Home Cooked - BENGALS REDSKINS LIVE BLOG

1:00: Just clicked to CBS and was greeted by a Kevin Harlan monologue and a Robert Griffin motivational speech. I could probably run through a wall right now. IT'S GAME TIME!

1:03: Wildcat chicanery. 73 yrd bomb to AJ Green for the TD. Don't even care that it was thrown by a rookie wideout. More pissed that it was D Hall with the assignment on arguably the best young receiver in the game.

By the way, I'm a dog person. I dislike cats. Of all varieties. Add wildcats to that.

1:06: Stand corrected. Free safety DaJon Gomes on the blown TD pass. We'll just slide my animosity one slot over in the backfield.

1:09: Injury timeout as the trainers check out Trent Williams. B/c the Redskins have the kind of O line depth where they can afford injuries to starters. Note: My pants are aflame.

1:12: After a couple of nice runs by Alfred Morris, we have an injury to Williams, fumbled snap by Griffin, and a failed 3rd down conversion. Nausea is imminent.

1:15: By the by, it's never a good sign when your injured lineman responds to treatment by planting both hands on the sides of his head.

1:16: Rob Jackson just saved the early portion of my day. Pick six IN THE CINCY ENDZONE for the score. No words. 7 all.

1:18: On the pick, it was Ryan Kerrigan providing the pressure on Andy Dalton to force the bad throw. Sidebar - I would have a hard time taking orders from a QB with a first name ending in Y.

1:20: Other notable QB goofsballs w/ names ending in Y: Tony Romo, Joey Harrington.

1:23: Quick observation - three kickoffs, none of which resulted in a touchback. This means nothing to anyone but me.

1:25: Bengals doing next to nothing on the ground but they are moving down field with the pass. Super excited to have a shaky secondary holding down the fort.

1:27: Bengals fail to convert on 3rd down. And the refs manage to (correctly) flag Cincy for a hold. The world, she works.

By the way, the NFL is working with replacement refs. I'm not sure you heard. Earlier in the drive, there was a missed holding call. The man who was held in both holding situations? Kerrigan. He might be a problem today.

1:32: FYI, this isn't likely to gain me any brownie points but I'm writing all this with only seven good fingers. The three bum digits are heavily bandaged. Try not to count the typos.

1:37: Bengals with their fourth possession and the 'Skins are winning the battle at the line. Elsewhere? Not so much. Armon Binns beats Wilson along the seam and takes it 48 yds for the score. Suffice it to say, the secondary is a disaster.

1:42: I've written next to nothing about the Skins offense thus far. There's a reason and it's not good.

1:43: Jordan Black, the replacement for Trent Williams, has been getting killed and Griffin has been rocked twice as a result. Nervous doesn't begin to describe.

1:45: For all the issues in the secondary, if AJ Green doesn't have a personal, two man, burgundy colored security detail for the rest of this game, I'm calling for Haslett's head.

1:49: Skins down 7 and CBS runs a Dallas TD highlight. Next up, James Brown swings by to kick my dog.

1:53: Bengals starting to move the ball on the ground and in the air as they enter the red zone. Only thing worse than giving up a big play on defense is getting chewed up slowly and methodically.

1:56: Bengals with a fake FG try (failed). No points after a drive of four minutes plus. Marvin Lewis must really have fond memories of his days in DC. Otherwise, I have no explanation for what I just saw.

1:59: Dear Kyle Shanahan, we get it. Griffin can run. He's going to get hit enough, esp. with Trent Williams out. STOP WITH THE F**KING QB RUNS. Thank you.

2:01: The offensive play calling today has been suspect at best. Haven't seen any of the roll outs for Griffin thus far. I thought those worked pretty well. Would make sense to keep Griffin on the move w/ Trent out of the game. Just saying.

2:07: Perry Riley just had a nice pass defensed. Sidebar - he's awful on Twitter though.

2:12: Bengals up two scores, 17-7, with under five minutes to play in the half. Trent makes a Willis Reed like return. Matters not, as Griffin fumbles the option pitch to Morris. Cincy recovers in Skins territory and I make a B line for a bottle Great Lakes Oktoberfest brew. F**k.

