Why bother?

There really isn't much to say about the Redskins loss to the Giants Monday night.

From the opening drive, it was quite clear the Giants were an experienced, sound playoff team. The Redskins are about as far from that as you can get.

When it was over, it was 45-12, certainly the most embarrassing Redskins loss of the year and rivaling the 52-7 walloping the Patriots put on the them back in 2007.

The talk going into the game, about Redskins players with the arrival of new GM Bruce Allen, was "These guys are playing for their jobs."

If so, a lot of guys lost their job today. There's not one player who had a good game. Marcus Mason -- who should not be playing for the Redskins next year -- had a decent game running the ball.

Also, I should mention that Fred Davis had a heck of a game as well. He continues to impress replacing Cooley.

The Redskins defense, especially, was eaten alive. The Giants completely owned the first quarter. They had a 10-minute drive. Most of the first half was controlled by N.Y. The second half wasn't much better.

The Redskins were better off not even stepping on the field. All there was Monday night was a giant embarrassment on national TV.

The witch is dead

Sing it now, friends.

Vinny Cerrato, the universally despised president of football operations for the Washington Redskins, resigned early Thursday morning.

Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Witch is dead. He's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Wicked Witch is dead!

By the way, I'm giggling like a schoolgirl that the best way to describe Cerrato is "universally despised." God.

But, the rumor is that the Redskins have hired for Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen to run the show. Allen is the son of former Redskins coach George Allen.

To me, it's pretty clear that Dan Snyder really wanted a big change. If he didn't want a change, he wouldn't have fired Cerrato (which is what happened, regardless of whether Cerrato "resigned.")

So, goodbye Jim Zorn. Goodbye Jason Campbell (probably).

Allen was the GM in Tampa for a long time. His former head coach in Tampa was Jon Gruden, who, coincidentally, is calling the Redskins-Giants Monday Night Football game this Monday night in D.C. Do you guys really believe in coincidence?

Look for Gruden in D.C. next year.

Jason Campbell deserves more time

As the season comes to a close, one of the more pertinent questions for the Redskins is that of their quarterback.

Do the bring back Jason Campbell, or do they go in another direction?

Earlier this year, I would bet some good money that the team was planning on going in another direction. After all, Campbell and the offense as a whole had not played well. Even last week, de facto GM Vinny Cerrato scouted both Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen and Texas QB Colt McCoy.

I myself have been long calling for Campbell to be benched. I still think he holds the ball too long and doesn't make quick reads and decisions.

But maybe it was too soon to start looking elsewhere.

Since Sherman Lewis started calling the plays and especially over the past four games, Campbell and the offense have thrived.

Has it saved his job?

It's undeniable that Campbell is not a perfect quarterback. He will never be a Brett Favre or a Peyton Manning. But he is better than Trent Dilfer, who quarterbacked the 2000 Ravens to a Super Bowl championship.

As the weeks go on, the more and more I think that the Redskins SHOULD bring Campbell back.

No, he probably will never put the team on his back and will it to a come-from-behind victory, but he's good enough to manage the game and won't lose many games by himself.

The Redskins have spent much of the last 15 years tearing everything down and rebuilding. Maybe it's time to just let things coast and see where it takes the team.

Sherman Lewis seems to be having an effect. Let he and Zorn run things awhile longer with Campbell in place.

But please, dear god, solidify the offensive line.

Orakpo's coming out party

On a big day in many ways, Brian Orakpo's performance stood out. The rookie out of Texas finally had a breakout performance, a game to remember.

Four sacks.

Whatever you want to say about the Redskins - they've definitely had a down season - Orakpo will be a great player. He already is.

All together, it was a great defensive performance by the Redskins. They totaled eight sacks. Orakpo led with four, Andre Carter had two and Lorenzo Alexander and Doughty had one each.

The offense performed as well as it had since Sherman Lewis took over the play calling. Quinton Ganther, the Redskins fourth starting running back this season, came through for two touchdowns.


