Pierre Garcon
courtesy of Keith Allison

Kai Forbath hasn’t missed a field goal yet in his short NFL career, and that might be the only positive to take from Sunday’s 27-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nearly every aspect of the Redskins looked lackluster at best. The pass rush couldn’t get to Ben Roethlisberger, the secondary could stop the Steelers receivers  and at times it appeared RGIII wasn’t just trying to beat the Steelers but the ineptitude of his own offensive unit. Eight dropped passes is tough to overcome. Especially when the Steelers could seemingly score at will against the beleaguered Redskins defense.

The first drive of the game was a methodical dissection of the Redskins defense by Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. The Redskins could do nothing to stop the Steelers from imposing their will on them. Short pass after short pass led to big yards as the Redskins defenders insisted on lazily trying to arm tackle the Steelers strong wide receivers. Third string running back Jonathan Dwyer was able to run the ball down the throat of the Redskins gaining over 100 yards on the day, and Ben Roethlisberger ran the dink and dunk offense of the Steelers to perfection passing for three touchdowns.

Continue reading →

Ben Roethlisberger
courtesy of Jeffrey Beall

The Steelers vs. the Redskins is always an interesting match-up. Not because the talent on the field in recent seasons has been comparable or even all that close, but because no two franchises are more opposite. Since Chuck Noll took over the Steeler in 1969 they have had three coaches. The Redskins on the other hand have been a revolving door and while the Steelers stand as the model of consistency and patience. The Redskins are the model of inconsistency and overreaction.

It is a different era now. RGIII has been nothing short of dynamic. His mere presence on the Redskins have given them a chance to win every football game this season. The Steelers want to be the first to put a true beat down on RGIII and the Redskins. With Fred Davis now out for the season and Pierre Garcon possibly headed that way the number of targets RGIII has to throw to are dwindling. In recent weeks Santana Moss has stepped up and looked like the receiver he was when the Redskins first acquired him. A quarterback as accurate as RGIII rarely lacks targets.

Continue reading →

Chris Cooley
courtesy of Keith Allison

Under a minute and a half left to play, the Redskins with a three point, and the Giants needing a long drive to take the lead. What could possibly go wrong? How about everything that has gone wrong for the Redskins all on display for on play. Manning would find Victor Cruz who was supposed to be double covered by Wilson and Williams for a 77 yard game winning touchdown. The Redskins secondary had once again let them down, blown a late lead, and allowed a big play. Everything the Redskins have done wrong this season on display for one play.

Here is the good news, and it is the same good news it has been for the past six weeks. Robert Griffin looked good. No, he looked great, electrifying, unstoppable. Robert Griffin looks like the next superstar quarterback in the NFL. All those little things he was going to have to work on like accuracy and poise are already on display. For a hybrid quarterback Robert Griffin might be the most accurate there has been. For the season he has completed 70% of his passes. That is off the charts good for a drop-back, pocket passer. For a scrambling quarterback that is other worldly, and about that scrambling thing. RGIII has rushed for 557 yards on 73 attempts.

Continue reading →

Eli Manning
courtesy of Mike Morbeck

This one has been coming for awhile. It is finally time to see what Bob Griffin can do against Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of the Giants defensive line. If you don’t know the story it goes something like this. Jason Pierre-Paul was asked what he thoughts of RGIII and how they would stop him. He then went on to explain that Robert Griffin had done nothing in the NFL and wasn’t worthy of the respect of a nickname, and until he won something he was just Bob Griffin.

The Giants defensive line is tough. Aside from Jason Pierre-Paul there is Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Prince Amukamara. All four of them can get to the quarterback and be a general nightmare for an offensive line. Their ability to get to the quarterback allows the Giants to drop more men into coverage and close off passing lanes for their opposition. The Redskins offense has been one of the best in the league thus far into the season, but the Giants defense is going to provide a tough test for RGIII and the rest of the Redskins.

