Photo by MudFlapDCThe Redskins had every reason to win yesterday.
The Vikings have been a disappointing mess of a team this year after reaching the NFC Championship game last January. Minnesota can’t score points. Their passing game is weak. They turn the ball over with reckless abandon. They just dumped their head coach. But the Redskins just didn’t look up to the task yesterday, putting in an all-around lackluster effort — punctuated by a few killer mistakes — and gifted the Vikings a 17-13 victory.
The agenda for this meeting of The Eternal Pessimist’s Club is presented herein for your review.
Are Larry Johnson and Willie Parker still available?
The Redskins pretty much announced on their opening drive that their run game was going to be nonexistent. Brandon Banks (more on him later) took a couple snaps in the Wildcat formation and gained decent yardage, but that looked more experimental than anything the offense would actually use as the game went along. James Davis, recently signed from the practice squad, at least looked like he had some power attacking the holes, but didn’t show any cutting ability. The Vikings adjusted to the predictable pass-heavy attack, putting pressure on McNabb and taking away anything deeper than 10 yards. For the game, the Redskins only mustered 29 yards on the ground in 13 attempts. Yeesh.
It’s easier to catch a cold in this town, I tell ya!
If Santana Moss and Chris Cooley are going to be McNabb’s primary targets, then they need to learn to catch, preferably with their hands. Both of them had bad drops which killed a drive in the second quarter, and Moss, who has a tendency to do an annoying little jump while in the act of catching, had a ball bounce off of his chest and into the hands of former Maryland Terrapin E.J. Henderson. Anthony Armstrong isn’t immune either, dropping an easy ball one play after catching a 45-yard bomb.
