Eagles-Redskins Diary

Three and out with Vick running for his life, then a punt with a big return and a horse collar penalty. Not exactly the start we're hoping for. RB Clinton Portis for seven, then backup RB Ryan Torain runs through terrible tackling. That might be the worst series that S Quentin Mikell has ever played. We're three minutes into the game, and it's Redskins 7, Eagles 0.

> Vick for 13 with common-place magic. RB Mike Bell on for a couple, then Shady McCoy for four, and a perplexing inside handoff from the shotgun that fails. Two drives, two three and outs. Rocca destroys a punt, and mediocre coverage starts the Redskins just outside their own 20. More of Not Exactly What We Were Hoping For.

> Portis, a perpetual Eagles killer, for seven to the right, then 15 to the left. QB Donovan McNabb misses wide-open TE Fred Davis for the pure happiness of Eagle Fan; huge mistake. Torain for another big gain to the left, and the next Eagles play against the run will be the first... and DE Trent Cole makes it for a loss of three. Portis on a screen where three guys whiff, and that's another first down and terrible defensive play. Torain loses a couple on reasonable penetration, then gets five... and McNabb hits TE Chris Cooley in stride for the far too easy score. Redskins 14, Eagles 0, and this is easily the worst 10 minutes of the season. By a lot.

> Vick to Avant for short, then McCoy makes men miss for the premier first down of the game for Green. Six on a quick checkdown, then Vick gets the corner for a couple. Third and one is your traditional Eagles disaster, as center mush doesn't move the sticks. As I ready to prepare a YouCrap entry, Vick feels it to right on a sneak and appears to convert; very little in the way of a push, but the measurement gives them the first. My kingdom for a reliable option in short yardage...

> Vick and Celek can't connect at the goal line, and that's a possible PI call that doesn't get made. McCoy makes men miss for a few. From the gun on third, Vick takes it to the one, but it comes back on a marginal holding call on Max Jean-Gilles. Vick stays down as Eagles Fan becomes even more convinced that this is the Worst Game Ever. Back up QB Kevin Kolb in for 3rd and 17, and as I'm pleading for a draw to avoid the sack, he does that on his own to Avant for a maginal gain. The first quarter ends with the Redskins up 14-0, and a possible 48-yard attempt for PK David Akers, and he drills it despite wind. 14-3 just into the second.

> Vick leaving for X-rays, and he's looking like a guy with serious problems. Much like his team, really. McNabb on a typical screen for six, then Portis moves the sticks and looks like his old self. McNabb avoids pressure and misses his wideout; he can still make men miss. Torain makes two guys miss but five guys are across the line for a four yard loss. Critical third allen play is a huge deep ball to a wildly open WR Anthony Armstrong, as S Kurt Coleman whiffs. 57 yard completion where Armstrong is clear and alone deep. Ye gads. A run goes nowhere, and McNabb flips to Portis for a very familiar slip screen for first and goal.

> Holding call on a toss right helps. A clip flag is picked up for a loss of five. Torain for eight, and on third and goal from the gun, McNabb can't quite get free on a scramble. PK Graham Gano for a field goal, and it's 17-3 with 9:11 left in the second quarter.

> Kolb fumbles the snap, then gets it blocked for second and ten. Let's just say that Eagle Fan is not thrilled with the new Kolb Era now. Second down is a run to McCoy that goes nowhere. From the gun on third, he gets time and connects with Avant for the first; nice throw, better protection. Bell for one, then FB Owen Schmidt runs throw tackles to turn the sticks. Nice time again. WR DeSean Jacskon on an end-around, but CB Deangelo Hall makes the stop after 2 yards. From the gun on second, Kolb takes the safe throw to Schmidt and moves the sticks again, but another big holding call, this one on T Jason Peters negates the play. Nice screeen call to McCoy goes for 17, and Shady is looking Dub-esque here. McCoy converts the short third-down -- shocking -- and then takes a safe crossing route for 13, and he's just making guys miss all over here. McCoy for four to the left, and the line is looking involved. In the red zone. Telegraphed screen to McCoy takes us to the two minute warning, and it will be a third and two from the 13.