Continue reading →

courtesy of BrianMKA

It was happening to the DC sports fans again. Just two days after the Washington Nationals lost in the most heart breaking fashion possible the Minnesota Vikings had scored two unanswered touchdowns to cut the Redskins 31-12 lead to 31-26. The Vikings were inching closer and had time to stop the Redskins, get the ball back, and drive down the field once more to twist the dagger already sticking from the chest of local sports fans.

Then Robert Griffin happened. On a third and six play with 2:56 left on the clock Robert Griffin made up his mind that if the blitz failed he would run. The Vikings sent six men and Griffin scampered to the sidelines. Because of his concussion the week before his first thought was to get out of bounds, but he ignored that thought and went with his instincts. Griffin raced up the sideline and past all the defenders. No one even laid a hand on him as he raced into the end zone for a game securing 76 yard touchdown run.

Continue reading →

Christian Ponder, Charles Woodson
courtesy of Mike Morbeck

The big news this week for the Redskins is that RGIII is cleared to play and play he will says Kyle Shanahan. There are no plans to slow down or to attempt to contain Griffin. He was drafted because of his ability to both pass and run. That is what makes him a dynamic player and it is how the Redskins are going to use him. The only problem is the Redskins aren’t going anywhere and risking the investment that is RGIII by calling so many run plays in his first season might not be the best, but Griffin was injured on a scramble and not a designed run. Quarterbacks that can run are going to run when a play breaks down. Part of this is on RGIII to get out of bounds or slide sooner.

Aside from all the RGIII talk the second biggest news out of Redskins Park is they cut Billy Cundiff and signed Kai Forbath to take over the kicking duties. It can be argued that Cundiff is a big reason the Redskins lost last week to the Falcons and while making a change may not help the Redskins this season they get to look at someone different in game action and could find their kicker of the future.

Continue reading →

Jayson Werth — Walk-off home run to win Game 4!
courtesy of wolfkann

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth the Nats were in a good position. They had the top of the order due up and the man batting third, Ryan Zimmerman, has earned the nickname Mr. Walk-off for a reason. The game would not get that far. Jayson Werth looked at the first two strikes he saw from Cardinals reliever Lance Lynn and then engaged in a war.

Ahead 0-2 Lynn wanted to entice Werth to swing at a ball and threw him a curveball and a fastball out of the zone. Werth swung at neither. Werth would then see five straight fastballs all fouled off. At times it looked like Allen Craig was close to catching them, but he would run out of room close to the stands. Werth then saw a breaking ball he fouled off, another fastball he hit foul, and a curveball he let go for ball three. Pitch 12 was a fastball that Werth hit foul. The more pitches a hitter sees in a plate appearance the more the advantage swings their way. Lynn wasn’t going to risk putting a runner on base and he knew Werth could ID and lay off his curve so he threw him one more fastball, and it was on this 13th pitch of the at bat that Werth earned the Nationals what they played this game for.

Continue reading →

There was a fan I talked to on the concourse before the first ball was thrown today. He looked at me, grinning, and told me the story of how his wife would always turn to him and say on Opening Day, “Don’t fall in love, they’ll just break your heart.” He said now, he couldn’t say that any more, that he was looking forward to October plans at Nationals Park for years to come. This was a team that he had loved, and that hadn’t let him down.

As the players ran out the red carpet from the dugout to the field, it was hard not to agree with him. The crowd’s excitement and ferocity was like watching a lit fuse. The excitement was thick in the air, replacing the humidity of DC’s brilliant August evenings, but like so many games of previous Nationals teams, there was so little to cheer for.

The 1924 Washington Senators hold DC’s only World Series title. In a 12-inning victory over the Giants, the Senators put a cap on the best season that DC has in its baseball history books. The team, lead by Hall of Fame fireballer Walter Johnson and Hall of Fame slugger Goose Goslin was a triumph of wills. 88 years later, on the anniversary of that win, the Washington Nationals faced off with the St. Louis Cardinals in the first postseason game in 79 years.

Continue reading →

The Nats lost three games this season as badly as they lost Game 2. Their most recent came just six games ago, as they dropped a 12-2 laugher against, you guess it, the St. Louis Cardinals. Monday night, the Cards gave the Nationals a repeat performance, piling on homer after homer against the Nationals’ pitching staff. Jordan Zimmermann had a rough night, lasting just 3 innings, and surrendering 5 runs to the Cardinals offense.

