Redskins vs. Rams prediction

It's an interesting game in that the Rams were expected to be a much improved team coming into this season. However, they now find themselves at 0-3 and coming off of a thrashing against at home against the Ravens. There is no doubt that they can't afford to fall to 0-4 and take back to back losses at home. Should that happen, playoffs will be hard to attain, the fans will be very upset, and there will be talk of Spags being fired. I fully expect them to come out and play tough.

On the other side, the Skins are coming off of a tough loss against the Cowboys. We have a short week and have to travel again this time to St. Louis. The Skins have shown great energy and aggressiveness all season. I expect that to continue against the Rams. For the Skins, if they have any intentions of doing anything this season, this is a must win game. Experts are talking that they are much improved. Fans see them as improved. The team talk as though they are improved. If they truly believe they are what they are, they have to win this game and honestly do so in convincing fashion. It can't be a lucky play or this or that. They have to come out and take over this game. Also, the Skins have largely played disciplined football. That needs to continue. Winning this one and improving to 3-1 and holding on to the top spot in the East heading into the bye week will be huge.

Also, this is another opportunity for Rexy to show what he can do on the road. I mentioned that he looked tentative against the Rams. He needs to have that swagger and throw the ball with purpose. He didn't have his best game against the Cowboys and he will need to do better on Sunday.

In the end, I expect the Skins to handle the Rams. The Rams run defense is suspect so I expect Hightower and Helu and the O line to control the game against the Rams. The offense will control the clock and line of scrimmage. We will rush for at least 150 yards. I also expect the defense to be aggressive and get to Bradford a couple of times. The tough part is Bradford is good on the run. Guys have to stay home and be sure handed in their tackles because if he gets on the run, he can make a play. Still, I think we will force him into at least one turnover. Skins will win this one 24-13.

HAIL SKINS!!!

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Hi. I'm Jay Cutler and I'm ready for more sacks.

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Cutler and Cavallari back together?

They have been texting recently. Great. More drama for the Pears and their QB.

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Jeff Cutler isn't comfortable

Sacked 14 times thus far, Cutler seemed to describe the process of a quarterback becoming shell-shocked from sacks, pressures, and extraneous hits after the throw.

"You talk to any quarterback. Whenever you're getting a lot of pressure and you're getting flushed, and you're getting hit a lot, that clock in your head is gonna be tinkered a little bit," Cutler said. "It's gonna start ticking a little bit faster. Even sometimes when you do have a good amount of time, you're gonna be feeling it even if it's not there."

Perhaps the phenomenon Cutler described explains his inaccurate showing in Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers. Cutler suffered just three sacks in that game, but reverted to shoddy mechanics -- such as throwing off his back foot -- and misfired on several attempts, despite having what seemed like plenty of time to throw.

As I had mentioned, it was clear watching that Cutler wasn't comfortable and he doesn't trust his O line. I believe Robs has said that it is a good group. I don't see it. The numbers don't support it. The QB is saying it. However, I believe Robs still maintains his position. Whatever.

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Sox and Rays down to the wire

So unless the Cubs are in the race, I typically don't care too much about baseball. However, the Sox are in the midst of a monumental collapse. They led the wild card race by a number of games but just as they started the season, they are finishing in horrible fashion and have allowed the Rays to climb back into the race. These two teams find themselves tied for the Wild Card spot after 161 games of baseball.

I do find this interesting that after so many games, it all comes down to one game tonight. The Sox will start their ace Jon Lester tonight against the O's in Baltimore while the Rays start their ace David Price against the Yankees. The interesting part is the Yankees, who hate the Sox, have a say in who is going to go. They could rest their starters and lighten up on the Rays and allow them to win.

Again, not a huge baseball fan but I do have some interest in what happens tonight.

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ESPN Power Rankings - Week 4

Pack hold on to the top spot.

Pears drop 8 spots to #18.

Skins drop 1 spot to #16.

