SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010
KLMNO
EZ SU
REDSKINS VS. VIKINGS Political Football
BY SEN. AL FRANKEN The other day an old high school
friend asked me what I’ve been doing with my leisure time. I told him that I enjoy watching my Vikings.We laughed sardonically. Bitterly, to be honest. If it’s possible, this fall has been worse for Vikings fans than for Democrats. There’s very little point in going
PAUL SANCYA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Vikings gave Sen. Al Franken (D- Minn.) more to smile about last season.
Hard Hits
LAVAR ARRINGTON’S KEYMATCHUPS
Excerpts from voices.
washingtonpost.com/hardhits
Offense The offense has
struggled on third-down conversions all season but improved Sunday. It must continue to build on third-
down efficiency this week against another solid defense. The offensive line continues to
struggle, and injuries hit hard Sunday. This is a much better defensive line— maybe the best in football when they are on their game. So the offensive line will need to be ready to battle. This will be the highlightedmatchup this weekend. The difference in this game will be the blocking or lack thereof. DonovanMcNabb had to throw the
ball better in last week’s game, and he did. It will be crucial forMcNabb to put together consecutive good performances throwing the ball.He got guys involved in the passing game last week and had some success, throwing for nearly 400 yards.He needs to build off that and make this his best week throwing of the year. The receivers did a much better job of
catching the ball last week; they too will need to build on their performances Sunday. Last but not least, as we all know, the
Redskins will need to try and establish their ground game. Edge:Redskins.
Defense The Redskins’ defensive
line will have to fight to push back the Vikings’ big and strong offensive line. If the Redskins can get off the
ball and win the battle up front, it will allow the linebackers to run around and make plays. That means getting to Adrian Peterson before he gets his shoulders north and south, but it also means having a chance to get into Brett Favre’s face. The tight end, Visanthe Shiancoe,
and the young speedster PercyHarvin are Favre’s favorite targets. The Redskins’ secondary will need to concentrate on how to contain and limit these two targets to control the game. Shiancoe provides that strong and
fast receiving tight end that Favre depends on when he needs to just get rid of the ball.Harvin, on the other hand, has that big-play ability to score from anywhere on the field, so the Vikings will try to get him the ball in space, whether by screen or downfield. Slow these guys down, and it’s a guarantee that Favre will throw the ball to the defense. Edge:Redskins.
Special teams The Redskins must
cover punts and kickoffs well and not give up any big plays, or that would create momentum for
Favre and the Vikes. If the Redskins cover well and make Favre do the work, he seems to be more inconsistent than ever this season, so I say test the odds that he will make mistakes.Harvin is a big-time play maker and if he is back returning kicks, coverage will play a major part in this game. Blocking well on returns needs to be a
priority. If the blocking is there, Brandon Banks, with his steadily improving knee should be more effective returning the ball.
Again, field goals are a must. If the
Redskins attempt one, Graham Gano needs to be money. There cannot be any missed opportunities if the Redskins are to beat the Vikings. Edge:Redskins.
QB
2 6
REDSKINS’RESULTSANDSCHEDULE
SEPT. 12 Redskins 13, Cowboys 7
6.52 out of 10
SEPT. 19 Texans 30, Redskins 27
6.14 out of 10
SEPT. 26 Rams 30, Redskins 16
2.11 out of 10
OCT. 3 Redskins 17, Eagles 12
6.31 out of 10
OCT. 10 Redskins 16, Packers 13
6.40 out of 10
OCT. 17 Colts 27, Redskins 24
6.04 out of 10
OCT. 24 Redskins 17 Bears 14
5.47 out of 10
OCT. 31 Lions 37, Redskins 25
2.57 out of 10 FANAPPROVALRATING:Howdo you think the teamis doing? Cast your vote
atwashingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider.
NOV. 15 Eagles 59, Redskins 28
1.43 out of 10
NOV. 21 Redskins 19, Titans 16
6.67 out of 10
SUNDAY Minnesota 1 p.m.
FOX
DEC. 5
atN.Y.Giants 1 p.m.
FOX
DEC. 12 TampaBay 1 p.m.
FOX
DEC. 19 atDallas 1 p.m.
FOX
DEC. 26 at Jacksonville 1 p.m.
FOX
JAN. 2
N.Y.Giants 1 p.m.
