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The eighth installment of SpikeTV's "4th and Long" (or as I'm beginning to call it, "Survivor: Moses Washington") is in the books, and as always, DC.com is here to recap the entire thing. Also, if you want to watch the episode online, you can at Spike.com, although here you won't get any Popeye's commercials.
To recap the last episode, the seven remaining players participated in a game against a Rivals team, which included every player who'd been cut so far. Cut wide receiver Preston McGann had a field day, but host Michael Irvin did not give him a spot back in the show. Defensive back Donte Gamble, who was beat like a drum all game, was cut. Now there are three receivers and three defensive backs remaining.
As Episode 8 opens, we find out everyone is hurt. Defensive back Eddie Moten injured his knee (a problem he got under control before the show started filming); wide receiver Montrell Jones is having hamstring issues; and defensive back Moses Washington has abdominal and back soreness.
For the first drill of the day, former Cowboys great Daryl "Moose" Johnston is the special guest. Moose tells the players that if they think this show has been hard, they'll be even more tired at training camp. I'm not sure about that, because whichever player gets to training camp, they're not likely to get a lot of reps.
Moose tells the players they'll be doing a gauntlet drill similar to the one at the NFL Combine workouts. While he's describing the drill, we actually see Moose do it - not Moose back in the day, but Moose five minutes after he describes the drill. And he looks pretty good, so I say forget the show, let's just get Moose in some pads and send him to training camp.
Here's the idea of the drill. The player runs across the field while getting five passes thrown to him in succession. At the end of the field, he hits another player holding a blocking pad, then returns back across the width of the field. Wide receivers coach Joe Avezzano says since Moose holds a Cowboys record with 50 catches out of the backfield in one season (maybe for a fullback), the fastest player to 50 catches in the drill wins. It seems to favor the wide receivers, who are used to catching passes. Here's how each player did:
- Moten is the first to go, and he goes slowly. He looks like he's slacking off, and Irvin, watching in the press box, gets mad. He finishes in 1 minute, 38 seconds.
- Washington is next, and the former track star can't catch a pass to save his life. Avezzano says, "We cut Gamble for this?" and I can't agree more. Another name for the show: "The Unsinkable Moses Washington." He finishes in 1:42.
- After two subpar performances, Avezzano halts the drill and rips into everyone. Defensive back Ahmaad Smith is the first to go after the butt chewing, and he picks it up a tick, finishing in 1:26.
- Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins is next, finishing in 1:24.
- Last, wide receiver Jesse Holley goes, and gets the best time, finishing in 1:20.
- Jones spent the drill on the sideline, riding a bike.
So here's the first DC.com stock report, although this one should be easy to figure out. Stocks down for Moten, Washington and Jones. Stocks up for Smith, Hawkins and Holley.
After the drill, Irvin pulls everyone over as they're leaving the field. He gets on Moten for not seeing the trainer about his knee injury, and Moten, with a rare burst of emotion, if you can call it that, says that there's nothing the trainer can do besides tell him to ice it, which he's been doing. That only angers Irvin more. I think both guys are right and wrong. In all likelihood, there isn't much the trainer could do for Moten's knee, and it's not like he's been neglecting it all together. But he should have at least told the trainer about it.
After the drill, everyone eats lunch - Popeye's Chicken (sorry, I know I said no Popeye's commercials). While eating, Washington says Holley looks like a prettier version of the Predator (as in the Schwarzenegger movie, not the horrible "Alien vs. Predator" franchise). While it's an apt description, Washington is in no position to talk trash to anyone.
The next drill is Control the Clock. In this drill, one pass play is run. The receiver wants to catch the ball and either get out of bounds or score a touchdown. The defensive backs want to prevent either. Each time a wide receiver gets out of bounds, the ball is advanced 10 yards. If the receiver fails to get out of bounds or doesn't catch the pass, the ball is moved 10 yards back. If a receiver scores a touchdown, they get a point. If a defender returns an interception for a score, they get a point. First to five wins.
The receivers start a man down with Jones still on a bike on the sideline. Here's a recap:
- In the first series, Holley catches a sideline pass and Hawkins takes a pass 40 yards for a touchdown. 1-0, WRs.
- In the second series, Hawkins gets out of bounds four consecutive times and Holley scores a touchdown to put the wide receivers up 2-0.
- In the third series, Holley catches three passes en route to a score, 3-0 WRs.
- In the fourth series, the defensive backs get more physical, and the wide receivers start dropping passes. Washington, in particular, gets a little too physical, blatantly holding Holley on a number of plays causing even Avezzano to start yelling at defensive backs coach Bill Bates for his players' sloppiness. Eventually, the wide receivers score to go up 4-0.
- In the fifth series, it only takes Hawkins one catch and a couple of broken tackles to score and win the drill for the wide receivers.
Once again, your DC.com Stock Report. Stocks down for Moten, Washington, Jones and Smith. Stocks up for Hawkins and Holley.
In the War Room, the coaches and Irvin begin evaluating the players. Irvin doesn't like that Moten hesitated on a play, causing him to miss an easy pick. But Avezzano points out his knee is obviously hobbling him. Avezzano also points out that when Jones is healthy, he's a beast. But he showed up for the show out of shape, and Avezzano isn't confident Jones will be as good at less than 100 percent.
The call is made, and the Turk, Nate Newton, grabs Washington and Jones. In the War Room, Washington says he started slowly in the Control the Clock drill, and that he needs to be able to turn it on immediately. Jones tells Irvin he gets up every morning to run and does stadium stairs to get himself ready, which impresses Irvin. But, Irvin can't wait around for him to get healthy.
All the talk is moot, since the next day Washington and Jones will go one-on-one in the Control the Clock drill from the 15-yard line going in, best-of-five to decide who stays and who goes. Here's the breakdown:
- Play 1 - Washington blatantly holds Jones, but knocks the ball away.
- Play 2 - Washington knocks the ball away again, but this time it's a clean play.
- Play 3 - Jones runs a post and scores to stave off elimination.
- Play 4 - Jones dives in the end zone, had the ball in his hands with Washington nowhere near, but drops it. He loses and is cut.
So that's it for Episode 8. Tune in next time for the penultimate episode. And don't forget to check out your DC.com Power Rankings below.
Eliminations
Stephen Andrews, DB - Ep. 1
Preston McGann, WR - Ep. 2
Erick Jackson, DB - Ep. 3
Luke Swan, WR - Ep. 4
Steve Gonzalez, WR - Ep. 5
Donte Gamble, DB - Ep. 7
Montrell Jones, WR - Ep. 8
Power Rankings, WRs
1. Jesse Holley (same)
2. Andrew Hawkins (same)
Power Rankings, DBs
1. Ahmaad Smith (+1)
2. Eddie Moten (-1)
3. Moses Washington (same)
Power Rankings, overall
1. Jesse Holley, WRs (same)
2. Andrew Hawkins, WR (+1)
3. Ahmaad Smith, DB (+2)
4. Eddie Moten, DB (-2)
5. Moses Washington, DB (same)
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