Cooley calls in and thinks Alex Smith just played one of his best games. He thinks the Smith and the offense are getting better. Plenty of Tampa recap and Houston preview along with conversation about Norman and Swearinger comments. ESPN’s Tim Legler is a huge Skins’ fan….he joined the show and talked about his confidence level in their 6-3 record. His thoughts on the Wizards, Warriors, and the East as well.
Kevin and Thom discuss the Josh Norman and DJ Swearinger comments about Redskins’ fans. They also discuss the Skins’ biggest competitor in the NFC East…is it Dallas or Philly? Other topics include some Wizards, Tom Wilson/Caps, and whether or not the Rams and Chiefs will be allowed back into the country after their game in Mexico City.
Kevin recaps the Redskins 16-3 win in Tampa in great detail. He brings in JP Finlay/NBC Sports Washington to talk about the game and Josh Norman’s comments. He goes “Around the NFL” recapping Dallas’ win in Philadelphia and the rest of Sunday’s games. He finishes up the show looking back at Maryland’s loss at Indiana on Saturday along with some discussion on the bigger college games of the day as well. He also spends some time on the Wizards and the Jimmy Butler trade.
The Redskins will beat the Bucs if….
- …Alex Smith steps up, makes plays, and leads the offense to a legitimate scoring day. The offensive line is in shambles. I’m not ignoring that and it won’t be easy to overcome. However, one of the big reasons many were so excited about Alex Smith was his ability to create. His ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing was the part of his game that Jay Gruden admitted he was excited to see. I thought last week’s drive down 14-nothing was his best drive of the year. If you wanted a defensive opponent for a trial run with a new offensive line, you’d be hard pressed to find a better one to face than Tampa’s. It has been truly terrible. It’s a defense that allows lots of yards and lots of points on a weekly basis. The Bucs have allowed over 40 three times already. Yes, the offense has turned it over a ton and put its defense in a bind but they are still allowing 414 yards per game. The Redskins have had one game of over 400 yards and that came in the opener against a pitiful and unready Arizona team. Alex Smith has good wheels. His strength was to be the guy who could make a play when the play broke down. While this isn’t a referendum game for Smith, it’s close. He needs to make plays when they’re not there and make accurate throws when the throws are there. It’s that simple.
- …they turn Tampa over like everyone else has. Tampa has 21 giveaways (2nd most in the league). They’ve thrown 17 interceptions; 10 by Winston, 7 from Ryan Fitzpatrick who will start the game today. The Redskins will have a chance at 2-3 takeaways today and they’ll need them. And when they get them, they need to score off of them. No more turnovers at midfield followed by a 3 and out punt.
- …they keep Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson, and OJ Howard from going nuts. That means a pass rush. They won’t be able to cover for long. They need a quick pass rush and quick throws from Fitzpatrick. Jackson has just 28 catches but for a league best 22.4 per reception. Evans’ 47 catches are for over 16 yards per catch and OJ Howard has 5 touchdowns and as at TE is averaging near 17 yards per catch. The Redskins leading pass catcher is 78th in the league in reception yardage. Let that sink in. Jordan Reed’s 340 yards in receiving yards leads the team but is just 78th in the entire NFL.
- …Jay Gruden manages the game well. If the Skins win this game, more likely than not it’s close. In a close game, a coach can impact it significantly. Gruden’s got a ton of flaws but one of his biggest has been clock, score, and overall game management. He needs to be an asset in this situation today, not a liability.
Prediction:
I have no idea what we’ll see but I’ll take a guess that this year’s team will do what last year’s team did in a similar spot when they went to Seattle and won 17-14.
Skins 23-20
To hear these keys to the game in more detail, go to the 5:48 mark below.
https://thekevinsheehanshow.com/2018/11/09/big-game-for-alex-smith-cooleys-preview/
WHAT’S THE FRIDAY FOOTBALL SMELL TEST?
It’s a contrarian handicapping philosophy. I look for the games where the public is convinced they are right about a point spread and I go the other way. There’s more to it than that including unique access to information about where certain sharp action is but for the most part, it’s the realization over many years that the house wins more than it loses and the house advantage comes from much more than just the built-in vig/fee advantage.
The lines used are from covers.com as they appeared Friday during the show. Lines change. Typically, if a line is worse for me than it was on Friday, the contrarian handicapper in me regards that as a good thing. It usually means late sharp money is with me.
To hear all of the Smell Test picks as they were discussed on Friday’s podcast, go to the 44:19 mark below.
https://thekevinsheehanshow.com/2018/11/09/big-game-for-alex-smith-cooleys-preview/
THIS YEAR
Last Week: 5-8
Overall: 54-52-3
SMELL TEST PICKS FOR WEEKEND OF 11-10-18
Saturday, November 10:
Michigan State +3.5
Iowa -11
Tennessee +5.5
Virginia Tech +3
Colorado +6
Mississippi State +23.5
Arkansas +13.5
Oklahoma -20.5
Sunday, November 11:
Titans +7
Browns +6
Cowboys +7
To listen to Chris Cooley break down the Skins-Bucs game, click below.
https://thekevinsheehanshow.com/2018/11/09/big-game-for-alex-smith-cooleys-preview/
Cooley and Kevin talk 2nd half of the season for the Redskins….reasons to be optimistic and the opposite. They preview the game in Tampa and talk about the need for Alex Smith to play much better on Sunday. Kevin finally got to his “Coaching Blunders” for the week, has 11 “Smell Test” picks, and went through some of the biggest games of the football weekend. Andy Pollin joined the show for a look back at some memorable Skins-Bucs games and they finished up with predictions on the game.
Windows Nation
