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.

THURSDAY MUSINGS: The Hangover

(image by Bobby Rubio / http://www.alcatrazhigh.com/)

It's been five days. I guess it's not the longest hangover I've had.

To clarify, this isn't an alcohol induced hangover (though it very well could have been). This is a sports hangover. A DC sports hangover specifically, courtesy of your WASHINGTON CAPITALS (@!#$#$^%!!!).

Now, if you are curious as to what constitutes a 'DC sports hangover', the symptoms are largely the same as a regular hangover. That is ... there's nausea, vomiting, a little whining and self-loathing, acute sensitivity to light, a headache, feelings of regret ... and of course, late night pizza. Except for the DC sports fan, these symptoms aren't the result of a night of binging, but rather days, weeks, months, even years of seemingly misguided allegiances to perennially failing institutions in the world of sport.

For anyone unfortunate enough to share my fanaticism, you will know this variety of hangover pretty well. It happens every spring, when the Capitals inevitably walk the plank in the NHL playoffs. It happens when the Wizards fall out of playoff contention. Or mid-November, whichever happens first. (Because of the lockout, you could argue that the Wizards were never in playoff contention this year so there shouldn't have been any hangover to begin with. To which I will say, eat me.) And for Redskins fans - there are a few in DC, despite all the Cowboy/Steeler/Eagle placards you see in the area - our hangovers are either weekly or bi-monthly throughout the regular season. Even with the addition of RG3, it's hard to imagine a rookie coming out of the gate and firing on all cylinders so I suspect this season will be no different. (Don't say I didn't warn you.)

But alas, after about a week of quiet reflection (and complete shunning of ESPN), I've rehydrated, I'm back on solid foods ... I'm ready for the world again. And despite the soul-crushing loss to the New York Rangers (and the subsequent loss of Coach Hunter to ... Canadian farm life), I can honestly say that the excitement of this post-season run by the Capitals was well worth it, if for no other reason but to provide a glimpse at a team capable of exceeding expectations. Now, pass the Advil.

QUICK HITTERS

- The Nationals were noticeably absent from the above rant, largely because ... there's still reason for optimism (albeit cautious optimism). Despite a rash of injuries, a dearth of run support and the incessant efforts of interim closer Henry Rodriguez to DESTROY THE UNIVERSE, DC's boys of summer are sitting in first place of the National League East. Granted, we're not even into June yet but it's encouraging to see this team power through some rough patches with damn fine pitching and timely hitting.

- Speaking of hitting, some kid named Harper ... plays for the Nats I think ... he stroked a couple good hits. That is, two homers and triple in his last three games. Not bad for a 19 year old in his rookie campaign. Then again, all those accomplishments, along with an epic steal of home base, might be trumped by this:

UFC Octagon Girl, Brittany Palmer and lucky bastard, Bryce Harper

(image: Tracy Lee / Yahoo sports)

- The Redskins unveiled their modern interpretation of a throwback uni to commemorate their 80th anniversary. This after the disastrous debut of Nike's revamped NFL uniforms which ... looked exactly like the old Reebok uniforms. The verdict? A decisive 'Meh'. I don't mind the darker hues of burgundy and gold so much as I mind the obvious similarities to both Florida State's and Boston College's respective duds. For my money, the 'leather' helmets are a 10 but it seems other fans don't share my sentiment. I would love an in person look at all these to get a better feel for them. Better yet, in-person, on a Redskin, no more than 50 yards away from me. Please. 

- That said, no matter how the jersey looks up close, it will NEVER top the 70th anniversary jersey (of which I am a proud owner):

- The NBA playoffs are going on. I say that because I assume someone cares about such things. 

- This has nothing to do with sports but 'The Avengers' F**KING RULED. Yes, I am a nerd, and yes, I have been waiting with baited breath since 2008 for this movie. But damnit, if that wasn't a movie ANYONE could get behind. Great job by Mark Ruffalo in bringing the Hulk to life. Great interactions between him and Tony Stark. Great ensemble cast. Another great turn as Loki for Tom Hiddleston. As noted radio personality Robb Spiewak would say, just GREAT. 

That's all I got today. Appreciate everyone and anyone that took a moment to read this. I know I've been way sporadic posting in the last two months but hopefully, I can keep at it from here on in. Later, friends. 

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.