Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a BGO.C.D. blog entry called 'Sunday’s Smell'. Part reminiscence of all those Sunday mornings filled with anticipation for a great Redskins game to come, part bitter recognition that in 2009 excitement and hope were going to be hard to muster, it was not an optimistic piece.

A year has passed. The clock ticks inexorably towards an epic season-opening home clash with our most hated rivals (do I need to say their name?) on national TV. And I can hardly contain my excitement.

My, how the worm has turned in the space of one short year.

Stability
We’ve got it. As Zorn’s regime imploded during his final failed season, I lamented ‘where are all the grownups?!’ We’ve got grownups now in key positions. With Bruce Allen, the Redskins first legitimate GM in a generation, leading the way, the Redskins have a seasoned, experienced head coach with perennial playoff and Super Bowl credentials, and a Pro Bowl quarterback behind center. In 2010, when a prima-donna millionaire athlete throws a temper tantrum, he doesn’t get a free dinner with the owner, he gets put in timeout, where he belongs. There is stability at Redskins Park.

A Plan
Jim Zorn is one hell of a nice guy. But one sensed throughout his tenure in DC, he had no clue how to navigate the rocky, unforgiving terrain between failure and success. And even if he had a plan, he surely didn’t have the strength of will, moxie, leadership, cojones, whatever you want to call that intangible personal quality that makes men stand up and listen to you, to carry it out. The 2009 Redskins were Dan Snyder’s and Vinny Cerrato’s Redskins, plain and simple. And that was a recipe for disaster on an epic scale. And disaster we got.

That’s history. Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan are in command of the Washington Redskins. There will be no Daniel Snyder meddling. Sycophant racquet-ball buddies have been discharged. Reason, leadership, and logic have experienced a re-birth in Ashburn, Virginia. We have a plan, and guys in place who know how to implement it. Our new plan involves many novel concepts. Players will play based on performance, hard-work, and commitment level. We will build the team from the trenches up. Experience matters. We will be smart and frugal in our business dealings. We will look for value additions to the team, not sexiness or headline-worthiness. We have a plan.

Glory, glory hallelujah.

Talent
Oh, the Washington Redskins had plenty of talent during the Zorn years, but no cohesion. An inarguable NFL truth is that every pro football franchise is loaded with talent. What separates the winners from the dogs are coaches that can put it all together to present an effective attack, a formidable defense, and opportunistic special teams. Job #1 for these coaches is always to find a guy who can be trusted under center. Jason Campbell, another nice guy, could not be trusted. Shanahan knew it before he’d finished watching his first Redskins highlight reel, and he made an authoritative decision.

This new breed of Redskins coaches also realizes that the importance of talent reaches far beyond the quarterback, running back, wide-reciever, and defensive end positions. You’ve got to have talent in the trenches, on the lines, on special teams, and really focus on those areas to produce a team that will place opponents on the ‘horns of a dilemma’ . Stack the line on defense to squash our running attack, we will pick you apart with play action. Bring in extra defensive backs to squelch our passing game, we will rip you with a power running game. The goal of an NFL coaching staff is to be able to present the opponent with an unsolvable dilemma every time players line up for a play.

To do that, you must have strength at every position, and must make organizational decisions that give you every opportunity to find talent across the board. The Redskins haven’t done that. Trading away draft picks like they were pre-season tickets has crippled the franchise since Dan Snyder flew his first Lear jet into DC because it severely limited our ability to find talent at multiple positions.

And not all talent has to be purchased. Shanahan seems to realize that it can actually be developed. By placing a premium on player qualities like determination, commitment level, perseverance, and guts, not just on 40 times and Pro Bowl votes, the new message in DC is ‘show me what you got’, not ‘tell me what you want’. That my friends is one refreshing sea change.

The Future is Now
Perhaps one of the most surprising cultural changes we’ve seen with our Washington Redskins since the close of the 2009 season is a commitment to ‘win now’. Of course, we’ve heard those words plenty over the last decade. But they were usually uttered in reference to the latest sexy free agent brought in for a bazillion gazillion dollars, as if the acquisition of the latest former star would turn it all around in an instant. The message this new Redskins regime is clearly sending is ‘Yes we are re-building, yes we will do so from the ground up, but we are preparing to win every game we suit up for, because that is who we are going to be’.

We aren’t waiting to see if some moderately-talented quarterback of the ‘future’ will grow up enough to be able to carry the yoke of team leadership, or to put the fate of the game on his back in the waning moments of the 4th Quarter. We aren’t going to see players do whatever the hell they want in the off-season with impunity. We won’t see players deciding when and where in-game substitutions will occur. We’re going to see an effort, beginning right now, to do whatever it takes to win every single game played with 100% effort. And that effort will be driven by a passionate, ferocious, coaching staff who will demand players give their all, not ask them for the courtesy.

There’s a new smell in the air. Next Sunday morning, as I roll out of bed and wipe the sleep of a long off-season out of my eyes, it’s going to waft through my house like the glorious smell of cooking bacon. I can’t wait to take in a deep breath and relish again the strangely familiar smell of something I can almost recognize…

I think they call it ‘Promise’.

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a BGO.C.D. blog entry called 'Sunday’s Smell'. Part reminiscence of all those Sunday mornings filled with anticipation for a great Redskins game to come, part bitter recognition that in 2009 excitement and hope were going to be hard to muster, it was not an optimistic piece.

A year has passed. The clock ticks inexorably towards an epic season-opening home clash with our most hated rivals (do I need to say their name?) on national TV. And I can hardly contain my excitement.

My, how the worm has turned in the space of one short year.

Stability
We’ve got it. As Zorn’s regime imploded during his final failed season, I lamented ‘where are all the grownups?!’ We’ve got grownups now in key positions. With Bruce Allen, the Redskins first legitimate GM in a generation, leading the way, the Redskins have a seasoned, experienced head coach with perennial playoff and Super Bowl credentials, and a Pro Bowl quarterback behind center. In 2010, when a prima-donna millionaire athlete throws a temper tantrum, he doesn’t get a free dinner with the owner, he gets put in timeout, where he belongs. There is stability at Redskins Park.

A Plan
Jim Zorn is one hell of a nice guy. But one sensed throughout his tenure in DC, he had no clue how to navigate the rocky, unforgiving terrain between failure and success. And even if he had a plan, he surely didn’t have the strength of will, moxie, leadership, cojones, whatever you want to call that intangible personal quality that makes men stand up and listen to you, to carry it out. The 2009 Redskins were Dan Snyder’s and Vinny Cerrato’s Redskins, plain and simple. And that was a recipe for disaster on an epic scale. And disaster we got.

That’s history. Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan are in command of the Washington Redskins. There will be no Daniel Snyder meddling. Sycophant racquet-ball buddies have been discharged. Reason, leadership, and logic have experienced a re-birth in Ashburn, Virginia. We have a plan, and guys in place who know how to implement it. Our new plan involves many novel concepts. Players will play based on performance, hard-work, and commitment level. We will build the team from the trenches up. Experience matters. We will be smart and frugal in our business dealings. We will look for value additions to the team, not sexiness or headline-worthiness. We have a plan.

Glory, glory hallelujah.

Talent
Oh, the Washington Redskins had plenty of talent during the Zorn years, but no cohesion. An inarguable NFL truth is that every pro football franchise is loaded with talent. What separates the winners from the dogs are coaches that can put it all together to present an effective attack, a formidable defense, and opportunistic special teams. Job #1 for these coaches is always to find a guy who can be trusted under center. Jason Campbell, another nice guy, could not be trusted. Shanahan knew it before he’d finished watching his first Redskins highlight reel, and he made an authoritative decision.

