Unrelated Thoughts

The real good news is that with Steve Spurrier gone from Washington, I no longer feel the need to call the team the “Foreskins”. Washington fans surely feel great relief.

As I begin this article there are still 3.5 hours left until game time and I can hardly stand the wait.

However, I always keep this set of stats in mind as preseason wears on, regardless of who seems to be doing what -- During the four years that the Bills went consecutively to the SB, they never won a single preseason game. During that same period, the Vikings didn’t lose a single preseason game, yet they missed the playoffs every one of those years.

The preseason is less about preparation of the team for the regular season, and more about evaluating rookie talent and players who are either new to the system, or who have gone through some kind of change from the previous season (recovery from injury, switching positions, coming back from suspension, etc).

There’s a lot missing, but those of us who have suffered miserably through the impossibly long off season, are eager to watch every moment, even if it is lacking in certain respects.

Expectations vs Reality

Expectation:

I’ve heard that both teams will have their 1st units on the field for no more than two series of downs. Having them on at all seems a poor choice, though sports writers in general have so far insisted on painting this as a Portis vs Bailey showdown.

The extra preseason game is just an extra chance to needlessly risk injury to your vets. So, I expect Gibbs to play some, but not all of his starters, and I expect Shanahan to play very few, since he’s already said that he was going to use this game to work his rookies.

Even in a regular season game it’d be very unlikely that Bailey would ever cover Portis. It’s just not a big deal, especially when neither player is inclined to badmouth his old team. The Portis vs Bailey showdown will come to empty hype.

Reality:

Starters on both sides played more heavily than I’d expected. Considering that each team lost one starter to injury later in their play, I should gloat. I won’t, because one of those injuries ends the season and possibly the career of RT Jon Jansen.

Denver LB Jashon Sykes, however, should recover from his sprain within a few weeks. WHEW!

Expectation:

If both first teams do face off, I expect Denver’s D line to out muscle Washington’s O line, but I don’t expect it to be an utter domination as might be expected. Spurrier’s blocking schemes were suicidal last year, making the line look worse than it really was. I’m not talking “wrong players for the wrong scheme”, I’m talking about game planning to block Michael Strahan . . . with a RB! Stooopit.

I expect Denver’s passing D to dominate overall, because Washington lacks depth at the WR position, and because the individual performances in pass coverage in camp have been so outstanding.

Reality:

I smugly say, “I told ya so”. Denver’s D line stopped the run (read, Clinton Portis) effectively and put considerable pressure on ‘Skins QB Mark Brunnell, who began the night looking and playing very confident. His play deteriorated quickly as Denver’s pass rush put consistent pressure on him, despite there being an absence of sacks.

Aside from the 1st unit, however, Denver did not dominate in pass coverage the way I expected them to. They didn’t fall apart, but they didn’t dictate tempo, either.

Expectation:

I expect Denver’s offense, overall, to play about even with Washington’s D, but I expect Denver to have more solid individual performances.

Reality:

This is about how it turned out, even with Denver playing unacceptably sloppy football and drawing 13 penalties.

Rookie WR Darius Watts played both brilliantly and inconsistently. Washington’s D proved unable to stop him, though he did a nice job of stopping himself. I Really had visions of Ashley Lelie’s rookie season dancing in my head.

Q also impressed greatly and I’ll predict right now that he will beat Mike Anderson out for the starting RB slot. His quickness, vision and excellent pass catching abilities put him head and shoulders above Anderson. Mike played fast and strong, but his overall play was not worthy of a starter.

QBs Plummer, Kanell, Mauck and Quin all showed excellent poise and understanding of the offense. The three interceptions are a bigger concern than might be thought, because they came as the result of badly thrown balls and two were launched as the result of bad decision making, not as the result of heavy pressure. And Plummer made the same mistake twice. It was only by luck that he wasn’t picked off in the end zone the second time.

RT George Foster played a very solid game. This is a mild surprise, but of greater importance then might otherwise be, because LT Matt Lepsis struggle throughout the game. He made some stupid mistakes (leaving his hand on the DE’s back, even though he wasn’t grabbing the jersey), and at other times played too soft.

