On offense, the Redskins have — or had — a small handful of players that other teams might be interested in, at least before this debacle of a season unfolded. They are — or were — as follows: Chris Samuels, Chris Cooley, Randy Thomas, Santana Moss, and perhaps Clinton Portis. Of those five, only Moss will play today, cementing an already depleted and inept d’oh!-ffense as a complete non-threat. And, oh yeah, the league’s third-best scoring defense in the Denver Broncos comes to town today, feeling a little desperate as they try to break a two-game slide. Denver 26, Washington 10.
The outlook for today at FedEx Field is unsurprisingly grim. An entire Sunday spent watching a hopeless team shoot themselves in the foot in the barren wasteland that is Landover, or Raljon, or whatever? No thanks. I’d rather listen to Sonny and Sam make a mockery of the product on-the-field and be warm and enjoying something other than an $8 Miller Lite.
But at least the Redskins have reversed their ridiculous “no signs” policy in time for today’s kickoff. So, those of you making the trek, go crazy with the Sharpies and poster board.
There is a game to be played. The Broncos are unquestionably reeling. The man formerly known as “Neckbeard,” quarterback Kyle Orton, now cleanly shorn — after six weeks of mistake-free football that had the Broncos sitting pretty at 6-0 — has seen diminishing returns in the past two weeks against dominant defenses in Baltimore and Pittsburgh. A trip to Washington should provide the R&R he needs to get 200 yards and a touchdown or two. If he’s feeling the heat, he should fire the ball towards whomever Carlos Rogers is covering — as there is little-to-no chance he’ll be intercepting it. Running-back-by-committee has been Denver’s modus operandi for several years, and it continues to be this year with stud rookie Knowshon Moreno and former Eagle Corell Buckhalter in the backfield. Expect a good, but not great day there, as the weather is now colder and Albert Haynesworth has fewer excuses for being out of shape.
On the other side of the ball, Denver’s third-ranked defense (who have forced 11 fumbles so far this season) greets an utterly decimated ‘Skins offense, as previously noted. Ladell Betts is set to start after a nice game last weekend, but now he’s hurt too and is currently questionable. If Betts can’t go, the duties go to Rock Cartwright, whom I truly love as a football player, but not so much as a starting tailback in the NFL. Frankly, this game scares me, but at least the Broncos don’t seem like the kind of team to put up 35 or 40 points on us. For the sake of the decreasing number of dedicated ‘Skins fans out there, I sure hope they don’t.
