Skins vs. Puckers preview

Pretty big early season game for both teams and both are looking to avoid going 0-2.  Puckers will be playing their home opener so no doubt their stadium will be excited and their players pumped.  Skins are looking to rebound from an unbelievable first half last week against the Iggles.  They showed signs in the second half of the game but we will need a better all around effort to beat the Packers.  Keys to the game are as follows:

1. Get ground game going:  Once the Skins fell down big to the Iggles, Morris was a non factor as the Skins were forced to pass nearly every down.  We have to establish the run game this week.  Our best defense will be our offense and controlling the clock and keeping Rodgers off the field.  The best way to do this is get the run game going.

2. RG3:  Unfortunately, he is still trying to work his way back and get comfortable.  I don't doubt that in a few weeks he'll be the RG3 that we all know and expect but it shouldn't come as a big surprise if he still looks uncomfortable out there this week.  The hope I have is that he gets better with each week and that he looks more comfortable this Sunday compared to last Sunday.

3. Secondary:  No doubt they will have to be ready to go as they face arguably the best QB in the game right now.  Reports are that we'll have Meriweather back but he hasn't played much over the last year and a half and we will need solid play from him.  I'm okay with the CBs.  They won't be perfect but who is against Rodgers.  Rambo is still the X factor.  He needs to get better.  I am not sold on the guy but we don't have many options right now and if we are going to commit to him, I'm glad we are sticking with him and allowing him time to learn and hopefully get better.  Still, he needs to be better in both coverage and tackling.

4. Get to Rodgers:  To help the secondary, we need to be able to get pressure on Rodgers.  Fortunately, Kerrigan didn't suffer a concussion and will be back.  He is a quiet superstar and I expect him to be disruptive but we need Orakpo to step up and equal the play of Kerrigan.  GB's O line is less than stellar so we need to make Rodgers uncomfortable.  This will be critical this week.

5. Contain Matthews:  Clay Matthews is one of the premier pass rushers in the game and it's good that GB got to play SF just a week ago as Kaepernick is in the same mold as RG3 so GB has been practicing against a running QB for a few weeks now.  That will be to their benefit.  We have to make sure we account for Matthews and buy RG3 enough time to make plays.  Again, RG3 is working himself back in the game so things are coming as quickly to him as they normally would so buying a little extra time for him is critical.

I think it will be a good game and we'll show improvement but in the end, we will fall short 27-24. 

HTTR!!!

Read More

ESPN Power Rankings - Week 2

Skins take the biggest tumble of any team falling nine spots to #19.

Pears climb five spots to #9.

Puckers drop two spots to #7.

Fair rankings for now.  Again, it takes 3-4 weeks for teams to normalize in the league and then you can get a better picture of who is real.

Read More

Skins lose to Iggles

So there was obviously a ton of hype with the return of RG3.  Unfortunately, the Skins came out flat.  Just a nightmarish first half.  It happens.  I don't like it. I don't know how to explain it but those things happen. Nothing seemed to go right for the Skins in the first half.  Give Chip Kelly, Vickles, and the Iggles credit.  They came out with their up tempo offense and the Skins couldn't find an answer until later in the game.  Still, the question is how much of it was the Iggles offense or the Skins ineptitude in the first half?  The answer is probably some where in the middle.

Skins continually shot themselves in the foot with turnovers, bad/untimely penalties, and just poor execution. The good news is that those things are correctable.  It was good to see them come back from a 33-7 deficit and make a game of it to finish 33-27.  I understand the Iggles game philosophy changed when they were up but still it wasn't like the Iggles gave the Skins points or didn't try to score anymore so the Skins do deserve credit for not quitting and continuing to fight. 

This pretty much sums up the Skins first half: their first seven plays: lost fumble by Alfred Morris, 3-yard loss by Morris, penalty for illegal shift, screen to Morris that got back some yards, interception thrown by Griffin into triple coverage, pass dropped by fullback Darrel Young, safety that occurred when Morris bobbled a pitch in the end zone.  Not a recipe for success.

Along with these miscues, the Skins had terrible field position the entire first half.  I believe the average starting position for the Skins was at the 10 yard line compared to the Iggles starting from their 35 yard line.  It's a huge difference.

Rookie PR/KR Chris Thompson made a number of mistakes catching punts inside the 10 yard line and trying to return kickoffs sent deep into the end zone.  I understand he is a rookie and wants to make a play but it didn't work out and cost us valuable field position.  Other rookie Baccari Rambo needs to play better.  He does not break down in open field tackling allowing guys to get right by him.  I also think he was out of position at times in coverage.  On the flip side, I thought rookie David Amerson was solid at CB.  Rookie Jordan Reed had himself a nice game with several catches. 