2:17: One yd TD score for the one man law firm, Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis. Makes it 24-7 Cincy. Upside - this beer is awesome.

2:18: This is our home opener, right?

2:20: Nice decision by Shanny, to have Cincy re-kick. Banks returns it 55 to give skins their best field position. Offense looks like they could screw up a ham sandwich right now so I'm not confident they'll do anything with the position.

2:23: After almost 30 minutes of football, I've got four different pronunciations of Rey Maualuga's name thus far. Could be a fun drinking game (if you're into that kind of thing).

2:29: Taking a pause to actually watch how this two minute drive goes. Points or I start binge drinking.

2:31: Points, binge on hold temporarily. 24-10 Tiger cats as we head to half.

2:54: That five minute blog break was brought to you by the Washington offense. Decent 80 yd drive ends with Morris on a nifty run from inside the 10 to bring DC within 7. Score is 24-17 striped tabbies.

2:57: Nice shot of Morris on the bench with his helmet on as we come out of the commercial. As if to say, "I'm keeping my hat on. Eff you guys."

3:01: Only worse than that first half is the news that they are singing 'Viva Los Redskins' instead of "Hail To The Redskins". That's all I'm going to say.

3:03: Can't tell you how much time I spent watching NFL Films clips as a kid. Very sad losing Steve Sabol. Great of the NFL and CBS to pay tribute, loved the spot they ran earlier.

3:07: Sidebar - Skins started the 2nd half with an 80 yard TD drive, I started with a Great Lakes Nosferatu, a seasonal imperial red ale. I think we both scored.

3:08: Skins moving the ball but the double and triple option plays are driving my blood pressure up exponentially, no matter how well it's working.

3:13: The designed QB run is also adding to my health woes.

3:15: No matter. It's a new ballgame. 24 all. BTW, orange stinks as a team color.

3:19: After a 20 yd strike from Dalton to AJ Green, BJGE breaks the space time continuum and puts the ball on the turf. (First of his career.) Skins recover, and somewhere, there's a naked, overweight, DJ roaming the streets of northern Virginia.

3:22: To say the Skins' defense is playing better in the 2nd half would be like saying ... the Skins' defense is playing better in the 2nd half.

3:24: Put aside the fact that Nike has enslaved the impoverished people of my homeland. I love their product. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention the terribly unfortunate sweat zones on their NFL jerseys. Specifically, the stomach and underarm patches. Can't say I remember a single Reebok jersey looking that awkwardly sweaty.

3:27: I love Alfred Morris. Drives forward like a truck driver with an open passing lane.

3:38: A host of officiating issues I won't go into detail explaining. After Skins fail to score, Bengals come back with an 80 yard drive to go back up 7. 31-24 Ligers.

3:41: More than 11 minutes to play and the Skins are down a score with no timeouts. I'm assuming my BP is something like 450 over 80.

3:43: Kyle, enough.

3:46: Skins forced to kick after a missed 3rd down conversion, preceded by an awful no-call on 2nd down. Hankerson basically had his shoelaces tied together by the secondary while the back judge checked his Twitter feed on his sweet new iPhone (I'm assuming).

3:51: A sh*tshow on wheels. Dalton to Hawkins to put Cincy up two TDs. If you're counting at home, that's TD passing plays of 73, 48, and 59 yards. Oh, throw in a six yard TD pass too (you're know, for balance).

3:53: Hard to believe this is a defense entering it's third year in the same scheme, not to mention the fact the Skins added a former head coach to manage the secondary. Actually showing signs of regression across the board.

3:58: Skins and Griffin using the sidelines to try and get back into this game. They'll need to.

3:59: Regardless of what happens, the Griffin to Fred Davis connection makes me warm.

4:02: Skins driving. Having a hard time processing why the clock didn't stop on the Hankerson grab as he trotted out of bounds. If you want to say he stepped out fine, but he did get clocked on the sideline after going out of bounds. Late hit if you ask me.

4:03: Dear Commissioner Goodell, GFY.