This new breed of Redskins coaches also realizes that the importance of talent reaches far beyond the quarterback, running back, wide-reciever, and defensive end positions. You’ve got to have talent in the trenches, on the lines, on special teams, and really focus on those areas to produce a team that will place opponents on the ‘horns of a dilemma’ . Stack the line on defense to squash our running attack, we will pick you apart with play action. Bring in extra defensive backs to squelch our passing game, we will rip you with a power running game. The goal of an NFL coaching staff is to be able to present the opponent with an unsolvable dilemma every time players line up for a play.

To do that, you must have strength at every position, and must make organizational decisions that give you every opportunity to find talent across the board. The Redskins haven’t done that. Trading away draft picks like they were pre-season tickets has crippled the franchise since Dan Snyder flew his first Lear jet into DC because it severely limited our ability to find talent at multiple positions.

And not all talent has to be purchased. Shanahan seems to realize that it can actually be developed. By placing a premium on player qualities like determination, commitment level, perseverance, and guts, not just on 40 times and Pro Bowl votes, the new message in DC is ‘show me what you got’, not ‘tell me what you want’. That my friends is one refreshing sea change.

The Future is Now
Perhaps one of the most surprising cultural changes we’ve seen with our Washington Redskins since the close of the 2009 season is a commitment to ‘win now’. Of course, we’ve heard those words plenty over the last decade. But they were usually uttered in reference to the latest sexy free agent brought in for a bazillion gazillion dollars, as if the acquisition of the latest former star would turn it all around in an instant. The message this new Redskins regime is clearly sending is ‘Yes we are re-building, yes we will do so from the ground up, but we are preparing to win every game we suit up for, because that is who we are going to be’.

We aren’t waiting to see if some moderately-talented quarterback of the ‘future’ will grow up enough to be able to carry the yoke of team leadership, or to put the fate of the game on his back in the waning moments of the 4th Quarter. We aren’t going to see players do whatever the hell they want in the off-season with impunity. We won’t see players deciding when and where in-game substitutions will occur. We’re going to see an effort, beginning right now, to do whatever it takes to win every single game played with 100% effort. And that effort will be driven by a passionate, ferocious, coaching staff who will demand players give their all, not ask them for the courtesy.

There’s a new smell in the air. Next Sunday morning, as I roll out of bed and wipe the sleep of a long off-season out of my eyes, it’s going to waft through my house like the glorious smell of cooking bacon. I can’t wait to take in a deep breath and relish again the strangely familiar smell of something I can almost recognize…

I think they call it ‘Promise’.

What a crazy, topsy-turvy year it’s been for the NFC East.

Upheaval, transition, tectonic plates shifting. The landscape of the greatest division in Pro Football has changed dramatically in just one short year, and none of its die-hard fans can know what to expect for certain in the coming season.

In Philadelphia, strange things were afoot at the Circle-K. Trading away a perennial Pro Bowl quarterback still in his prime, a guy upon whose back (and arm) you’ve built a franchise, was shocking enough. That the Eagles sent him packing to a hated inter-division rival, and at a reasonable price, was a nearly jaw-dropping decision.

Sure, Mcnabb was not without his detractors. His inability to win one for the Gipper in Philadelphia’s only Super Bowl appearance ever certainly fuels critics claims that, push come to shove, Mcnabb can’t get over the hump. That the most enduring memory of that so-called ‘failure’ is Mcnabb vomiting on national TV only accentuates the point. Mcnabb also had a penchant for sulking and whining during his tenure in Philly that rubbed some the wrong way. It often seemed to be more about Mcnabb, than about what it would take to get his team back to the Super Bowl. And of course, many claimed it was the greatness of Head Coach Andy Reid, not his QB, which had made the Eagles a feared opponent for most of a decade.

Regardless of what you believed – seeing the Eagles dump Mcnabb in favor of a talented, but relatively unknown Kevin Kolb – sent shockwaves through the NFC East.

On to Dallas, where drama always seems but a few days away. Crowned Super Bowl favorites every year, usually before an official snap has occurred, nothing ever seems certain for these boys. Arguably the most talented team from top to NFC East bottom, Dallas has looked almost cursed in recent years. The 2009 season began with the bizarre, apocalyptic crash of a massive inflatable practice facility and opened to the visage of cheerleaders dancing on stripper poles in the stands.

Although the team rebounded from that tragic start to take the division crown, they again faltered. After a decisive wildcard win over the Eagles, Dallas wilted before an inspired Vikings team lead by a geriatric hero. Jerrah Jones, who in a somewhat bizarre move had already named Wade Phillips eventual successor, made subtle threats throughout the season. Fail to make it to the big show and the consequences might be severe. The Cowboys did not make it to the big show. Again. Dire consequences were nowhere to be seen however, and big Wade Phillips was retained. And so the once again, a highly-touted and talented Dallas squad, takes the field to claim their rightful and destined place. Led by Adonis, the greatest QB ever to fumble away his team’s destiny on a gimme field goal snap, the Cowboys enter the 2010 season as heavy favorites and media darlings.

Again.

And those Giants? They’re the most unpredictable of them all. World beaters one year, shooting themselves in the foot (pun intended) the next, they’re a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Like their rather volatile coach, the Giants seem to go where their emotions take them. Eli Manning may share the same genetic gifts as his brother and had a solid 2009 season, but one senses he’s never more than 1 or 2 horrible interceptions away from looking more like Rex Grossman than Peyton Manning.

One wonders how many more average seasons an at times embattled Tom Coughlin can weather? Our guess is, not many more. The Giants move into a brand spanking new stadium this September, perhaps an ideal time to turn over a fresh leaf and get back to on the field success. Felon or not, Eli Manning sorely misses his erstwhile favorite aerial target Plaxico Burress, who may or may not be forgiven for his sins and return. But New York will remain another wildcard in the shifting sands of a 2010 NFC East.

And finally, our most obvious entry in the Wild, Wild East. Blown-up, rebuilt, demons run out of town, and hopefully cleansed of former sin, the revitalized 2010 Washington Redskins bear little resemblance to the ones that bumbled, stumbled, and grumbled their way through a horrid 2009 season. Rid of Zorn and reborn, hopes abound in DC. Words like ‘opportunity’ and ‘enthusiasm’ have been replaced with ‘competence’, ‘experience’, and ‘control’ and the ‘Slip N’ Slide’ has given way to real discipline, skilled coaching, and an emphasis on hard work.

But even amid new-found stability, strange drama and intrigue persists, questions abound. Will millionaire crybaby and professional flopper Albert Haynesworth earn his paycheck and return to the on-the-field dominance of which he is clearly capable? Will Donovan Mcnabb rise to the biggest challenge he’s ever had placed before him and return to Pro Bowl form? Will Santana Moss navigate questions regarding his possible use of performance enhancing, and illegal drug use and be a key weapon, or will the Redskins two-headed TE attack have to carry the offensive load? And which Clinton Portis will show up for Mike Shanahan in 2010 and what will he be wearing? A 2010 Redskins team, rebuilt from top to bottom, is an absolute unknown.

To anyone paying attention, it’s obvious what’s going to go down in the NFC East this season.

Anything.
Everything.
Who the hell knows?

The only certainty is, it’s going to be Wild.

Really Wild.

It may have escaped your notice.

But this little baby, our burgundy and gold swathed pride and joy, was birthed one year ago today.

I love my little Nathan Junior!

And as with all anniversaries, we would be a little remiss if we didn't engage in just a little retrospection and sentimentality.

