Bos-Wash Corridor

Finding Ways To Lose

Good teams find ways to win and bad teams find ways to lose. I suppose I should have a cup-fill approach and talk about how the last two weeks have seen us go onto the turf of two playoff-caliber division rivals, in Philly & Dallas, lead into the second half and fight them down to the wire. I could talk about how we're almost there and just need to get the offense and defense functioning in cohesion. The D was great in Dallas, the offense got it done yesterday. But I've watched football enough to know that when you're saying these things in November, it means you've got a bad team on your hands. Not a horrible one, not a Matt Millen-type franchise. But one that will make just enough plays to lose a ball game. We did it again yesterday in a 27-24 loss. Jason Campbell didn't have a bad game, except for two interceptions, exactly the kind of mistakes that kill
you. The running game was inept again. The win over Denver seems light-years away right now. And New Orleans is next. Mercy please.

Philadelphia stayed on the heels of Dallas in the NFC East, and moved a game ahead in the Giants in the fight for wild-card position. The Eagles and Packers would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Atlanta stayed in the group in hot pursuit by rallying to beat Tampa Bay 20-17. But it was a win that came at great price, as Matt Ryan got hurt. Over in the AFC, Baltimore got a badly needed win to stay a factor in a packed AFC wild-card race, when they survived Pittsburgh in overtime 20-17. Denver leads up the wild-card pack at 7-4, with several teams in pursuit for the second berth. Amazingly, one of them is Tennessee. After an 0-6 start, the Titans have won five straight and are only a game back. Yesterday's win saw Vince Young and Matt Leinhardt rematch from their epic 2005 bowl game showdown when Texas
beat USC for the national title. Sunday's game ended the same way. Young drove his team the length of the field for a touchdown in the closing moments. Young's 387 passing yards and complete transformation are as amazing as that of his team.

Redskins-Eagles Heritage Part II

We continue our look at the heritage of the Redskins-Eagles rivalry by looking back at some key wins the 'Skins have had over our rivals to the north.

Just as the bad memories started with 1990, so too do the good. In the playoffs following that year, we went to the old Vet for a first-round game, a return trip after the Body Bag game. Washington was an underdog, but came out and completely dismantled Philadelphia in a 20-6 win. It was sweet for Coach Gibbs, who didn't get on particularly well with Buddy Ryan. The loss was the end for Ryan, as the organization tired of his first-round playoff exits. There was no handshake at game's end, just Gibbs firing a quick wave goodbye to Ryan across the field. It turned out to be an official one.

I'm also going to go to a couple under-the-radar games, both of which have significance for Sunday's game. In 1988 and again last year, we took on the Eagles late in the year, all but eliminated from the playoffs. In each case, we technically had a chance, but realistically the chase was over. Philadelphia was gunning for a playoff berth in both cases, fighting to overtake the Cowboys and/or Giants. That's not an ideal situation for me, because Philadelphia is the one division rival I somewhat respect, and I'd rather see them win than either the heathens of Big D, or Giant fans who double as Yankee rooters in the summertime. But in each case, I just said to myself that sometimes you have to do the right thing and just hope it all works out.

In both cases, the Redskins pulled the upset. A last-second field goal from Chip Lohmiller won the 1988 road game. A tackle at the goal line preserved a win last year at FedEx. Both games were in December. And in both cases the Eagles' saw their oppositon collapse (Giants in 1988, Cowboys last year) and still got into the playoffs. Do the right thing and it all still works out. There's a life lesson in there somewhere. Sunday's game fits that same vein.

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Dallas got back on track yesterday with an easy win over Oakland. Tony Romo used Miles Austin on the outside and Jason Witten underneath on the way to a big day in the 24-7 win. And the Giants continued their collapse. The New York running game was impotent in the Rockies and Denver coasted to a surprisingly easy 26-6 win in the prime-time show. Tom Coughlin's team loses ground not only on Dallas in the division, but on Green Bay in the wild-card race. The Packers romped past the Lions 34-12, behind a great day from Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 348 yards. You know, I'm a Favre supporter in the whole Brett-GB-Rodgers love triangle, and I still think the vet is the better quarterback. But unlike a lot of QB controversies, this one is at least worth arguing about, as both players have a great case to make for MVP.