Usually dependable, the Nationals’ bullpen was less than rock steady, with Craig Stammen, Michael Gonzalez and Sean Burnett combining to give up seven more earned runs, including three home runs. Carlos Beltran hit two for the Cards, combining for around 830+ feet of damage to the Nationals’ psyche. 

The Nationals got in their own way, though, leaving nine runners aboard and going just 1-7 with runners in scoring position. The only hit? Jordan Zimmermann in the second, with a deke bunt attempt turned into a raking single that brought around Ian Desmond to give the Nationals their only lead. Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche added back to back home runs in the fifth inning, and that would be it for the Nationals, but for a sacrifice fly in the seventh to score the last of their four runs.

Bryce Harper continues to struggle in the postseason, but he picked up his first hit on Monday night, a double off Mujica in the seventh, only to be picked off attempting to advance on a sacrifice fly that scored Jayson Werth. Harper is 1-10 with six strikeouts on the series so far. Danny Espinosa is also struggling, 1-6 on the series so far. 

The Nationals return home on Wednesday, with Edwin Jackson on the bump, starting at 1pm.

Kirk Cousins
courtesy of Keith Allison

In sports there are times when what is expected happens, and there are other times when the team that is supposed to be blown out puts up a fight. The Redskins could have pulled this game out, but lost it in a key moment. The Redskins beleaguered defense was able to do something quite impressive. They were able to shutout Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons until the very end of the first half. It is in that moment though that they lost the game. The second Billy Cundiff’s 31 yard field goal try sailed wide right Atlanta knew they could win.

Having been given great field position and the momentum of the unlikely stop Matt Ryan lead the Falcons down the field and tied the game heading into half-time. Had the kick been good the Redskins would have maintained momentum and even if the Falcons had driven down the field and scored the Redskins would have had the half-time lead. Instead the Falcons went into the locker room with the feeling that they were in just another football game instead of fear at being upset. That missed kick was the moment of the game.

Continue reading →

There’s a Hungarian psychologist named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who says that there is a zen state called Flow that exists when skill level and challenge level are high. The Nationals found their flow in the eighth inning amid a day of ugly baseball when fans feared that they were headed toward the Worry octant of the chart. Tyler Moore, with two on and two out, took a 2-2 four-seam fastball into shallow right field and drove in the runners from second and third.

In a day full of gaffes, the Nationals had the last laugh.

Gio Gonzalez had a start whose line score is simultaneously baffling and astonishing: 5.0 IP, 1H, 2ER, 7BB, 5K.

The five strikeouts in five innings stays close to his 9.7 K/9 season average, and the single hit is certainly the sort of start that they’d like to see more of. The seven walks, four of which came in the second inning, tied with Gio’s single worst performance in his career.  For a time, it looked as if Gio had lost the strike zone in its entirety.

110 pitches, and just 59 strikes, Gio had an incredibly difficult first start of the playoffs, but the bullpen came to his aid, and Craig Stammen, Ryan Mattheus, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen each turned in an inning of strong work. Most impressive of the day had to be Ryan Mattheus, who entered the game with the bases loaded and nobody out in the seventh inning. On two pitches, Mattheus turned a pair of ground balls into three outs, which set the table for their rally in the eighth.

This was not a pretty baseball game, though, and carried with it the sort of stress-induced miscues that can doom a ball club without multiple tools. Errors from usually rock-steady Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche could have cost the club more than they did.

