Injury-plagued Redskins let another one slip

By Ben Linton

This is becoming a monotonous theme of the Washington Redskins’ season. This time, Washington blew another 4th quarter lead to a divisonal opponent, as the Philidelphia Eagles clipped the Skins 27-24 at Lincoln Financial Field. Although they were without stars Albert Hanyesworth, DeAngelo Hall, Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, and Chris Cooley, it was the way that the Redskins lost that really hurt. To give such a good effort and come up short can really kill a team’s morale. Here’s the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Week 12.

Good:

1. For the second straight game, Washington was great on third down efficiency, converting 8 of 17 attempts. This is odd because usual these are passing situations when the offensive line can’t block, but somehow the Skins continue to get it done. The Redskins were only sacked twice this game, compared to five the last meeting.

2. DeSean Jackson has torched Washington this year for 3 touchdowns. But a big hit on him by London Fletcher gave him a concussion to put him out of the game. Although you never want to condone injuring another player, thats one way to take the opponents best player out of the game.

Bad:

1. Jason Campbell’s two interceptions two Asante Samuel were huge momentum swingers and led to 6 Philly points. To beat a good team like the Eagles, you can’t turn the ball over.

Ugly:

1. Once again the Skins failed to close out another game in the 4th quarter. They lead 24-16 with 11:42 remaining, but could not hold on. This was the 5th time the Redskins lost a game when leading in the 4th quarter. Not clutch.

Next Up: The undefeated New Orleans Saints at FedEx Field, a game that I am going to. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Tiger Woods 911 Call

By Jesse Jones

For those interested, here’s the 911 call from Tiger Woods’ neighbor after his car accident.

Audio Link

Terps football- Where do they go from here?

By Ben Linton

Lets put aside this 2-10 record. Throw out the 19-17 loss to Boston College. Whats more important right now is where the direction of Maryland football is heading. The obvious goal is to make it to the ACC Championship, but how do they get there? Athletic Director Debbie Yow and Coach Ralph Friedgen will discuss the future of Terps football on meetings Sunday and Monday, which will give us a clearer picture. For now, all we can talk about is next year and what we can expect.

The team only loses 14 seniors, and returns a load of talent, including Running Backs Da’Rel Scott and Davin Meggett, Wide Recievers Torrey Smith and Adrian Cannon, and Linebackers Alex Wujciak and Adrian Moten. Quarterback Jamarr Robinson showed flashes of greatness in his two starts, and may be a stud in the future under center for the Terps.

But all of that means nothing if the Terps can’t block. The Offensive Line was obviously a mess this year and huge part of the reason Maryland was not successful. The only loss is Center Phil Costa, and Left tackle Bruce Campbell will return and possibly be a pro prospect. But the development of the other lineman will be key to Maryland’s success in the future.

The defensive line wasn’t very impressive either this season, and losses three starters. Big A.J. Francis will be the only returning starter in the middle, so somebody else will have to step up. The secondary also loses three starters, with Cameron Chism the only returning player.

So it looks like Maryland will have to rely on recruiting, and it starts on the lines. Last year Maryland had the 26th best recruiting class highlighted by four-star Guard Pete White, Defensive End De’Onte Arnett, Cornerback Travis Hawkins, and Running Back Caleb Porzel. The only player to see action was Porzel, so im guessing the other three redshirted.

How does the class look this year? Take a look for yourself. Four star OL Nathaniel Clarke and DE David Mackall higlight the class, so it looks like the Terps are hitting the right spots on the recruiting trail. However, you can’t just have one good player on the line, you need at least two or three so the group plays well as a collective unit.

But when a team endures a 2-10 season, obvious changes need to be made. It will cost $4 million dollars to buyout Friedgen to fire him, so I don’t know if that is a possibility. I say just keep him around for one more year. You can’t fire Franklin since he’s the head coach in waiting, and if he’s not coach by 2011 you owe him $1 million. Not worth it. Can’t fire DC Don Brown since it was just his first year and he hasn’t had the chance to recruit players to fit his system. But something needs to be done. Something has to change. Or else Maryland may be stuck in its losing days for years to come.

