The Washington Redskins won with a 4th quarter comeback that was set up by the excellent play of the defense.  The Redskins held the Panthers to 101 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.0 ypc).  The Panthers completed 23 of 38 passes for 163 net yards passing and 2 INTs.

Jason Campbell was o.k. in his second start as he connected on 11 of 23 passes for 118 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT.  Ledell Betts had a good game with 24 carries for 103 yards (4.3 ypc).  T.J. Duckett pitched in with 7 carries for 24 yards (3.4 ypc).  Chris Cooley caught 3 passes for 89 yards and a TD (the TD was the game-winner in the 4th quarter and it was a 66 yarder).  Antwan Randle El only caught 1 pass, a 4-yard TD.

The Redskins improved to 4-7 with a solid home win over a decent football team.

The Carolina Panthers look like a new team after they had a bye week to regroup.  The Panthers have won their last two games by a combined score of 39-10.  The Redskins are going the other way having lost their last two games and 5 of their last 6.

It looks as if rookie DeAngelo Williams will get the start this week for the Panthers at running back and the Panthers will use him often against a Redskins defense that allows 121.2 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute that Jake Delhomme (2,161 yards passing) won’t throw the ball alot against the Redskins secondary which is one of the worst in the NFL.  The Redskins allow 237.6 net yards passing per game and have allowed 20 TD passes while only picking-off 3 passes the whole season.  No way that the Skins secondary can stop Steve Smith (57 rec, 870 yards) and Keyshawn Johnson (47 rec, 571 yards).

The Redskins will probably try to run the ball with LeDell Betts (384 yards rushing) and TJ Duckett to try to keep their defense on the sideline and control the clock.  Jason Campbell did a good job in his first start, but Carolina’s Defense is much better than Tampa’s.  The Redskins must be able to slow Julius Peppers (11 sacks) down or Campbell will be running for his like in the backfield.  To combat that, the Skins will probably keep the passes short and utilize TE Chris Cooley alot.

I just don’t see how this can be a competitive football game.  I think the Panthers win this game by a large margin!

The Redskins defense just couldn’t get off the field as the Bucs had possession of the football for 36:01 of the game. 

Jason Campbell had a good first start of his NFL career, as he completed 19 of 34 passes for 196 yards and 2 TDs.  TJ Duckett had 5 carries for 26 yards (5.2 ypc).  Ledell Betts carried the ball 7 times for 18 yards (2.6 ypc) and caught 5 passes for 48 yards.  Chris Cooley caught 5 passes for 58 yards and a TD.  Back-up TE Todd Yoder caught one pass, a 4-yard TD.

The Redskins just couldn’t stop the Bucs from running on them.  The Bucs had 42 carries for 181 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Bucs completed 14 of 21 passes for 178 net yards passing.

The Redskins didn’t deserve to win this game because of the poor defensive play, but Jason Campbell was a bright spot in his first start.

These two teams really mirror each other…and that’s not a good thing.  The Redskins have lost 4 of their last 5 games and the Bucs have lost three in a row.  Both teams start young QBs and have under-achieving defenses.

The Redskins will undoubtedly come out running the football with LeDell Betts and TJ Duckett against the soft Bucs run defense that has allowed 127.7 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.  With Santana Moss a little gimpy, look for Jason Campbell to throw the ball to Chris Cooley alot and challenge the safeties of the Bucs.  The Bucs have allowed 212.3 net yards passing per game, so Campbell could have some success throwing the ball on Sunday but chances are that Joe Gibbs will be very conservative to try to protect Campbell’s confidence.

Look for the Bucs to try getting the Cadillac out of the garage.  Williams (497 yards rushing) is having an off-year, but the Redskins are soft against the run as they allow 114.6 yards rushing per game.  If the Bucs establish a running game, look for Bruce Gradkowski to attack the Redskins with the long ball.  Joey Galloway and Michael Clayton could have big games this weekend against a Redskins defense that allows 240.3 net yards passing and a QB rating against of 101.2 this season!

This game will go to whichever QB manages the game better.  Kind of leaning towards the home team here (Tampa Bay), because I don’t think the Redskins have much confidence in Campbell who has never been on the active roster on a Sunday (25 games).

Clinton Portis had surgery to repair a broken hand and he has been placed on I.R. ending his season.  It’s been a rough season for Portis who broke his shoulder making a tackle in a pre-season game.  Look for LeDell Betts to get most of the carries, but T.J. Duckett will finally get some playing time too.

Joe Gibbs announced today that Jason Campbell will start next Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Gibbs said that the Redskins needed to go in a “different direction”.  Campbell has been an inactive on gameday for all 25 games of his NFL career.  It will be interesting to see how Campbell will play, but it was the right time to make this move as the playoffs are now a pipe dream for the Washington Redskins.

Mr. Snyder,

This is your company. You have employees who have not performed and managers who have not or can not inspire them to perform. Is this what you want?

On a rainy day in Philly, the Redskins looked like they didn’t belong on the same field with the Eagles!  Mark Brunell looked horrible, completing 16 of 31 passes for 132 yards and a pick-off that was returned for a TD!  Clinton Portis carried the ball 6 times for 25 yards (4.2 ypc), but he left the game with a broken hand.  LeDell Betts took over and carried it 20 times for 83 yards (4.2 ypc).  T.J. Duckett (2 carries, 16 yards) and Antwaan Randle El (2 carries, 23 yards) each contributed to the ground game.  Brandon Lloyd (2 rec, 47 yards) and Chris Cooley (3 rec, 39 yards) led the way on the pass catching end of the offense.

The Redskins didn’t play too well on defense.  The Eagles ran the ball 34 times for 145 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Redskins allowed the Eagles to complete 12 of 26 passes for 220 net yards passing.

At 3-6, it might be time to play some of the younger players the rest of the season.

Both of these teams have been huge disappointments as the Redskins have lost 3 of their last four games while the Eagles have lost three in a row.  This is a huge game for both teams if they are to make a second-half playoff run. 

Look for the Redskins to run the football alot in this game.  The Eagles have allowed 117.8 yards rushing per game this season, so Clinton Portis (498 yards rushing) and LeDell Betts (283 yards rushing) should have running room.  The Redskins need to be effective running the ball to control the clock and slow the pass rush on Mark Brunell as the Eagles already have 26 sacks this season.  If the Redskins are successful running the ball it should open up the play action passing game for Mark Brunell who has to be happy to have Santana Moss back.  Moss has the speed to scare the Eagles defense.

When the Eagles have the ball, they will be throwing alot at the poor secondary of the Redskins.  Donovan McNabb (2,312 yards passing with 16TDs) will have a good game against the Skins, and he will be looking short to TE L.J. Smith and deep to Reggie Brown.  Brian Westbrook (500 yards rushing, 401 yards receiving) will cause huge problems for the Redskins linebackers who don’t have alot of speed.

I think the Eagles are the better team, but they have lost 3 in a row so it’s hard to say.  The Redskins have a chance here if they run the ball well and keep their defense off of the field.

Mark Brunell hasn’t played great by any means, but he isn’t the reason the Redskins haven’t played well.  Everyone always blames the QB when things don’t go right.  Brunell has completed 63.8% of his passes for 1,657 yards with 8 TDs and only 3 INT.  Brunell has a QB rating of 91.5, which would be applauded in other cities around the NFL….but Washington is a rough town for football.