Alex Smith and the New Washington Offense

[zhangzk]

Primed for a Primetime Matchup We’ll continue a series of opponent preview posts for the New Orleans Saints opponents in 2018. Next , our first primetime matchup in 2018, a Monday Night Football contest against the Washington Redskins. Bill Horgan of Hogs Haven took some time to give us Saints fans the scoop on the new home of Alex Smith.Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesWeek 5: vs the Washington RedskinsWhat were the biggest additions and/or subtractions (not via the draft) to the team’s roster from last year?What was the biggest surprise move the team made - or didn’t make - this offseason?What is the biggest storyline heading into Week 1?What is the outlook for the team? Are the playoffs in sight?Final answer: what’s your prediction for the team’s final record?***A big thanks to Bill for taking the time to answer our questions. Make sure you check out his work and the rest of the good folks at Hogs Haven for tons of Redskins content. You can follow the Hogs Haven on Twitter @HogsHaven, and of course you can always follow me @dunnellz.So what says you, you unbiased Saints fans? Do the Saints pull out another victory against the Redskins in 2018? Vote in the poll. Explain in the comments. And make sure you also check out DraftDividends.com, a website for a new book I’m writing currently titled Draft Picks and Dividends: A Fantasy Football Player’s Guide to Understanding the Stock Market. So far the Carolina Panthers can’t seem to find a rhythm this year, and are currently standing at a 3-2 overall record. That doesn’t sound bad on the surface, but looking at the talent level of this team and who they’ve played, they realistically should be 5-0 at this point. This loss last week was particularly bad in my opinion, because we are just flatout a better football team than Washington. But , when you commit so many turnovers in your own territory, you’re going to have a bad day.It’s not just the mistakes though. I personally have many issues with the way our coaches have decided to use the talent they have. The offense features so many playmakers, yet we continue to be very conservative in all facets of the game. Instead of putting our foot down, we’re going easy on the gas and letting teams that shouldn’t be able to hold our cleats stay in football games to the bitter end.More worrying than that to me is a clearly declining defense that is most certainly a mix between guys simply getting older and having a first year coordinator that may or may not be up to the task. The team will need to do better stopping runs at the line against a couple of pedestrian backs in Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood if they hope to have a prayer of beating the Eagles. He’s not there now, but there have also been rumors that the team wants to trade for Le’veon Bell. Le’Veon Bell would be perfect for the Eagles, because like the Eagles, he’s only shown up for an entire season one time and expects everyone to acknowledge how great he is.According to Eagles fans though, we’ll surely have an ace in the hole in that the referees will be on our side. They were so good last year that they could finally overcome the constant pestering of an NFL officiating policy to never give them any calls and win a Super Bowl. Poor little guys... always having the man stick it to them.So to show our opponent how much we respect and acknowledge their achievements, and lament the mean things that NFL officials do to them , and only to them... I figured we should try our hands at making an authentic Philly cheesesteak sandwich, exactly the way they do it in Philadelphia at Primanti brothers, and not anywhere else.Classic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwichallrecipes.comIngredients3 cups shredded cabbage2 tablespoons vegetable oil2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar2 tablespoons white sugar1 teaspoon adobo seasoning1 teaspoon ground black pepperFrozen french fries (it’s easier)8 slices of bread (or however many sandwiches you’re after)1 pound sliced pastrami4 slices provolone cheese8 slices tomatoDirectionsCombine the vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, adobo, and black pepper in a large bowl to make the slaw. Cover and refrigerate.Get your french fries cooking through whatever means suits you.Preheat oven to 250 F.Toast the bread in the oven for 3-5 minutes or until light brown. Remove half the bread slices. Distribute pastrami and provolone to the remaining slices. Return to the oven and heat until the meat is hot and cheese is melted. To assemble, top the melted cheese of each sandwich with French fries, cole slaw , 2 tomato slices, and the top pieces of bread.Assemble your sandwiches. Top the cheese with french fries, slaw, tomato, bread.I think you’ll enjoy eating your authentic Philly cheesesteak sandwich while watching the Panthers kick the crap out of the Eagles on Sunday. It’ll make you feel almost as good as when Rocky won a world boxing title and the whole city of New York rallied around him.KEEP POUNDING.