Redskins Career

[kcarr]

Week 12, Philadelphia Eagles
During the week
Robert James strained his hamstring and will miss 4-5 weeks. He is a decent backup but no huge loss.

Preview
Philly is a solid team with a 7-3 record and in contention with the giants and packers for the 2 wildcard spots. We slipped by them with a win last time at the beginning of our win streak and hopefully we will be able to continue it against them now.

Injuries:
Besides James we are missing london fletcher-baker who we are getting pretty used to being without. Luckily Josh Dillon looks to be the MLB of the future for us. Mike Wahle will also miss this game.

They are missing LJ Smith which could really hurt them as Matt Schobel is nowhere near his level as a replacement. Emanuel Sims, a rookie center, is also out which wouldn't be a big deal except Jamal Jackson is on IR and his backup is a real weakpoint in their line. Lito Sheppard will also miss the game which is a huge hit. Jack Ikegnowa will start opposite Asante Samuel and will be challenged often. Desean Jackson is also on IR which will weaken their passing game taking away much of their deep game. Their 3rd string QB is also hurt.

Keys to the game
We have to take advantage of Jack Ikegnowa and Fakir Brown who will be their 2nd and 3rd corners. They should be no match for Joseph Olsen and Dexter Jackson.

We have to contain Brian Westbrook. He has had good games against us before and with Jackson out will be their main source of big plays.

We have to establish the run. Their Dline is very strong and Buckingham has been our major offensive key so it is a real strength against strength battle here.

Phillidelphia wins 27-20
On our second offensive series Jamal Buckingham broke his thumb and missed the rest of the game and our offense really fell apart. Campbell threw 3 TDs and joseph olson caught 7 passes for 74 yards but asante samuel help Tyrus Duhon without a catch.

Westbrook ran for a pair of scores and caught another and philly led the entire time although we kept it close.

This was a big opportunity for us to really take a strong lead in the division but with this loss this division is wide open.

[kcarr]

Week 13, Dallas Cowboys
During the week
Jamal Buckingham broke his thumb but we are optimistic that that he will be ready by sunday. Fletcher-Baker's injury has also gotten worse and he will miss another 2 or 3 weeks.

Preview
Dallas is last in the division but at 7-4 is still in the playoff hunt. Also, we have really struggled against them.

Injuries:
Fletcher-Baker, Wahle, and James will all miss this game. For Dallas Felix Jones is on IR but other than that they are healthy.

Keys to the game
They have big physical wide receivers and our CBs have to take them out of their game.

Buckingham needs to bounce back from his injury and put up a strong showing to help keep the ball away from Dallas's offense.

We need to find some big plays. Dexter Jackson and Darren Sproles were brought in in the offseason to give us explosiveness. So far they have combined for 1 TD of 20 or more yards in the first 11 games and need to put something together.

Washington wins 27-24
We finally got the monkey off our back and beat Dallas. They held buckingham to 62 yards on 21 carries but he did score a TD. Campbell went 16-30 for 243 yards and 3 TDs. Most of those yards went to Tyrus Duhon who has went for over 100 both games against dallas so far and had 6 catches for 153 yards and a TD.

Dallas relied on a solid passing game with TO, and wesley wells beating up on our corners but renaldo moon go the last laugh against TO making a pick to seal the game.

[kcarr]

Week 14, New Orleans Saints
During the week
Casay Rabach was injured and will miss the next 4-5 weeks. While he could be back for our 1st playoff game Wahle is questionable to be ready for this week so we needed to find a roster spot to sign a fill-in. Rabach was placed on IR and Ronnie Hasty was signed in his place. Hasty is a very strong blocker who could stick as an interior lineman but is far from elite.

It is time for another draft update. There is some decent talent at the top of this draft but we will not be in a position to chase that talent and will therefore rely on the senior bowl and the combine to find the guys worth scouting in pro days and and the individual workouts. We will be looking for steals since we can't rely on early picks to improve our team.

We are in position to lock up a playoff spot if we win and Dallas and Chicago lose. Its a long shot for us to lock it up this week but its better than we had at this point last year.

Preview
New Orleans is leading their division and is likely going to make the playoffs now that Gruden is out of Tampa. They have a great passing game but very little on the ground so we have to be ready for that.

Injuries:
Fletcher-Baker, Wahle, and James will all miss this game. Reggie Bush will miss the game for them which hurts even worse as Pierre Thomas and Leon Washington are both on IR. They signed Jamal Charles to fill in. Betrand Berry is also on IR leaving a big hole at ROLB playing opposite of rookie Kepa Tonga.

Keys to the game
Marques Colston vs. rookie corner Renaldo moon will really come into play in a huge way. If moon wins the Saints offense will really struggle. If colston can get his game going they could put up huge points.

Sedrick Ellis vs our interior line. Our line has had some injuries and if ellis can be a disruptive force it could tilt the game in their favor. However, if he can be pushed back off the ball Buckingham could to 200 yards.

