38:09

How do you keep an opponent's prolific offense from scoring on you all day long? Keep them off the field. At just about a two-to-one advantage over the Cowgirls, the Redskins' time of possession was truly the decisive stat of the game. The first down stats are misleading. In the 2 end of half drives, Dallas got almost half of their 21 first downs. Washington spread their 22 first downs a bit more expeditiously. Despite being outscored in the second half 14-9, the Redskins rode Clinton Portis to some huge first downs that kept the clock ticking in their favor and kept the Cowgirls' offense on the sidelines.
It was a win to feel good about for all the reasons you would expect to feel good after beating the Cowboys:
-in their house
-they were undefeated
-they thought they were unbeatable
-Jerry Jones was on the sidelines EARLY (and got a firsthand account of that ass-whooping)
-all those egos, all those personalities, all those prima donnas....SUCK IT!

But this win was missing something many recent wins in recent years have had...that sick feeling in your stomach after the last whistle blew. You know the feeling--an opponent's kicker misses a game-tying or even game-winning field goal; a penalty adds time onto the end of the game and we kick a game-winning field goal; an overtime win against a team that would go on to win ONE game all season over the Ravens, etc. etc. The last few seasons have given us some great wins, but Joe Gibbs liked to play them close. It allowed for a lot of things to happen in the last 30 seconds of any given game, and it allowed for it to go either way. I have walked out of FedEx so many times over the last few years with that feeling that I just got away with something...like when the Wizards traded Kwame Brown to the Lakers for Caron Butler. Or when Adam Duritz got both Courtney Cox AND Jennifer Aniston.

This win had none of that. From the outset, it was clear the Redskins belonged in that game (a fact disputed by gamblers the world over, as evidenced by the ridiculous line), and it was clear the Redskins beat their opponent. It got tight at the end, which is merely proof that we weren't playing a bunch of pushovers, but the score was not indicative of what occurred from beginning to end. If you didn't watch the whole game, you wouldn't know that, so don't say it could have gone either way because you watched a few plays or you saw the Cowgirls' first drive of the second half.

It was all the things we did right that kept the Cowgirls' offense grounded. And it was because of our success at grounding their offense, that they abandoned the ground game. And that will set us up nicely for this week in Philly. We know they like to throw the ball, and Brian Westbrook is still banged up (unfortunately for us, McNabb has made a career of dropping 75, 85, 100 yds rushing on us himself).

Until next Sunday, Redskins fans deserve to think their team is pretty damn good. Three straight wins, three straight weeks of improvement, three straight weeks of solid coaching and solid quarterbacking.

It is amazing what can happen in thirty-eight minutes.

Hail to the Redskins!

What a win! I went into this weekend thinking if we lose these two weeks to Dallas and Philly, we still have a good chance of making a wild card run. Throw that out the window. Browsing the Dallas News headlines, Jason Garrett is getting absolutely blasted by the Dallas writers, mostly about abandoning the run, a very fair criticism. Garrett claims because Dallas was trailing and the Skins stacked the box, it made them change their plan to throw:

- "There's no excuse for Barber carrying the ball three times in the second half of a close game."

- "After T.O.'s early second-half touchdown, the Cowboys didn't trail by more than six points until the final few minutes of the game. If that constitutes being too far behind to use Jones, then why even have the first-round pick on the roster?"

And here's what happened with Dallas' 12 men on the field penalty:

"I can't understand how two players playing the same position could be standing out there," Wade Phillips said, clearly flustered. "I can't fathom that. They were standing right next to each other."

Hey, Patrick Watkins: Did it seem odd to you?

"I was talking with one of my teammates, and I thought the play was set, but apparently it was changed," he gamely confessed. "It was on me."

HAHA....suckers. We all know Dallas's D was suspect, well, it's out now and Dallas reporters are firing away:

"A great defense doesn't let Clinton Portis run through it for 121 yards on 5.8 yards per carry. A great defense doesn't let Santana Moss catch eight passes for 145 yards, an 18.1-yard average."

"A great defense doesn't let Moss get behind it when it's in a three-deep zone."

"A great defense isn't tied with the likes of Detroit for last place in interceptions."

"A great defense forces more than two turnovers in four games."

"Never mind that one of the NFL's most celebrated secondaries has gone four games without an interception, and for once we can't even blame it on Roy Williams. "

The only negative thing Ahern can say about yesterday is Reed Doughtry needs to be outed. He personally screwed up that one passing touchdown running in late to cover the WR, and well, this pic says it all about his tackling abilities.

