Cowboys vs Redskins Preview with The Curly R

After calling out Redskins fans we finally found a Redskin blog willing to get together and give us their views on tonight’s game! Ben over at the Curly R was gracious enough to collaborate on 5 questions with us. Head on over and check out our answers here! And by all means leave a comment over there, to keep those Skins fans quiet!

What is the most intriguing match up either offensively or defensively for our readers to watch for on Sunday night?

Curly R: I think it has to be Terrell Owens and Tony Romo and whether the Redskins can disrupt their flow. Tony is coming back from four weeks off and in week four Shawn Springs held TO to seven catches, none of which was particularly momentous, whether it is Shawn or Carlos Rogers, the top Redskins cornerback on the field will be all over TO. The Redskins pass rush has not been terrific, the team preferring to drop men into coverage rather than bum rush, we will see if Tony is ready to play or is still a little gun-shy.

In the first meeting we saw the Redskins play man coverage on Terrell Owens with a safety over top. Since that first meeting the Cowboys have traded for Roy Williams, and the Redskins signed De Angelo Hall (Who we hope gets assigned to cover T.O.). Do you believe the Redskins will continue with this same coverage? and if it changes how does it change?

Curly R: I would not expect DeAngelo Hall to have a major role in the defense in his first week with the Redskins, as I mentioned above either Shawn Springs or Carlos Rogers will be on Terrell. I think Washington will continue to play press man on the edges and flood the zones in the middle, it puts pressure on the cornerbacks to succeed and frustrates receivers when they do.

Last week after the Redskins Steelers game Santana Moss threatened to “go after Steelers fans”. Should Cowboy fans bring back up to help protect them from the 5’10” 185lbs. Santana Moss?

Curly R: not a good sign, Santana Moss getting frustrated like that. There were thousands of douchebag Steelers fans at Redskins Stadium two weeks ago and Santana is not 100 percent healthy. For the fourth year in a row no other Washington receiver has emerged as a legitimate deep threat and if Santana has a bad night I would expect all he will see in the stands is silver and blue. Look for the passing game to stay short with tight end Chris Cooley if Santana does not have the upper gears.

In the first meeting the Redskins put high priority on clock control as the key element in assuring a victory. Now with the likelihood of Clinton Portis not playing or having a limited role due to injury, does their key to success change? And if it does what should we expect to see them do?

Curly R: this is another problem for the Redskins. It is fairly well understood that the Redskins offensive line is better and has more fun run blocking than pass blocking. Left tackle Chris Samuels will play after missing the Pittsburgh game before the bye which will help the ground game. My sources say Clinton is 99 percent not playing so I would expect Ladell Betts to get 60 percent of the carries and Shaun Alexander and Rock Cartwright to split the other 40. If the Redskins cannot run they cannot win, west coast offense be damned.

After getting shoved around by the Steelers a week ago, has the confidence of the Redskins (primarily the offensive line) been shaken?

Curly R: I don’t think shaken as much as worn down. Washington played fourteen straight weeks of football, from the first preseason Hall of Fame Game through week nine and everyone needed a rest. Every starter on the offensive line is over 30 and they needed a break. Hopefully the Steelers game was just a bad day at the office, everyone got lots of sleep and ate their veggies and is ready to go out and hit somebody. This will be a great game.