With no support of a chance to win against the New England Patriots, the Washington Redskins played with heart and nearly pulled off a major upset. Near to the end of regulation with 29 seconds remaining from the Patriots’ 9, Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss bobbled a short pass from quarterback Rex Grossman into the arms of Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo to seal the victory, 34-27. “I was just thrilled that the defense made a huge play,” Grossman said about the final drive. “They kick a field goal and it is pretty tough to score twice. I was just pumped up that we had an opportunity. And then [we] converted some big third downs and kept moving the ball, and all of a sudden, we are in the position to tie the game, or go for two to win it.
“It’s just frustrating to play well and move the ball and then be in the position to win the game. To have it go the other way is frustrating.”
The Redskins' (4-9) affair with the Patriots was back and forth, as it appeared that the team who had the ball last was going win as they matched touchdowns with touchdowns and field goals with field goals.
Despite outstanding numbers, Patriots quarterback
Tom Brady, who finished 22-of-37 for 357 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, struggled to complete passes to his pass-catchers throughout the contest, especially in the red zone. Brady’s passes were either too high or behind his targets. If Brady was at his normal best, the Patriots would have had scored close to 50.
“We are always trying to score. We moved the ball pretty well,” Brady said. “We just didn’t necessarily get it in the end zone when we needed to get in the end zone. The frustrating part about today is that we left a lot of points on the board. The defense finished the game well and made a great play at the end to really save us.”
Scott Cunningham/Getty ImagesHowever, the Redskins were moving the ball as well. Grossman was making his normal bad passes mixed with timely, clutch attempts to his receivers. Grossman finished 19-of-32 for 252 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Clearly, the best aspect of the game concerning the Redskins was how balanced their offense was for the first time this season, but it is all about finishing.
“I don’t think there’s any question about it,” Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said. “We made some plays. Unfortunately, we had a few penalties late in the game that really cost us. That holding down there on the 10-yard line, the one they called on [Maurice] Hurt. We had a couple mistakes down there—pass interference.
“We had a chance to finish a couple drives and we didn’t. We set ourselves back a little bit. Overall, I was pleased with the effort, displeased not being able to finish it and do what you need to do to win.”
The Redskins’ rookie running backs carried the load for Washington. Roy Helu finished with 126 yards on 27 carries and Evan Royster contributed with 44 yards off six carries. Helu became the first rookie running back to host three consecutive 100-plus-yard games. The Redskins were fluent in their offense, in dramatic fashion converting on big third-down plays.
“It’s huge (the running game). Unless you have a one-dimensional offense, you have to have a balance,” Grossman said. “The runs have to put you in good positions to throw the ball, put you in third and manageable, getting first downs on first down, or getting first downs on second downs to keep you out of third downs. Or getting big chunks helps open up the play-action pass.
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images“It’s everything to this type of offense and it was a pretty special today. Every time I’d come out of my fake, [Roy] Helu was running down the field making guys miss, stiff-arming guys, and running through some wide open holes and making some plays. It was good to see.”
The Redskins defense struggled to tackle Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski as he over-powered, carried and dodged defenders all afternoon for 160 yards on six catches and two touchdowns (a career high).
Nevertheless, when it was time to make a play, the defense responded.
On 3rd-and-4 at the Redskins’ 4, Brady targeted wide receiver Tiquan Underwood for the touchdown. Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson played the ball and got the interception at the back end zone to give Grossman and the offense an opportunity to win or force overtime.
After the interception, Brady and offensive coordinator/quarterback coach Bill O’Brien got into a nasty shouting match from the sideline. About two minutes after argument, Brady and O’Brien were going over game notes.
“I made a terrible play, so he just let me know I made a terrible play,” Brady said. “It’s football man, it’s a game of emotion. It’s athletics…I was looking there and then I was trying to throw to Tiquan [Underwood] in the back and was trying to get it over [tight end Rob Gronkowski] and there were two other guys on him and I put too much air on it. I gave the DB a chance to make a play.”
Grossman orchestrated a 13-play drive, which could have ended with a touchdown to set up extend play. Moss caught an apparent touchdown with 1:15 remaining in the contest, but the play was called back due to his "questionable" offensive pass interference penalty. Instead, the drive ended with the ball bobbling off Moss’ hands into Mayo’s arms.
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images“[I] didn’t make the play, plain and simple,” Moss said. “I didn’t make the play but, you know, it’s football.”
When asked if Grossman played better without suspended tight end Fred Davis, knowing he could not rely on his tight end, Redskins wide receiver Donte Stallworth suggested otherwise.
“It was difficult to tell because I was focusing on getting away from my man to get open,” Stallworth said with laughter, who led the team in receiving yards with 96. “After I review some game tape, then I will know how Rex performed. But Rex don’t get enough credit. He’s a solid quarterback who knows how to get the job done and he did everything he could to help get us a win.