Rankings: Hottest NFL Cheerleaders by Team (2008-9)

It's that time of year, and after the success of our last year's rankings, we've combed through all the team's sites again and pulled out the best looking ones. Enjoy.

32-26.) Browns, Steelers, Giants, Bears, Lions, Packers - Teams don't have cheerleader squads. WTF.

25.) Atlanta Falcons - No roster pictures.

24.) NY Jets - No good pictures so I'm including their sideline reporter Jenn Sterger. She should be easy top 3 but she's not a cheerleader.


23.) Buffalo Bills - Jenica. Yet another year the Bills cheerleaders greatly disappoint.


22.) Jacksonville Jaguars - Kayla


21.) Kansas City Chiefs - Liz


20.) Minnesota Vikings - Lily


19.) Tennessee Titans - Melanie


18.) San Diego Chargers - Ashley


17.) Arizona Cardinals - Alix


16.) St. Louis Rams - Hailee/Kate (tie)


15.) Seattle Seahawks - Melanie



14.) New England Patriots - Alyssa


13.) Cincinnati Bengals - Tiffany


12.) Oakland Raiders - Mandy


11.) Carolina Panthers - Christy


10.) Denver Broncos - Jesse


9.) Houston Texans - Erica



8.) Philadelphia Eagles - Rachel


7.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jennifer Summers


6.) Miami Dolphins - Alexis


5.)New Orleans Saints - Randi


4.) San Francisco 49ers - Amber


3.) Dallas Cowboys - Abigail
(click for full swimsuit galley)

2.) Washington Redskins - Buffy/Tamesha (tie)



1.) Baltimore Ravens - Lauren


----======= Additional Notes =======-----

Best Team Photos: (Honestly, make sure to click the first 2 links)
http://www.bengals.com/cheerleaders/index.asp
http://www.buccaneers.com/cheerleaders/teamphoto.aspx
http://www.miamidolphins.com/newsite/cheerleaders/2008squad/2008squad.asp
http://www.dallascowboyscheerleaders.com/images/squad2008.jpg
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/cheerleaders/Squad.asp


Best cross-eyed pic:
http://www.chargers.com/charger_girls/2008-2009-squad/tonya.htm

Best Asian:
http://www.chargers.com/charger_girls/2008-2009-squad/constance.htm

Best Transvestite:
http://www.raiders.com/uploadedImages/Raiderettes/2008-Erica-K.jpg

Heavist Girl:
http://www.buffalojills.net/bios/kristina.html

Worst Names:
http://www.raiders.com/Raiderettes/CheerleaderBio.aspx?id=43394
http://www.chargers.com/charger_girls/2008-2009-squad/katrina.htm

Unsexiest pic:
http://www.buffalojills.net/bios/jamie.html

Redskins win again! (*sigh*)

(Durant Brooks)
So the Skins pulled out another win. It was good to see Campbell seeing the field better. Also, I noticed that when it is and 3rd and whatever, I have a comfortable feeling we'll pick up the first. A feeling I haven't had since probably Mark Rypien.

Not sure if you saw but Durant Brooks got verbally raped on the sidelines after that missed field goal (and perfect snap/hold). The problem was Brooks was calling for the ball while the ref was over the ball still, which can ice the kicker on its' own. Either way, our team does not at all look like a playoff team. Bad penalties and missed cues. That kind of sloppiness has to get taken care of. It's not realistic to fix in 4 weeks when dealing with an entire new playbook and coaching staff, we just need to do the best we can. Having said that, and Jason Campbell has no pickles, I like our chances of putting up a respectable match in Dallas On Sunday. However, winning in Big D will require a major Romo meltdown. Jason Taylor....you hearing this? He may not need to, check out what JT said regarding the Dallas game yesterday (courtesy of Steinberg):

Jason Taylor, on Dallas week: I've heard enough about it. And I'm not a big Cowboys fan anyway, so this is right up my alley. Just never been. I grew up a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, and we don't like the Cowboys, period. And there are other reasons I don't need to talk about. I'm a Redskin now, so I definitely don't like them even more.


UPDATE: So Jason Taylor is out. Wonderful. He can dance with a sprained toe in the 'Dancing with the Stars' finale, but he can't play in the biggest game of our season with a calf injury.

Gilbert...

Well, it sucks. Once again we look stupid. Signing a player to a max contract with 2 knee injuries (presuming health) and he's out until January (yes, it got pushed back further). My biggest problem that my friend Casey pointed out is that the deadline to hand in your money for Wiz season tix was September 15...interesting timing given NOTHING was mentioned of this 'routine' operation prior to this deadline date.