4:04: Commissioner Goodell, seriously, I'm as qualified as most replacement refs. I have Sundays free. Take me off Skins games and you got yourself a deal  steal.

4:09: Niles Paul = most unpopular Redskin of 2012. And it's only Week 3. Josh Morgan begs to differ but I stand by that proclamation.

4:11: One score game as we hit the 2 minute warning. I have to pee. DAMNIT.

4:15: 1:47 to play and the Skins start from the 1. Eternal damnation.

4:17: Odd that Griffin would paint the sidelines on the previous drive but then opt to go up the middle w/ less than two minutes left.

4:24: Clusterf*ck on iceskates. I have no idea what just happened. Game ends with a last second heave by Griffin that lands harmlessly somewhere in Hyattsville. Bungles almost give it all back, hang on to win 38-31.

4:29: A wholly unsatisfying performance from the Redskins. Defense made strides in the second half but the big plays made it impossible for the offense to comeback. Griffin was good in spots but inconsistent reading the defense and throwing the ball. Replacement officials made us continue to yearn for Ed Hocculi and co.

4:31: If you read all this, I hope you were drinking. I sure was. Sidebar - our defense from 2-3 years ago would have slit some throats to have 30+ points scored just once in a game. This team has done it three straight weeks. Anyway, enjoy the rest of your Sunday, kids. I've got a drink calling my name. Adios.

Wait, what day is it? - COWBOYS - GIANTS LIVE BLOG

8:41: Can't tell if Queen Latifah was lip syncing. Also as perplexing: Queen wearing Peyton's number on a Giants jersey. With rhinestones no less.

8:42: Forgive me if I seem at a loss for words right now. Still trying to convince myself that I just saw a kickoff that didn't go for a touchback. Seems like ... years.

8:45: After the G-men go three and out, the Cowboys promptly respond with ... one of their own. White knuckle action, folks. WELCOME BACK, FOOTBALL!!

8:51: Who had the first botched penalty call from a replacement ref at three minutes and 20 seconds into the first quarter? I was betting sooner.

8:54: Seriously, it's Wednesday.

8:59: If we ever get a Tuesday season opener, I'm not sure there will be a happy marriage anywhere in this country.

9:02: Ten minutes into the first quarter, and we're just getting the first team across midfield. Not quite a symphony of sport thus far.

9:18: Full disclosure. I've been bored to bits. Just more than 17 minutes into the game and you'd have a hard time convincing anyone this game looks any better than a late preseason contest.

9:22: I was just about to check my pulse before Tony Romo rescued me back to life with an ill-advised throw over the middle. Michael Boley returns that duck 45 yards to inside the Cowboys 5-yd line. Meanwhile, I can avoid coffee. For a few minutes at least.

9:26: Rex Ryan's better half is pumped, as his defense makes a stand (with a little help from ... shocker, a missed call at the goal line) and the Cowboys hold NY to 3.

9:29: In case anyone was wondering, my game time grub? Homemade baked chicken and waffles. Be impressed.

9:31: Orlando Scandrick may me an average nickel cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys but I'll only remember him for being on Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles".

9:34: Another Dallas possession, another punt. I wonder what baseball is doing right now ...

9:36: Oh right, 9-0 Nats.

9:38: Four minutes left in the first half, Giants still up by trey. Quick recap of the game thus far:

Very few things happened. Thank you.

9:41: Seriously, very little going on.

9:41: In all honestly, aside from two botched calls, the replacements refs have gone largely unnoticed thus far. Which is a good thing, all things considered. Of course, all this good will goes out the window as soon as a crucial call gets blow in a huge spot. No pressure, boys.

9:47: Coming out of the two minute warning, we get our first big offensive play of the game. Romo and Bryant hook up for 38 yards and a big third down conversion. And a small piece of soul dies.

9:51: Aaaaand there goes another piece. Romo makes something out of nothing and finds Stephen Ogletree over the middle for six. [expletive deleted]

9:53: Brief mention about the most valuable NFL franchises, with the Cowboys and Patriots clocking in at 1 and 2, followed by ... the Redskins?

