I can't say I am disappointed. I can say I'm in a snit.
While Hog Heaven did write that the Eagles were a trap, I did not expect the Redskins to be so … helpful in Philly's 33-27 win.
The Redskins' effort would not have beaten the Giants Sunday night. Washington is the lowest-scoring team in the Beast.
Redskins are not ready. That is all. #HTTR
— Anthony Brown (@SkinsHogHeaven) September 10, 2013
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Alfred Morris is the most reliable rusher in football. Yesterday he fumbled twice, once in the end zone for a safety. The official stats attributed the fumble to Robert Griffin III. More on him later.
Kai Forbath looked great on kick-offs. He really rocked those touchbacks, but I never saw him miss a field goal.
Forbath's miss led to a coaching brain fart in the fourth quarter when the Redskins attempted a two-point conversion after Leonard Hankerson's first touchdown reception. The score at that point was 33-20. I can't do the math where two points at that point in the game would have helped.
Washington still would have needed another touchdown plus a two-point conversion to put them in position for a tying field goal. They would have needed two touchdowns for a win in any event. So why not try for two points after the next touchdown?
And the defense. Oh, the defense. They had two special plays in the first half.
One was Ryan Kerrigan's knockdown of Michael Vick's lateral pass attempt. DeAngelo Hall recovered and ran 75 yards downfield. This time, he crossed the goal line for a touchdown. In a similar situation against (I believe) Dallas last year, Hall flopped at the one yard line. And they said D.Hall wasn't coachable.
Oh wait. There was no second great defensive play in the first half.
Hall, being Hall, later drew a second-quarter, 15-yard unsportsman conduct penalty for horsecollaring DeSean Jackson as he was going out of bounds. Vick threw his second TD pass two plays later.
That's Hall for ya'. You can love him and hate him in the same game. There is no middle ground with this guy.
By the end of the half, the Redskins looked gassed. Part of that was the Eagles tempo, for which the 'Skins looked completely unprepared. I blame that on coaching. Whatever they did in practice last week was a waste of time.
But it is also true that, unlike last year, Robert Griffin III failed to carry them as he so often did last season. The 2013 RGIII looked nothing like the 2012 RGIII, but the entire team failed the eye ball test. Nobody looked good.
Griffin mishandled?
Like everything else about the man, the world will second guess how Mike Shanahan managed Griffin's recovery.
Hog Heaven will not participate. Shanahan did exactly what we hoped he would do. It would be disingenuous of us to say it was a mistake not to play RGIII in preseason. Here's why.
We need Griffin upright and healthy more for the last four games than we do for the first four. Check the schedule and you will see why. Only then can we tell if Shanahan's preseason regimen was a success.
However, on a night when the entire Redskins team was giving a credible imitation of the Washington Nationals, it's plain that the savior of Redskins football has some work to do.
By the way, I don't much like this offense without the read option from the pistol formation with the threat of RGIII running. The Eagles weren't worried about ArGee (It's a nickname. I'm on a first name basis with him) running. No, not at all.
Griffin delivered his best passing on his worst day as a quarterback. Last year, RGIII lifted the entire team. It's about time the team reciprocated.
Point after
We are paying attention to Leonard Hankerson and Aldrick Robinson emerge as a legit No. 2 wide receiver. Hankerson had the better night, not just for his two touchdown catches. Hank caught five of the seven passes directed to him. Robinson was 0 for 2.
The Redskins have never beaten a Michael Vick-led team when Vick played the whole game. In fact, mobile quarterbacks have given Washington fits under every coach and coordinator since 2000. I am trusting to memory here, but I cannot recall a 'Skins win over a Vince Young, Cam Newton or Russell Wilson-led team either. That Randall Cunningham guy was a pain, too.
ESPN had so many shots of Dr. James Andrews last night that we could almost recognize him on the street.
One game is not the season, but two or three more like this…..
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