Washington Weekly Weview

[Guest]

WEEK 1 - WASHINGTON 10, PORTLAND 3

The defense is ready to play. The offense, well...

Brandon Sponable was in the Phantoms' backfield on seemingly every play, ending the day with 8 tackles, 5 assists, 3 sacks, 1 hurry, 2 knockdowns, and a forced/recovered fumble.

Portland's defense certainly showed up as well, only allowing 247 yards on the day (vs. 205 by Washington) and sacking Hardy Campana four times.

The difference, both in yardage and the game itself, was a 53-yard TD reception by Tito Webb. Webb caught a 6-yard hitch and took it to the house.

But for that, it was a dead-even battle for every inch.

[Aston]

I approve of this title.

[Guest]

WEEK 2 - WASHINGTON 12, ST. PAUL 14

hm, that's weird. I know I wrote up something for week 2, don't know what happened.

Oh well... not like there was much to report. :) Let's pretend it didn't happen.

[Guest]

WEEK 3 - WASHINGTON 34, LAKE COUNTY 10

A much-needed rebound, and how. The defense was completely dominant. 106 yards allowed (franchise record). The only reason LCX scored 10 was because A.J. McGee gave up back to back fumbles, starting the Extreme on our 30 and 15 yard lines. Other than that, Lake County didn't see our side of the field - at all.

Offensively, Campana put up another solid effort, and McGee drilled them repeatedly. Every yard was earned painfully, with very few 'big' plays.

The one exception was on special teams; a 91-yard kickoff return by Tito Webb, setting up a 4-yard TD run by the FB.

Edgar Stone is still listed as out, so it's a good time for the bye week.

[Guest]

WEEK 4 - WASHINGTON 30, DENVER 13

This one was actually very close until the 4th quarter. Score was 14-13 with a minute left in the third, when Tito Webb scored his *second* 62-yard touchdown of the day. On the two scores, Webb had 59 and 49 yards after the catch. Webb finished the day 5/5 for 150 yards and the two scores.

That substantially bolstered Hardy Campana's day, as he ended 22/27 for 245 and 3 TDs/1 INT. Take away Webb, and well... you can do the math.

From that point on, at 21-13, the defense pinned its ears back and just tore into the Denver OL. Junior Bullock finished one shy of a league record with 7 hurries on the day, 2 in the 4th quarter. Three field goals later, and it was over.

THIS WEEK - Edgar Stone returns, as the Phoenix Rough Riders come to town. There are many - MANY - more jokes to be made about Rico Oglethorpe's height, but truth be told, he looks to be very dangerous. With our coverage and pass rush, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the 60-70 yard range scrambling, and that alone could be disastrous.

On the other side of the ball, McGee will likely struggle against that wall of a defensive line. Campana will be challenged to make throws against a very strong defensive backfield. Phoenix is on a skid right now with the rookie, but they fought Anchorage very tough. That did not go unnoticed in the Bombers HQ.

The keys to this one lie in the Bombers ability to actually get to Oglethorpe, and not let him run around them or throw on the run. Washington is number one in pass rush percentage so far, and they will bring it hard this week too. Rico is still learning, but it will only take a couple big plays by Alfred Morrison to put this game in jeopardy. Washington will not likely score many points, unless it's on turnovers.

[Guest]

Goodness. Looking back on the first quarter of the season, Tito Webb is uh, kind of important. :)

[Guest]

yes our games have been very phsyical hard fought games with the exception of 1 whuppin you handed to me.

the keys on our side are pretty much the same keep mcgee under 3ypc and dot let webb get open downfield. these 2 teams are very similar philosopically. run the ball to setup the pass and we both have young qbs.

more importantly we both have premier CB's Graham vs Lowe so the other guys will have to pick up the slack. the advantage is in the front 7 washingtons LB's are outstanding while phoenix has Monty lester and a bunch of stiffs, but Isaac Andrews has returned to from after notchig just 3 sacks last year heas already got 3 this year he could be the all time sack leader by seasons end.

this will be a hard fought game Rico got his first rushing TD last weel and i hope he does start running cause Nate will take morrision out of the equasion. the key player today will be will shumway but it will be if he can produce out of the backfield catching. he probably wont go over 100 yds rushing but if he can get around 150 is total yards i think we win

[Guest]

WEEK 6 - WASHINGTON 27, PHOENIX 14

A.J. McGee is a mudder. Puts on his long cleats and demands the ball. On Sunday, he was granted his request. McGee carried for a pedestrian 24 times (114 yards, TD), but surprisingly - and necessarily - he was targeted 11 times in the passing game. He racked up 10 receptions, a franchise record, 64 yards and a TD. He was not deadly in the receiving game, but on this rainy, windy field, he was absolutely what the Bombers needed to keep the Rough Riders at bay.

