Random Thoughts™ on the Redskins playoff game

[hawkfan1975]

Ahhh, the article worth waiting for. Well done Kip. I disagree that Browner has an awful game. Awful first half, yes, but it seemed to me he shook off the rust by then and made some pretty good plays.

As for the rest...spot on.

lengthy but a good game thread!
i didn't have this as a brave RW win actually, but a great win by all.

 

[kearly]

Well done, as usual.

Since you didn't mention it, I'm curious about your take on Kam. It didn't seem to me that he had a very good game today (particularly on the two TDs). We'll need him to step it up next week against TG.

Didn't notice him much, although I'll say that on RG3's first TD I thought our coverage was good- RG3 just made a perfect throw.

Second TD, not so much. Target was wide open.

 

[The Grouch]

We were owed that hold call that extended our drive as reparation for the missed hold on Golden Tate at the goal line..

Excellent example of how most of the time (XL obviously excluded as are the odd game here and there) penalties are a wash. As much as fans want to scream about this penalty or that penalty cost them the game, the truth is they probably got away with a no call or a bad call at some other point in the game. The GB game at home was another of those games. Some bad calls went both ways, mostly a wash in the end.

That being said, excellent random thoughts...

Here's a random thought:

I have been a Seahawks fan for years, through the good and bad. Obviously I havn't been on this forum but for a minute and until yesterday had never watched the gameday chat. Is it normal for fans (although a minority) to get on here and act like a bunch of... uh... whiners? Saw that several times yesterday to my amazement. I don't get it. Turn in your 12th Jersey and see the door. It's a great game and we have a great team. If you want to act like a chick (you know what I mean, overly emotional, no offense to females specificly) then maybe you should go watch womens college softball... Just my take. I was a little dissapointed at that.

What I was not dissapointed in is that the SEAHAWKS have no quit in them. Fighters every one. They make me proud to be a fan.

GO HAWKS! :th2thumbs:

 

[Scottemojo]

Kam isn't good at Zone drops. Both of RG's tds were one read stare downs, and kam didn't read his eyes. Seattle's initial game plan was shit. But, they got it right. Good coaching.

They should have called a personal foul when Farwell got body slammed, but overall I prefer the lack of flags. It should have been PI in the endzone when DHall spun Tate by the shoulder. That was the same pass Wilson threw to Baldwin against the Niners. I thought that one was pretty clear.


That field was rubbish. On the initial kickoff, you could see dust clouds with every step players took. Dirt Field plus ply wood pain pill shack=cheap ass billionaire owner.

Seattle should have been in the 35 to 42 point range.

 

[CANHawk]

Seriously, imagine this team with an elite base pass rush. We'd never lose again.

I think this is literally true. It's incredible that we rarely get pressure, yet perform so well overall on defense.

I still scratch my head as far as why we almost never blitz, though. Our blitzes this year must be in the top 5 for efficiency. (Just a random guess.) They seem to work superbly every time we do them, but we never do them. : /

Oh for sure. I'm just saying that the collapsing knee from the wonky snap was the final straw for that knee, and the wonky snap was caused by Mebane being a pain in that centre's ass. Without that, maybe Bob could have hung on a while longer (but i knew from the first quarter that Bob wasn't going to finish the game. He looked hobbled from the jump. Was only a matter of time. Especially with that shit hole field.

 

[Scottemojo]

I wanted to add this Kip: Watch how the clock is run by the home team at the end of that game. It was just seconds here and there, but the clock operator was clearly trying to help the Skins.

And when you watched the DVR, did you see what must be a Redskins employee getting into it with Irvin, who gets held back by Johnson, and them KJ Wright gives the dude some parting words? It seems the entire Redskins fan base is trollish. Really, a sideline employee having words with players? (at the 3:21 mark of the 4th quarter)

 

[Sarlacc83]

You know what I won't forget? The look on Marshawns face after he fumbled at the endzone. That pain in his face. Like he'd just arrived too late to save a village from being wiped out. I have the highest respect for Lynch now. He wants it bad. Winning means everything to him.

I know what you mean. Beastmode is amazing in the regular season, but he is SPECIAL in the playoffs. Oh my god.

 

[Lieutenant Dan]

Another fantastic writeup, much appreciated, Kip!

I said aloud when I was watching Lynch pick up Wilson's fumble and take off for that gain that it was a good sign.

That field was a disgrace.

 

[The Radish]

Well done, as usual.

Since you didn't mention it, I'm curious about your take on Kam. It didn't seem to me that he had a very good game today (particularly on the two TDs). We'll need him to step it up next week against TG.

Didn't notice him much, although I'll say that on RG3's first TD I thought our coverage was good- RG3 just made a perfect throw.

Second TD, not so much. Target was wide open.

"good" is understating it. Hawkstorian and I watched the replay closely and there wasn't an inch either way. That was a great throw and catch. Sadly the 2nd TD was the exact same play but no one was near him that time.

 

[QuahHawk]

Miller's shoelace catch on 3rd and long and Wilson's block for Marshawn's TD were my two favorite plays of the game. I'll be worried about Clemons out and Red's lackluster play if we get to face the niners but I think Irvin can produce some pressure and a few more blitzes will be effective against Atlanta.

 

[Blitzfan]

Great Job again Kip.

A couple things I would add....

