You can reach Rich Tandler by email at WarpathInsiders@comcast.net
It’s a good thing the Redskins play in the NFL in 2006.
If they were playing in, say, the NFL of the 1980’s or in
the SEC of today, they would have no shot at all of beating the Carolina Panthers.
In the old NFL, the good teams came to play week in and week out. It’s the same
in the power conferences in the NCAA. There is consistency from week to week in
the quality of play.
This is not the case in the NFL of ’06 and the Panthers are
the poster children for hot and cold play. They lost their first two games,
against New Orleans and Minnesota. They then tore off four in a row, including
an impressive win at Baltimore. After beating the Ravens they promptly went
into Cincinnati and lost when Jake Delhomme, usually as steady as they come,
threw a late-game interception deep in Bengals territory that killed a shot at
tying the game. Then they had a 14-0 lead against Dallas. Had Carolina been
able to hold that lead we might not be having to endure this insufferable
phenomenon of Romomania (I understand that he has been declared a finalist for
this year’s Hall of Fame induction and they already are casting his visage in
bronze). But Tony Romo and the Cowboys put up a 35-14 run and the Panthers were
4-4.
With their season on the brink of collapsing, they got it
together and beat Tampa Bay and St. Louis. A couple of numbers from the Rams
game stick out. One is the seven sacks that Carolina posted. The Redskins have
been challenged when it comes to pass protection. Although they haven’t given
up a ton of sacks they frequently have had Mark Brunell scrambling towards the
sideline and, last week, had Jason Campbell getting rid of the ball quicker
than he wanted to. The thought of Julius Peppers zeroing in on an area between
the “1” and the “7” on Campbell’s jersey is a frightening one.
The other frightening number from Carolina’s last game is
22.5. That is how many yards Steve Smith averaged on his four catches last
week. Included in his day’s work against the Rams was a 62-yard touchdown
reception. The last three weeks the Washington secondary has been torched deep
by Terrell Owens (although he dropped Romo’s pass), Donte Stallworth, and Joey Galloway. None of those three is in Smith’s class as a receiver. The Landover
Volunteer Fire Department had better be on standby as it’s likely that the
Redskins secondary is going to get torched.
Or, maybe not. It’s entirely possible that the Panthers will
show up flat. They might let the Redskins hang around all game long and, at the
end, look up at the scoreboard and see that they’ve lost. That would be
entirely in keeping with the nature of the team this year.
Of course, it would be in keeping with the nature of the ’06
Redskins for them to go up against and uninspired opponent and match the other
team’s low level of intensity. While most of the rest of the league has been up
and down, Washington has remained mostly down. They have earned their 3-7 record.
Still, the Panthers’ inconsistency gives the Redskins a
chance. Campbell will be harassed and harried all day long. Sometimes he will
be sacked and the pressure might cause him to turn the ball over a time or two.
He’ll also have an opportunity to show off his mobility and make some throws on
the move and perhaps scramble for a couple of first downs.
The Redskins will make a game of it, perhaps well into the
third quarter. Ultimately, though, they will collapse under the weight of their
own mistakes. They’ll hold Steve Smith down for a while but sooner or later
he’ll shake loose and make the play that clinches it.
Panthers 24, Redskins 14
Rich Tandler is the
author of The Redskins From A to Z, Volume 1: The Games. This unique book
has an account of every game the Redskins played from when they moved to
Washington for the 1937 season through 2001. It makes the perfect stocking stuffer for the Redskins fans on your shopping list. For details and ordering
information go to http://www.RedskinsGames.com