Our entire family left from Baltimore on Friday June 8 for a 6 day cruise to the island of Bermuda.
I had never been on a cruise before and had my doubts and concerns about the entire adventure. I've had issues with motions sickness and was quite concerned that may be an issue on the trip. Fortunately, we only had one day of rough seas and even then it never affected me.
We sailed on Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. From the moment we boarded the ship the staff were cheerful, helpful and a pleasure to be around. Our room attendant, Nelson was wonderful. He greeted us several times each day and did a super job attending to our quarters. His wife worked on the ship also as a nurse. They were from the Philippians and spent 6 months at a time on the ship and then return home for 3 months.
Along with our family my Mother-in-law Joyce and a friend, Dan and Evelyn Maddox, the Stowell's and Buswell's all were on the cruses. There were 17 of us in total.
We departed Baltimore at 4:30 and had our first dinner at 6pm. I liked that we had the early seating every evening. That way we could see the 8:30 show. Our gang wasn't much interested in doing the formal dinners so we ate at the buffet those nights. The dining options were awesome. 24 hour room service was offered. There were two separate dining areas along with the main dining room. The service int he dining room was wonderful. Each night there was a different menu and you could order multiple meals if you liked. The boys all seemed to eat steak each night.
They even offered lobster tail one night. For the most part we ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch there and then went to the dining room for dinner. The buffet had anything you could imagine and it was all delicious. Breakfast was wonderful with fancy Omelets and any other breakfast food your could think of.
During the day most of us hung out around the pool deck. The weather was spectacular except for one day. There were all kinds of activities that the entertainment department put on to keep the guests entertained. I played in a Texas Holdem tournament. I had won $100 the night before so I figured what the heck spend the $100 an enter the tournament. I wound up getting a bad beat with pocket 10's and was knocked out.
We cruised all day Saturday and Sunday and arrived in Bermuda around 4pm. We meet the family in the dining room for dinner and afterwards only Jenna and I went onto shore. We had a great time. We found a club and were a couple guys were playing music, then went to snorkel beach were a reggae band was playing. We saw an awesome sunset there.
Later we went on a glass bottom boat ride out to the Bermuda triangle. We saw beautiful coral reef, fish and even a ship wreck. We got back to the ship sometime after midnight. I couldn't believe that no one else wanted to go out. Oh well, special time for Jenna and I.
Monday after breakfast we all meet on the pier and purchased a daily transportation ticket. That allowed you to board any bus or ferry for the entire day. We decided to go Elbow Beach which was not the main beach area where most of the guest were being directed. It was about 45 minutes on the bus, which was OK because it gave you an opportunity to see some of the island. What strikes you is the cleanliness of the island.It's also odd that the drive on the left side of the road.
The beach was spectacular. Beautiful blue crystal clear water. We rented snorkel gear and those that wanted to took turns snorkeling. There actually was a shipwreck not to far off shore that you could see.
We stayed at the beach most the day and then got back on the bus to ride into Hamilton to catch a ferry back to the ship. We split up to do some shopping and were to meet for the 5:30 ferry. Well, Steve, Matt, Karen and I were at the end of the line and right as we're to board they lower the rope and no more on board. We have to wave good bye and wait an hour for the next ferry. Needless to say we were not that happy. Anyway, we got back to the ship around 7:30 and had a nice dinner. Later that evening they had a blow out deck party. Lot's of fun drinking and dancing. We were the last group to leave the deck. The older kids went on shore to a late night dance club and didn't get back until after 4. They ran into the juggler who had performed the night before and was out on the prowl with his wife.
Tuesday morning we had a few hours until the ship set sail back to Baltimore. The girls and I went onto shore and walked around the dockyard mall and purchased t shirts and other souvenirs. The ship left around noon.
Later that afternoon there was a sexiest man competition. My Brother-in-law Steve gave a valiant effort but in the end was beat out by a special needs kid. It was quite the event. Later there was a belly flop contest. Nice thing about the cruise was that there was always something to do. Each morning they would leave a flyer in your room outlining all the different entertainment options for reach day.
We pretty much did dinner and the show each night and then went to the casino for a while. I played quite a bit of Texas hold em and made a number of friends at the tables. That evening we celebrated Ed Buswell's birthday.
Wednesday was the first day we had any inclement weather. The seas were about 8-10 feet high. The boat was really rocking. We new there might be some trouble when the crew hung barf bags along the corridors and the stairways. Fortunately, for the most part, everyone was able to take some pills or put on a patch. The weather was crappy most of the day. We took in a movie, at lots of food and watch a couple shows. The ship put on a spectacular finale show with awesome singing and dancing.
We arrived back in Baltimore at 7am the next morning. We quickly departed and were home by 9:30.
All and all one of the best vacations our family has ever had. Royal Caribbean did a great job and for the cost it'd be hard to beat.
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