Today, I asked myself the question. It was the original question. Why build a Redskins fan site? Lord (and Daniel Snyder) knows, there are plenty of them out there. BGO was actually born from a casual conversation with a friend when I offered to help out on his blog site. Next thing I know, he'd fallen from a slick commode while changing a light bulb, hit his head on the sink, and woke up with his vision for the flux capacitor....err....a brand new Redskins messageboard! Truth is, I wasn't sure then why we were going down this path. Except that my best friend was asking me to take a plunge into the mysterious unknown with him. And when friends ask, the only answer a friend gives in return is 'Hell yes!'. We found a couple of other old dear friends to tumble into the abyss with us. An idea was born.

The real 'why?' we figured out along the way. We'd found, experienced, and helped build a great Redskins community before. We'd seen impassioned groups of fans who *gasp* met, talked, argued, and discussed a common obsession, all on the internet. We'd seen people, comfortable, safe, and secure behind anonymous usernames, step out into the light, voice their true names and identities, even meet and forge real-life friendships. But we'd also seen the promise of beautiful online communities dissolve into something less admirable and rewarding. Whether that decline came as a result of low expectations, lack of vision, poor management, or just because enough humans in one place will eventually
figure out how to muck things up, really didn't matter. We had learned that true community, even on the web, is a fragile thing to be cherished and protected.

We spent a lot of time talking about what OUR site would be about. We wrote it down for our future members, cleverly christening these words 'What We're About'. We were going to be about a lot of things.

Intelligent discussion.
Respect.
Passion for a common obsession.
Civility.
Community.
Fan-produced content.
Creativity.

Those were the words we said over and over again in those early months. Once we knew who we wanted to be, we dove into minor details, like moving beyond an 'idea' to an actual website. Not knowing HTML from ROFL seemed like a minor obstacle given our enthusiasm. We taught ourselves vbulletin software, we learned basic HTML coding, we spent countless hours discussing the look of the 'vessel' that would hold our community and help define what kind of place it would be. We designed every graphic on the site with meticulous care.

Somehow, with determination, elbow grease, a lot of Google searching and Help file reading, and a couple of human sacrifices to appease the Gods, BGO was ready for its unveiling. She opened her doors to the Redskins-loving public on 15 July, 2009.

Slowly, inexorably, other dear friends showed up. We didn't advertise. We didn't market. We didn't beg, solicit, or pimp ourselves. We just opened the doors and put out the Welcome mat.

So mostly, other than the obligatory, requisite, and aforementioned sentamentality and retrospection, I just wanted to say Thank You dear friends. For showing up. For staying. For starting countless conversations, wowing us with your smarts, passion, friendship, and style. For giving us a great first year, and a wonderful fledgling community of great fans who are now dear friends.

BGO is not the biggest site in the Redskin's web-o-sphere. And that's not among our goals. But it's a special place. And we're just getting warmed up.

Happy Birthday BGO!

The doldrums of Summer are nearly upon us. Humidity and temperature march steadily upward on the East Coast as we begin our annual descent to hell. We recall fondly January pinings for warmer weather and wonder what we could possibly have been thinking?

The adjustment is just one ritual among many.

The arrival of brutish weather harkens another kind of stagnancy, a dearth of sports this fan cares anything about. Unless you’re (gasp) a major league baseball addict (we'll deal with you later), you are about to enter the sports Mojave with a half-empty canteen. The NFL draft has come and gone. Soon even the handful of NBA and NHL fans among us will have nothing to tune in for, as those leagues bring their exhausting seasons to a welcome close. What then? Baseball? Golf? Poker on ESPN2?

What is he talking about, you ask? The NFL season is right around the corner. Minicamps are in session. Hope springs anew for the (insert beleaguered NFL franchise here) _______. This could be the season where we turn it all around. The pre-season is mere months away. Ahhh. And there lies the point – we’re months away from even being able to watch pre-season NFL games. We’re a hot, humid, interminable Summer away from the return of the real NFL.

Lord, give me the strength to wait for it.

For geographically challenged fans, the wait is even more excruciating. We can’t listen to daily prognostications on DC sports jock radio, can’t tune into today's local TV interview of player X to hear how this year will be different and how promising our Redskins future suddenly is. For distant fans, May/June/July is the dead-zone. Of course, there are other times of the year when our team is nowhere to be found on TV and radio. For Redskins fans, this frequently (and sadly) occurs in late December. That post-season hiatus is almost a necessary catharsis though. We’ve cried, we’ve bled, and we just need to take a break. We need time and space to recapture belief in our team’s ‘potential’, to re-charge our fan batteries. We watch other fan’s teams grasp glory or heartbreak on January TV. Then comes the cosmic tease of the NFL draft, during which the fortunes of every team are, with 10 seconds at a podium, won or lost. We enjoy a few blissful weeks of dissection, rejoice, and self-flagellation before the doldrums arrive. And now they are upon us.

For the 2010 Washington Redskins, everything has changed. Our gazillionaire owner has stepped away from the red phone, and appears to be content in letting football people build a team that can win. Spring cleaning saw more than a few veteran Redskins swept out. A lottery pick QB, whose lucky number was never going to come up, has been sent packing, off to the hapless Raiders to serve as their latest savior. The Redskins have made the boldest move of the off-season (again), one no one saw coming, in bringing in a Pro Bowl quarterback from a hated rival’s roster. This mysterious team we love drafted an offensive lineman with the #4 pick in the draft, and has brought in a stable of geriatric (aka ‘veteran’) running backs to compete for the glory of carrying the pigskin. The worm has turned in Washington, D.C.

But what does it all mean? Can McNabb still be one of the best QB’s in this league, or was it Andy Reid who made him a star in Philadephia? Will the changes we’ve made on the offensive line be enough to keep McNabb mostly upright? Is Clinton Portis the devil, and will the recent addition of lots of competition spark him to previous impressive form? Will Fred Davis and Chris Cooley become the most feared duo on offense in 2010? Just how fat will fat Albert be if/when he finally shows up to Redskins practices, and can Jim Haslett get him looking more like the guy we traded Fort Knox for a year ago? So many questions, and so long to wait to get some answers. But wait we must and wait we will.

If there is a God, the lack of meaningful, watchable sports on TV for the next 3 months can only represent one heavenly commandant.

Get thee outside and play people

So buy yourself a bicycle, start that vegetable garden your wife’s been nagging you about, take your kids to an amusement park, paint the house that so badly needs it, learn how to brew your own beer. Something, anything to take your mind off the fact that we’ll have to wait 3 more hot, humid oppressive months to once again cheer for our boys in Burgundy and Gold.

But cheer up guys and gals. Afterall, the World Cup starts in just 25 days :)

There are as many theories on what our Washington Redskins should do in the 2010 NFL draft as there are recipes for ‘NC barbecue’ in my neck of the woods. And the discussions revolving around those two passion-inducing topics can get equally spirited. I can’t help you with the NC barbecue debate (although you are putting too much vinegar in yours), but let me try and help clear things up for you on the upcoming Redskins draft picture.

Brace yourself – because the Redskins are going to draft a quarterback with the 4th pick of the draft – and they’ll be making a rock-solid decision.

I know. I know. I’ve heard the arguments you’re about to make.

Without an offensive line to protect him, it won’t matter who we have at QB, we need to build from the trenches up. We’ve largely ignored the offensive line for a decade and we won’t be successful again until we invest there. Selecting a QB in the draft is a crap-shoot. You’re as likely to get a Ryan Leaf as you are a Peyton Manning. Teams find QB ‘gems’ in the later rounds, why can’t the Redskins? Jason Campbell can be a solid NFL starter, he just needs protection and stability. Mike and Kyle Shanahan will help him make it to the next level. Etc...etc…etc…

Let’s start with what we know. You may argue we *may* know this, but search your soul and you’ll know you know it. Jason Campbell is not the answer at quarterback and never will be. Campbell is not without significant physical gifts. He throws a beautiful ball, has plenty of arm strength, and although rarely mentioned, he’s capable of turning a broken play into a 20 yard gain with his feet. Campbell’s athleticism is undeniable.