FOX
The right tight end running the deep route actually also blocks the middle linebacker out of the play. At the same time, the secondary is following the receiver and left-side tight end on their crossing routes, and the remaining linebackers are split between intermediate coverage and covering the halfback. Thus, the deep tight
end is left completely uncovered, and the quarterback has time to throw across his body, hit the tight end in stride, and watch while the tight end rumbles for a long gain. Multi-tight end sets are often thought of as setups for power running plays, but this play shows how the right kinds of play action and misdirection can set a defense on edge and leave gaping holes in coverage.
on
washingtonpost.com
MORE ONLINE: View an animated version of the breakdown, and check back for live updates during the game vs. the Vikings.
washingtonpost.com/shanahanplaybook
RTE LB LB WR LTE 1
This play is run out of what is basically a three- tight set, with the H-back behind the right tight end. The right tight end runs a drag-to-wheel route across the line. The idea is to position the tight end against the flow of the offense, which counteracts coverage. This is done with rollout play action by the quarterback, the crossing route
run by the wide receiver, and the circle route run by the left tight end. All three linebackers bite on the original play fake and follow the halfback. The line employs slide protection to the left, further selling the run action fake.
through the whole saga. If you’re a football fan, you probably know it. Here are some key words and phrases: So
close last year. Favre. Interceptions. Al- leged sexting. Moss. Childress. Every week gets worse. More interceptions. Packers, 31-3. 3-7. Crappy. My son, who follows the Vikings
obsessively, told me after the Bears loss two weeks ago that he’s decided to stop watching so he can “move on with my life.” Even so, he couldn’t help himself and watched the first three quarters of our 31-3 loss to the Packers. I amnot a fairweather fan andwill be
at FedEx Field on Sunday cheering on the Vikes. For Adrian Peterson,who is so
6
D5
REDSKINS INSIDER: Use our experimental tool, Redskins Game Center, to break down
every game this season. Go to
washingtonpost.com/gamecenter.
Time: 1 p.m. Site: FedEx Field. Records: Redskins 5-5, Vikings 3-7. TV:WTTG-5, WBFF-45. Radio: WWXT (92.7 FM); WWXX (94.3 FM); WTEM (980 AM). Line: Even. Smarter stats: Minnesota has 77 penalties through the first 11 weeks, which is about league-average, but RT Phil Loadholt (second in the league with 11) and TE Visanthe Shiancoe account for 21 of them.
Franken can’t help himself, as he plans to be at FedEx Field to root for struggling Minnesota against Washington
beautiful to watch. For underrated line- backer Chad Greenway, who I love to watch even after he told me when I visited training camp that he’s aRepubli- can. For Jim Kleinsasser, the fullback and tight end from the University of North Dakota who’s been with the team for 12 years and is my favorite. Except maybe for PercyHarvin. I often wonder if caring so much
about sports franchises is just plain stupid. I like sports, but I don’t wax philosophic about the power and grace of athleticism or find any real deep
Sen. Al Franken finds reasons to continue cheering for his homestate Vikings during this dismal campaign.
REDSKINSROSTER 3 Beck, John
THESHANAHANPLAYBOOKBYDOUGFARRAR Using crossing routes to beat coverages
We’ve written a lot about tight ends, and that’s because Mike Shanahan has used these strategies going back to the days of Shannon Sharpe in Denver. As the NFL sees more multi-tight end sets, there are more tight end specialists — specific blockers, H-backs who do it all (such as Chris Cooley), and even some who are basically big flankers.