The schedule next year is not very favorable either. The Terps open with Navy at M&T Bank Stadium, then take on Eastern Michigan at home. They end the non-conference with a trip to Morgantown and rival West Virginia. The conference schedule includes games at Miami, at Virginia, at Clemson, at Boston College, and home games against Florida State, Wake Forest, NC State, and Duke. Tough sledding for the Terps next season.

There are a lot of questions surfacting in College Park, and these next few days will give us a lot of understanding about the future of Maryland Football.

All they have done: Maryland football seniors

By Ben Linton

Tomorrow afternoon the Maryland football team will cap off a dissapointing season at Byrd Stadium against Boston College. Instead of talking about all the negatives that have gone wrong this season, lets reflect upon the 14 seniors that have had good careers as Terps.

This senior class has a record of 25-25, gone to three bowls (won two), and has won 7 games against ranked opponents. Here they are:

CB Nolan Carroll- Carroll came into the year the #1 corner, but was lost for the season with a broken leg. He was a solid tackler and good in pass coverage.

C Phil Costa- The anchor of the offensive line. Moved over from left guard to center this season to help out the team, and has done a good job mentoring a very young and inexperienced offensive line.

SS Jamari McCollough- Led the Terps in interceptions last year with four, and has another this year. 26 tackles and a sack as well.

DE Deege Galt- 21 tackles and 2.5 in his first year as a starter. Not very big or athletic, but plays and works very hard.

TE Tommy Galt- Mainly used as a blocking tight end, but has 13 receptions for 120 yards this season.

FS Terrell Skinner- A hard hitter in the secondary that has recorded 59 tackles this year (133 career). Has one interception, two in his career.

DE Jared Harrell- 20 tackles and 0.5 sacks in his first year as a starter. Recovered a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown against Virginia Tech.

DT Travis Ivey- Maryland’s best player on the defensive line this season. 25 tackles and a sack this season.

FB Corey Jackson- Jackson is probably the most underrated player on Maryland’s offense. He is like a sixth lineman out there and is a great blocker. Has two rushing touchdowns and 29 receptions in his career.

QB Chris Turner- Turner has been the starter on and off for three years since he came in for the injured Jordan Steffy against #10 Rutgers and fueled the Terps to victory. He plays his best against ranked teams, in which he is 6-2. 6,433 passing yards and 30 touchdowns in his career, 1,968 yards and 10 TD this season. Was lost for the season with a knee injury against North Carolina State.

CB Anthony Wiseman- A speedy corner that has 45 tackles this season, 94 in his career. Has broken up nine passes this season.

Hopefully Maryland can send these seniors off victorious for one last time tomorrow at Byrd Stadium. The game will be televised by ESPNU at 3:30 pm.

NFL Network FAIL

By Jesse Jones

In last night’s game between the Broncos and the Giants, the NFL Network had a expletive dropped on national television.  After a few mistakes by Denver’s offensive line in the red zone that forced them into kicking a field goal, head coach Josh McDaniels was living.  I was watching the game, and as they showed McDaniels on the sideline, I heard “All we’re trying to do is win a motherf-ing game!” Excuse me?  Did everybody watching this game really just hear that?  Why, yes they did.

The NFL Network has apologized for this error, but does it really matter?  Not really.  Everybody would have known what he said even if they bleeped out the word.  Atleast McDaniels is fired up over the mistakes and making his team better.  I mean, after four straight losses and losing the division lead, what coach wouldn’t be mad?

The Broncos eventually won the game 26-6.

Turkey Day Feast

My Feast Minus The Rolls/Apple Pie

By Jesse Jones

Thanksgiving is a great day.  You spend time with your family and friends, watch football, and eat like a king.  It’s a day when you get to reflect on what/who is special in your life, and anything in general that you are thankful for, such as the troops who serve and protect us.  You can’t thank them enough.