Some have argued Campbell isn’t ‘smart enough’ to be an NFL starter. Ridiculous. Campbell’s simply the victim of his own southernness, his quiet, thoughtful demeanor frequently mistaken for something else. Given the voluminous changes Campbell has had to embrace during his time in DC, one could argue he’s proven his football IQ is more than high enough to get the job done.

There’s just one problem. He hasn’t gotten the job done.

Sure Campbell’s shown flashes. He’s shined occasionally. He’s been more than solid for a 2 or 3 game stretch. But he hasn’t, when critically necessary, shown the ability to take the team on his back and carry it to crucial victories. Campbell is simply not the answer. He won’t be. And Shanahan clearly knows it. The Redskins flirtations with and courting of numerous potential successors even prior to Shanahan’s arrival speak volumes about their assessment of Jason Campbell’s future. In DC, he has none. If you accept that one fact, you know we are on the hunt for our next QB in DC.

Could he already be on the roster? I don’t think so. Of course, sometimes life brings surprises. Colt Brennan could shock us all and dazzle Shanahan this summer. Perhaps Rex Grossman, given a new lease on life in what appeared to be the terminal stages of his NFL career, could rebound and turn into a Pro-Bowler. But neither of those outcomes seem likely, do they? So, again, where does that leave us? In dire need of a franchise quarterback.

And so on to the most compelling argument against doing what the Redskins will surely do on April 22nd, 2010. The Redskins cannot, will not draft a QB with the 4th pick because without rebuilding our offensive line, no QB can be successful. This argument is tricky, because like all good arguments, it’s half right. No QB can be successful without a solid offensive line protecting him. But the argument fails because it’s a ‘sucker’s choice’. The argument is not ‘The Redskins need to rebuild the offensive line; therefore they should not draft a QB with the 4th pick’. To the contrary, it's ‘The Redskins need to rebuild the offensive line to protect the QB they select with the 4th pick’. The two goals, while somewhat daunting given the extent of our needs and our limited picks in 2010, are not mutually exclusive. We can do both.

So why must the Redskins go QB with that 4th pick? It’s really quite simple. Its true selecting a QB in the draft is a crapshoot. But Redskins fans have to start with one supposition, without which our future may be dark, foreboding, and scary. Mike Shanahan is a Super Bowl-winning head coach with decades of experience all supporting the idea that he damn well knows a winning quarterback when he sees one. It has to start there. Assuming that’s the case, and God knows, I’m assuming it (because I don’t have the stomach to consider the alternative possibility), no matter where we select a QB, it’ll be Shanahan selecting him.

Another assumption I’ll make is that, given there are only so many QBs in a draft, it’s very probable there are only 1 or 2 in a given draft that’ll ultimately be ‘impact’ or ‘franchise’ QBs, however you define that. I define those players as QBs who have the ‘IT Factor’, that almost impossible to define quality in the guy behind center that allows him to make those crucial plays, whether by experience or perhaps just instinct, that turn the tide and bring victory more often than defeat. The ‘IT Factor’ is exactly what Jason Campbell lacks and will never have. There’s a QB in this year’s draft that has it. And one or two teams will have the opportunity to draft that guy.

This year, Washington is one of them.

Yeah. I know. Tom Brady was drafted in round 6. I get it. It happens. But more often than not, if you want a franchise QB, you’d better count on having an early round 1 pick, unless you believe you’ll win the lottery some day. The most crucial factor which will drive the Redskins inexorably towards making that crapshoot selection of a quarterback with pick number 4 is that it could be a decade before we’re in a position to use a top 5 pick again. That’s it. You can argue that there are no franchise QBs in this draft. I think you’re wrong but you can make that argument. But if Mike Shanahan thinks he’s got the opportunity to pick a QB with that elusive, rare ‘IT Factor’ with pick #4, he has to make that choice. Do we need offensive line help? Absolutely. In fact, if we do go QB at #4, I’d strongly recommend we let junior hold the clipboard for a year while we continue to rebuild our offensive line. I suspect that’s exactly what we’ll do.

April 22nd is fast approaching Redskins fans. Get out your jerseys, dust off your foam fingers, tell the wife you’ll be otherwise occupied that evening, and get ready to meet the next franchise QB of the Washington Redskins 18 days from now.

“Ahh yeah, that's right baby
Girl, tonight we're gonna make love
You know how I know baby?
Cuz its Wednesday, and Wednesday night is the night that we make love.
Tuesday night is the night that we go and visit your mother, but
Wednesday night is the night that we make love.
Cuz everything is just right, conditions are perfect.
There's nothing good on TV, conditions are perfect.
You lean in close and say something sexy like " I might go to bed I've
got work in the morning." I know what you're trying to say baby.
You're tryin to say "Ooh yeah, it's business time, it's business time.”

Who knew? As kids growing up tossing around the old pigskin (you know, that well-worn Wilson with the lump on one end where the bladder was trying to bust through the seams), we pretended to be our idols. We admired their skills, their courage, their grit, and their moxie. They could do things ordinary humans couldn’t.

Sonny.
Billy.
Theismann if you were the brash, mouthy type.
Hell, in a pinch, it might even be Marino or Elway, or if you rolled old school – Unitas, Montana, or Broadway Joe maybe?
Ron Jeremy? I never game him a thought. Maybe I should have.

Today, our backyard heroes try to get away with things ordinary humans couldn’t.

So what is it with today’s athletic icons? Fame. Riches. Adoration. It isn’t enough? Having the world at your beck and call, no wish unwishable – it just doesn’t ‘do it’ for you anymore?

When did being a decent human being go so out of fashion?

Sam Kinnison once claimed to have to drink a six pack of Heineken every night to keep from cutting his girlfriend’s head off and storing it in a bowling ball bag. ‘I don’t condone that kind of thing’ he'd scream, ‘but I UNDERSTAND IT!’. As an official member of American maledom, I too understand that primal urge, the inner voice whispering continuously ‘look at her…’. We have all been very naughty boys. We’re all bad bad boys at heart. We (and our head-shaking significant others) know this about ourselves. And yet, most of us - far more than anyone gives us credit for - don’t act out like our former heroes, the modern day sports star.

Tiger.
Big Ben.
Kobe.
And God knows how many other ships waiting to find an iceberg with their name on it.

It’s not about being a ‘hero’ or a ‘role model’. Sports fans gave up that fantasy a long time ago (sometime around the time of the Chicago Black Sox). It’s just about trying reasonably hard not to be a horrible human being.

What drives star athletes to seek to divide and conquer all of womankind like Genghis Khan gobbling up Asia? Is it the sex? Is it, as Tiger Woods recently claimed, a ‘sense of entitlement’? Or is it a reflection of some pathetic emptiness these guys feel, some desperate attempt to fill some incomprehensible void that no amount of fame, fortune, or screwing can satiate? There’s a lot of irony in each seemingly endless revelation. A lifetime of discipline in the pursuit of athletic perfection is somehow useless in the face of mere temptation. That the affection, embrace, and love of literally millions still isn’t gratification enough. That athletes who can do the unthinkable on their chosen field of play, just can’t follow through on the most basic male requirement of them all. Just. Don’t. Be. A. Scumbag.

It’ll be interesting to see how our former heroes fare. Maybe it will take losing millions to drive home the point. Maybe it will take experiencing that ‘other kind of fame’, the kind that makes you a pariah, elicits finger-pointing and whispers, not autograph-seeking at restaurants, to help them get it. I don’t know. I hope our modern day athletes do start getting it. Because frankly guys, it’s an embarrassment.

