August 29, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Kai Forbath (2) kicks a field goal against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 30-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

I give credit to Mike Shanahan for not giving the hook to a kicker after one shaky game on the road.  But missing to sub-35 yard kicks in consecutive weeks, Shanahan was right to get on the phone and conduct a kick-off.  Veterans Olindo Mare and Josh Brown competed with second year Kai Forbath who did not play last year after a season ending injury cost him his rookie campaign in Dallas.

At the end, the newest member of the burgundy and gold will be “Cobra” Kai.  (I guess it helps to have a fictional karate dojo that is known for “sweeping the leg.”)  Forbath kicked for UCLA where in 2009 he was awarded the Lou Groza Trophy for being the best kicker in college football.  Last year he was on the injury roster for the Cowboys and failed to make the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year when he was cut during training camp.

Since the Redskins have been in close games in each of the first five weeks, do you think they made the right choice in a guy that hasn’t never played in an NFL game yet?

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August 29, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins kicker Billy Cundiff (5) kicks a field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 30-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

The Redskins pretty much dominated the game through the first 25 mins of the game, leading 21-6.  The Skins defense and running game had pretty much everything I had pointed out they needed to do in order to win this game. They ran the ball against the number one rushing defense for 160 yards and three touchdowns, Robert Griffin III wasn’t taking too many hard hits, and they had shut down Josh Freeman and Vincent Jackson.  Then Josh Freeman hit Mike Williams for a 65 yard gain through the air towards the end of the third quarter.  All of a sudden momentum swung, and Vincent Jackson came alive.  The offense had troubles running against a stout defense.  The secondary showed signs of disintegrating. The Buccaneers would go on to score 16 straight points to go up 22-21.  Washington was looking towards a sobering 1-3 start.

With 1:47 and starting from their own 20, it was now up to Rg3 to see if he could lead his team to field goal range and give Cundiff another try to make a kick and win the game.  I was hoping the Redskins could just score a touchdown (it would have helped me win the over, and take the game off of Cundiff’s foot).  Griffin III then put on a clinic doing everything wright.  Hitting receivers, completing all four of his passes (not counting his spike to stop the clock) for 46 yards; and then when seeing open field, ran the ball for another 15 and into (a normal kicker’s) field goal range.  The only thing RG3 did that scared me a bit was taking a hard shot that could have caused a turnover, or worse, an injury.

But I will give Billy Cundiff and the defense credit.  The defense stopped the Buccaneers to only a field goal when they absolutely needed to, and our kicker didn’t let his previous misses get into his head, and he nailed the game winning kick from 42 yards.  The Redskins can now come home 2-2 and be in the thick of playoff talks at the end of the first quarter of this season.  Hail to the Redskins!

How did you think the game went Redskin fans!?  Who else would you like to thank for today’s win?

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Ravens just can't seem to catch a break (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

What a game in Foxborough. Washington Redskins’ fans collectively rejoiced as former Cowboy’s kicker Billy Cundiff sailed a 32 yard field goal that would have tied the AFC Championship at 23-23 with 15 seconds left wide left. Cundiff and the Baltimore Ravens could have potentially avoided the entire last-second situation had quarterback Joe Flacco not thrown a crucial interception as the team was driving for the go-ahead score with 7:32 left in the game.

Most Washingtonians are pulling for a San Francisco vs. New England Super Bowl, simply for the fact that the Giants are NFC East foes and well..the Ravens represent everything that Redskins fans hate. Hate is a strong word, but fitting. Some people claim “dual-citizenship”, they believe because they live in Maryland they are entitled to support the Ravens and Redskins. These people are commonly referred to as “fair-weather fans”. (more…)