Friday Furburgers: The Caps Power Outage

Look, I'm all for the "a win is a win" talk.

But after the Caps barely hung on in a 5-4 victory over Atlanta Thursday night, a game eerily similar to many others in which they let an inferior team gain ground on them in a sloppy third period, it's become apparent that their power play is just not right.

This is a team that finished 2nd in power play efficiency last season and lost none of its key parts, yet now boasts the 19th most effective unit in the league at a mere 16.0% after Thursday's 0-7 debacle.

The sample size is small and I am confident they'll right the ship in due time. Having four of the game's most skilled offensive players - Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Green - tends to have its benifits.

But what if these players aren't being used in the proper capacity?

I've maintained for a while now that Ovechkin's seemingly unlimited offensive potential is maximized when he is situated on the left hash marks on the power play, as opposed to the point where he plays now. Having him fire in a dozen slap shots a game from the blue line isn't necessarily ineffective, although usually half of those shots are either blocked or deflected away from the net. But Ovechkin with a clear path to the net is about as dangerous as Gary Glitter at a YMCA youth camp. Furthermore, placing him closer to the net will force the defense to collapse on him, paying huge dividends for whoever replaces him on the point and thus boosting the overall effectiveness of the power play.

I'm really not sure why I haven't been hired as at least an assistant coach at this point in my career, but whatever. It's all politics I guess.

Anyway, without further ado and no logical segue, I present your Friday Furburgers - links from the week, for the weekend:

Nice article on Nicklas Backstrom's rise to stardom. Lock this guy up, pretty please.
Washington Post

Great statistical recap of the 2008-2009 NHL season. This is required viewing for any true hockey fan. Spoiler alert: Alex Semin deserved to join Ovechkin and Green on the NHL First All-Star Team.
Hockey Analytics

Just as he was last year, Alex Ovechkin is the most clutch player in the NHL.
The Hockey News

Since making fun of the Redskins will never get old, it's important to note that they do, in fact, still somewhat resemble a professional football team. Classic.
The Onion

Our pals at Hogs Haven interview an Eagles fan in preparation for Monday's inevitable annihilation at Fedex Field.
Hogs Haven

Wilbon endorses Sherman Lewis as a legitimate head coaching candidate. The DCLS does not endorse Wilbon.
Washington Post

This Skins fan, writing for a financial blog, absolutely tears apart Dan Snyder from a corporate management perspective.
The Motley Fool

Matt Mosley, former Cowboys beat writer and current NFC blogger for ESPN, is an idiot. And the Pope poops in the woods. Duh.
Mr. Irrelevant

Speaking of Mosley, I pulled up this little nugget from my days as an avid Drew Bledsoe reader. God I loved that blog.
Tony Homo

The so-called ESPN panel of "experts" (yes, I still hate you, John Hollinger) previews the Wizards.
ESPN

Oriole Season Recap: Are We Still on Track to Contend?

So I was flipping through the channels the other day and lo and behold, the baseball playoffs had started. Which is funny because you know what I haven't done since 1997?........Watch my team play postseason baseball..........The start of the postseason signals the end of the season for the O's and Nats, so it is high time we wrote our season recaps.

I have gone back and forth about the O's this year. As hard as it sounds, you have to look past the 98 losses and only examine the core young players who will be with the team in a few years. All that matters from this season is not the epic ineptitude of Jason Berken, but rather the individual performances of players such as Baseball Jesus, Nick Markickass, and Chris Tillman. For quite some time, the realistic expectation for this team has been to reach the playoffs come 2011. In order to avoid wasting time with the Melvin Mora's, I will go player-by-player amongst the guys we think might be a part of the next great Orioles team.

***

Brian Roberts - Here is the best Oriole from 2009. He pretty much lapped the field in Baseball Prospectus' VORP, which is his value, in runs, over a replacement level player at the same position. He finished as the 5th best 2B in baseball, but VORP only accounts for hitting, and Roberts' fielding fell off a cliff last year. This leads me to the biggger point: Roberts is clearly a good player, but he will be 32 at the start of next season. That means he will be 33 at the start of our hopeful Oriole revival season. So...can we count on him? His trade value diminishes by the minute, but that does not mean trading him is the wrong move. He suffered his first drop in OPS since his post age-27 season (his career year, and career year for most baseball players), and could be headed straight for mediocrity next season. His Baseball Prospectus (BP) projections next season will be interesting, but I am skeptical that he will help the team much in 2 years.

