I got the DC Blues

(note: I keep trying to add pictures, but for some reason it won't allow me to do it. Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?)

Good Lord, is there ANY Washington team that wants to win these days? The Nationals suck (as does baseball in general), the Redskins have more problems than they know how to fix, and once invincible DC United hasn't won a game in a month!

Let's start w/ United first, since this is technically a soccer blog, but don't worry, I'll get to the Redskins shortly.

DC loses another game, this time against a vastly-improved Chicago Fire team that looks like they know how to beat DC. They destroyed them in the Open Cup a few weeks back, and have given them fits all year. Josh Gros continues to show a lack of discipline and gets ejected for the 2nd time in 4 games, while Bryan Namoff was also shown the door, leaving United to finish the game w/ 9 players. That just won't cut it in MLS boys.

After the game, Peter Nowak mentioned he wasn't too worried about the game, as they've pretty much locked up the Eastern Conference and home field throughout the playoffs. Still, this team's lack of form, when combined with injuries, and, let's just say, stupid cautions and ejections really have the team playing poorly. They need to gather some kind of cohesion and discipline as the playoffs roll around. I can understand that the team is taking it easier because they have things pretty much sewn up, but most pro teams just can't "turn it on" w/ the flick of a switch. Steve Goff from The Washington Post mentioned in one of his recent articles about the sudden lack of depth up top for DC, with the injuries to Alecko, Jaime, Lucio Filomeno's leaving the club, and Jamil Walker's poor form. So they go and bring up USL 2 MVP and goal-scoring champ Robert Sjjemba from Richmond to provide a spark. The guy is a great finisher, but I don't think his touch and diminutive size are going to bring much to the table.

The team has a huge game with Bruce Arena and the Red Bulls Saturday night at RFK. They'll be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of DC's 1st historic MLS Cup beforehand, so there should be a big crowd. Despite the suspensions, DC needs to dig deep, get the 3 points, which would almost secure the Supporter's Shield (for best regular season record) and come close to knocking New York out of the playoff hunt. Stay tuned.

As for the Redskins, what can you say? Let's get started w/ this little analogy, and let me know if this sounds familiar:

You bring in a high-priced offensive coordinator because you've had trouble adjusting to the offensive schemes of the NFL. The new OC wants to open it up a bit and be aggressive, but he can't because you're sticking to your guns and staying the course with your aging QB who has taken too many hits, is too old, and lacks the arm strength and mobility to really let you use your weapons. So, instead of seeing what the kid on the sidelines can do, the team is mired in its struggles and is in disarray.

Sound familiar? If so, then you know I'm describing "Any Given Sunday," one of the better football movies made.

Al Pacino = Joe Gibbs
Dennis Quaid = Mark Brunell
Jamie Foxx = Jason Campbell
Aaron Eckherdt = Al Saunders
LL Cool J = Clinton Portis

Am I wrong? I don't think so.

For as nice of a guy as he is, Mark Brunell might be the worst starting QB in the league (and yes, I'm including Kerry Collins and Aaron Brooks). Those guys don't have much talent around them. Brunell does, and he can't get the ball to them. Some of his bounces were hitting the ground 5 yards in front of their intended targets, and you could start to see some of the frustration in the actions of Santana Moss and Brandon Lloyd. Let's be clear; you CANNOT win in the NFL if you only throw for 100 yards a game. That's what we're looking at folks, and when it became obvious the Redskins weren't going to be able to go deep on Dallas last night, they started bringing 8 and 9 guys up every time to stuff the run or blitz Brunell, and it worked.

I realize not having your best player on either side of the ball hurts (Portis and Springs), but you've just got to do better than that. One of the criticisms of this team is that the team spent so much money on superstars that they have no depth on either line, nor in the secondary. That was proven last night as without Springs, they DB's got beat all evening. When they weren't getting beat, they were holding to make sure they didn't get beat.

This team is already in a serious hole at 0-2. Remember, they were in a hole last year at 5-6 when everybody counted them out, and they responded by winning the final 5 to get into the playoffs and then beat Tampa on the road. However, a lot of that was on Clinton Portis and the O-line, while Brunell still struggled for large parts of those games. Washington needs to beat up on that weak sister known as Houston on Sunday to right this ship. If they lose, the season is essentially over, and you might as well start playing Jason Campbell. Heck, most of us 'Skins fans want to see what the kid can do anyway. I'm pretty sure he can eclipse the 100-yard passing mark.