9:55: Seriously, three playoff wins since 1991. And somehow, the 'Skins fan base has continued to pour money into Dan Snyder's piggy bank. To the tune of $1.63 billion. There went another piece of my soul.

9:59: Oh yeah, we're at half. 7-3 Cowboys a.k.a. the greater of two evils.

10:15: Second half underway. Barely had a chance to re-warm my seat before Romo fires a strike to ... surprise, Stephen Ogletree for their second TD connection of the night. And simultaneously, millions of fantasy football nerds hit the the waiver wire. 14-3 in favor of the bad guys with stars on their helmets.

10:21: Commercial comment: The more the cell phone companies push shared data plans, the longer I will cling to my unlimited data plan, despite the awful service. This is my terrible plot for revenge.

10:29: A minute after slandering the Giants' run game on twitter, Ahmad Bradshaw scampers in for six on the heels of a 30-yd lob from Manning to Hixon. I am .. .the Jinx. 14-10 Dallasucks.

10:32: Sidenote. As awesome as Nike is at ... everything, these new NFL jerseys have some really unfortunate sweat spots, most notably, on darker jerseys. Can't say I can remember seeing anything remotely similar on the Reebok threads. Playdry > Dri - fit.

10:40: As much as it pains me to say this, Romo has been much smarter with the ball since the pick in the first half. He extended the play with his feet before finding Ogletree on the first score, did it again on the last play to avoid the sack in the red zone here in the third quarter.

Of course, it may be a function of how inconsistent the Dallas O line has been thus far. But like, you know, whatever.

10:44: Following my praise of Romo ... a sack and a near pick in the end zone. DAL settles for a field goal to push their lead back to 7. End of the third quarter and suddenly, I hear my memory foam mattress whispering. Ever so slightly.

10:48: Clicked over to the DNC for a wake up call. Regardless of your politics, if President Clinton speaks, you have to watch. Totally kicking ass.

10:53: Back to football. Giants punt. Seriously, there's more action at the DNC right now then there is at Giants Stadium.

10:58: Cowboys on the move in the 4th. After Miles Austin checks in with a first down grab, DeMarco Murray gashes the Giants' D up the middle. Looks like another slow start on both sides of the ball for Big Blue.

11:03: Highlight of the game so far: Romo bumps into Murray on the exchange, Murray runs for the first down but plows into Dez Bryant, sending him to the turf and inadvertently cutting off his run by 2-3 yds. Fantastic.

11:07: Miles Austin picked a good time to wake up and start playing. Romo finds him for a 34-yrd grab to make it a two score game. 24-10 C-boys. [expletive deleted]

11:10: Clicking back to the DNC. Seems to be a lot of chanting during Clinton's speech. I'm hoping the President channels The Rock and yells, "WHOA, THIS ISN'T SINGALONG WITH BUBBA!"

11:14: Giants trying to come back. And then ...

Pass to Cruz. Drop. Repeat x 3.

Baffling. He's literally killing drives.

11:21: Deion & Peyton in Directv ads? Comedy gold.

11:22: Giants driving. Bradshaw pitter patters to convert a 4th and 1. Looked real tentative but got the job done.

11:23: Right after the conversion, Eli finds Bennett in the back of the end zone to bring Big Blue within 7. Fingertips on the ball, toes in bounds, great grab. 24-17 Caballeros.

11:27: I know it's a tight game, approaching two minutes ... but I'd like to mention that Osi Umemyiora and Eli Manning appear to have "special" helmets.

11:30: Former Redskin and current Giants' CB Justin Tryon appears to wearing a bull's eye, at least to Romo he does. Got beat by Ogletree to convert on 3rd down and essentially seal the game.

11:33: Cowboys enter the victory formation and I prepare for the fetal position. Dallas takes the season opening 24-17 over the defending champion Giants. Had a good time tonight, hope you did too. Til next time.

DONE. DEAL.

Disclaimer: There may be some typos in this post. I'm writing from my iPhone which should give you an idea of the urgency with which I'm writing. But this must be said. Onward and upward.

Ok the one Friday night I hit the sack early and THIS happens?!

