You can reach Rich Tandler by email at WarpathInsiders@comcast.net
When you see a team like the Atlanta Falcons, you have to
wonder exactly where they are in their descent.
Their season has gone from one of great promise to one that
is a complete nightmare. Atlanta started a four-game losing streak by dropping a
pair to two of the league’s worst teams, the Lions and the Browns. A loss in
Baltimore was certainly to be expected but they imploded in a key NFC South
game against New Orleans. Receivers dropped passes. On a Hail Mary pass at the
end of the first half the only difference between the Falcon defense and the
crowd of 70,933 at the Georgia Dome is that the fans in the stands paid to get
into the game. They and the defenders were all mere spectators as Drew Brees’
pass fell into the hands of Terrence Copper to give the Saints a 21-6 halftime
lead. Michael Vick, once known for flipping head over heels into the end zone
when the played for Virginia Tech, is now known for another kind of flipping.
In the NFL, what goes up inevitably will come down. The
converse is also true. Inconsistency is an ailment that almost every NFL
suffers from. The Giants, for example, had an early-season meltdown, recovered
to put together a hot streak, and then they imploded in the final 10 minutes
against Tennessee. They may yet bounce back and get on a roll again.
From the Redskins perspective you have to wonder if Vick
giving half the peace sign to heckling fans was an event in an ongoing Falcon
free fall or if was the team hitting rock bottom. If it is the former the
Redskins can expect to see a team that still is reeling; if Atlanta has
bottomed out then Washington will see a feisty team eager to save its season.
The win over Carolina last week was their best game of the
season, but all that means is that the bad Redskins are due to show up this
week. The Redskins have had problems stringing together solid games themselves.
They have had a few blips of excellence this year, but they have generally
followed up a good performance by showing up flat and being non-competitive.
Psychological factors aside, the Redskins don’t match up
well with Atlanta in one key area. Mobile quarterbacks tend to give the
Redskins fits (see McNabb, Donovan over the years) and Vick is the ultimate
mobile quarterback. No matter how disciplined the pass rush is, no matter how
well they stay in their lanes, Vick can escape and trash the best-designed
defensive scheme out there.
Vick is part and parcel of the running game which,
statistically at least, is by far the best in the NFL. They average 197 yards a
game on the ground. San Diego, the team that’s second in this category,
averages almost 50 fewer yards a game. But Atlanta doesn’t get the results from
the strong running game that most teams do. Five times this year the Falcons
have rushed for over 200 yards in a game, which usually leads to a slam-dunk
win. Atlanta is 3-2 in those games.
For the Redskins, the focus will be on Jason Campbell. The
second-year signal caller is still flying under the radar throughout most of
the league (how can anyone but the great Tony Romo get any attention out
there?) but he won’t be for long if he continues at a pace of throwing four
touchdown passes to one interception as he has in his first two NFL starts.
Who will win? The two teams are fairly evenly matched; both
are in the muddled middle of the NFC. When you have matchups like that the factors
that come into play are things like home field, turnovers, and who’s flat and
who’s sharp. The Redskins have the home field, but they are –1 in turnover
ratio while the Falcons are +6. When looking at these two teams, who will be up
and who will be down is anyone’s guess.
It says here that the Redskins will find a way to get it
done. Vick will make some plays that will be worth the price of admission but
he also will make a few that hurt his team. The progression of Jason Campbell
will continue and he will throw for two more touchdowns, maybe three. It
appears that Santana Moss is fully recovered from his hamstring injury; look
for him to have his best game since Jacksonville.
Redskins 28, Falcons 20
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
