September 2008 Archives

The Nationals season came to a bitter end this past Sunday. While most of the DC area was reveling in the Redskins upset win over Dallas, the Washington Baseball Team got swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in the final series of the year. The Nats finish the season 59-102, because last Thursday's game against the Florida Marlins was rained out and was not rescheduled since it would have no affect on the outcome of the division.

Another lousy season goes by. Many of the fans did not want Frank Robinson released from his managing postion at the end of the 2006 season. But Manny Acta has worked hard to get the team up and running. Nobody expected the team to contend immediately. Baby steps are needed and they seem to be treading lightly.

On the field, the greatest need is pitching. From top to bottom, rotation to bullpen, the Nationals need arms. Just don't invite 1,000 pitchers to Spring Training like it was done in the past. Off the field, will Jim Bowden keep his job as General Manager? He joined the team before the Lerners purchased the Nationals from MLB and has had some questionable moves. Paul LoDuca anyone? The acquisitions of Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes are only a year old, but some thought they were risky when the transactions were made. Bowden may get to keep his job for now, as no one had expected a contender. The question remains will the Lerners and their team president, Stan Kasten, wants to keep him around or hire their own GM.

Lane Kiffin has finally been fired by the Oakland Raiders". Team officials told him as long as a week and a half ago that he would be fired, but Al Davis didn't do it until today. Via phone.

The long feud between the two was seen as just another day in Raider Nation until earlier this year when Davis apparently faxed over a resignation letter for Kiffin to sign. That might have been the most bizarre move in professional sports if it were not for Davey Johnson's resignation from Peter Angelos's Baltimore Orioles as he was winning the AL Manager of the Year.

Kiffin was fired "with cause" and is no longer being paid by the team. Guess someone's gonna have to look at that contract a little closely. This is the second NFL head coach to be fired in as many days. The St. Louis Rams relieved Scott Linehan of his duties yesterday.

New Head Coach Zorn and the Redskins made the Cowboys, the rest of the league, the media, and all of the pundits take notice and are not to be taken lightly. For much of the first half the Redskins dominated the game. Zorn appears to be learning from earlier mistakes within the game and from previous games. Last week Zorn learned that Suisham was an inconsistent kicker with limited range. Punting would have been the more prudent choice to pin the Cardinals back rather than provide Arizona with great field position after a potential missed kick. In this game, Zorn has learned that Suisham can't kick a short kick with hang time to the up back on a kick off. This miscue resulted in a Cowboys score.

It was interesting to note that Samuels had some difficulty at left tackle, while Jon Jansen (who was removed as the starting tackle) fared well. It appeared that Campbell felt more comfortable passing the ball this game. The ball was spread to multiple receivers including Thrash and Randel-El for touchdowns.

The defense mounted little in the form of a pass rush, but was able to coral Barber leaving the passing game on the shoulders of the secondary. It worked well until the second half. Once Springs and Smoot suffered injuries the game changed. Springs shut down Owens and forced Romo to look elsewhere for an open target in the first half. Smoot was also assigned to cover Whitten at times. When Smoot went down the Cowboys looked to exploit the match up of Owens vs. anyone else and Whitten vs. Marcus Washington. Shutting down Barber and Jones forced the Cowboys to become a one dimensional team.

There's no doubt that it's been long overdue for a change at the helm in Detroit. Millen's team compiled a 31-84 record while he was in charge. Big Money Tony and I disagree yet again on many of the facts, but we both can agree that his lowly achievement as GM and President of the Lions will tarnish his reputation.

For several years Detroit fans have been calling for Millen's head on a plate and could even be seen at Red Wings games...in DC calling for Millen to be gone. It appears that his departure from the team has many fans attributing all things wrong with the Lions and placing them on the shoulders of Millen as if casting him off will take all of the problems away with him.

The Nationals are on the edge of 100 losses. Only way to stop it now is run the table, since they are 99. The Seattle Mariners decided that there was no reason to hold back and broke the triple digit mark already.

The Sports Freak and I attended last nights game, the penultimate of the home games. Well, I say attended because after the first pitch, we had pretty much decided to leave early and did so in the 4th inning. Hey, it's a school night. The day job had me traveling out of town Thursday, so staying until the end would not have been good. The picture is from the moment we left. At least we got to see them score one run.

