Dreams Really Do Come True!

Breaking news just came from ESPN 980 that Vinny Cerrato has resigned! This has not been confirmed (UPDATE: it has), but as of this AM, the Skins may finally be free of the man who is the main cause of a run of mediocrity. Skins fans will remember where they were at this moment for the rest of their lives.

There had been rumor of Vinny being fired at the end of this season, but our recent trend of decent play dampened our hopes. I wonder, why now? Did Snyder and Vinny have some kind of fight? Considering the sole reason Vinny has been able to keep his job this long is that Snyder is having some kind of love affair with him, one has to think they had some kind of juicy girl fight last night.

What does this mean for Zorn? I have no idea. Vinny staying probably would have meant Zorn stayed, and a new GM is usually bad for the current coach, but I really don't know if the Zornstar has any less job security today than he did yesterday.

There is a lot more to come on this, as I can't even list all the awful things Vinny did to the Skins and their fans, but the bottom line is that he is finally out of our lives. Given that he was so entrenched, wouldn't you trade going through this 1 terrible season for him to be gone? Snyder may do something stupid/crazy and hire Vinny 2.0 as our GM, but right now, I couldn't be happier and more excited.

(Image courtesy of the DC Sports Bog)

Thursday Pick: The Long Wait to Monday Night Begins

I hate the commercials trying to convince me that I can't wait until Monday night for 'the big game'. Well the big game is now played on Sunday nights, and after an exhausting experience trying to whither the steaming pile of turds the Skins dump on me, I am usually a little footballed-out by the time Monday night rolls around.

This time though, the Skins battle the Giants in what could (should?) be a close game, and I can't wait. Maybe those ads are just geared to people whose teams don't suck.

Sports Guy: 7-8 last week 108-96 overall (52.9%)
FO: 9-7 last week, 102-103 overall (49.8%)
DCLS: 9-7 last week, 99-106 overall (48.3%)

Indianapolis -3 over JACKSONVILLE - I have to agree here. This is FO's least certain pick of the week though, and did not have a spread until recently because the Colts may just rest everybody and treat this like a preseason game while Jacksonville is still battling to make the playoffs.

(Image courtesy of farm4.static.flickr.com)

Orakpo Snubbed by Peter King

Found this on page five of Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback and couldn't resist:

Packers linebacker Clay Matthews makes two significant plays a game.

Speaking of first-round rookies, there's a heck of a race for defensive rookie of the year. Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd leads the league with nine interceptions, and Houston LB Brian Cushing had another monster game: 10 tackles, a sack, two other tackles for loss, three QB pressures. Matthews. James Laurinaitis of the Rams. Pretty tough call.

Not even a mention of Orakpo - who received his Defensive Player of the Week award, by the way:

Who'd have thought Orakpo would have rushed the pass more productively in the first 13 games of his rookie year than Demarcus Ware, Julius Peppers and LaMarr Woodley?

The DCLS and everyone's mother did.

Granted, it's one man's opinion, and to be honest, trying to decipher this particular man's rationale has been a fool's errand on a number of occasions throughout the years.

But that doesn't make his embarrassing oversight any less infuriating.

[H/t to DCLS correspondent and former Jay Gibbons enthusiast, Plotty]

Hoya!!

6-0 against a bunch of all-girls schools was expected, even after last year's disaster. But as anyone paying any attention to college basketball this past week would know, the Hoyas just beat 2 of the top 20 or so teams in the country, and are a perfect 8-0 and now ranked #11. Greg Monroe was on the front page of espn.com after dropping 24 and 15 on Butler, and is again on the front page of of the college basketball section of espn.com for being Andy Katz's player of the week.

The only supposed blemish on the resume thus far is a close win over Temple at home, but the Owls are 8-2, with losses against St. Johns and us, and a win over Nova yesterday. To me, that just looks like a quality win, giving us 3 for the year already.

The next couple games are against ODU and Harvard, so 10-0 is almost certain entering conference play. That said, I still have my concerns. We are only playing 6 guys, and although we are ranked as the 11th best team in the country, we are only the #4 ranked team in our conference!

