First Division Game

PHEW!  Just breathe!  That's good... there you go, in and out.  Everything's going to be ok...

Wait, no its not!  A win is a win right?  Not when it reflects problems that serious teams won't let you live through.  I'll start with the good this time.

Goals from 5 different players.  I was going to write a post earlier about the differences between this and last year's starts for the Pens as compared to the Caps to point out the absolute importance of TEAM hockey.  This year, Crosby and Geno are barely in the standings in terms of goals or assists.  Sure, they are doing quite well, but the Pens are getting contributions from all over their lines, and a significant amount of it.  They are 7-1-0.  With goals from all over our lines, we had this game tucked away early and solidly.  Good thing too...

0-7 on the power play.  Enough said about that.

4 penalties in the last 3 minutes.  Enough said about that.

I'm still not sure as to what this team needs to get itself organized.  I'd like to throw out a new venture here and go with "leadership".  Part of having a team identity is having a leader.  Ovechkin is amazing, but his english skills (or lack thereof) and his carefree/silly manner make him a terrible "leader".  Unfortunately, our captain, the guy whose supposed to lead, is pretty poor at both leading and hockey.  Once again, I feel like we're a collection or immense talent with nothing funneling it.  In this case, the whole << sum of the parts.

Where to begin with the Skins...

Right now, the Skins may just be one of the worst run franchises in the NFL. And since the problems all start with the top, it may be quite a while before we really see anything positive out of this team.

As long as Cerrato is around as the team head of operations, this team will NEVER even make it to the conference championship game. Snyder needs to wake up to the fact that his buddy is atrocious at his job and has over the last few years essentially ignored the main issues that needed to be addressed. Why the hell has nothing been done about our offensive line? Every guy on it is old, most of them had injuries last season, and we have no depth whatsoever at any of its positions. Yet, nothing is done. What does he expect, for the hand of god to come down and open up holes and protect the QB? Let's not even mention Dinny's (From now on, I will refer to Dan Synder and Vinny Cerrato as one entity) decision to essentially destroy the Redskins cap future by throwing ungodly amounts of money at Haynesworth when it was our offense that really needed help (and our defense has only gotten worse this year..hmmmm)

Oh, and in a draft in which every single scout out there knew that it was an extremely poor draft for WRs, what do the Redskins do but use their two highest draft picks for wide receivers (both of whom are complete NFL flops).

Lets look at what else Dinny has done to this team; both of our RBs are old, no young talent brought in so no depth, Some of the worst coaching hires ever seen (Spurrier!?, Zorn!?), Letting go an excellent defensive coordinator in Greg Williams, the list goes on.

Because of so many boneheaded moves, the team is screwed for years to come and you know what, the fans absolutely deserve better than this. Even through all this crap, the Redskins still have one of the most devoted fan bases in the league who would die for this team. Dinny cannot be allowed to succeed in destroying one of the best things this city has. It is our duty to do all that we can to stop them. I heard rumors that their may be a march on the DC mall by Redskins fans who will be wearing bags over their heads to protest the management. I feel like joining them...

Thank god I can watch Ovie being amazing every week

Weekend Wrap-Up: Skins

Glad to see the Caps are playing again, well, glad to see Ovie is scoring again, hopefully the rest of the team will wake the hell up.

Skins:
This is the first loss after-which I feel the general media is beginning to acknowledge the issues the Skins have had for over a decade now.  I feel like the past few years they've been trying to figure out why things weren't working, blaming it on record-setting QB hirings, record-setting coach hirings, bad luck, missed opportunities, this, that and the other thing.  But these embarrassing personnel and team issues are not causes themselves but rather symptoms of the real problem.

I flipped over to espn.com tonight to read some recaps of all the other great teams in the league (Farve/Brees undefeated, Brady setting more ridiculous records) when I clicked the page and saw this: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=lebrun_pierre&id=4575553.  I began crying... tears of joy, until I realized I had clicked on the NHL tab and not the NFL tab.  While I am only kidding (not really), I saw a glimmer of hope in those few seconds I had thought the owner of the Skins was no longer in command.  Like I had been set free, let out of prison, finally come up for air after being drowned for over 10 years.  Dan Snyder has run this team worse than the execs at Enron and its long past due for a change.