In the end, it was rookie outfielder Tyler Moore, on to pinch-hit against the Cardinals’ Mark Rzepcyznski, that brought the took the Nationals over the top. The Nationals had put the leadoff man on five times, but had stranded the runners aboard in three of those, ahead of the eighth inning rally. Twice, they left the bases loaded, both times with Jayson Werth at the plate. Moore, in the biggest at-bat of his career, looped in a single and plated the pair of runs. After the game, he’d say: “I’ve failed a lot, too, during this thing, & it’s helped me keep my heart rate down & just come up & try to put the ball in play.” Moore found strength from failure, like the rest of the

I have four things to look at, for Nats fans:

Continue reading →

283/365
courtesy of BrianMKA

The Redskins secondary has struggled to stop every passing offense they have faced this season, and Sunday they are in for their toughest test by far. Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez are all elite level players and difference makers on the offensive side of the football. They will get their yards and they will put up points against a Redskins secondary that has allowed the second most yards in the NFL. This is the first game the Redskins are playing this season where it looks to be over before it even begins. If the Redskins offense doesn’t control the clock and the ball then this one could get out of hand.

The good news for the Redskins is that because of Alfred Morris and RGIII they have the best rushing offense in the NFL having rushed for 702 yards on the season. The Redskins have to hope to keep possession of the football as long as possible and come away with the scores at the end of drives in order to keep Matt Ryan and the rest of the Falcons offense on the sidelines. The Atlanta punter could very well have a week off against the Redskins as it is doubtful that the Redskins will manage very man stops against the Falcons.

Continue reading →

The Nationals locked up the best record in baseball on Wednesday afternoon before a crowd of 35,000+ on a day that felt nothing like October. The warm weather and sunshine felt more like a day out of July or August than a part of the Fall, a confusion not lost on the team or its fans. The Nationals finished off the Phillies’ hopes for a winning season with a 5-1 victory, lead by Edwin Jackson (10-11, 4.03 ERA) and the bats of Michael Morse, Tyler Moore and Ryan Zimmerman.

Bigger than that, though, Teddy Roosevelt picked up his first win in the Presidents Race, to the cheers of the assembled. The long-suffering racing President, Roosevelt had lost more than 500 races in the years since the Presidents’ Race began, becoming a national joke in the process. Roosevelt, famous for his extensive manly accomplishments, finally drew a win with the help of the Phauxnatic – a faux Philly mascot – and drew a standing ovation from the crowd for his efforts.

It was shortly after Teddy’s first victory that the spark returned to the Nationals’ bats, with Ryan Zimmerman leading off the bottom of the fourth inning with a towering drive that landed in the Nationals’ bullpen, tying the game at 1 apiece. Michael Morse would nearly go back to back with Zimmerman, hitting a double off the very top edge of the wall. Tyler Moore would put the Nationals ahead with another double, and any talk of Teddy’s victory jinxing the Nationals went out the window.

The Nationals are now the number one seed in the National League Playoffs, which begin on Friday in Atlanta. Atlanta will face St. Louis in the Wild Card play-in game, a new feature of the playoffs this year. After that, the Nationals will travel to play games 1 and 2 of the NLDS on the road on Sunday and Monday, and with games 3-5 in DC on Wednesday through Friday of next week.

The prospect of playoff baseball in Washington is nothing short of astonishing when you consider the dismal seasons from 2006 to 2010 here in DC, which represent 478 of the team’s 704 losses. The team has spent five of its first eight seasons in DC at the bottom of the NL East, and to be at the top, you could hear it in the crowd as they belted out Michael Morse’s walk-up music in the 8th inning. 

The Nationals will work out in DC on Friday before heading out on Saturday for the first two games of the NLDS.

Continue reading →

Tonight, the Washington Nationals were shut out by the Phillies, 2-0, a home loss to the hated Phillies.

No one noticed that they lost.

The Nationals clinched the NL East by dint of the Pirates beating the Braves – word of which came in the middle of the 9th inning by way of the out of town scoreboard. There was a long pause as Aumont warmed for the Phillies, and the dugout erupted into shouts and hugs as the Nationals secured the first baseball division championship since 1948 (Homestead Grays) and the first MLB division championship since 1933. Five minutes later, it was over and the Nats had been 6-hit shutout victims at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was the happiest of losses.

The crowd tonight at Nationals Park was a living, breathing force of nature. Every small rally attempt crackled with enthusiasm and energy, even when they trailed, and even when Philly looked unhittable. It’s hard to think that getting shutout at home wouldn’t dampen the crowd, but that was not to be.