Nick Markickass - We may have to remove the "kickass" from his name soon enough. This is a guy who has taken dramatic leaps forward in production each of the past 2 years, and was another dramatic leap from literally being an MVP candidate, according to BP before this season. Well, about that leap......this year he lept backward. He was not a bad player by any stretch, but was the 14th best RF by VORP, which is the definition of mediocore. This was a time when he was supposed to be improving, so it was particularly hard to stomach. His struggles were not limited to the plate either; after being one of the better RFers in the league, he dropped to slightly below average. Nick the Greek will still only be 26 at the start of next season, and presumably in his peak year in 2011, so there is still a lot of room for growth, and he should be a 'good' player on the O's for many years. The question has now become whether this year is an aberration, or has his ceiling dropped a bit to the point that he will only be a part of the next great O's team as apposed its centerpiece?

Adam Jones - His phenomenal start to the season led many to think he was having his breakout year, but that lasted about as long as I do in bed. Jones' performance declined by month and he ultimately finished the season on the DL. His fielding has remained a huge plus, and should get better with age. The final result was a solid year, but one that did not live up to the expectations he created with that hot start. That said, the performance is not bad, and he is still on track to be a great player. He is only one year younger than Markickass, and this past season has raised the same question about whether he will be very good, or great. In the meantime, I have been trying to figure out a nickname for him that is not "Pacman". My so-bad-it's-funny idea is "The Carpenter"...because he has all the tools...

Baseball Jesus (Matt Wieters) - We covered his season pretty thoroughly recently, so I will keep this as brief as I can. His slow start caused me a lot of sleepless nights, but he heated up and finished as one of the top catchers in baseball. He is only 23, so what does the future hold? He is clearly on track to be fixture in the midsummer classic, but what about the absurd ceiling that last year's minor league performance created? For those of you who (unlike me) don't think about Matt Wieters during your most intimate moments, he had the best season of any pro baseball player in the last 40 years, at any level. While his first major league season was very good, his ceiling has dropped a bit from the once-in-a-generation talent that impatiently homers from the on-deck circle. Nevertheless, he is still a special player and will be a leader on the 2011 team, so feel free to purchase a Wieters jersey and ponder whether his granite balls chafe, or are sanded to a glossy finish so that they swish gently across his knees.

Nolan Reimold - Aha, finally a guy who exceeded expectations. Reimold looked like a future solid LFer before this season, but had a huge season and now looks to be much better than just solid. This year he was already in the top-half of MLB LFers, with the only downside being that he is already 26, so his growth potential is not as great as the others. He is also not a good fielder, but can at least be spotted by Felix Pie in late innings.

Josh Bell - If watching George Sherril move on to more successful pastures made you upset, take heart in that we got a very good prospect in return who looks very much like our 3B of the future.

Brandon Snyder - After dominating double-A ball he had some struggles in triple-A, but still looks like a major leaguer in the near future. He lacks superstar potential, but the O's will be more than happy if he can hold down the regular 1B job.

Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz - We covered these guys througout the season and while it is hard to judge young pitchers, Matusz appeared to live up to the hype as Tillman seemed a bit shaky. Both of these guys are still on track to be front-line starters, however, so let's just hope for a little more Justin Verlander and a little less Phil Hughes.

Jake Arrieta - He had a somewhat dissapointing season, lagging behind Matusz and Tillman, but his upside has merely dropped from a number 2 to number 3 starter, so no big concerns here.

Brad Bergeson - I had to include him after having the biggest breakout season on the team this year. He is 23 and was probably the best rookie pitcher in baseball after J.A. Happ, Tommy Hanson, and Andrew Bailey until injury shortened his season. He may not be a future star but is an example of the ability of the Oriole army of pitching prospects to fill out a very good and very cheap rotation in the very near future.

Zach Britton - This guy was not even listed in BP's 2009 book, but has arguably become the best non-MLB prospect in the organization. He still has a ways to go but looks to be a future MLB starter.

***

Here is how the 2011 (and beyond) Orioles are shaping up:

C - Matt Wieters

1B - Brandon Snyder

2B - Brian Roberts?

3B - Josh Bell

SS - ?

LF - Nolan Reimold

CF - Adam Jones

RF - Nick Markickass

Utility - Felix Pie

DH - ?