When you’re not eating and have time to sit around with everybody, there’s always a football game on.  This year’s lineup wasn’t the best, but the night game had the most potential to be a good game.  The Giants are currently playing in Denver, a game that is crucial for both the Steelers and the Ravens because of playoff seeding.  Texas is also playing at A&M, and the Atlanta Hawks are defending their home court against the Orlando Magic.

So on a day with so much to do and so much to eat, just be thankful that we have all these opportunities to be able to do some of this stuff.

Thanks for all the views and comments, it’s just one thing that the All Metro Sports World is thankful for.

Wizards on ESPN tomorrow night

By Ben Linton

A little notority and publicity will be given to a DMV team tomorrow night as the Washington Wizards (4-9) will take on the red hot (no pun intended) Miami Heat (9-5, winners of two straight). The Game will be televised on ESPN and tipoff is set for 7 pm.

The Wizards have already played the Heat twice, losing both contests by an average of 9 points. Guard Dwayne Wade has scored 81 points in the two games against the Wizards. This should motivate the Wiz to get things going against a tough conference opponent.

Dissapointment in Paradise

By Ben Linton

The Maryland Terrapins ended their vacation in paradise with a dissapointing 78-69 loss to Wisconsin in the Maui Invitational today. After cruising past the host school Chaminade in the first game, the Terps lost to the likes of Cincinnati and Wisconsin by an average of 10.5 points.

Wisconsin shot 10 for 22 (45%) from three, while Maryland shot 10 for 17 (58%) from the free throw line, which was not a good combination. Once again the Terps were out-rebounded 33-26 by a more physical team.

This is a missed opportunity for Maryland to build a strong non-conference resume. Both Cincy and Wisconsin will probably be in the tournament, so beating them would make a case for the Terps to get in.

I think that right now is no time to panic, but Maryland definately does not deserve to be ranked any time soon. Maybe when they get Dino Gregory back (Dec.12), this team will improve, especially in rebounding.

The next game for the Terps is at Indiana on Tuesday for the Big Ten ACC Challenge.

Caps Tied For First

By Jesse Jones

After 25 games, the Washington Capitals are tied for first with their rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Both teams have 34 points, but the Penguins have more wins (17) and zero overtime losses compared to the Caps, who have 14 wins and 6 overtime losses.

The Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres tonight in Washington 2-0, behind a tremendous effort from Varlamov, who made 25 saves.  This was Varlamov’s first regular season shutout of his career.  Washington was also lifted by goals from Alex Ovechkin (17) and Eric Fehr (4).

Two out of the next three games for the Caps are on the road, as they travel to Montreal and Carolina, before returning home to face the Panthers.

Not A Good Effort

By Ben Linton

After winning its opening match in The Maui Invitational against Divison II Chaminade, The Maryland Terrapins basketball team took its first loss of the season to a more inspired Cincinnati team by a score of 69-57.

The Terps were 2 for 15 from three point land and 17-31 on free throws, which is not acceptable. Any time you score 57 points, you are more than likely going to be on the losing side of the ball.

Greivis Vasquez scored a season high of 19 points, so hopefully he is back on track. It seemed like early in the season, he was trying to get his teammates more involved, but this game he knew he had to take some of the weight on his shoulders and did so. He was the only Terp in double digits in the scoring column.

This can be a learning experience for the Terps. Although they are a more talented team this year than year’s past, they still have to play hard every night to win, case and point this game here. Cincinnati just wanted it more than Maryland, and thats why they are in the finals and the Terps aren’t. Usually key hustle stats are rebounds, in which Cincinnati out-rebounded the Terps 43-33 with 14 offensive. That just shows a lack of effort on the Terps part, mixed with hustle and determination on the part of the Bearcats.

The Terps end their trip to Maui tomorrow against the loser of the Gonzaga/Wisconsin game.