As far as RG3 is concerned, I know many people are saying that he didn't look 100%.  For me, he looked 100% but he just looked a bit rusty.  It shouldn't be a surprise that some of his passes were off and his timing was off a bit.  He never got a chance to play in the preseason and that hurts.  In the end, I thought it was a solid first game back all things considered.  It will take him another game or two to get back into the rhythm but I don't have any doubts about him.  The tough part was that we got down so big so early that we were forced out of our running game and had to pass.  In this game, our best defense was going to be our offense as we needed to keep their up tempo offense off the field .  It just didn't work out that way. 

Will be interesting to see how well the Chip Kelly offense is over the course of the season.  This is one game so you can't get too high or low on anything.  We seem to say this every season but it takes 3 or 4 games before everything normalizes and you can weed the contenders from the pretenders.  I will say that our defense seemed much more effective against Vickles when we sent additional pressure.  We'll see how other teams decide to defend against them.

In the end, I'm disappointed but far from concerned.  As mentioned, it's one game and we have to learn from it and move on.  Next week is the Puckers who present their own set of challenges.  Rodgers will definitely put our suspect secondary to the test.  With both teams losing their opening games, no doubt both will be fighting to stave off an 0-2 start.

HTTR!!!

Read More

Skins vs. Eagles - it starts tonight!

So it begins.  Starting the season doesn't get much bigger than with a divisional rival at home on Monday night.  It also marks the return of RG3.  That said, I'll get right into the keys of the game:

1. RG3 - he needs to stay in control.  He can't let his emotions get the best of him.  It's been a long road to recovery.  He hasn't seen any preseason action so he needs to stay focused.  Given how well he has handled everything to this point, I don't think it will be a problem for him to enjoy the moment but recognize the task at hand.  I think the bigger concern is RG3 is a player and he is natural tendencies are to try and make something happen where there isn't anything there.  It's good to a point.  He has to learn to protect himself.  There is no reason for him to fight for an extra yard if it means he is going to get hurt.  Will be very interesting to see if he slides and/or heads out of bounds or throws the ball away when he needs to.  Still, I think he is going to have a very good game tonight.

2. Morris/running game - The O line has only gotten more comfortable with the zone blocking scheme.  I expect the running game will be strong tonight.  Morris is a hard runner that won't go down with one tackler and I expect him to have a big game. 

3. Defense - This is a concern.  Not sure if Meriweather is playing.  If not, that means we have rookie Baccari Rambo paired with Reed Doughty at the safety positions.  This is a concern.  I like Doughty but he is more of a special teamer and not a starting safety.  Rambo has shown flashes of talent but he has also made some mistakes in preseason.  He too has to remain focused and can't allow a guy like DeSean Jackson blow by him.  I do like David Amerson as he has good size and ability but he needs to better understand zone coverage as he has been caught in no man's land a couple of times.  Not sure how much he'll play though as E.J. Biggers seems to be the nickel back.  The other part of the D to watch is the return of Orakpo.  No doubt he will be pumped but he needs to stay at home and play his position.  With the shifty Vick and LeSean McCoy it will be even more critical for him to follow his assignment and not try and get creative to make a big play. 

4. Slowing down the Kelly's fast paced offense - Read that the Skins have a plan to do this.  Will be interesting to see what it is.  I expect Vick to make some mistakes tonight and the fast paced offense could be the Eagles downfall.  If we can control the clock and wear the Eagles D down with the run and if the Eagles come out and go three and out quickly, the Eagles D will be done quickly. 

In the end, I expect a big win to start this season.  I expect a 31-13 win tonight as RG3 and Morris roll up on the Eagles and Vick, Chip Kelly struggle trying to get the fast paced tempo going.

HTTR!!!

Read More

Caps playoffs start tonight

Caps and Rangers tonight.  Really looking forward to this series.  After a miserable start, the Caps finished the season on a tremendous tear and it was led by Ovi who had himself a tremendous season.  It’s interesting because there does seem to be more of a maturity and determination and business like attitude with this season than previous seasons.  Makes sense as the “Young Guns” are no longer that young.  I really like this team and have some bigger expectations for them.  I have said for several weeks now that this may not be the most talented team the Caps have had but it may be the best one they have had.  It really feels like the players have bought into Oates’ system and are really playing for each other.