SP1 - Brian Matusz

SP2 - Chris Tillman

SP3 - Zach Britton

SP4 - Jake Arrieta

SP5 - Brad Bergeson

RP - Brandon Erbe

***

As you can see, we have almost an entire cheap team in place, which leaves a lot of money to fill only a few holes. There is almost no doubt that this will be a solid team, with a potentially elite pitching staff and Wieters, Markickass, and Jones the offensive centerpieces. The question is whether this team will be solid or perhaps great enough to compete with the Yankees, Rays, and Red Sox? From where I stand I see a lot of good players, but when the Yank's roll out A-Rod, Jeter, Texeira, etc. you need more than just good. Wieters is on the cusp of superstardom, but he appears to be the only potential elite hitter in this lineup, meaning the team may have to be carried by its pitching staff.

The biggest hurdle for the O's may be that they have to play the Yankees and Red Sox 18 times each per season. Their record against those teams last year was 7-29! If they had played those two teams as well as they did the rest of the league, they would have had another seven wins. Those seven extra wins would have only pushed 'em to 71 wins last season. A team needs about 85 wins to get into the playoffs, so having 71 last year, and conservatively projecting a six win per year improvement over the next two seasons puts the O's at 83 wins in 2011 - and right in the playoff race.

Unfortunately, the Yankees and Red Sox have shown no signs of falling back to earth, and we only won 64 games, not the 71 we would have won in this theoretical world where my life as a baseball fan does not suck. After years of endless 'rebuilding', even a solid team would be a joy to watch. But I still hold out hope that this team could reach much greater heights.

[Image courtesy of nachofoto.com]

Portis on the Current Locker Room Dynamic

At this point in the season, only humor preserves my sanity in regard to the Redskins. Apparently, that's Clinton Portis' saving grace as well. Via Redskins Insider:

"[I] can't do nothing but handle it with humor. I can't keep moping around and everybody's sad and don't talk to each other. A couple of my teammates didn't even speak to me. I walked in, [wide receiver Santana Moss] didn't even speak to me. And [quarterback] Jason [Campbell] tried to let the door hit me in the face. I don't know what the ... I watched him look at me and then let the door slam in my face."

Campbell denied the incident, calling it a misunderstanding, but still...does this sound like a comfortable locker room to you?

The Redskins are a circus. Try to enjoy the show. Just try.

[Image via Invisible Blog]

Future Executive V.P. of Football Operations

Word on the street is that this guy is atop Dan Snyder's wish list to replace Vinny Cerrato if and when the time comes.



And to be honest, I've got a feeling things would pretty much stay the same around here, with a slight increase in front office rationality.

***Grain of Salt Alert*** Internet Rumor Monger Suggests Cerrato Might be Fired!!!

I'll be the first to admit that Mike Florio of Profootballtalk.com is a bumbling idiot and half of the things he says are complete hogwash. Hence the **GRAIN OF SALT** alert. But this juicy tidbit is too good not to share. Mostly because it's the only Redskins-related news that has made me anything besides murderous for the past, oh, decade or so.

There seems to be a sliiiiiiight sliver of a chance that - get this - Snyder might have had it with his "VP of Football Operations", Vinny Cerrato:

We're hearing that there's a strong belief within the Redskins organization that the fates of coach Jim Zorn and V.P. of football operations Vinny Cerrato are tied together.

So if/when Zorn goes, Cerrato could be dumped, too. (There's a chance Zorn would go after the Eagles game next Monday, and that Cerrato wouldn't be fired until after the season ends.)

If you haven't been following the Redskins, it's crystal clear that Zorn won't make it past this season (or peraps even next week). If this "rumor" is true, and Cerrato later follows Zorn out the door, let the Super Bowl Parade commence!

The only question then becomes, of course, What Does Snyder Do Next? It appears as though Dannyboy can't rip a fart without the "yes-man" approval of his football eyes, Vinny Cerrato. So will he find another ass kissing stooge? Or will he man up and admit that he has no clue what he is doing and hire someone with the courage to say no to the little twit once in a while? As in "no Dan, a wife-beating 30-year-old flash in the pan does not deserve a $250 million cap-crippling 12-year contract. If you want a shiny new toy, here is a nice Tonka truck."

Week 6: Chiefs 14, Redskins 6 - Knee Jerk Reactions

Football season is in full swing! The hair pulling, TV-screaming, remote control throwing and furious cigarette smoking is in full force. Before I let rationality cloud my judgment, here are my knee-jerk reactions from the sixth game of the season:

-Channeling Conan O'Brien here: "Watching the Redskins. Some say a waste of time. Others say: an incredible waste of time."

