The Washington Redskins probably think they should be 3-0 right now but they had some problems late in the game against the Giants last week that cost them the ballgame.  As it stands the Redskins are 2-1 and in second place in the AFC East, 1 game behind the Cowboys.  They have accomplished their record by playing good defense (allowing 16.3 points per game) and running the ball well on offense (134.3 yards per game).  But the Redskins have some work to do in the passing game as Jason Campbell must get better throwing the football.  Campbell has completed 44 of 84 passes (52.4%) for 621 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions (69.6 QB Rating).  Campbell has a good arm and he’s good at throwing the deep ball.  But, he will need to be more accurate on the short stuff so the Redskins can sustain some long drives on offense.  Campbell needs to make better use of tight end Chris Cooley (6 rec, 54 yards, 2 TDs) because he’s an outstanding short to intermediate receiver. 

The Redskins just didn’t play well on offense and it hurt them in the end.  Jason Campbell completed 16 of 34 passes for 190 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 12 yards (3.0 ypc) but he also fumbled 4 times, losing 1 of them.  RB Clinton Portis had a solid game with 14 carries for 60 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 6 passes for 37 yards (6.2 avg).  Santana Moss had a decent game with 3 grabs for 82 yards (27.3 avg) and TE Chris Cooley (3 rec, 19 yards, TD) also had a solid game.  The Redskins finished up rushing for 82 yards on 27 carries (3.0 ypc) and they completed 16 of 34 passes for 178 yards.

Rookie safety LaRon Landry (11 tackles) and linebacker London Fletcher (10 tackles, fumble recovery, interception) were all over the football field for the Redskins.  The Redskins held the Giants to 96 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 36 passes for 219 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923028

Jason Campbell is improving as a QB even though he has made his share of mistakes this season.  Campbell has completed 28 of 50 passes (56%) for 431 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions (66.3 QB Rating).  He also is a good runner as he has carried the ball 10 times for 68 yards (6.8 ypc).  Look for Campbell to get better as the season goes on as he is protected by the running game as the Redskins are averaging 160.5 yards rushing per game this season.

The Redskins might lose starting right guard Randy Thomas for the remainder of the season due to torn triceps.  Coupled with the loss of starting RT John Jansen the Redskins will likely start running to the left side a lot more behind Pete Kendall and Chris Samuels.  The Redskins can’t afford any more injuries to the offensive line or the offense will suffer.

The Redskins played solid on both sides of the ball in last night’s game.  Jason Campbell played much better than he did in week #1 as he completed 16 of 29 passes for 207 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception plus he carried the football 6 times for 39 yards (6.5 ypc).  RB Clinton Portis had another solid game as he carried the ball 17 times for 69 yards (4.1 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 7 yards.  LaDell Betts pitched in with 6 carries for 14 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 26 yards (13.0 avg).  WR Santana Moss rebounded from a rough first game with 6 receptions for 89 yards (14.8 avg).  WR Antwaan Randle El (4 rec, 44 yards) and TE Chris Cooley (2 rec, 25 yards, TD) both pitched in for the Skins in the passing game.  The Redskins finished up with 130 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.9 ypc) and they completed 16 of 29 passes for 207 yards. 

The Redskins defense gave up quite a few yards but they kept the Eagles offense in front of them and held them to field goals.  Linebacker Rocky McIntosh (9 tackles, sack) and LaRon Landry (7 tackles, 1/2 sack) both played well.  In fact, Landry made the game winning hit on WR Kevin Curtis late in the football game to preserve the victory for the Redskins.  The Eagles rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries (5.7 ypc) and they completed 28 of 46 passes for 226 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270917021

Hey guys I just heard that Dan Snyder is going to be on Redskins Postgame live in CSN after the giants game on Sunday… this should be interesting…

 

It will be very interesting to watch this football game as both teams flashed good defense in the first game of the season.  The Redskins prevailed 16-13 in OT against the Dolphins while the Eagles handed the Packers a 16-13 win.  The Eagles swept the series with the Redskins last season by outscoring them 48-22!

The Redskins will likely attack the Eagles run defense with Clinton Portis (98 yards), LaDell Betts (59 yards) and QB Jason Campbell (29 yards) despite the fact that the Packers only rushed for 46 yards (2.7 ypc) against the Eagles last week.  The Eagles also have some CB problems so the Redskins will likely get Santana Moss (3 rec, 28 yards) more involved in the downfield passing attack.  WR Antwaan Randle El (5 rec, 162 yards) will also be someone that Jason Campbell is looking for so the Eagles must be ready for him.  The Eagles will try to pressure Campbell into mistakes as they love to blitz and they got to Brett Favre 4 times last week.

The Eagles will likely go with the short passing game that has made Donovan McNabb a star NFL QB.  Look for dumps to Brian Westbrook out of the backfield and short shots to TE L.J. Smith.  The Eagles will definately test safeites LaROn Landry and Sean Taylor of the Redskins but that could be a mistake as they are definately playmakers.  The better way to attack the Redskins defense would be to go after their CBs with Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis as the Eagles have mis-matches there.  Another key battle that the Eagles need to win if they want to move the ball against the Redskins defense is they need Brian Westbrook (131 total yards) to have a good game against the Skins linebackers.

PREDICTION:  Both of these teams’ games were decided by a field goal last week and it will again this week as I think either team can win this game.

The Redskins have signed WR Reche Caldwell to a 1-year contract.  He will immediately battle Brandon Lloyd for the #3 WR job.  Caldwell had a pretty good season for the Patriots last year as he played in 16 games and he caught 61 passes for 760 yards (12.5 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  For his career, Caldwell has now played in 63 games and he has caught 137 passes for 1,710 yards (12.5 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  This was a nice high reward/low risk move by the Redskins.

The Redskins have lost OT Jon Jansen possibly for the season with a broken ankle.  Jansen was replaced in the lineup by rookie Stephen Heyer who did a good job.  Veteran Todd Wade played well last season at tackle for the Redskins and he should do a good job.  It will be a big dropoff from Jansen to Wade but he still is a decent football player.