Five Bullets: Redskins Flat Out Suck

1. Special Teams Sucks
The main reasons Kansas City managed to empty out FedEx field by halftime was the shitty play of the entire special teams group. The only guy to be excused is Kai Forbath as he made his 50 yard field goal in the crappy conditions.They gave up two outright touchdowns and set up most of the other Kansas City scores with drives that STARTED in the red zone. Special teams don't have to be good, they just have to not absolutely blow. Special teams gave the offense no shot of winning this game and put the defense in an impossible situation. Not only that, but our kick/punt returners got almost nothing on their returns and the Redskins consistently started with a long field ahead of em. By far the worst part of a horrible team.

2. The Offense Sucks
Sure the weather sucked, but RG3 missed open receivers, was sacked 6 times and Alfred Morris had around 30 rushing yards. So much for top ranked rushing attack in the league. It's hard to stomach, especially after finally drafting the saviour franchise quarterback with 3 picks and winning the division last year. After having a dynamic rushing attack and efficient passing game the offense has receded into an anaemic, turnover prone slug. They can't stay on the field for more than two downs at a time. They score 3 points in the first half, and then score 3 touchdowns in garbage time against the opponent's 2nd string defense only to call it a "close game." 

3. The Defense Sucks
The defense was a known weakness heading into the season. It was the team's hope that draft picks David Amerson, Phillip Thomas and Bacarri Rambo would do something to improve the situation. It didn't really happen. When the defensive line would get pressure, the secondary would let someone get open. When the secondary would cover well, the line wouldn't get any pressure. And when the defense played well the offense wouldn't bother scoring until the defense broke-down. The cap-penalty and lack of a first round draft pick severely hampered the defense's ability to improve but this is the NFL. Thirteen games in and we're sick of making excuses. Play football.

4. Special Teams Sucks. Hard.
Let no one be confused as to how much the Redskins special sucked today. Kansas City had more plays in our territory than we did. Keith Burns has got to go.

5. The Coaching Staff Sucks
I want to make every excuse for Mike Shanahan and I honestly think that firing him will not help our situation, especially when it comes to RG3. I think he needs at least another year in the system to improve and see the accuracy we saw last year. That being said all the news stories in the media are not healthy for the team. Shanahan came and got rid of the media circus but now it's coming back. This isn't good for a growing team and there has to be something wrong in the management of a 3-10 football team that was 10-6 last year. Special teams and the defense have regressed. The Redskins defense used to be a force to be reckoned with until Haslett came along, not saying he is the definite problem as they were heading downwards with Greg Blache, just stating that they have regressed. And for heaven's sake fire Keith Burns. Losing Lorenzo Alexander hurts but one player can't do THAT much damage to your unit. When the offense or defense is struggling special teams can't be adding to the problem.

Looking ahead to next week: I think Atlanta has the same record as us, but they still have Matt Ryan, and so there really shouldn't be much to look forward to. Abandon all hope so that if they win it will be a pleasant surprise, and when they lose you'll have seen it coming.

Bottomline: Bench Robert Griffin III. He is our starter for the future. He is our starter Week 1 next season. That being said he is get whacked. He can't drop back for more that 0.005 seconds before the pocket collapses around him. When the offensive line gives him more than that the receivers can't get open. These past few weeks have not solely been on RG3 and at this point, I want to see Kirk play. Teams will get a look at what they may be trading for and, God-forbid, we may get a win or two.

Five Bullets: Redskins Fall Short in Philly, 24-16

1. RG3's Inconsistency is Costing Games
RG3 finished the 3rd quarter with a measly 60 passing yards. Alfred Morris rushed for more in the 1st half. He finished with under a 50% completion percentage and game sealing interception. He did come alive in the 4th with two big touchdowns and two big two point conversions to bring the game to within 8 points. He drove the team down near the 20 with 40 seconds to go. Third down and one, plenty of time on the clock and the pocket collapses and Griffin throws up a wobbly floater which was easily picked off and stopped the come-back short. One 60 minute game from RG3 is what this team needs to win. No one expected the defense to mend itself overnight and the offense was expected to pick up the slack. RG3 has his moments, but this just isn't his season. Losing Jordan Reed and Leonard Hankerson early on didn't help him either but big players step up when the pressure's on. RG3 did, and then just made a bad decision he's going to have to learn from.

2. Alfred Morris Continues to Shine
You'd think that the Redskins struggles to pass the ball would mean the running game would die down but that just hasn't been the case. Alfred Morris now leads the NFL's number one rushing attack with 155 yds/game. He has been consistent when the rest of his team has not. He makes play after play and doesn't get the love the other superstars get. Lets be fair, without Morris, this is an 0-9 team. He continues to grind away at defenses even when they stack the box, the kid fights and stays humble and is without a doubt the MVP of this offense.

3. Losing Sucks
It's horrible as a fan to have to draft a superstar quarterback, win the division for the first time since 1999 and then go into next season and revert back to the losing ways the poor fans have gotten used to. It's a sick tease and simply painful to watch. No matter how bad the team does they show flashes of the brilliance of last year and you go into each game with a glimmer of hope, that maybe, just maybe, the team can put it together this week. And then you watch and it looks like it's gonna happen only for them to collapse one way or another. From a fan's view, Washington's gotta their stuff together.

4. Mike Shanahan Needs Atleast One More Year
Give the current staff one more season. Jim Haslett knew the secondary was in bad shape and he couldn't do anything about it. The team didn't have a first round draft pick and no cap space to add any difference maker free agents. The unfair and absolutely ridiculous 18 million dollar cap penalty was a huge hit. 18 million is the equivalent of 3-4 quality starters the Redskins could've added. Instead they had scrimp and pick up value free agents, the best of whom is DeAngelo Hall who has been playing lights out for most the season. Give him one full offseason with a healthy RG3, one offseason with a normal salary cap and then see if he can deliver the wins. I believe in Mike and don't think he's the problem.

5. The Defense Buckled Down When They Had To
Sure they got bullied around by Shady McCoy and Nick Foles but they kept McCoy to under 100 yards and Foles to 0 TD passes. They only gave up 24 points which isn't bad considering the state of the defense. Not only that, but after that 3rd quarter score the defense shut down all scoring and gave the offense a chance to comeback. The defense played a winnable game, but when your offense waits untul the 4th quarter to score you aren't going to win football games.

Bottomline: Writing these articles after losses simply blows. That's all.

Looking Ahead to Next Week: The 49ers come to town and after making Josh McCown and Christian Ponder look like pro-bowlers I'm worried that we've going to be the team that Colin Kaepernick finally puts up his insane numbers from last year on. Their defense held the Saints to a measly 23 points so don't have your hopes up.

Five Bullets: Redskins Blow 3rd Quarter Lead and Lose 34-27

1. Offense Continues to Move Well but Needs to Score More
The Redskins ran a staggering 73 plays for a net total of 433 offensive yards. A solid outing for a group that's been finding rhythm mid-season. And they moved without mistakes, no interceptions, no fumbles, no turnovers tonight. After a spectacular first half with 3 RG3 touchdown throws and 88 rushing yards by monster running back Alfred Morris the offense failed to put points up on the board. A field goal to start the second half looked like a sign the offensive domination would continue, but it didn't. The Minnesota defense started getting some stops and put our maligned defense back out onto the field. With the game on the line the Redskins drove down to the goal line but were stopped with 15 seconds left on the clock. Turnover on downs, game over.

2. The Defense Finally Cracked
It's a sad day in hell when our defense makes Christian Ponder look like an all star. Ponder had an 81% completion percentage, threw two touchdowns and nearly ran in a third. The guy that got benched for Matt Cassel AND Josh Freeman should've been an easier assignment than Phillip Rivers but the defense played down to the competition. The defense played winnable football in the first half, getting a few stops and a turnover but failed to stop the Vikings from scoring in the 2nd half. Seriously, the scored on every single possession in the 2nd half. Our offense can't be expected to score on every single drive (which they did until the 3rd quarter) and the defense needs to make stops late in the game. Peterson was held to 3.75 yards per carry and only rushed for 75 total but still had two touchdowns and key 4th down runs late. While the defense ultimately gave the offense the ball back with a chance to tie the game it shouldn't have come down to that. Another stop or two and the game doesn't fall to the last play.

3. The Officiating was Terrible
I'm not one to ever complain about officiating but this game just pissed me off to no end. The officials consistently gave Minnesota ridiculously favorable spots of the ball, let their offensive line get with head-locking Orakpo and Kerrigan on a regular basis and missed an obvious holding/past interference call in the endzone on the last drive of the game. The Redskins aren't an all star team and definitely aren't going to win with the officials not being fair.

