Some Monday Night Football To Hold You Over...

The great thing about football is every week is different.  The league's laughingstock can go from losing a scrimmage, to embarassing a perrennial contender, and right away back to eating a blowout.  Or the reverse can also be true.  A contender can drop a nasty road game against inferior competition in between a set of dominating victories over some other crummy squads.  It happens.  As a fan, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and then you have seven or, in the Eagles' case, eight days to move on and forget about it.  One bad loss does not a season break.

Two bad losses... that would be another story.  The breakdown, after the jump.

In the trenches

This is a game that could potentially be ruled by defenses.  Both offensive lines are banged up, and both defenses rank inside the top 10 (Eagles 4, Redskins 7).

The Eagles are fortunate to have Jason Peters in the lineup after Dunlap's dysmal performance last Sunday, but they'll also add Todd Herremans back into the mix at left guard, sending Nick Cole to the right side.  Unfortunately, Herremans will go right to work against Albert Haynseworth, one of the most dominant linemen in the league.  It's going to be a huge test, and if he struggles, Cole may need to slide back over to the left side.  Second year player Mike McGlynn is actually going to be active to take over at RG in case this scenario actually occurs.

On the other end, Skins left tackle Chris Samuels is out for the season, and possibly for good.  Their line has already allowed 17 sacks.  Trent Cole has a chance to really tee off tonight, as well as Jason Babin who will be active for just the second time this season.  The Eagles may need those fresh legs to get the pass rush going.  With a brand new middle linebacker, McDermott could dial down some of the more complex blitzing schemes, placing more of an emphasis on pressure created by the front four.

Speaking of Will Witherspoon...

“I think it’s one of my strong suits,” Witherspoon said. “I’ve always had to be comfortable with and I’ve always taken great pride in [pass coverage] – I have to go out and trust myself that I can cover anybody.”

Witherspoon could hardly be worse than what they already have.  It's amazing how often these linebackers bite on playaction and lose their responsibility.  They got a pass against Brady and Manning back in August, but the fact that they don't seem to have improved at all is worrisome, and certainly came into play while striking this deal.

Much like the Raiders, the Skins have been unable to consistently connect with receivers down the field, whether it's Campbell or Collins under center.  A big completion to Cooley could be a spark for this team though.  It's only his first game, but Spoon's impact will be immediate.  If he is able to play within the system and start to curb some of the tight end production, we should see a significantly better defense all around, and more than likely a W too.

Jim Zorn

Flying under the radar is how the Redskins "head coach" essentially isn't that any longer.  Unhappy with the team's direction, trigger-happy Daniel Snyder hired former NFL assistant Sherm Lewis out of retirement as "an extra set of eyes."  Basically, through some complicated system, Sherm will call the plays into Zorn or some other coach, despite not knowing the playbook, and it's that person's job to then make the call the QB.  Or something.

The move appears to be designed to humiliate Zorn to the point of resignation, except there is a $4 million paycheck at stake, so Zorn remains in Washington.  These power plays between coach and front office never end well, much less begin well for that matter.  The players understand the head man on the sideline has no real authority, and the result is like being on a rudderless ship.  The players aren't motivated by anything but personal goals, and don't respond to the coach's message.

Losing to a team that is spiraling down the drain might even be worse than losing to a team that's already there.  This is exactly the time to strike the Redskins, when they should be lacking the fight that even most bad teams bring to the field.

Original Story: http://www.the700level.com/2009/10/so...