Redskins 17, Rams 19

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The Washington Redskins were not supposed to lose to a previously-winless team from an inferior division, especially not in front of 90,000 burgundy-and-gold-clad fans.

The St. Louis Rams -- not only cellar-dwellers this year, but since the beginning of last season -- were not supposed to come to FedEx Field and beat up on arguably the hottest team in the league. Despite having a Pro Bowl running back, a potential Hall of Fame receiver and a quarterback who signed a gigantic contract in the offseason, the Rams simply haven’t been able to assemble their weapons effectively enough to generate victories.

Until yesterday, of course.

For those placing the blame on Pete Kendall -- including himself -- I say shame on you. Sure, that was a costly turnover, but there were plenty of other things that went wrong yesterday. Examples and more -- in what I will cleverly call my “Likes and Dislikes” -- from yesterday’s disappointing debacle in Landover...

I like that Clinton Portis is doing everything on the field and nothing off of it. Aside from calling out the offensive line at the beginning of the season, Dolemite Jenkins has been a consummate professional in street clothes and an absolute menace on the gridiron. If there is anyone on this team that has shown more signs of maturity both in his game and in his demeanor, I’d like to know who that person is. CP, for all intents and purposes, is having an MVP-like season so far.

I DON’T like the fact that the Skins defense dropped two easy interceptions. LaRon Landry and London Fletcher were both given incredible opportunities, with Marc Bulger throwing the ball directly into their hands, but neither of them capitalized. If Carlos Rogers got heat for missing a few interception chances against the Giants, I think Landry and Fletcher should spend Tuesday morning on a bed of hot coals.

I like Shaun Suisham’s ability to kick 35-plus yard field goals on a regular basis. He was a stud last week against the Eagles and did what he had to do yesterday. The Skins haven’t had a more consistent field goal kicker since the great Chip Lohmiller.

I DON’T like that Shazaam booted the ensuing kickoff out of bounds. The Skins repeatedly gave the Rams great field position yesterday, as if to say “hey, you guys are winless and we’re on a hot streak... we might as well make this interesting.” Cutting the field short, no matter who you’re facing, is never going to end well.

I like Chris Cooley’s hands. Despite turning the ball over in the first quarter, the catch he made in double-coverage in the 2nd quarter was borderline incredible. The fact that he held onto the ball after being clobbered was even more impressive.

Original image borrowed from the Washington Post

I DON’T like Durant Brooks. I hate to be so blunt about it, because I know he’s going to receive a ton of criticism this week, but he’s just not a very good punter. Again -- field position is huge in a game like yesterday’s, and giving St. Louis the ball on the 32 (or whatever it was) is unbelievably unacceptable. Derrick Frost seems like a damn Hall of Famer compared to this kid.

I like Randle El’s ability to step up when Santana is being double-covered. Antwaan is having a pretty solid season so far, and despite dropping a few passes here and there, he’s really showing that when a play needs to be made in crunch time, he can be counted on to get it done.

I DON’T like Santana being double-covered. Coach Zorn said after the game that Moss’s number was called numerous times and the plays just weren’t there. Somehow I just don’t believe it. It’s no secret that the Redskins are now in a West Coast scheme and prefer short routes rather than long bombs, but everybody knows what 89 can do. He’s still faster than most secondaries, so unless he’s getting up-ended at the line of scrimmage, I want to see one or two shots downfield. First and 10 from midfield, early in the game... take a chance. For me.

I like that the Redskins are 4-2.

I DON’T like Brian Mitchell calling yesterday’s opponent, in all seriousness, the Los Angeles Rams. The team left Tinseltown 14 years ago, B. Mitch.

I like Jim Zorn’s post-game press conferences. Equating the team’s fortunes heading into halftime to a teenager coming home after scratching his dad’s car, while a rather random anecdote, does make a bit of sense. There’s a time to light a fire under your team’s collective ass, but there’s also a time to let them dwell on their mistakes. I’m pretty sure the men in that locker room knew how poorly they were playing, so kicking them when they were down could’ve potentially done more harm than good.

I DON’T like the New York Giants in tonight’s game. When’s the last time Cleveland hosted a Monday nighter? 15 years ago? There are few fan bases that have stuck with their team through thick and thin better than the Browns’, and I’d imagine tonight’s atmosphere will be electric. Does that mean the 1-3 team will prevail over the 4-0 team? Certainly not. If the Rams can beat the Skins and the Cardinals can beat the Cowboys, however, who’s to say the Browns can’t beat the Giants?

I like the fact that the Redskins continue to pound the football and dominate the stats. 22 first downs, close to 400 total yards, better time of possession. This isn’t something they did very often last year, so it’s a sign of things moving in the right direction.

I DON’T like the fact that the Burgundy and Gold turned the ball over 3 times. Against the 31st rank defense in the league, the Redskins’ offense put the ball on the ground at the most inopportune times. Fortunately, all three responsible -- Cooley, Rabach, Kendall -- know what they did wrong, and all three have been in the league long enough to be able to put it past them. Expecting an offense to hold onto the ball for more than 5 games is unrealistic, so it was only a matter of time before someone slipped up. We can only hope that yesterday’s performance didn’t start a trend in the opposite direction.

I like that the Redskins continue to fight late into games. In previous seasons under He Who Shall Not Be Named, this team was notorious for blowing halftime leads, for allowing teams to get back into games and for folding when they were down heading into the final quarter. If there’s a positive in all of this, it’s that the Skins are certainly not without heart.

I DON’T like to see Carlos Rogers laughing it up on the sidelines mere seconds after committing a special teams holding penalty. Rogers has been playing pretty well this season, so it’s hard to get too down on him, but Trevor Matich was right in his postgame assessment -- aside from a few players, this team didn’t seem to have the focus yesterday that they’ve had for the past few weeks.

I like the fact that the Redskins play at home again next Sunday. It’s rather cliché to consider a loss like yesterday’s a “wake-up call,” but at the end of the day, it really should be. Everyone in the league knows what this team is capable of, but with a 4-game winning streak came a premature ride on cloud nine for the Burgundy and Gold. They started to take their good fortune for granted, excusing a team like the Rams as a second-rate opponent, and it came back to bite them in the ass.

The good thing, if there is one, is that the Washington Redskins are back to reality. They should practice hard this week, approach the Browns game as though they are the underdog and focus on the task at hand, not at the prospect of being a 6-3 or 7-2 team heading into the Week 10 bye. This team thrives on being “disrespected,” and after a shocking loss to the previously 0-4 Rams, they should be right back to where they want to be.

It’s time to stop acting like a playoff-ready team and get back to playing like one.