I gotta give the Boys credit. It wasn't pretty, but they had their chances to fold in a hostile Fed Ex environment. They didn't, and someone made a play exactly when they needed to. The good news is that the big plays were made by different people, showing that the team is trying to gel. Here are my grades: Officiating: F - Dallas ended up a little on the good side of this, but both teams were affected by bad officiating. I tend to protect refs, because I think it is a pretty tough job to do. However, you have to point out poor performances by them too. Both teams had scoring drives based on pivotal calls. Dallas got a long pass interference penalty that they used to score the next play. Wash got a first down when they should have punted. There were several examples. Offensive Line: B- They gotta create some better holes for the running game, but the pass protection has been stellar. They cut their penalties, which was key to controlling the game. Running Backs: D+ Thank God for some plays by Richie Anderson. He not only threw a 26-yard touchdown that proved the deciding points against Washington, he took the handoff and took five full strides, really selling his fake, before looking up. Often guys throwing the halfback pass start looking nervously up the field the instant they get the ball, which tells the safeties it's a trick play. Anderson sold so well, he should go into multi-level marketing. Besides, that though, we desperately need to establish a consistent running game. Wide Receivers: A- The coaching staff would do good to get Meshawn involved in the offense right away, because we need him in the 4th quarter. Bryant made some great plays, and Glenn was another big contributor. Tight ends: A- Whitten scored once, and Campbell made some plays too. Whitten is basically just another big receiver, proving he can be a weapon in this offense. Quarterback: B Vinny didn't have great stats, but he controlled the game effectively. He had some dropped balls, but overall did a decent job. Defensive line: B Much more pressure was put on the QB, although some of it was from blitzing. They did a fair job of containing Portis, who was held to under 100 yards. Linebackers: B They disappeared for much of the game, but reappeared at the best times. Goal line stands and containment of Portis were keys to winning this game. Defensive backs: C I am almost on the trade-for-McKenzie bandwaggon. Roy Williams made a great impact. With Tony Dixon playing a great game (including two sacks), Roy was abe to play more of his game. On the other hand, I am really disappointed with our corners. Hunter left the game early with an injury, forcing us to put a 7th round rookie into the lineup, and it wasn't good. Don't blame him too much, because Terence Newman didn't look too good either. I don't know what his problem is. I'm beginning to think the Packers should get our 2nd round pick. Special Teams: A- Wow. Give Cundiff a drug test. He actually kicked off effectively (read: long). The kick coverage teams controlled a normally-good Washington return team. And its good to finally have a great punter. This guy kicks a ton. The punt return team did down a punt that was not fielded too soon with 27 ticks on the clock. Another 5 seconds or so could have went off if they were not so excited. That could have been big, especially the way the game ended. Coaching: B Boy, you have to wonder what Parcells AND Gibbs were thinking on some of those challenges. It likely cost Gibbs the game (along with his pitiful clock management). Parcells did, however, do a good job at managing the game in spite of a lack of a running game. His call for a passing play on 3rd and 8 as time ran down was a gutsy call that was much needed. Getting that first down rather than calling a running play to milk the clock pretty much sealed the win. And Zim, figure out that pass coverage, will ya? Dallas still isn't a good team, but they are making progress.
