Madden 2007 Gameday Prediction

Welcome to the beginning of a season long simulation of the Washington Redskins football season. The 2007 edition of Madden no longer allows you to pit the CPU against itself so for each game yours truly will play a game against our upcoming opponent and see what the results are. Each game will be made as realistic as possible and please bear with us as each game is a work in progress as we try to bring you the best representation of the current playing conditions as possible. Skins vs Dallas With the memories in the hearts and minds of Dallas fans and players the atmosphere is thick with timid feelings as the game begins. Dallas wins the coin toss and hope to get the crowd into the game early but coming out with a 4 WR set. The defensive secondary provides great coverage as a hurried Brunell throws a pass directly to Rumph who drops the sure interception. A Lemar Marshall sack and Carlos Rogers batted ball leave the Cowboys high and dry to start the game. With Randle-El back to receive a punt you could hear The Tuna barking instructions to his team. After being shut completely down against the Vikings in game one, Randle-El returns this booming punt for a TD by running up the middle of the field and using his elusiveness to keep defenders at bay as he streaked to the corner of the end zone. 7-0 Redskins The Redskins defense steps up again but shows that the offense will be needed to win this game. Drew Bledsoe is in prime position to even the score after a terrible J. Hall kickoff that lands at the 30 yard line. Andre Carters sack on Bledsoe and Sean Taylors monstrous hit on Terry Glenn set the tone but did not prevent a TD. The Redskins defense was caught in a zone leaving A. Artchuleta covering T.O who caught the TD pass in the back of the end zone to even the score. 7-7 The Redskins next two points came courtesy of one Mr. Derrick Frost. The Skins went three and out after some hard running from Portis, a pass to Cooley and a failed conversion to Moss. Punting from midfield Frosts lucky bounces from 2005 came back. Landing at the two yard line, the ball bounces back into the arms of a Redskins special teamer. Backed up against their own end zone the Dallas Cowboys try to pound the rock through a stout Skins defense. The 1st run was stopped by Sean Taylor up the gut and the 2nd run to the left was stopped by Marcus Washington for a loss and a safety. 9-7 Skins Weary of another Randle-El return, Dallas kicks away from him to Betts. The drive ends in another three and out as a pass to Moss is broken up for the conversion. A faint call of booing can be heard from the few Redskin faithful daring enough to be in attendance. The booing stems from a Dallas safety who, not looking at the ball impeded Moss’s route to the ball with no flag called, the only bright spot of the possession with a 10 yard Clinton Portis run. The Redskins woes carried over to the defense who again feels the wrath of a healthy Terrell Owens. Bledsoe with time recognizes that Rumph is on an island with TO and by getting the ball out before a blitzing Artchuleta can interrupt the deed was sealed. Dallas scored another 7 points and basically dare the Skins offense to produce. 14-9 Dallas. Both teams failed to get a TD their next two possessions although Dallas did achieve 3 points. . The Skins offense sputters horribly and is only saved by a booming Frost punt downed at the 10 yard line. Dallas marches to the Skins 33 just to be stopped on a 3rd and one. Quick passes from a pressured Bledsoe connect but ultimately aren’t enough as the Skins try new ways to get pressure without getting burned like before. In-sync and possessed is the only way to describe the next Redskin possession. In what seemed to be an exact duplicate play from their scoring drives in game 1 of 2005, Mark Brunell hooks up a long bomb for Santana Moss. The DB bit on a pump from Mark Brunell giving Moss an open window of opportunity but not before a play saving block by Thomas sends a determined Ellis reeling. Another pump seemed to be excessive as Mark finally released the ball to an awaiting Moss who shook off an unbalanced defender on his way to a TD. It was shocking that the booing wasn’t louder as memories from 2005 flooded the minds of everyone in attendance, which was all the spark the Redskins offense needed. 17-16 Dallas With the Skins getting the ball back after the half Dallas knew they needed to score with 2 minutes left on the clock. By going back to what worked, Dallas moved up the field quickly while keeping the Skins honest by throwing in a run. By learning from past mistakes and keeping Artchuleta in coverage the Skins force an interception thanks to Lemar Marshall. With the momentum already swaying to their side it seemed the defense had snatched it all the way into their grasp. Enter in TJ Duckett and with time to kill they stuck him behind Sellers. The combo seemed unstoppable but there was not enough time on the clock. Skins settle for FG after 2 missed passes one of which as a wounded duck looking for safe refuge in the open hands of a Dallas defender. 19-17 Skins Half Time To start the half the Redskins shuffle the lineup and receive the kickoff. Lloyd starts opposite of Moss and had a pass intended for him picked off after a stunning march down the field by the Skins. Dallas was able to rattle the Skins by consistently creating pressure and causing Brunell to rid himself of the ball before he wanted. Keeping the momentum in check and the Skins from scoring gave Dallas hope. Sensing a change in the wind and a sudden shift in momentum the Redskins defense quickly reacts. Trying their best to stick to their game plan with time running out Dallas runs the ball to the right. Barber gets threw the 1st and 2nd level of defenders and spots daylight. Just as that ray of light hit his eyes Sean Taylor was there to shut it out. Taylor who finished the game with 5 tackles and 2 forced fumbles gained one of those fumbles on this very play. Mike Rumph (2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery/TD) returned the ball for a score and the special teams unit wasted no time kicking the extra point. This was a very questionable point in the game as confusion engulfed Dallas’s sideline as to whether or not Barber was done, it was later determined he was but was not called. 26- 17 Skins The entire 4th quarter was dominated by the Redskins. Drew Bledsoe ended any chance of a Dallas comeback by throwing three interceptions. He did not get much help from his wide receivers as Glenn got alligator arms around Sean Taylor and T.O ran lazy routes. Mark Brunells (178 yards, 2 TD’s) day ended with a streaking pass to Randle-El in the end zone. With Brunell on the bench it was prime time for JC to get some needed experience. Taking full advantage of a dead crowd and no pressure he proceeded to 3 of 4 for 66 yards and one TD. Final: 50-17 Skins The game was a lot closer than the score may indicate. If Bledsoe who is notorious for throwing picks at the worst possible time had been able to keep his composure, the game may have ended differently. Washington is currently tied with the Eagles at 2-0 in the NFC East. Lemar Marshall was rewarded with the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his 5 tackles and 3 interceptions. The Skins rank fourth in the NFL’s power rankings and second among the NFC teams to…