4. Don't Blame Kyle Shanahan for Goal-Line Struggles
I ripped on Kyle Shanahan for his terrible play calling in the 2nd half of the Denver game, but I wouldn't knock him for his series at the end of the game. Sure, it would be great to pound it in with Morris but Minnesota would be expecting that. RG3 hasn't thrown many touchdowns near the goaline, Morris, Helu or Young have the been the ones doing the dirty work down there. Additionally, when you consider that the Redskins had no time outs remaining, running the ball was a dangerous option. And even if time wasn't an issue, if the Redskins failed running the football, their subsequent plays would be much easier to predict. The plays should've worked, Garcon and Reed dropped balls, and a holding call was missed on a play where Reed was open, Santana Moss almost had the game winner, but didn't get that 2nd foot down. This time it was execution, not the play calling at fault.

5. Is RG3 Back?
I don't know. The Chicago game is probably RG3's only consistent game were he balled out for 4 straight quarters. It's hard to judge because his comfort in the passing game seems to be based off of how much he runs/how well the team is running the football. The team has been clutch down near the goal line because Alfred Morris, Roy Helu or Darrel Young pound it in. The Redskins don't have too many passing touchdowns down near the goal line. I said he'd be back by Week 8 and I guess I was wrong. He's been too inconsistent to gauge if he's 'back' or not.

Bottomline: Another disappointing first half of the season, another 3-6 mark. Are the Redskins going to make a 7 game winning streak to enter the playoffs? No. Granted I said that last year too but playoffs are not happening this year. And even if by some miracle it does happen the team won't make it too far.

Looking Ahead to Next Week: Redskins face the Eagles in Philly this upcoming Sunday, and Philly's been looking pretty good with Nick Foles under center. Sure they have a ton of problems like every other NFC East team but a hot Philly passing attack against the same secondary that make Christian Ponder look like Peyton Manning? No thanks.

Five Bullets: Redskins Top Chargers In OT 30-24

1. Darrel Young Made Redskins and Nova Nation Proud

I think everyone is jealous of RG3 and DY's
secret magical handshakes

Darrel Young played linebacker here at Villanova, which made me excited to hear my school's name announced during the game multiple times. He went undrafted in 2009 but was picked up as a free agent linebacker. Mike Shanahan and company saw something in him and decides to convert this defensive player to fullback. He has been solid replacing longtime Redskins fullback Mike Sellers but only scored 1 rushing touchdown in his entire career. He was at the bottom of the Redskins stat sheet yesterday with 12 yards on 5 attempts and a 2.4 average but struck gold on 3 out of those 5 carries; scoring 18 of the Redskins 30 points, including the game winning touchdown in overtime. San Diego had no answer for Young at the goal line and the Redskins kept feeding him, converting on all their goal to go opportunities. Look for the Redskins to fake to Young this week as Minnesota is sure to focus on him near the end-zone.

2. RG3 Rebounded Nicely After a Poor Outing in Denver
It seems like whenever RG3 gets to run around, be it on bootlegs, options or scrambles his accuracy improves. He seems to be more comfortable in the pocket when he's able to run around more. The play calling also helped him forget a bad game last week. His stat sheet isn't spectacular but he had a 71% completion percentage for 291 yards. His only interception wasn't on a poor throw or bad decision but on a batted ball in the endzone. This was probably his only flaw, he had some four or five batted balls during the game. He focuses on his first option a little too much. Linemen know where the balls going and can time their jumps properly, RG3 needs to look off the defense a little more where possible but overall had a solid game and controlled the offense well. He didn't do much on the ground but had some nice pitches on the triple option and also had a spectacular hurdle for a 3rd down conversion which eventually lead to a Darrel Young touchdown.

3. The Defense is Playing on Another Level
The run defense was again spectacular with only 69 rushing yards yielded, and only giving up 34 to red hot starter Ryan Mathews. Phillip Rivers came in as the most accurate quarterback in the league, with 15 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions and a whopping 71% completion percentage for the SEASON. The Redskins defense held him to an 83 quarterback rating, 63% completition percentage and got two interceptions from him. They also got six stops on 3rd down including a decisive goal line stand with the ball on the one and the game on the line. Holding a potent San Diego offense to only 17 points is spectacular. The defense is playing winnable football. Considering the talent level in the secondary this level of play is more than acceptable and hasn't been the at fault for the Redskins last two losses, which is fantastic considering how they played the first few weeks of the season.

4. The Offense Moved the Ball Well
After throwing away the Denver game Kyle Shanahan kept to what worked and stuck to the running game. The pass plays he called worked, through a combination of an accurate RG3 and a fantastic Pierre Garcon, who probably deserves his own bullet on this list. He had 172 yards on some impossible catches, and also came through on many 3rd downs. Garcon stepped up and helped keep the offense moving. Also, Shanahan's play calling, Alfred Morris's tough running and RG3's accuracy resulted in a whopping 40 minutes of time of possession and a flawless overtime drive for the game winning touchdown. The offense could've scored a little bit more but a win is a win.

5. Special Teams Still Need to Improve
The kick and punt coverage units have improved and played a good game, but the punt/kick returners need to provide the offense with better field position. Kai Forbath needs to angle his kicks a little better, the 59 yarder is excusable, the 25 yarder is not. It's a chip shot field goal, angle the ball a little higher so it doesn't get blocked. You lose distance with higher angled kicks but when you're so close it's better to be protected against the block since you don't need the extra distance anyways. We make one of those two field goals and this game doesn't go to overtime.

Bottomline: If the offense can continue moving the ball like this and the defense keeps playing at this level the Redskins should be in contention every game this season. There are only three teams left on the schedule with a  winning record. Kansas City can't continue winning games with the defense doing all the scoring, and the Redskins can compete with Dallas no matter what either team's record is. Colin Kaepernick's Niners are the toughest team left on the schedule but there's no reason we can't compete with them, considering we went toe to toe with two of the best offenses in the league in Denver and San Diego. Keep competing and take it week by week.

Looking Ahead to Next This Week: Thursday night the Redskins travel to play the Vikings in Minnesota. They don't have the strongest passing attack as they have a quarterback carousel going on up there. Adrian Peterson is a force to be reckoned with but the Redskins have historically done very well against him and our rush defense is the strongest part of our defense. If the Redskins play at a similar level as yesterday then there is no reason we can't be 4-5 heading back home.

Five Bullets: Redskins Collapse in 2nd Half and Lose 45-21

This is my first draft but I don't have the time to proof it today so bear with the mistakes, they'll be gone tomorrow. 

1. Kyle Shanahan had a Horrible 2nd Half
RG3 ran for 7 yards the whole game. Why? Because Alfred Morris nearly had 100 yards in the first half. The offense got a couple first downs but failed to finish drives until a Broncos punt gave the Redskins the ball at their own 5. One sustained drive later the Redskins had the game tied at 7. Two turnovers later the Redskins are sitting pretty at 21-7. Inexplicably, at this point Kyle Shanahan decides to abandon the team's most productive offensive player as Alfred Morris got maybe one or two carries in the entire 2nd half. This lead to quick, successive punts which put a tired defense out against the absolute best quarterback in the league this year. The play calling abandoned what worked in the 1st half. Combine that with RG3's poor decision making and inaccuracy lead to some 38 unanswered points by Denver and another loss on the record books.

2. Robert Griffin III Needs to Improve His Vision
There were many times in the game where one of two things happened. Either receivers were wide open on a play and RG3 just didn't see it, despite ample time in the pocket. Or he found them but threw it late, or made a horrible throw. He finished the game with a 50% completion percentage, less than 150 yards passing and 1 touchdown compared to two interceptions. He needs to get the ball out quicker, and see the field better. Vision is a hard thing to coach and it's usually one of those things where if you have it you have it and if you don't you don't. Last year I was impressed by his ability to go through his progressions but he just isn't doing that this year. I don't know what it is but he has got to fix it. And he lost another fumble this week. Not even close to the amazing player we saw last year. Lets see how he responds in Week 8, the original deadline I had set for 2012 RG3 to return.

3. The Defense Played a Winnable Game
Jim Hasslet's group, starting without their top two safeties, were faced with the enormous task of fending off the record shattering Bronco's offense. Everyone predicted a massive shootout but through sound tackling and a little luck, the defense only gave up 7 points in the first half. Holding Peyton Manning 13' to a single score in two quarters is an amazing win for any defense. To top it off they got two turnovers, returning one for a touchdown and setting up the other one close enough for the offense to finish up the job. The defense made this a 21-7 game and needed some rest. The offense failed to match the defense's tremendous effort.

4. Special Teams Played a Winnable Game
I've been ripping on Keith Burns and the Redskins special teams over the past few games and expected a train wreck against Trindon Holliday. I was happily proved wrong as he was held to a mere two returns. One punt return and one kick off return. He got 10 on the punt and 30 on the kick off. Nothing too bad. There was one mishap as Sav Rocca shanked a punt for 15 yards giving the Broncos the ball inside their own 30. That wouldn't have happened if the offense could just do their job.

5. The Redskins are an Interesting Bad Team
Our record indicates we suck. The tape also indicates we suck. However, this team's success is directly proportional to RG3's success. If he plays well, we're always in the running to win games. If he sucks, we're probably going to lose. Our 2-5 record this year is solid evidence of that. These past three games have all been winnable, unlike the first few games. If RG3 can pick up his game then this team can easily turn around and finish the season 8-8. The receivers also need to catch the few good balls that come their way. Drops are not the best way to help a struggling quarterback. But our success really depends on one player who has the potential to be a superstar. If he turns it around, so does the team.