While I'm still rooting for those pesky Nats to avoid the 100, I can't ignore this bad streak they've been on. Although if they do win out, they screw up those Phillies in the NL East, if those Mets can get it together. That kind of gives me a good feeling.

It appears the Matt Millen is finally leaving the Detriot Lions. It's unclear whether Millen resigned or was fired, but Lions Vice Chairman Bill Ford's comments were probably the catalyst for the move.

Millen will probably be remembered now and forever as the Detriot President/GM who couldn't seem to draft the right players despite several first and/or high picks. Playing for several years in the NFL, he moved to the booth where he was very successful as a color commentator. So much so, Fox had him as part of the number 2 team with Dick Stockton behind only the team of Pat Summerall and John Madden.

But apparently he had higher aspirations. Somehow moving to the front office of a team was going to improve the view of his football knowledge. Unfortunately, it's ruined it. A couple of years into his Lions career, he could have and should have left. He could have returned to the booth and instantly become a top analyst again. He could have blamed it on "a couple of bad years". Now, after nearly a decade, it's hard to see a network hire him for color commentary. He's marred by his Lions tenure.

As the 2008 MLB season comes to an end, the Nationals are ready to set a franchise record for losses unless they win four of their last five games. Big Money Tony, would like the Nationals to avoid this dubious achievement. Five or ten years from now will anyone remember a 100 loss season from a 99 loss season? 100 Losses. No, but fans could remember that this was the year that finishing with so many losses provided one of the best and most heralded pitching prospects to enter the draft in the last decade.

This was a game the Redskins should have won. And they did so, 24-17. We are only talking about the Cardinals. Upcoming on the schedule, the Cowboys and the Eagles on the road.

As the Sports Freak mentioned this morning, they needed to give the Cardinals, plenty of Portis. While he only got 68 yards, he got an important touchdown. Campbell was using great play action and in the final minutes of the game, he found some of his receivers completely wide open. One was a touchdown to Devin Thomas, but it was called back on a Stephon Heyer unnecessary roughness call.

The run defense needs some work. Holes were open for Edgerrin James all game long. With no improvement, Marion Barber and Westbrook will be running all over the Redskins in the next couple of weeks.

Still important and necessary win for the Redskins this week. Hail to the Redskins!

Live blogging of the game on my Twitter or follow here. The Sports Freak and Q are at the game and forwarded this picture, courtesy of TSF's phone.

I'm not blind to think that racism does not exist. But how bad could it have been for Dunbar to walk off the field? Worse yet, they had to wait for police escort to leave the stadium? I've never been in an organized football huddle, but from interviews and other reports, I understand there is trash talk on the field. But that goes too far.

Except for a 4 year stint in Virginia, I have lived in Maryland all my life. I've driven through the "handle" of Maryland. But I guess I've been sheltered living in relatively diverse neighborhoods of the DC suburbs.

The Redskins are facing one of the league's most potent offenses for two consecutive weeks. Pressure will be the foremost priorty again this week. Warner is slinging the ball around like the greatest show on turf. The pressure must come from all places and consistantly send Warner to the ground. Knocking Warner off his timing and game is the key to disrupting the Cardinals passing game.

Wilson appears to be the best and most consistant form of pressure from the D-line. Last week Evans played more on first and second downs. This is great because he can play the run and pass equally well and get pressure on the quarter back at times too.

Horton made his presence known as he took over the starting safety role from Doughty. He had two interceptions one of which closed the door on a Saints final drive on the game and sealed the win, as well as, a fumble recovery. Doughty was out sick with a stomach bug and couldn't start.

Although Doughty is an inspirational and great story in the NFL his best fit on the team would be a nickel or dime defensive back in a reserved role. He's more like a cagey veteran in the way he prepares and performs. He doesn't have blazing speed or the ability to land bone crushing hits (like the Md defense vs. Cal) but he's learned where he needs to be even if he's a half step slow.

Horton has better speed and has a more imposing physique to jar the ball loose when hitting someone. Horton ultimately has more upside, but his weaknesses haven't had a chance to be exploited yet either. The good news is appears similar to the days or Richie Pettibone's defense when players could be shuttled in depending upon down and distance. Remember the days of Milot, Kaufmann, Coleman, Murphy, and Neil Olkewicz?

The real pressure in on LaRon Landry. He's proven that he's excellent in both run stopping and pass defense situations. He must now learn to cover for the deficiencies of his partners.

