Washington Redskins -6
The only thing that scares me about the late afternoon Redskins/49ers clash is that it almost seems to obvious, despite the fact that San Francisco picked up a rare outright victory last week. The bottom line is that the only 2 triumphs that the 49ers have had so far this campaign both came against the struggling Arizona Cardinals. Even though they won last week, San Francisco managed to blow a 25 POINT second half lead, and barely survived in OT. It has been a hellacious week for the the 49ers. On Monday, starting RB Kevan Barlow was forced to apologize to his teammates for recent comments he made about the offensive line. Barlow had said that if it were up to him, he would use all the team’s draft picks on linemen, which obviously has not made his offensive teammates all that happy. To add fuel to the fire, Barlow has been benched by head coach Dennis Erickson after his recent critical remarks about the offensive coaches NOT allowing him to “pick his holes” anymore, which he blamed on his lack of production. Barlow is already complaining that he is no longer the desired starter as journeyman Maurice Hicks rushed for 139 yards last week in his place. Then there was the breaking story earlier this week that 49ers owner John York has suggested that coach Erickson fire some assistants. Since Erickson resists making changes, he may be shown the door, even before the end of the season. Erickson already interviewed for the collegiate vacancy at Ole Miss, so he is looking to get of the 49ers mess. Since he is in the second season of a 5-year contract, the 49ers would owe Erickson around $7.5 million if they decided to fire him. You should be aware that San Francisco is very “cost conscious” so they may opt to hold on to Erickson rather than swallow another financial hit. I mentioned earlier about RB Maurice Hicks who is battling a case of bruised ribs, which may cause the 49ers to go back to the disappointing Barlow. San Francisco will have to stick with reserve QB Ken Dorsey as regular Tim Rattay may now miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury. While there has been a ton of negative talk in the 49ers camp, all is POSITIVE with the Redskins who are coming off 3 consecutive solid efforts where they COVERED all three, including SLIM losses against a pair of 12-1 squads (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia). I personally cashed the ticket with the Redskins this past Sunday Night when they nearly upset the Eagles. The bottom line is that legendary head coach Joe Gibbs is finally starting to adjust to the “new day” NFL. More importantly, star RB Clinton Portis has returned to form the past couple of weeks with 264 total yards and four touchdowns! A good three-week stretch has the Redskins EAGER for the final 3 games and especially 2005! According to Washington CB Fred Smoot, his Redskins are going to be “something special” next season. The biggest difference between these two teams is that the 49ers defense has been torn apart for most of the season due to injuries that have pretty much wiped out the entire starting secondary. On the flipside, the Redskins have the league’s #2 ranked defense which is right behind the mighty Steelers. Since 1992, Washington is a sweet 10-3 ATS/ROAD against NFC Western Division opponents!
GOOD LUCK
The only thing that scares me about the late afternoon Redskins/49ers clash is that it almost seems to obvious, despite the fact that San Francisco picked up a rare outright victory last week. The bottom line is that the only 2 triumphs that the 49ers have had so far this campaign both came against the struggling Arizona Cardinals. Even though they won last week, San Francisco managed to blow a 25 POINT second half lead, and barely survived in OT. It has been a hellacious week for the the 49ers. On Monday, starting RB Kevan Barlow was forced to apologize to his teammates for recent comments he made about the offensive line. Barlow had said that if it were up to him, he would use all the team’s draft picks on linemen, which obviously has not made his offensive teammates all that happy. To add fuel to the fire, Barlow has been benched by head coach Dennis Erickson after his recent critical remarks about the offensive coaches NOT allowing him to “pick his holes” anymore, which he blamed on his lack of production. Barlow is already complaining that he is no longer the desired starter as journeyman Maurice Hicks rushed for 139 yards last week in his place. Then there was the breaking story earlier this week that 49ers owner John York has suggested that coach Erickson fire some assistants. Since Erickson resists making changes, he may be shown the door, even before the end of the season. Erickson already interviewed for the collegiate vacancy at Ole Miss, so he is looking to get of the 49ers mess. Since he is in the second season of a 5-year contract, the 49ers would owe Erickson around $7.5 million if they decided to fire him. You should be aware that San Francisco is very “cost conscious” so they may opt to hold on to Erickson rather than swallow another financial hit. I mentioned earlier about RB Maurice Hicks who is battling a case of bruised ribs, which may cause the 49ers to go back to the disappointing Barlow. San Francisco will have to stick with reserve QB Ken Dorsey as regular Tim Rattay may now miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury. While there has been a ton of negative talk in the 49ers camp, all is POSITIVE with the Redskins who are coming off 3 consecutive solid efforts where they COVERED all three, including SLIM losses against a pair of 12-1 squads (Pittsburgh and Philadelphia). I personally cashed the ticket with the Redskins this past Sunday Night when they nearly upset the Eagles. The bottom line is that legendary head coach Joe Gibbs is finally starting to adjust to the “new day” NFL. More importantly, star RB Clinton Portis has returned to form the past couple of weeks with 264 total yards and four touchdowns! A good three-week stretch has the Redskins EAGER for the final 3 games and especially 2005! According to Washington CB Fred Smoot, his Redskins are going to be “something special” next season. The biggest difference between these two teams is that the 49ers defense has been torn apart for most of the season due to injuries that have pretty much wiped out the entire starting secondary. On the flipside, the Redskins have the league’s #2 ranked defense which is right behind the mighty Steelers. Since 1992, Washington is a sweet 10-3 ATS/ROAD against NFC Western Division opponents!
GOOD LUCK
