What We Learned Last Night

The final score in last night's 27 - 24 preseason loss to the Patriots doesn't matter. We got to see the first team into the 3rd Quarter and here are my takeaways:

THE GOOD

1. Jason Campbell is Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. When Campbell looks bad he looks terrible. When he looks good he looks great. At times last night Campbell looked flat out amazing. For the first time this preseason he got into a groove and finished the game 13 for 22 for 209 yards and rushed for a TD. Zorn continues to call more deep throws for Campbell. On deep routes you get to see flashes of why Jason Campbell was a first round pick - dude has a cannon for an arm.

2. Our WR corps may be one of the best from top to bottom in a very long time for the Skins. We all know Santana Moss is a stud. But, for the last couple years its been Santana Moss and a gang of no talent nobodies at WR. After last night I am convinced what has been a liability for the Skins may quickly become one of our strongest assets. Devin Thomas looks great. He hauled in 3 balls last night for 36 yards. Malcolm Kelly, while less impressive than Thomas, provides Campbell with a big talented target. The rise of Thomas (and Kelly to a lesser degree) allows Randle El to be more of the gadget receiver he was in Pittsburgh. Finally, if Marko Mitchell doesn't make the 53 man roster than Jim Zorn has lost his marbles. Mitchell caught 2 passes last night for 40 yards, including a 33 yard bomb for a TD from Colt Brennan in the 3rd Quarter. I know that Zorn likes DJ Hackett from his time in Seattle - but Mitchell has earned a spot on this team.

3. The O Line looks dramatically improved over last year. The first string offensive line has looked solid all preseason. If the offensive line can give our WRs time to get down field, Campbell has the arm to make the big plays that will keep defenses on their toes.

THE BAD

1. The secondary continues to get torched. Thank God Belichick pulled Pats QB Tom Brady at half after he hurt his shoulder. Brady and WR Randy Moss flat out torched us. Our secondary looked terrible against Moss. Every time the Pats needed a completion Brady found Moss and Moss hauled it in. Ignore those 2nd half INTs we had against backup QB Kevin O'Connell - they were fun to watch but mean very little. When it mattered our secondary got lit up.

2. Special teams continues to be a problem. Our special teams, particularly our special teams defense continues to struggle. This has got to improve.

THE UGLY

Colt Brennan. With the exception of the TD pass to Marko Mitchell, Colt Brennan looked flat out terrible. Brennan played almost an entire half and is fighting for his spot on the team. His funky sidearm delivery continues to be problematic in the big leagues and he continues to make very very very bad decisions - including a INT that was returned 90 yards for a TD and taking a sack that effectively put us out of FG range. I wish Zorn would have given Chase Daniel a shot in the 4th quarter. I suspect we will see a lot of Daniel and Brennan in the preseason finale against the Jags. I like Colt Brennan shirtless, no doubt about it, but Colt Brennan in pads and a Skins jersey doesn't seem to be panning out so well. We have Todd Collins, so 3rd string QB isn't a huge deal, but crazier things have happened. For my money, I think Zorn and company need to look long and hard at Chase Daniel.