The Nationals are in the midst of their final homestand for the 2008 season. While there was promise with the likes of Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge joining, there was no expectation of a playoff run this year. Note that I didn't mention Paul LoDuca.

There's only one goal at this point. Win 5 of the last 9 games. Doing so will leave the team at 63-99, avoiding the triple digit loss stat. The Sports Freak and I are headed to tonights game. Follow me on Twitter to get live reports from the field and in the stands.

Let's go Nats!

Hope you had your popcorn because it was a show. So last night might not have been on par with the Heidi Bowl. No play was really the equivalent of The Catch. But it sure was entertaining. Redskins fans most bitter enemies fought it out last night with the Dallas Cowboys winning 41-37 over the Philadelphia Eagles.

They battled back and forth throughout the game and apparently defense was on neither teams mind. DeSean Jackson provided another great Jackson moment when he took away his own touchdown by prematurely flinging back the ball before hitting the end zone.

As a Redskins fan, I couldn't decide who to root for, but years working with Eagles fans left that bitter taste in mouth, so I guess I'm content the Cowboys beat them.

Now looking at the NFC East, we'll need to consider the Philadelphia Eagles. Granted, we are only two games into the season but the Eagles are looking like real contenders. If the Redskins can start playing consistently, like the 4th quarter this past weekend, the NFC East may end up taking the 2 wild cards like they did last season. Then we just need to see which of them is left out.

Jim Zorn gets his first win as Redskins head coach beating the New Orleans Saints 29-24. What a game it was! The Sports Freak and I attended the game live in the sweltering heat of Section 113.

Santana Moss caught the game winning touchdown with about 3 minutes to go in the game, while Clinton Portis powered in two rushings TDs. The offense was strong, but conservative from the start. Too conservative in some aspects as 3rd and 9 plays garnered a 7 yard pass. They ended up lining up for 5 FGs to see only 3 go in. The kicker has to go.

Jason Campbell looked more comfortable with the offense as the game went along. The defense struggled at times, but managed to get 3 turnovers. 2 interceptions and a fumble, all by Chris Horton. Or should I say "Chirs Horton". A vendor outside 113 was touting some player appearances at their stores labeled him "Chirs". Good one.

As The Sports Freak and I wandered about the "Best Buy Tailgate" that were mandatory with our premium seats, we watched cheerleaders, struggled with the food, and people watched in general. One fan, "Riggo", decided to tempt faith, good sense, and his life by filling his water bottle with the melted ice that is used to keep the sealed bottled water cool. You know, that water in the huge sponsored cylinders that probably never get cleaned...at best a hose down once a week. Where bottles of water that have been sitting in a dusty warehouse for weeks gets dumped in. Where a few hundred fans have stuck their hands in to get said bottles of water.

Select pictures can be found here. This includes a picture of "Riggo". Oh, and the kicker must go!

Through five preseason games and the regular season opener, the Redskins have failed to consistantly apply pressure in passing situations. Andre Carter obtained a fine sack total by year end last year, but the roster failed to have any one player step up in key situations. This year appears no different and that is more troubling than any offensive woes the team may have.

Wilson almost found himself caught up in a numbers game, but through the past two season he's been the most consistant pass rusher and not Carter. Wilson may be in the dog house, but when you excel at one thing so well and it happens to be a talent that the team lacks the Skins should face the facts and play Wilson more in obvious passing downs and work with him more to improvve his overall game.

Maryland's loss to Middle Tennessee State (24-14) last weekend could be the end of an era at College Park. The expansion of the ACC to become more of a football conference has yet to occur. Maryland must battle back the rest of the season in a conference that appears to be in another down year. Maryland may find its way to another bowl game this season, but the chances of returning to a BCS bowl game are but a distant memory.

As Maryland had consecutive ten plus seasons for the first time in school history, Friedgen looked to make huge leaps in recruiting by luring athletes from such states as Florida, Georgia, and California. He had hoped to improve depth and speed to the roster after his first couple of seasons. After taking Vanderlinden's recruits to the Orange Bowl in his first year it showed how great a coach Friedgen was going to be. Unfortunately Maryland aimed too high too quickly.

I predict that this article will have the fewest amount of views ever for any article on thedcsportspage.com since it is not connected to D.C and it's in an arena which most Americans don't pay attention to... cycling.