Bottomline: No one really expected the Redskins to win this game but when games are in reach they need to finish and win. Many are already looking to next season, with another draft and an extra 18 million in salary cap this team can really build what is an already a pretty solid roster. Unlike other bad teams we don't need to rebuild, a key player here and there can transform this team. That is the benefit of sticking with Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen these past few years. Look alive Redskins fans!

Looking Ahead to Next Week: The formula is pretty much the same as Phillip Rivers has been playing great and is coming off a bye. The Charger's 6th ranked passing offense is going to be a challenge but the defense and especially DeAngelo Hall continue playing at the level they have any game is winnable. It simply depends on if the offense is going to show up or not.

Five Bullets: Redskins Top Bears in Wild Shoot-Out

This edition of Five Bullets is the first with a new Looking Ahead to Next Week section! 

1. Robert Griffin III is Back!
I've been saying this for a while now, give the man until week 8 and we'll start seeing the old RG3 again. Seventy seven rushing yards last week was just a teaser as his passing game didn't match the success of his legs. Things changed this week as RG3 showcased the talent and accuracy that won him Offensive rookie of the year last year. He did have one bad throw where he didn't see Charles Tillman sitting at the end of Hankerson's crossing route but that was about it. He finishing with almost 300 yards with 2 passing touchdowns, coupled with 84 rushing yards on the ground. This is vintage RG3 and something the Redskins need to continue to win games with a porous defense. Looks like RG3 is back and only going to continue getting better from here. The Redskins also controlled RG3's throws with only 29 pass plays compared to 42 rushing attempts. If the success on the ground continues, big things are in store for this offense.

2. Special Teams are the Epitome of Inept
Special teams gave Dallas two touchdowns last week and another this week on a long punt return to Devin Hester. Not only is the punt coverage horrible with sloppy tackling, the return game does nothing either. The Redskins did not field a punt and had three kickoff returns with an average of 17 yards and kept the Redskins inside the 20 on those three returns. Kick coverage wasn't as bad, mostly because Kai Forbath's kicks either went out of the end zone or were squibs. The Redskins didn't have these problems when Danny Smith was here, and I'm sure fans across the country are missing him right now.

3. Jordan Reed is the MAN
Jordan Reed had amazing game with 9 catches on 9 targets for 138 yards and a score. He even came through with clutch 3rd down conversions and is quickly becoming RG3's go to safety blanket. After yesterday's game I think it's clear the Redskins will not be resigning Fred Davis to a long term deal, as he has been outplayed by the 3rd round rookie in pretty much every game this year. A quick comparison:

Jordan Reed: 26 Catches 298 Yds. Avg. 11.5 Yds. and 2 TDs
Fred Davis: 3 Catches 25 Yds. Avg. 8.3 Yds and 0 TDs

Barring  a miracle comeback in the 2nd half of the season Fred Davis seems to be out of the Redskins long term plans. Jordan Reed, if he continues to develop, can easily be a Rob Gronkowski or Aaron Hernandez type player on the field.

4. Defense was Inconsistent
The Redskins defense played about six quarters of solid defense, only to fall apart in the 2nd half against the Josh McCown led Bears. After yielding 46 offensive yards in the first half they gave up a whopping 300 in the 2nd, along with 24 points in the 2nd half. They played well enough to win, only because the offensive was on fire with 5 touchdowns. But giving up over 40 points a game is not a recipe for consistent success, especially not against Peyton Manning's Broncos next week, who would've won that game had Ronnie Hillman not fumbled at the goalline.

5.Roy Helu is the perfect complement to Alfred Morris
With 41 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 carries Helu didn't get the workload of a starter, with most of the running done by Alfred Morris, but his speed, quickness and pass catching ability is a perfect complement to Alfred Morris' tough, downhill running. Helu improved as coaches gave him more opportunities on the ground, instead of just utilizing him in passing situations as they did in previous weeks. If Helu can continue being a consistent and reliable runner/catcher out the backfield then the Redskins will have a dangerous and complete rushing attack to supplant a recovered RG3.

Bottomline: RG3's awakening has made Redskins football fun to watch again in D.C. and the defense has been playing well enough to win games. If special teams can get their act together look for the Redskins to make a comeback in the NFC East.

Looking to Next Week: Next week's matchup will be the toughest of the season, especially with Denver coming off it's first loss. Expect Peyton Manning to be firing on all cylinders which should lead to another shoot out for RG3 and company. The offense and defense will be pushed to their limits by a solid 6-1 Denver team and any special teams mistakes will blow any chance, however small, the Redskins have of going on their first winning streak of 2013.

Five Bullets: Redskins Fall to 1-4 with 16-31 Loss at Dallas

1. Robert Griffin III Cost Us The Game
I've been continuously saying that by Week 8 RG3 will be back to his normal self. For the first half I thought he was. He moved like his old self, moved well in and out of the pocket, and had the offense moving down the field. More importantly he was running with the quickness we haven't seen since 2012. He finished with 77 yards on 9 carriers for a solid average of 8.6 yards. Those are RG3 numbers from last year. So why didn't the Redskins beat the Cowboys for the third straight time in a row? Inconsistency. RG3 fumbled twice in the game, losing one inside our own 5 yard line and costing us a score. Not only that, he had the team driving down the field only to throw an ugly interception on what appeared to be a miscommunication between Santana Moss and RG3. That pick sealed the game and the Cowboys were able to close it out with three minutes left.

RG3 was also making some very errant throws, missing receivers and throwing it 10 yards over their heads. He threw a couple of ducks and that's something I've never seen from anyone with RG3's arm strength. He didn't set his feet on some throws and he didn't ever looks like he was stepping into his throws either. The zip on a good throw comes from good footwork and from properly shifting your body weight by stepping into the throw. For whatever reason RG3 hasn't been doing that and its been costing him competitions. His pocket awareness is virtually nonexistent. On Sunday night he was moving well in the pocket but he had no sense of when to get rid of the ball. If you are sitting in the pocket for 7 seconds and still can't find an open guy you tuck it and RUN. Plain and simple. Quarterbacks should have a natural time-bomb in their head which should alert them to when the ball should be out by. RG3 seemed to lose sense of how much time he had and took some costly sacks, one of which lead to the aforementioned lost fumble. RG3 needs to be more aware of the pocket, step into his throws, and for heaven's sake stop fumbling. (Of all players since 2012 RG3 has the most fumbles in the entire league)

2. Receivers Did Not Get Open
Props to Dallas' secondary for completely shutting our receivers down when it mattered. No one was able to beat press coverage or take advantage of one of one matchups. It's shameful when the quarterback has over five seconds to throw the football and he can't find a single receiver open. Pierre Garcon can't do it himself, and even he had a couple drops in the game. When the quarterback isn't playing his best the receiving core must step up and help him out.

3. Special Teams was Downright Horrible
I was upset when longtime special teams coach Danny Smith left for Pittsburgh. When he was here special teams weren't a problem. They did what they had to do and got off the field. This year, special teams are costing us games. One missed field goal and two huge punt and kickoff returns set up two easy Dallas touchdowns. The game was close and special teams gaffes gave the Cowboys a comfy lead. And I mean gave, it's one thing if they march down the field and score and earn it, but we just handed it to them on a silver platter. If special teams play doesn't improve we aren't going to be winning many any more games.

4. Defense was Absolutely SOLID
Let's remember that this Dallas team dropped 48 points on the Denver Broncos last weak and is one of the top offenses in the league. Dallas scored 31 points. One was a special teams touchdown so the defense took no part in that. They essentially gave up 24 points in the game. Which is remarkable considering that on two of those 3 given up touchdowns Dallas STARTED their drives in the redzone. The defense stuffed Dallas's running game holding them to under 40 yards. They held Romo to one touchdown pass and rectified it with an interception. DeAngelo Hall balled out against Dez Bryant and saved a touchdown on a play where his assignment was to cover the flat and let the receiver go. If the defense continues this high level of play we are going to be in good shape.

5. Coaches Need to Embrace the No-Huddle.
If I'm Mike Shanahan I'm spending practice teaching Robert how to run the no-huddle. It's when our offense is at our best and when we can really move the ball. A couple no-huddle drives every half should help inject some life into our low scoring offense.

Bottomline: As much as I'm bashing the team this game was improvement. I thought we were going to comeback until RG3's last pick, unlike previous games when we were done by the 1st half. RG3 needs to stop turning the ball over and start making better throws. Special teams needs to keep returners on their half of the 50 and the defense needs to continue their level of play and we can win games. I'm not even going to bother talking about playoffs. 