Their mediocre secondary vs our rookie wide receivers. Duhon has already topped the numbers put up by our top wide out last year. Olson is on pace to match anything any of our receivers did last year. They need to slow those 2 down.

Washington wins 26-10
This game was actually very close, it was tied at 10 with 10 minutes left but then a TD throw to olson followed by a safety and a buckingham touchdown down the stretch put the game away.

Buckingham had 86 yards and a TD and campbell threw for 342 yards and completed 25 of 31 passes. New Orleans could not get us off the field. With this win we keep our chances at locking up a playoff spot this week alive and also put ourselves in position to lock it up pretty soon without any help.

[kcarr]

Week 15, Denver Broncos
During the week
Jamal Buckingham is still leading the league in rushing but is just 21 yards ahead of Marshawn Lynch of the 12-2 buffalo bills. He will need to finish strong to win this race.

Chris Samuels has announced that he will retire after this season putting even more pressure on us to win it all this year and really throwing our offseason needs into a mess.

We are now a step closer to the playoffs needing either a win by us or a dallas loss and a chicago loss for us to lock up a spot.

Preview
Denver just clenched their division this week but with 11 wins is in position to fight indy for a 1st round bye and even has a chance pass up buffalo for home field.

Injuries:
James is the only one out this game for us. Denver is missing Anthony aldridge and a pair of interior linemen.

Keys to the game
Champ Bailey and Dre Bly vs. Tyrus Duhon and Joseph Olson. The rookie wideouts are facing a great pair of corners. They will need to really step up.

Jason Campbell needs to be mistake free. Their defense can take advantage otherwise.

Our Dline needs to get pressure on cutler against a banged up OLine.

Washington wins 14-13
Jason Campbell was terrible going 14-30 for 152 yards and 3 ints but our defense was strong against everyone other than Brandon Marshall who caught 8 passes for 150 yards and a TD. Especially strong on our defense was Dre Moore who had a pair of sacks, both on the bronco's final drive sealing our win.

Buckingham ran for 91 yards and a pair of TDs.

This game was huge for us as it gives us a playoff spot. Now it is just a matter of locking up our bye week and home field advantage. Whoever wins our division will be almost garunteed to get both of those as the top 3 records in the NFC are in our division.

[kcarr]

Week 16, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
During the week
London Fletcher-Baker after just one game back will now miss the next 3 or 4 weeks. That is the rest of the regular season and atleast the 1st round of the playoffs but that wouldnt matter if we get a 1st round bye which we would secure here if we win and philadelphia loses.

Randy Thomas is now considering retirement as well. We really need to make a run this year as we are really looking like we will lose some talent

Preview
Tampa isn't exactly a top notch team and now that they don't have Gruden they are beatable. New Orleans just secured a playoff spot last week eliminating Tampa from contention

Injuries:
Fletcher-Baker and Dexter Jackson will miss this game. Tampa is missing Derrick Brooks and Cornilius Griffin on defense which should help us open up running lanes. They are also missing Brian Griese making Luke McGown their starting QB.

Keys to the game
Pressure the QB. McGown is a weak link at the QB spot and if we can force some turnovers we should win.

Get Cooley and Moose involved over the middle. Tampa promoted from within which should leave them likely still running a Tampa 2 defense meaning we need to attack the middle of the field.

Moore and Smiley vs their OLine. The inside of their line is tough anchored by center Jeff Faine and Guard Davin Joseph. Moore and smiley need to hold strong and shut down the run.

Tampa wins 17-7
Tampa jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead due to 1 of Campbell's 3 ints. They were able to add to that with an early 3rd quarter score which limited our ability to stick to the run. Buckingham was held to 50 yard and did not score. We had a late chance when Campbell hit Mushin Mohammed for a 35 yard score but then we came up short on a 4th and 1 stopping any hope we had to win.

[kcarr]

Week 17, New York Giants
During the week
Nothing to report

Preview
This is a huge game for both teams. If New York wins they are in the playoffs. If we win we will have the number 1 seed in the NFC.

Injuries:
Fletcher-Baker and Dexter Jackson will miss this game. New York will be without a couple key players in Plaxico Burress and Brandon Jacobs.

Keys to the game
Our aging and somewhat average Oline against a great pass rushing Dline. We need to keep Campbell upright or we will struggle.

Campbell needs to remain mistake free. Aaron Ross and Ken Lucas make up a great CB tandem and we need to keep them from deciding this game.

Buckingham needs to get something going. We may try to rest him a little getting ready for a playoff push but he needs to run for us to win and secure a bye week.

Washington wins 24-20
By the time New York had ran 2 offensive plays Manning had thrown a pick and Steve Smith had givin us the ball on a fumble. Less than 5 minutes in Buckingham had 2 TDs but New york fought their way back and gave us a good game. In the end though we were able to pull it out and seal up the top seed in the NFC

[kcarr]

Playoffs, Divisional Round, New Orleans Saints
During the week
Washington's Pro Bowl selections were:
Jamal Buckingham: Jamal was selected as a backup running back which upset me somewhat as he was the NFL's top rusher and led the league in rushing TDs as well. He had more rushing yards than the 2 other NFC backs had combined. They both had over 1000 yards receiving though. Buckingham ended the season with 390 carries for 1769 yards and 24 TDs and added in 13 catches for 114 yards.

