Skins made this game way too close

[grampi]

The Skins could've put this game away much earlier than they did. They completely outplayed the Eagles, but once again, this wasn't refelcted by the scoreboard. Their last offensive possession before halftime was wasted by an avoidable Brunell turnover that would've resulted in at least 3 points, and their next to last offensive possession made me furious! I absolutely hate it when a team's (especially the Skins) offense goes into this ultra-conservative mode and does nothing but run the ball. The Skins offense could've run the clock out on this drive by simply playing the way they had been the entire game and moving the chains. Instead they call 3 consecutive running plays, two were on 2nd and 17 and 3rd and 17, which was absolutely ridiculous. Why not go for the first downs and keep the Eagles' offense off the field? It was clear the Eagle defense couldn't stop our passing game, so why not stay with what was working? Instead we go 3 and out and allow the Eagle offense right back on the field. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The Skins have to put their opponenets away when they have them down instead of letting them hang around.

[JimmiJo]

The Skins could've put this game away much earlier than they did. They completely outplayed the Eagles, but once again, this wasn't refelcted by the scoreboard. Their last offensive possession before halftime was wasted by an avoidable Brunell turnover that would've resulted in at least 3 points, and their next to last offensive possession made me furious! I absolutely hate it when a team's (especially the Skins) offense goes into this ultra-conservative mode and does nothing but run the ball. The Skins offense could've run the clock out on this drive by simply playing the way they had been the entire game and moving the chains. Instead they call 3 consecutive running plays, two were on 2nd and 17 and 3rd and 17, which was absolutely ridiculous. Why not go for the first downs and keep the Eagles' offense off the field? It was clear the Eagle defense couldn't stop our passing game, so why not stay with what was working? Instead we go 3 and out and allow the Eagle offense right back on the field. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The Skins have to put their opponenets away when they have them down instead of letting them hang around.

You mean the way the Cowboys tried to do when they were up on us 13-7 in Dallas? They threw 4 times and had four incompletes, took no time off of the clock and handed us back the ball with plenty of time.

There is a reason Gibbs runs in these situations, because it keeps the clock moving, or forces the opponent to take a time out. If you look at the odds by doing this, you usually win provided your defense can stop them, which is exactly what happened last night.

[KillaCam21]

We were up by seven points, and the Eagles only touchdown, as Gregg Williams explained, came on a blown coverage by Shawn Springs. Springs thought the team was still in zone (they checked to man before the play) and he released Brown to the middle where no one was there to guard him. I love that Gibbs put the game in the hands of the defense after they played a great game.

Don't forget that the Redskins picked up the first down on their first run. It was called back because of a bogus holding penalty.

If we had dropped back to pass, there's no telling what could have happened against Philly's attacking defense. Like Gibbs, I didn't like our chances against Dawkins, Lewis, Brown, Shepphard, Trotter, and Kearse in crunch time. The Eagles have playmakers on defense, not offense. This was good playcalling by Gibbs. It almost didn't work, but I still think it was the right decision.

[jbooma]

You were right we made it too close, but not because we ran the ball. We turned the ball over before the half and we were not able to put any more points up on those last 2 drives, where we were moving pretty well, exept for that dam holding call :doh:

[grampi]

You mean the way the Cowboys tried to do when they were up on us 13-7 in Dallas? They threw 4 times and had four incompletes, took no time off of the clock and handed us back the ball with plenty of time.

There is a reason Gibbs runs in these situations, because it keeps the clock moving, or forces the opponent to take a time out. If you look at the odds by doing this, you usually win provided your defense can stop them, which is exactly what happened last night.

Fine, run as much as possible, but you've gotta get the first downs in these situations. You can't just run regardless if it means having to give the ball back to the other team's offense. Run on first and second down, but throw if that's what you need to do on third down to get the first. The Skins could've easily run the clock out without allowing that last gut-wrenching drive by the Eagles. Why take those chances when it's not necessary?

[TankRizzo]

The game was close and could have easily gone the other way if we don't cover our own fumbles. That's just the way it's going to be. Keep in mind that Eagles defense completely shut down Tomlinson, we did pretty good all things considered.

[JimmiJo]

Fine, run as much as possible, but you've gotta get the first downs in these situations. You can't just run regardless if means having to give the ball back to the other team's offense. Run on first and second down, but throw if that's what you need to do on third down to get the first. The Skins could've easily run the clock out without allowing that last gut-wrenching drive by the Eagles. Why take those chances when it's not necessary?