> Nice call to McCoy on a draw, and just to make the day complete, he lands awkwardly at the end of the run. He gets up and leaves, thankfully. Bell on another inside run gets it to the 2. Kolb goes right and has all day, but no one to throw to. Third and goal with McCoy back, and a good effort gets very close... with a booth review that doesn't go anywhere. Despite an absurd amount of time during the review, Reid doesn't have a play prepared, so it's a timeout with 23 seconds left.... and then a delay of game penalty. I might have to redefine You Crap to You Andy at this point. Akers hits the most unsatisfying 23-yard field goal ever, and it's 17-6 Redskins. And you people wonder why I called for Reid to be fired, well, years ago.

> Akers with a touchback as Eagles Fan voices his well-justified displeasure. McNabb sits on it, and that's the half.

> After the break, a Redskins three and out is negated by LB Ernie Sims taking a marginal roughing the passer call. Even Troy Aikman hates that call; ridiculous. Portis then runs through the line for a first, and Vick's done for the day to no one's surprise. Nice to see McNabb waste timeouts in another team's laundry, at least.

> Portis for a yard as the run blitzes are getting obvious. McNabb pumps and goes deep, and it's nearly a pick and a bad idea. 3rd and 9 is a big deal if this is going to have drama; he hits Cooley for a screen that's stopped, but another flag, this one on DB Ellis Hobbs, makes for another unforced error and first down. I don't remember an Eagles team that takes more penalties than this one; part of that is that the team is young on defense, but it's still terrible. McNabb throws a terrible pick to S Nate Allen, the defensive rookie of the year and the pick that Green got for McNabb. Maybe that's just charity, on a bad route by TE Fred Davis, but that's just awful.

> Kolb with all day and no one to throw to; he throws it away. Fox has decided that they need Terry Bradshaw yammering as well; joy. Kolb to DJ for two yards, but he drops it. Third and long from the gun sees Kolb make a man miss and telegraph a throw to Maclin that's nearly a TAInt; three and out and wow, that was bad. Rocca's punt is good and covered, so the Skins start it inside their 30.

> Portis still looking good to the left for four. Torain runs through one tackle, because the first man never makes the play today, but the rest of the run blitz takes him down for a three yard loss. Third and nine from the gun sees McNabb run away frm the blitz for a 13-yard gain, and you'd think that they'd know that he can do that. Big first down for momentum. A blitz sees McNabb short hop Cooley, delighting the crowd again. Torain makes CB Asante Samuel whiff badly for five; that was kicker-esque, Asante. From the gun on third, Hobbs gets away with physical coverage on Armstrong, and I'm amazed that Cole didn't draw a flag for his glancing blow to McNabb's helmet. DJ takes a rolling punt back for six yards, and Green will start at their 19. We're halfway through the third and it's still 17-6 Redskins.

> Kolb to Bell to the left, and he's ruined and fumbles, then picks it up and gets five yards and severe trauma. LB Carlos Rogers with the hit, and Bell limps off. Kolb to Maclin moves the sticks, and the line is giving him time. Kolb avoids pressure and gets positive yards on a scramble, but Peters gets his second holding flag. Is it too much to ask that when the line gets beat and the QB scrambles to save them, they don't hold? Apparently.

> McCoy on 1st and 20 gets 12, and this might be the best I've ever see him play, on the small list of positive things to like about this game. Kolb takes a safe throw to Schmidt, who goes for 18 and hurdles at the end of it for an extra couple of yards; manly. Incomplete to McCoy, and unless he was going to make four guys miss, that's a good incomplete. McCoy on a draw against a blitz, but S LaRon Landry, a good player, stops it for third and seven. Big play here, and Kolb from the gun gets it to Celek as the on the field mics pick up a fun profanity; it's 12 and the first down. Big play.

