Early Thoughts on MNF Game in Dallas (Early Lean Towards Boys)

[kleese]

First of all, I think this is a great spot for us. We've given ourselves the luxury of playing this game without a ton of pressure. I thought we'd be in decent shape at 2-3 after the Philly with six games in a row we can reasonably win. Now, at 2-0, I'd say 3-2 at that point is most likely, with a shot to be 4-1. So, we are ahead of the game.

I want to win one of the next two, enter the BYE at 3-1, and then see where we stand when we face the Eagles. A loss on Monday will be far from devestating. And our team should enter the game confident and excited about the opportunity. All in all, it's a good spot. I'm going to be there and I think I'll be more psyched than nervous come gametime.

My early thoughts on the game (which could change as the week progresses)

--Their injury situation is huge...much bigger than ours. Miles Austin means more to them than Landry means to us, in large part because we haven't had Laron in so long that we're used to playing without him. Austin is their top playmaker and he is a threat in all areas of the field. He will be a huge loss if he can't go. Not as concerned about Jones...but if he's out, that is one less speedster to deal with: Choice and Murray are solid, but not gamebreakers. I'm sure Romo will play, but he's going to be sore I'm sure. If Bryant, Jones, and Austin are ALL out, that is a huge swing in our favor.

--When healthy, I think Dallas poses particular match-up issues for our defense. Major improvements on D and we've upgraded team speed, but we can still use some more. I think we will do well against the more physical teams like NYG, NYJ, etc. on the schedule and struggle with teams that have burners (Dal, Philly). Romo has always played pretty well against us and has always been able to make plays outside the pocket. We should be better about that now, but I still do respect how he's played against us overall.

--As always, Ware scares me, as he should. Arguably the best pass rusher in the game....Ryan blitzes anyway, and in our first two games, both defenses have tried to get to Rex and this will be no exception.

--Let's face it, Rex has been really good so far, but we'd all be lying if we said we didn't think he was due for a bit of clunker sometime soon....I don't expect him to crap himself or anything, but Dallas is the best front seven he's seen so far and it is on the road....I could see him being less efficient this week.

--I'd like to see us come in with a fairly conservative gameplan. The Cowboys will be coming after Rex, so I'd like to see us counter with some draws, screens, etc.. even if they don't net big gains, I'd like to see us make them respect the underneath stuff. Not sure we can just line up and blow the Boys off the ball like we did Arizona--we might need a bit more creativity. I see this game as a really good test for Kyle. What he's done in the first two weeks has worked really well, but a good playcaller/gameplanner anticipates what MIGHT NOT work and adjusts before it happens. I'm not saying he needs to scrap his playbook, but I think a little twist will be necessary Monday Night.

--Ultimately, history gives me pause. The past probably has nothing to do with what will take place in the here and now, but as a fan, it's hard to ignore. We have lost 16 of our last 19 in Dallas...read that again...we are 3-16 down there since 1992. And it took a miracle to get one of those.

Right now, I see Dallas 24-17...but that could change as more injury info comes in and I think about it some more...

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

I see this being a high sack/ high turnover game for both teams. A mistake filled, but exciting game to watch.

I honestly wouldn't like to call it. I like the fact Dallas are in shocking form. I like the fact their injury's are mounting.

But then the injury God and the form book never have been respective of this fixture.

I pray to the good Lord above we stomp all over their puke ass' and sit at 3-0 come early Tuesday morning.

I fear that I'm gona' have a depressingly bad day kicking things on Tuesday in what might have been,

Hail.

[skins4eva]

I agree with everything you've said. The one thing that I would point out is this: all signs point to the fact that this is totally different iteration of Skins football than we've seen in prior years. The players say they believe something's different. The fans are guarded in their optimism. This is where the rubber really meets the road. If we go down to Dallas and steal a win, I think the players and the fans will both be united in their belief that this is not the Redskins of the past 15 yrs. I'm extremely optimistic about our prospects, and I agree that losing doesn't really put is in a bind. This is a division game on the road, so a win is a bonus. With that said, I expect that we will pull this one out. The first half will be close, but I think we'll pull ahead in the second and put Dallas away. Final score: Skins 30, Boys 24.

[richard saunders]

Redskins will win and still get no respect. Talking heads will point out what the Cowpokes did wrong rather than give us credit for what we did right.
Look for a big game for Anthony Armstrong, Brandon Banks, and Orackpo.

35-24

[gortiz]

we take a step back this game.

rex is going to get a big dose of reality ... he's doing great and I'm loving it, but i think ware has a monster game and proves to be too much for the Cannon and Trent.

i think our d will keep the the game close, and Dallass's injuries will help us do that to some degree. however, romo is hot man, i think they pull away and score some points.

i'm fully prepared for a loss here, a win down there against a team that is picking up a ton of yards is asking a lot.

i agree, with the OP, i think we need to nickel and dime them to get them to respect the underneath stuff and pick and choose our chances to air it out VERY, VERY wisely.

[RAAZ227]

Looks like dallas is going to be beat up. I expect Grossman to start where he left off last year in dallas.