The problem with today's game is that its no different than our last game, or the game before that, or the season before that.  This team requires an overhaul.  A complete changing of the guard.  New coaches, new QBs, new everything and unfortunately we've squandered the youth out of the few quality pieces we have (Moss, Cooley) or traded away players over the years that really contributed to this team (what the hell happened to Champ Bailey? Denver?! wtf!).  But its not the losing or the overhaul thats painful.  Its that its never going to happen, ever, and we're going to be sucked dry year after year by Snyder.

When will it stop?  When will we be free?

Also, Jeff called "safety" like three plays before the game ended by us getting safetied.  Well done, sir!

Weekend Wrap Up: Who are we?

Three losses for DC fans this weekend.  Hey, at least the US beat Honduras!  (Yea, doesn't really make me feel any better either).  Today will be a duel post for both the Skins and the Caps because I think they've both hit a similar problem:  Identity Crisis!

Caps:

I start with the Caps because this is a team who's identity crisis is probably the most troubling.  They came charging out of the gate, with a 5+ goals a game average over the first three, rocking teams' worlds and filling up the top 5 stats categories like the Caps were the only team in the league.  But now they are in real trouble, 4 losses in a row and they can't seem to find themselves.  Lets explore:

1. Shift Lengths.  OMG, how many times do I have to say this!  Japersrink.com did a great analysis of this issue last year, showing that shift length corresponded with an exponential decrease in goals scored.

2. Discipline!  Whether its taking too many penalties or not scoring power plays, this team has lost its fundamentals and they've lost them badly.  This accounts for more than special teams too.  Discipline also refers to forwards (Ovie/Semin I'm lookin at you) getting back and playing some defense.  It also refers to puck control, which is suffering badly.  But most importantly I'm referring to playing a team game.  The caps are playing like a bunch of individuals who happen to be on the ice at the same time.

3. Consistency.  If you don't know what kind of team you are, you won't be doing anything consistently.  The Caps right now are plagued with the inability to play consistently across games, but more importantly across periods.  They play hot and cold, with a chance of suck.

So, sports fans, who are the Caps?!

Redskins:

This team's identity crisis has been evident for the past 10-15 years.  The skins have gone through so many coaches and QBs in the past decade they make Sybil Dorsett look healthy.  The skins finally decided to "stick with" a QB and a coach for more than one season in hopes that continuity will solve all their issues.  But continuity does not translate into an identity if all the pieces are not working together.  Lets explore:

1. QB.  I'm not sorry, but Jason Campbell sucks.  QBs are supposed to be leaders, like Peyton, Ben or Brady.  These QBs are shot callers, and their teams listen to them.  Campbell is a passive aggressive idiot, who commands little to no respect.  No team fears him, and more importantly, neither does his..

2. Run game.  Why do we run power running plays with a Clinton Portis?!  CP is not a power runner, evidenced by his inability to cross the goal line on 1st and goal at the 1 yard line.  Four tries later and we're hoping for a safety.

3. Consistency/Discipline.  Honestly, any given Sunday this team does almost anything.  Its a circus.  Botched field goals, botched punts/returns, safeties, blocked extra points, botched fair catches, fumbles, interceptions.  Skins games are training videos on what NOT to do in the NFL.  Its disgraceful and its embarrassing, and no $100mil free agents can fix a team without fundamentals, and usually only add another, expensive, personality to the identity crisis.

So, sports fans, who are the Skins?!

Confusing.

The way that the game ended, essentially with the botched fair catch which allowed the panthers to get the winning TD, was obviously extremely frustrating because we let yet ANOTHER one get away from us. But at the same time, I'm left thinking "how can you just launch a defender into the punt returner and still recover the ball?" I know I've never seen anything like that. Take away that strangeness on the punt return and the skins are 3-2, right?

Listen to the post-game with the players and coaches, and you can tell they also feel like they got robbed, not beat. From Zorn to Moss, no one seems to know what really happened - it sounds like the feeling is that "we just got a bad break, but next week, next week...we'll show you. We'll get that win over a winless team..."

The truth is though, this was a close, ugly game. The skins got their two TDs because the D literally put them on the 1 foot line twice. Take those away and the skins only had one legit drive for 3 pts. As for Carolina, we all know that last TD resulting from the punt was nonsense. But they had a semi-legit drive for 3 pts on a shorter field (when we failed to get a 4th down), a TD drive, and the safety was also legit because it resulted from a previously failed 4th and goal at our 1. So basically 3 legit scores to 1...if you look at the stats, it's pretty close too, but for the most part Carolina came up on top. So in terms of who deserved to win, I don't think I can give it to the skins. They were not the better team today.