Three Problems With Congress

It's funny how putting 435 "leaders" in a room together and telling them to fix ONE problem by October 1st doesn't seem to work. I mean come on, isn't that why we're herded into groups of four and told to make a poster in high school? That's what they told us, no matter what job you get when you're older you need to learn how to work with people; you have to compromise, communicate and get stuff done. So you'd think 435 ivy league educated smarties would be well suited to the task, because to get into those ivy leagues you need to be a 'leader' and such. Apparently not, as even Miley Cyrus's infamous wrecking ball videos have a higher approval rating than congress' lowly 10%.

So what's the problem? Well three things are really holding up the operations on Capitol Hill, not counting the whole government shutdown deal: political parties, riders and a metaphorical rod up everyone's behind. 

Political parties are the bane of an efficient political system. The most basic tenet of democracy is voting. You vote for what you believe in and the majority wins. In a representative democracy you vote for people who best represent you. Political parties seemingly streamline that last part. Democrat or republican; you're one or the other. Does anyone else see the problem with trying to compartmentalize 300 million peoples' political views into two groups? It's like telling the world to pick one type of pizza: meat-lovers or veggie supreme. Everyone decides to pick one or the other even though most would enjoy some banana peppers with their chicken pizza. It's stupid beyond reason and exactly why George Washington didn't want our government to form said political parties. People are forced to side with democrats or republicans if they want to have a say. Since 1776 there have ZERO independent presidents. As of today there are ZERO independent representatives in the house and a whopping two in the senate. If you want your vote to count you better vote democrat or republican. Most often it comes down to picking the lesser of two evils. How do we fix this problem? Dissolve all political parties and make voting anonymous. No more house and senate whips, no more log rolling, no more trading favors, and no more filibusters. Let each individual vote on the merits of the bill instead of voting for or against the party that proposed it. And once a bill passes you deal with the result. My dad is currently sitting on the couch watching T.V. instead of working because republicans are upset Obamacare passed and can't deal with it, which transitions nicely into my next point about riders.

So what's a rider? It's an attachment to a bill that literally has nothing to do with the bill. Let's say I draft a bill

"NO I WONT PASS A BUDGET,
NO NO NO NO!"

saying that gambling is illegal for people under 18. I send it to the house and I get it back approved, but all of the sudden the bill says "gambling is illegal for people under 18...AND we're going to raise taxes by 2% to help fund a bridge in Montana." That last part of the bill is called a rider and it happens all the time. More recently there was a budget proposed in the house that would have stopped any thought of a government shutdown. Why didn't it pass through the senate? Because house republicans put a rider on the bill to handicap Obamacare. The democratic senate didn't like that and sent the bill back and here we are today. You see the two problems? One is the rider on the bill and the second is a republican house and a democratic senate. This 5 star recipe for not getting shit done has proven to be one of the best as Congress suffers its lowest approval ratings...ever. It should be common sense that when you vote on a budget bill it should only be about the budget, nothing else. But these "leaders" must know what they're doing, since they're so educated and such right?

Now for the metaphorical rod, it seems like the mentality isn't even to form a solution but rather to "win." Instead, congress is yapping away at the taxpayers' expense, blaming one another for the budget crisis while families on WIC don't get a check because nobody is getting paid to send them out. The debate over Obamacare is simple: Republicans are arguing that Obamacare is evil and will destroy small businesses, while democrats say this makes healthcare more affordable and gives more Americans access to a necessity. Yes, taxes don't help the economy, but the majority of taxes are coming from the wealthiest Americans and large corporations. Instead of solving the budget issue and keeping $200 million from going down the toilet everyday the government is shutdown because republicans decide they don't want Obamacare to take effect even though the majority voted for it. It's like a whiny 5 year old who can't figure out how to beat a game at the arcade, and instead of trying to figure it out just smashes the game to bits so no one else can play either. It's so miserably sad, to have that one job, to be in session and working and failing to accomplish it. Now instead of working together with all the brilliant minds on capitol hill congress has shut the damn government down. I have a solution, fill any budget deficits with a percentage of congressional pay. Each day those bumbling morons fail to pass a budget increase that percentage by 10%. If they go over 10 days make them sell their summer homes and keep paying. Bet you the government will be open for business bright and early tomorrow.

In conclusion there are a couple of things to get from this article. My sarcasm with the word leader which all the more increases my distaste of why it's so favorable on college applications, and my constant repetition of the phrase common sense, which is something all these people, in the most powerful government in the world, lack. The refusal of congress and government to follow basic LOGIC is beyond me and really frustrating. All I ask of you people who supposedly "represent" the citizens of this country is to stop your little teenage girl hissy-fits for two minutes so my dad can go back to work. Thanks.

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Five Bullets: Redskins Show a Pulse, Snag First Win Against Oakland 24-14

With 1/4th of the season gone don't forget to check out the NFL Probability Experiment at the top. This look's like my best week of picks. And if you haven't already, like The Master Debater on facebook by clicking here!

1. The Defense Played Defense

David Amerson's pick six was the turning
point in the game.

Let's not mince words. The Defense won the game in Oakland, not RG3, not Alfred Morris, not Roy Helu and not the offensive line. One touchdown was given up on a blocked punt, the other on a Matt Flynn touchdown pass. That adds up to the defense yielding a mere 7 points. And after David Amerson's pick six the defense netted ZERO points given up. Meaning that all the offense had to to do was cover up the gaffe on the blocked punt and score another point. We needed 8 points from our offense to win, and we got 17. The missed tackles were not as glaring and with 7 sacks the pass rush also improved. However, it's not much considering that we were playing the Raiders without their starting quarterback or top two starting running backs. Frankly, if our defense couldn't absolutely suffocate the handicapped Raiders then there would be no hope of salvaging the season. But zero net points given up, 12 third down stops out of 17 attempts, two turnovers forced and only 74 rushing yards given up to McFadden and Jennings is simply a solid outing for any defense, especially the NFL's worst.

2. Turnovers Are Still A Problem
RG3 had no turnovers, no interceptions, no fumbles. Good to finally see him taking care of the football after three bad games. However, we still turned the ball over twice. Once on a fumble and once on a blocked punt which resulted in a touchdown. Roy Helu fumbled as well but got away with it because the Raiders were offsides. The offense isn't producing points. They had a single good drive in the first half that ended in a field goal. That was it. Three points. Turnovers are not going to help this team win games and if we're gonna beat Dallas in two weeks this has to stop. We're getting demolished by opposing teams and don't need to shoot ourselves in the foot as well.

3. RG3 Continues to Improve
I will continue to preach that everyone needs to give him 4 more games to get back to form. By then RG3 should be the dynamic play-maker we've all grown accustomed to seeing. And I know it isn't a fair comparison considering all the garbage time they've had to play with but RG3 has the most yards and is tied for most touchdown passes among last year's quarterback class. Wilson has 6, Luck and Kaepernick* have 5, Tannehill has 4, and Weeden has 1 and is probably benched for the season. All three have been a little slow to start the season playmaking-wise. Granted Wilson and Tannehill are both undefeated but I'm simply talking from a numbers standpoint. He didn't throw a pick, he slid when he ran, and he had a touchdown pass. It's better than 300 yards, 3 tds 2 ints and a loss.

4. Ryan Kerrigan is a Stud 
In each of the first 4 games the Redskins have played, the defense has been attacked for their horrendous play. Lost in that barrage of hate and mediocrity is Ryan Kerrigan, the guy who plays linebacker opposite Brian Orakpo. He never misses a snap and has constantly pressured the quarterback in every single game this year. If he keeps this up he'll have twenty sacks (he has 5 right now) this season. Something unheard of since Dexter Manley's days in the 80's. Not only that but he's never caught an interception without taking it to the house. Every interception he's had has been for six points. Just an all around solid player. And to think people had us taking Blaine Gabbert in that draft...scary thoughts I tell ya.

5. Playoffs Are Suddenly a Possibility 
Don't get me wrong, the Redskins are not winning the Superbowl this year. Anyone who is says otherwise is one of those delusional Redskins fans that give us a bad rap. But with the NFC East so completely and utterly horrible the Redskins are now tied for 2nd place with the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas remains on top at 2-2 but face Peyton Manning's red hot Broncos next week. A win against Dallas after the bye and we're 2-3 and at the top of the East. If that happens then we're pretty much given a clean slate and a fresh start to the rest of the season as the first three losses won't mean anything.

Bottomline: To be honest, with games against San Diego, Denver, Atlanta, Kansas City (yes the Chiefs are for real), and San Francisco it's simply going to be tough come out on top. All the Redskins need to do is get healthy and focus on being the team that won 7 straight games at the end of last year. And despite all the raucous surrounding the NFC East and RG3 we just need to focus on playing football, one week at a time.

*Kaepernick wasn't in that draft class but emerged the same year so I included him.

Five Bullets: Detroit Gets First Ever Win in D.C. 27-20

I was on a bus for the duration of the game and heard most of it on the radio, so keep that in mind if you read something that you didn't necessarily see in game. 