It's always sad to see a hero retire. At the same time when once decides to come back, it almost always installs a little trepidation in the fans as to whether former glory can be achieved. Well, following a long line of sports figures who have retired and decided to come back, we add to the list Superman Lance Armstrong.... and I'm as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve (only in the most secular sense, as I'm not religious mind you).

You might be reading this and checking the calendar. It's early September, what's the reason for hockey news. Well, this the very first time, and possibly the last time I'll discuss women's hockey. Bulgaria lost 82-0 in European Olympic pre-qualifying to Slovakia. Even worse, they were outshot 139-0. That's kinda impressive...their goalie(s) stopped 47 shots. Some NHL teams would take that. Well, I guess not the 82 that got by.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Bulgarians will not qualify.

If there was a prototypical blue collar division in football, this would be it. It’s a bit funny, but if I were ranking this division just based on their cities and not their teams, I’d probably rank them the same.

Pittsburgh Steelers
If there is only one word to describe this team, it would be ‘Consistent.’ Steelers fans are renowned for supporting their team and how could they not? Almost every year they can be assured of seeing a team who will be competitive, mostly likely make the playoffs and have that chance at going all the way. As a fan in the NFL, that’s all you can ask from your team. This year is no different for the Steelers as they bring back the #1 defense from last year, which if they can stay healthy will continue to keep the Steelers in every game. And the only question about the offense seems to be the O-line which has 2 new starters. Other than that they have the firepower with Big Ben and his receivers Ward, Holmes and Miller and a solid running game with Parker and the addition of Mendenhall for a 1-2 punch.

The AFC South is a top heavy division with everyone else looking up.

Indianapolis

The Colts are starting to show some age on offense and have always been undersized on defense. The Colts window of opportunity is beginning to close before they have to completely overhaul the team and find ways to sign free agents with some of the players taking so much of the salary cap. The Colts should still be able to pull away from Jacksonville.

Jacksonville

Jacksonville, the most heavily criticized city by announcers and writers to not host a Super Bowl or event will come up short to the Colts once more. Tony Kornheir made such a statement and was then blasted by the city. Having never visited the city I'll have to take co-worker and Tony K. and the Sports Guy's advice to heart. Overall Jacksonville will look to improve its passing game and gain more of a pass rush. IF they can accomplish both tasks, they'll give Indy a run for the money for the division.

The NFC South appears to be very competitive this year. There will be plenty of questions and surprises in the division. Below are predictions and analysis for the NFC South.

New Orleans

It's another year of hope and dreams for the Saints. They've re-tooled the offense to include more touches for Bush and have the return of McAllister to add a power rushing game. The Saints solidified their passing game by adding Shockey to the mix. Brees has plenty of weapons in his arsenal. Can the Saints defense clamp down on opposing offenses when it counts come playoff time or will it be a wait to next year ending that so many Cubs fans have ended so many season saying?

Apparently it was the 6th pre-season game last week we saw. The Redskins lost to the NY Football Giants 16-7. The Giants dominated the Redskins for most of the first half, but then both teams thought the game only last 30 minutes as neither decided scoring was important in the second half.

It was coach Jim Zorn's first game as head coach, so I will give them a pass. Time management, questionable play calling, and overall game management seemed to be lacking.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Seattle Seahawks
Let’s face it. This is the weakest division in football which means that Seattle automatically gets 6 wins to start the season. Now, Shaun Alexander is gone, but he hasn’t been much of a factor the past couple of years anyway. As long as this team stays mostly healthy, they’ll finish the season like they do every year, with a loss in the first round of the playoffs.

The Nationals continue their winning ways, beating the Phillies 9-7 in a great game. Yours truly was in attendance, albeit in 226U. That's 8-1 for our Nats in the past 9 sweeping AL West contender the Dodgers and taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 8th, Ronnie Belliard got a pinch hit RBI to give the Nats the lead. Then Cristian Guzman gets to the plate with bases loaded and clears the bases with a double, giving insurance runs. We needed those as Hanrahan gave up two runs in the top of 9th before closing it out. Ryan Howard hit 2 home runs for the Phillies in their losing effort and now trail the Met by 3 games for the NL East crown.

