Redskins @ Bengals – Fourth Quarter Thoughts

• Oh my goodness. On third down of the first Bengals drive of the quarter, Ryan Fitzpatrick moved up in the pocket and was taken down by Jason Taylor and London Fletcher. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a half sack for each of those two guys. Not exactly the quarterback-destroying sackfest a few people predicted for Taylor, but … well, it’s something, at least.

Redskins v. Giants – A Few More Sean Taylor Tributes

Photo by Ned Dishman

So there was the ceremony. There was the tribute edition of Gameday, the repainted midfield logo, and the locker, of course. And there was one other official tribute — the patches on the players’ jerseys.

Coach Gibbs returned for the ceremony, and also took a few moments to share his thoughts on Taylor.

Redskins v. Giants – Some General Postgame Talk

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Here’s how Coach Zorn answered a question about if the Redskins have the players to be successful:

“Yes, and I can prove it just based on the video from the game. But it won’t matter what we call if we don’t execute. I’m not saying that everything we call should be successful. I expect it to be successful, that’s why I call the play.”

I heard him say this and thought, hm. I can’t imagine that the players are going to feel good about that. I mean, from a certain point of view, that sounds like he’s blaming the players and not himself. Which just goes to show you that I don’t fully understand the team’s mentality. For example, here’s Clinton Portis answering a similar question.

Redskins v. Giants – Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

• Well, let’s hope I was wrong about the part where I called the first Redskins possession of the fourth quarter “an absolute must-score,” because that’s not precisely how it played out — instead, three-and-out (plus a penalty) and punt. Decent punt by Ryan Plackemeier, but that’s very little consolation at this point.

Redskins v. Giants – Third Quarter Thoughts

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

• On second down, on the Giants opening drive, Eli Manning puts a ball literally up for grabs — and Shawn Springs and DeAngelo Hall are both so excited to intercept it that they collide, and the ball hits the ground. It winds up not mattering much, as the pass on the ensuing play bounces off of Derrick Ward’s hands, but it certainly does illustrate exactly the way things are going today.

Redskins v. Giants – A Play I Do Not Recall

NFL.com’s Gamecenter box score of the Redskins/Giants game was a little confused at halftime. Apparently Plaxico Burress rallied back from both his hamstring injury and self-inflicted gunshot wound much faster than anyone expected to throw a pass for negative-20 yards.

Insert your own “shotgun formation” joke here.

Redskins v. Giants – Second Quarter Thoughts

• Annnnnnnnd … so much for that. The Redskins promising drive stalls completely, and Ryan Plackemeier‘s punt goes into the end zone for a touchback. Plackemeier is not having a good day, although his coverage guys aren’t helping him out much either. This gives me a bad feeling — it sure seemed like the team needed to do something with that momentum to shake out of that early-game malaise.
• Again, holding the Giants to a field goal seems like an inordinate success. The score is 13-0, and it feels like it could easily have been 21-0 or even worse. Yet again, the Redskins defense is quietly — without many big plays — doing a terrific job.

Redskins v. Giants – The Sean Taylor Ring of Fame Ceremony

Prior to today’s game, the Redskins inducted Sean Taylor to the team’s Ring of Fame at FedExField.

The ceremony was a moving — if unusual — start to gameday. Taylor’s family, including his father Pete, mother Donna and his daughter Jackie, were brought to midfield and presented with plaques commemorating the occasion.

Redskins v. Giants – Remembering Sean Taylor

The ceremony inducting Sean Taylor into the Ring of Honor won’t start for a bit yet, but that’s far from the only memorial at today’s game. The midfield logo has been replaced with a 21.

Today’s Gameday program is a “Special Tribute to Sean Taylor” edition, pictured after the jump.

Two Reminders For Sunday’s Game

Two things to remember if you’re going to Sunday’s game.

First, on Sunday the U.S. Marine Corps will be collecting toys for the 2008 Toys For Tots campaign, so bring a new and unwrapped toy with you. Collection starts at 11:00 a.m. at all stadium gates.

Second, of course, is that the Sean Taylor memorial ceremony is taking place prior to kickoff, and the team is recommending that you try to be in your seats by 12:30 to be sure you don’t miss any of it.