Unless you're living under a rock, you know the Redskins engineered a trade for the Rams' #2 overall pick in the draft and in doing so, pulled off the coup of all coups this offseason. It's not often that happens before we hit free agency but already the city and the sports world alike are abuzz. (I know this because my future brother in law fired off a giddy 4AM text.)

Now It could've been the rumor that Peyton Manning wasn't interested in coming to DC. It could've been Cleveland's posturing towards a potential trade with St. Louis. I don't know what spurred the Redskins to action. Whatever it was, I don't care.  To quote my brother (who I think was quoting George W Bush), "ladies and gentlemen, we got him."  The Redskins pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade aimed at answering their quarterbacking woes for the next decade. And unless videos surface of Andrew Luck injecting small kids with heroin, the Colts will take him at 1, leaving the Redskins poised to take Baylor QB and Heisman trophy winner, Robert Griffin III. Make no mistake about it, this was the move.

Yes, the price was steep but keep in mind this is the first trade of picks with the new collective bargaining agreement in place. Under the new CBA and the rookie wage scale, top draft picks are worth now more than ever before. Under the old system it would've been easy to write this deal off based on sticker shock alone. But this is a whole new ball game. Griffin makes this an easy deal to assess if he pans out. But make no mistake, this will not be the last trade of its kind.

And for the record, the hysteria about this trade costing the Redskins three first rounders is absurd. Let's be clear: This is a swap of first rounders this year. The actual cost to the Redskins?  Two future firsts and a second this year. That's still a lot, and it may be semantics but it gives this deal a little better perspective. Again, it's easy to go nuts with the headline stuff but digging a little deeper makes us all a little smarter in the end.

I guess it's pretty obvious where I fall on this trade. But for years the Redskins have squandered both money and draft picks on a litany of ill-advised deals, mostly aimed at winning short term battles. For once it seems the brain trust in Ashburn made a move to win the war.

A Monkey's Uncle.

Lord Tebow met his match.

Aaron and his Pack lost their way.

And ... Saint Drew fell from grace.

If football isn't religion, I got nothing else for ya.

(Oh yeah, Baltimore beat Houston. I couldn't come up w/ a fitting analogy and let's be honest, that game was a turd and a half.)

This wasn't an impossible chain of events but the idea that both the Saints and Packers would exit the Playoffs in the divisional round was pretty damn unlikely. On the other hand, I think everyone outside of the Rockies could see Tebow and co. were in over their heads but given how the Broncos performed against the Steelers, you would at least expect a competitive contest.

Wrong on all accounts.

Nonetheless, I took two things away from this past weekend's games:

1) Just how well the 49ers offense played.
In the words of The Miz ... really? Really?! I mean, San Fran isn't exactly inept on the O but no one would confuse them with the Saints. Which isn't a bad thing. But the chances of Alex Smith outdueling Drew Brees were pretty slim going in so unless he's completely full of crap, I highly doubt Jim Harabaugh went into the game thinking that was the gameplan. That said, Alex Smith went all-Utah on the Saints. Vernon Davis came up huge. Totally changes the perception of the Niners' passing game and adds a dimension to this team that was missing all year.

2) Just how poorly the Packers played. 
This takes nothing away from the Giants but the Packers blew. In nearly every facet of the game. Completely BLEW.

Injured teams and slumping teams benefit the most from a 1st round bye. The Packers fall into neither of those categories. Throw in an inconsistent defense and then Sunday happens. In week 1, I was impressed as anyone with the offensive performance from the Pack but the ease with which the Saints moved the ball was especially troubling. Yes, it was Brees moving the ball but that's besides the point. A defensive unit that helped carry Green Bay to a title was suddenly an 'opportunistic' defense. And if you're scoring at home, 'opportunistic' (when describing defenses) is code for 'good in spots but largely crappy'.

It's an odd thing with prolific offenses. Their defensive counterparts will generally produce plenty of turnovers and play 'bend-but-don't-break' football en route to a title. And then the subsequent season, the offense will play as well, if not better than the last year, while the defense regresses as the team fails to duplicate their prior success. Case(s) in point: 1999 St. Louis Rams, 2007 New Orleans Saints, and now ... the 2010 Green Bay Packers. What a shame. Better luck next year, cheeseheads.