As part of the game, in the next section over, a Philadelphia Eagles fan wearing the Westbrook jersey led chants of "E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!" every once in a while. I missed it, but during the top of the 8th, apparently a Nationals or presumably Redskins fan yelled back "Z-E-R-O, ZERO!...Superbowls!". That shut up Mr. Westbrook.

Guzman, coming off last weeks cycle game, comes in the clutch. Let's hope these performances are indicative of the offense next season.

Up next, a road trip that includes Atlanta, the Mets, and the Marlins. Only a 2 game set against the Mets, but hopefully the Nats can continue the winning ways.

OK, it's not a Monday Night Party. It's a Thursday Night Party. OK, it does not have the same swing. The Redskins and Giants open the season in the Meadowlands tonight. Although it's only the first regular season game for both, there's a lot of need to win this NFC East matchup. The Giants are trying to defend their championship despite virtually no-one predicting that they'll even win the division. The Redskins with new head coach Jim Zorn, hope not to lose a step from last season.

Hi there. If you want to follow live with comments not made by the TV or Radio teams and oddball views from the fan seating, follow my Twitter postings here. It won't be play by play, but I'll summarize important plays or amusing anecdotes live. Also feel free to subscribe to my Twitter feed for instant analysis of future Redskins games, some Maryland Men's Basketball, and other sports or non-sports events. Summarized analysis and pictures on the next day.

With so many magazines touting their picks and advice, why not glob onto one more piece of information and possibly help turn a mediocre draft into a good one? From a quick list of rankings to sleepers and deep sleepers, just read below:

Sleepers:

Michael Turner - for his size he displays tremendous speed. Being on a bad team will most likely let Turner slip back several rounds. As veteran running backs with injuries, age, and other concerns start coming off the board Turner could be the steal of the round. He's young, healthy, and full of potential. He has more upside then most of the other backs in the draft in the round that he'll most likely be drafted. Ryan has already won the starting job. Ryan and Turner should compliment each other nicely.

Jonathan Stewart - He has the speed and power to rush past the first wave and even elude secondary. He's also strong enough to move a pile forward for a first down and touchdown in goal line situations.

DeAngelo Williams - a nice late round pick up who can provide a spark and fantasy stats similar to Jones-Drew. Although he'll be splitting time with Stewart, he should pick up some game breaking touchdowns outside the red zone from pass receptions and busted running plays that will spring him for long runs.

Ted Ginn, Jr. - With another year under his belt and a far better QB in Pennington, Ginn Jr. and his speed should see more passes his way this season.

Santonio Holmes - This could be his best year so far in his career. He's still not the #1 red zone read threat for the Steelers, but can deliver yardage and TD's. For leagues that give a bonus for big plays - Holmes should be moved up in the draft.

The NFC North is wide open this year with the departure of Favre from Green Bay. Below are predictions and analysis for the NFC North.

Detroit Lions

The Lions and Millen appeared to have stood pat this year and by default vaulted ahead of the rest of the division. Does this mean that they should be expected to win the division, NO. It's difficult to place anyone else ahead of them due to the lack of production at the quarterback position. The Bears and Vikings seem happy to play with only ten men on offense as they receive little help from their quarterbacks. This alone could help Detroit see the playoffs once more.

It appears that many fans were caught "off guard" as no one seemed to know there was a competition between Heyer and Jansen for the RT position. It didn't become known until the switch was made. Hopefully both players were aware of the possibilities heading into the pre-season Right Tackle.

Jansen's history of injuries over the past few years, age, and salary cap figure may have entered into the mix when considering such a move, but should any of this really mattered? Would Parcells or Gibbs have made such a move or was this a sign of a rookie head coach sending a message?

The Redskins were forced to reduce the roster to the mandatory 53 Man league roster limit. Big Money Tony has already discussed the release of the punter Derrick Frost. The Redskins decided to keep ten defensive lineman and only five receivers.

Below are the roster cuts:

Matthias Askew
Ryan Boschetti
Nehemiah Broughton
Devin Clark
Andrew Crummey
Derek Devine
Derrick Frost
Horace Gant
Curtis Gatewood
Patrick Ghee
David Holloway
Cedrick Holt
Maurice Mann
Marcus Mason
Fred Matua
Billy McMullen
Anthony Mix
Matteral Richardson
Danny Verdun-Wheeler
Todd Wade
Tavares Washington
Byron Westbrook