I think that throwing can be a chance. The point is that every run is good for the duration of the play + 40 seconds. An incomplete stops the clock.
I see what you are saying, a few first downs ends the game, and to some extent I agree, but maybe pass on second, not third when they know it is coming.

But it is what it is - we won.

[FootballGuy2677]

The Skins could've put this game away much earlier than they did. They completely outplayed the Eagles, but once again, this wasn't refelcted by the scoreboard. Their last offensive possession before halftime was wasted by an avoidable Brunell turnover that would've resulted in at least 3 points, and their next to last offensive possession made me furious! I absolutely hate it when a team's (especially the Skins) offense goes into this ultra-conservative mode and does nothing but run the ball. The Skins offense could've run the clock out on this drive by simply playing the way they had been the entire game and moving the chains. Instead they call 3 consecutive running plays, two were on 2nd and 17 and 3rd and 17, which was absolutely ridiculous. Why not go for the first downs and keep the Eagles' offense off the field? It was clear the Eagle defense couldn't stop our passing game, so why not stay with what was working? Instead we go 3 and out and allow the Eagle offense right back on the field. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The Skins have to put their opponenets away when they have them down instead of letting them hang around.

You wanna know why joe ran the ball on 3rd and 17? cuase there was 3:00 left on the clock and if brunell threw a interception it would of been 17 to 17 by the end of the fourth quarter moron, dont question the moves of a hall of fame coach. Stupid Stupid Stupid? 2:30 on the clock when your defence came in the game number 1 againts the pass and they were stopping the run like no other in that game? PUT IT IN YOUR DEFENCES HANDS!Then you said we could of lost this game cuase we were playing to sloppy? Look Chris Cooley fumbled a ball, then Derrick Dockery comes recovers it, we score a touchdown...then Mark Brunell fumbles it and Clinton Portis tackles the guy who picks it up and if nobody tackles the guy its a touchdown 10to17 eagles and instead of trying to make a comback at the end of the game the eagles are taking a kneel down to run out the clock and were 4-4 instead of 5-3... Yes thats playing a bit sloppy but atleast this week we were able to take away our mistakes instead of making more. Plus Ryan Clark has been in a roll lately on catching the ball and is my favorite redskins player list for the week.

Here it is by the way:D

1. Clinton Portis
2. Ryan Clark
3. Santana Moss
4. Derrick Dockery
5. Walt Harris(saved the game tying touchdown at the end of game)

[Y100Rocks]

COMPLETELY out gained them? The time of possession was within two minutes of each other, and the eagles put more yards on the field. Completely outplayed? Were you one of those guys that said this about last years game at Fedex?

p.s. I wouldn't be complaining about the refs, they were very generous to the skins last night.

[SkinsNumberOne]

You were right we made it too close, but not because we ran the ball. We turned the ball over before the half and we were not able to put any more points up on those last 2 drives, where we were moving pretty well, exept for that dam holding call :doh:
Yes, this is somewhat true.

At this point, the Giants are a lot more scary then the Eagles. If we make mistakes like that against the Giants (at least with how they seem to be playing right now) we lose. That said... the Eagles D is more scary than the Giants D (last week notwithstanding, and now let us never speak of it again). The O got some good drives against that D, and although they had the stupid fumble which prevented what might have been a better end result - or at least made it not come down to the last minute (but who can say for sure), it was still good to see.

[dawgjk9]

You mean the way the Cowboys tried to do when they were up on us 13-7 in Dallas? They threw 4 times and had four incompletes, took no time off of the clock and handed us back the ball with plenty of time.

There is a reason Gibbs runs in these situations, because it keeps the clock moving, or forces the opponent to take a time out. If you look at the odds by doing this, you usually win provided your defense can stop them, which is exactly what happened last night.


thanks..you made my point. i dont know why other people cant see that as the smartest thing to do

[grampi]

thanks..you made my point. i dont know why other people cant see that as the smartest thing to do

You guys are missing my point. They should run as much as possible in this situation, but they should still be trying to convert first downs. The chances of the opponent scoring is much lower if their offense is on the sidelines.