1. RG3 Continues to Improve
As dynamic as RG3 was last year, he only threw for 20 scores. His 100+ quarterback rating was due to his paltry 5 interceptions thrown during the ENTIRE season. This year RG3 has 4 picks and 2 lost fumbles compared to zero first half touchdown passes. The turnovers are slowing what is already an anemic offense and the Redskins are paying the price in the win column. His passing accuracy is improving, and he is showing some playmaking ability with his legs on scrambles and bootlegs but he still isnt 12' RG3. It is unfair to expect superstar play from this guy. He is a human being. I don't care what he says during press conferences but when you step back out on the football field after being injured the way he's been injured it takes time for your mind to shake off the jitters of getting hurt again. His mind is clouded and scared and it affects his on the field performance. By the second half of the season I'm pretty sure we'll have the old RG3 we all know and love back on the field.

2. The Defense Has Been Stepping Up

D. Hall has scored more TDs in the first half than the
entire Redskins offense this season

Joique Bell was held to 63 rushing yards and the run defense overall was stout. David Akers kicked two very short field goals meaning the defense clamped down in the red-zone. They only gave up three offensive touchdowns while scoring one of their own. The net points given up by the defense was 20, so all the offense had to do was score 21 points or more in 4 quarters to win. Three touchdowns is easy picking for most teams, hell even Brian Hoyer threw for three scores against the Vikings. But as usual we couldn't. Sure Stafford threw for 385 yards, but with our secondary issues that's going to happen; it's an improvement over the 480+ yards Aaron Rodgers threw for last week. Not only that, but they held Detroit to a mere 4-13 on third downs. They gave the offense plenty of chances but they couldn't take advantage. The defense is playing at a winnable level, but only if the offense can put some damn points on the board.

3. The Defense Still Can't Tackle
As much as they have improved from the Eagle's nightmare on Monday Night the defense still can't tackle. This is how big plays and first downs are made against the defense. They still can't seem to wrap up or get hand on some of these ball carriers. Not only that, but there just seems to be so much more open space when the defense is playing. Granted it's been better than the first two games but runners continue to get extra yards simply because people don't know how to tackle. It needs to get fixed, ASAP.

4. The Return Game is Garbage
Every time someone kicks the ball deep into our endzone Chris Thompson or whoever is back returning kicks feels the need to bring out, and get tackled short of the 15. This horrible starting field position is a big reason the offense starts out games insanely slow. Punt returners gain 3 yards and kickoff returners end up behind the 15 yard line. You need the other units of your team to help when others are struggling and, simply put, the return teams have just been digging the sixth foot of the offense's grave.

5. Play-Calling and Penalties Need to Improve
Fifty pass attempts compared to only twenty rushes. The offense needs a spark and the play calling needs to facilitate that. Lets run the god damned read option. Our high flying offense was predicated on play action last year; and as we struggle offensively we continue to take away the one thing that gave our offense life. Establishing the run will make everything easier: shorter third downs, more time of possession, more open passing lanes and less time the defense is on the field. Sometimes the game situation just doesn't allow it, but I want to see more option/pistol plays from this offense.

Bottomline: This is season is looking bleak in terms of playoffs, granted I said the same thing after we beat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, but it just looks like we're taking too long to get our footing this season. After the bye we face teams like Denver, Chicago, San Fran, Atlanta and San Diego and it just seems like to big a hurdle to overcome after starting our 0-4 or at best 1-3. Not the best bottomline but I hope I'm proven wrong.

Five Bullets: Packers Dismantle Redskins 38-20

As always you can keep up with my NFL Probability Experiment by clicking at the tab on the top or, if you're lazy, by clicking here.

1. RG3 Ain't Playing Like RG3
Sure he had his 2nd consecutive 300 yard game and threw for 3 touchdowns but RG3 only seems to be able to move the ball after the defense decides that they can give up a few touchdowns. His timing is off, his accuracy, albeit a little better than last week, is still downright horrible. He isn't making plays with his feet and his passes are not hitting their mark. While this week was an improvement as his first throw wasn't an interception, he wasn't much better at moving the ball when the game was close. I know I said this last week, but there is nothing we can do but keep playing him. Griffin needs games to get back to form. We were all expecting 2012 pre-injury RG3 to return after a shortened recovery period and no preseason action. It's apparent that that hasn't happened. Keep playing him, make the adjustments and let him find his stride.

2. The O-Line is not Helping
Despite starting the same group as last year the offensive line is not as dominant as it was last season. Most of Alfred Morris's 107 yards came in garbage time (which was the entire 2nd half) and RG3 rarely had time to let his routes develop and he had multiple passes batted down at the line. The best cure for a struggling quarterback is time in the pocket and a strong running game. The line can provide both but has yet to do either.

3. Third Down Conversion Percentage Must Improve
In two games of regular season play the Redskins are an underwhelming 5/21 (23.8%) on converting third downs. Two things happen when you miss third downs: 1. The offense stops moving and gives up the ball. 2. The defense must hurry back onto the field. The defense played a "decent" game in the first quarter, amassing 3 sacks and holding a potent Aaron Rodgers to 10 points. But when the offense kept punting the ball and kept sending the defense out on the field they eventually broke down, giving up nearly 150 rushing yards to Green Bay's backup running back and nearly 500 passing yards to Rodgers. If the Redskins want to win games and score in the first half, they must sustain drives and convert third downs.

4. The Defense is Worse than Last Season

Rodgers Actually Threw 5 TDs but a fluke gave the
Redskins a do-ever on this drive.

The Packers were 4/10 on third down. That's not a bad stat if you're the defense. However, the Packers scored SIX times. That means that Green Bay, at the very least, scored twice without converting, or having faced, a single third down. And that's assuming that they faced one third down each of their other scoring drives which probably didn't happen. Just like last week the defense is missing tackles, taking bad angles, and are no where to be found when a receiver catches the ball leading to huge gains every other play. One would think that with Orakpo back and rookies David Amerson and Bacarri Rambo added to the defense that they would improve but it seems as though they regressed to the absolute worst in the NFL.

5. The Season Isn't Over Just Yet
As terrible as these two games have been there are still 14 games to be played. Granted if any of these trends continue it is likely that we'll be drafting pretty high next year, (but not really since St. Louis currently owns our first rounder). Although you have to figure that talent that won RG3 offensive rookie of the year and went 10-6 last season is still in there somewhere, and when he comes out, we will not be getting blown out in the first two quarters of football. Not to mention the entire NFC East lost today, so we're only one game behind the division title. Hope is not lost...yet.

Bottomline: The past two games have been systemic, complete roster failures. Offense can't score before the 3rd quarter. Defense can't hold teams to under 600 offensive yards. Special Teams can't make a damn field goal. Improvement is inevitable simply because we've hit rock bottom but unless drastic changes are made this week, Matthew Stafford is going to getting me some serious fantasy points next week. 

Five Bullets: Redskins Fall to Eagles 33-26

Going to school 25 minutes away from Lincoln Financial Field meant that I would be living my next four years in Eagles territory. What better way for me set my mark then by watching all the Eagles fans in the room moan as the Redskins rip them apart for the third straight game. Sadly it was I who was embarrassed, so much so that in the 3rd quarter, when Kai Forbath missed the field goal, I threw the remote down and angrily stormed out of the lounge and never came back.

This year I decided to tone down the length of my Redskins articles to 5 bullets on what I took from the game. Hopefully this makes for some quicker reads and a little more substance rather than just game summaries. Also, my stat experiment isn't off to the best start, but I made a new tab just for it! So you can check out the results without searching through blogposts. Without further ado, here are my five bullets from last nights game.

1. First half was nothing but complete ineptitude on all levels

This sums up the day

The defense was giving up a first down every other play. Vick had enough time to go through his progressions twice, look back at the sideline, eat a sandwich, and still complete the ball. Philly ran for some 220+ yards. I could drive a truck through the holes LeSean McCoy ran through. However, they did score a touchdown and buckle down eventually to keep the game competitive. The real story is how bad the offense was. Alfred Morris fumbles on his first carry, RG3 throws a pick on his first pass, Alfred Morris fumbles a pitch which results in a safety, and no scores in the first half. This tired out the defense who just started getting a handle on Vick. Which resulted in 2 more Eagles touchdowns. Even Kai Forbath missed a field goal albeit not in the first half.

2. Robert Griffin III was not comfortable this game. 

Having not seen live action for over 8 months RG3 was bound to be rusty. He was scared, he didn't set his feet, he threw two picks, (that's almost half as many he threw ALL of last season) he barely ran the ball, he missed so many throws I thought it was the other RG3 (Rex Grossman III) out there. Luckily Shanahan kept him in because he needed to play. He started getting a grip on things in the 2nd half, running a little more, hitting more plays, running the no-huddle, and making better throws, albeit against what appeared to be a prevent defense. He finished the game with a respectable stat line, 300+ yards, 2 scores and 2 picks. Not spectacular but not Blaine Gabbert horrendous either. Fear not, he will have a much better game against Green Bay. He just needed to get his bearings back; he hasn't been healthy since last October.

3. The running game wasn't there.

RG3 and Alfred Morris combined for less than 75 rushing yards the whole game, a far cry from the 168 they averaged last year. It was a combination of the Eagles' game planning to stop our rushing attack and the lack of any passing threat from RG3 in the first half that bogged us down. RG3 can be a pocket passer and doesn't the read option but every quarterback needs some help from the running game to keep the passing lanes open.