It’s time to start living within some norms. You don’t have to be perfect. Just try to give up the whole ‘Caligula’ thing. You don’t have to experience every sensation in every orifice. Leave the records to Warren Beatty and Wilt.

Come on athletes. You were right – sports is a business, and it IS business time. And the business you need to get busy with is growing the eff up.

He’s not a genius Southie janitor at MIT, solving quantum physics equations on his lunch breaks, but there is no doubt that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is Good Will Hunting.

You have to give Mr. Snyder some credit. I know you don’t want to. But you must.

Crazy talk you say? Bear with me.

Our beleaguered owner has spent a couple of years being brought to his billionaire knees by organizational failure (both on and off the field) of near epic proportions. League laughingstock, Captain of the NFL’s new HMS Titanic, mocked even by *gasp* Raiders fans, pilloried by his previous supporters, few have experienced as powerful a reputational fall as Daniel Snyder.

We fans are a particularly vicious sort. If the best comedy always has its roots in pain, suffering Redskins fans could get their own HBO special.

‘Little Nicky’.
‘Napoleon’.
‘Lord Farquaad’.

Nicknames that draw blood. Ouch.

Not that Snyder didn’t have his detractors before, but the truth is, prior to the rambling wreck of a 2009 season, most Redskins fans were inclined to give their owner the benefit of the doubt. He was ‘learning’ they said. Sure, he was an owner, but above all things he was a ‘fan’. He wore a ‘Pat Fisher belt buckle as a kid for God’s sake’. He’d ‘spend whatever it took’ to win. And hadn’t he brought back the legendary Joe Gibbs? If Gibbs was okay with Daniel Snyder, how could adoring Redskins fans not be?

But the post-Gibbs façade soon developed cracks. Gibbs sudden departure, the inability to attract a big-name or experienced successor, the beyond goofy hire of an unknown in Jim Zorn, the seeming ascendance of ‘ol’ bug eyes’, Vinny Cerrato to key power-broker status. Despite Zorn’s initial swoon of success, Skins fans were worried. In a woeful 4-12 2009 campaign, Chicken Little turned out not to be some dumb cluck, but the smartest bird in the room.

And suddenly, Daniel Snyder, stood alone to shoulder the blame.

It must’ve been a tough couple of years for Snyder. Standing by his wife Tanya who was battling breast cancer, having a HOF coach depart, watching the team he almost unquestionably loves fall from grace. If the Redskins franchise were a theme park, we’d call them ‘Six Flags Over Futility’. But we’re guessing one of the most startling revelations of a difficult period was the realization that something previously thought impossible could happen. This franchise could lose its fans. I believe it is that which got Snyder’s undivided attention.

We don’t know Snyder. His Howard Hughes-like penchant for intense privacy makes it impossible to know him. That’s too bad. But we know a few things about him. He hates to lose. He possesses a damn the torpedoes, ignore the critics style that has served him well, to the tune of billions. He’s a self-made man, and you don’t get to be one of those without some serious smarts, toughness, and courage of your own convictions. Redskins fans have, at times, been willing to believe there’s another side to Dan Snyder. They’ve noted his generosity, both to his friends, and charitably. No Redskins fan missed the genuine sadness, kindness, and grace Snyder demonstrated when Sean Taylor was tragically slain. Redskins fans want to believe in that part of the guy. But it’s not been easy.

After a 2009 season full of miserable predictability, Snyder has surprised. Adrift in a sea of angry fans squeezed of all generosity of spirit, mocked and eviscerated by fans and media alike on TV, radio, and the internet, Snyder could’ve lashed out. He could’ve laid the blame elsewhere. He could’ve hardened his position, fortified and armed the castle walls, could’ve embraced bitterness. But he did none of those things.

First things first, he made a tough decision. He cut lifelong friend Vinny Cerrato loose. It’s difficult to know how big a part of the Redskins on-the-field failures Cerrato was, but one thing was sure – it wasn’t working, and sometimes you just have to start fresh. Firing a friend? There’s probably no tougher job an executive will ever face. Snyder did what he needed to do. And he did what he couldn’t do after the 2007 season – he found himself a capable, proven, experienced coach. And to make that happen, he did something else he was ill-inclined to do, he gave up control to a true GM, one he wasn’t drinking buddies or racquetball partners with, Bruce Allen.

And in the aftermath of disaster, Snyder has gone Good Will Hunting.

And he’s not done yet. In addition to resetting the table with a coaching staff believed to be far more promising and capable than the one that preceded it, Snyder is luring fans back with real change. Former season ticket holders are being offered their relinquished seats back. The oft mocked ‘jumbotron’ currently showing Papajohn’s commercials at Fed Ex Field is being replaced by a massive state-of-the-art version. New GM Bruce Allen has declared a new era in Redskins franchise history. ‘The Future is Now’.

I don’t know if I believe it, but I’ll confess, I’m starting to want to.

The position Redskins now find themselves in, a mere month after our team’s season came to a creakingly merciful halt, is undeniably more promising than anything we could’ve imagined then. All credit to Mr. Snyder for helping give back to fans the only thing they’ve ever really needed.

Hope.

You don’t know when it happened.

One day, you’re a successful professional, loved, admired, and respected. Good things are happening, and even better are on the horizon. Life is wonderful, your coffers are full, and the world is your oyster.

Next thing you know, you are rising from fitful dreams, blurry images sharpening to a painful focus through squinted eyes in the bright morning light. The sound of cars honking rudely and incessantly through rush hour traffic greets you, along with the smells of the alley – vomit, urine, cheap liquor, and something dead. You sit up, head swimming, and swallow down the nausea, swat away the tiny rocks embedded in your face from a night sleeping on the cold pavement. Reality hits you like a lover’s slap as you peer around the cold stark place you now find yourself in.

And you wonder…

How in the hell did I ever, in a million years, arrive at this place?

So it is for our Washington Redskins.

Wino bad. That’s what we are Ladies and Gentlemen.

But of course, this trip to despair didn’t really happen overnight. It began innocently enough – a few casual trades of draft picks here, a couple of aging stars there, shunning conventional wisdom throughout, no harm in that. When the cracks begin to show, you play a little 3 card Molly, blame the coaches and shuffle in a new set of talking heads to cover your tracks. Turner, Robiskie, Shottenheimer, Spurrier, Gibbs, Zorn…a parade of leadership to take the blame. The veneer is bright, it’s shiny, it’s slick and promising. God knows it sells. But it’s only a veneer. Even a returning legend can’t make it real, substantial. Because it’s only a veneer. Even then, our talking head gets the blame. He’s old. He’s out of touch. The game has passed him by. But that’s not really it, is it? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. And it smells so bad, even Joe Jackson Gibbs can’t stand the stench for long.

Soon the thin facade of respectability is nearly transparent. Friends and family start avoiding you. The word is out. This play is not going to end up on Broadway. You’ve become a straight-to-video operation. Obvious successors run for the exit. Promising NFL coaches shun, even mock you. You revert to your true nature, and hire an inexperienced, unproven coach who is so unqualified for the job it doesn’t dawn on him to apply for it. You can intimidate, direct, and control him. You can keep the machine running.

Denial. It’s a bitch.

There’s no denying anything now. You’re a wino, and you’ve just woken up in some nameless, stinking street with no idea how you got there and no idea where to go from here. They call it ‘rock bottom’.

But through the dirty haze of steam and car exhaust rising off the pavement, shine the first bright rays of a new day. You take comfort – because there is solace in knowing, it really can’t get any worse for you. The hardest step is over. The Reckoning has come. The first glimmer of hope lifts your spirit. You’ve had to embrace the one immutable fact. You’ve got a problem. And now, you’re either going to swallow hard, stand up, start making yourself presentable, and turn it around, or all you’re ever going to be is that wino.

