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I'm trying to corner the Saturday market

By Skin Patrol

So it is Saturday and, as far as I can tell, as is silent in the Redskins blogosphere.

Did you know the Redskins semi-switched to a zone blocking scheme? And people accuse us of being a "dirty" team...

After talking about the need to pound the ball on the ground and return to their 2005 style of play on offense, the Redskins rushed 37 times for 143 yards against Carolina. And the Redskins played with a nasty edge -- left guard Derrick Dockery in particular repeatedly left his feet to dive at the lower bodies of defensive linemen with potentially dangerous cut blocks.

"We had chips on our shoulders," right guard Randy Thomas said. "We had some things we needed to do, going back to playing the type of ball we've been playing since I've been here."

The linemen met as a unit following the 20-17 loss at Tampa Bay Nov. 19, agreeing they were not being physical enough, and lobbied the coaches for more plays like 80 Crease, a wide-zone stretch play employed by many teams that allows them to attack the defense. Virtually every lineman on the team said he hopes the zone blocking scheme, including cut blocks, will be a staple for the rest of the season.

Yikes! Frankly I don't care what they do, so long as we win (which we will because I predicted we would).

The entire article is a fascinating analysis of a run play, which is rare. The guys up front don't get enough credit for the work they do, so I strongly encourage readers to check it out.

I don't encourage injuries, but frankly a 4-7 team needs to get its jersey dirty somehow. If cut blocks on the line is what we need to do to establish the run, so be it. Just as long as this line establishes an actual identity, I don't care what they do to win us football games (within the legal limits set forth by the NFL rulebook).

Aaaaaaaaand who knows who our kicker is this Sunday. Is it Suisham? Novak? Both?

When the Redskins signed Suisham on Tuesday, Gibbs said he was unsure of his plan. His options were to let the two kickers compete during the week and cut one, or keep two kickers and use one for kickoffs and the other for field goals. Gibbs said it was an unorthodox approach for him, but not out of the realm of possibility.

He attributed the high winds yesterday as one reason he did not make a decision.

The wind? Novak's 50% success rate and short kickoffs are the more likely culprit. Anyways, the bottom line is that you won't know who our kicker is until Sunday. Sorry guys.

Ryan O'Halloran at his Washington Times blog picks the Redskins to win 22-6. I agree that we'll score more than 20 points, but Atlanta will probably hang at least 10 on us.

Also from The Times, Duckett is a trooper and I love him. I don't know where he's playing next year, but I appreciate the professionalism he's exhibited during his tenure as a Redskin:

Duckett hasn't complained about his near-inactivity in Washington. When asked how he has remained so positive, Duckett harkened back to his mother's lost battle with breast cancer and said, "I could be working [in a less lucrative job], too. I do want to play a lot more. I do want a lot more carries, but it's an honor to be in the NFL. After seeing all the suffering my mother went through, me not playing ... I shouldn't be moping or be depressed about the situation."
    Running backs coach Earnest Byner, the Redskins' lead back in 1991, has been impressed with Duckett's attitude.
    "It really takes a quality person to handle his situation as well as T.J. has," Byner said. "It shows a lot of maturity. The guy wants to be a starter in this league. He's very hungry, but he's also very humble."
Cheers to you Duckett.

HTTR

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