The diary of dumb

Man for man, the Atlanta Falcons are a better football team than are the Washington Redskins. Not by a lot, but they clearly are better.

But the better team doesn’t always win. Inferior teams win games every Sunday. And they lose but stay competitive throughout the game every Sunday. They do it by playing smart football and executing fundamentals.

There was no reason for the Redskins to have been staring at the wrong end of a 24-3 score at halftime. But they got in that hole by playing dumb football.

Here are the Redskins’ dumb play lowlights:

4-1-WAS 8 (10:23) (Run formation) PENALTY on WAS-92-A.Haynesworth, Defensive Offside, 4 yards, enforced at WAS 8 – No Play.

Matt Ryan barked out signals, the backs and receivers shifted around in what was an obvious attempt to draw the defense offside. With the play clock just about to run out, Albert Haynesworth jumped. He had no business moving an inch. The ball is just a couple of feet away from him. This cost the Redskins four points as the Falcons went on to score a touchdown instead of having to settle for the field goal.

4-4-WAS 48 (5:36) 9-M.Koenen punts 36 yards to WAS 12, Center-48-B.Pittman, fair catch by 82-A.Randle El. PENALTY on WAS-37-R.Doughty, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 48 – No Play.

Before the ball was snapped, Daryl Johnston said, with incredulity in his voice, that the Redskins were lined up offside. Sure enough, Reed Doughty was in a three-point stance well in the neutral zone. While this one was a dumb mental mistake it actually worked out in the Redskins favor since after a penalty on Atlanta Rocky McIntosh picked off a Ryan pass and returned it to the Washington 47. That represented a net gain of 35 yards over where Antwaan Randle El had fair caught the punt.

2-22-ATL 46 (3:01) 17-J.Campbell pass short right intended for 86-F.Davis INTERCEPTED by 24-T.Hill at ATL 38. 24-T.Hill for 62 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Fred Davis, if you get both of your hands on a pass, you have to catch it. Jason Campbell, you have to drill a pass like that right between the 8 and the 6 on Davis’ jersey. If you throw the ball high in traffic like that you run the risk of exactly what happened—a pick six.

3-3-ATL 40 (1:37) (Shotgun) 2-M.Ryan scrambles right end ran ob at ATL 44 for 4 yards (30-L.Landry). PENALTY on WAS-30-L.Landry, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at ATL 44. Penalty on WAS-92-A.Haynesworth, Unnecessary Roughness, declined.

This was just a great big bag of dumb. The quarterback, the most protected species on the planet, is just about on the other side of the wide white strip on the sideline when LaRon Landry hits him. And he does it right in front of the Atlanta bench. The result is a bunch of chirping Falcons with DeAngelo Hall in the middle. Albert Haynesworth comes to Hall’s defense and he draws another flag. I always thought that both penalties would be enforced in such a situation but apparently that’s only when the multiple dead-ball fouls are on the same player. In any case, the penalty moved Atlanta into Washington territory.

(:50) 2-M.Ryan pass incomplete short left to 84-R.White. PENALTY on WAS-79-L.Alexander, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 42 – No Play. Atlanta accepts 10-second runoff on clock in lieu of timeout.

This one was of the ticky-tack variety but it still wasn’t too smart. The Falcons are punting without the penalty and the Redskins would have run out the clock. Instead they get a field goal and its 24-3 at intermission.

1-10-ATL 42 (11:36) 33-M.Turner left tackle for 58 yards, TOUCHDOWN

This play put the dumb in fundamentals. Landry misses a tackle by going too low, diving at Michael Turner’s feet. Hall misses high, grabbing at the upper part of Turner’s body, barely slowing down the runner in the process. A seven-point game with the Redskins having all of the momentum instantly becomes a two-TD deficit with the Redskins suddenly desperate.