2010 approaches. The new year is a time for introspection, commitment, renewal. What’s done is done and there is no escaping the past. But here’s to hoping our Washington Redskins are finally moving forward. It can’t get any worse. There’s comfort and promise in that. May Bruce Allen and the next Redskins coaching staff take this team and build something solid and substantial of it. What better foundation for success than humility?

And humility, we got :)

As fans argued about whether Lavar Arrington was God or the Devil, as we bitched about the latest precious draft picks tossed carelessly away to rent Jason Taylor for a year, or mourned the latest departure of Joe Jackson Gibbs, over a decade of fan distraction something's happened to our franchise. It stopped being about football.

Dan Snyder’s turned us into Walmart.

The Redskins are about one thing today. Even in the midst of one of their most pathetic seasons ever – they’re about selling. Selling ads, selling tickets (and buyer team affiliation is not a barrier), selling shirts, hats, jerseys, ad space. If the Redskins could find a way to sell the FedEx Field turf every week, and regrow it before next Sunday’s game, a couple inches of it could be had for only $19.99.

In Washington D.C., the hunger for all-things-Redskin is insatiable. Even while mired in mediocrity, they’re bigger than sex. And the Redskins franchise has become the most garish neon-laden whorehouse on the strip.

Doubt me?

Take a look at the Washington Redskins Official Team Site at www.redskins.com. On the first page alone today, I counted 26 ads, brazenly pasted over a smattering of actual content, anywhere an ad can be slapped, wedged, or weaseled into place. There are ads on top of ads – and even the content usually contains a sponsor name. On that single telling webpage, there are no less than 14 companies pimped (including Samsung, Russell, Bud Light, Bank of America, Audi, Papa Johns, Stub Hub, Canon, Amtrak, 7 Eleven, Fed Ex, Sprint, the Virginia Lottery, and the Redskins Store). Think Alec Baldwin in ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ here. If there’s a doubt in your mind what this organization’s #1 priority is, take 30 seconds to view their homepage, and it will become crystal clear.

But come on – I’m being naïve here – professional football is ‘big business, isn’t it? Any fool knows that. Times have changed, that’s just a reality NFL fans have to accept. Whether it’s Free Agency, where players shop themselves to the highest bidder, or ripping NFL franchises out of the ground by the roots to replant them in a more lucrative spot across the country, it’s not 1962 anymore. I just need to get with the program, right?

Even in a national culture that feels more like Sodom and Gomorrah than traditional America at times, the Redskins excel at excess. Just out of curiosity, I took a glance at every other NFL team’s official websites. Shockingly, I found lots of ads on their homepages, sometimes as many as 10 or 12 of them. But nowhere did I see the galactic swap meet approach taken by our beloved Redskins. The best little whorehouse in Ashburn will not be outsold.

The Redskins unholy pursuit of the almighty dollar doesn’t end with their web presence. As a former season-ticket holder, I’m spammed with ads by the organization on nearly a daily basis. Probably the most irritating of these solicitations are the ones that arrive in my email box after the latest sub-par performing loss to some other bad NFL club. The Redskins also continue to aggressively guard the laughable notion that they’ve got a gazillion fans clamoring to fill the seats of anyone foolish enough to give up their season tickets. That’s why, after surrendering mine 2 seasons ago, I’ve been hounded via letter, phone, and email to renew them almost every month since then.

And God help the Redskins fans who attend games in their home stadium. The non-stop onslaught of advertising that washes over fans in waves is only occasionally interrupted by on-the-field play. These days, that may actually be tantamount to mercy. At least there’s something to distract from the pain of actually watching the games.

What, really, is my point?

Why howl at the moon? Bemoaning the inevitable, that NFL football has become big business, more about money than the game, is pointlessly wasted energy. We ain’t inventing the flux capacitor and zooming back in time to 1962. I do get that. But why is it always all or nothing with these Redskins? Other teams do incredibly well financially, but find ways to build a stable football organization that produces consistently respectable and winning results on the field. Other teams generate advertising revenue without treating their fans like mindless crack addict zombies. It can be done.

Why do I care what the Redskins do off the football field? Because I don’t believe you can separate the two things. An organization only has so many resources, so many employees, so many hours in the day, so many leaders and administrators. You can only worship one God at a time in the NFL. The Washington Redskins have clearly chosen to do one thing better than any other NFL franchise. And I’ll give you a hint.

It doesn’t involve offense, defense, or special teams.

I hear the plodding approach of the counter-argument. So let’s go ahead and get it out there. What are you talking about? Dan Snyder spends more on his team than any other owner. Look at the acquisitions he’s made, picking up an Albert Haynesworth – he’s willing to invest in his team and we should be damn glad to have him running our franchise. I’ve heard this a lot. And there’s only one problem with the argument (setting aside who he’s picking up off the shelves). It doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m suggesting. I’m not suggesting Snyder isn’t willing to spend money on his team. I’m saying that producing a winning team is not his priority, nor the focus of this organization, and hasn’t been since Dan Snyder’s arrival.

Dan Snyder got to be Dan Snyder by being a shrewd, aggressive, Machiavellian businessman. He’s spent his first decade as Redskins owner being a shrewd, aggressive, Machiavellian businessman. This team will never win meaningfully again as long as the owner (and by definition, the franchise) focus is revenue. Dan Snyder really only needs to decide one thing to turn this franchise around – does he want to win and earn the respect and even adoration of Redskins fans? Or is he content to continue to receive the revenue-generating NFL trophy every season?

Time will tell.

So where are you my burgundy and obsessed friends? What is the state of your skins-fan psyche? It's cold and lonely out here in the DC suburbs, be they your literal or merely spiritual home. It’s almost 70 degrees today, but none of us are fooled by it. There’s a frigid, lifeless breeze coming.

Brrrr.

Like the Autumn leaves spiraling downward here in Carolina, the promising colors and vibrancy of the early Fall have given way to browns, greys, and the cold harsh reality of impending Winter. So it is for Redskins land.

The rhythms and predictable cadence of the seasons coming and going are familiar. The inevitable transition from a gloriously hopeful Spring where anything is possible, to the harsh stark realities of Fall and Winter are a seasonal journey for Redskins fans. In fact, but for a lucky few, the march across the seasons and the gamut of emotions they entail is an annual one for NFL fans of all colors. It’s a part of fandom as inescapable as the passing of the seasons themselves.

When that critical moment of realization comes – you know the one – that your team is going nowhere this season, again, it’s met with resignation but also a tiny whisper of unspoken hope.

There’s always next year. Or so goes the refrain.

As Redskins fans everywhere come to terms with that dreaded moment’s sooner-than-expected arrival in 2009, this time it feels a little different. The die-hards still mouth the refrain, but no sound passes even their ever-hopeful lips. It’s a hopeless, hapless, and helpless time to be a Washington Redskins fan. As the old joke goes, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel we’re traversing. Unfortunately, it may be the lights of the train bearing ominously down upon us. Hope does not spring eternal – not these days.

So where does that leave the greatest fanbase in America? And have no doubt – fans of the Washington Redskins are as passionate, committed, and invested as any sports fans anywhere. The current state of fan turmoil is nearly unprecedented. Sure, Redskins fans have been lost in the desert before. The long-toothed among us traversed miles of mediocrity from the glory years of Sammy Baugh till the George Allen era when hope finally took root. Modern fans have survived a variety of insults to their fandom, beginning with the agonizing ‘almost’ years of ‘what we do works’ Norv Turner, the departure of a seemingly competent Marty Shottenheimer whose only real sin was wanting to run this football team, and the mad scientist’s experiment gone wrong that was the Steve Spurrier era. Redskins fans have been to the dentist before Jim Zorn arrived. But this time it feels different. This time, the pain is nearly excruciating. No mere root canal can cure our ills.