4 Gano, Graham
5 McNabb, Donovan 8 Grossman, Rex
13 Armstrong, Anthony 16 Banks, Brandon 17 Smith, Hunter 18 Austin, Terrence 20 Harris, Macho 22 Rogers, Carlos 23 Hall, DeAngelo 24 Davis, James 25 Barnes, Kevin 26 Portis, Clinton 30 Landry, LaRon
31 Buchanon, Phillip 34 Westbrook, Byron 35 Williams, Keiland 36 Young, Darrel 37 Doughty, Reed 40 Brown, Andre 41 Moore, Kareem 45 Sellers, Mike 46 Torain, Ryan 47 Cooley, Chris
52 McIntosh, Rocky 54 Blades, H.B. 56 Riley, Perry
57 Sundberg, Nick 59 Fletcher, London 61 Rabach, Casey 63 Montgomery,Will 64 Golston, Kedric 66 Dockery, Derrick 71 Williams, Trent 74 Heyer, Stephon 75 Hicks, Artis
76 Bryant, Anthony 77 Brown, Jammal
WR LTE RB RTE H-BACK
78 Lichtensteiger, Kory 82 Paulsen, Logan 86 Davis, Fred
87 Williams, Roydell 89 Moss, Santana 90 Jarmon, Jeremy 91 Holliday, Vonnie
92 Haynesworth, Albert 93 Daniels, Phillip 94 Carriker, Adam 95 Wilson, Chris
96 Kemoeatu, Ma’ake 97 Alexander, Lorenzo 98 Orakpo, Brian 99 Carter, Andre
VIKINGSROSTER 4 Favre, Brett
5 Kluwe, Chris
7 Jackson, Tarvaris 8 Longwell, Ryan 12 Harvin, Percy 14 Webb, Joe 17 Lewis, Greg 18 Rice, Sidney 19 Baskett, Hank
20 Williams, Madieu 21 Allen, Asher
25 Johnson, Tyrell 26 Winfield, Antoine 28 Peterson, Adrian 29 Sheppard, Lito 31 Cook, Chris 32 Gerhart, Toby
33 Sanford, Jamarca 34 Young, Albert 37 Frampton, Eric 38 Tahi, Naufahu 39 Abdullah, Husain 40 Kleinsasser, Jim 41 Walker, Frank 46 Loeffler, Cullen 50 Henderson, Erin 51 Leber, Ben
52 Greenway, Chad 54 Brinkley, Jasper 55 Onatolu, Kenny 56 Henderson, E.J. 59 Farwell, Heath 62 Cook, Ryan 65 Sullivan, John 68 Cooper, Jon 69 Allen, Jared 71 Loadholt, Phil 72 DeGeare, Chris 73 Kennedy, Jimmy 74 McKinnie, Bryant 76 Hutchinson, Steve 79 Brown, Patrick
81 Shiancoe, Visanthe 83 Dugan, Jeff
85 Camarillo, Greg 87 Berrian, Bernard 90 Evans, Fred 91 Edwards, Ray 93 Williams, Kevin 94 Williams, Pat 96 Robison, Brian 97 Griffen, Everson 98 Guion, Letroy
meaning in football or baseball. I just root like crazy for the Vikings and the Twins. During the health care debate, Atul
Gawande, a noted surgeon and academ- ic, consistently wrote seminal pieces on the subject. One, on end-of-life care, put the “death panel” crowd to shame. In it, Gawande wrote of one patient with terminal cancerwho told his doctor that life would be worth living as long as he could still eat chocolate ice cream and watch football on TV. I completely understand.
QB 6-2 215 K 6-1 196 QB 6-2 240 QB 6-1 236 WR 5-11 182 WR 5-7 150 P 6-2 209 WR 5-11 172 S 6-0 200 CB 6-0 189 CB 5-10 192 RB 5-11 218 CB 6-1 185 RB 5-11 219 S 6-0 217 CB 5-11 186 CB 5-10 204 RB 5-11 223 FB 5-11 245 S 6-1 206 RB 6-0 224 S 5-11 217 FB 6-3 268 RB 6-1 212 TE 6-3 250 LB 6-2 239 LB 5-10 242 LB 6-0 238 LS 6-0 246 LB 5-10 245 C 6-4 288
C/G 6-3 307 DE 6-4 300 G 6-6 325 OT 6-5 315 OT 6-6 332 G/T 6-4 314 NT 6-3 376 OT 6-6 313 G 6-3 290 TE 6-5 264 TE 6-4 255 WR 6-0 178 WR 5-10 209 DE 6-3 286 DL 6-5 285 DT 6-6 335 DE 6-5 302 DE 6-6 311 LB 6-4 247 NT 6-5 364 LB 6-1 272 LB 6-4 255 LB 6-4 257
QB 6-2 222 P 6-4 215 QB 6-2 225 K 6-0 200 WR 5-11 184 QB 6-4 220 WR 6-0 185 WR 6-4 202 WR 6-4 220 S 6-1 203 CB 5-9 194 S 6-0 207 CB 5-9 180 RB 6-1 217 CB 5-10 194 CB 6-2 212 RB 6-0 231 S 5-10 200 RB 5-10 209 S 5-11 205 FB 6-0 254 S 6-0 204 TE 6-3 272 CB 5-11 200 LS 6-5 241 OLB 6-3 244 OLB 6-3 244 OLB 6-2 242 LB 6-1 252 LB 6-2 225 MLB 6-1 245 LB 6-0 235 T 6-6 328 C 6-4 301 C 6-2 291 DE 6-6 270 T 6-8 343 OL 6-4 325 DT 6-4 320 T 6-8 335 G 6-5 313 T 6-5 310 TE 6-4 240 FB 6-4 258 WR 6-1 190 WR 6-1 185 DT 6-4 305 DE 6-5 268 DT 6-5 311 DT 6-3 317 DE 6-3 259 DE 6-3 273 DT 6-4 303
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158