-I no longer have the energy to feel anger. Only sadness. At this point, what do we have to hope for? That one day Snyderrato will magically flip the switch from "incompetent meddling idiots" to "patient efficient and clever"? That our ridiculous long-term salary commitments will disappear, or that the players with these contracts will improve as they inch towards football senility? It's going to be a long and brutal 5-10 years at least. Probably longer. Hence, sadness.

-If Zorn makes it past the bye week still employed, I will post a naked picture of myself on this blog. And I'm not saying that just to attract more readers, even though that's a probable consequence (I am a beautiful specimen).

-Haynesworth and Golston were beasts inside, and Carter played great again. And the silverware on the Titanic was top-notch.

-Orakpo rushing from end is a beautiful thing. We've said it before, we will say it until we're blue in the internet face: it's not rocket science. PLAY HIM AT END PERMANENTLY. Christ on a crutch.

-Did you see that play where D******* Hall tackled a slow, plodding QB late in the game before he was dragged 8 yards for a first down? I nearly peed my pants.

-Campbell was absolutely horiffic. And all you Collins-lovers out there, how'd he do replacing JC17?

-Heyer does not belong in the NFL. Mike Williams is not completely awful though.

-Portis not getting in the end zone on the long run is another in a long line of signs that he is washed up. Why can't he cut it inside and take it to the house? You and Sellers and one guy to beat and you can't get past him????? And did anyone NOT foresee a field goal after he was tackled?

-Speaking of Portis, I was a big fan of benching him to light a little fire under him. Lasted for one play.

-Landry is a clown. I'm not really on the fence with him anymore. He overpursues more than a cougar at closing time.

-Did anyone else see that the TAMPA BAY BUCANEERS SCORED 21 POINTS? And that the Saints put up 34 on the Giants in the first half alone? We have to have the longest streak without 20 points in the NFL. I know, I'm so greedy.

-How 'bout that CBS feed cutting out for a solid 15 minutes? Feel free to share in the comments what you did during these 15 minutes. Or any jokes about why it happened.

-2-14 is the goal for me now. High draft pick, and an ever-so-slight chance that Snyder wakes up and realizes how bad Vinny Cerrato is, and actually fires him. That's when the next adventure starts. Remember, adventures can often suck, though they can also end in glory.

[Image via Mr. Irrelevant]

Week 6: Chiefs @ Redskins, 1 ET

Prepare for another Skins' EPIC with another one of Danny Rouhier's brilliant videos. This time, group therapy.

"Give us the grace to accept with serenity this team we cannot change; courage to not care when we challenge an obvious play that there is no way we should challenge; and it's like, come on bro, we're gonna need that timeout."



Prediction: Chiefs 16, Redskins 9. Get out your paper bags, boys. It's fixin' to be a very long day.

Week 6 Picks: Why Does Vegas Think the Skins Don't Suck?

After weeks of awful play, false hope, failed expectations, anger, and depression, I thought the world had finally accepted the fact that the Skins suck. I wasn't even all that angry last week, just accepting that this team isn't going anywhere. Well, some awful fan I feel like, because Vegas is still riding the Skins bandwagon. Yeah, the Chiefs also stink, but we are favored by 6.5 points!?! We are averaging 14.6 points a game, and that is even after 3 of our 5 games have come against the worst defenses in football. Amazing, just amazing. That line is the most absurd I've seen this season for any game. Not only have we sucked, but we are now more banged up than we have been in any other game, so the Redskins team going into this weekend's game will be our weakest thusfar. I understand that Vegas sets the line to even out betting, and is not a reflection of what they think the final score will be. Are there armies of Skins fans who think the Skins are winning this game comfortably? Maybe this is some plot by the NFL to get people to watch the game, by making a stupid line so that everyone will bet KC and then watch this pillow fight.

On to the picks...............the Football Outsiders (FO) picking system continues its turnaround, going 8-6 last week and creeping towards .500 for the season. As I've said before, the FO system should improve as the season goes on, because it has more actual data upon which to base its picks, and this statement looks better and better. I swear, a spreadsheet of their picking is coming at some point. FO's 'locks of the week' are now 2-2 with no 'locks' this week, their 'reasonable' picks are 8-13, and their 'stay away' picks are 25-24.

The standings:
Sports Guy: 10-4 last week, 49-27 overall (64.5%)
DCLS: 9-5 last week, 41-35 overall (53.9%)
Random monkey throwing shit at a dartboard: 38-38 overall (50.0%)
Football Outsiders: 8-6 last week, 36-40 overall (47.4%)

As usual, the FO picks are listed in order of confidence, and I have bolded a team wherever I differ (home teams in CAPS).