Why is that?

Redskins fans are hardly the most abused in the land. We’ve been to the promised land and more than once. Despite our current claim as one of the most pathetic franchises in the NFL, there are fans who’d kill to sniff the kind of success Redskins fans have experienced. So why does this particular downturn in our team’s fortunes feel so bad, seem so hopeless, and our future prospects so dark and gloomy?

Like the mother of the accused who suddenly wakes in the middle of the night with the horrible epiphany that maybe little Johnny really did commit all of those terrible acts, Redskins fans are waking up. Our owner may really be a meddlesome tyrant, the Redskins franchise may be more about maximizing their bottom line than about winning, this front office may have literally no clue about how to build a winning organization, and ‘lessons learned’ may well be a foreign concept at Ashburn, Virginia. And the worst realization of them all, we could be this bad for a long, long time.

So what are we to do with all that as fans of this team? Where do we go from here? Do we accept our fate, to wander in the NFL desert for the next twenty years? Do we hope and pray for the next great savior to arrive post-Gibbs? Even that possibility is fraught with fear. Given the state of apparent dysfunction in DC, could an NFL giant like Bill Cowher or Tony Dungy turn this stumbling, bumbling franchise around – and would men of that caliber even want to work with an owner who, fairly or not, is well on his way to being hated by his own fanbase with nearly the same level of passion with which they love the team itself. That is quite an accomplishment Mr. Snyder, and one that’s not likely to lead to the best of the best NFL coaches pining to join you.

If no savior is to come, then what?

If I’ve learned one thing about my beloved team, it’s never to make predictions. I have no idea what the future holds for this team – I only know it’s more uncertain and directionless than at any time in my memory. That’s not a good thing.

So what can I do, this Redskins fan of some 40 years? How do I bide the time, continue to make the ultimately dissatisfying trek from hope to despair, season after season? How do I stay a Redskins fan? If my fandom is a marriage, I’m holding onto it for dear life. We haven’t had sex in years, barely even speak to each other, and when we do, there’s now an edge to the conversation I never noticed before. But I want to save this thing, I’m not ready to say goodbye, even if it’s only in tribute to all the years we’ve spent together, and a hope that I can preserve something for my kids.

I think the best I can do is remember the good times. Remember why I got into this, the first time I saw her, and how those times made me feel. I can look for the best in these players, celebrate those increasingly rare successes, try not to worry about the futility of a great play in an awful season, and embrace what positives I can. Remember that this petty, arrogant owner is not my team. He’s merely a temporary steward of it. And try to keep that little tiny struggling flame of hope burning somewhere deep in the recesses of my discouraged and cynical little heart. I remember the refrain, the mantra of the forlorn hopeless, and I’ll strive to speak it one of these days soon.

There’s always next year.

These were the words of a Redskins bigwig during a meet and greet over more than a few drinks 6 years ago. The staff of another burgeoning Redskins site had been invited up to Landsdowne Resort in Ashburn to discuss a possible relationship. I was lucky enough to tag along for the ride, and get a glimpse at the views of a man behind the man running an NFL franchise.

Over and over we heard the same thing, categorically, emphatically, knowingly, smugly.

'The fans don't know. They think they do. But they don't'

Bigwig's point was (beyond fans being glorified idiots who lack the sheer brain power to comprehend such weighty matters as managing an NFL team) that fans lack the insight, wisdom, and information needed to have a viable opinion.

His example (he only had one that I recall) was the departure of Champ Bailey. While fans felt the front office was stupid, perhaps even irresponsible trading a Redskins Pro Bowler and DC icon like Bailey for some systems back in Clinton Portis, Bigwig begged to differ. Bailey (per Bigwig) had gotten into some naughty business which the wife was understandably none too fond of. According to our man, Bailey was told, he'd either find a new team in a different city to play for, or he'd be looking for a new wife. We fans were too stupid to have considered factors like this, Bigwig smugly informed us.

And he had a point. We don't know these players, coaches, or key players. We really don't know the details of their lives, the daily dynamics of their existence, or the inner-workings, politics, and relationships within the Redskins organization.

But we're a hell of a lot smarter than Bigwig thinks. We might be smarter than a lot of those who hush their voices and appear busy at Redskins Park when he walks by. We might even be smarter than some of them he's helped hire.

Lets take a look at what we fans did know...

We knew running an NFL team today from top to bottom is a monumental job, challenging even for men who have won Super Bowls in previous decades. We knew dropping the job unceremoniously into an unsuspecting and inexperienced Jim Zorn's lap was like buying a lottery ticket. You might win a few bucks once in awhile, but sooner or later, you're going to wish you kept your wallet in your pocket. It shouldn't surprise Bigwig that we knew this - since Jim Zorn himself knew it. That's why he didn't apply for the job. His only mistake was, in the face of such a ridiculous offer, not knowing how to refuse it.

We knew more. We knew that you can't build a dominating team, hell, even a good one, from the edges out. Sure - we're fans. We cheer, and applaud, and hope beyond hope when our team goes out and buys the best skill position players it can find that these moves turn us into a juggernaut. But we know in our gut they'll never pan out meaningfully without long-term and major investment in the trenches. We'd seen it borne out in our childhoods as we saw average QBs made superstars, because those men in the trenches protected them, kept the dogs off them, opened up holes you could run a diesel through, and bought them time to throw long completions to a bevy of low-profile receivers. We knew it. We've all but shouted it for a decade.

Fans knew stability and consistency and work ethic and steady belief in a system and team identity matter. They're patient - and still would be, if their head's weren't spinning from 6 head coaching changes in a decade. The revolving door of leaders who've mostly tried, and mostly failed to lead the Redskins to something greater than mediocrity, is still revolving. As soon as our current leader has expressed sufficiently how much the current mess is his fault, and no one elses, he'll be the next one out the revolving door.The fans know it has to stop if we're to have another era of success in our lifetimes. The fans also know enough to be skeptical it will. Because despite the one common denominator during the past decade, the Redskins lack of sustained success has got to be these failed coaches fault - right?

And we knew something else. We knew that the truly successful NFL franchises - the ones we're now jealous and envious of - aren't driven by their owners. We might not even be able to name these teams owners without thinking hard. They find talented people (some even hire General Managers) with proven track records, experience, and the right attitude, and they get out of their way. They don't have meddling owners who send their defensive coordinators vanilla ice cream, or vocal players big-screen TVs. These successful owners shelve their ego, as hard as it is for an extremely successful man, they put it aside. Because they 'get' that they lack the core expertise to build this beautiful thing called a winning franchise, but that others possess the knowledge. So they humbly step aside and let others more qualified make it happen.

The fans knew all along, an NFL owner can never create a winner in the NFL.

But he sure can screw it up beyond belief.

If we fans were cynical we might even say our owner doesn't know.

He thinks he does.

But he doesn't.

Through its operatives in the Ashburn area, BGO has obtained secret recordings of the recent Daniel Snyder – Joe Gibbs dinner session. What follows is the transcript of that fateful conversation.

DS: Well Joe, it’s certainly a treat to have you back in Redskins territory – I really appreciate your availing yourself to me on such short notice.

JG: Well gee Dan, I figured when the black helicopter appeared at the track with all those guys in riot gear, that was a sure sign from Jesus you needed some help.

DS: Sorry again about the pepper spray Joe – I always tell my crew, save the rough stuff for the assistant coaches, that Jenkins bitch, or anyone who gets in my way. My apologies.

