Kickoff is at 1:00 PM Eastern though no one outside of the D.C./Carolinas area will notice. Get to the sports bars you drunks!
Or not. You can listen to the game for free here.
Redskins Injury Report: Clinton Portis is on Injury Reserve and Christian Fauria will not play this weekend. Santana Moss is still doubtful, and I have not gathered any additional information on his status. I will try to do that by the end of today. David Patten is questionable and everyone else will probably play.
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Update [2006-11-22 16:28:24 by Skin Patrol]: Per Jason la Canfora's blog: Moss was in pads but is still questionable. Patten is doubtful (probably out). Troy Vincent did not practice on the field and will likely be replaced by Vernon Fox, which is stupid. Adam Archuleta, for all his faults, is the better option and we could save a lot of money by getting the most out of him for the next few years. Everyone else is either probable or healthy and will probably play.
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Add the Carolina Panthers official sites to the places I won't ever visit again. I can't find a damn thing on that site worth reading. Anyways, there are currently no injuries listed for either the Panthers or Redskins, nor for most teams. It's just too early to tell if anyone is injured. I will try and update this as the information becomes available.
For all my recent complaints with this team we do have some things to be thankful for. By all indications, The Man With The Killer 'Stache is the future of this team at QB. Being able to finally (tentatively) look more than 12 months into the future at quarterback is more than some teams can say. Jason Campbell will receive my unwavering support for the rest of the year.
Let's take a look at what we need to do to win this game.
Offense: Carolina is a top 10 defense and won't be an easy egg to crack. Speaking of eggs, the 12th ranked St. Louis Rams offense just laid one last week to the Panthers. This will be a trial by fire for young Jason Campbell, as he faces off against defensive ends Julius Peppers and Mike Rucker. Combined these two players have more sacks than our entire team. Great.
I wouldn't call the Carolina Panthers defense weak (to their face at least!) in any area. A balanced offense is a necessity against a strong pass rush as I fear for JC's safety if we are forced to pass too much against their defensive line. We're definitely the underdog in this game which means winning will be a function of preventing mistakes and perhaps winning it with one or two big plays. Points won't come cheap.
Defense: The Carolina offense isn't explosive but, then again, neither is this Redskins defense. We have got to do a better job of stopping the run. It's embarrassing when the opposing team takes it right up your gut, everyone knows what is coming, yet they still successfully scoop 7-9 yards. Jake Delhomme is not a stud, even with Steve Smith, and we should force him to beat us.
Can we get some pressure on the opposing QB, please? I don't even know where to begin with this defense, as I used to wish for more blitzes to generate pressure. Well last game we brought an all out blitz and all it resulted in was 7 points for Tampa Bay. I don't know if the players are doing a good enough job disguising their blitzes or if the coaches are sending uncreative schemes out on the field. Either way, our lack of pressure is killing us in the secondary.
Happy Thanksgiving Redskins fans. I will be heading out early tomorrow morning to be with family and MAY be unable to update until the beginning of next week. We'll see. I'll try and keep you posted with open threads and update injuries as the week goes on. Then again, I might be too drunk.
I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Turkey Day.
Other, more meaningful game previews: The Official Site, The Redskin Report.
Post all your gameday predictions below, as well as what Redskins Fans Have To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving.
Gobble.
HTTR.