Another Virginia Tech Letdown – So much for any national title hopes for VT.

[Miami 27 Virginia Tech 7](http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/gameTrax?gameId=200511050016)

Virginia Tech failed to show up and was outplayed on both sides of the ball. The defense was beaten, and the offense, especially Markus Vick, was horrible. The announcers kept saying at the start of the game that Marcus Vick couldn’t be rattled. Well, he was certainly rattled tonight – he looked like he was somewhere else. This game reminded me of 3 other games:

* The Redskins/Giants [blowout](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20051030019) on 10/30/2005.
* The 2003 Virginia Tech/West Virginia [game](http://www.hokiesports.com/football/recaps/10232003aaa.html) when Virginia Tech didn’t show up and lost 38-7.
* The 1999 Virginia Tech/Miami [game](http://www.techsideline.com/football/1999/games/miami.htm) In this game, the announcers kept saying that the players on the sideline said that Michael Vick was rattled, but Michael managed to regain his composure, and Virginia Tech won the game 43-10.

As in years past, it would appear that Virginia Tech did not deserve its poll ranking. Why does it seem that Virginia Tech is ranked too high nearly every year?

So, unless Miami loses another game AND Virginia Tech wins out, Virginia Tech will probably get the ACC’s 3rd bowl bid, which is the [Peach Bowl](http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/12989389.htm).

LaVar Arrington said he could have handled his benching better, that the coaches were right about his knee injury, and that his relationship with the Washington Redskins isn’t beyond repair. He even confessed he’s had to learn how to run all over again.

Read (AP via Fox Sports)

Welcome back LaVar. Let’s beat Philadelphia.

Michael Wilbon asks…

How do you not show up to play when first place is at stake, when the opponent is a division rival of nearly 75 years whose coaches and players figure to approach the day with supernatural emotion two days after burying a boss so beloved he was like a father to them all? How do you drop a stink bomb like the Redskins did Sunday when your offense is No. 2 in the entire NFL and their defense is next-to-last at No. 31?

Read (Washington Post)

Every time I think about the Redskins’ performance Sunday, I want to vomit. Horrible

Jerry Jones believes this is not the time to talk about moving the New Orleans Saints.

“We have to address the basic situation for the people of New Orleans and the conditions there,” the Dallas Cowboys’ owner said. “There’s no solution today that’s acceptable.”

Read (Nfl.com)

I never thought I’d agree with Jerry Jones, but I do this time.

Washington (4-3), a 52-17 winner over San Francisco a week earlier, managed just 34 yards in the first half and finished with 125. The Redskins didn’t cross midfield until the last minute of the third quarter.

Read (Yahoo)

The Redskins were horrible. They embarrased themselves and their fans. Absolutely horrible

The Redskins defense forced two turnovers in the first game of the year and none in the last four. There has only been one sack-and-strip of the opposing quarterback.

There must be a way for Joe Gibbs and Greg Williams to stick with 90 percent of what they’re doing and still get LaVar Arrington on the field to do what the other Redskins defensive players haven’t been able to do: snatch the ball.

Read (Washington Post)

On Wednesday, LaVar Arrington and coach Joe Gibbs held a long and animated conversation after practice, just out of earshot but in clear view of a full brigade of reporters. Both men frequently gestured with hands and arms, and Gibbs even put his right index finger into Arrington’s chest to make a point.

Read (NFL.com)

In the jubilation of three thrilling victories and a surprising first-place perch atop the NFC East, one nagging question persists for the Washington Redskins. What happened to LaVar Arrington?

Read (Richmond Times Dispatch)

It sounds like the Redskins are planning to show Arrington the door some time in the near future.

Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick apologized for making an obscene gesture to fans during Tech’s 31-17 win Saturday at West Virginia.

Read (ESPN)

Marcus, you need to keep it together.

You could ask Mark Brunell 100 times if his arm feels stronger, if his legs are healthier, if an additional year of recovering from elbow and hamstring injuries from his final days in Jacksonville has allowed him to be a much better quarterback, and 100 times he’ll dismiss it all. He’ll tell you repeatedly he’s able to throw with such improved accuracy and run either to pass or pick up a first down because the Redskins have better personnel and the offense is better structurally.

Read (Washington Post)

Let’s hope Brunell can stay healthy and keep doing what he’s been doing.

Finally, the Redskins beat the Cowboys. The Redskins looked bad most of the game, but they had 2 good plays in the 4th quarter and that was enough to win. I think Madden said this is the first time the Redskins have won in Dallas in 10 years.

Read (Fox Sports)

After throwing an interception that was returned for a score, Washington Redskins quarterback [Patrick Ramsey](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5918/) rallied for his best performance this preseason in Friday night’s 17-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Read (Yahoo)

[Mark Brunell](http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/2485/) continued to look good, too.

Although you wouldn’t know it
from the reaction Patrick Ramsey received from the crowd, from the fans discussing
the game, or from the press, Rich Tandler thinks Ramsey’s performance took a
quantum leap in the positive direction from the Carolina Game to the Cincinnati Game.

Read (Scout.com)

I keep going back to one of the lines in Tandler’s article – “It’s one thing for a quarterback to make a mistake; it’s another for him to make the same mistake over and over again.”

Mark Brunell looked pretty good again, but I’d still like to see how he performs against a first-string defense. When are we going to see Washington’s first-string defense?

Dan Snyder’s marketing savvy pushed the Washington Redskins’ revenues last year to $300 million, nearly double the amount the team was grossing when he bought the franchise in 1999.

Read (AP via ESPN)

Snyder knows how to make money. Now, if the Redskins could win the Superbowl, all of us fans, including Snyder, would be much happier.