With Edgar Stone still out (gametime decision), Rico Oglethorpe threw fearlessly. Unfortunately, he was met twice by a couple of new performers on defense - rookie J.T. Bromell, and Stone's temporary replacement, Levon Broemer. Broemer picked one off in the end zone, which led to an 80-yard scoring drive by the Bombers - a 14 point swing that all but ended the contest just before the half. A missed FG and a fumble led to another 10 points by Washington. In short, the weather was the 12th man today for Washington.

THIS WEEK - Edgar Stone returns - honest. And Washington will need him, looking at the starting pair of wideouts for Utah. Where Phoenix only had one legit threat at WR and a rookie QB, Utah brings both guns and a very capable veteran. Not to mention it's a road game.

For Washington, the gameplan doesn't change much. They tend to balance their attack, taking what the defense gives. In this case, the real danger for Utah will be Tito Webb vs. either the rookie Robinette, or the over-achieving Cate. McGee will be a focus, but the real key will be if Campana can stand in the face of the superb pass-rushing LBs of the Bees. Utah no doubt knows that their DBs don't match up well, so they will most likely be bringing the kitchen sink to minimize the time Washington has to throw.

Interesting tid - Britt Meyer will be on the sideline for Utah. Meyer turned down our offer - and the starting position - to be a clipboard holder for the Bees. The Bombers look to really make him regret that one. :)

[Aston]

This'll be a good one, Jug.

I was tempted to throw Meyer out there for the start, just 'cause...but I think I'm going to stick with Boone ;) You have a really good team, so I am just hoping for the best. Campana, he's really been doing well.

[Guest]

WEEK 7 - WASHINGTON 16, UTAH 27

Settling for field goals in the red zone bites us on the ass again. We had three very nice drives to start the game - 14 plays, 13 plays, 12 plays, 6 mins, 5 mins, 6 mins... but came away with 6 points for the effort. Two chipshot field goals, and an interception in the end zone.

From there it just never turned around. A.J. McGee put the ball on the ground twice in a row - again - to lead to two Utah touchdowns.

Very frustrating to watch. Even with the mistakes, we pulled to 16-24 with 3 mins. left, got the ball back before the two minute warning, and just couldn't get it done. We really let this one slip away.

THIS WEEK - LOS ALAMOS

Completing the Lord of the AC West series (Rico as 'The Hobbit'), with probably the toughest matchup. Phoenix & Utah both did well offensively against us, so we really gotta figure something out for Slingin' Sammy Dillon and company. Looking at the balance on offense, this one might have to be a shoot-out - which is not our strongest suit. Gotta convert in the red zone.

[Guest]

Completing the Lord of the AC West series (Rico as 'The Hobbit'),

could have been worse...could have called him gollum

[Aston]

Yeah Jug, we didn't win the game so much as lucked into it. The turnovers and missed scoring opportunities were killer.

Good luck against Los Alamos.

[nelmsm]

Yeah Jug, we didn't win the game so much as lucked into it. The turnovers and missed scoring opportunities were killer.

Good luck against Los Alamos.

Can't you just feel the love among the AC West?

[Guest]

Can't you just feel the love among the AC West?

hes just mad cause its your turn to win the division

[Guest]

WEEK 8 - WASHINGTON 14, LOS ALAMOS 28

As feared, Dillon sliced us like a turkey. Nate Graham is having an abysmal year. Fortunately, Levon Broemer is having an all-world year, with 6 INTs in 7 games, but overall the secondary is just not getting it done. Hopefully we can tweak that enough to keep Nori honest this coming week.

Not entirely fair to judge the offense in this one, as we were down 28-0 at the half. Campana didn't exactly show anything, but the defense was waiting for him on every play at that point.

THIS WEEK - ANCHORAGE

Big showdown. Where we could've made up some serious ground these last two weeks with Anchorage dropping a couple of close ones, we instead matched them with our own stumbles. One of us has to get off the schneid here.

It's actually an interesting sequence - Anchorage went from scoring ~27ppg to 14 these last two weeks; we went from allowing ~12ppg to 28. So who's going to break out of the slump, their offense or our defense? I'm going to assume that with the weather especially, it will be the latter. Though I may be a little biased. :)