Pregame

The problem with saying in advance that the season opener is one of the most important games of your career is that you don’t have much left to say now, two losses later and on the verge of having their season end before it ever really began.

The inactives are QB Jason Campbell, S Reed Doughty, CB Shawn Springs, RB T.J. Duckett, OL Mike Pucillo, OL Jim Molinaro, DL Ryan Boschetti, and DL Joe Salave'a. It’s not surprising that Salave’a is out; his calf didn’t seem to be getting any better as the week went on. What is surprising here is that rookie Anthony Montgomery has replaced him on the active list and veteran Boschetti will be riding the pine.

First Quarter

(1:05 PM) It would have been good to have T. J. Duckett available on that third and one on the opening drive. One running back has to be inactive, though, and with Betts being the second-team back and Rock Cartwright proving to be quite the return threat, Duckett is the odd man out.

(1:11 PM) Carr had way too much time to throw on that bomb to Johnson. Is it really that easy to score a touchdown? A loose team with nothing to lose now has some confidence. This is going to be a battle.

(1:17 PM) A little bit of imagination on a play shown with the shovel pass to Portis. That’s what Sunders is here for. Perfect timing, a perfect situation, catching the defense anxious to make a big play and get a second straight three and out.

(1:19 PM) Just as Houston got a big charge out of its big play, the Redskins got one out of theirs. Mike Sellers just buried the whole right side of the Texans’ defensive line and even Santana Moss got in on the fun with a block that was not devastating but quite effective.

(1:25 PM) Again, a ball on the ground on a blown exchange and the Redskins can’t come up with it. They didn’t seem to know it was on the ground, even though it was clear that the snap was blow. Well, it was good to get the sack after it, but there was still a lot of field position lost.

(1:36 PM) What’s this called? The offense jumping out of the huddle, firing out, making good yardage on almost every play, a lot of different players touching the ball. Oh, yeah, it’s called a competent NFL offense.

Second Quarter

(1:41 PM) Derrick Dockery may still have some technique issues when it comes to pass blocking, but he sure can get out in front of a pass receiver on those short patterns. He had good blocks on both the shovel pass to Portis and on Antwaan Randle El’s touchdown. He’s a great athlete for a guy any size, let alone some as massive as him.

(1:50 PM) The defense still is showing a propensity to commit penalties at the worst times. They had a shot at a three and out but Mike Rumph got an unnecessary hand to the face flag to prolong the drive. Again, field position turned at Houston got past midfield before punting.

(1:57 PM) I don’t know what that technique thing that Derrick Frost corrected was, but he and Danny Smith ought to patent it. Frost has gone from a sub-marginal player into a true asset. A 60-yard punt with a short return is gold when you’re backed up like the Skins were.

(2:01 PM) It was about time Houston got called for holding. They got away with a few before the one that negated the pass that went inside the Redskins 30.

(2:05 PM) I think it’s about time for the Redskins to loosen up the defense with a long pass this series. Toss it up and let Brandon Lloyd jump and get it.

(2:15 PM) Seven flags already in the first half. While they’re playing much better overall, that’s one aspect that is hurting them. As I type, the eighth is called on them.

(2:18 PM) Did somebody say that David Patten was done? You won’t see a better catch that that.

(2:20 PM) Not a bad little draw to set up the field goal, was it? When things are going well, things like that happen.

Third Quarter

(2:28 PM) Good point made by Jimmy Johnson at halftime. Saunders seems to have figured out what Brunell is capable of doing and has designed the play calling around that. Now, to be sure, this isn’t something that will work against the NFL’s better teams, but for right now it’s just what they need. You can’t argue with 16 for 16 and a QB rating of 142.6.

(2:39 PM) Finally, a three and out for the defense. Now, just keep it going offensively and salt this one away.

(2:46 PM) Dumb, dumb penalty by Portis for woffing after he was tackled. The beat goes on with all the flags.

(2:49 PM) One more completion for to tie the NFL record for consecutive completions in a game. Incredible game by Brunell.

(2:50 PM) The record is tied and then kept alive when the out of bounds fade to Lloyd is negated by a penalty. It doesn’t look like he’ll have another chance in this drive as the Skins will try to pound it in from there.

(2:56 PM) I’m not so confident of this review here. Portis didn’t seem to have a real good grip on the ball at the time his knee hit, although it clearly was still in his hand. I’m not sure exactly what the rule on possession is here since he wasn’t juggling it or anything.

(3:00 PM) Fox did a good job with those still shots of Portis being on the ground with the ball still in his hand. Good call on the reversal, although I can’t really blame the refs for making the original call, it was close.

(3:01 PM) I can blame them for taking so long to make the call of a touchdown. Yeah, I know it’s a little complaint but they have to make that call before they go in and untangle the pile. Either the ball crossed the plane before a knee went down or not. Where the ball carrier ends up is inconsequential.

(3:03 PM) After further review, it’s great to have something to complain about besides the performance of the Redskins.

(3:11 PM) It’s about time the Skins got a ball off of the ground; good hustle by Kedric Golston to get to the recovery. About the only suspense left in this one is how many more consecutive completions Brunell can get. His over/under is three, if he throws that many passes the rest of the day.

(3:15 PM) He got the record and then had one batted down. I don’t think that it’s any coincidence that Portis is back at full strength and Brunell has his best game of the year, maybe of his life.

Fourth Quarter

(3:20 PM) What once was broken now seems to be fixed. John Hall boots a 46-yard field goal to put the Redskins up 31-7. It’s cruise control from here on out.

(3:25 PM) Carlos Rogers needs to learn how to play the ball and not the man, especially when he has a play on the ball. That pass to Johnson should have been batted down with no problem, but instead it sets up a touchdown for Houston.

(3:32 PM) This is a difference between Gibbs’ play calling and that of Saunders. On first and ten when a run up the gut is what’s being expected an end around to Randle El is the call. It forces the defense to honor that, creating a little more room on the inside for Betts to run. And then after that there was the empty backfield look on first and ten. This might help the Skins kill the clock now and in the future.

(3:35 PM) But no play-calling scheme can offset the drive-killing holding call. The laundry stayed in the zebras’ pockets for most of the third quarter, but it came back with a hold on Thrash of all people. Betts bailed him out, though, with a nice run on third and long to move the chains.

(3:48 PM) The prevent defense—although it’s unlikely to prevent the Redskins from winning this one, it’s still irritating to see Houston marching down the field like this.

(3:49 PM) Nice INT by Kenny Wright to kill the last breath for Houston. It seems like the DB’s have had several chances this year to make interceptions like that and they usually either just bat it down or, as Rogers did earlier, get an interference flag.

(3:57 PM) Yes, this was beating up on a bad opponent, but the Redskins could not have asked for anything more. They got some rhythm on offense and some takeaways on defense and they did what good teams are supposed to do, beat up on a lesser opponent. The going gets much tougher the next few weeks and we’ll really see what they’re made of. But on a given Sunday you can only beat who you’re playing and the Skins deserve credit for doing just that.

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 the moved to Washington for the 1937 season through 2001. For details and ordering information go to http://www.RedskinsGames.com