Redskins-Eagles Heritage Part I

Our Redskins heritage series continues this week as we get set for another big road game with a division rival. Sunday, we’re in Philadelphia. Like last week, we’ll split the historical reflection into two parts, the good and the bad. And like last week, we’ll get the bad out of the way first.

The glory years of the ‘Skins-Eagles rivalry were the late 1980s and early 1990s. With Coach Gibbs at the helm in D.C., and Buddy Ryan in Philadelphia, both teams were contenders at the same time. We can ungraciously point out to our Eagle fan friends, that the key difference between the two was that Washington found a way to win big games, while the Birds generally didn’t. But there were a few exceptions in our head-to-head battles.

Bad news has to start with a Monday Night Game in 1990. It’s infamously known in Redskins history as “The Body Bag Game.” Philadelphia’s ferocious defensive front, keyed by Reggie White and Seth Joyner, knocked both Mark Rypien and Stan Humphries out of the game. The latter on such a hard hit, that White instantly rose to his feet and began summoning the medical staff. A classy act from a classy player, who just couldn’t be blocked. We ended up with Brian Mitchell behind center by the time the bad night was over. It cost us a home game in the playoffs, in the era where the top wild-card played the first round at home.

One year earlier in RFK was a more devastating defeat and considerably more costly. We held a 37-35 lead and were running out the clock. Then Gerald Riggs ended an otherwise magnificent day by fumbling and the ball was run back for a touchdown. It was only Week 2, but when the season was over that game was the reason Philly was in the playoffs and we narrowly missed.

Those two games head the list. There was another tough loss in 1992. We took a tough 17-13 loss and were unable to complete a potential game-winning drive at the end. It was in the old Vet in the 15th game of the season and nearly cost us a playoff berth. As it was, we were able to back in a week later when the Packers lost to the Vikings, and both the Redskins and Eagles made it in. Had the final week turned out differently, this game would rank higher on the list.

Looking ahead to today’s games, it’s a big day for the NFC. The Packers, Cowboys and Giants are all in action and all need to keep winning.

*Green Bay visits Detroit (12:30, Fox). No question who the better team is, but this is a real danger spot for the Packers. Detroit’s feeling good about themselves after beating Cleveland last week, and after winning two straight must-win games against Dallas and San Francisco at home, GB might be tempted to a letdown. The fact this team suffers from penalties, sacks and general lack of focus, makes them a viable candidate to take their foot off the gas on a short week road game against a team everyone figures they should blow out. The first quarter will tell the story. If Green Bay’s ready, it’ll show quickly and they win easily. If not, we’re talking upset. And that’s what I’m calling. Detroit, 26-23.

*Dallas hosts Oakland (4:15, CBS) The Raiders are another lowly team feeling their oats, in this case after a truly big win, over Cincinnati. They’ve also beaten Philadelphia, so the inconsistent Cowboys have to be wary. But those upsets took place out west, not traveling on three days’ rest. And in this case, Dallas’ inconsistency means they are due for a good game. Even if they’re not at their best, they’ll have enough to win without a huge challenge.

*New York goes to Denver (8:20, NFL) in the biggest matchup of the day, perhaps of the entire week. It’s must win for both teams, who are 6-4. Denver trails San Diego by a game, and the Chargers have easy matchups the next two weeks (Kansas City & Cleveland). The Broncos do not fare well in possible wild-card tiebreakers (losses to Pittsburgh & Baltimore). They need to keep pace. Tom Coughlin’s team got a badly needed win against Atlanta, but now has a long, tough trip west on short rest. Call it Denver, in a field-goal game that will be worthy of the stakes.

Everyone have a happy Thanksgiving! See you back here tomorrow to conclude our Redskins-Eagles heritage look and to recap the Thanksgiving Triumvirate.

Possible Red Sox Moves

A brief post today about baseball & the Red Sox and then we'll be back tomorrow to look at the Redskins-Eagles and the Thanksgiving Day NFL card.

