Redskins Career

[kcarr]

Week 4, Kansas City Chiefs
During the week
Nothing to report

Preview
Kansas City in their normal style did not draft a QB but rather went out and got a skilled vet. Kurt Warner has started the last 2 games for them but as a team they have failed starting 0-3. A win here would give us our 3-1 fast start.

Injuries
Betts is our only player who is out. He was not missed last week. We got Fletcher-Baker back which should help. On the other side Dosey was a game time decision but will play.

Keys to the game
Kansas city's defense is not exactly spectacular. That said Glen Dorsey is a very good tackle both against the run and against the pass. He must be contained or Campbell will spend the game on his back.

Their corners are physical but duhon and Olson are both athletic enough that if they get behind them it could be a big play. Dexter Jackson will also get some shots deep.

Their offense isn't exactly strong but LJ is a good back and we have to slow him down.

Washington wins 19-7
Wow, Jamal Buckingham is becoming a beast. He just had his 3rd straight 100 yards game taking 30 carries for 217 yards and a pair of TDs. There were some fumble problems, he had one, campbell had one, brad smith had one, and dexter jackson had one 3 of which were recovered by kansas city. There was also very little success to be had in the passing game but with a rushing attack like we had it didnt matter there.

[kcarr]

Week 5, Green Bay Packers
During the week
Nothing to report

Preview
The Packers have a great running back in Grant and a good pair of starting receivers along with a dangerous deep threat in rookie Tomas Dwyer. Defensively they are solid but not spectacular

Injuries
Betts is the only player injured on either side. We are much healthier than we were last year. Green bay, despite having some injury prone players, is very healthy.

Keys to the game
We have to get to Brohm. He is a young QB and we need to pressure him into some bad throws.

On offense our wide outs are facing a pair of talented but older and less athletic corners. The deep passes should be there and we need to take advantage.

Also, Buckingham is looking for his 4th straight 100 yard game and his 3rd straight multiple TD game. I would love to see him get either of those and I feel that we could against green bay.

Washington wins 31-20

This is proof that the game must be played for a full 60 minutes. Going into the 4th quater Green bay was up 20-10 and had been in control. Jamal Buckingham had 145 yards rushing and 3 TDs and a 16 yard catch in the fourth quater and we pulled out the win. Buckingham ended the game with 194 yards and 4 TDs. By now teams should know our gameplan, its just a matter of whether or not they can stop it. If he keeps this up buckingham could really be a contender for MVP.

[kcarr]

Week 6, Atlanta Falcons
During the week
Randy Thomas tore his tricep and will miss the next 5-7 weeks. Josh Stinton will start in his place but this could hurt buckinghams running production.

Josh Stinton and Josh Dillon both were signed to 6 year deals both worth around 7 million dollars. With the linebackers getting older Dillon will be starting sometime soon. Sure, Hall was signed to a similar deal next year but this will leave us likely paying a starter and his backup both just over 1 million dollars a year making the MLB spot one of the cheaper ones on the team. Stinton is a solid interior lineman but is a borderline starter. At his contract amount he can either be a low paid starter or one of our top backups.

Jamal Buckingham was signed to a 3 year deal for around 3 million dollars. This was extremely cheap for a guy who has been playing so well. He will have to wait another couple years for his payday apparently.

Marcus Washington and Shaun Suisham both signed 1 year extensions. Washington is a very good coverage linebacker who fits the system well and we will keep him as long as we can. Suisham has been a decent kicker for us.

The first draft update is upon us. With a shortage of draft picks this year we will concentrate on trying to maintain our status quo by keeping our team intact. If we can pick up a couple of eventual starters this draft will be a huge success.

Our biggest need is for an elite interior lineman to replace Randy Thomas. Thomas is a great lineman but is getting older and will need to be replaced in the near future. This class seems well stocked with offensive lineman so we should be able to find one in the second.

Our next need that I am looking at is a corner to start opposite Moon who can run with the speedsters of the league, specifically Desean Jackson who we face twice a year. Sheldon Brown is a solid number 2 corner but we need someone with more speed. Moon is great against bigger stronger wide outs but struggles against speed. This is not a real need so I won't spend a 1st day pick on it but I will atleast take 1 shot in the later rounds.

After that I need to try to find a replacement for Chris Samuels. Chris is still a very good tackle but we need someone to play behind him and eventually take over.

We could use an upgrade at SS. I am not planning on resigning chris horton and while merriweather is a capable replacement I could use an upgrade.

Preview
Atlanta is lead by running back Michael Turner. Matt Ryan is also a capable QB giving them a very solid offense. Their defense is also much improved this year after drafting corner Mario Markland and DE Andre Dalembert. Markland is a good all around corner who is solid in both man and zone and is a very intellegent player. Dalembert is a freak of nature. He has the skills to become a tremendous end at 6'8" 285 with 4.5 speed and excelent moves and strength.

Injuries
Betts is still out and now so is Randy Thomas. Thomas being out will hurt us but Stinton is a decent backup. They are missing their starting and backup center. Being a videogame moving a player over from another position won't really hurt them.