Mike Durfee: Mike made it as a starter. This was obviously not a selection made based on his numbers, 6 carries for 2 yards and 8 catches for 70 yards, but rather based on his tremendous lead blocking opening up holes for buckingham.

Tony Bake: Tony was the top DE selected. He had 47 tackles including 23 for loss and 14 sacks with 52 hurries and 3 forced fumbles.

Dre Moore: Dre will also be a starter with 31 tackles including 12 for loss and 7 sacks with 21 hurries and a fumble recovery. We really need to find a way to keep this very productive tackle around.

Sheldon Brown: He will be a starter as well. He set career highs for tackles with 80 and interceptions with 5 and 2 touchdowns. An interesting side note, he hit that same inteception career high in the 2009 season in real life as well. He also had 15 passes defended and forced and recovered 2 fumbles. He was thrown at 101 times and allowed just 53 completions for a 52% completion allowed percentage.

Laron Landry: Laron was very solid in the back end of our defense and was named to the pro bowl as a starter. He had 49 tackles including 2 for loss and in the 25 times he was thrown at he allowed just 7 catches for 97 yards and no TDs and had 10 passes defended. Meanwhile he intercepted 4 passes for 1 TD and forced and recoverd a fumble.

Durant Brooks: Durant punted 44 times for 1943 yards which is 44.1 per and netted 35.9 per punt. He also pinned the opponent inside the 20 7 times and had just 4 touchbacks.

Yearly Awards:
Jamal Buckingham won NFC running back of the year but was edged out for the NFL RBOY award by Jamal Lewis who under Gary Hammermill had 31 total TDs and over 1400 yards recieving. Jamal was also in the running for NFC and NFL offensive player of the year and NFC MVP.

Tony Bake won NFC and NFL dlineman of the year.

Sheldon Brown won NFC and NFL DB of the year.

Coach Carr won NFC and NFL coach of the year.

Posting career highs in yards with 3672 and TDs with 24 while only throwing 14 ints got Jason Campbell some mention for NFC QB of the year.

Tyrus Duhon was in the running for Offensive rookie of the year with 1002 yards and 9 TDs but it ended up going to Luke Rambis and the NFC award went to Maceo Sweetney.

Renald Moon had a decent showing for defensive rookie of the year but Mario Markland ended up coming away with it.

Also in the running behind bake for DL of the year was Tommy Omens who had 10 sacks with 8 in the last 6 games.

Ronnie Hasty was signed to a 6 year 9 million dollar contract. With the guys we have looking at retirement we needed some stability here.

Preview
We played these guys earlier in the year and it was a close game until a safety turned the tide. This time they have Reggie Bush back so should be more explosive.

Injuries:
Fletcher-Baker will miss this game. New Orleans is healthy.

Keys to the game
New Orleans has a very weak secondary. This is a game where Campbell really needs to step up and take advantage of them.

Reggie Bush is a versatile threat. We need to find a way to slow him down.

Their Dline is good at pressuring the QB. We need to keep Campbell from getting happy feet and causing mistakes. It seems half of the sacks on him he would be fine if he just stood back and threw the ball to often wide open receivers but instead he decides to take off and allows a pass rusher to come free.

Washington wins 52-32
New Orleans jumped out to a quick 17-0 lead off of a pick 6 by rookie LB Kepa Tonga and a deep throw to reggie bush. After that it was all Washington as we scored 38 unanswered.

Jamal Buckingham came back with a vengence running for 147 yards and 4 TDs. Campbell threw for 359 yards and 3 TDs but also 2 interceptions.

We are now just one win away from the superbowl.

[kcarr]

Playoffs, Conference Championship, Philadelphia Eagles
During the week
Nothing to report

Preview
We have played philly twice already this season and split the season series. We had the top 2 records in the NFC and this looks like it will be a great game to decide the superbowl participant from the NFC.

Injuries:
The only injuries worth mentioning are the IR players which have not changed. Backup DT Nick May who has yet to be active all year is out and they are missing a backup TE.

Keys to the game
We have to contain brian westbrook. He has had good games against us pretty much every time we have faced them so we need to slow him down.

Jamal needs to avoid any lag after a huge game last week. Philly has a strong defensive line so Buckingham needs to fight hard to get his yards.

Duhon vs. Samuel. Asante held him without a catch last time. Tyrus needs to have a big game here.

Washington wins 31-20
Buckingham was held to 36 yards but scored 3 times. Duhon had Samuel's number all game for 7 catches and 97 yards and a TD. We were in control from the beginning as one of Philly's TDs came at the end with the game already over.