|
Losing streaks seem to have a triple effect
UpdatedOct 25, 2011 6:26 AM ETIf, as Joe Gibbs always contended, "You're just three weeks awayfrom disaster" in the NFL, then the Washington Redskins right now are standing onthe precipice, staring into the abyss. A hopeful 3-1 start has beenfollowed by injury-inundated losses to Philadelphia and Carolina,making this week's game against Buffalo in Toronto an exercise indisaster avoidance. Dallas Clark Jersey Do the Redskins really want to come home3-4, with the meat of their schedule still ahead of them?Coach Joe, by the way, wasn't trying to be melodramatic when Anquan Boldin Jersey hesaid that. He was merely stating the obvious: Once things startrolling downhill in the Not For Long League, it can be hard to puton the brakes. A three-game losing streak opens up all kinds ofquestions - about the coaching, the quarterbacking, theorganizational philosophy, everything. And that questioning isn'tnecessarily done just by the fans; it can be done by the players,too.The latter - the prospect of turning a losing streak into a lostseason - is the real danger. As Lorenzo Alexander said Monday,"Whenever you lose, it takes something out of you." To whichStephen Bowen added, "[Beating the Bills] is very important to themorale of the team. ... A three-game slide, that's not good."No, it isn't. And yet, the Redskins have specialized inthree-game slides in recent years. Every season since 2000 - DanSnyder's first full year as owner - they've had at least one, andsometimes more than one. The sordid details:* Authentic Washington Redskins Jersey In the past 11 seasons, the Redskins have had 16 losing streaksof three games or longer.* Six of the streaks reached four games, and one dragged on forfive.* In 2003 (under Steve Spurrier) and again in '09 (under JimZorn), the Redskins had three losing streaks ofthree games or more.* Gibbs had only two losing streaks that long in his first termas coach (1981 through 1992). But in his second term (2004 through'07), he had at least one every year.* And finally: If the Redskins lose to Buffalo, it will bethe fifth straight season a Mike Shanahan-coached team has droppedthree in a row (three in Denver, two in Washington).Three-Game Asante Samuel Jersey Losing Streaks R Us, in other words.The Redskins' current crisis has beenworsened by injuries to five offensive regulars - left guard KoryLichtensteiger (out for the season), left tackle Trent Williams,tight end Chris Cooley (long term) and, Sunday in Charlotte,running back Tim Hightower (also out for the season) and widereceiver Santana Moss (also long term). That's a lot to get hitwith at one time.But it doesn't explain why the defense, the healthy side of theball (and previously the more reliable), had a horrendous firsthalf against the Eagles and equally horrible second half againstthe Panthers. With the offense ailing, Jim Haslett's unit needed toraise its level of play, but if anything it went in the otherdirection. This is how losing streaks are born.The Redskins' various hurts wouldn'thave quite as much of an impact, of course, if the franchise wasn'tin rebuilding mode. Let's face it, on a well-put-together team, theloss of these five players shouldn't be catastrophic. It should befelt, sure, but it shouldn't send the club into a death spiral.After all, none of them made the Pro Bowl last year, and none wasexpected to make it this year.But the absence of Lichtensteiger and Williams affects the Redskins more than it shouldbecause Shanahan hasn't built up much line depth. And the absenceof Moss affects the offense more than it should because Shannydoesn't really have a No. 2 receiver, just a bunch of No. 3s andNo. 4s. See? It's not just the injuries; it's the lack ofalternatives.It's also the fact that the quarterback, whether it's John Beckor Rex Grossman, isn't the kind who makes everybody around himbetter. Tom Brady can go to the conference title game with RecheCaldwell and, yes, Jabar Gaffney as his main wideouts. Are Beck andGrossman capable of doing that? Of Baltimore Ravens Shop course not. They're essentiallythe product of the talent around them. And if the quality of thattalent drops off because of injuries, the offense is going tosuffer.That's where the Redskins are at this point. Didthey have to be at this point in Year 2 of the Shanahan Epoch?Depends on how you look at it. What if they had done in the 2010draft what they did this past spring? What if they had taken thefourth overall pick, the one they used to get Williams, and tradeddown a few times to add extra selections and fill out the roster(while also hanging onto their No. 2 instead of dealing it forquick-fix Donovan McNabb)? Might they be in better shape now towithstand some of these injuries - Philadelphia Eagles Shop and even, perhaps, have aquarterback of the future ready (or almost ready) to play?Aw, don't get me started.