G

Something New

I'm going to change things up a bit here on the site. It's still going to predominantly be about soccer, but since I'm such a huge football fan, during the season I'm going to give my take on the week's games during the season. It's ambitious, but it should be fun, especially if I can manage to post something new more than once every 2 weeks. :)

Soccer first:

1. Some classic lines overheard in the RFK press box and DC locker room Saturday night at the DC/Real game:

A. "We must have the only Argentine players who don't dive." - Dave Lifton, who does such an amazing job doing DC United podcast reports for www.screaming-eagles.com Dave is one of those true fans who knows the game as well as anybody I know, and as you can tell from the above quote, is pretty darn funny.

B. "Don't even get me started on the officials...I'm going on my honeymoon soon and can't really afford the fine." - Ben Olsen, who took the high road when several of us asked him about the officials assigned to DC games lately.

C. "Brandon Prideaux just made a knifing run through the Real defense...the words "knifing run" and "Brandon Prideaux" should NEVER be used in the same sentence." Me - I got a laugh from those around me for saying it, so I guess it was funny.

2. Back to the officiating for a moment. It's easy to jump on the refs for mistakes, but it really does seem like several games are now being decided on penalties, ejections, or as the result of player suspensions from yellow-card accumulations. DC was down 4 starters because of the fiasco against Chivas last week. I mentioned in my last post about the Houston/Chivas debacle w/ the lack of a penalty call. 2 weeks ago against L.A., DC's Dominic Mediate has his leg broken by a nasty foul from Ugo Ihemelu, yet no card is given. According to a source close to the situation, the Linesman mentioned it was the third such challenge from that player, but the ref chose to ignore it. Since then, the ref and, inexplicably, the linesman, have been suspended for the remainder of the MLS season. Maybe there needs to be more accountability for the officials, but let's make sure these error are corrected. The officiating simply needs to be improved.

3. Another source close to the situation would neither confirm nor deny that Jurgen Klinsmann has a "handshake deal" to be the new U.S. coach. Take that for what you will. Just my opinion, but there needs to be an announcement made soon. The program shouldn't be "rudderless" for a long period of time.

4. Way to put yourselves in position for the playoffs, Red Bulls. (yes, that's sarcasm)

5. Why do I get the feeling the final playoff spot in the West will be decided on a tiebreaker? Those are going to be some fun games to watch down the stretch.

Didn't get to see much else on the soccer front this weekend, unfortunately, although I hear some Americans put in some fine efforts overseas. Tim Howard continues to play well for a very good Everton squad, and Bocanegra and McBride shouldn't have to buy any beers for themselves anytime soon after their heroic efforts gave Fulham 3 crucial points. I saw "crucial" so early in the season because I think the team is going to have to fight to be relegated, and every win they get keeps them above the zone.

Now, part 2, my takes on week 1 in the NFL.

1. Big win by Jacksonville to come back and win after being on the verge of getting run off the turf early against Dallas. Still not convinced they have the offense to go any farther than a playoff bid, but this is a young team w/ a lot of potential. Next up, a Monday night home game against the Steelers. That'll be fun.

2. In the closing moments of that game, didn't you just love the picture of T.O. laughing and carrying on on the sidelines as the clock ran down? As long as he got his touchdown, he's happy. What's the over/under on when this whole experiment blows up?

3. After a pass for a few years, shouldn't Jon Gruden be on the hot seat in Tampa? That was a pathetic display yesterday, and although I haven't lost all faith in him just yet, I'm not sure Chris Simms has what it takes to be a winner in this league.

4. Also in that same game, the Ravens sure looked impressive on both sides of the ball, didn't they?

5. I still think that was a cheap shot on Trent Green. He was sliding and the player launched headfirst into him. That's gotta be a fine and/or suspension. As much as people hate it, the QB's have to be protected when they're vulnerable like that.

6. Frank Gore is going to be one heck of a player, perhaps as soon as this year. He reminded me of LaDainian Tomlinson w/ his ability to hit the hole as well as catch the ball in the flat.

7. Colts/Giants was an instant classic. The "Brother vs. Brother" thing actually lived up to the hype. Peyton won, but he was darn lucky 2 or 3 of his throws in the 1st half weren't picked, as they should've been. Eli got better as the game went on, which is a good sign of his mental toughness, something some people still doubt.

8. Brett Favre is bad...really bad. That's not news to those of you who follow the game, but it's really sad to see it happen to such a great player. Reminds me of Johnny Unitas when he spent his last years in San Diego when he should've hung 'em up 2 years earlier.

9. New Orleans probably won't win a ton of games, but if they win in Lambeau on Sunday, they're 2-0 with both wins coming on the road. That could be a big factor the rest of the season.

10. My preseason Redskins prediction; 10-6, they get the wildcard spot, win it, and then lose in the divisional round.

Thanks for reading. See you soon!