Observations on the unbelievable win over Washington: 31-29!

1-Our running game is definitely improved, but we have a long way to go! Perry looks improved as does our offensive line look better; Perry had 23 carries for 120 yards and 3 TDs. Askew is definitely a threat with the screen and swing passes, but we certainly telegraph to the opposing defense when we are ready to use it. Lentz played most of the game at right guard although Petruziello started; there was not a lot of substitution offensively.

2-Our defense is solid, but obviously can be moved on. We haven't shown much on our pass rush with only one sack, but we've been pretty good overall. Washington had a huge time of possession advantage, and this was definitely a factor (7+ minute advantage). Our red zone defense was scored on three times, and we only had 2 sacks (both by Rumishek). Our rushing defense looks solid holding Alexis to 98 yards on 28 carries, but we let him score a 7 yard TD run and he had the backbreaking run of 59 yards. Washington has 34 rushes for 81 yards overall, but 399 in 77 plays offensively and 3 TDs. We had 418 yards on 78 offensive plays and 4 TDs. Washington had 18 first downs to our 20. Pickett was 28 of 45 for 318 yards and 2 TDs. They were 11 of 21 in 3rd and 4th down efficiency compared to our 11 of 20 (unbelievably even).

3-Our punting game looked good, but our kicking game almost lost this game for us. Finley had 6 punts (45 ave.), but our coverage wasn't good until Shazor caused the fumble on the last punt. Brabbs has had some nice kickoffs, but he's missed on two field goals; luckily he got the chance to win it and he did. Neinberg missed a chip shot that almost lost the game. Ironically, their kicking game is also pathetic with one missed extra point and one missed field goal. I can't figure out why we have LeSueur back there on kickoffs when we could have Breaston, Jackson, Edwards, Bellamy, Bell, etc.; it makes no sense. Brandon Williams didn't do a good job on punt coverage, and so I think he was replaced late in the game by Shazor.

4-Marlin Jackson looks like an all-american corner with several huge pass break ups (6 total), and Markus Curry has a pick, but our safeties and linebackers look slow in coverage. I'm really surprised our linebackers don't look all that great; Hobson is strong, but Kaufman and Diggs don't look all that impressive. Hobson led our defense with 8 tackles, but Diggs had only 4. The hit by Jackson on Tuiasosopu losing his helmet at the 7 was a great highlight! The highlight on Washington's side was Alexis' long 59 yard run while Hobson was blocked by Ware, and that went to the six and set up the potential winning TD. Shantee Orr didn't do much at all in the game for us; Bowman came in and did a nice job on the line ( I didn't see Watson come in even on the goal line situations, but apparently he did come in). Combs did a nice job coming in as a nickel back; he is really an impressive backup.

5-Navarre is definitely improved, and overall I'd give him a A- overall for the game; he was 22 of 38 with 268 yards and one TD/1 pick. His arm is strong, and he is making better decisions. Some of his balls were dropped, but in many ways, he hasn't changed much in his style of play. He put us in position to win the game, and he certainly didn't lose the game for us. He was sacked twice, and they were both coverage sacks. Braylon Edwards and Tyrece Butler both look solid at the other wide receiver position. Butler had 6 catches for 85 yards, and several big 3rd down catches. Askew led the team with 7 catches for 50 yards; Edwards had 5 catches for 50 yards, too. Bellamy didn't look all that good, but he did have a better second half; I hope we see more of Calvin Bell and Jason Avant at the flanker position. Only one catch by Joppru, but it was a big one that gave us a first down in the red zone.

6-It is a typical first game for both teams with many mistakes, but on the bright side relatively penalty free; three for us and five for them. I'm sure that many Husky fans will be saying that the 12 men on the field penalty that gave us a 15 yard penalty putting us in position for the game-winning field goal was the difference. We lost one of four fumbles and one pick; they lost one of two fumbles and had a pick. Their turnovers weren't costly, but ours were. Good teams capitalize on turnovers; this is another reason why they almost beat us.