I'm having a hard time predicting how our record will turn out this year. You listen in the locker room and it sounds like they're a tweak or two from being a real contender. But you see who they're playing, and how they're playing, and it's not looking good. Unless Sherman "fresh eyes" Lewis can play right guard...

p.s. Unfotunately, no BEAST award this week. Surprisingly, no one bribed me for this highest of honors this time. LEAST award to the o-line, and Vinny Cerato for neglecting o-line for the past several years. Did you see Heyer get blown up on the Portis safety? I've never seen 330 lbs get moved that fast in any direction.

Good morning Skins fans

I felt it was necessary for my first post to be introductory. My love of the Washington Redskins began virtually at birth. I think my parents may have rocked me to sleep with "Hail to the Redskins" and upon learning that the doctor that delivered me was a Dallas fan, I promptly soiled my newly formed self while in his hands. Okay, that last part was made up, but you get the picture. Born in DC, raised in the suburbs, I have been surrounded by Redskins fans. As many of you know, the week-to-week existence of a Redskins fan is both a gift and a curse. The last time I can remember it was a gift, however, was the 1991 season when the Redskins won Super Bowl XXVI. I remember being 6 years old, watching guys like Mark Rypien, Gary Clark, Art Monk, and Darrell Green. These guys were my heroes, they were sports gods to me. (P.S...if anyone has ever seen or heard from Mark Rypien recently, please let me know, I'd love to know what he's up to.) I remember the final seconds ticking down in that Super Bowl and saying to my Dad, "we did it!". Joe Gibbs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy gave the nation's capital inspiration, and brought a city together. At the time, the city was wrought with gun violence and strained race relations but for a short while, the citizens of this great city put that aside, and put on their burgundy and gold with pride. Since then, it's been an emotional roller coaster of "maybe this is the year". See, being a Redskins fan is not like being a Bengals fan or a Lions fan. Those fan bases have been cursed with mostly horrible teams for a majority of their existence and therefore, their fans don't expect much. Redskins fans, however, expect excellence every year. And why not? With 3 Super Bowl wins, the Washington franchise is one of the most successful in the NFL. We're supposed to be good!

What this has created is a certain level of palpable excitement before every season, then when the Redskins under-perform, as they have in the past few seasons, there is that annual sinking feeling of disappointment that permeates the District, only to be extinguished at the start of the next season. Most psychiatrists would classify this as clinical insanity: the act of repeated dillusion. "I think the Redskins are gonna be good this year!" "I wouldn't be surprised if we make the playoffs!""The Redskins are back!" But, alas, the Redskins as the early 90's fan-base knows them, have not been back in a long time. We've gone through head coaches like Riggins went through D-lines. Our new owner has made a trip to FedEx virtually unafforable for the average family of 4. The Redskins as we know them now are an overpaid, glossy, fancy, behemoth of a franchise with nothing real to show for it in the past 18 years. Why then, would someone remain a fan? Remember the insanity I spoke of earlier? It's because when I watch the Redskins, I sometimes go back to when I was that 6 year old boy. I crave that joy and inspiration again. And I want to shout to everyone on the streets of DC someday that "we did it". I can only hope...

Capitals - Rangers Post Game Analysis

4-6-4.

No, thats not our record, but it is the goals we've let in the past 3 games.  14 goals in 3 games!?  No wonder we've lost 2 of the 3.  Its got to STOP!  And this year its not just Theo, its the whole team.

Special teams?  No, seriously, special teams you can come out now.  Hide and seek is over.  Two 5-3s and we scored nothing?!

Not an inspired night.  Discipline is the issue this year and BBs got his work cut out for him.

Flyers - Capitals Post Game Analysis

I can't say Im pleased with this game.  No beast award will be handed out today but I will give a few props where due.  Before analyzing the good and the bad I want to say that I'm a little nervous about Varly.  I still love the guy, but if I were BB I'd want to do a little reflecting with him, see if there's not something bothering him. Onto the list:

Negatives:

1.  Shift lengths for Ovie are still far too long.  There were too many moments where Ovie was waiting at center ice for stretch passes that weren't coming.  The change of lines needs to occur more often and be better planned.

2.  For some reason we love the "let the other team go get the puck behind our net and we'll just wait in front for them to try and stuff then maybe bat it away or something... am I right, who's with me!" play.  This happened on several occasions and reflects a larger fear of physical play you see on both offense and D.