Rumors are flying that the Red Sox are pushing strongly to acquire Roy Halladay. I suppose it's possible that the price might be right for Halladay, as Toronto only has him under contract one more year and the willingness of teams to part with prospects for him will rapidly decrease in the coming months. But I am very skittish about this. Boston has done a good job developing pitchers, as Lester, Papelbon, Bucholz, Delcarmen and Bard attest. There's no reason to pay a steep price for a pitcher about to enter the declining phase of his career. This is very un-Theo like, and makes me concerned that we are feeling the need to make a big-name deal just to get in the headlines in the aftermath of the Yankees winning the World Series. That's no way to run an organization--in fact, it's the way to ruin one, as Baltimore fans, who watched Peter Angelos futilely try to keep pace with the Steinbrenners, can attest.

The other rumor is that the front office is going slow in the negotiations with Jason Bay, in order to position themselves with Matt Holliday, with the preference being the latter. Again, we have no way of knowing what's really true, but I prefer Bay. He's a known commodity, he can handle the pressure of playing in Beantown, whereas Holliday did not play well in his brief American League stint in Oakland. That's a big risk for what would be a marginal gain, even if it all worked out.

Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols brought home the MVP awards this week. Good choices on both counts. I already released my own choices in both the AL & NL, so I won't dwell on it too much. Yes, I'd have voted for Jeter in the American League, but Mauer was still a worthy winner and I'm personally happy it didn't go to a Yankee.

But speaking of Yankees and the MVP vote, I was utterly appalled that Mark Texieria finished second, one spot ahead of Jeter, in the final standings. What exactly are the writers who vote on this thinking? Texieria was terrible before A-Rod came back to protect him in the lineup. His stats were good, but not MVP material, particularly given that he was a big beneficiary of the bandbox that is the new Yankee Stadium. Yes, Jeter hits in the same place, but the structure of the park favors a lefty power hitter (Texieria is a switch-hitter but naturally takes most of his at-bats from the left) more than a righthanded hitter who shoots the gaps. Both players are good defensively, but Jeter's position is more valuable in that regard. There's no argument for Texieria except his RBI total. And if that's what still driving the vote, it shows the sabermetrics revolution hasn't wiped out all of the traditional ways of thinking about players. In this case, one of the worst ones.

I'll be back early tomorrow morning to talk a little more football.

Eagles & Giants Keep Pace

Philadelphia and New York each stayed on the heels of Dallas in the division race, winning big games against fellow playoff contenders. Philly's win in Chicago exposed that the Bears were a contender in record only. The Eagles turned it over three times, let an early 10-0 lead slip away and still won the game. The Birds' young skill players continue to impress, as DeSean Jackson was excellent at wideout and LeSean McCoy ran well. Along with Jeremy Maclin and Brent Celek at tight end, this group could be Donovan McNabb's Fountain of Youth. In the Big Apple, Eli Manning played one of his best games of the season and saved the Giants' season after the defense let a 14-point slip away in the fourth quarter. New York won in overtime over Atlanta 34-31. The Falcons have really fallen hard, and are now 5-5, trailing three teams in the race for two wild-card spots.

One of those teams Atlanta trails is Green Bay, who has pulled back from the brink. The Packers were on the verge of extinction two weeks ago after losing to Tampa Bay, but they've taken advantage of some home cooking and beaten Dallas & San Francisco back-to-back in Lambeau. Sunday was one of their most complete performances of the year. They got the usual big game from Aaron Rodgers and combined it with strong running from Ryan Grant. And in the biggest step of all, they didn't give up a lot of sacks or penalties. The defense let San Francisco back in the game and made the 30-24 final look close, but Green Bay was in control most of the way on this one. The loss dropped the 49ers three games back in the NFC West and all but sounded the death knell for what had been a promising season. Arizona has taken firm control of the division after beating St. Louis. But props to Rams' running back Stephen Jackson, who keeps turning in big games for a
lousy team.

Running Game Reverts To Form

I guess you can't expect to win in Dallas when you go in without Clinton Portis, Chris Cooley and Albert Haynesworth. That's an awful lot of talent to lose and compete with anybody in the NFL. But was the offense really so short-handed that mustering nine points was beyond our grasp? Jason Campbell had a decent game, but the running game, so promising last week against Denver, reverted to form this week.

