Sunday, January 1, 2012

50 Eagles - Redskins Takeaways

Well, let's get this over with, shall we?

50) There's one great benefit to watching football games of teams that are out of contention, and that is you get to avoid the top, and therefore most hateful, announcing teams

49) If you had 14:09 in the first quarter for this week's pointless offensive timeout, you win

48) The future of Michael Vick might look a lot like the first Brian Orakpo sack -- a blown play by the tackle and the QB no longer quick enough to get away from it

47) I think there were people at this game, but you sure as hell didn't hear them much

46) It was nice to see a classic Sav Rocca 12-yard shank punt, just for old time's sake

45) Brent Celek is starting to enjoy Vick's regression, if only because it means he gets the Algae Crumpler job

44) There's a real big difference, as Dion Lewis is showing, between preseason fast and regular season fast

43) Jermey Maclin's drop in the end zone is another moment, in a season of them, of how the star WRs have been a secret source of suck

42) There might be no greater indictment of the malaise that is Washington that the team feels good about having Rex Grossman at QB

41) No CB celebrates drops as if they were competence like Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

40) DeSean Jackson doesn't even care enough to lobby the refs for PI calls now

39) This rushing game has really regressed in the last month

38) The rookie kickers have been a strength for the last month, so, um, woo

37) I think we can safely put the DJ returns punts era behind us

36) Ronnie Brown blocks about as well as he does everything else

35) Seriously, when Vick isn't quick enough to avoid sacks and prolong plays, he's not much above replacement level

34) The Nate Allen pick was all kinds of manly, from the pressure on the QB to the good catch... but there's a reason why no one has ever thought to give the man a job as a returner

33) Game tape from this one won't do much for the idea that Todd Herreman should have an important job

32) Keenan Clayton's tackle on Brandon Banks gave hope to the idea that special teams play might be more than hoping Colt Anderson is good after his injury

31) Just in case you were missing the Whiffed Tackle brigade, Evan Royster's 28-yard depantsing of Jaiquawn Jarrett and Nnamdi Asomugha brought back memories

30) Jabar Gaffney took a shot from DRC that would have been a flag and fine if Gaffney was a Pro Bowler

29) Grossman in the face of a clean blitzer is amusing in its cowardice

28) Derek Landri might have been happier about his blocked field goal than anyone you have ever seen on a football field

27) Rocca's field goal placement -- laces in, tilted down -- would have embarrassed a Pop Warner player

26) Chad Hall's Little Engine That Could touchdown had so much grit that I'm sure he's going to be on the roster for another year or two at least

25) It was also nice that the end zone fans got to take a souvenir Hall home with them

24) I'm not saying that Grossman was afraid of more picks, but when you throw the ball away on fourth and long, it's a little telling

23) Vick holding the ball too long and then fumbling on the sack was another one of those inexcusable plays that just keeps happening this year -- 37 and counting now

22) Santana Moss complained so long about offensive PI, and even took his helmet off, to get one of the dumber 15-yard flags you will ever see

21) The way the half ended, with Gaffney catching a ball over the middle for a meaningless game, and the Skins not getting the field goal attempt, was one of the funnier things I've ever seen on a football field

20) Eagle Fan missed the third quarter 8-play 80-yard touchdown drive that ended in the Roy Helu limping 47-yard touchdown catch, because they cared more about going to the bathroom or getting a beer... which is to say, they cared about as much as the defense did

19) It's nice that the Redskins have enough time to coordinate touchdown celebrations that get them 15 yard flags in the midst of big losses

18) In case you weren't very sure that LeSean McCoy is the most important player on this team, this game and offense should cure that delusion

17) Jason Avant can really bring his "A" game now that it matters

16) Celek on those fake block screens is genius, since most of the real blocks he throws are of the same impact

15) Vick nearly got the team to the magic 10th red zone turnover of the year, when every fan in the stadium gets a free enema

14) I'm pretty sure that I have no idea, since I am over 40, of what constitutes a penalty any more

13) The third quarter ended just in time to ensure another fourth quarter lead loss

12) That Vick to DJ bomb shows that maybe, just maybe, it's a decent idea to keep a guy with game-breaking speed and lots of big plays around for more than a rookie contract

11) Logan Paulsen puling for defensive PI on a clear offensive PI call is one of those soccer player moments that deserved a flag on its own for ridiculousness

10) Trent Cole got his 10th sack of a year on a legitimately sweet play

9) Hall's 28-yard punt return was smurfy in a good way

8) The Eagles set a new record for yards on offense, which shows just how meaningless that statistic is

7) Vick's second interception was one of those inexcusable yada yada yada yada

6) Coach For Life Reid continued his excellent year of replay challenges, which isn't exactly a reason for life tenure

5) Celek is really going to fool some people in fantasy next year, and I might be one of them

4) When you are watching Mike Kafka and Lewis in a game with no playoff ramifications and still writing about it, I'm not sure what's sadder -- me writing about it, or you reading what I wrote

3) Lewis scored his first touchdown of the year as the Washington defense showed that it really didn't give a damn

2) This game proved, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Redskin Fan has it much, much worse than Eagle Fan

1) The big win shows that Juan Castillo deserves to keep his job, that we all should just be super happy with an 8-8 year, and that we'll all get to do this again in 2012

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