7-The Washington Husky defense really stepped up after being behind 14-0, and they really stopped our running game; Cooper had 10.5 tackles and looked awesome. Pickett also looked absolutely awesome as did Reggie Williams, Ware and Frederick. They will beat a lot of teams this year. Hooks, Eddie Jackson and Arnold are no slouches either. Alexis was a good Husky choice for player of the game; he stayed tough until he broke some big plays.

8-The two teams were very evenly matched, and the game had six lead changes and great comebacks by both teams. It is a great series and rivalry. We should have won last year, but two big plays turned the game around for the Huskies; this year, it could have gone either way, and luckily for us, it went to us. Some Husky fans can blame the officials, but realistically they could have iced the game with one more first down so we didn't have the last chance. Both teams had near fumble turnovers near the goal line, but the officials blew each situation dead.

Players on the posted Depth Chart that didn't play vs. Washington
Demetrius Solomon-OT
Adam Stenavich-OT
Andy Christopfel-only on special teams
Roy Manning-only on special teams
John Wood-DT
Alex Ofili-DT
Tim Massaquoi-only on special teams
Alain Kashama-only on special teams
Brandon Williams-only on special teams
Jermaine Gonzalez-WR
David Underwood-RB
Tim Bracken-RB
Kevin Dudley-FB
Spencer Brinton-QB
Jon Shaw-only on special teams
Pierre Woods-only on special teams
Joey Sarantos-OLB-Sam

Players not posted on Depth Chart that did play vs. Washington
Jim Fisher-TE
Dietan Dubuc-Special Teams
John Spytek-Special Teams
Jacob Stewart-Special Teams
Kirk Moundros-Special Teams
Charles Young-Special Teams
Blake Nasif-Special Teams

Note: Larry Stevens started over Dan Rumishek at DE-Anchor

Observations on the first half with Washington-14-13!

1-Our running game is definitely improved, but we have a long way to go! Perry looks improved as does our offensive line look better, but we haven't really done a good job with long, sustained drives. We have two TDs on two big plays. Perry is 77 yards on 9 carries, but actually 20 yards on 8 carries after the long TD run of 57 yards. Askew is definitely a threat with the screen pass, but we certainly telegraph to the opposing defense when we are ready to use it.

2-Our defense is solid, but obviously can be moved on. We haven't shown much on our pass rush with only one sack, but we've been pretty good overall. Washington has a huge time of possession advantage (21:08 to 8:52). Our red zone defense was scored on twice. Our rushing defense looks solid holding Alexis to 17 yards on 15 carries, but we let him score a 7 yard TD run. Washington has 20 rushes for 11 yards overall, but 213 in 50 plays offensively and 2 TDs. We only have 194 yards on 30 offensive plays, but 2 TDs. Washington has 13 first downs to our 7. Pickett is 19 of 30 for 202 yards. They are 6 of 12 in 3rd and 4th down efficiency compared to our 4 of 8.

3-Our punting game looks good, but our kicking game needs improvement overall. Finley has had some nice punts (43.7 ave.), but our coverage hasn't been good. Brabbs has had some nice kickoffs, but he's missed on two field goals. We could be up 20-13 or behind 14-16. Their kicking game is also pathetic with one missed extra point and one missed field goal.

4-Marlin Jackson looks like an all-american corner, and Markus Curry has a pick, but our safeties and linebackers look slow in coverage. I'm really surprised our linebackers don't look all that great; Hobson is strong, but Kaufman and Diggs don't look all that impressive. The hit by Jackson on Tuiasosopu losing his helmet at the 7 was a great highlight!

5-Navarre is definitely improved, and overall I'd give him a B+ in the first half; however, he is 8 of 15 with 111 yards and one TD. His arm is strong, and he is making better decisions. Some of his balls were dropped, but in many ways, he hasn't changed much in his style of play. Ron Bellamy definitely looked weak at wide receiver; he needs to "step up" or sit down and let Calvin Bell or Jason Avant play (Flanker). Braylon Edwards and Tyrece Butler both look solid at the other wide receiver position. We haven't thrown one pass to Joppru or any of our tight ends.

6-It is a typical first game for both teams with many mistakes, but on the bright side relatively penalty free; one for each team. We lost one of two fumbles; they lost a fumble and had a pick. Their turnovers weren't costly, but ours were.