First Quarter:
4-J.Kasay kicks 68 yards from CAR 30 to WAS 2. 86-A.Brown
to WAS 19 for 17 yards (32-R.Smart).
Brown took the kickoff on one hop and headed to the right. The
wedge did not block very effectively as three blockers went after one Panther,
allowing several others to fly through and make the tackle.
4-J.Kasay kicks 67 yards from CAR 30 to WAS 3. 86-A.Brown
to WAS 21 for 18 yards (50-V.Ciurciu).
The kick was high in the air and Brown fielded it about 10
yards from the sideline. The wedge began to form briefly but it was quickly
busted and Brown was brought down.
(6:18) 19-T.Tupa punts 46 yards to CAR 24,
Center-71A-E.Albright. 89-S.Smith to CAR 35 for 11 yards (20-P.Prioleau).
This was a low, line drive kick that gave Steve Smith a good
return opportunity. He eluded the initial wave of tacklers and broke to the
left. Prioleau showed professional discipline by keeping containment on the
outside and he made the tackle.
(4:34) 8-T.Rouen punts 44 yards to WAS 7,
Center-56-J.Kyle, fair catch by 86-A.Brown.
High punt, no chance for return. Brown violated the rule of
thumb (anyone else notice that it no longer seems to be a cardinal rule, not
just for the Skins but for everyone?) about not fielding a punt inside the 10,
but it was close and the punt was high enough so that the chances of the
Redskins winding up well inside the five.
Second Quarter:
(15:00) 19-T.Tupa punts 25 yards to CAR 12,
Center-41-B.Kozlowski, ball declared dead.
This was a typical Tupa pooch; it went way up, traveled only
about 17 yards in the air, hit around the 20, took a Redskins roll down to the
12 where it was downed. It didn’t help his average much, but it was very
effective.
(12:53) 8-T.Rouen punts 46 yards to WAS 21,
Center-56-J.Kyle. 86-A.Brown to WAS 26 for 5 yards (88-K.Hankton).
Another high punt by Rouen, great coverage by Panthers,
Brown just fielded it and went straight ahead for whatever he could get. That
was five yards before three Panthers converged on him.
(11:22) 19-T.Tupa punts 43 yards to CAR 23,
Center-71A-E.Albright. 5-E.Hill to CAR 36 for 13 yards (58-C.Clemons).
This was another line drive punt by Tupa. It had good
distance but all Hill had to do for Carolina was field it and run untouched
while the coverage got downfield. Once they got there, they made a sure tackle,
but the punt only netted 30
4-J.Kasay kicks 69 yards from CAR 30 to WAS 1. 86-A.Brown
to WAS 16 for 15 yards (27-M.McCree).
McCree made a nice, open field tackle, tripping up Brown as he
flew by at the 16. There were other coverage men in the area, and the nice
tackle saved the Panthers about 5-10 yards.
(5:00) 19-T.Tupa punts 40 yards to CAR 25,
Center-71A-E.Albright. 5-E.Hill to CAR 26 for 1 yard (51-B.Barnes;
41-B.Kozlowski).
This punt did have good hang time and Matt Bowen got
downfield, collared Hill and threw him to the ground.
(:53) 4-J.Kasay 39 yard field goal is BLOCKED
(91-C.Killings), Center-56-J.Kyle, Holder-81-R.Proehl, RECOVERED by
WAS-21-S.Taylor at WAS 24. 21-S.Taylor to WAS 42 for 18 yards (56-J.Kyle).
It was very hard to see who blocked the field goal. I’m not
so sure it was Killings as the play by play said. The kick was so low that any
number of Skins could have blocked it. The laterals that ensued would have been
appropriate had less time been left in the half, ie none.
(:03) 10-J.Hall 43 yard field goal is GOOD,
Holder-19-T.Tupa.
Tupa got Albright’s slightly high snap down nicely and Hall’s
attempt from the right hash mark had plenty of distance and was well inside the
left upright.
Third Quarter:
5-J.Chandler kicks 70 yards from WAS 30 to end zone,
Touchback.
Smart fielded the kick a couple of yards deep in the end
zone while backpedaling and immediately downed it.
(13:29) 8-T.Rouen punts 38 yards to WAS 27,
Center-56-J.Kyle. 86-A.Brown to WAS 47 for 20 yards (47-T.Davis).
Actually, Jason Baker kicked this one (you see, even the NFL
has a hard time tracking who goes in and out of these games). He won’t make the
team if he kicks this short. Due to the short distance, some of the coverage
team overran Brown, giving his some room to operate. He picked up a nice block
from an unidentified Redskin, cut up field and stayed inbounds as tacklers drew
near and fought for an additional few yards.
(10:01) 5-J.Chandler 42 yard field goal is No Good, Wide
Left, Center-71A-E.Albright, Holder-2-A.Groom.
Good snap, good hold and Chandler’s attempt from the left
hash mark drifted a little to the left and was wide.
(8:32) 7-J.Baker punts 60 yards to WAS 15,
Center-41-A.Johnson. 14-R.Parson to WAS 18 for 3 yards (37-N.Goings).
A boomer by the properly-identified Baker this time. Parson
fielded it going backwards and ran laterally, finding no room before cutting up
field for a few yards.
5-J.Chandler kicks 70 yards from WAS 30 to CAR 0.
22-J.Robertson to CAR 23 for 23 yards (59-R.McCune).
This time they anticipated Chandler’s depth and Robertson
was lined up on the goal line to field the kick. He ran unchallenged until he
got to the 20 where the tacklers converged and he was brought down by a group
of Redskins.
(14:05) 8-T.Rouen punts 44 yards to WAS 26,
Center-41-A.Johnson, downed by CAR-22-J.Robertson.
Rouen back in, Parson made a fair catch of one punt at the
18. A penalty forced a rekick and this time Rouen’s punt was not a good one as
it bounced at around the 32 and rolled a little ways before being downed.
Fourth Quarter:
4-J.Kasay kicks 64 yards from CAR 35 to WAS 1.
12-S.Harris, Touchback.
Kasay was kicking from his 35 after a penalty on the point
after. The ball was fielded 8 yards deep in end zone, no chance for return
(7:43) 2-A.Groom punts 51 yards to CAR 10,
Center-41-B.Kozlowski. 5-E.Hill pushed ob at 50 for 40 yards (36-N.Broughton).
Groom outkicked his coverage, giving Hill a chance to build
up a head of steam after the gunners were knocked out of the play. Broughton
made a nice tackle, but he was the first Redskin to come near him during the
40-yard return.
4-J.Kasay kicks 69 yards from CAR 30 to WAS 1.
12-S.Harris to WAS 25 for 24 yards (40-M.Floyd).
Harris did a nice job of picking his way through a crowd,
getting a decent return on a good kick by Kasay.
(1:46) 8-T.Rouen punts 41 yards to WAS 34,
Center-41-A.Johnson. 14-R.Parson pushed ob at WAS 35 for 1 yard (27-M.McCree).
Parson fielded Rouen’s wobbly kick and faced a wall of white
jerseys. He headed right and backwards a bit before turning forward and out of
bounds for a yard.
Summary:
Like the rest of the game, some good, some bad. The punt
coverage was disappointing, giving up that 40-yard return late in the game and the
13-yarder earlier. You could say, however, that the punter had some culpability
in both of those as Tupa’s kick was a line drive and Groom outkicked his
coverage. Nothing special on returns except for the one 20-yarder by Brown in
the third quarter. No kickoff return had a chance to go anywhere, the wedge
needs some work. It’s difficult to see Chandler making the team unless Gibbs
decides to keep a kickoff specialist and that’s highly unlikely.