4. Our defense looked worse than last year

McCoy ran for a whopping 184 yards, a per carry average of 5.9 yards. Vick chipped in with another 54. Vick passed for 200 yards and 2 scores. When we got pressure, the secondary didn't hold up. If the secondary held up, Vick would get 10 minutes to throw the ball. When McCoy ran it, nobody was within 5 yards of him, and when they were, they missed tackles. After letting them score 33 points the defense finally buckled down and had a scoreless quarter and a half, but by then it was too late and our offense couldn't fully catch up.  Run defense was a strong suit last year, and with the return of Orakpo it was only expected to get better. If Eddie Lacey runs like this next Sunday there's no way we can stop Aaron Rodgers.

5. Hop of off Chip Kelly

I'm not saying this because I'm angry we lost but people have been putting too much of an emphasis on Kelly's "fast paced" offense. The reason it worked so well was because it was NEW. Remember when the Redskins had a new offense with RG3 in the mix last year? Totally caught the Saints off-guard and gave us the win. Remember Jim Zorn? He had a new offense and we went 6-2 before everyone figured out how to stop it. Sure he uses the no-huddle a little bit more than others, good for him, but don't call him an NFL coaching guru after one game. Also, Vick played a near perfect game which made his offense succeed, not the other way around.

Bottomline: For Redskins fans, that game was a nightmare to watch but it probably won't get worse than that. RG3 is working his way back into the system and hopefully Brandon Meriwether will be healthy enough to play Sunday. Our defense had flashes of dominance but were on the field way too long to remain effective. Look for all that to change next week as we give the Packers a tough fight if nothing else.

My 21 Week Probability Experiment

Introduction:

I've always found it amusing how so many people have jobs as "NFL Analysts". I don't consider them actual jobs but hey, there's a market for them and that's why they exist, can't argue with the economics of it. What I'm hoping to do is conduct an experiment to see how reliable these experts truly are at predicting games. If I can have a better season record of predicting games after 21 weeks than the experts, then we will see how pointless these peoples' opinions truly are.

Procedure:

Before each slate of NFL games I will toss a regular quarter to predict each game. Heads will mean the home team wins, tails will mean the away team wins. I'll tally these results up in an excel sheet and update the results as the weekend's games conclude. Updates will also be provided in my weekly Redskins articles. The coin will be tossed once,  caught and flipped over. If I drop it then I re-toss the coin. If the team I predicted wins, then a win is added to my win total, likewise for losses. So if in a week I call 5 games right and 7 games wrong then my record for that week will be 5-7.

Hypothesis:

If NFL Analysts are truly complete morons, then my cumulative win-loss record, at the end of the season, will be higher than the average of at least 5 NFL Analysts. They are the ATL crew from nfl.com who will also be predicting each week of fun nfl action. You can follow along, the experts I will be competing against are Marc Sessler, Dan Hanzus, Kevin Patra, Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseling,all of which are writers for NFL's Around the League show.

1st Week's Predictions:
BAL @ DEN: Bal
NE @ BUF: Buf
SEA @ CAR: Car
CIN @ CHI: Cin
MIA @ CLE: Mia
MIN @ DET: Det
OAK @ IND: Oak
KC @ JAC: Kc
ATL @ NO: Atl
TB @ NYJ: Tb
TEN @ PIT: Ten
GB @ SF: Gb
ARI @ STL: Ari
NYG @ DAL: Nyg
PHI @ WSH: Wsh
HOU @ SD: Hous

Format: Away @ Home. Heads: Home wins Tails: Away wins.

What do you all think? I know some of the picks already seem horrible, but let's just see how this plays out over the 21 weeks.

Reading for Fun

So I'm kinda cheating you guys on this one, I wrote this mini-paper to explain what draws me in when I pick up up a book and wanted to share it. See people are always telling me "'Oh you need to read this classic by Dickens or this by XY, it's a tough read but worth it!" I have enough problems reading through this stuff for school. When I want to read for myself, I'm not going to subject myself to the torture of a book whose vernacular I just can't understand, plot doesn't appeal to me, and has symbols and such that require me to make inferences that are entirely too subjective. When a book appeals to you, you enjoy it. Reading becomes an adventure as opposed to a task. Granted we all have different tastes, cuddling up with a cup of tea and a Shakespearean tragedy might just be your thing and if it is, go for it! There is no right or wrong way to read. Just find what you love, not what other people think you should.

I’ve always felt that when it comes to reading for fun, people should actually be enjoying themselves. The book should make me want to turn the page and if it doesn’t, I shouldn’t have any qualms putting it down. I never really cared for classics that were difficult to read or that didn’t hold my attention. This set of criteria makes the books that I have read on my own time a wonderful and enjoyable experience. The last book I read, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, was my most recent engaging reading experience.

Dan Brown has a reputation for writing amazing thrillers so I decided to give this book a read. His name made me open it, but his words kept me holding it. From the first page the book had a firm, unrelenting grasp on my attention. It starts by saying “The secret is how to die.” What does that mean? Where is he going with this? The questions that popped up desperately needed to be answered; I refused to put the book down until they were. Brown has a style of telling two stories at once, switching back and forth between them until they inevitably come together, and when they do, every preconceived notion of what was supposed to happen is shattered. The plot twists and turns, leads you on a promising road only to say “just kidding!” as you hit the brick wall and find the road goes up rather than left or right. The story alone would’ve been enough to hold my attention but Brown simply completes the reading experience with his words.

His language is not so archaic and complex that it takes a great deal of effort to understand, yet it is not so basic that a third grader could read it. The language has a hidden eloquence, one that you don’t immediately realize because the text is simple and easy to understand. This simplicity didn’t come at the cost of quality however. The imagery Brown creates turns a book of words into a movie that goes on as you continue you reading. You read words but see the action. The intricate plot and simple language combined with vivid imagery makes the novel one that you don’t put down until you finish it. 

What To Do When Your Car Overheats

Before I start this on, my quick thoughts on the game. Injuries sucked, although everyone should be alright in time for Week 1. Penalties are higher than normal but this is the time to work it out. Overall a solid game. Offense under Kirk moved okay, but failed third down conversions held up drives. Rex was decent, maybe more than decent. White looked decent for a 4th stringer and lead a touchdown drive. The defense was fantastic. Solid wall in the run game, forced a ton of turnovers, good defense in the redzone and solid control the entire game. Also Ryan Kerrigan is the man.

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If you see the needle on or near the H, PULL OVER! 

My Acura (completed) project car overheated on the road today and I was able to work it out thanks to my car know-how. If this happens to you here's what to do:

So you're driving down the road and all of the sudden you notice one of two things: steam/smoke coming from the hood, or your temperature gauge is all the way up in the red. What do you do? First off, pull over and shutoff the car immediately. If, for some reason, you are unable to stop immediately turn the heater on full blast and turn the fans all the way up, this will help direct some of the engine's heat into the cabin and buy you some time.

If you continue to drive like this and ignore the temp gauge you risk destroying your radiator, melting the plastic components under the hood, warping and eventually destroying your engine. Overheating is one of the most dangerous things that could happen to your car and ignoring it will lead to either a hefty repair bill or a 2 ton piece of scrap metal.

So once you've pulled over and shut off the car carefully open the hood. If there's steam coming try to isolate where it's specifically coming from, this will help you find the source of your problem. Once it clears up see if you can see any green coolant that may have been burning in the area. Again be careful as everything is obviously really hot. Next check your coolant reservoir. See if it's particularly low. If it is, chances are you're leaking coolant somewhere. Check your owner's manual if you're unsure of where it is. Whatever you do don't open the cap just yet!

Let the car cool down for at least thirty minutes before you try to open the radiator cap. And when you do, try to open it with a rag if you can to keep your hands from burning. Carefully open the cap, if you don't let it cool enough the steam and coolant may rush out and burn your hands/face. If it is low, add coolant until the radiator is full, if you don't have coolant you can add water. Distilled is best, but use whatever you have available. After filling it let it cool some more and start it up. If the temp gauge normalizes go back under the hood and see if you find the coolant leak. If it's serious it's best to get a tow. If it's not that bad, then drive carefully and keep an eye on the temp gauge. If it goes back to H in less than a mile then stop, and get the car towed. If after a longer distance like 3+ miles it happens pull over and add coolant. If topping off coolant doesn't fix it you have a stuck thermostat or a blown headgasket or some other problem that you won't be able to service on the side of the road. Shell out the money and pay for a tow, if you keep driving you risk ruining your engine and a much more expensive repair.