3.  Penalties and special teams.  Bad bad bad bad bad bad.  Its worse than good, its bad.

4.  Not enough passion during passionate times.  The last goal in OT occurred because whilest our two defense men were chasing (first mistake) down a stretch pass, our forwards were chillin out at center ice.  The flyers see their Ds take the point, open, pass, shoot, score!  Where are our forwards?  Still chillin at center ice.

Happy feelings:

1.  3 more points for Ovie, count it!

2.  Semin scored twice, count it!

3.  BB's pink tie, lookin' sharp!

I guess I'm too upset at their overall play to write a good post today, but Peter has talked me down and I'll try and forget it.  The caps will lose some games this year for sure, but they certainly need to figure out their issues because the Cup is most definitely going through Pennsylvania (twice).



Edit:  This is a quote from NHL.com's recap of the game (everybody won!):

Briere, on the right post, knocked in the rebound of Kimmo Timonen's point shot for the winning goal on his birthday.

The Caps entered the third period trailing 4-3, but Semin and Morrisson scored 1:14 apart to give the Capitals the win.

Semin and Ovechkin each had a pair of goals and Bradley had two assists as the Caps won their third straight game.

Skins-Bucs: What I Learned from Today's Game

1. Zorn extra-zhorny over win
Did you see him dishing out the man-hugs to every player in maroon, black and yellow after the game? Oh man, it's like he thought they had just won the superbowl. Man, that guy must feel like he has ZERO job security.

2. Carlos Rogers still has brick hands
You gotta catch that ball! It was as if he suddenly thought he was a goalie trying to stop a puck with his chest. Game over if he picks off Josh Johnson in the 4th.

3. Shawn Suisham gets my BEAST award for the week
I nearly crapped myself when Hunter the Punter got injured. I was like, "who the hell then is going to score our one-and-only red-zone TD (see week 1)?" Suisham took care of business though. Not quite as impressive as Ocho Cinco's kicking skills, but still he is clutch and gets my BEAST award for the week.

Footnote: Let today be forever known as the debut of the prestigious Caps-skins BEAST award, a mark of distinction which goes to the beastiest player of the week. And furthermore, let it be known that all bribes are welcome from current players wishing to claim this soon to be (if not already) highly-coveted honor...

4. We still have only like a handful of actual plays on offense
1) Run to the left behind Dock and Samuels, for usually 0-3 yards
2) Any pass to Cooley for infinity yards
3) Campbell run for 10 yards
4) Dink and doink to Betts, maybe 3-5 yards
5) Randle El fake reverse pass to Cooley, usually for -15 yards
6) Hunter Smith fake field goal TD, usually for a TD

Edit: Option 6 is no more due to Hunter's groin thing

I don't think we can consistently rely on 50 yard bombs to Moss. So I'm hoping the sophomore class (Kelly, Thomas, Davis) can pick it up. You-can-doo-it!

Executive Summary: Still not very impressed by the skins, but at least Terry Bradshaw doesn't get to say anymore that all the winless, "virgin" teams can line up and have their first on us...

Hip hip hooray!

Aw man, you gotta love Saturday mornin hangovers.

So this is my first posting - I don't know much about caps, but I follow the skins religiously and I think in general it's good that we DC fans have a place where we can rant some (skins) and rave some (caps).

Due to my current state, imma keep this short and sweet. I don't understand how the skins are playing so poorly. Because this is essentially the same team from last year. On offense, we lost Jansen and Kendall - neither are huge losses - and then we picked up Dock again. On d, we lost Springs (who is a shutdown corner) but picked up Haynesworth, who is a monster, and Orakpo, who is going to be good. With one more year in the Zorn system, and these nice new additions, everyone should be doing better, right?

But as it's looking right now, we're probably going to end up with a record worse than what we had last year. On d it sounds like the main problem is discipline - people are not following their assignments and messing up fundamentals like tackling. On offense, same stuff as always - i.e. no offense. Campbell seems to be running better, and I believe in him, but he's got zero talent around him. He doesn't have a real o-line (especially now that Thomas is gone). Portis is injured and it's only week 4. His 2nd year WRs are not getting it done. Basically we lose unless our defense puts points on the board for us (which is not the typical offensive strategy).

To end on a semi-positive note, at least our punter is good and will get plenty of practice :)

Season thoughts

I realized today after basking in the glow of the Caps excellent performance in their season opener, that this is the first time in my life when at the beginning of a sports season, I would honestly be CRUSHED if my team doesn't win it all. I mean, every other year, I would never have expected that any of our sports teams could honestly be the champions at the season's end.