As readers know, I don't think Jason Campbell is our biggest problem, and I still think he could quarterback a playoff team with the right supporting cast. If nothing else, no one should be wishing we'd traded up to get Mark Sanchez in last year's draft. The Jets' rookie quarterback continued his complete implosion, throwing four interceptions in Foxboro. The Patriots were an easy winner in a 31-14 final that wasn't even as close as the lopsided score
makes it sound. As New England put a stranglehold on the AFC East, San Diego was moving into first place in the AFC West. Norv Turner's suddenly looking a lot smarter than he did in Washington. Funny what not having Daniel Snyder around will do for you. The Charger defense completely dismantled Denver in a 32-3 rout in Invesco Field. The 'Skins are the difference in the AFC West right now. Both San Diego and Denver lost to Pittsburgh & Baltimore. They split with each other. But Washington's win over Denver is why the Bolts are a game up. Hard to believe San Diego is not only in first place, after being 3 1/2 games out, but in position for a first-round bye, as the AFC is an open race for the #2 seed behind Indianpolis.

Events in the AFC North kept the top of the conference in flux. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati played the doormats of the West and blew games on the road. The Bengals let a 14-0 lead slip away in a loss to the Raiders. The Steelers
blew a 10-point lead and lost in Kansas City. The Bengals are 7-3 and tied with San Diego and New England in the race for the two-spot. Pittsburgh is now 6-4 and still has two games with Baltimore left, as they fight for their playoff lives.

If I Had A Dime In Vegas...

What if I were fortunate to be in line at the sportsbooks on the Strip come Sunday? And has a nice bankroll in my pocket to play with? The NFL doesn't have as many attractive betting options as college does, but there's a couple games I'd like.

*Over 44.5 on the Colts-Ravens. Indy's defense will be tired after the New England game, and I look for Joe Flacco to rebound at home after a couple rough games for the Baltimore offense. And the Raven D is not what it used to be without Rex Ryan, so Peyton keeps putting up the points and the two teams break 50.

*I lean San Francisco (+6.5) over Green Bay. A team like the Packers that's heavily penalized and poorly disciplined is a shaky bet to lay almost a touchdown a week after an emotional win. And San Fran, for their faults on offense, does play hard. Can see this one coming down to a field goal either way.

Redskins-Cowboys Heritage Part II

In yesterday’s post, we looked at the less savory parts of the Redskins-Cowboys historical rivalry. Today we get to pick three games that are more fun to remember.

If the bad begins with 1979, the good starts with 1982. It was the NFC Championship Game. It was the year a players’ strike wiped out seven games, so Washington was the top seed with a record of 8-1. But that loss was to Dallas, who stood at 7-2. The arrogant Cowboys were sure they’d set this pretender of a team in their place and get on to the Super Bowl. But the Redskins pounded John Riggins behind the Hogs. Dexter Manley leveled Danny White with a hit that knocked him out of the game. Daryl Grant finished the job by tipping a pass from backup quarterback Gary Hogeboom, intercepting it and the big defensive lineman waltzed into the end zone with a monster spike captured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the words “Wham! Bam! It’s the Redskins!” Indeed it was, 31-17. We won our first Super Bowl and started a decade of greatness. For Dallas, it was third straight championship game loss and they wouldn’t make it this far for ten years. Life is good .

Beating your archrival in a conference championship game that ushers in a new period of history for both teams can’t be topped. But cameo roles go to two more games. The first is in 1992. Dallas was rolling and in first place. Washington was fighting for its playoff loss. We trailed late in the game 17-13. We forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter, won 20-17. It prevented the Cowboys from clinching the division, though they would recover and win the Super Bowl. But it gave Washington a win that got us over the top and into the playoffs. Unbeknownst to us at the time, it was a year that ended Joe Gibbs’ first term and the coach called the entire experience of the stadium rocking one of the great memories of his career.

Gibbs’ second term came to an end in 2007 with another playoff berth. And again, we beat Dallas to clinch it. Cowboy fans can protest that Tony Romo came out of the game in the second half, because they had the #1 seed clinched. But the ‘Skins were dominating them by that point already, and Dallas had started to play poorly in December as it was. They would lose their first playoff game at home. Today, Washington played for the fallen Sean Taylor, for their coach, whom we all suspected would probably hang it up and for all of Redskin Nation. An early Portis touchdown set the tone for a 27-6 win.