Offensive thoughts

• Fred Davis came through again with two touchdowns. That tight end play next season should be interesting. I think the Redskins could come up with a very good two tight end set and create big mis-matches with Cooley and Davis. When Cooley was healthy, we never saw Davis. With Cooley out, Davis has suddenly shown up big.

Next season, Redskins need to use both tight ends better.

• Ganther was a bright spot. The Redskins continue to get more production out of backup running backs than they got out of Portis. Ganther ran for 50 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns. Great, great play. He also had a few catches.

• Campbell's play -- 16 of 28 for 222 yards and two touchdowns -- was solid. He was pressured throughout the game but came out alright. He's still got to get rid of the ball quicker.

• I loved, loved, that the Redskins went for the throat up 27-13. Instead of settling for a FG, the coaches called a good drive to get another TD.

• Graham Gano -- the new kicker -- did a good job. Made some solid kicks and had two good kickoffs for touchbacks. I'll reserve final judgment for when he makes a pressure kick to win or lose a game. That'll tell me who he really is, but it was a good start.

Defensive thoughts

• I really can't say enough about Orakpo, but he had a tremendous game.

• The Redskins seemed to want to be more aggressive on defense -- more blitzes, lots of pressure. It worked, especially by the end of the game. The Raiders' offensive linemen didn't know who to block. Definitely worked out well for the Skins, who had eight sacks - the most in... as long as I can remember.

• I think this is a plus - Landry only got burnt on one double move. I really want to like the guy, he was a 6th overall pick, but the guy isn't impressing. The Redskins seemed to move him closer to the line and play him like a linebacker. I think this was a good move. Landry can hit well and has a lot of speed. Keep him up near the line of scrimmage.

Overall, a big victory and something to build off of.

Redskins finding new ways to lose games

For once, the Redskins offense showed up.

For once, Jason Campbell played well.

For once, the play-calling was perfect.

But the Redskins found yet another way to lose a game. In perhaps the Redskins most painful loss of the year, it was the kicking game and turnovers which burned the Skins late.

Points:

• I continue to be incredibly unhappy with the Redskins red-zone offense. It's almost like the Skins coaches are afraid to make a mistake. It's the same with the way the Redskins play with a lead. They have a lead and seem to not to want to make a mistake.
• You can't win too often in the NFL when you play scared.
• Shaun Suisham, for as well as he's played for the most part this year, the guy just can't make a field goal when it really matters. He failed against the Cowboys two weeks ago, and he failed today. His miss from 23 yards sealed the Redskins' loss.
• Laron Landry had a mixed game. He had several very good tackles up near the line of scrimmage. He's a natural strong safety, and he plays like it. But he got burned deep twice in coverage.
• I thought Jason Campbell played very well for most of the afternoon. It also helps that the Saints' defense is missing a few defensive backs. He threw for a career-high 367 yards, but his interception on a potentially game-winning drive was perhaps the worst possible thing that could have happened.
• I thought Devin Thomas had a terrific game - the best of his young career. He needs to do this every game, and the Redskins need to get him the ball and allow him to consistently have that success. It was also another good game for Fred Davis. I'm not sure how the Redskins will handle the tight end position when Chris Cooley comes back next year. Davis is a starter and potentially a Pro Bowl player. Cooley is already a Pro Bowler.

Question

How the heck did the Saints get the ball back in OT after Sellers' fumbled?

Sellers did fumble - not going to argue that - but the play was called dead. So Sellers stops even going for the ball. The Saints player - McAlister? - stops as well and picks up the ball about four seconds after the play was called dead. So the refs blew the whistle and Sellers stops going for the ball and the refs give the ball to the Saints? Maybe I'm wrong about this one, but I call that ridiculous.

Definitely a tough loss to swallow. The Redskins should have won this game. There were many plays in there - the punt where the ball hit Kevin Barnes and the Saints recovered; the strip after the INT that was returned for a Saints TD - that should have doomed the Redskins.

But the Redskins did play well today. They played well enough to win. I guess that's something.