After losing to the very average Chicago Bears last Sunday, the Birds look to right the ship against the surprisingly good Washington Redskins.  They almost beat the Bears in Chicagowithout stud multi-tasker Brian Westbrook, dough boy Shawn Andrews, and speedster Kevin Curtis.  No excuses needed though.  The game wouldn’t have even been close had several things happened differently.

First, DeSean Jackson made two rookie mistakes.  He dropped a punt which lead to a Bears TD and ran the wrong route leading to a Donovan McNabb INT.  He is a rookie.  Rookies are dumb.  It happens.  He is certainly electric and is very valuable but he has to eliminate the mistakes.  I would exchange not making two mistakes for one amazing TD catch or return from this guy.  We all mocked Reno Mahe for his lack of explosion but the man never dropped a punt.  I’m just saying…

Second, Andy Reid has to learn the QB sneak.  From my eight years of grade school and high school football experience to my 10+ years of Madden (PS1 and PS2) and Joe Montana Football (Sega Genesis), I can tell you that the QB sneak DOES work.  It especially works when your QB is 6’2″, 250 lbs.  I don’t care that he has a chest contusion.  It is a bruise.  Let’s not use big words here.  The man’s got a boo-boo.  You want illness? Back in my playing days, I was a fan of supplements…legal ones…and due to not cycling off of them and lack of hydration, I developed Kidney Crystals.  Not quite stones but you get the picture.  But I digress…Andy, in grade school we ran this brilliant play.  Let me explain.  The QB gets the ball and steps forward, perhaps he may fall or jump forward.  Not brain surgery.  When I was 10, we even put a wrinkle into that play.  Instead of the QB calling a cadence, he lined up under center, tapped the center’s butt which would tell the center to snap the ball.  I can tell you in all honesty that this play worked EVERY SINGLE TIME we tried it.  In Madden, I may have failed once or twice but that is due to a glitch in the video game.

Finally, Mr. Akers…what to do, what to do?  The ultra-reliable David Akers has suddenly become a liability.  He missed two field goals against the Bears that should have been made.  I know both were from 40+ yards and one was from 50,  but still.  In a league where kickers are making 50+ yard kicks with ease and even some 60 yarders, Akers has to fix whatever is broken.  We cannot have kickers cost us games in a division where every win is a must-win game.

As for next week, we have the Washington Redskins at home.  Who knows which Redskins team will show up.  Heck, with the injuries, who knows what kind of Eagles team will show up.  Let’s just say this- if I knew my way around placing a bet on a game, I would take the Birds in this spot for two reasons: 1) The Skins are coming off of a huge, emotionally charged win over the Cowboys and 2) The Eagles under Andy Reid, typically fair well after a loss…

Go Birds and Go Phils!