1. ET's interception, for me anyway, felt like a big momentum swing. The defense had done very little right up to that point.
2. I was really worried about RW after one of his runs. He went to slide and ended up getting caught in the turf, at the time it almost looked like a twisted ankle.
3. How can the NFL allow an owner to neglect a field so badly it becomes safety hazard to players?

 

[morgulon1]

Mr Kearly, just like the Seahawks stepping up their game for the playoffs, it appears you sir have gone into playoff mode yourself. This is your best write up yet. I agree with all points but #5 rings the loudest to me personally. MRob has IMHO become a damned good FB with many strengths, the biggest being his leadership abililty.

On a team with many great young players, he fills a vital role and I love watching that dude play.

Thanks again Kip.

 

[sam1313]

Thank Kip. Even better job than usual!

 

[OneLofaTatupu]

couple of things:

I don't think anyone will forget the Miller catch on 3rd and long, that along with the Beast fumble recovery was the most important play of the game.

I though the call on holding which extended our drive was a legit call, Hall AND Wilson both had fistfuls of our players jerseys, though there was a dodgy no-PI call late in the game when Trufant grabbed someone's leg just as they were going up for the catch that I'd have been fuming over if I was a Redskin fan.

As far Wilson protecting himself, he's definitely a tough dude, but I think it comes down to the fact that these late games and playoff games are more important, so he can afford to take a few hits in order to gain yards in important games - there's a big difference between putting yourself at risk of a big hit for an extra 5 yards in Week 1 compared to Wild-Card Weekend, and I think Russell knows it.

As for the "mercy" snap on 4th and 6 near the end of the game, I know it's near the end of the game and the victory was all but assured, but you take that foul when the defense gives you it and run out the clock the way you're supposed to. Not a fan of showing mercy for stupidity like that

biggest play of the game, IMO - I looked at my buddy and said "that's the play of the game right there" and all he could do was nod in agreement.

 

[Reaneypark]

Good stuff!

One thing I noticed on the first two Redskins drives is that our front 7 really seemed to have a tough time with the field. The D line wasnt shooting gaps and was trying to stand their ground (good idea against RGIII) but they couldn't get any kind of push. And our LBs were sliding around too. It seemed that after the first quarter, they got used to it and were able to adjust to the surface.

Also, Marshawn's fumble recovery reminded me of Jeter's great play backing up the catcher in the World Series. Just an incredible right place at the right time play.

 

[MexHawk]

Great post as always.

8.

Kickers almost never get injured. Funny how Hauschka was just on the Real Rob Report not two weeks ago talking about being careful with workload/injury. How often do you see kickers get injured, in the playoffs? Talk about unpleasant. Every one of Hauschka's kicks felt like the most nerve racking 30 yard field goal in history. To his credit, he did an amazing job today. He was 3/3 on a tweaked ankle, and only his PAT attempt came close to missing.

And what about Jon Ryan's kickoffs? He got better and better everytime

 

[HawkHack]

I wanted to add this Kip: Watch how the clock is run by the home team at the end of that game. It was just seconds here and there, but the clock operator was clearly trying to help the Skins.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I kept thinking, "OK, he's down in bounds, clock keeps running" -- and it would stop for some reason! I'd look to see if the Redskins had called a timeout, but no... Then it would start up again about 3-4 seconds later as the Redskins were getting back into formation.

Pretty obvious, if you ask me.

 

[HawkHack]

11.

Jeremy Lane made one of the better punt coverage tackles I've seen. Pretty good for a CB.

Dude's been money on punt coverage all year. He's caught at least a half dozen punts inside the 10, and he's always one of the first guys down there. No surprise to me at all.

12.

Very late in the game, with Seattle nursing a 10 point lead, the Seahawks went for it on 4th and 6. Had they converted, it would have allowed them to use the victory formation on the next play. The Redskins (freshly out of timeouts), realized to their horror that they had the wrong defensive package on the field. Several Redskins players ran off the field- this while Seattle was already lined up and Wilson under center. Two of the Redskins players were on Seattle's side of the field. Wilson (or Unger) could have snapped the ball at any time and gotten an automatic 12 men on the field penalty or an offsides, which would have set up 4th and 1 and (if my understanding of the rules is correct) would have allowed Seattle to run an extra 45 seconds of game clock off.

Wilson waited mercifully for the Redskins to finish their substitution instead of taking the free yardage. He then snapped the ball and threw an incomplete pass. While this might seem like a mistake, especially in a playoff game, something tells me he showed Washington mercy on his own volition. Just seems like the kind of way that Carroll/Wilson would handle that situation, up by 10 with a minute to go against an offense that hadn't scored in three quarters.

That was interesting. As soon as I saw that, I was thinking "snap it! snap it!", but then (perhaps like RW), I realized there was really no need. Given that we've seen RW take advantage of that sort of thing several times throughout the year, I don't think he missed it.

 

[kearly]

I wanted to add this Kip: Watch how the clock is run by the home team at the end of that game. It was just seconds here and there, but the clock operator was clearly trying to help the Skins.

And when you watched the DVR, did you see what must be a Redskins employee getting into it with Irvin, who gets held back by Johnson, and them KJ Wright gives the dude some parting words? It seems the entire Redskins fan base is trollish. Really, a sideline employee having words with players? (at the 3:21 mark of the 4th quarter)

I did notice that after one of Seattle's sacks late in the game, the clock stopped for a good 15 seconds before running again when the refs set the ball. I am 99% sure the NFL does not have a rule that stops the clock on a sack. College football might, but I don't think the NFL does.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Kip completes me.