Who got the best end of the Champ Bailey – Clinton Portis trade?  I think it’s a draw.  If the Redskins had won more games since the trade, I’d contend the Redskins won.  I’m not putting the blame for the losses on Portis.  I’m just saying it’s hard to make a case in the Skins’ favor when the team hasn’t really reaped the benefits of CP’s exemplary productivity.

Here’s the thing about Bailey.  He’ll cover the opposition’s top receiver just fine until he gets juked.  Once the receiver gets two steps past him, the man with 4.28 speed takes a seat and watches the rest of the play.  He becomes a virtual spectator.  Give him his due, at least he has the best seat in the house.

Santana Moss was drafted by the Jets two years after the Redskins selected Bailey.  Moss was clocked at 4.31.  It’ll be speed burner vs speed burner.  I hope Moss fakes Bailey out a couple times and gets a step on him so you can see what I mean about Champ’s proclivity for not chasing down receivers once they get past him.  Both players are reportedly healthy, so it’s just a matter of what plays the Skins call for Moss, whether Champ bites on his fakes, and of course, whether or not Campbell can get the ball to him.

Tomorrow, I expect to see Betts get the ball about 25 times.  Rock Cartwright will probably get about 10 carries, as well.  The big weapon could be Fred Davis.  Denver’s defense has looked a bit human the past couple of weeks, though not nearly as much as their offense did last week.  Campbell may not have time to look down-field enough to worry about, but Davis should be able to get open enough to serve as Campbell’s safety valve beyond the line of scrimmage.  Let’s hope so.

Normally I tweet updates during Skins’ games (jhowardgiddings) and provide quarterly updates here.  I won’t be available to do so tomorrow as I’m traveling to Chicago.  Go Skins!

About those defensive players.  All London Fletcher’s done is lead the league in tackles with 71.  40 were unassisted; 31 were assisted.  He also has a quarterback sack.  Yea, he deserves to go.  Let’s see that he does.

Andre Carter is tied with Trent Cole among the league leaders in quarterback sacks.  They both have been credited with 6 1/2.  As for the NFC, they’re tied for second behind Jared Allen who has 7 1/2.   Carter also has made 34 tackles, which is second among defensive ends in the league.     Cole has been credited with 27, while Allen has made 29.  Clearly, he is among the elite players at his position.  Let’s vote him in.

DeAngelo Hall has a case for being elected, but he needs to keep up the good work.  He’s tied for 6th in the league with 3 interceptions.  Seven defensive backs are tied with him.  He’s tied for 17th in passes defensed.  Nine players are tied with him in that category.  He’s made 30 tackles, which isn’t a lot when you count safeties, but is a lot when you only consider the top 12 pass interceptors in the league.  Among the latter, he’s tied for 1st with 30.  If you compare him to the other cornerbacks in the conference, only Charles Woodson and Asante Samuel have more picks, and they only best Hall by 1.  He deserves to go to the Pro Bowl.  Let’s hope he keeps producing so enough Redskins’ fans will take notice.

Last but not least is Albert Haynesworth.  Only 4 defensive tackles and 2 nose tackles have recorded more tackles than Haynesworth.  Only one of those is in the NFC.  And, Haynesworth leads all interior linemen in the league with 3 sacks.  How can he not be voted to the Pro Bowl?

I’d love to vote Santana Moss in.  Hopefully, he’ll have a few more balls thrown his way before voting is over.  Right now, there are 8 receivers in the conference who have caught more passes than him.  That’s not his fault of course.

I’d also love to vote Clinton Portis in.  At this time, six backs in the conference have greater yards-per-carry averages than CP.  Half of them have broken off twice as many long runs as CP.  I hope he’s able to break lose for the next few games before the voting period ends.

For now, I figure Fletcher, Carter, and Haynesworth would have to be robbed not to be selected for the Pro Bowl.  Hall is on the bubble.  Both Moss and Portis need to have a couple good games before the voting period ends in order to be in the running, no pun intended.

Let’s get behind these guys.  Go Skins!

The soft part of the Redskins’ schedule is over after this week, except for their Dec. 13 visit to the Raiders.  So, the Skins had  better win if they want to have any real chance of posting a winning record.  Given their situation, I decided to look into my statistical crystal ball.  What I saw tells me the Redskins should definitely win this game.  Here’s the skinny …

The Kansas Chiefs have played well enough to win 2 of their 3 home games, despite their 0 – 5 record.  When they’ve played on the road however, they’ve lost by 14 to the Ravens and 20 to the Kevin Kolb led Eagles.  The Redskins have won both of their home games, though they’ve done so by margins of 2 (Rams) and 3 (Bucs) points.  Advantage- Redskins.

Before I break down the offenses and defenses, I’ll address the biggest separator.  The Chiefs are without their starting left tackle, Branden Albert.  One of their starting safeties, Jarred Page, is nursing a sore shoulder which kept him out of practice until Friday.  The Redskins wish they were that healthy.  Chris Samuels and Hunter Smith are out.  Cornelius Griffin, Phillip Daniels, Chad Rinehart, and Anthony Montgomery are all questionable.  Clinton Portis and Albert Haynesworth are both probable.  Advantage – Chiefs.

Jason Campbell has completed 66.7% of his passes, and has thrown 6 touchdowns to 5 interceptions.  Matt Cassell has completed 58.5% of his passes, and has a touchdown-interception ratio of 7 to 2.  Turnovers are huge.  Advantage – Chiefs.

Clinton Portis is averaging 3.7 yards per carry and has not turned the ball over.  Larry Johnson is averaging 2.4 yards per carry and has lost 2 fumbles.  Advantage – Redskins.

Santana Moss has caught 21 passes while averaging 16 yards per catch.  Dwayne Bowe has caught 15 passes while averaging 12.1 yards per catch.  Advantage – Redskins.

Chris Cooley has caught 22 passes, averaging 11.5 yards per catch.  Sean Ryan has caught 13 passes, averaging 9.4 yards per catch.  Advantage – Redskins.

On offense, the Redskins have scored an average of 14.6 points-per-game, while the Chiefs have scored 16.8.  The Skins have: given up 14 sacks to the Chiefs’ 17, been penalized 26 times to the Chiefs’ 36, lost 4 fumbles to the Chiefs’ 2, and compiled 300 yards-per-game to the Chiefs’ 258.  I’m calling this a draw.

On defense, the Redskins have given up an average of 16.4 points-per-game, while the Chiefs have given up 27.6.  The Skins have: yielded 291 yards-per-game to the Chiefs’ 403, sacked the quarterback 10 times to the Chiefs’ 6, intercepted 5 passes to the Chiefs’ 2, and yielded a pass completion percentage of 61% to the Chiefs’ 56%.  Both teams have recovered 4 fumbles.  Advantage – Redskins.

Not that it matters, but the Chiefs have never opened a season with 6 losses in their storied history.  In other words, losing to the Redskins would amount to an all-time low for them.  I have family in Kansas City, just as I have family north of Detroit.  It wasn’t fun watching the Skins lose to the Lions, and it certainly wouldn’t be fun seeing them lose to the Chiefs.  My crystal ball tells me I’ll enjoy this game more than I did the Lions’ game.  I had better, because the Eagles are next.

Washington 20, Kansas City 17.  Go Skins!