And now we have the Caps...they seriously have EVERYTHING in place. The greatest player in the sport, excellent role players built around him, solid depth at goalie, a seemingly improved defense from last year (still have to see more on this though), and they took the champs from last year to seven games. And so, if they don't win the cup, I will be heartbroken.

Yes, heartbroken. These opportunities don't last forever and I want them to win SO BADLY that I almost just want to fast forward through the regular season and start watching the playoffs. It is so damn hard to win the cup, even if you ARE the best team (Just ask the Sharks from the last, like, 3 years straight) and the ONLY thing that matters at all is how you turn it on in the playoffs.

But oh man is there ever hope that this really could be their year, but I swear, if they lose to Pitt again in the playoffs, I will stop functioning for at least a week, i'm dead serious. Ovie DESERVES to win it all more than any other player in history.

On a lighter note, since this blog should be about hockey AND our adored Redskins, check out this excellent article I found that was written the day after Jim Zorn was hired...

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/02/11/jim-zorn-to-the-redskins-probably-the-worst-nfl-hire-of-all-time/

Season Opener Review

GR-8 Game!

This season, for me, is about two things.  Ovechkin breaking records and the Capitals winning the cup.  Tonight, we showed how both of those are going to be accomplished.  I'm most impressed with the team's ability to play together as a full unit.  Each line.  There are still penalties we need to stop taking and some better coordination on defense and the neutral zone, but overall, this is the type of play that we need to practice.

Some thoughts on the game:

The no-look back pass from Semin on Ovie's first goal was beautiful.  And lets not forget Green's approach to the net that pulled the front defender away leaving a lane open for Ovie's shot.  That is TEAM hockey!

Both of Brooksie's goals came from inside the crease and I couldn't be happier.  Second line center making his way to net brings tears to my eyes.  He keeps doing this and Ovie might not walk away with the Rocket Richard as easily this year.

Lastly, Theodore only let in 1 goal?  Guess the fear of losing your job means something to these guys.

Capitals 2009-10 Season Preview

This is the year!  This is our year for the Cup!

Right?

The past two years have been heartbreaking for Caps fans.  Watching the Caps lose to the Flyers, I'd say, was far less painful than watching them lose to "Crosby Sucks".  But despite all that went wrong last year, I present to you Devon's Keys to the Cup:

1. Mike Knuble.  Last year the caps were #2 in total goals scored behind only the Red Wings.  So the question becomes what does the addition of Knuble do for a team that already scores enough to win?  Playoffs.  Many of our games in the playoffs were lost not because we couldn't keep the puck out of our own net, but we couldn't put it in theirs.  The caps are horrendous at going to net and in the playoffs shots from the point are far less likely to go in without deflections in front (hence Mike Green's scoring being non-existent).  Knuble is a net player, and he may make a world of difference.
2. Goalie!  Imagine, if you will, last season with Varly in net instead of ThreeOrMore.  If "undefeated" comes to mind then we're on the same page.  "But, Devon, we had Varly in net during the playoffs and we still lost" you say.  I agree, but this season we now have two young guns vying for the playoff starting bid with Jose, and more experience and fear may be the key to protecting our net.
3. Defense.  Listen folks, the adage "defense wins championships" applies to all sports.  The Caps defense is less than cup worthy and if they expect a chance at winning this year they are going to need to step this up.  Not just in the PK but in 5-on-5 play, meaning the wonderful Mike Green needs to worry more about protection and less about scoring.  But this also means that our forwards need to be better two-way players.  There were too many break away chances last year to feel entirely comfortable.
   
4. Penalties.  Discipline is clutch.  The caps had one of the highest penalty/game ratios of any team and despite having a relatively good PK this killed their chances of getting back into games, or even lost them a few late in the third period.  Clean this up and nothing can stop them.

Its important to note that these are additions, not replacements, from last years performance.  We still need the same performance out of every player that we had last year.  Oh and some highlight reels, maybe a Hart/Rocket Richard/Art Ross trophy from Ovie would be nice too.

Thoughts?

First!

Excellent idea D-man. I definitely need a place to come to rant (Redskins) and rave (Capitals) with others who will get it. Let me begin this ceremonial first post by recounting a dream that I had last night involving the redskins. Campbell was benched and our new QB was this kid named "Flip Quincy" who looked exactly like he was 12 years old, but he was amazing. I am expecting this to happen sometime during the season, then I can claim that I am some sort of sports prophet.