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Skins lose a heartbreaker to Cowboys

Final score 18-16. Tough loss but hard fought game. We led much of the game but just couldn't hang on there in the end. As with most games, there is always good and bad. I'll start with the good:

1. Good defense: All in all a very good effort. Thought we did a pretty good job of mixing things up and disguising blitzes. By in large the DBs did pretty well. Kerrigan was better than I thought in pass coverage as he had to run with Witten which is hard for even the best cover LBs. I felt like this group did enough for us to win the game.

2. Good O line play: Dallas likes to attack and send at least 7 guys in the box. Again, for much of the game, Rexy had time to throw. Running game was okay. Looked like it was getting better as the game went on which is what you hope for/expect.

3. Gano: Made all the kicks that he could including a 50 yarder. His kickoffs were all deep and to the left. He did a lot this game to better entrench him as the kicker.

4. Dirty 30: World of difference with him out there. He's fast and aggressive and made a number of plays that Doughty would have no chance at making. He's a force and certainly makes our defense that much better.

5. Coaching: This one is debatable. However, outside a few questionable calls, I was happy with the coaching. We committed to the run and had good balance. I was comfortable with the coaching, we just need to execute better.

Now for the bad:

1. Rexy: He wasn't horrible but I can't say that he was good. He looked tentative out there and looked like he was lacking his confidence and didn't seem to have much zip on his passes. His INT was horrible. Not only did it seem like he didn't see Lee but the pass was soft and underthrown...an easy pick. His fumbles are annoying. When he scrambles, he is SO concerned about getting hit and he keeps looking back. Just tuck the freaking ball and run! Even on the play in the 4th where it looked like he fumbled but they just called it a sack, he wrapped the ball up but he lets go of it and puts his hands down to brace for the fall. He has to hold on to the ball! Still, it wasn't a horrible game by him. He did have some nice passes but we needed him to do a little more. Come up with one or two more plays and he couldn't do it. Again, I am more bothered with what I thought was apprehension and lack of confidence in him.

2. 3rd and 21 call: I REALLY didn't like the all out blitz. I could deal with it on 2nd down but I was saying to myself that on 3rd down Romo will have isolation on a WR and just throw a fly for a jump ball. When we were showing it, I was REALLY hoping we were faking and guys would back out of it in coverage. The blitz was high risk/high reward and we didn't get immediate pressure and Romo backed up a fair amount and rolled out and 9 times out of 10 the WR will make that play. People are all on D. Hall but that is a very difficult play for a DB to make.

3. Turf: What was up with the turf? Our RBs were slipping left and right. They couldn't cut and it clearly affected some of our runs.

4. Muffed snap: The botched snap could have been the difference in the game. Rocca is proving to be a very good punter but the botched snap hurt. In a close game, a FG can be the difference and that one hurt.

5. Skins fans: I have already mentioned that Rexy wasn't great but was watching some Comcast post game and the texts coming in were ridiculous. Before the game, the texts were super supportive of the Skins and some for Rexy but after it was all doom and gloom. Get rid of Rexy and D. Hall and this and that. It's great that Skins fans are passionate but by and large they are idiots.

It was a tough loss. We had a chance to get a tough divisional win on the road and move to 3-0 but it wasn't to be. Romo did a great job of directing the victory. He had a lot of adversity with WRs not knowing where to line up and an inept C who fell prey to the defense barking fake snaps and releasing the ball when Romo wasn't ready. It's too bad that just one of those bad snaps didn't go our way. Still, we fought hard and guys really seemed upset with the loss. I like that. There is an expectation to win that we have not seen in some time. I thought Rexy was a little too down. In the post game press conference, he looked really upset. He, along with the team, is going to have to pick themselves up and get ready for St. Louis on a short week.

St. Louis has been pretty disappointing this season as I think many people expected them to be an improved team. They are coming off of a Ravens thrashing so I imagine they will be pumped up. Basically, have to dust this one off and move forward.

HAIL SKINS!!!

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