Redskins just appear out of it, in fact lost
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Sunday 11-8 release () —
(PHOTOS)
By Rick Gosselin
The Dallas Morning News
(MCT)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are under the gun this week. So are the New York Giants. But no team faces the pressure to win Sunday like the Washington Redskins.
The Buccaneers are the NFL's only 0-7 team, and with each loss, the burden to win grows heavier. To join the 2008 Detroit Lions as an 0-16 team would be the ultimate humiliation for a franchise.
If the Bucs are to win a game, it will probably come at home. Green Bay visits Tampa on Sunday — one of only four home games left for the Buccaneers. So time is running out.
The Giants are skidding with a three-game losing streak to fall behind the Cowboys and Eagles in the NFC East. New York's pass defense — a top-10 unit a year ago — has fallen apart, allowing eight touchdown passes during the losing streak to Pro Bowl quarterbacks Drew Brees, Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb.
Another Pro Bowl quarterback visits the Giants on Sunday. Philip Rivers ranks fourth in the league with his 2,036 passing yards, including an NFL-high 436 against Baltimore. He's going to come out throwing Sunday.
If the Giants fall to Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, they will be two losses back in the East at the season's midway point. That's because the Cowboys play the Eagles on Sunday night. One team will be 6-2, the other 5-3, with the Giants lagging behind at 5-4.
But the plights of the Buccaneers and Giants do not compare to the Redskins. Washington owner Dan Snyder apologized to the fans last week for the horrendous play of his team.
"To date, we have let everyone down," Snyder said. "We know that. We're just apologetic. We've blown some games obviously we think we should have won."
The Redskins opened the season with games against six consecutive winless teams and lost four of them. In one of the two games the Redskins did win, they failed to score a touchdown (9-7 victory over St. Louis).
"I feel bad for the fans," Snyder went on. "I feel sorry for the fans. We're very, very appreciative of our great, loyal fan base. And I'm understanding. We just feel terrible. We're disappointed and we're embarrassed — and we hope to get it going soon."
When the owner says he's embarrassed, that's a mandate to start winning immediately. Immediately comes Sunday at Atlanta against a 4-3 Falcons team smarting from back-to-back losses to the Cowboys and Saints.
Then the Redskins play four consecutive playoff contenders: Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans. A 2-5 record could balloon to 2-10 quicker than Snyder can belt out the chorus to "Hail to the Redskins."
Redskins fans are paying an average of almost $150 per ticket, third-highest in the NFL. They deserve better. Snyder knows that. He's trying to drill that message into his team. His players better share his sense of urgency Sunday.
That's pressure. The Redskins better start winning. Now.
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DEJA view: Cowboys must feel like they've been here before
The Cowboys were the best and most popular team in the NFL in the 1990s, winning three Super Bowls and appearing on national television a league-high 41 times.
Those were scheduled appearances by the NFL and the television networks — regular-season dates assigned to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving plus Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights.
The Cowboys are no longer the best team in the NFL. They haven't won a single playoff game, much less a Super Bowl, this decade. But they remain the most popular team in the eyes of the TV networks.
The Cowboys have been scheduled to appear on national television a league-high 48 times this decade — seven more than runner-up New England, which has won more division titles (six) and more Super Bowls (3) than any other NFL team in the 2000s.
Sunday night, the Cowboys will make one of their league-high six scheduled national TV appearances this season when they play the Philadelphia Eagles on NBC.
This marks the fourth consecutive season the Cowboys have led the NFL in television appearances. They also had six scheduled appearances in 2008, seven in 2007, and six in 2006. The Cowboys led the NFL in TV appearances in 2000 and 2004 with five apiece.
In 1990, there were fewer teams (28), fewer networks (ABC, CBS, ESPN, NBC, TNT) and fewer nationally televised games (42). Now, there are 32 teams, 44 such games and the same number of networks (CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, NFL Network).
Tony Romo, Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware provide the star power for the networks and America's Team delivers the ratings. Two of the four games with the largest TV audiences this season involved the 5-2 Cowboys in games against the Giants and Falcons.
At the other end of the spectrum is the state of Missouri. The two teams that reside there — the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams — have not been assigned a national television game for two seasons now. Cincinnati, Seattle and Tampa Bay also were blanked this season.
