Skins vs Cowboys: The Great, The Good, and the Not-So-Good

Huge win for the Skins as they take down their second consecutive divisional opponent.  And always nice to beat the Cowboys.  In Dallas.  On Thanksgiving.  In front of a national audience.  Sweet.

The Great

• RGIII.  One bad throw, everything else was superb.  70% completion percentage, 4 TDs, 300+ yards passing.  Forget rookie of the year, his rookie season may become an MVP season.
• Alfred Morris.  If RGIII gets MVP, maybe Alfred Morris can take rookie of the year.  Another 100-yard game.  He doesn't just have good vision, he has ESP can-see-the-future vision.  His ability to anticipate and then burst through even the smallest of holes is incredible.
• Pierre Garcon.  He's back!  Technically he was back last week, but he accounted for just 5 yards.  This week he has 93 yards on 5 receptions, including an amazingly acrobatic catch that he followed up by out-running the Cowboys secondary to the endzone.  The Skins are a different team with Garcon at receiver.  
• Kai Forbath.  The rookie kicker is 10 for 10 on the year, including today's game-sealing FG from 48 yards away.  He doesn't just make FGs, he routinely splits uprights.  And his directional kickoffs are ensuring short returns. 

RGIII: Accuracy Watch

After RGIII was drafted back in March we praised his many amazing attributes, including his passing accuracy which we twice labeled "insane."  His completion percentage and TD-to-INT ratio were among the very best ever in college football.  How has this attribute transferred to the NFL?  

Bye-Week Review: Revisiting This Season's Predictions

The Skins are 3-6 at the bye, and it's always fun to revisit predictions made at the season's beginning.  Predictions addressed win-loss record, RGIII, Alfred Morris, the defensive secondary, Billy Cundiff, and the general outlook for this year and beyond.

This blog looks to be batting about 80% so far.

Prediction: "The Skins will go 6-10"
Status: Looks more or less accurate

Prediction: "Alfred Morris will turn out to be a great fit for Shanahan's zone-blocking scheme."
Status: Accurate.  Morris is 4th in the league in rushing yards.

Listen to Darrell Green and Charles Mann

For more than a year I've argued that Jim Haslett is a below average defensive coach with a long track record of producing below average defenses.   But in the scheme of things I'm a 'nobody'.  So listen to Darrell Green and Charles Mann.

A 3-6 Record: What's Happening?

Skins lose a fairly ugly game to the Panthers, and have looked ugly two weeks in a row. What's going on?  In short: 1) film study by teams against RGIII, 2) very poor receiver play, and 3) a struggling defense.

But there's also hope.

1. In early September this blog predicted RGIII's production would "drop-off for the second half of the season" once teams had a chance to study film on RGIII's preferences and tendencies.  There's some evidence of this.