Redskins vs. Buccaneers: Final thoughts

Such a nightmarish first half, and such a satisfying second half. The game review went up in several pieces:

Initial reactions

First half play breakdowns

Third quarter play breakdowns

Fourth quarter play breakdowns

Finally, here are the wrap up thoughts after going over what may have been an extremely critical game:

I cannot exaggerate the extent to which Jason Campbell looked utterly broken in the first half. I thought we were watching the end of Campbell as a viable quarterback and, as I wrote last Sunday night, I was even hoping to see him benched because it was just painful to watch him go through it.

I likewise can’t exaggerate how different he looked in the second half. He was the confident, in-command QB that we occasionally see for a quarter or so every two weeks or so.

I am utterly flabbergasted by Jim Zorn’s insistence on running behind Chris Cooley. He is simply incapable of run blocking effectively, and has been single handedly responsible for the failure of more running plays this year than I care to count.

Without Mike Sellers I don’t think we would have any running game at all. That’s an indictment of the offensive line, not Portis.

Fred Davis can pass protect well, but doesn’t run block much better than Cooley.

Even by the modest standards of a guard, I’m starting to think that Derrick Dockery is seriously lacking in agility.

Chris Samuels really is a shell of his former self.

If you happen to run into Shaun Suisham in a bar, buy him a drink for doing a credible job as fill-in punter after Hunter Smith strained his groin. A single shank could have lost this game, and the pressure on him must have been incredible.

In this game the Redskins finally got back to selling play action as effectively as they did when the offense was clicking in the beginning of last year.

I think Jeremy Jarmon was an absolute steal as a third round pick. This game was something of a coming out party for him. And for a guy who was supposed to be a non-factor as a rookie due to a lack of upper body strength, he sure looked overpowering at times.

So I'm not sure what this game means. Was the first half rock bottom, and the second half a better indicator of how the Redskins will play moving forward? Or was the second half performance the abberation, and the flaws that were on display in the first half a better indication of this team's true level?