If this past weekend was any indication, next week's title games will be interesting to say the least. My early vibe: a Super Bowl rematch with ... the Ravens and Giants. Take those picks with a grain of salt as I am unofficially known as 'The Cooler' but lightning strikes. Blind squirrels find nuts. Don't say I didn't call it.

Anyway, I'll be back with some notes on UFC 142 in Rio. For now, I say adieu.

KNEEL BEFORE ZOD ... er, TEBOW!

I know what you're thinking ...

'One post into the new year and already he's missed one.'

Forgive me. I got a little caught up spending my Sunday praying at the altar of his holiness ... the patron Saint ... Timmy.

Honestly, there are no words to describe just how improbable all this is. (Somewhere in Bristol, Connecticut, around 6:45 PM yesterday, some poor, 22 year old intern had to be giving Merril Hoge mouth-to-mouth.) Of all the ways that AFC Wild Card game COULD end, no one would have guessed '80-yd TD pass from Tebow in OT.' (BTW, so much for the end of one-possession OT games.)

And as much as I would like to see the Tebow-mania subside, a small, miniscule, imperceptible part of my being has to thank the heavens for granting myself and the rest of the sports-loving world a brief respite from the plague that is ... Steeler nation.

It's not just the disproportionately large number of displaced stiller fans that seem to infiltrate every metropolitan area. It's not just the growing number of bandwagoners. Hell, it's not even the ridiculous sight of a few thousand, freeze-dried yahoos waving those repugnant yellow towels. (Terrible doesn't begin to describe.)

Rather, it's all of it. Nothing personal, I don't hate Steeler fans. I'm just 'Black-and-Yellow'd out. If you throw the Penguins into the mix, the surge in Pittsburgh paraphernalia over the last 5-6 years has been exponential. It just got to be too much. And if the price of a Steeler-less playoffs is a little more Tebow-humping, I will gladly turn down the TV, grit my teeth, and keep it moving 'til Sunday, February 5th. Until then ... #ThankYouBasedTebow .

Don't Call It A Comeback: Sunday Musings Pt. 1

Confession: I suck at blogging. (As if the date of my last real post didn't already tell you that.)

My fiance? Pretty damn good at it. (BTW slide over to rehabmywardrobe.blogspot.com to give her page a ganders... after you finish reading this post, of course.)

In any case, the little lady has been so persistent and successful with her page that ... it's inspired me to give my fledgling page another shot. And truth be told, I really missing writing. (Thoughtful work emails just don't cut it.)

So w/o further ado...

- News of the day: The Redskins are bad. Exceptionally bad at that. Having said that, at the risk of forever jinxing my beloved sons of DC, I have faith in the long term plan for this team. Take Grossman (and Beck for that matter) out of the picture, as the future QB for this team is likely knee deep in coeds right now. The cornerstones of the defense are in place. (DeAngelo, you can put your hand down now. Just like you do in coverage.) The O line has seen better days but their issues stem more from a lack of depth, rather than a lack of talent. Potential playmakers, like Helu and Hankerson, have showed promise. And as evident in today's game vs. the Cowboys, this team hasn't quit. That tells you something.

So for chrissakes, Skins fans, step back from the ledge. Provided the Danny doesn't blow it all up, these losses will not be in vain. Circle the 2012 NFL Draft on your calendars. Hail.

- FINALLY. A certain 'Great One' stepped back into the squared circle tonight in Madison Square Garden. He's been known to electrify on occasion ... be it live or via satellite. Of course, I'm referring to the Rock.

If you didn't catch the Survivor Series ... well, you missed little. Pretty average tag match but obviously, the story was The Rock teaming w/ John Cena to face The Miz and R-Truth. The much ballyhooed teaming of the Wrestlemania 28 opponents was pretty slow paced throughout but the biggest take away was that Rock looked FAN-TASTIC. Physically, he looked ... well, chiseled. In the ring, The Great One didn't look like a guy who hadn't wrestled in seven years.

