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Vet's turf plays on Redskins' minds
CNNSI.com's B. Duane Cross talked with former NFL head coach and current NFL Preview analyst Ron Meyer about several issues and storylines as teams prepare for Week 6: Duane Cross: Coach, there are several good games on tap this weekend, including Washington at Philadelphia. The Redskins haven't had a lot of success recently at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles pasted Atlanta last week, but lose Duce Staley. That's an ominous way to welcome an NFC East rival. Ron Meyer: The Redskins were buoyed by the return of their running game last week against Tampa Bay. They attacked the Buccaneers' Cover 2 defense by running Stephen Davis into the secondary. This week against Philadelphia, they will face a different problem. The Eagles' cornerbacks -- Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent -- are two of the best. And Washington's receivers do not scare anyone. Philadelphia will be able to play man-to-man with the corners and walk the free and strong safeties up for run support at the line of scrimmage to stop Davis. Plus, the Redskins' mindset won't be to totally focus on the game. They're playing on that horrible stadium turf, with the seams and all. It's just terrible. Yes, the Eagles have to play on it, too, but they are used to it. Cross: Buffalo travels to Miami, where former Bills running back Thurman Thomas awaits with less-than-welcoming-arms. We all know that Thurman has become nothing more than a third-down back for the Dolphins, but can he be a difference-maker? Meyer: I think you will see a lot of third-down situations where Miami will have to convert against that stout Buffalo defense. The Dolphins will play it close to the vest and hope to get the game into the fourth quarter, where Olindo Mare can win it with a field goal, like Indianapolis did last week against the Bills. In those third-down situations, I think the Dolphins will use Thurman on screen passes and draw plays, things that he excels at. Cross: And that game also pits two of the better defenses against less-than-stellar offenses. Meyer: Absolutely. It will be a boring game for the pseudo football fan. For the purist, there will be tremendous hits, and it'll be fun to watch the chess game between Wade Phillips and Dave Wannstedt, two defensive-minded head coaches. I think it will be a great game. They won't light up the scoreboard by any stretch of the imagination. Cross: Baltimore goes to Jacksonville, a team that was ripped last week by previously winless Pittsburgh. With the way the Ravens' defense is playing, this game could get ugly if the Jaguars cannot mount a rushing attack to take some of the pressure off Mark Brunell. Meyer: The Ravens have a solid defense, very well-coached, and they play hard. Jacksonville is really struggling trying to run the football, and injuries have been a big part of that. The Jaguars have not been able to establish the run because tackle Tony Boselli and running back Fred Taylor have been hurt, but they are coming around. When a team cannot run the ball, it makes it doubly difficult to win. Cross: On Monday night, the matchup is two teams -- Tampa Bay and Minnesota -- that everyone thought would have drastically different seasons to this point. However, it's the Vikings who are unbeaten, while the Bucs have lost two consecutive games. Meyer: I don't think Tony Dungy will have any problem getting the Buccaneers' attention. There is a sense of urgency inside the team, they are playing a division rival, at Minnesota and it's on Monday night, when everyone will be watching. Tampa Bay's offense has to get in gear. But on defense, they will continue to play the Cover 2, which Minnesota will exploit. Just as Washington did with Davis, the Vikings will use Robert Smith. I look for Smith to have a heavy workload, and the Vikings will try to get the game into the fourth quarter and set up a field goal to win it. Cross: San Francisco has its first two-game winning streak since early in the 1999 season. Are the 49ers coming into their own with quarterback Jeff Garcia, those talented receivers and unheralded running back Charlie Garner? Meyer: The one thing that cannot be overlooked is the two teams that the 49ers have beaten, Dallas and Arizona. Let's not raise the bar too high. Garner is very competitive. I don't understand why the Eagles ever let him go, or never used him as a featured back. I've always liked him. The Raiders come into San Francisco this week, after a bye, and have a lot more talent, especially defensively. If [Oakland quarterback] Rich Gannon cannot orchestrate a consistent offensive attack, the 49ers could pull the upset. San Francisco is fun to watch; they score a lot of points. They've gotten some of that swagger back, and two wins are still two wins. They are ready to make the move to .500, and that's a lot to build on for a head coach. Cross: Tennessee shut down the New York Giants vaunted "Thunder & Lightning" rushing attack last week. Are the G-Men coming down to earth now that teams have a few game films to break down? Meyer: There's no question that Ron Dayne is a thumper, and the Giants' attack is similar to Tampa Bay's, with a little back and a big back.But if you cannot take the pressure off the passing attack by running the ball ... I think that's the Giants' problem; they cannot take the pressure of the running game, and quarterback Kerry Collins in the culprit. He has to throw the ball better and keep the team two-dimensional. The Giants are faced with a lack of production throwing the ball. Cross: The other shoe dropped on Seattle quarterback Jon Kitna this week. With second-year QB Brock Huard under center with rookie running back Shaun Alexander and rookie receiver Darrell Jackson having a big seasons, has Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren sounded the call for the future? Meyer: The situation with Kitna was certainly foreseeable with the way Seattle has struggled. There's no question Holmgren is moving forward. I said Alexander was the best running back in the 2000 draft, better than Dayne, better than anyone. Unfortunately, he's stuck behind Ricky Watters, who is having a tremendous year. Kitna has struggled with production, not converting on third down, which brings the run game more into play. The quarterback has to produce. Everyone talks about the great game the Colts' Peyton Manning had two weeks ago against Jacksonville, throwing for 440 yards and all. But his best performance was last Sunday at Buffalo. There were 59 seconds remaining, on the road, the mixed the plays, moved the Colts downfield, spiked the ball and let the kicker win it. He passed for half the yardage, but to me, that was a much better performance. He came up big when it mattered. Kitna has struggled, and that's why Holmgren made the move. Ron Meyer, a former NFL head coach, is a pro football analyst with CNN/Sports Illustrated and appears weekly on CNN's NFL Preview. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
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