Let's Figure Out How We Can Lose This Game!

Great to see a coach of a football team, have some BALLS with the line on the game. Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech, is in a overtime struggle with Wake. Down 3 points in OT, he's got 4th and 1 at the 4 yard line. He could easily kick a chippy FG and then keep playing in OT.

Nah! Let's go for it.

Jackets convert – despite being 0-3 prior to that on 4th down in the game! - and go on to punch it in the end zone a few plays later for the win.

Huzzah, huzzah, Coach Johnson! If only more coaches had your attitude.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

On the flip side, I don't know exactly how the NY Giants fell apart against the Chargers. The game was burning away on one of my “wing” TV's in the 5-Hour energy dome and I wasn't paying much attention.

Suddenly, the Chargers have a shot at the end zone with 20 seconds left, and sure enough, they stick the dagger in!

Rewind to the key play. On 1st and goal at the 4, up by 3 points, with 3 minutes and change left, Chris Snee gets called for a hold. The Giants then throw to the flat to Hakeen Nicks for no gain on 1st and goal from the 14. Predictably, they run safe Brandon Jacobs draws on 2nd and 3rd down from the shotgun formation.

Field goal. 20-14.

So what's the big deal? Being up 6 is better than 3, right?

Most of the time, actually, no. As I like to say: if only a touchdown can beat you, then it WILL be a touchdown that beats you.

Predictably, the Chargers were able to operate smoothly in the 2 minute drill, and move quickly into Giants territory. Why? Well, of course. “Only a touchdown can beat us.”

And so it was.

Had the Giants thrown boldly into the endzone in attempt to score, even an INT wouldn't have been that bad. The Chargers would have then only needed a FG to tie, and thus, the Giants D would have played furiously to keep them out of FG range.

I would have liked their chances very much to succeed.

Also, if the Chargers had moved into FG range, their own aggressiveness to score the game winning TD would have been blunted, likely resulting in a field goal attempt (hell, it's Norv we're talking about!) which may well have missed. Worst case, you end up in OT, not losers.

But.... this won't be the last time you see this game ending dynamic in the NFL. Some things seem to never change...

Put On Your Zorn Face, Skins Fans

“Look, we lost the game today. I GET that.”

- Jim Zorn, pumping the breaks on his selective post game enthusiasm over what went “right” in the Skins 31-17 loss to the Falcons.

Okay then, that's a start. He does “get it” that losing is bad. We can build from here.

But there's a ton of work still left.

Where to start?

Well, let's start with Zorn. Is it me, or does watching him on the sidelines make you cringe? I mean, I have never, ever, ever, seen an NFL coach who has been so thoroughly drained of “coaching life force” like this.

Sure, I've seen awful coaches, who were almost CERTAIN that they were soon to be fired.

But they still stalked the sidelines, ranting, raving, tilting at imaginary windmills and yelling at the refs on occasion.

Zorn? It's surreal. Nothing.

In fact, he has what I am simply going to call from now on: “Zorn Face.”

Zorn Face: adj. - A facial expression of false interest, concern, or thoughtfulness. Usually highlighted by a steadily furrowed forehead. Used to conceal the fact that you really don't give a crap either way, since you get paid the same just to stand there.

(Example: “You know, Bill, that all-staff meeting on email etiquette was a real waste of time. Still, I just put on my “Zorn Face” and made it look like I was totally engaged.”)

That said, there's only three things I see wrong with this team.

1.They aren't that talented.
2.They don't play very hard.
3.They have poor or non-existent coaching.

Other than that.....

Has anybody else noticed that the guys who keep saying “we've got talent here...” are the guys with the biggest contracts? Haynesworth, Portis, Hall...

Zorn told Sonny on the post-game show that he was “impressed” with how his defense “popped” Michael Turner a few times. Sonny, non-plussed, then said: “Yeah coach, but 168 yards....” Parried Zorn: “But most of that was just on two runs....” Right. Let me say it one more time: THOSE YARDS GET CHARGED TO YOUR ROOM TOO, UPON CHECK OUT!

Is the running attack better – at this point – without Clinton Portis? Well, duh, yeah. But only marginally. Betts gives a quicker chop-chop with his legs through the hole, but he's only a slight upgrade over CP. Plus, just look at the line...

Speaking of..... how great is it (insert sarcasm before “great”) that our line now includes... Mike Williams (plucked off Derrick Dockery's couch at 410 pounds with 2 years of rust), Will Montgomery (who is only playing because 3rd round pick Chad Reinhardt is a total bust), and former Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings and Edmonton Eskimo D'Anthony Batiste. Fun times!

PS: Center Casey Rabach can't play anymore. Pssst. Keep it quiet. We've got 8 games left still.

This great defense we have, once again failed to produce a score. The last DFT for the Skins came in 2007! For perspective, consider this: the Saints have 5 pick six's this year alone! You would need to go back to the Lavar Arrington pick-six against Carolina that turned around the one Marty year to cover the last 6 skins pick-sixes.

Albert Haynesworth came off the bye week and promptly committed an off-sides penalty. Added another one when Matt Ryan all but shouted out: “Let's make the fat kid jump!” Fabulous.

People say this team is “un-disciplined.” Well, yeah. No players ever get ripped by the coaches. No players ever get benched by the coaches. No players ever get cut from the team. (Okay, they benched Horton, and cut Mason. Otherwise, have fun boys!)