I said in the preseason that Monroe would need to take a huge leap forward for this team to do anything, and right now he might be taking that leap. Too bad this will be the last year we get to watch him.

(Image courtesy of blog.syracuse.com)

Week 14: Skins 34, Raiders 13 - Knee Jerk Reactions

HAIL.

After 3 games of taking a lead into the 4th quarter (and losing), we deserved this. Call me crazy, but after a few weeks of decent football, I kind of expected a win. I was relatively relaxed for the rest of the game after we took the lead early in the 1st quarter; I even snuck a peak at Tony Romo looking like a kid being forced to eat his broccoli.

Did everyone else also feel extremely relaxed when Jamarcus Russell entered the game? Those 6 sacks in his first 16 dropbacks merely prevented him from overthrowing his receivers by mind boggling distances. The game ended when Jamarcus entered at QB.

Maybe tomorrow I won't be able to take my eyes away from that 4-9 record (the same as these Raiders), and maybe remember that 7 points separate us from being 7-6 and a playoff team. But right now, I'm just glad that the worst is over, and maybe, just maybe, this team isn't far away from competing next year....

Other thoughts:
-The Raiders with Jamarcus are incredibly bad, how can we have the same record as them, ahhh!

-Tim Tebow wears Brian Orakpo pajamas.

-Rak locked up the defensive ROY today. 11+ sacks is going to be too much to overlook.

-Santana Moss lives!

-Sure, Laron Landry had a pick and a couple nice plays on the line, but he couldn't cover McFadden. The 48 yard pass was all on him and cost us 3 points.

-Graham Gano > Shawn Suisham.

-We had our first play action spotting in a long long time.

-ARE still returning punts......really??

-Andre Carter, you fall on the ball, don't pick it up and run you greedy bastard.

-Quinton Ganther was okay, showing some flashes, but that is the best we have right now. Marcus Mason didn't show much. This team needs to get a starting RB this offseason.

-I can't remember seeing the Skins stack the box like we did in the 1st quarter. I know it's supposedly a big deal that Landry and Doughty switched safety spots, but Doughty was playing at the line most of the game anyway. Monday night against the Giants will be a better example of how this switch can work. I also will note that we have a high draft pick coming, and need a FS, and Eric Berry from Tennessee is going to be tempting.

-Fred Davis 15 yards for his endzone celebration. A) that dance was pretty mild. B) He definitely didn't get his money's worth - at least do something sweet if you're gonna get a 15 yarder.

-Our 2 TE set next year is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams.

-Dick Stockton - it's OraKPO, not OraPKO!! You said this incorrectly for almost the entire game!!!! That is beyond stupid; it's not like his name isn't pronounced phonetically. Rak is probably going to be the defensive rookie of the year so you would think he'd be someone the announcers would prepare to discuss during the game!?! Then, no one else caught this and could tell Stockton that he was screwing up the name he said repeatedly until late in the 4th quarter!?!

-Dick Stockton - just because Quinton Ganther and Kirk Morrison played in the same conference in college, does not mean they are good friends.

-JC had another good game, and still didn't have consistent protection. Just imagine what he could do with this protection every game.

-I am actually excited for next week!

(Image courtesy of washingtonpost.com)

Week 14 Picks: We are Barely Favored to Win!!!

We coulda shoulda woulda beat the Saints, and all we give is 1 point to the Raiders!?! Amazing, and either Vegas/the general public knows something, or the Skins are finally being underrated by the point spread. Maybe we play down the competition, but how can you not like our odds tomorrow? Is the pressure on us to win? This is an unfamiliar feeling.......

The standings (with pushes excluded):

Sports Guy: 4-12 last week, 108-88 overall

FO: 7-9 last week, 92-96

DCLS: 4-12 last week, 90-99 overall

As usual, the FO picks are listed in order of confidence, and I have bolded a team wherever I differ (home teams in CAPS). Please note that differences in total games picked is a result of us using slightly different spreads.

