Washington @ Philadelphia (-6.5)
I have been waiting all offseason for this game and I cannot wait till kickoff. I have goosebumps from excitement because my Skins have a chance. Here’s how I see it.
Offense
Philadelphia didn’t show much, if anything, last week in Green Bay. To give them a little credit, it was McNabb’s first game back from major surgery and he was bound to be rusty. In addition, the Packers defense is a baby beast. Those boys can play. The Skins offense wasn’t exactly the most beautiful thing to watch either but they moved the ball consistently on a good Miami defense. The tandem of Betts and Portis in the backfield is by far their greatest strength and riding those two horses is what the Skins will have to do as Campbell matures. Randle El was Campbell’s go to guy last week so it is exciting for me to think how good this offense CAN be once Santana Moss is involved too. Losing Jon Jansen for the season with a broken ankle is a big loss on the right side but the Skins still have a solid offensive line and if they pound the rock with Betts-Portis again (34 times last week), they should be able to control the clock and have a chance against Philly.
Defense
Philly has been a blitz happy terror for years now and have been successful, especially against the Redskins. However, this year, they have weaker linebackers and Lito Sheppard will be out. That doesn’t serve well considering Randle El and Santana Moss will be going against a secondary lacking their best cover corner. Still, look for Jimmy Johnson to mix plenty of zone coverages and unexpected blitzes to throw the young Campbell off balance. The Redskins defense played great for almost the entire game against Miami, except in the final minutes, which is a bad thing. The defensive front generated some decent pressure on Trent Green and the linebackers looked great. It is clear that London Fletcher-Baker is the stable middle linebacker that the Skins needed. The depth that the Skins have at corner is among the best in the league with Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers, and Fred Smoot and Sean Taylor and Laron Landry bringing the punishing hits from the safety positions. Gregg Williams will bring a lot of blitzes to intimidate McNabb early and Philly receivers will HAVE to do better than they did and get some separation if Philly is going to win this game.
Prediction: I see a close, tough NFC East battle with the home team Eagles, unfortunately, winning something like 23-17 or 24-21.
Spread: This is a REALLY tough one to call but I say the Eagles don’t cover. Maybe thats my hometown gut speaking but I’m sticking to it. Take the Skins.