NFL Football – Eagles at Redskins
Washington Redskins wide receiver Antwaan Randle El (82) sheds a tackle attempt by Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Greg Lewis (83) on a punt return. Randle El had several moments where he seemed to shed two, three, four tackles to get extra yards on kick returns. An amazingly talented guy.
This was probably the coldest football game that I’ve been to since perhaps freezing to death at the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, NC. Temps were in the 30s but with a 15-25mph wind, it got down right silly. Regardless, it was a fun game — despite the low score (Washington won 10-3), there were plenty of interesting moments. Down a touchdown at the end of the game, McNabb drove his team all the way to the 1 yard line as time expired. Pretty dramatic.
Also witnessed what happens when you don’t back away from the sidelines quick enough — McNabb was being chased out of bounds on a play and safely reached the sideline about 3 feet in front of where I was standing… the Redskins defender didn’t get the memo to slow down when he dove after McNabb… I took several steps backward, but the Redskins team personnel next to me did not, and learned what it was like to eat linebacker. Ouch. Here’s another shot of a photog getting knocked on his arse at the backside of the end zone.
A 4:15PM kick off meant the entire game was going to be under the lights. I was surprised at how much the light at FedEx field varied in quality compared to even some college venues… 1/640, f/2.8, iso2000… in most places… dropping up to a stop in some corners. Definitely workable, but a couple stops less light than other stadiums. The best part was the turf along the Redskins bench was basically swamp soup… yellow line? What yellow line? Yum.
Thanks to my buddy and fellow photog Andrew for making it all happen. Andrew was about as cold as I was.