Keys to the game
The biggest matchup in this game will be Chris Samuels against rookie Andre Dalembert. Chris is a great veteran lineman and Dalembert only has 1 sack so far this year but Andre has the skills to dominate.

Also, Jamal Buckingham will be running against a very strong front 7. He really needs to have a solid game though to help us maintain balance.

Another interesting matchup will be the WR taken in the draft and the 1st corner taken in the draft this past offseason, Tyrus Duhon and Mario Markland going at it. Duhon was great the first couple games this year but has been slowed down lately.

On the other side of the ball Roddy White and Harry douglas are both very fast wide recievers and speed has killed us so far this year. Our corners need to step up to this challenge.

Washington wins 24-12
Buckingham struggled against a stiff front 7 for Atlanta and fumbled twice. Combined with a fumble from Campbell that gave the Falcons 3 drives starting within Washington's 25 yard line. The Redskins D held strong though and they only scored 3 points combined on those 3 drives.

Tyrus duhon had a great game with 5 catches for 74 yards and a pair of TDs and Moon had an interception as well. Carr seems to have had a great draft in his first offseason and has turned Washington from a borderline playoff team into a potential superbowl contender.

[kcarr]

Week 7, Oakland Raiders
During the week
Eric Baker was signed to a 1 year extension. I love having a 3rd end to use as a pass rush specialist kicking one of my other ends inside in 3rd and long situations and baker allows me to do this.

Preview
Oakland has a great runningback in darren mcfadden and a tremendous secondary which is strong at all 4 starting positions. Also they had an uncharacteristic draft picking up a pair of quality starting offensive linemen. On the other hand we are rolling and look to continue against an 0-5 team.

Injuries
Betts and Thomas are still out as are Dexter Jackson and London Fletcher-Baker. For them backup RB Mike Hart is the only one out.

Keys to the game
Our corners are once again facing a pair of very fast receivers. They did ok against atlanta and need to keep that up.

We have to find a way to slow down mcfadden. He is a tremendous back and could really be a game changer.

We need to get our running game going. Buckingham was slowed down quite a bit last game but the oakland front 7 is not nearly as good as Atlanta's. They have an especially big hole at the strongside LB position and we need to run right at him.

Washington wins 37-20
Sheldon Brown gained a little ground in his contract negotiations by returning 2 interceptions for touchdowns. He also held Andre Davis to 1 catch in 7 targets.

Buckingham did not score but gained 90 yards on the ground. Josh Morgan who moved up to the 5th receiver spot with Dexter Jackson out took advantage by scoring on a short pass that he turned into a 70 yard TD.

This game was over pretty early and 2 of Oakland's TDs came in the last couple minutes when they didn't have time to actually comeback.

[kcarr]

Week 8, San Diego Chargers
During the week
Nothing to report

Preview
San Diego is a very talented team. They have one of the best backs in the league in LT and a great QB and TE. Defensively they have a couple very good corners and a playmaking linebacker in shawn merriman.

Injuries
Randy Thomas is the only player out in this game. Overall both teams are very healthy. Injuries shouldn't effect the outcome unless they happen in the game.

Keys to the game
This pair of receivers are exactly the times of players my corners can shut down. San Diego may not be the team I had in mind when selecting these corners but they are fit for role. They need to perform well and make san diego 1 dimensional.

Marcus Washington against Antonio Gates. Marcus is a very good coverage linebacker but he will have his work cut out for him facing a top tier TE.

Jamal buckingham against San Diego's front 7. Buckingham is coming off a pair of sub-100 yard games. 2 of the 3 times he has failed to hit that mark this year. With San Diego's DBs and pass rushers we need our rushing attack to help out.

Washington wins 38-28
This was a very close game going back and forth in the 1st half and staying within 1 score threw the 3rd quarter all the way until the middle of the 4th when we finally pulled away.

Jason Campbell had a great game going 24-35 for 248 yards and 3 TDs. Joseph Olsen caught 4 passes for 47 yards and 2 TDs both in the 1st half allowing us to stay in the game. This was great for him as up until now he only had 1 TD all year.

Jamal Buckingham had a great game as well going for 203 yards and a pair of scores. This gives him over 1000 yards in the 1st half of the season along with 12 TDs. He is leading the league in both areas. Tony Bake built on his 8 TDs last year by recording 7 already this year. That said his hurries are way down. After 70 last season he only has 21 at this point in the year.

[kcarr]

Week 10, New York Giants
During the week
Mike Wahle signed a 1 year contract extension. While not a great player he is a solid starter for my O-Line and this extension will fill in atleast 1 more spot next year and delay having to find a replacement.

Also, during the bye week we had another draft update. As we have struggled trying to sign Sheldon Brown to a long term deal cornerback has become much more of a need giving me a tough decision between that and an interior lineman for my first pick, probably just outside the top 60.

