| Craig Johnson. 14th August, 2006 - 4:23 pm
 The preseason opened up for the Washington Redskins on what seemed was going to be a perfect Sunday night. It was a new channel and a new night but the same favorite cast of John Madden and Al Michaels were present. Unfortunately for the Redskins, the only team that showed up were the Cincinnati Bengals with a 19-3 win at Paul Brown Stadium.
Washington watched an offense struggle to get anything going, saw Kenny Wright in many wrong coverages and suffered injuries to three players. The biggest of those injuries would be star running back Clinton Portis who went down with a separated shoulder in the first series after a body slam on Bengals cornerback Keiwan Ratliff who returned a Mark Brunell intercepted pass for 50 yards. Three plays after completing a third-and-10 to newly acquired wide out Brandon Lloyd for 27 yards and into scoring position, Brunell showed why many Redskins fans are eagerly waiting the maturation of second year back-up Jason Campbell. Not only did
Washington’s first string offense fail to score, they are now left in a very bad position. The injury to Portis leaves the already slim depth chart at running back even slimmer, with Ladell Betts and Jesse Lumsden already ailing and Kerry Carter seriously injuring his knee in the third quarter of last night’s game.
When asked how he felt, Portis simply said, “Like a football player that had no business playing in a football game.” It’s true. Why do NFL coaches insist on playing star players in the preseason. The preseason is not for these guys, it’s for the rookies and the young second stringers. Didn’t the Skins learn anything from last year’s preseason when they lost their pro bowl tackle Jon Jansen?
Although, everyone is eager to see these players in action it just doesn’t seem right to take a chance of self-destructing your football team in a game that has no meaning. Many NFL veteran players have commented on the preseason being too long and Portis agreed commenting, “We have mandatory and optional preseason training and conditioning all off season. This is my livelihood. If you understand your position and know what you are after, you will show up ready and in shape for the season.”
Also on the defensive side linebacker Chris Clemons went down with a sprained ACL injury in his left knee in the first quarter. Clemons who was a back-up last year still
showed signs of greatly improving.
Washington will be back in action next Saturday at 8 pm with a match-up with the New York Jets. Hoping to stay free from injuries is one thing Washington will want, but after getting the first week jitter bugs out of the way, here are a few things that they will need to improve on.
Back-up quarterback Todd Collins who came to Washington with Al Saunders because he knows the offense proved that, that may be the only thing he knows, because he sure looked like he never had seen the field before. After throwing an interception to a down lineman and then nearly being picked off again by a lineman (which led to a safety on a intentional grounding penalty in the end zone), Collins may have a lot to learn from Campbell.
Campbell with the exception of the interception (his real lone mistake), looked good going 9-for-15 and 99 yards. Campbell must continue to get major playing time and chances to impress.
The running game must get better. After only rushing for 30 yards and down to only a few healthy backs, Rock Cartwright must deliver or else he will remain only on the special teams.
With the exception of the first string, the defense must improve. Primary spot being in the secondary. Newly acquired Wright, looked like former Washington bone-head Walt Harris and couldn’t even cover his shadow. Safety Reed Doughty looked good leading the defense in tackles with seven, mostly picking up Wright’s slack. Rookie second-round draft pick, Rocky McIntosh also excelled and with more playing time he will soon join the first team.
Un-drafted rookie wide out Mike Espy made many key third down catches. His success will rely on whether it’s Collins or Campbell throwing to him. A few more strong outings like this and Espy may find himself the fourth receiver on a strong group.
With three more preseason games left all we can hope for is a full recovery to Portis and to stay away from any other key injuries. Until then, we will all hold our breaths. |