Cowboys on demand
Here's the scorecard of scheduled national television appearances for each NFL team this season and this decade:
Team . . .......2009 . . ..Decade
Cowboys .........6 .........48
New England.... 4 .........41
Denver ............4 .........40
NY Giants ........5 .........39
Green Bay ........4 ..........38
Philadelphia ......4 ..........38
Pittsburgh .........4 ..........38
Indianapolis .......5.......... 37
Oakland ............2 ..........34
Washington ........3 ...........33
Chicago ............4 ..........30
Minnesota ..........3 ..........30
Baltimore ...........3 ..........29
Miami ...............4 ..........27
NY Jets .............2 ...........24
San Francisco .......1 ..........24
St. Louis .............0 ..........23
Tampa Bay ..........0 ..........23
Seattle ................0 .........22
Tennessee ............4 .........22
San Diego ............4 .........21
New Orleans ..........3 ........20
Kansas City ...........0 ........19
Atlanta ................2 .........18
Jacksonville ...........1 ..........18
Cleveland .............3 ..........17
Buffalo ...............2 ...........15
Arizona ...............3 ..........14
Carolina ...............3 ..........14
Detroit .................1 ..........14
Cincinnati .............0 ..........11
Houston ................1 ...........7
___
FROM the observation deck
Chief concerns
Chris Chambers became the latest of the aging wide receivers to reach Kansas City this season. The Chiefs claimed Chambers, 31, off waivers last week from the San Diego Chargers. They have previously trooped Bobby Engram (36) and Amani Toomer (35) through the building. I'm puzzled here. Is 1-6 Kansas City trying to build a contender for the future — or win three games this season so the new regime can top the previous regime's total of two?
Forget the waiver wire and the old guys. Go snatch a young receiver off a practice squad like St. Louis did in September with Danny Amendola. The Rams signed him away from the Philadelphia Eagles, and he has already caught 15 passes in six games.
If the Colts, Saints, Patriots or Steelers have a young receiver on the practice roster, I'd sign him. If the best passing teams in the NFL like a young receiver enough to develop him, so would I. I'd be poring over tapes today of practice-squad receivers Adrian Arrington (Saints), Tyler Grisham (Steelers) and John Matthews (Colts).
Help wanted
I was entertained last week when the Cleveland Browns fired general manager George Kokinis, throwing him under the bus for the team's punchless 1-7 start. Owner Randy Lerner said the Browns intend to hire a "strong, credible, serious" football adviser to help steer the team the rest of the way. Were the Browns not trying to hire a "strong, credible, serious" football man when they hired Kokinis last January?
Money player
Pro Bowl RB Michael Turner is money in the bank for the Atlanta Falcons. He has scored a touchdown in six consecutive games. Only the Miami Dolphins in the opener have kept him out of the end zone this season.
___
UPSET of the week
Eight games ago, the Tennessee Titans were hosting an NFL playoff game. On Sunday, they are a four-point underdog to a pedestrian (3-4) San Francisco team. The Titans are coming off their first victory of the season and the successful return of QB Vince Young to the lineup. Cortland Finnegan, Tennessee's best cornerback, returned after a three-game injury absence. Now, the 1-6 Titans are no longer a pinata of a pass defense that has allowed a league-worst five 300-yard games this season. Look for Finnegan, Young and RB Chris Johnson to power an upset on the West Coast on Sunday.
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AROUND the NFL
NFC
Sunday's game between the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers marks the first head-to-head meeting between Eli Manning and Philip Rivers. The Chargers drafted Manning with the first overall pick of the 2004 NFL draft and the Giants took Rivers fourth overall. Heading into the draft, Manning said he would not play for the Chargers — and the teams traded quarterbacks before the day was out. Manning has a 47-32 career record with one Super Bowl championship and one Pro Bowl appearance. Rivers has a 37-18 career record with one Pro Bowl appearance. But Manning does not attach any significance to their first meeting. "I don't get into playing other quarterbacks. "I have to worry about San Diego's defense." . . . Speaking of quarterbacks, Tampa Bay's Josh Freeman, picked 17th overall in the April draft, makes his starting debut Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. . . .San Francisco has the NFC's best run defense, allowing an average of only 84 yards per game. That run defense will get a stiff test Sunday when the Tennessee Titans visit. AFC rushing leader Chris Johnson is averaging 118 yards per game and is coming off a career-best 228 yards last week against the Jaguars.
AFC
The Miami Dolphins introduced the wildcat offense at New England in September 2008 with halfback Ronnie Brown taking direct center snaps. The Dolphins return to New England on Sunday, but the wildcat has taken a more advanced form in 2009 with three players — Brown, Ricky Williams and Pat White — all taking snaps. "They change their looks on a weekly basis," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, "so it's really hard for us to watch the film and say, 'This is what we're going to get.'" . . . The Baltimore Ravens swept the Cincinnati Bengals last season on the way to an 11-5 record and a wild-card playoff berth. But the Ravens have already lost to the Bengals at home and need a victory in Cincinnati on Sunday to stay close in the AFC North. The Bengals and Steelers are 5-2, the Ravens 4-3. The challenge of playing the Bengals is far greater for the Ravens than last season. "They're healthy for one thing," Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. "They've got a quarterback. They didn't have Carson Palmer for most of last season. They've got weapons all over the field."
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(c) 2009, The Dallas Morning News.
Visit The Dallas Morning News on the World Wide Web at http://www.dallasnews.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099):
"NFL"