UN-WARREN-TED - JETS' DEFENSE PROVES SAPP'S SHOT OFF BASE
UpdatedOct 25, 2011 12:43 AM ETIT WAS a good couple of hours before the Jets beat the Chargers 27-21yesterday at MetLife Stadium when a powerful motivational seed,which would help ignite a long-awaited signature performance by thedefense, was quietly sown.Still dressed in street clothes, Jets linebacker Calvin Pace waswalking through the hallway in the bowels of the stadium en routeto the locker room when he heard the NFL Network's pregame showbeing piped through the speakers."I heard them say, 'Revis Green Bay Packers Shop is the best player and the rest of theguys on that defense are just average,' " Pace told The Post, hiswords saturated with indignity. "That fired me up.It was personal." Just two days after Mike Francesa irkedDarrelle Revis so badly in an on-air interview with his badgeringthat Revis hung up on him, it was NFL Network talking head WarrenSapp who was doing the tweaking yesterday."He said some things I don't agree with," Pace said.Sapp's assessment didn't sit well with Revis, either."That makes me upset," Revis told The Post. "That puts fuel onmy fire, too, because we're in this together. I feel really upsetat Warren for saying that because this is a team sport, not aoneman sport." If Sapp watched yesterday's game, he'd have a hardtime disagreeing with Revis. Sure, Revis' 64-yard INT return in thefourth quarter - his third pick in the last two games - set up the Jets' go-ahead touchdown.But this win was about a lot more than the Jets' Pro Bowl cornerback.It was about the defense returning to its roots under Rex Ryanas a havoc-creating bunch that disrupts even the best offenses inthe league.Considering the offensive powerhouse the Chargers were bringingto MetLife Stadium, Aaron Curry Jersey this was a game that was going to have to bedictated by and won by a the defense that hadn't shown a lot ofsigns this season of being the same dominating unit it's been thelast two years.Plaxico Burress and his three TD receptions will grab headlines,and justifiably so considering he's been a lightning rod forcriticism about what's been wrong with the Jets' offense this season.But the Je t Colts Jersey s defense won this game.After allowing the Chargers to convert on third downs in thefirst half so easily it looked as if they were sashaying through aSunday buffet line, converting on 6-of-7, the defense turned in itsbest 30 minutes of the season in the second half.The Chargers made 1-of-7 thirddown conversions in the secondhalf. They were held to five first downs and 117 yards of totaloffense in the second half. After Philip Rivers completed 8-of-12passes BenJarvus Green-Ellis Jersey for 92 yards and a TD in the first half, he was held to8-of20 for 67 yards and two INTs in the second half."This is one of the best wins I've had playing here, because wewere down, we were in a hole," Pace said. "They were getting theball [to start] Aaron Rodgers Jersey the second half.It could have gotten ugly. But at some point you've got to [stepup] and say, 'We're either going to get blown out or we're going tofight and come back and win this game.' " You Brian Urlacher Jersey know the rest."We came out with so much energy and will I think we just tookthe life out of them," Pace said. "People can say what they want tosay about us, but today a lot of guys showed a lot of heart.This is a team that gets motivated by a lot of differentthings." On this day, it was a quiet walk down that hallway on theway to the locker room that provided an unexpected boost of energyto prove this Jets Andre Johnson Jersey defense is not Revis and abunch Official Seattle Seahawks Jersey of saps.---Jets REPORT CARDOFFENSE: B+The Jets found a new way to gothree-and-out to start the game with Dustin Keller's fumble, butoverall it was a good game for this group. RB Shonn Greene (20rushes, 112 yards) had his best game of the season. WR PlaxicoBurress (four catches, 25 yards, 3 TDs) produced in the red zone.QB Mark Sanchez (18-of33, 173 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) had one turnoverbut played Texans Jersey well in the second half.DEFENSE: A-The defense said it did not make any adjustments at halftime -it just played better. After allowing two scores in the first half,it shut out the Chargers in the second. Interceptions by CBDarrelle Revis and CB Kyle Wilson in the fourth quarter led to thevictory. Chicago Bears Shop San Diego had just 96 yards rushing and QB Philip Riversnever looked comfortable.SPECIAL TEAMS: A-Nick Folk may be the unsung hero of the wholesale nfl jerseys Jets. He has hit all 10 of hisfield-goal attempts this season. He put the Jets up by six by nailing his30-yarder late in the game. The coverage units did a great jobsetting Brian Orakpo Jersey the Chargers up with terrible field position, starting onaverage at their own 19.COACHING: AThis was another mustwin, and the Jets delivered. Offensivecoordinator Brian Schottenheimer found ways to fix some of thethings that have New England Patriots Shop been missing - getting Burress the ball in the redzone, getting Greene going.Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine made a beautiful call on theRevis interception, fooling Rivers with a man-to-man look and thendropping into a zone. Rex Ryan has led his team through adversityto two straight wins before its bye week.- Brian Costello
Comment By: jersey18321 |