This draft has a lot of talent at the top in the corner position with a couple players showing the potential to be real shut down corners. On the offensive line, however, there is a lot more depth to this class from what I have seen and I may be more able to acquire a better player later in the draft.

That said, along with the draft we will probably have enough money to make 1 big free agent pickup if sheldon isn't resigned. Nnamdi Asomugha and Logan Mankins are so far both unsigned and if either of them made it through they could fill one of those needs making the decision much easier.

Other than that I don't really have needs and will be more in the search for best players available looking to add depth and maybe a couple playmakers.

Preview
New York is a tough team and has a winning record in the division at 2-1 and is also fighting for a wildcard spot if they don't beat us out for the division. The division lead is another thing in the mix here as us winning would keep us alone in the number 1 spot whereas them winning would tie us up and give them the tiebreaker.

They have a very good offense centered around a great oline which is even better with the addition of rookie Langston Walker, a powerful interior blocker. They did lose amani toomer but steve smith has looked good in his place. Their defense is also very strong across the board giving them one of the most talented teams across the board.

Injuries
we have noone injured for the 1st time all season. They are just missing a backup linebacker.

Keys to the game
The renaldo moon vs plaxico burress matchup. Burress is Eli Manning's favorite target. Moon is good against big physical receivers and did very well against chris chambers last week. Sure chambers had 6 catches for 64 yards but it took him being thrown at 14 times to do it. If we can hold plax to that kind of performance it will be good for us.

Jamal Buckingham against a front 7. Jamal is the leagues top rusher currently on pace for a 2000 yard season and 24 TDs. It will be tough for him to keep this pace but anything close will be an amazing season for an undrafted player in his second year coming off of a very limited rookie season.

The Giants running back combo against our linebackers. Our aging backers at times seem to lack the toughness playing the run and that won't cut it against a tandem like Jacobs and Bradshaw. Jacobs is on pace for a 1000 yard season and they are both on pace for double didget TDs.

Washington wins 38-10
Another big win for a Washington team that currently looks unstoppable. Buckingham had another 200 yard game and added in 3 TDs.

There was a little bit of a scare late in the second quarter. With 50 seconds left we were up 17-3 when Eli found plax wide open and he slipped a tackle and ran for a 60 yard TD. Then a couple plays later Campbell threw a pick and with 35 seconds till halftime they had a shot to tie the score from our 37. They couldn't gain any yards though and in the second half we just turned our game on and buried them.

Buckingham had 179 yards in the second half including a 70 yard TD run. Duhon had his 1st 100 yard game since the season opener making 3 catches for 107 yards and a pair of TDs. He is in the running for offensive rookie of the year and is now getting close to double didget TDs.

After this convincing win we are well secured in our top spot in the division and have a 2-1 division record. The Cowboys once again remain an oddity having the best division record in the NFC East but being stuck in last place unable to win games outside the division.

[Mike3207]

It's amazing you can get such production from Buckingham. I was never able to get either him or Xavier Amon to develop.

[kcarr]

Week 11, Carolina Panthers
During the week
Mike Wahle strained his tricep and will miss 4 to 5 weeks. will start in his place which will not be a serious droppoff.

Dexter Jackson and Chris Samuel both signed 3 year contracts. Jackson is a solid return man and a quick slot receiver who has made some solid plays for us. Samuel is a 3rd string TE and backup fullback and his ability to fill in as a backup in both positions at a high level with good blocking skills, route running, and hands makes him a valuable backup.

Preview
Carolina is a struggling team but they have some players that may be tough to shut down. This is a game where we have to be careful and not get complacent as it is a game we should win.

Injuries
Mike Wahle is injured for us. No huge deal but would rather have him than not. They are missing guard Toniu Foniti as well as backup running back shaun alexander and backup DT Nic Hayden. Alexander may be important as Duece McAllister is old and may struggle to handle the workload. Hayden is not such a big deal as he would be borderline to be active anyway.

Keys to the game
We need to shut down Steve Smith. I will let Sheldon Brown start off with this matchup as he has slightly better speed. I will also try to roll coverage over in that direction as much as possible as Moon should be able to handle DJ Hackett.

Chris Samuel against Julius Peppers. Peppers is a dominant defensive end but is the only real strong defensive lineman they have. If we contain him they will struggle to pressure the QB.

Buckingham will be tired after 2 straight 200 yard games. He needs to keep it up though if he wants to rush for 2000 yards. He is currently 746 yards from that mark with 7 games to go and if he can take advantage of a weak pair of carolina defensive tackles.

Washington wins 38-7
Carolina jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead on their 2nd drive but after that their offense could not make 1st downs let alone put points on the board.

Buckingham ran for 157 yards and 3 TDs and bake had a pair of sacks. The 2 of them really have been great additions to this team and have really helped the turnaround here in Washington.

Renaldo moon pretty much took DJ Hacket out of the game. Marcus Washington shut down their TE and had an interception in the process. They had absolutly no running game so that pretty much left delhomme to smith as their only offense and double teaming them nearly every play with Brown and Landry kept Smith from really hurting us.