OK, let's try this again. Here's the bracket and schedule for the 2010 NFL playoffs.Winner will get this awesome (still in style) t-shirt or $10...whatever we can scrounge together. Tie-breaker will be closest to the final score (total points) of the Super Bowl without going over.

It's pretty simple. Let's take the NFC. The lowest seed you have advancing in the 2 Wildcard games will play the Falcons. So, if I like the Seahwaks (4) and Packers (6) to advance...then the Packers play the Falcons and Seahawks the Bears. Pick the 2 winners of that game and they play each other to go to the Super Bowl, mmmkaay? Just follow (copy/paste) another person's entry and update your picks accordingly.

I went with the strategy where I picked each team with the better season turnover ratio to win each matchup. We'll see if that works out. (only 1 entry per person).

Here's the bracket and schedule for the NFL playoffs. I thought it'd be fun to make a little contest out of this. Winner will get this awesome (still in style) t-shirt or $10...whatever we can scrounge together. Tie-breaker will be closest to the final score (total points) of the Super Bowl without going over.

Follow my format that I entered in the first comment when entering your picks. For the Divisional game matchups your filling in who the Wild Card winners, mmmkaay? I went with the strategy where I picked each team with the better season turnover ratio to win each matchup. We'll see if that works out. (only 1 entry per person).

Note: After the jump are videos and screenshots of key plays.

So, I decided to watch the Jaguars game again last night paying special attention to the number of pass rushers Haslett sent on the defensive side, and the number of two tight end sets Mike Kyle Shanahan  used on the offensive side. Here's what I found:

On the Jaguars 65 plays, the Redskins rushed 4 or 5 guys 92% of the time:

Rush 3: 2 times 
Rush 4: 30 times (2 sacks, 1 INT)
Rush 5: 30 times (2 sacks)
Rush 6: 3 times (1 sack/fumble, 1 INT)

• Coming into the game, Jacksonville was 2nd in the league in rushing attempts and #1 in the NFL in rushes up the middle (53% of the time), so it made sense to have 4-5 guys primarily up front. Bravo Haslett.
• Jacksonville was #1 in the NFL in fewest 3 and Outs and the Redskins D forced four 4 of them.
• Anthony Bryant absolutely beasted this game. Whether it was 1 or 2 blockers, he never got pushed back once. There was rarely a pocket for Garrard to step up into. Carriker did very well against double teams as well.
• Most blitzes were from the edge but in the 2nd half Haslett sent Fletcher in on a delayed blitz. It worked extremely well (London just missed the sack). He called Fletcher again on a 6-man rush the next play and #59 got the sack/fumble (JAX recovered). On a 3rd try JAX adjusted and picked up #59.
• The 2 TDs against came against a 4-man and 5-man rush. On one, Macho made a horrible read and couldn't react in time to make the play.

Watch Nose Tackle Anthony Bryant on this play. He pushes Jaguars Center, Brad Meester, directly back into Garrard. Ma'ake Kemoeatu has never been able to do this and Bryant had varying levels of success like this throughout the day. Meester is a 33 year old Center, but still, even in the double-blocks, Bryant sustained a push. 

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Like 99% of Redskins fans nation-wide, I was pissed off disgusted critical of Mike Shanahan's decision to start Rex Grossman. It wasn't so much because Grossman sucks, but more in the fact it's an admission that the Redskins completely whiffed in their evaluation of McNabb. I'm not talking about a swinging foul-tip strike, I'm talking about swinging at a pitch so wide and high left it drills the mascot. Look, it's great that we finally had a good locker room presence this summer. A QB that could instill a winning vibe this off-season did wonders for morale, but a whiff this bad has to make the team wonder if the Coach really knows what he is doing. Either way, it was a colossal mistake and all we can do is move on and deal with it.

As fans, do we really want McNabb out there just to validate the two picks? No. We need to accept that the trade was a bad one and find out if Grossman can be a hold-over starter for next year. As for McNabb, things are starting to come out about his practices:

"He wasn't performing, and at practice, he'd never practice hard, and I think that had some bearing on it also," [Sonny] Jurgensen said. "Because Shanahan's a stickler for practice, working hard in practice so that you carry that over into the game. And he never could get him to go 100 percent in practice, and that's what he wanted. You talk to people in Philadelphia, and they say why didn't you see this coming, why are you surprised. Because the Eagles had seen it, and they traded him within the division. And so why are the people in Washington surprised?"

That's great, but I don't need practice to tell me that. This year #5 has missed open reads, bounced passes, and thrown into horrible coverages. Rex has been practicing well, hence the change. Sure, Grossman has had a horrible career turning the ball over, but Shanahan has a strong defense for that:

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I almost forgot there was a football game on Sunday. Man, it is not easy times right now, but the Redskins are game-planning the Cowboys this week, so we might as well too. Rex said in his presser just now that he is "confident we can win." Can you imagine the fallout if Rex does win?? Well, that's a long shot, but let's find some weakness anyway. Rafael Velas is a former blogger for Blogging the Boys, and ventured on his own for Cowboys Nation.com. You can read an excerpt of his 5-star film breakdown from the Cowboys' loss to the Eagles here.

Let's get into it...

1.) The Redskins went with heavy blitzing week 1 (corner) and Landry was a huge part of the Skins' success. What types of schemes have worked well defending the Cowboys potent offense of late?

I think Landry's absence changes everything.  His week one may be the most impressive game I've seen a safety have.  Blitzing, coverage, centerfield, charging the alley.  He did everything.  

Dallas has been much better offensively, but teams that stop them do three things:

i.  They play cover two a lot and take away the deep ball.  Jon Kitna, like Romo, works better going up the field. 

ii.  Run twists, especially at the interior linemen and the right side.  Leonard Davis has bad feet.  Marc Colombo's legs are wearing out.  Overloads and stunts which cause those guys to think get through.

iii.  Be strong against the run;  This should probably be point one, since the coverage and pressure builds off winning 1st downs and getting Dallas into 2nd and longs.  Teams that stop the run early fare better.  

2.) It seems, as you've blogged, the Cowboys are vulnerable to counters...do you foresee the Redskins continuing to build on what Denver and the Eagles did? Will that work?

Try the same stuff.  See if Dallas has worked on adjustments to stop it.  Teams are attacking Stephen Bowen, who's not as strong holding the point as Olshansky or Marcus Spears was.  Stopping the counter depends on ILBs who can read it fast and attack the gaps before the center or offside guard gets out and locks on.  Keith Brooking was slow to react, and he's vital, because the Cowboys safeties are all over the place.  

3.) The Redskins don't have the luxury of Alex Barron starting at RT this week. How has the Cowboys OLine held up the last few weeks, and what are the weak spots Haslett will try to attack?

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Do you want a break from Haynesworth? Good....because we filmed this hours before all the drama broke with his interview on 106.7 THE FAN. The highlight of the show is Ken and I sending Bruce Allen a very clear message of all the Redskins blunders the past decade and how he seems to be following down that same path. We also set you up for the Bucs game and make our predictions.