[FBChick]

You guys are missing my point. They should run as much as possible in this situation, but they should still be trying to convert first downs. The chances of the opponent scoring is much lower if their offense is on the sidelines.

No we are not missing your point at all, we are saying we don't agree with your point and why.

Running on third and 17 with 3 mins left on the clock gives you one of two results.
1) Run comes up short but burns the time off the clock and has the lowest risk of a turnover. Still allows for a punt and barely enough time for only one possible scoring drive. Worst case scenerio - we tie and go into overtime.

2) we pick up the first down and run out the clock. Only possible scenerio - Skins win, everyone breathes easy.

Pass on third and 17 to get the first down. I'll list the 6 major outcomes
1)Pass caught for the first down - You're preferred result, skins win.. yeah

2)Pass caught short of the first down. same scenerio as a run coming up short, provided the Receiver stayed in bounds.

3)Pass incomplete - Not a really bad thing, but think of the final outcome. We would not have been able to down the ball to end the game.. there would be enough time left to require a punt.. which leaves a door open.

4) Pass intercepted - This allows for the possiblity of returning it for a TD and enough time on the clock for more points to be scored by either team

5) Force Fumble by pass rush - See above.

Too many question marks with a passing play. Too many unneccesary risks. When you have a good defense, it doesn't make sense to take such a huge risk in hopes of simply running out the clock the first time. You may not agree and think Gibbs should take the gamble and go for the throat, but the odds were actually better doing exactly what he did. And well we won didn't we?

Now the fumble before the half, well.. that's another story, but then we were trying to go for the throat then weren't we?

[Bad Man Burgendy & Gold]

Although we did dominate most of the game, we didn't so thoroughly dominate that we should have been up more than 7 points at that time of the game. You don't give the Skins enough credit, and frankly you need to give the Eagles a little more credit as well, no matter how well we played this is a tough division opponent and we can't expect them to shrivel up and die just cause we are playing well. I do agree that if we limited turnovers perhaps we could have been up 10 points, but these things happen.

Point 2 you are dead wrong though. Just think if Brunell got sacked on 3rd and 17, you move the ball and Philly gets a big shift in mo. We didn't need that, nor did we need an incomplete pass that stopped the clock. The d had held the Eagles up to that point, why wouldn't you trust them to seal the deal? By running the ball we not only kept the clock moving but we attempted to slightly improve our kicking position, which ended up working as we pushed them back to the 8 yard line. It was a good decision

[EnFoRcEr_uPu]

I think just as stated above, this team, even with a MUCH improved offense, still rests outcome of the game in the hands of our defense. Any time a team does that they're looking to hold the win, not just go for the blowout. A LOT of our offense also rests on clock management. We go for time of possession when the half way marker hits. ALTHOUGH, I think we do tend to do this even if we're down in the scoreboard, leaving us playing too conservative in tight situations.

[Skinsfan62]

I agree. We need to start playing to win instead of not trying to lose.We did a good job moving the ball then we get basic and predictable. We dodged a bullet last night but at least we are winning these kind of games now wheeras before we'd be on the losing end.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

The 4th quarter unfolded in typical Gibbs fashion. You get the lead, wear down their defense and take the air out of the ball. At that point, you put them in a tough position and unleash your D at them.

We were trying to score on that last drive but we got that killer penalty to put us in 2nd & 17. We're not quite there yet, but eventually that type of drive will end in a FG or TD and the game will be locked up.

[Bad Man Burgendy & Gold]

Honestly I agree that if the situation we're the same and it was 3rd and 5 we should have passed. Often time during this season we have played that conservative instead of trying to go for the kill with the pass, and I don't like that.

In this situation though, the call was absolutely correct. Even if you pass the ball on 3rd and 17 it is highly unlikely that you would get the first down. In light of this there was a far better advantage to be gained by keeping the clock moving and running the ball. Different situations call for different action, and in this case I think Gibbs made the right call.

[Skinsfan1311]

Evend though I was nervous as hell...I was still confident when it was left in the hands of our "D"...

[Ikaros]

why question the HOF coach? im sure he had a trump card rdy in case the eagles did score a TD. you have to remember we face a very good defense next week thats desperate for a win. they are gonna be watching mad film of our offense. so why show them all of our new plays. Gibbs has won 3 super bowls for a reason, you have to look ahead...just like in chess...sometimes its better to be conservative.