If the gauge settles back to normal (usually half way or below), then drive carefully with the heater on full blast and remember that highway driving is easier on the car than city driving. Just stay close to the shoulder so you can pullover and top off the coolant if the gauge starts to go up again.  Highway driving is easier on the engine and the higher speeds mean more air is going through the radiator which helps keep the car cool. Only drive like this if you don't have that far to go. I was around 6-7 miles away from my house when my car broke down so I filled it up and got on the highway and took it home. Longer distances are dangerous. Is it worth skipping the $100 tow and risking your $2000 engine chances are you'll be fine if you're careful but I wouldn't risk it. Whatever the case may be don't panic, be careful around the scalding temperatures under the hood, and be happy that you learned how to save your car on TheMasterDebater! If you have a question leave a comment!

In summary:
1. Pullover and shut car off ASAP.
2. Check coolant levels.
3. Let car cool and top off coolant until full.
4. Start car and see if gauge settles back to normal.
5. If it does, drive carefully and top off as the gauge goes back up.
5b. If it doesn't, stop now and have the car towed.
6. Get the problem fixed by a mechanic ASAP. 

Football is BACK! Skins 22 Titans 21

First off I want to say happy birthday to my blog. I started TheMasterDebater last year on August 4th. Since then I've wrote 41 articles with an estimated 50,000 words. I've also gotten 4500 page views, yay me! Now then, onto football.

Since it's the preseason I'll keep the articles short, no game summaries, only stuff I found to be of value.

I missed the first three overall scores in the game, but after watching the highlights I got caught up. Baccari Rambo thought he could get big hit in Chris Johnson on his touchdown run, but whiffed. And he REALLY whiffed. He looked like a player on madden when you push the hit stick at the wrong time and they just stumble. Welcome to the NFL rookie.

 Defense was mostly solid, Kerrigan and Orakpo both had a sack. David Amerson had a nice pass knock down and was second in tackles. Phillip Merling, a 4th year player vying for Adam Carriker's spot also notched in a sack. The problem was that the defense wasn't always solid, and got caught out of position on two plays and gave up back-to-back two touchdowns.

Rex looked like Rex, missing deep balls and hitting the third stringers on short routes, nothing special. Roy Helu and Evan Royster led the team in rushing with near identical numbers: 13 for 57 yards and 14 for 62 yards respectively. The story of the day was Pat White; from what I remember from his Dolphin days he mostly ran and threw one pass in a game before getting knocked out by Ike Taylor. He never looked sharp or decisive as a passer and was more of a Mike Vick with no arm.

He came to the Redskins as a training camp body to replicate, or attempt to replicate, RG3 so the offense could still get the reps in for the RG3 zone read plays. He was nothing spectacular in practice so I didn't expect much when he came out to play. I was pleasantly surprised.

His numbers are nothing impressive, 5/8 for 31 yards. That's it, no touchdowns and no interceptions. His

Pat White running after a quarterback keeper

decision making was great however. He had two consecutive drops where his throws were dead on target but simply dropped. Had that drive been extended White could've added to his numbers. He also lead the team down the field at the end of the game and at the goal line, looked at his options and ran in the touchdown. He also ran the option once for a nice gain of 15ish yards. Then came the two point try. With two minutes to go both teams just wanted to end the game so Shanahan eschewed the game tying kick. White rolled out to his left looked, looked, and at the last second threw a strike across his body for the 2 points and the win.

He'll have to do a lot more to have a hope of upsetting Rex as the third stringer but he sure is looking like a nice guy to have waiting on the phone should bad go to worse.

Penalties were horrendous but it was the first preseason game. Give the rookies a break.    

What Ramadan & Fasting are All About

Many of us know that this is the month of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims where they fast from dawn to sunset everyday. Recently I've come across some interesting comments on various internet sites, mostly non-Muslims having an incomplete idea of why Muslims like me fast, but also with other Muslims not correcting them. Without a correct understanding of everything that goes into Ramadan, fasting for a month probably won't make much sense to you. Before I begin let me preface this by saying I'm probably the furthest thing from an Islamic scholar, what I'm writing is what I've been taught and my understanding of Ramadan, if something I say is incorrect I encourage some to comment or email me so I can correct it.

Ramadan is celebrated as the month in which the Qur'an, the holy book of Muslims, was revealed. In it, Muslims are required to fast from sunset to sundown, abstaining from all food and drink. Health exceptions are made for people who can't and/or if fasting jeopardizes their health. These people have alternate ways of fulfilling this obligation. Before dawn hits, Muslims wake up to eat a pre-fast meal, called Suhoor. Some people just treat it like breakfast while others, like myself, treat it more like dinner and eat leftovers from last night. After suhoor we pray the morning prayer called Fajr, and most of us go to back to sleep. Then at sunset, the time for fasting has ended and we break our fast with dates or water if possible.

There are numerous health benefits to fasting which I'm not going to bother touching but I found a good summary here for anyone who's curious.

The obvious aspect to fasting is the abstinence from food and drink, things that are otherwise lawful for Muslims. Fasting however, is so much more than that. It a nutshell, it is learning to restrain ourselves from the lawful things in order to develop better self control and restrain ourselves from sins we commit. When we fast we make an extra effort to curb our bad habits. We all sin, no one is perfect, but fasting gives us the extra push we need to stop. In Islam, the reward for fasting is enormous, but is totally lost when we don't stop doing the other sins in our lives. We are taught that one who fasts but doesn't abstain from his sins such as cursing, gossiping and such has gained nothing from his fast but hunger and thirst. Additionally, the reward for someone who goes the month of Ramadan fasting and praying out of righteousness is that their sins will be "like when they were born." In other words their record will be wiped clean; it will be as if they never sinned.

The second aspect to both fasting and Ramadan is the increased desire to do good and increase one's faith. During Ramadan and while we're fasting, the good deeds we do are accounted for and multiplied by factor of 70, 700 or more. So we are encouraged to give more to charity and help others and not waste our fasting time just waiting for sunset to come. We are also encouraged to pray more, read more of the Quran and try to understand it more, increase our knowledge of Islam. The big incentive is that any reward we would get from doing these actions is multiplied tremendously. This, combined with the incentive to abstain from sinning, is a big part of what makes Ramadan so sacred to Muslims.

Before I continue I think I should clarify this reward system I'm talking about. We believe that a metaphorical ledger is kept of our actions. Both good and bad, to the point where not even an atom's weight of good or wrong is left unaccounted for. And one day we will be held accountable for what is in both books. When we do something good, be it give charity or hold a door open or pray it is written in our books as good. Likewise, when we do something wrong it is also written. Fasting gives us the opportunity to multiply the deeds in our good books and erase the deeds in our "bad" books. So when I say reward I pretty much mean good deeds being written in our ledger.

Another aspect emphasized during Ramadan and through fasting is charity. Before the month is over Muslims are required to pay a percentage of their wealth as charity. People who have a certain amount of wealth/possessions or less are exempt from this. Additionally, part of the spirit of fasting is realizing what people in poverty stricken areas around the world go through on a daily basis. Some of that spirit is lost with the lavish meals many Muslims have afterwards, but even then fasting serves to remind us that not only are there people who go through this every day, but many don't have the light at the end of the tunnel that is iftar (the breaking fast meal). They aren't guaranteed a healthy meal come 8:30, they can't waltz into their local mosque and get a nice meal, they aren't even guaranteed any food or even clean water! This humbling reminder serves to encourage us to give a little more than we otherwise would to the poor/homeless/hungry.

The final thing I want to touch on is that Ramadan gives everyone a chance to start over. I have the privilege of living two minutes away from my masjid and I happen to go a couple of times a week. At any other time of the year there may be 2 or 3 lines of people praying the night prayer called Ishaa. During Ramadan, the masjid overflows with people to the point that there isn't anymore room for cars to park on site and people are praying in the hallways. Many of these people don't go to the masjid otherwise, be it for whatever reason. Yet, during Ramadan all these people come out to try and better themselves a little bit and do things that they wouldn't under normal circumstances. The person who doesn't pray prays,. The person who doesn't read Quran reads. The person who rarely gives charity gives. The person who curses stops. The person who gossips stops. Ramadan gives everyone the motivation and the environment to try to and start fresh, and give them a taste of the sweetness of worship and try to finally put a stop to the bad habits they/we/I 've been doing for many years.

In summary, the ultimate goal for Muslims during Ramadan is to reap the benefits of the month: the increased rewards for good and increased mercy for our sins and to come out of the month a better Muslim than when it started. It can be something as small as not dropping the f-bomb anymore or something as large as making sure they pray every prayer, every day. There is no limit on how much one can improve or a restriction on who can improve. This is the month to assess how one's lived throughout the year and how they can become better people and better Muslims. 

A Reflection on 4 Years of MIST

My friends and I are huddled in a group of seats in the Masonic Temple Theater in Detroit, Michigan. My head was down as I heard them announce the third place award for debate. I couldn't make out a name amidst all the cheering but I didn't really care who got third. I was dying to hear the second place award, praying my name wouldn't be called. I had already won a first place trophy today, for extemporaneous speech, but the last time I won that award I lost debate, and I wasn't looking for a repeat of last year. The announcer calmly announced that second place was "from New York..." and, to be honest, I never heard the rest of it,as the entire section around me starting cheering and I walked up knowing that I had won my final Mist debate tournament.