The Nationals had some highlights, despite their troubles at the plate: Craig Stammen’s 6 swinging strikeouts in 2 IP, Bryce Harper’s double off the wall after running square into in the 2nd, and 35,000+ singing along with Take On Me as Morse waited in the on-deck circle in the 9th.

What a night for the Nationals to complete their worst-to-first cycle. Two years after losing 93, they’ve won 96, and the National League East, and are still fighting for the number one seed in the playoffs.

Most telling about the night’s festivities, I think, was the Nationals coming back out on the field with beers and champagne bottles to spray on their fans, gathered behind the dugout, along the left field wall, and beyond. This was not a celebration limited to the clubhouse, to the insiders; no, this was one for and with the fans who slogged through years in substandard conditions at RFK, for those that slogged through awful play in 2007 – 2009, for those that have worn their Curly Ws in a town who only has ever had time for the Redskins.

This was the happiest loss you’ll ever see.

The Nationals have two home games remaining before the playoffs. We are proud to announce that We Love DC is credentialed through the first round of the playoffs, and we will be bringing to you their games’ stories as this historic run continues.

Jets15
courtesy of Homer McFanboy

For the third week in a row the Redskins ended up with the ball late in the fourth quarter down by one score, but this time was different. It was different because those watching were left with little confidence in Billy Cundiff after he had missed three field goals earlier in the game, and it was different because this time when the Redskins moved within striking range their wasn’t a penalty that pushed them out of it. The final drive for the Redskins went a little something like this. Robert Griffin III 15 yard pass to Santana Moss, 20 yard pass to Fred Davis, pass to Evan Royster for 4 yards, 15 yard run, incomplete pass, false start, 24 yard pass to Santana Moss. All to get the Redskins in range for a last second Billy Cundiff 41 yard field goal.

There is one common thread throughout all of those plays in that last drive and that is RGIII. The Redskins are still a team without a good secondary and that still has issues along the offensive line, but once again RGIII didn’t just look like the best rookie quarterback in the NFL, he looked like one of the best. The Redskins are 2-2 in spite of the excellent play of RGIII. He can’t do it all on his own and that was also on display in this football game.

Continue reading →

Super Bowl Champs Bucs Night Practice.
courtesy of theSuperStar

The Redskins and Buccaneers are both currently 1-2 but both got to this position in very different ways. The Redskins have scored the most points in the NFL while they have allowed the fourth most. The Bucs meanwhile are middle of the back in both offense and defense ranking 24th in points scored and 15th in points allowed. This creates a good match-up for the Redskins. RGIII and the Redskins offense will be able to deal with the Bucs’ defense while their offense should struggle to put points on the board.

Both teams have struggled this season in stopping the pass. The Bucs have allowed an average of 353.3 passing yards against while the Redskins have allowed 337.3. Giving the Bucs and Redskins the two worst passing defenses in the league. This will be a bigger problem for the Bucs as RGIII has passed for 223.7 yards a game compared to Josh Freeman at 149.0 yards a game. The Redskins weak secondary shouldn’t be an issue for any NFL quarterback, but Freeman and the Bucs haven’t been racking up the passing yards yet this season.

Continue reading →

Andy Dalton RC AUTO
courtesy of sirtrentalot

The good news is the Redskins have scored 40, 28, and 31 points over their first three games. The bad news is the defense has allowed 32, 31, and 38 points over the Redskins first three games. The Redskins have gone from a team with a middle of the road defense and a terrible offense to a team with a dynamic offense and a terrible defense. The truly good news for Redskins fans is that RGIII looks like everything he was hyped up to be. Through three games Griffin has a 67.4% completion percentage, 747 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Robert Griffin III has been everything he was thought to be and more.

Breaking down these games and looking at the way the two losses ended even with poor defense and bad offensive-line play RGIII has put the Redskins in situations to tie both of these games late. This past Sunday against the Bengals RGIII was first able to get the Redskins within a touchdown with under ten minutes left and then he drove them all the way down within the 20 before a sack and penalties pushed them into a 3rd and 50 situation with seven seconds left on the clock.

Continue reading →