1. DALLAS -3 over San Diego
2. Philadelphia +1 over NEW YORK GIANTS
3. Buffalo -1 over KANSAS CITY
4. Washington -1 over OAKLAND
5. Pittsburgh -10 over CLEVELAND
6. Seattle +6 over HOUSTON
7. Green Bay -3 over CHICAGO
8. Denver +7 over INDIANAPOLIS
9. BALTIMORE -14 over Detroit
10. Cincinnati +7 over MINNESOTA
11. ATLANTA +10 over New Orleans
12. St. Louis +13 over TENNESSEE
13. New York Jets -3 over TAMPA BAY
14. Miami +3 over JACKSONVILLE
15. NEW ENGLAND +14 Carolina
16. SAN FRANCISCO +3.5 over Arizona

(Image courtesy of blogs.westword.com)

Speaking of our Poll.....

Quinton Ganther was officially named the starter for Sunday's game against the Raiders.


As much as everyone loves Rock, he just isn't a very good NFL running back, so this move is welcome for a guy who is putting up great numbers behind a hopeless offensive line. Against the #25 run defense, maybe a breakout game is coming......

(Image courtesy of www3.pictures.zimbio.com)

Unbelievably-Super-Awesome Screen Capture

The Wizards nearing the Quarter Pole: A Pattern I Don't Like

The Wiz season is following a depressing pattern. I projected the Wiz to win 45 games, that is until we outplayed a 50-win team from last year, on the road, in the season opener. 50 wins definitely looked like a distinct possibility. Eh, not so much..........we then won only 1 of our next 8, and that 1 win was over the Nets, who may end up as the worst team in history. Those 9 games were the ones where we were without Cybertawn.

The Cybertawn portion of the season commenced with a win over the Cavs in game #10, so all is good again right? As in the season opener, it turned out to just be a tease, because since that win, we have gone 4-5 and currently stand at 7-12. So what's the problem and what does the rest of the season hold?

Bullets Forever beat me to it with this nice article, but the problem is that the star players aren't performing. Jamison has been good, so has Haywood, Blatche, Miller, but Agent-0 and Tough Juice have not been good enough. Yeah, they've been good, but we need them to be All-Stars. As I wrote in my season preview, "As much as I'd like to talk about X-factors and other improvements, this team will only go as far as Agent Zero will take it." There have been a lot of positives this season, but the poor performance is on the shoulder of Gil and Caron, that's the end of the discussion as to what the problem is. How to fix it or why this problem exists is a different story.

I think the reason for the struggle is the new coach/system and that these guys have not played together for awhile (remember, Gil has missed almost 2 full seasons). Caron is clearly struggling to find his role in this offense; he understood his job as the #1 guy the past couple years, but is having trouble being as efficient and productive as a #2. Gil, meanwhile, seems to be lacking some of his aggressiveness. I understand that Flip Saunders wants him to be more of a pure PG, and Gil is making an effort to curtail his boyish personality, but I don't like it. A hobo in Chinatown once told me, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Who cares if he is a fun-loving guy with a big mouth? I don't know who told Gil that 'acting mature' would make him a more valuable player, but right now that advice is looking terrible. I want the blogging, aggressive, Hibachi-calling locker room prankster back, and the Wiz are probably thinking the same thing too.

Gil and Caron have never been great defenders, but it is actually on the offensive end where they are struggling. John Hollinger has us ranked 20th in defensive efficiency, and 24th in offensive efficiency. Although the 20th best defense is nothing to brag about, we are certainly improved on that end of the floor, and enough so that if we had the offensive efficiency of the healthy Hibachi years, we'd be looking at a dangerously good team. As a comparison, Atlanta is ranked 4th in offensive and 17th in defensive efficiency and have been one of the top-5 teams in the league thus far.

