blocked and it wasn't a complex blitz.

Jansen has always been a slow starter, but he usually does well in the reg season, so I'll wait for a couple of weeks before I hit the panic button.

He got off to a slow start and came around last season. I still question if he's got it given his age and last year he was decent, but noticeably worse than in other seasons. I kind of wonder about the Parcells comment from last season stating that Jansen isn't the same right tackle he used to be.

The running game was embarrassing, but when you have half of your line starting for the first time at new positions or just starting for the first time, your going to have rough spots. If this problem (minus Heyer) isn't better by week 3 (of the preseason), I'll start worrying. I doubt though that taking away a single player will cause a huge OL collapse though, it's probably just a lot of rust.

Anyways, it's too early to tell, and I think it's a bit early to call a previously excellent OL bad because of a bad game.

I agree, although I think they'll miss Dockery. Wade is best off at tackle.




YAKUZA