I would not be surprised if Shanny experiments with flipping Lepsis back to RT with Foster at LT. I also would not be surprised if we see OT Blake Brockermeyer resigned.

Expectation:

I expect Denver’s defense, overall, to smother Washington’s O, because Denver has more depth and because Denver’s backup LBs are better than many teams’ starters.

Reality:

“Smother” seems to have been a bit of an overstatement, though Denver’s D did put consistent pressure on Washington and DE Reggie Hayward played wonderfully. When DE Trevor Pryce left the game as a precaution after suffering a minor injury, Hayward moved into his spot and immediately began drawing double teams, which he defeated well enough to keep steady pressure on Washington’s QBs.

As I expected, the play from the LB positions was solid all night long.

Expectation:

I expect a sporadic performance from the running game, because no one back seems to be stepping up in camp. I also expect Q and Mike Anderson to have about equal performances.

Reality:

As I mentioned above, Q performed beyond my expectations, though he proved to be too small to be effective up the middle. He has extraordinary ability to get to the outside and a considerable gift for catching the ball. Speed, quickness, great vision and above average athletic ability make him, to me, the obvious choice for Denver’s starting RB job . . . at least until rookie Tatum Bell recovers from his broken finger, then the battle begins again.

Mike Anderson showed that he is strong and fast, and the better choice for smash mouth, up the middle running. But his overall performance cannot be considered dominating.

Ahmad Galloway, much to my surprise, actually out performed Anderson. I have serious doubts about Galloway, because of his weak performance in NFL - E, so I won’t predict that he knocks Mike back another spot on the depth chart, but he’s worth keeping an eye on.

Expectation:

I expect the TE battle to remain utterly undecided, because no TE has consistently proven himself better than the others in camp. One preseason game won’t be enough to begin seperation.

Reality:

Not much of note happened with the TE’s. Putzier made one short catch for a TD and I think I remember Weaver dropping one that also would have been a TD. As a group they seemed almost invisible.

Related Thoughts:

– QB Mauck may have had a statistically poor night, but anyone watching him could tell that he never lost his confidence, as Washington QB Mark Brunell seemed to do under steady pressure. Mauck showed that he is strong, athletic and tough. He did not show, however, that he’s ready to take over the second string QB spot, which is what many experts have been claiming throughout camp.

– Matt Lepsis performance may not have been as bad as the flags against him would indicate. Several of his infractions were simple mental errors that should be easily fixable. However, he can’t continue to play as soft as he did at times against the ‘Skins.

– Special teams played very well. Returns, kicks, punts and coverage were all strong, though they did earn a flag or two of their own. Sending ST coach Frank Bush off to the Cardinals has already paid dividends.

– Every unit of the defense (1st, 2nd, . . . ) played well, overall. However, they allowed 3 pass plays longer than 20 yds and there were no interceptions or sacks.

Depth at the corners is a concern, though the return of Lenny Walls should help.

It’s too early to be concerned about the lack of sacks and interceptions. That’ll have to wait until the 3rd or 4th preseason game when the first unit is getting more reps and the line up is closer to being set.

– Two of Denver’s INTs were the result of stupid QB play, rather than defensive prowess. I expect that such mental errors, especially repeated errors such as were made by Plummer, will be quickly addressed and not repeated. This is, however, an area that needs to be watched.

– As should have been expected, Denver’s young WR’s were inconsistent. They did more to harm their own performances than did Washington’s defense. While not unanticipated, this is still very frustrating.

– P Hayden Epstein won the distance battle, but P / K Micah Knorr showed great control and accuracy in placing a short punt (short because of field position, rather than because of lack of leg strength) just inside the goal line.

– Most coaches and fans may honestly feel that preseason wins and losses don’t matter. Mike Shanahan doesn’t share that feeling. This loss matters to him and if the rest of the team didn’t understand that last night, you can bet they will when the team practices again.

***