By Spence | August 18, 2008
I don’t know what Jim Zorn was saying to Jets Head Coach Eric Man-genie-in-a-bottle, but it should have gone something like this:
“Hey, Sissyboy, going for the tying field goal in preseason? Where’d you leave your ‘nads, the wife’s purse?”
I don’t know what justification Mangini could come up with to justify that atrocity of a decision, but I do know one thing: It’s absolute crap. That game was a hideous bitch-goddess of boredom and Mangini decides to prolong our misery when he has a chance to end it one way or the other? Why isn’t there some kind of punishment for that? I’m not suggesting he be put to death or anything like that, but maybe 4 months in a maximum security prison would be reasonable. At least it would keep him away from the NFL for the 2008 season, which would be good for the game and the Jets. That’s why Jets PK Mike Nugent, who kicks chip shot field goals as well as this Nugent, missing the kick was so wonderful. It not only put us out of our misery by ending the game, it also taught a lesson to Mangini and other NFL coaches out there: If God gave you grapes, use them. Unfortunately, I doubt it is a lesson Mangini or most other NFL head coaches will take to heart. Nevertheless, we saw the power of karma on Saturday night and it was beautiful. No wonder 900 million Indians swear by it.
Book it: TB Marcus Mason has made the team unless he sleeps with Jim Zorn’s wife or suffers a bout of severe fumble-itis over the next two weeks.
How is it possible that Devin Thomas didn’t know the rule about coming back in-bounds? They’ll let anyone go to college these days. Dexter Manley went to college for 4 years without learning to read, but at least he learned the rules of football. Thomas has been correctly chastised about coming to training camp with his body not in great shape. Looks like his brain could use a workout, too.
Do they still teach tackling in NFL training camps? Or is that something that has fallen out of favor, like teaching baseball players to bunt? If any Redskins or Jets defensive backs made a tackle in the 4th quarter, I missed it. [Maybe I was resting my eyes, a perfectly understandable thing to do under the circumstances.] I didn’t have a problem with Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache using a prevent defense at the end of the 4th quarter. The point of the prevent defense is to trade yards for time by keeping defenders back so they can keep the offensive players in front of them and make tackles. Perhaps needs to inform his players that the prevent defense only works if you actually tackle the guys in front of you.
Derrick Frost was in trouble as soon as the Redskins used a draft pick on Brooks Durant. The trouble got worse when the Redskins decided to let Durant do the kicking last Saturday, at the Meadowlands. Is it any coincidence that the Redskins open the season at the Meadowlands? I think not. The Meadowlands can be a tricky place to kick or punt due to the swirling winds [as well as the mysterious effects of toxic waste and the possibility of stumbling over a shallow grave from a recent mob hit]. I suspect the Redskins were getting their opening day punter accustomed to the surroundings.
With all the attention on how poorly the first team passing offense looked, people lost sight of how well the Redskins ran the ball last Saturday. Ladell Betts and Marcus Mason continued to destroy the preseason competition and Rock Cartwright had a 73-yard run. Right Tackle Jon Jansen has battled injuries and problems with pass-blocking in recent years, but his run-blocking is still first rate. I thought Chad Rinehart blocked well in the running game, too. Jim Zorn’s West Coast Offense and the rookie wideouts have gotten all the media and fan attention this preseason, but I think the running game could turn out to be Washington’s most reliable offensive weapon this year. The Redskins appear to have 4 solid-to-excellent tailbacks to go with a strong run-blocking offensive line.
The Redskins seem to have gotten very little from the top of their draft so far this year. Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas and Fred Davis have been very quiet [or altogether absent] on the field. However, Washington has gotten more of a contribution from G/T Chad Rinehart, S Kareem More, P Brooks Durant, S Chris Horton and DE Rob Jackson. It’s great to see those late-round picks paying off, but if Washington is really going to build a winner in D.C., it’s going to have to start hitting the jackpot at the top of the draft.
Finally: Two more weeks of this? Ugh.
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