I’ve kept the examples of the last two days mostly modern, because I can remember them firsthand. I don’t mean to give short shrift to another conference championship game, back in 1972 when we beat the ‘Boys 26-3 in RFK to get to the Super Bowl against the undefeated Dolphins. And on the bad side, I don’t mean to ignore the pain of 1974 when Clint Longley came off the bench to throw two long TD passes on Thanksgiving Day and beat us 24-23, a game George Allen called the worst loss of his career. And there’s countless other examples that could be picked. It’s part of a great rivalry. Let’s add our own chapter to it, by beating the first-place Cowboys on our first visit to the new stadium and keeping longshot playoff hopes alive for ourselves.

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CBS has the doubleheader this week and the late games are highlighted by San Diego-Denver at Invesco Field. The Broncos are still without Kyle Orton and even with him, I think they are outmatched. The Chargers look to be on another late push right now. I’d love to see the Broncos humble the pompous A.J. Smith and the San Diego organization, but I don’t see it happening here. Call it Chargers, 37-17.

The Patriots-Jets game in this time slot looked a little spicier before New York faded. An upset win in Foxboro would put some life back in the AFC East race, but Mark Sanchez has been too interception-prone and Brady is too ruthlessly efficient to be beaten here. New England in a 40-14 cakewalk. I also look for Cincinnati to have some trouble with Oakland, as the Bengals are on a post-Steeler letdown, but to ultimately survive.

One team that couldn’t survive Oakland is Philadelphia and the big reason they are still chasing Dallas in the division and in the wild-card jamup we discussed yesterday. Their Sunday Night game with the Bears is a huge one as Chicago is 4-5. But the Bears seem to be coming apart at the seams and a new coach is probably on the way. Look for the Eagles to get the usual allotment of Cutler turnovers, play mistake-free themselves and win around 27-17, and the Bears fans to leave en masse by the five-minute mark.

The Monday Night Game isn’t a juicy one, with the Titans going to their old hometown to play Houston. Jeff Fischer’s team is surging and will upend the Texans, who are in the wild-card race, but the kind of team that always breaks the heart of its fans eventually. It happens here. This game is the cap of Jilted City Week. Baltimore is hosting the Colts and Houston is hosting the Titans.

Redskins-Cowboys Heritage Part I

The Redskins make their first trip to the Palace in Dallas come Sunday. The Cowboys joined the Yankees in determining that simply a new state-of-the-art facility wasn’t enough for them and opted to pour massive monies into making sure the rest of the league knew they had the biggest one in the room. A testament to their organizational insecurity and that both franchises stand as the great representatives of the Unwashed Heathen in the world of sports.

But Unwashed or not, they’ve each had their share of success, and as part of The Bos-Wash Corridor’s continuing NFL series, we’ll break this week’s historical retro into two parts. Today we’ll look back at the great Redskin-Cowboy games that didn’t go our way and use it as a lead-in to a brief look at the rest of Sunday’s early games. Tomorrow will be the happier side of history, plus the few late games and the Sunday/Monday Night games.

Any discussion of suffering begins with 1979. I alluded to it on Monday when the Patriots-Colts game ended by the same 35-34 final. When we woke up that Sunday morning, here were the stakes: Win, and the Redskins would clinch the East and the #1 seed in the playoffs. It was a very tight year in the NFC and only five teams made the postseason, so a berth wasn’t assured yet, but that seemed only a matter of time. The Bears had to beat the Cardinals by around thirty points, otherwise we’d win the points differential tiebreaker. Chicago started the day by winning 42-6. It would be all or nothing in Big D.

Washington had leads of 17-0 and 34-21, but Roger Staubach led a rally and took a 35-34 lead. The Redskins came running back and reached the Dallas 38-yard line as the final seconds ticked off. Replays showed Joe Theismann calling a timeout with a second left, but the officials ruled time had expired. Mark Moseley, a Pro Bowl kicker, who would win the MVP three years later, would not get a chance for a 55-yard gamewinner. Everything was lost.

The story gets still worse. Washington had lost the point differential by the narrowest of margins. But head coach Jack Pardee had shown good sportsmanship in an earlier win at Green Bay and taken a knee inside the 5-yard line. Go in for the touchdown and they’re in the playoffs. At this time, points ranked much higher than it does today on the tiebreaking rung. Pardee argued it would make more sense to look at conference record or common opponents, both areas where Washington had the edge. By the standards of today, the Redskins would have still earned a wild-card berth. Instead all we got were broken hearts for Christmas.