The first snagged fabric of the Magicolor Dreamcoat that is the “Bingo Lewis” Offensive Play-Calling Relay Team has appeared. Near the goal line, you could see Zorn mouth the words “I wanted to throw” when they ran. Later, they called timeout on 4th and 1 inch (waste) and threw un-successfully to Mike Sellers. When asked, Zorn said: “Stump Mitchell designed the play, Sherm Lewis called it. And I made the decision to go for it.” With costume credit to Angela Silverstein, script enhancement by Bert Rossman..... They showed Zorn on the sidelines right after that. Zorn Face. I really wanted him to sheepishly point his finger up in the air. Psst. Sherm's call. Not me.

How is DeAngelo Hall working out for Redskins fans? Uh huh. Not like I didn't try to warn everybody. Aside from his crap tackling, he's really not shutting guys down either. His team-hi three picks included two pop-ups off deflections.

LaRon Landry is regressing. That is sad. He was one of my favorite players. I think back to how insanely devastating he and Sean Taylor were together. He seems lost now. One caller said on the post-game show, that ever since the opening night trucking he took from Brandon Jacobs in 2008, Landry hasn't been the same. Hmm. Interesting theory.

The fake coaching, and weekly mini-dramas begin continue with Denver coming to town Sunday. Should be fun.

Greg Blache Will Whip Your Ass!

For those that don't know, the pieces of the Redskins keep flying apart like Skylab coming back to earth. The latest is Hall of Famer John Riggins calling Snyder a fundamentally "bad guy" and someone with a "dark heart."

Riggo, for all his rugged charm, may be right. I don't know Snyder. Yet I think "dark heart" is a bit much.

Riggo himself admits he has an axe to grind. He was formerly the most overpaid radio host in the DC market. "Stolen" away from us at Sportstalk 980 by the upstart Snyder Radio Regime, I had heard Riggo was making nearly $1 million a year.

He was given his own afternoon radio show, opposite me and Andy on The Sports Reporters.

In a word, fail.

Riggo was engaging and nutty when he was with Andy and I for 2 hours a week, back in the day. Riggo bloviating and rambling on his own was death by a thousand radio cuts.

When Sportstalk 980 was purchased by Snyder's Red Zebra in July of 2008, they had to make a choice: us or Riggo. It wasn't a hard one.

So Riggo got paid for the last 6 months of his contract to just go away, while we went on about our business on The Reporters. I don't have any hard feelings toward Riggo - no axe to grind, like he admits - but he's more than just a little delusional about his own radio talent.

He is also no doubt frustrated by now being mostly shut-out of relevant commentary on all things Redskins. Brian Mitchell has a prominent perch on Comcast's post-game show. Doc Walker still does mid-days on ESPN980 here, Joe Theismann is doing more with the station and elsewhere, and Sonny still rules gameday on the radio broadcast.

So what's Riggo to do?

Film al-Qaeda like videos from the woods near his home, lobbing one more incendiary diatribe after another.

Sad, really.

It did get him enough traction, however, along with his HOF status, to appear on Inside the NFL.

So that gets you up to speed on Riggo. He's a guy desperate to revive a failing football media career, and admittedly bitter about the way he was bum rushed out of here. Okay, fine.

As for Blache, I only thought one thing when he spoke up in defense of Prince Dan: "Dude, you're still here?"

This is the guy who decided a single, simple media session once a week to discuss defensive football matters on this team was too much. So he passed the buck to Jerry Gray.

Oh, NOW he's talking? That is rich!

Well, turns out, that was hardly the most scintillating piece of Greg Blache "news" to come across my desk this week.

TO: Czabe
FROM: Name Withheld
RE: Skins D-Coordinator, Greg Blache

I know that you probably receive e-mails similar to this one, all of the time, but I can assure you that this happened. One of the guys that I work with lives in River Creek (nice golf course!). He has a circle of friends that he plays golf with there. He received the following e-mail from one of these friends last night. I kept their names off to protect their privacy.

"Dudes? Does Greg Blache live in River Creek? If so, I think I ran into him literally today, I think, this am, while walking my dog, He was power walking with 25 # dumbbells in his hands, and he literally bumped me off the sidewalk, I turned around and said ‘what was that’? He then told me to fuck off, to which I replied ‘you fuck off’. He then told me to go lose the dog, and he would ,and I quote, “fuck me up”, I was literally shocked. I then said I will lose the dog, but he had to lose the weights. He then threw them on the ground and said ‘lets go’ and threw some other threats at me.

I ,being prudent, told him he was a fucking psycho with anger management issues, but that I would go drop off the dog. Now the dog had yet to drop his load, so I had to get that out of the way first. When I got back to the house, I looked out the window, and that psycho was still standing at the stop sign on Olympic waiting for me to come back and duel.

First, I am generally not one to run from a fight, but he is a big mf, clearly with a bad temper. He runs a good 240+. The stress of losing must be eating him alive. I may have to engage counsel and call the police. This guy is seriously whacked. I will now hate the redskins forever!

PS: I googled him. That grumpy psychotic MF does live in River Creek". I guess the Redskins' problems go deeper than we all think..


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Jimmy Masterlock Week 9

Dallas +3 at Philly
Miami +10.5 at New England
Cincinnati +3 vs. Baltimore
BARKING DOG: Houston +9 at Indianapolis