[addicted]

Relax
Please breathe and be happy
Look at the injuries facing the Boys this week (Romo (Ribs), Felix Jones (Seperated Shoulder), Miles Austin and Dez Bryant (Hamstring), and on and on and on)
Don't be happy they are injured but you can tell your anxiety that they aren't at full strength and we are getting them at a good time

Or if that doesn't help remember the last time we came to Texas?
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=301219006

R. Grossman - 25 out of 43, 322 yards, 4 TD's, 2 INT's, 93.4 passer rating

The first half of that game we were dead and Rex throws 3 TD's and 2 seperate 2 Point Conversions in the second half of that one
The only reason we lost there in 2010 was we ran out of time
Now we have an even better team

Relax

[ChicagoRedskinsFan]

It's usually close down there but we usually lose. I'm happy to be 2-0 but the Redskins will always be week-by-week until we can put a full season together. I hope it doesn't come down to a field goal. Their guy kicked a 48 yarder yesterday to send it into overtime. What are Gano's chances in that spot? If we lose, I hope the Cowboys earned it and not because we shanked a field goal or something like that.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Or if that doesn't help remember the last time we came to Texas?
http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=301219006

R. Grossman - 25 out of 43, 322 yards, 4 TD's, 2 INT's, 93.4 passer rating

The first half of that game we were dead and Rex throws 3 TD's and 2 seperate 2 Point Conversions in the second half of that one
The only reason we lost there in 2010 was we ran out of time

Not quite the only reason. No doubt that if that game had more time to run, we'd of had the Cowboys. Second half Rex was fantastic, particularly in the redzone. But it was because of first half 'bad' Rex that he needed the miracle comeback to begin with. But that's what you get with him, the rough and the smooth, often in the same game. Yesterday, he, and we overcame it.

The same again Monday night and our luck might not hold out.

Hail.

[addicted]

we take a step back this game.

I dont agree with this
But time will tell just saying I think your wrong about a lot of what you posted

rex is going to get a big dose of reality

Why because the last time he played them he looked great
And he's looked great so far all season

i agree, with the OP, i think we need to nickel and dime them to get them to respect the underneath stuff and pick and choose our chances to air it out VERY, VERY wisely.

Hehe
The Dallas starting corners are

Terrance Newman - He's injured, he might play this game but depends on his groin and those are hell to play with
Orlando Scandrick - Is definitely out this game with an injury
Mike Jenkins - Is also injured with a bum shoulder but might play. Even if he does he is terrible

Either way the game plan should be simple. Air it the freak out on those 4th, 5th, and 6th corners. Dink and dunk and we play into the Defense's hands
We aren't the Patriots with multiple players who can break off 20+ yard runs after a 3 yard pass
The offensive line needs to protect the edges from the blitz and Rex needs to recognize where the blitzes are going to come from and step up when the edges are being forced on him and make throws
Dallas is beat up and on the verge of mailing in a season, we need to score move the ball and tire them out
And I think we will.

[SIXX99]

This game is gonna come down to one thing: if our offensive line can hold up against the pressure that you know the Cowboys are gonna send at us.

[addicted]

Not quite the only reason. No doubt that if that game had more time to run, we'd of had the Cowboys. Second half Rex was fantastic, particularly in the redzone. But it was because of first half 'bad' Rex that he needed the miracle comeback to begin with. But that's what you get with him, the rough and the smooth, often in the same game. Yesterday, he, and we overcame it.

The same again Monday night and our luck might not hold out.

Hail.

Luck?
All day you've been posting how "lucking we were yesterday" and now you said it again
Please please please show me any game where the winning team didn't have some luck on thier side?
You ever heard the saying "better to be lucky then good?"
Seriously lucks not the reason we won yesterday, we marched up and down the field on a bad Defense
Dallas doesn't have a good defense, they have a bad defense
There is no reason for me to believe that they will suddenly show up with so many guys banged up this week
And we don't need to be lucky, we need to execute like we can, the luck will be there as long as we take care of the details like we have been doing

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Want to take anything else out of context today I post before you rant back addicted man?

You leave points on the field, and turn the ball over against a better team than Arizona and you'll inevitably get punished. We totally dominated and deserved the victory yesterday. But we where lucky we didn't get punished. As I've said when I've commented on this today. But don't let the truth get in the way of a good rant.

Hail.

[Destino]

I don't think we know enough about either team to really say how this is going to play out. Take for example the Cowboys defense. They have completely stopped the run allowing only 3.0 yards per carry and 59.5 rushing yards per game. Having said that San Fran averaged 2.7 yards per carry against the Seahawks and the Jets averaged 3.2 yards per carry against the Jags. They totals more yards in those games but only because they had a lot more attempts. Their pass defense gave up 335 yards to Mark Sanchez who was only able to throw for 182 yards against the Jags. They allowed Alex Smith to throw for 182 yards when he only had 124 against the seahawks. They've allowed 20 and 24 points to be scored on them which is more than the 14 and 21 the redskins have given up.

So are they as good as they seem to be or is it just a question of who they played?

Where they have excelled is getting to the opposing QB. They lead the league with 10 sacks. They sacked Alex Smith 6 times and Sanchez 4. Smith was not sacked once by Seattle and Sanchez was only sacked once by the Jags. They clearly have a pass rush.

I think if the Redskins can run the ball on Dallas that this game will favor the Redskins heavily. It will slow their pass rush and keep their offense off the field and more than likely out of rhythm. If the skins can't run the ball or get away from the run the dallas pass rush will be a nightmare and Ware on Trent Williams does not favor the Redskins IMO.

[Henry]

Sorry kleese, I'm still not rooting for Dallas.