> McCoy for five and he fumbled; the Skins delay long enough to challenge, and this should be a complete disaster. I should have never thought well of McCoy's game. This will be a game-changing play, and we get to wait for commerce to see it, too. Joy, joy, joy. A long delay results in the Skins ball, and that's that.

> Nineteen minutes left in this disaster. Torain for two, then one, as Shanahan tries to take the air out of the ball. From the gun on third and seven, the Skins go backward with a false start. Third and 12 is the same play call, and McNabb takes time off the clock as Sims finally corrals him for a one yard sack. Nice series for the defense, and the punt is so short that DJ can't stop it before it bounces and moves it forward.

> From their 39, McCoy makes a great catch on a bad screen, then runs 30 yards to lose one. A middle run gets two and boos, as Green tries to limit Kolb's exposure to downfield picks. From the gun on third, the QB shows no awareness of the rush and fumbles on pressure, but T Winston Justice gets on it. Three and out and terrible. Rocca continues his strong year with 51 yards of net and out of bounds. That's three quarters, and it's still Redskins 17, Eagles 6. This isn't going to end well.

> Portis leaves with an injury, followed by Samuel getting concussed. Not exactly the best day for the latter. McNabb misses to Cooley on third, and that's another three and out for the defense, albeit with smoke, mirrors, and run blitzes. DJ's mostly invisible day continues with a 12-yard return, and the Eagles will start at their 40 with 13:30 left.

> DJ can't get on track. Kolb for a nice scramble on second to move the sticks. Kolb to Avant, who seems much more involved in this game than previous, but that's another holding penalty. Good grief. McCoy on a draw for three, Kolb runs again for 10, and on third and seven they stay disturbingly conservative, with McCoy not able to take the short one past the sticks. Rocca's bad punt of the day -- he always has one -- goes 26 with a fair catch, and the Skins have the shot to end this.

> Washington gets one first down as McNabb uses his legs and Joey Galloway -- no, seriously -- but a deep ball to Armstrong doesn't work, and the Skins punt to the Eagles 33. There's still time to win this game, but it's hard to see how.

> Kolb to Schmitt, who has to be selling jerseys at this point, for a first. Two more short throws to Avan and McCoy does it again, and a no huddle shotgun approach agains ta non-blitzing team can make even Kolb look effective. McCoy sheds the goat horns for 18 total yards on three plays, then the Skins collect a PI call to get it to the red zone. This is even going well as clock management. McCoy for 14 more yards on two touches, and then Kolb makes the best throw of his day, a stick laser to Celek for the touchdown. Celek might be the only man in Philly who is happy that Kolb's back. A throw to Avant for the two-point play is tipped and falls, and with just over 4 minutes left, it's a live game again. Redskins 17, Eagles 12.

> After a short kickoff and good coverage, the Skins burn up two Eagle timeouts on runs that get six yards. On third and four, McNabb escapes and gets the corner, and he's celebrating the first down before he even gets there... but runs out of bounds rather than slides, which is no small favor, really. Torain runs through the line and converts another first down, and with a flag and a stop, there's a third down at the two minute drill. Torain gets three on the long third down, and the Skins let the clock run down to 1:14 before punting. The worst punt you've ever seen goes out at the Eagle 27 with no time off the clock; helpful.

> First down is nearly picked as Kolb doesn't see the LB on the route to DJ. Second down is an underneath route for 9 and that's terrible. Celek converts on second, and they clock it with 30 seconds left near midfield. The TE drops a ball, but a five yard hold makes it first down again. Kolb goes for an inexplicable check down and misses as DJ's running open deep -- gahhh. Second down is batted down by the LB again. Third down nearly gets DJ killed, and misses. A nifty three-way lateral converts the fourth and 10, and DJ is limping but staying in. From the 32, Kolb hits Avant in the hands in the end zone for the suckout win... but it bounces off for a pick, and that's that. Wow. That would have been quite a turn of events. The Skins win on the road in a game where they do little, and this division is officially mediocre all over. Redskins 17, Eagles 12.