1. OAKLAND +14.5 over Philadelphia - Lost in last week's shellacking at the hands of the Giants was Jamarcus Russell not having an embarassingly bad game. He is sooooo bad, I can't take it. If there was ever a need for a fan to snipe someone, this is it.....this would never happen if Al Davis was still alive.......


2. Chicago +3.5 over ATLANTA - I am not sold on Chicago, but these teams are pretty even and I'll take the points. I think I just want to hate Cutler, and not just because he was kind of almost a Redskin; he just looks like a douchebag.


3. Cleveland +14 over PITTSBURGH - Derek Anderson won, but he was 2-17! That wasn't even against a good team. Anderson had 1 INT (and probably would have had more if he could throw it anywhere near his intended receiver), which means he completed only 1 more pass to his own team than the opposition. Does he have embarrassing photos of Mangini somewhere? I know the Steelers haven't been great, but how can you pick the Browns? And now without Braylon Edwards! FO has this as their #3 straight-up pick.


4. NEW ORLEANS -3 over New York Giants - Oooh weee! These have to be the best 2 teams so far, and this will likely be the best matchup of the entire regular season. You wanna know the kicker? This is a 1pm game, which is the same time I will be watching the Skins and Chiefs take giant dumps on FedEx Field. FO actually has the Saints as their #4 straight-up pick.


5. SEATTLE -3 over Arizona - The Hawks are 2-0 with Hasselbeck playing the whole game, and have not given up a point in either of those games. Maybe they are the team that FO predicted would be the class of their division.


6. Buffalo +10 over NEW YORK JETS - As much as I hate picking Senor Sanchez, the Bills are horrible. 6-3 to a QB who was 2-17?!?


7. Kansas City +6.5 over WASHINGTON - If I ever wanted to pick against the Skins, this would be the time. We are the 11th of 14 straight-up picks by FO, meaning they view this game as just about even. This should be another one of those games the NFL blacks out to hmaintain its overall quality for fans.


8. Tennessee +9.5 over NEW ENGLAND - I kind of want the Titans to suck, because I predicted that they would be significantly worse without Fat Albert. But now that the Skins D isn't quite carrying us to the Super Bowl, I am not sure what I think. Fat Albert is the real deal, and the Titans dropoff supports that, but why can't the Skins make a similar leap defensively? Maybe Jesus hates DC, in which case we should look into obtaining Kurt Warner next year.......


9. GREEN BAY -14 over Detroit - Not surprising that this is FO's #1 straight-up pick this week. The Packer o-line isn't a problem when it doesn't have to face a pass rush.


10. TAMPA BAY +3 over Carolina - I think Carolina can back to not being absolutely awful. FO sees this game as almost dead-even, taking Tampa as its worst straight-up pick this week.


11. Houston +4.5 over CINCINNATI - FO metrics actually point to the Bungles being worse than their record, and has these teams as pretty even. All I know is other than a dud in Cleveland, Cincy is a fluky bounce from being 5-0 with wins over 4 good teams.
    


12. Baltimore +3 over MINNESOTA - Great game, but AD will get nothing, and that is bad news for the Vikes.


13. JACKSONVILLE -10 over St. Louis - So much for FO thinking the Rams were a prime candidate for a bounce-back season. I am still not sold on the Jags, but I know the Rams lost to the Redskins, which puts them in select company.


14. Denver +4 over SAN DIEGO - I am off the Charger bandwagon, think I'll chalk it up to LDT and Jamal Williams being hurt. Great matchup of a defensive force against a great passing offense.

To recap, it looks like going with the FO picks is a smart move and a lot of idiots in this world think the Skins are significantly better than the Chiefs.

(Image courtesy of fairfaxunderground.com)

Prettiest Goal You Will Ever See

Remember the name Oliver Wahlstrom. Kid's only 9 years old. And he can do this (please have buffering patience, because I promise it's worth it):



I'm speechless. Forget the poor little keeper who was equally stunned and confused by Wahlstrom's move - this shot would have gone in against any NHL goalie.

Memo to George McPhee: Draft this kid! Like, now.