There is a LOT that stinks about Gil's knee cleaning. According to the Washington Post, "Arenas and Wizards officials told me today that the team was aware of the possibility he would have to undergo the procedure long before he signed his new contract." Now, I don't know about you, but if I own a team or GM one, I'm not signing a player to a max deal if he's not going to play the first couple months. Max contract = max health. So, now that we know what everything, my prediction is Gil will never play another game for the Wiz. Dramatic? Perhaps. If he does play, here's how I see his knee progressing over the 6-year $111 million deal:

Gil in March 2009:


Gil in December 2009 (opts for prosthetic knee):


Gil in November 2010:

Own a piece of USA Men's basketball

The US is auctioning off game-worn jerseys from the USA team against Australia. I know, I know, everyone wants the Jason Kidd jersey. Kobe one is already through the roof.

http://auctions.nba.com/

2-1 Is In the Cards

There are many rites of fall. The leaves change colors, the air turns brisk, and Redskins fans get bent over by Daniel Snyder. The only people left defending that a-hole from verbal attacks from fans around the league are the ones who actually enjoy the regular ass-invasions by that tiny little man and the maniacal laugh that accompanies said butt-rapings. This year, he decided to stick it to the tailgaters who get there the earliest. So when the parking lot opened at 9 AM this past Sunday, and the steady stream of early arrivers filled into the spots they have been used to tailgating in for years, a generally nice, if not overly smarmy and weasel-like lackey of Dan Snyder rode around in a golf cart and began requesting that folks refrain from the age-old practice of utilizing open space in the parking lot for tailgating. This was equal parts asinine and pointless.

Seconds after he targeted the people who got there at 9 AM exactly, a whole new wave arrived at 9:10, and then every minute thereafter, all of whom engaged in exactly the activity we were busted for doing ourselves. The real kicker is that the open space this guy was protecting remained open not just until noon, not just until kickoff, but WAS NEVER OCCUPIED BY ANY CAR FOR THE ENTIRE DAY. So infuriating.

OK, onto things that Snyder could not ruin...the game itself. Our offense found a rhythm, our defense made some enormous plays, and we overcame a late deficit to win against a team I thought was pretty damn good coming into the season. Maybe the Saints aren't as good as we thought, maybe the Saints not having Marques Colston was a bigger deal than we thought, but winning an NFC game at home following a tough opening loss is a pretty big deal for these Redskins.
Clinton Portis ran tough for the second straight game.
We got pressure on the other team's quarterback.
Our defense capitalized on turnover opportunities.
Jason Campbell looked like he did the first two weeks of the preseason.

We only punted twice, and no it wasn't pretty either time (Derrick Frost cost his team a safety this past weekend when he missed the snap in his own end zone, so the Brooks/Frost debate is not resolved simply because Brooks had 2 bad punts....and one awful hold).

We get the Cards this week and while they are 2-0, they have yet to play anyone better than the Dolphins and 49ers. Kurt Warner has the ability to tear us apart, and I have stood witness to some pretty stupid games between the Redskins and Cardinals. I think our defense is good enough to keep their running game from getting started, and hopefully by making them one-dimensional, they will have to rely on Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan...Boldin...crap...they already are one-dimensional and they are pretty freaking good at it.

Here's hoping the momentum we created on the 4th down pass to Santana Moss at the end of the Saints game continues into this week.
Keys to this week's win:
1)Steady stream of 1st downs.
2)Portis all day.
3)Cooley and Davis in the red zone.
4)Landry will need to have his best effort of the season so far. A big play by him seals the victory.

Cheerleader Rankings in Progress...

So it's that time of year again, no, not football, the annual ranking of NFL Cheerleaders. Ahern has begun the ranking process and will have the final tally posted next week. By early looks, Tampa is again the front runner. Most of last year's girls didn't make the cut on their squad this year...spring chickens! Here's a taste for you to hold you over. I'd like the fans to vote as well...so in the Comments, vote in your favorite Tampa girl:

http://www.buccaneers.com/cheerleaders/teamphoto.aspx

Under the Radar

So we've all heard Andray Blatche busted his ass all off-season...which is great news...BUT, I didn't know getting arrested for a 3rd time counts as a good off-season (granted, it was only for wreckless driving on a suspended license). NONE of the news outlets covered it, however party-girl DCFab (Dc socialite) did...and she's been blogging his huge run of club hopping the past 2 months. Kwame 2 anyone?

Full details:
http://dcfab.blogspot.com/2008/06/not-fab-andray-blatche-arrested-again.html