Not sure how I feel about drawing the Rangers.  Frankly, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with anyone as all the teams are pretty tough.  The interesting thing about the Rangers is obviously we are familiar with them in the playoffs as we have faced them 4 out of the last 5 years.  They were the ones that eliminated us last season so there is a lot of history there.  The key to this series is to be able to win 5 v 5.  We are outstanding on the PP but they have taken the fewest number of penalties this year so we can’t count on winning on the PP.  Also, they are very good on defense and blocking shots.  We are going to have to be physical and grind out some difficult and ugly goals.  It will definitely be doing the little things that will get us goals.  The good news for our offensive guys is that the Rangers should be without Staal and Girardi who are two guys that are typically matched up on Ovi.  Hopefully this will make things a bit easier for our offensive guys.

On the other side, NY finished their season scoring a lot more than they did at the beginning of the year.  They couldn’t buy goals at the start of the season but Nash has really come alive and Brad Richards is finally starting to play the way he was expected when the Rangers traded for him.  Throw in solid production from Stepan and Callahan and they suddenly have two quality scoring lines that we need to defend.  I do like our defensive pairings and am glad Schultz and Poti are out.  The concern with our defensemen particularly Green and Carlson is if they make their offensive runs and lose the puck.  It can lead to odd man rushes.  It’s high risk/high reward but they really need to be careful when they decide to creep up. 

In the end, I expect a tough series with goals tough to come by and strong, physical play.  Mistakes will be the difference.  I like the Caps in this series to win in 6.

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!

Read More

Caps win again!

Another great game.  This time against a very tough Montreal team played in Canada.  Caps owned the first part of the first period and just dominated.  They are starting to look really good.  This team may not be as talented as the teams a few years back but this looks to be the better team.  Guys really seem to have picked up on Oates' system and are thriving on it.  There seems to be a good mutual trust between the players and coaches and it all seems to be clicking. 

The Caps are the hottest team in hockey and Ovi is the hottest player.  The puck keeps going in for Alex Ovechkin.  The league's co-leader in goals finished a spectacular play with a tricky shot that fooled Montreal goalie Carey Price on Tuesday as the Washington Capitals beat the Canadiens 3-2 to extend their winning string to five games.

The Capitals are a perfect 5-0-0 in April and Ovechkin has eight goals in that span. The center on his line, Nicklas Backstrom, picked up two assists and has 11 points, all helpers, in the same five games.

Ovechkin said getting the win was bigger than the goal he scored to tie the game at 1 in the second period. It helped the Capitals stay two points ahead of Winnipeg atop the Southeast Division, with a game in hand.
"It's big two points for us right now," said the two-time Hart Trophy winner, whose level of play looks to be back near its peak after dipping the last two seasons. "We beat a team in front of us (in the standings).
"We know we can play against good teams. If we play hard and play our system it gives us results."

Eric Fehr and Jack Hillen also scored for Washington, which is 6-0-1 in its last seven.

Ovechkin's 26th of the season left him tied for the league lead with Steven Stamkos, who got the winner in Tampa Bay's 3-2 victory over Ottawa.

When told Stamkos had scored, Ovechkin said "good for him."  LOVE IT!  Ovi doesn't seem to care what anyone else is doing only that he does his job.  For the first time, I do feel like he is maturing and doing what the coach is telling him to do and trusting Oates in that he has his best interests in mind.  Ovi is starting to really thrive on the right wing and he is doing well camping out in front of the net.  He is a big boy with offensive skills and will command extra attention in front of the net thus freeing up other guys to get better shots. 

I just feel like this team has a confidence building as opposed to cockiness and recognizes the opportunity at hand whereas before I think they took winning and playoffs for granted.  Hopefully they can keep this up and get healthy as I don't think anyone will look forward to playing the Caps in the playoffs.

Read More

Caps beat Canes - right back in playoff mix

Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist, and the Capitals rallied to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 on Tuesday night.  Mike Green scored two goals, Joel Ward added a goal, Nicklas Backstrom matched a career high with four assists and Braden Holtby made 31 saves.

Washington trailed 2-0 early  but needed just 11 shots over the first two periods to score all five goals.  With the win, the Caps take over second place in the SE division and find themselves only two points behind division leading Winnipeg.  The win marks the Capitals seventh win in 11 games and they are 5-1-1 over the last seven.  Ovi has been on fire in this stretch and the Caps look like they could actually do some damage should they make the playoffs. 

Big game on Thursday against NY Islanders who are three points ahead of the Caps and hold the eighth spot in the East.  Another must win for the Caps.  Then its games against TB and FLA this weekend.  We need these games as the last few games of the season are against tougher opponents so we need to take advantage against some of the weaker teams.

As a side note, will be interesting to see if the Caps make any moves before the 3 pm trade deadline today now that they are in the thick of the playoff race.  They certainly could use an offensive winger to help out down the stretch.

Hopefully they can keep this going.

Read More