As for the bright spots other than the defense, let's start and end with Young Sushi. After writing him off early in the season, he was given a 2nd chance and has clearly thrust himself back into the rotation. The Wiz are 4-3 with him as a starter, although I will say that the good record probably has more to do with Jamison being back than Young Sushi in the starting lineup. The highlights of these 7 games include 3 20-point performances and, more importantly, great defensive performances. He's held Andre Iguadala to 2-10 from the field, D-Wade to 6-19, and Stephen Jackson to 4-12. The defense is particularly interesting because his metrics have indicated that Nick is an above-average defender, but the 'eyeball test' has said otherwise. Well, maybe our eyeballs are deceiving us; just because he doesn't have a mean streak and isn't pesky like Bruce Bowen does not mean he is not performing at a high level. Nick isn't a defensive stopper by any means, but is proving that the metrics are right.

Nick still needs to learn to pass a little more often, holding a 10:11 assist to turnover ratio in these 7 games, but Deshawn Stevenson should not leave the bench for anything other than garbage time at this point. I don't think Nick's a versatile defender, but against perimeter shooters and slashers, he can be effective enough to take some of Mike Miller's minutes. The interesting thing now is that with the Wiz needing offensive help more than defensive, Miller may actually be the better fit. Even if Nick does lose some minutes in the near future, he can still provide moments like this:

So where is this team headed? John Hollinger thinks we will be shedding salary at the trade deadline, but I'm not so sure. After the top-4 teams in the East, the 5th seed in the East is a mere 3.5 games ahead of us, standing at 11-9, and may never be that far ahead of us. That said, we will need to win at least 43 games to get that 5th seed, and we are already 2.5 games under .500. With 63 games left, that means we will need to win at least 36 of those (36-27) to be .500. Even though we look like a .500 team since Jamison's return, and certainly have room for improvement, going 36-27 the rest of the way is not realistic at this point. A more realistic 40-41 wins will likely get us into the playoffs, but just make us first-round cannon fodder for the Celtics, Magic, or Cavs. Ummmm, I'll just pretend I didn't do that math and replay the belt slap video a few times........

(Image courtesy of media.nowpublic.net/)

Week 13: Saints 33, Skins 30 (OT) - Knee Jerk Reactions

For a few hours today, there were positive vibes coming out the wazoo. The team was clicking, points were being scored at an unimaginable rate, and the best team in football looked like they had fallen into a trap.

But, alas, I was the one who fell into the trap. I got emotionally involved when I promised myself I wouldn't. Again. And my Skinnies let me down. Again.

I'm not sure at what point a loss ceases to be encouraging, but I am sure that we're close. The last three games have been particularly hard to stomach - seven points separate us from a 6-6 record right now.

There were three excruciatingly frustrating plays today that stick out in my mind (aside from every significant challenge that the Redskins lost): Shaun Suisham's miss, Kareem Moore's fumble, and Kevin Barnes' muffed punt. It's too painful to talk about each of those in depth so I will defer to the comments section for anyone brave enough to chime in.

Here are some additional thoughts on the game:

• The secondary's susceptibility to the double move is an old joke - predictable and no longer funny.
• LaRon Landry had a decent game, aside from the aforementioned long balls. Yet I can't help but hate him when he mugs for the camera after EVERY SINGLE PLAY, positive or not. After he broke a pass up in the endzone, Byron Westbrook looked to give him a high five, but Landry decided waving to the crowd and mugging for the cameras was more appropriate. He left Westbrook hanging. Dude, you ain't that tight. Shut your mouth and play some football.
• I just purchased a Devin Thomas hype machine. He was everywhere today and absolutely phenomenal returning kicks, covering kicks, and catching balls from JC17. Add a solid game from Fred Davis and your typical mediocrity from Malcolm Kelly and the 2008 Draft class is making Vinny Cerrato almost look competent. Almost.
• Offensive line was great in pass protection with their first 0-sack game of the year.
• I'm very intrigued by the Rock Cartwright/Quinton Ganther duo. They've got a jump in their step that I haven't seen in a while.
• JC17 was excellent today and will continue to be excellent for many years. Too bad it probably won't be with the Redskins.

Raiders next week. They beat the Steelers this week. Ain't no such thing as a cupcake in the NFL.