Week 5: Panthers 20, Redskins 17 - Knee Jerk Reactions

Football season is in full swing! The hair pulling, TV-screaming, remote control throwing and furious cigarette smoking is in full force. Before I let rationality cloud my judgment, here are my knee-jerk reactions from the fifth game of the season:

-Up 17-2 in the 2nd half on a winless team Football Outsiders says is the worst in the NFL, and we blew the lead. What else can the Skins do to kick their fans in the balls? Scratch that, this was more like giving us blue balls, specifically blue balls from an ugly chick.

-DeAngelo Hall had what, maybe 6 yards to tackle an immobile QB and couldn't make it happen?

-Buying http://www.firejimzorn.info/ is seeming like a smarter and smarter purchase by the day.

-After a week of hearing how D******* Hall has a rivalry with Steve Smith, it was Carlos Rogers who was matched-up on Smith most of the day. I don't want to type his full name anymore, not worth my time and anger, because I am finally almost at peace with the Redskin suck-fest, except for that all talk, no walk salary cap black hole.

-Rogers had a great game. By my count, the Panthers threw at Rogers 2 times, with one of those being a near-INT in the endzone. Hall, meanwhile, was picked-on all day, with success. I even noticed one play where Landry's guy caught the ball, but it was because Hall got smoked deep, so Landry left his man to help and then came back to make the tackle.

-Did anyone else notice that on the interception, the reason Hall was in position to make the play was that he was so badly beaten on the route that he was 5 yards behind the receiver? If he had been in tight coverage, that ball would have been tipped over his head. Knowing the DC media, Hall will get credit for that play, while Rogers will get criticized because he 'dropped' what would have been a spectacular INT in the endzone.

-Orakpo had a 0.5 sack, and another called back because of a penalty that did not appear to give him any advantage. That gives him 2.5 sacks this season, with 2 called back on penalties, and all while playing DE. This is for a guy the WaPo said today plays only 25% of the time at DE. Granted, those are all passing plays, but is it hard to imagine he has at least 5 sacks now if he plays DE full-time? Meanwhile, he looked completely lost on that TD pass to Jeff King and was beaten on another play in coverage. Is there something I am missing here?

-Brian Billick had a thought on Orakpo's position, but it has to be the dumb announcing comment of the day. Billick said Orakpo is a great pass rusher (okay, I'm good with that), and that he struggles in coverage (okay, so far so good and now waiting for him to state the obvious here...), but that the Skins moved Orakpo to LB to make him a complete football player (yeah comple...wai, wha?!?). That is like saying, ohhhh, I have a great idea, I think Albert Haynesworth is a great defensive tackle, but maybe we should move him to WR to make him a more complete football player. Jason Campbell, doing okay at QB, but how about trying him at kicker to round-out his game.

-Landry and Haynesworth had good games.

-Our defense was great, giving up a TD on a 12-yard drive is not their fault, and the other scoring drives were 40 and 38 yards. On the flip side, the D gave our offense the ball on the 13 and 1 yard lines, which you have to think is worth 14 points. That math gives me that the D is responsible for 11 points, but basically scored 14. My only complaint is that this performance came against maybe the worst offense in the NFL.

-After playing at the same mediocre level of our D for 4 weeks, the offense was awful. The D gave them 14 points, which means the offense really scored 3, but gave up 2 for the safety. Did I say awful? That's beyond awful.

-Another set of eyes?!? There are gazillions of eyes around the world that can see we need more shotgun and to throw deep occasionally, even with an o-line comprised of tackling dummies.

-Good to confirm that Chris Samuels is indeed the most irreplaceable player on our team. The line crumbled without him last year, and D'Anthony Batiste was like a turnstile. I was almost excited to see what Peppers would have done to him.

-Stephen Heyer against Peppers was a no-contest.

-Campbell definitely missed some guys wide-open on a few plays. The most notable was Santana on a double-move deep to Campbell's right in the 2nd half, and his first reads were left, so he never saw him. JC played okay, but the lack of deep throws looks like 3/4 the offensive line and play calling, and 1/4 JC just not seeing open guys or deciding the deeper throws are too risky.

-Did anyone else notice that Cooley, after recovering the fumble by Moss, did the Santana first down dance? That made me laugh.

-I feel a little bad for Byron Westbrook being blocked into ARE and then having the ball hit his leg, but I guess that's within the rules. The worst part was seeing about 9 Panthers chase that ball against 1 Redskin.

-I think I am comfortably numb. Even if we beat KC next week, that's 3-3 going into an impossible schedule. The only bad team we play after KC is the Raiders, so I think our over/under on wins right now is about 4.5. Yeah, comfortably numb.

(Image courtesy of the AP via ESPN.com)