The Washington Redskins have too many talented players and too many creative coaches to lose to the building-from-scratch Minnesota Vikings. It shouldn't come down to a 48-yard John Hall field goal in the final 20 seconds, not at home.
Losing in Jacksonville, as the Cowboys did, or to the Colts, as the Giants did, is one thing. The Jaguars and Colts were playoff teams a year ago, proven entities with championship hopes of their own.
The Vikings, while 9-7 last year, are trying to figure out where they are, as a team nobody figures to do much of anything this season — and certainly not early in the season. The Vikings, coming into this season, are Brad Johnson and some guys, mostly journeymen.
Perhaps we'll look back in eight to 10 weeks and the Vikings will be the story of the first half of the season. But it's unlikely. Perhaps this is why Joe Gibbs was so high-strung in the days leading up to the game. Big things are expected of the Washington Redskins. Why else would they start the season on "Monday Night Football" in Week 1, then be on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 2? Perhaps Gibbs, maybe even the entire coaching staff, sensed this team isn't all it's hyped to be.
The Redskins ought to score more than 16 points at home against the Vikings and ought not give up as many as 19 to the Vikings.
Yet it was a losing struggle for the Redskins to score (again) and to stop the Vikings from scoring, and the whole thing collapsed in the fourth quarter under the weight of critical penalties that assisted Minnesota's winning drive.
There wasn't a spectacular failure on the part of one unit or any one player; there was just an overall dullness. Nothing about the Redskins in Week 1 hinted at greatness to come, though making any declarations off one week of regular-season football should be avoided at all costs.
Still, 0-1 with a loss to a team that doesn't figure to be a contender is a bad thing, especially with a desperate Dallas team on deck next Sunday night.
If any part of the team figured to struggle in the opener, one would think it would be the offense, not the defense. Privately, there were worries that Mark Brunell hadn't gotten the hang of the offense just yet.
And, of course, there was the injury to Clinton Portis, probably the second-most important component of the offense.
If Joe Gibbs was as nervous as many around him claimed he was going into the game, it would be because he was envisioning trouble with the offense, which couldn't produce a single point in the preseason.
Actually, the offense was okay right out of the box. Brunell hooked up with Santana Moss early on a 23-yard screen pass. Brunell picked a nice spot to run seven yards for a first down. He found Moss for a nice 15-yard gain to set up a first-and-goal. And even though the Redskins had to settle for a field goal to cut Minnesota's lead to 6-3, it was possible to see the great potential of the Gibbs/Al Saunders offense for the very first time.
And on the next possession the offense functioned even more efficiently. Brunell hit Betts with a pass, then Antwaan Randle El, then Chris Cooley, then Betts with a quick screen for 25 yards, then handed off to Portis for a quick dash around the left end for the touchdown that put the Redskins ahead, 10-6.
It wasn't only the points, it was the way the Redskins ripped through and around the Vikings that was impressive and reminded us of why Gibbs wanted to collaborate with Saunders in the first place. Everybody gets to touch the ball and the defense has no way of knowing what's coming next.
Oh, it's still very much a work in progress. Brunell didn't seem to have much time to look downfield and resorted to a lot of quick screening and dumping. But the Redskins have so many quick players —and I'm talking about Portis, Moss, and Randle El in particular — who can drive a defense crazy with the ball out in space. In three or four weeks, the Redskins ought to be able to score 24-28 points on good defenses, and certainly more than that.
(Personally, there's no way I'd have played Portis in the opener, given that the shoulder injury he suffered takes six weeks to mend, at least. I'd take a fully healthy Portis for 14 weeks instead of risking him aggravating that injury in Week 1.)
But while folks have been stressing over the offense, a couple of big holes were exposed in the Redskins defense. The combination of no pass rush and shaky coverage ought to be pretty alarming for a proven defense. And both were stunning. If Troy Williamson hadn't dropped two passes, including a perfectly lofted touchdown bomb, the Vikings might have had a double-digit lead. Marcus Robinson, fully recovered from a knee injury a few seasons ago, got open whenever he wanted, including the play on which he beat Carlos Rogers silly.
Then again, Williamson was able to do that, too. We might have learned a lot about Rogers, sadly, when he did a little dance moments after being beaten by Williamson, who simply had a touchdown pass bounce off his chest.
Champ Bailey Rogers ain't.
Yes, Brad Johnson is a proven quarterback, a Super Bowl winner. But he'll be 38 tomorrow. One would think a defense with the personnel the Redskins have could pressure him into major mistakes. But the Redskins sacked Johnson only once and hurried him into a bad pass only once. And let' s not mistake former Raven Chester Taylor, the Vikings' top runner, and receiver Travis Taylor for Hall of Famers Jim Taylor and Charlie Taylor. It was Travis Taylor who got loose on a third-and-10 and got the Vikings to midfield after a Redskins punt had pinned them inside the five. And it was Chester Taylor who made the punishing runs in the fourth quarter to set up Minnesota's decisive score.
Still, it's hard to talk about the Vikings' winning drive without being particularly critical of the Redskins defense. On third-and-nine from near midfield, when a stop would have forced a punt, Rogers decided to gamble and go for the interception, which isn't the worst move. But Rogers also failed to tackle Mr. Dropsies, Williamson, who got loose for a gain plus a 15-yard face-mask penalty against Sean Taylor who was hit for his second penalty of fourth quarter.
From what we saw Monday night, no way do the Redskins have a championship-caliber secondary without injured Shawn Springs in the lineup.
If the Redskins are going to struggle this desperately with B-list receivers like Williamson and Taylor, how in the world are they going to stay within a mile of T.O. and Terry Glenn next week in Dallas?