All in all, it was more tease than match. Pretty surprised at the finish, as I thought they would give Awesome Truth the nod to give them some heat and help build the tension between Cena and Rock. But I think WWE played it safe and gave the New York crowd a heavy dose of Rocky and they definitely ate it up. (BTW how good were the crowds this week? Boston Monday and NY tonight. Both cities brought it.) Interested to see where they go in the next five months with the build for WM28 but here's hoping Rock is back in the ring again before April.

- Lots of ground to cover still (i.e. Pacquiao/Marquez 3, UFC on Fox, UFC 139, etc.) but we are past the witching hour and a spring chicken I am not. Please to check back tomorrow. In the meantime you can catch me on the twitter. Just follow @oTHATjohn. Good tidings.

WHICH ONE DO I WATCH?! Skins vs. Texans Live Blog, 9/19

Okay, if you're reading this, you're probably wondering why I'm starting the season blogging on this game and not last week's 'Thrilla in DC...illa'. (Yeah, I'm not good w/ names.) I'll explain by saying... I have no explanation. I was so giddy w/ gold-pants fever that it never even entered my mind to blog it. Total blonde moment. Fail.

But I digest. Onward and upward.

4:31: "McNasty" has been just that so far... yetI'm still disappointed. In the meantime, I'm gonna put the finishing touches on my Graham Gano personalized jersey on NFLshop.com. 6-0 skins.

4:42: So this is what a running attack looks like...

Side note: I'm totally rooting for my own fantasy demise, unless this turns into a shootout. (This is TOTALLY what I didn't miss about fantasy football.)

4:48: Not entirely unexpected result, given the way the Texans were moving the ball. Shocker, the td pass just happens to land to RIGHT IN FRONT OF CARLOS "I'm supposed to catch the ball?" ROGERS. 7-6 the other texas team.

4:51: HUGE. FREAKING. BOMB. McNabb to Galloway for 62 yards (though it probably feels like 200 yards for the league's lone sexagenarian).

4:54: We have a Clinton Portis sighting. In the end zone no less. I have no words. 13-7 good guys.

4:58: If I ever became a sportscaster, and Mike Sellers actually did something good, I would obligated to utter the words, "And IT'S A SELLERS MARKET!" (Stu Scott, Swami, you're welcome.).

5:05: Quick story: Now that he's no longer an Eagle I can say this w/o flattering any screwboy eagles fans. Before the end of the season last year, I was totally, secretly hoping Philly would let McNabb walk... and somehow, wind up in DC. I just couldn't fathom a scenario in which they would be stupid enough to jump on the Kevin Kolb bandwagon before he was ready. Couldn't see it. Impossible. Moronic if they did it.

I give 'smart' ppl too much credit sometimes.

5:16: Srsly, where the hell did the first half go? Anyway, McNasty is inexplicably looking for Sellers (who gets an E for effort, while Fred Davis gets an A; -0.5 for not sticking the landing though). Skins driving. Fast.

5:22: I'm just shocked at how the skins are dominating the game at the line. Sick nasty. Anyway, CP with his 2nd td run (kind of killing me fantasywise but I'll live with it). 20-7 maroon and black (shouts out to Jim Zorn).

6:02: I've been drinking and scouring the fantasy waiver wire for the last 40 minutes. Sue me. Anyway... HOW BOUT THEM SKINS?!!

Srsly, the run game is concerning but the intermediate passes have more than made up for our deficiencies on the ground. I'm enjoying this right about now. 27-10 mcnasty n co.

6:39: okay, different game now at 27-20. But it was inevitable that the offense would taper off going into the second half. Defense finally comes through in a big spot on 3rd and 7 for the texans. Woosah.

6:50: Starting to sweat. Not liking the soft zone the skins seem to be sitting in. D really needs to tighten up but they just might be too tired at this stage.

6:52: Speechless. Can't believe Dre wasn't double teamed the second he came out of the locker room.

7:03: WHY WON'T THE STEPHAN HEYER SHOW EVER END?!!?