Nothing can really top that game, but we’ll add a couple more for good measure that took place in the Jimmy Johnson era. In 1989, he was a flamboyant new coach fresh out of the University of Miami, and was getting humbled by the rest of the NFL. He was 0-8 as he tried to rebuild a tattered franchise. He got his first win on a Sunday Night game in RFK Stadium, where the Redskins played a horrible game and lost 13-3. It was Dallas’ only win of the season. It kept us out of the playoffs.

In 1991, Washington was undefeated and sitting on 11-0. Johnson had the Cowboys turned around by this point and was fighting for a wild-card berth in a tough NFC race. In his autobiography, the coach recalled deciding that he couldn’t play his normal game plan. So he shot the works. Constant blitzing, unexpected onside kicks, and a Hail Mary touchdown pass. John Madden called it the best coaching job he’d ever seen. Dallas ended the win streak 24-21. But they didn’t stop the happy ending. This Redskin team won the Super Bowl.

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The early window on Sunday has some interesting games as the NFC wild-card race is very clogged up. Four teams are 5-4 and three more are 4-5. The latter includes Carolina, whose 28-19 win over Atlanta, now 5-4, contributed to the clog. There will be two games where contenders go head-to-head. San Francisco visits Green Bay. The 49ers have had 10 days to prepare, but have to find an offense. But the Packers have been very inconsistent and are coming off a big win against Dallas. I think Green Bay is ripe to be picked here and struggles. But SF just doesn’t have the offensive firepower to do the picking. Pack survives it 24-14. And the Falcons visit New York to face the desperate Giants. Truth is, both should be desperate. Both had playoff & division title expectations and Super Bowl hopes. And the loser will be 5-5. I really have no feel at all on either team, but I think it’s in Atlanta’s hands. I think they have the higher ceiling and if they come out ready, the Giants won’t be able to keep up.

Both of the unbeaten teams go at 1ET. New Orleans played its sloppy game last week against the Rams and shouldn’t have trouble with Tampa. But Indy’s in trouble, going to face Baltimore and the hungry Ravens. It will also be a raucous crowd, as my new hometown hasn’t forgiven the Colts for leaving them and would like nothing more than to spoil the undefeated season. I think they will do it and win 34-31. Flacco outguns Manning and the Indy defense won’t be ready to play.

Belichick, Papi & The B's

Bill Belichick is the latest Boston sports figure to be despised by the local media for his reticence in dealing with them. Ted Williams held this honor most notably in a long career of battling with sportswriters. Belichick's record has kept him above the fray, but after Sunday Night's ill-fated fourth down call, the local scribes like Steve Borges at the Herald or Dan Shaughnessy at the Globe have taken the chance to pile on. A more substantive critique came from Tedy Bruschi, who said the coach should have believed in his defense.

In the media's glee to pile on, this is the subject that's really being overlooked in all this. As I indicated yesterday (see post below) I think Belichick's decision was a mistake and felt so prior to the play being run, but nor did I think it flew in the face of common sense. With a full two minutes to go, that's enough
time for Peyton Manning to drive the field. What's most revealing is that the coach clearly does not believe in his defense. It's all well and good to opine about how he should, but the mere fact he doesn't raises serious questions about whether this team will be good enough to navigate the AFC playoffs, especially now that getting a first-round bye is going to be a long tough fight the rest of the way.

I passed on watching Monday Night Football last night, and it doesn't look like I missed much. Brady Quinn was awful for Cleveland and the Ravens shut out the Browns 16-0. If it's any consolation to Quinn, head coach Eric Mangini also made Brett Favre look inept when they were both with the Jets last season. I watched the Bruins play the Islanders on the DirecTV hockey package and watched the B's offense do a fair imitation of what the Red Sox attack did against quality starting pitching--with the exception being that the B's are consistently
punchless against everyone, not just the league's upper crust. David Ortiz did the ceremonial puck drop and got a standing ovation. Now I want to cheer Papi as much as the next guy, but if we give this kind of standing O to someone who was on the steroid list, how is that different from Yankee fans cheering on A-Rod? I know Ortiz may be innocent, but the evidence against A-Rod is no stronger. Let's be call them consistently, even with emotion-driven players like the ones above.