Week 1 After-Thoughts

Well it has been nearly a week since the Redskins were defeated by the Giants in the NFL opener. At first it seemed like a tough loss to take, but it was a road division game that they were not expected to win. Although they looked ill prepared and outmatched in the first half, they played the defending Superbowl champs even in the second half. They made adjustments, and kept Eli and Plax from playing backyard football all over the field. This at least points to the fact that the new regime is capable of making needed adjustments on the fly and keeping the game competitive.

The offense though was a whole different story. Campbell never looked comfortable and the offense never got things rolling. The only score was set up by a long kickoff return by Cartwright into enemy territory. If they needed 8 yards, they got 7. If they needed 10 yards they got 8. Their lack of field awareness coupled with the lack of vision and decision making from Campbell lead to the ground game being stagnant as well.

My biggest concern however is the complete lack of involvement of Pro Bowl TE Chris Cooley. In my opinion he is your greatest weapon and you throw to him only a few times? I know I saw him open a few times and Campbell never even looked at him. This happened all preseason as well as his contributions were limited as it seemed the coaching staff did not know they had an All-World TE. Throw him the damn ball!

Week 2 will be better. The Skins are home and the Saints defense is not as good as the Giants. They have a rather porous run defense and I expect Clinton to run free. Hopefully Zorn will get this thing going, as DC will not be happy with this just being a rebuilding and learning year. They have the talent to win, and win soon.