Throughout my four years of regional and national tournaments I've had a roller coaster experience with winning. Before my first competition in 2010 my coach told me "a white guy always wins debate, goodluck" and left. I walked in unprepared for some of the topics and to top it all off my first debate ended with the judge telling me that I completely skipped the cross examination portion of the debate. Despite this I somehow managed to reach the final round and, with a lot of help from an experienced lawyer, managed to take home 1st place. The sweet taste of victory was short lived however, as my next two tournaments both ended in the semi-finals rounds. I took 3rd in Nationals 2010, and a dismal 4th in the following year's regional tournament. Then I picked it up in what was probably the best tournament I've competed in, and won 1st Place at Mist Nationals in Atlanta. The following year I redeemed myself and reclaimed first place at  Regionals (2012) only to lose in the final round of the national tournament. Every year something went wrong, either in Regionals or Nationals, but finally, it all came together this year and I ended my time as a competitor by winning both Regionals and Nationals. I've also dabbled in some another competitions such as extemp. speaking (2 consecutive first place nationals finishes), improv, short film and community service but debate has always been my forte. So is this my reflection? The master debater completes his legacy in Detroit and then lavishes to the interwebs about it? No, this part was just to make me feel good and to give a little background to the level of competition at Mist.

In these competitions I've seen so many different people doing so many different things. Some were masters of quranic recitation and memorization, others were extremely retentive readers, some poets here, spoken word and nasheed artists there, some athletic basketball players who on the side are experts of tafseer, some artists who can draw and paint to the point you forget you're looking at a drawing...I could go on endlessly. The thing I'm trying to get at is that everyone has something. Did I win debate because I practiced day-in and day-out? I'd like to say that I worked hard and diligently prepared with the work ethic of a champion but I didn't. I was lazy and researched my topics always at the last minute and never did anything to hone my skills outside of the competition. Despite this I still managed to win, because I'm great? No. Because I have a God-given talent. I can speak, I can think logically and quickly (most of the time) and I can articulate the thoughts in my head. I didn't "earn" this, I just got it, it's nothing to be proud of.

 Everyone has something, that kid who can't catch a football and holds a baseball bat the wrong way is the smartest kid in the classroom. The kid who fails his science classes in school is an amazing artist. The kid who's failing his structured business class has the street smarts to out-earn Bill Gates. The thing I learned from Mist is that everyone has some talent. Just because your trophy case sits in your room, empty and collecting dust because you never won a debate tournament doesn't mean you're a bad debater. (You know who you are. #Shots) The talent we have isn't what makes us great. It's not even honing that talent that makes us great. It's how we use it that defines who we are and defines our legacy. Sounds a bit extreme for some high school kids but that's just it, we're high school kids. The fact is most of us haven't had the chance to actually do anything significant yet, winning a competition is nothing. Going out and using my speaking talents to change the world for the better, making someone's life better be it through giving a speech, or convincing a judge that the Patriot Act is unconstitutional is an actual accomplishment. It sounds a bit extreme and very idealistic or what have you, but using your talents for 'good' doesn't have to mean changing the world. You see a sad child on the street and draw him a small picture and make his day, doesn't sound like much but you're literally making the world a happier place by doing so.

In short, through all the fun, excitement, sadness, joy, camaraderie, brotherhood, sisterhood, work, sleeplessness, chanting and intermingling (just kidding of course) I've set some pretty lofty expectations to the all my fellow seniors who's last Mist was two days ago: "Step up and stay humble". You have talents, you are all blessed in many ways, shapes and forms; use your talents to make your life better, to make the people around you better, to make the image of Islam and Muslims around the world better. And at the same time remember where your gift came from, self-confidence is great, arrogance is not. To all competitors who still have more Mists ahead, work hard and enjoy them! It's up to you guys to carry the team now, New York should have nothing to smile about next year!

I also just wanted to acknowledge all the organizers and coaches at D.C. Mist for all the hard work they've put into organizing both the regional tournament and all the logistics for the tournament. Special shout outs to my boy Ehson Kashfipour for getting team D.C. three gorgeous Maryland motor coaches, to ex-Regional Director Adam Kareem for helping elevate D.C. Mist to what it is today, to current Regional Director Tara Mohammed for carrying the torch without missing a beat finally to ER's fantastic coach and D.C. Coach of the year Rashad Mulla for being the most supportive, helpful and chill coach there is. Thank you coaches, thank you organizers, thank you competitors, it's been a fun ride. 

College Isn't For Everyone

With all the horror stories about college graduates having their lives ruined over student loan debt I felt like chiming in my opinion on traditional 4 year colleges/universities.

Conventional wisdom states high school + college degree = well paying job. Some have added grad

school to the equation. High schools across the country tout how a large percentage of their graduating seniors are going off to college. Society has tricked us teenagers and our families into believing that college is the only way to be successful. We are asked the question "Where are you applying to college?" rather than "Are you going to colleges?"

If higher education costs as much as it does in India then sure, everyone should go off to college. But in this great country of 'Murica, where tuition, fees, room and board hover around 50-60 grand a year, we need to consider the costs and benefits more closely.

Unless you're in the top 1%, affording four years of college is a daunting task for most families. Yes, for most there are financial aid and scholarships and such but the financial aid process isn't perfect. A middle class family who works hard and saves up to pay for college gets penalized with less aid while a family with the same income and nothing saved up gets more free money. And most financial aid packages (aside from a few top tier schools) include student loans as a part of the package, so some of the aid the student receives isn't really aid at all. The bottom line is that for the majority of America, affording to go to college requires saving, scrimping, and more often than not, borrowing.

Most justify this cost as an investment. You shell out $250k now, and use the degree you gained to earn $1 million over 15 years. The problem is that people call a college education an investment without treating it like one. Investing that kind of money requires knowledge, research, understanding and most importantly, direction. If you have the market acumen to invest this money properly, you could see it double, triple, and provide a steady source of income for years. However, if you just throw it all one number on a roulette in Vegas and call it an "investment", chances are you'll never see that money again.

Likewise you need to do your homework before making this financial commitment. Do you know what you want to do in life? Did you get into a higher ranked college? Does that college rank well in your specific field? How strong is their alumni network? What are possible jobs you can earn with your degree? What are the job outlooks in the next four years for those degrees? What are employment statistics from your college and major?

People go into college with no direction other the fact they "have to". They spend a year taking electives, then changing majors, filling more requirements before changing their major again. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you go into college thinking you know exactly what you want to do and find out that it's actually not, in which case go ahead and change your major. But going to college without knowing what you want to accomplish is a big no-no and waste of your parents money. You are not guaranteed a job because you have a degree. A college degree is a tool. A wrench in the hands of a mechanic is worth thousands of dollars in repairs and work. A wrench in the hands of a gender studies major is a worthless paper weight that perpetuates some harmful anti-feminist stereotype. Point being that if you don't have the communication skills, problem solving and learning abilities and other intangibles that a college doesn't teach you, a degree isn't going to magically cover up those flaws. A degree opens doors, a degree from an elite college opens more, but they're both useless if you don't get up and make the effort to walk through them.

At the same time, job potential shouldn't be the ONLY concern. You should try to find an environment you like and something you enjoy doing. You don't want to get a job but be miserable from 9-5 every day because you don't like what you do. Find the balance of job outlook, college environment, and personal enjoyment if you decide to go to college, and if you can't it may be a sign college isn't for you.

Figuring out what you want to spend the rest of your life doing is a tall order for a 17 year kid. So if you don't have an idea or direction and can't' seem to figure it out with your parents, teachers, counselors and such don't go to college. Take a year off, get a job and if you can afford to, travel around, and try new things and get a taste of what you can see yourself doing in and after college.

What people don't realize is there are many career paths that require much less expensive education. Community colleges dramatically reduce the overall 4 year cost of college and generally allow you to graduate with the same University degree that other kids have paid an extra $100,000 for. Vocational schools cost less, keep in you school less, train and certify you to perform well in in-demand career fields. Many of them even have helpful job placement services. An electrician works with something we can't live out, has good pay, and generally no to minimal student loan debt. An ASE certified mechanic spends a year, maybe two getting his certification and can now work on the 62 million passenger cars in the U.S. while a french literature and art double major with two degrees and $100k in student loan debt is working at McDonalds and living out of his parent's basement.

In the end, its not so much the degree but what you can do with that education and skills you already have. Bill Gates gave up a sure fire, well paying career when he dropped out of Harvard. College wasn't for him; he realized that and is now one of the richest men in the world. Sure you probably aren't going to be the next Bill Gates, but to have a job with the same pay as a college grad struggling to stay afloat because of debt without paying the $250,000 fee doesn't sound that bad to me. If you have direction, a sensible way to afford your education, and are a conventional classroom learner, then by all means go to college. If it works out then you probably will be better off than someone who didn't go at all. If you aren't sure, can't afford it, or didn't get into any higher ranked colleges, look at your other options and remember that a college degree is in no way a requirement to live a successful and fulfilling life.

EDIT: Shafee doesn't get bitches. Shafee is an ass.