WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER

The game with Kansas City is arguably the most important game of the season for Washington.  After a week of media overdose regarding Jim Zorn’s future as head coach, it is now time to focus on the game at hand.  The Kansas City Chiefs are winless and it’s safe to assume that they believe they have a good chance of beating Washington.  After losing to Dallas in overtime last week, the Chiefs probably believe they are making strides and improving.  Beating Washington would be another step in that direction.  With so much turmoil in Washington it is safe to assume that the ‘Skins will not be up for this game. 

The offensive line has been reshuffled like a deck of cards.  Heyer moves from right tackle to left tackle, to replace Samuels who is injured.  Williams, who by his own admission was more comfortable at guard, is stepping in at right tackle, his natural position before he became a candidate for “America’s Biggest Loser” and was out of the league for a few years.  Montgomery, who backed up Rinehart last week, is now starting at right guard.  Campbell might be more concerned about his health than reading the secondary coverages.  Tack on a non-blocking Betts on third down with a rearranged line, young receivers who can’t get open or are not being thrown to, a quarterback who has a propensity to throw underneath the coverage and a fullback who only blocks when a defender is in his neighborhood and this could be a recipe for disaster.

Defensively the ‘Skins are solid but could play better.  Haynesworth has shown signs of fatigue (probably due to being out of shape) but when he’s in there he really makes a difference.  Orakpo should not be used in pass coverage.  Roger’s nickname should be toast (always getting burned) and Smoot is a moot point.  Hall makes plays but is weak in tackling.  Daniels should be held out because of a torn triceps.  Fletcher is slowing down (has missed a few tackles the past weeks) and Landry keeps trying to make the knockout hit, causing him to miss tackles.  If they let Larry Johnson get rolling this will be a long afternoon.  And watch out for second year back Jamaal Charles.  The plus side for Washington’s defense is that KC QB’s have been sacked 17 times.  However, last year while with New England, Cassel was the most sacked (47) quarterback in the league and he still finished 10^th in QB rating.  This guy is tough and resilient. 

I foresee a close game with Washington pulling it out.  However, I'll go out on a limb and predict a 27-23 Kansas City win with Washington’s comedy of errors continuing.  I could be wrong.  But as you probably know, I’ve been wrong before and I will be wrong again. 

Enjoy the game…

Rdsknguru