Mike Rose
<TABLE class=contentpane style="TEXT-ALIGN: left" cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=3 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=sectiontableentry2><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px" vAlign=top>Mike Rose
Washington Redskins +7.0 (-115)
Mon Sep 17 '07 8:30p
This weeks Monday night match-up pits a couple of NFC East representatives who don’t like one another very much. Washington picked up a hard fought victory in OT last week at home over Miami, while the Eagles fumbled away their game in Lambeau Field against the GB Packers.
After sweeping the season series back in 2005, the Eagles returned the favor last season by beating the Skins in Washington 21-19 and at home by a 27-3 final count. Except for their success in 2005, the Redskins haven’t had much to boast about after playing the Eagles. Philly has dominated them throughout the L/5 years, but Washington will put forth a good showing tonight and let the rest of the conference know they will be a major player this season.
Washington was a team just killed with injuries a season ago. They hampered them in every facet of the game, and that’s the main reason their season win total dropped dramatically from 2005. Things look to be much different this time around though as the defense has looked much quicker, and the offense much more efficient. They churned out 400 yards of offense against a very good Miami defense last week, and only limited them to 273 total yards of offense on the other side of the ball. K Shaun Suisham also nailed all three of his FG attempts including the game winner in OT.
Washington HC Joe Gibbs’ formula for success in this league might be a bit outdated, but when you can hold onto the ball longer than your opponent and out gain them offensively, a win is most likely to follow provided you don’t turn the ball over. This is the type of attack we’ll see from the Skins all season long, as I believe they own a very underrated defense that they’ll be able to rely on more now that its healthy. Many only remember their poor play from a year ago when injuries crippled them, but keep in mind; they led the league in total defense in 2005 and won a game in the playoffs as well.
I respect Philly HC Andy Reid immensely since he’s a proven winner, but this is an awful lot of chalk for his club to lay in a crucial divisional game to kick-off the season. Grab the points with Washington as they keep this one a lot closer than the experts think. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 1px solid"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>