Redskins at Cowboys: The Breakdown

If possible -- meaning, if I'm up to it (meaning, if I'm not lazy -- I'd like to have esome general rubric of response following a Redskins football game. A post the day after the game would be the first opportunity to establish went wrong and what went right. It would either be a celebration or a post-mortem. The second entry following the game would provide more reasoned -- I hope -- analysis, as a result of another day's worth of perspective. The third post would be a positional breakdown of the Redskins and their opponent. The fourth entry would be the game's scouting report. The fifth post would reveal some key match ups to watch, as well as which players should provide good fantasy stats. And the last post before game day would be the projected outcome . So, ideally, a week's worth of blogging leading up to gameday would look like this, assuming the Redskins played on Sunday:

Monday: Initial analysis; the good, the bad, the ugly
Tuesday: The day after the day after; more perspective = more insightful analysis
Wednesday: Positional breakdown
Thursday: Scouting report
Friday: Key match ups; fantasy studs and flops
Saturday: Projected outcome

I'd consider keeping a running blog on Sundays, but because I'm in Memphis, I can't watch the games from my apartment, unless they're on national TV. This is an ambitious project, and one with which I'm sure I'll stumble. I've been known to trumpet some grand blogging project, only to quell my own attempts later on. I'm a blogging masochist, you could say. So, I can say with complete confidence that I'll fail at this little project, as well. Especially if the Redskins initiate a losing trend. I'll find it harder to blog about a losing team with a payroll more inflated than many third world countries' GNP's. But for now, onto the ...

POSITIONAL BREAKDOWNS

Mark Brunell vs. Drew Bledsoe

Is it possible to be supremely confident in either QB at this stage in their respective QB's. I mean, there was a time when Brunell exuded an unparalleled style of QB play. He was the younger version of Steve Young, a mobile guy who could rifle the ball down field. Bledsoe, always a competent QB, has been mistake-prone his entire career. He builds expectations, sucks in fans, then flops in crunch time. But what about now? Who has the upper hand? Quite frankly, it's a push. Brunell can still move a little bit. Bledsoe is the second-coming of Bernie Koser. What separates the two, however, is their mental capacity. Brunell will not make as many errant and ill-advised throws as Bledsoe, who could very well toss two picks.

Advantage: Push

Clinton Portis vs. Juluis Jones/Marion Barber

Portis may not be fully healthy, but even a knicked up Portis is better than whatever pedestrian runner the Cowboys line up behind Bledsoe. Jones is neither fast nor powerful. Barber has blazing speed, but nothing else. Running back by committee schemes rarely work. But alone or in tandem, Jones and Barber cannot compare to the skills Portis possesses.

Advantage: Redskins

Santana Moss, Brandon Lloyd, Antwaan Randel-El vs. T.O., Terry Glenn

The Cowboys do have a solid due in Glenn and Owens. The potential is there for those two to scorch the Skins secondary, but they'll be relying on Bledsoe not to hit a Redskin corner in stride. Certainly, when healthy, T.O. is a top-three receiver in the NFL. Glenn is a nice complement. The Redskins have vast WR depth. Moss is an elite receiver, and Lloyd and Randel-El help take some pressure off him. There's no dearth of pass catching talent between these two, but the Skins depth gives them a slight edge.

Advantage: Redskins

Chris Cooley vs. Jason Whitten

Two premier pass-catching tight ends that differ only in their abilities to block. Whitten is a more proven blocker, which isn't to say he's fabulous when he's attempting to stall a charging defensive lineman. It simply means that Whitten is more suited for blocking duties than Cooley, who, in the first game against the Vikings, seemed to get lost in his new tight end position.

Advantage: Cowboys

Skins O-line vs. Boys O-line

I don't think there's even a question. Just look at how many times Brunell was sacked last year.

Advantage: Redskins

Skins defense vs. Boys defense

The two units are almost identical in terms of their one fatal flaw. Both have inadequate secondaries (this is true at the moment for the Skins because Shawn Springs isn't playing; with him, the Skins are markedly better). The Skins get slightly better linebacker play, though, while the Cowboys boast a much stronger defensive line. A slight edge goes to Dallas.

Advantage: Dallas

There you have it: a capsulated breakdown of this Sunday's opponent, the Dallas Cowboys. Neither team wants to start 0-2, so it should be an empassioned contest. Based on the breakdowns provided above, the Redskins would seem to be the favored team.