JG: Aww shucks Dan, forget it. You know I’m all about turning the other cheek. And that 2 million for my GamePlanForLife campaign sure took the sting out of my nostrils. So what can I do you for?

WAITER: Good evening Mr. Snyder Sir, it’s great to see you sir, as it always is, you know it’s a real treat every time sir, can I bring you the usual?

DS: Dammit – haven’t I told you a hundred times to avert your eyes when addressing me? Yes - bring me a Jerry Jones, on the rocks. And a Shirley Temple for the coach.

JG: A Jerry Jones?

DS: My own invention. Don’t worry, I don’t drink the damn thing – I piss in it and leave the tip there. God it’s the little pleasures that make life worth living – don’t you think so Joe?

JG: Amen sir, amen. So now Dan, you mentioned something about needing my unique experience and knowledge base to help you make a big decision. I had a feeling you might well be calling, and you know how I am about the details. I’ve taken the liberty of putting together a comprehensive portfolio for each head coaching candidate with a SWOT analysis of each one’s talents and potential weaknesses on offense, defense, and special teams, along with recommendations on potential coordinators and assistants that might complement each of them….

DS: Hey – I’m sorry to interrupt you Joe, but I’ll be damned if I can focus on what you’re saying….that hostess over there – did you see the way she rolled her eyes at me when the waiter spoke to her. I can’t have that Joe. You know I can’t have that. Does she know who she’s screwing with (pounding table with fist)?!

JG: So I’ve got your top 3 candidates here Dan, and all the detail you’d ever need to hire the best coaching staff out there. Here’s Shanny’s portfolio, and Jon’s, and I’ve got some great stuff on Billy Cowher here.

DS: Cowher??!!!! Cowher can suck it. That bastard stuck his chin out at me 3 years ago at an NFL Rules meeting. Stuck it right out at me. I had Vinny slash his tires while I glad-handed the sap. Hehehehe. Besides Joe – we can do better than some system guy. You know how I hate systems Joe. All those college boys and their systems – did I ever tell you I made my first million by the time I was twelve Joe?

JG: Well, I believe you may have mentioned….

DS: Hell yes I did. And do you know HOW I made my first million Joe – not by being some systems *****. Systems are for suckers Joe. I did it by scaring the hell out of every other paper boy within 100 miles. I went Tony Soprano on their prepubescent asses Joe.

JG: Oh my…

WAITER: Good evening gentlemen, are you ready to order this evening Mr. Snyder?

DS: This is a special occasion Jeeves – you’re serving a 3 time Super Bowl winning coach and the richest, smartest man on the planet – tell the chef we want monkeys tonight – Faces of Death style – he’ll know what I mean. And bring an extra mallet for the coach here.

JG: So back to the Redskins Dan – I think if you’ll look at the comprehensive 10 year plan I’ve put together here, you’ll see that with the right staff, some hard work, getting some players in here who will really fight their guts out, and of course, God’s blessing, we can make this franchise something the great people of Washington will once again call…

DS: Awww hell!!! I got some Jerry Jones all over my damn spankin’ new I-phone, and I pissed in it already and everything. Jeeves – get Cerrato on the phone – NOW! I’m sorry now Joe, you were saying something about your 1 year plan?

JG: Uh, that’s 10 year plan Dan – 10 years…you see, the secret behind building a winning tradition is laying the groundwork, not just for tomorrow, but creating the structure upon which this franchise can reap the benefits for years to….

DS: Absolutely! I know exactly what you’re getting at Joe. That’s why I’ve locked Vinny up for the long-term. No more of this indecisiveness and year-to-year uncertainty. Strike while the iron’s hot, that’s what I always say – and if you don’t have time for that iron to get hot, hit them over the head with it – am I right Joe, am I right?? Jeeves – where are those monkeys?

JG: Well….err… that’s certainly … surprising, I’m speechless in a really good news kind of a way Dan. I know you and Vinny go back a long way. I’m sure with the right experienced coach leading the way, Vinny can do a fine job for you. That’s why I’ve been so judicious in selecting the top 3 candidates, those with proven track records who know how to build a winning tradition, any one of which….

DS: Don’t you say another word Joe. There’s a reason why I’ve dominated the free market economy since I was in grade school Joe. Sure – I know all the stuff about ‘God’s will’, ‘doing things the right way’, and ‘earning his good graces’ and all – and I know for some people, that works. On the other hand Joe, think about it, would God have given me the kind of brain that makes me smarter than anyone else out there Joe – if he didn’t want me to use it?

JG: Well gosh Dan, that’s a really hard question to…

DS: Hell no – he wouldn’t have! Now I know you’ve picked out the best of the best Joe – I don’t doubt it. And if I wanted to go that experienced competent route, I’d be awfully tempted Joe. But hell – we tried the experienced route Joe, and lets face it, Mister Slip n’ Slide just isn’t selling jerseys my friend. He’s out. Pronto.

DS: No – I’ve decided to really shake things up this time Joe. I’m going to show all those college boys and naysayers - you know - - the haters Joe - how to make some headlines. Steve Czaban’s going to crawl on his knees to the front door of Redskins Park and beg for the privilege of kissing my ass. Wait and see Joe.

JG: But Dan – I’m a little…well, gosh Dan, I’m a little confused. I thought you flew me on up here to help you get this thing straightened out. If you’re not interested in Mike, or Jon, or Bill, what exactly did you need my help with?

DS: Rest easy Joe - I’ve already made my choice. And you’re gonna love it too. No one’s seen this coming. We’re going to shock the world my friend and shut all those critics up forever. I just brought you up here to make the introductions tomorrow in front of those smug bastards from the Post. Joe, meet the next Head Coach of the Washington Redskins…..get your ass over here Top Gun!

JG: In the name of all that is Holy – is that….it can’t be…Dan, is that….?

DS: Tom – I’d like you to meet Joe Gibbs. Have you seen ‘All the Right Moves’ Joe? This kid is a natural – I’m telling you! Super Bowl – here we come! Jeeves, we’re gonna need another monkey! Tonight – we celebrate!

What strange creatures of habit we are.

To wake slowly from slumber, roll from bed, and realize with a quiet excitement – it’s Sunday, and the Redskins will play today – ah…what a glorious feeling it’s always been. There, in the deep recesses of our wakening consciousness, we remember ‘the thought’. That no matter whom they are facing, those beloved, beleaguered, bemoaned, bedeviled burgundy and gold bastards might just pull victory from the jaws of defeat today. The smell of our first cups of coffee wafts through our households on these Sunday mornings, filling the house with the sweet air of ’possibility’.

We used to call them the ‘Sons of Washington’. We like to pretend they still are. But it’s not true anymore. We want it to be true, because it’s what we are, and these men play and fight in our stead. We grew up on the streets of DC, Maryland, Virginia. We shared the same childhoods. We took field trips to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Air and Space Museum, raced our brothers and sisters to the top of the Washington Monument, and visited the pandas at the National Zoo. When we grew up, we partied in the bars of DC, Old Town Alexandria, and Georgetown. We went to colleges at College Park, Charlottesville, Blacksburg, and a thousand places in between. But we never lost our way – we always knew we were ‘Sons of Washington’.

Some of us, the lucky ones, got to taste glory. Maybe it’s why we’re still around. An unknown, fallen into our laps from the tree of Don Coryell, flew in from San Diego. That first season, he was Jim Zorn. Clueless, hapless, unassuming – he didn’t look or talk like a football coach. Turned out he was though – one hell of a football coach. We know, because we screamed ourselves giddily senseless cheering his Redskins on to 3 Super Bowl wins in a decade. It was sweet fan nirvana in Washington DC. Other fans hated us with certain passion – a sure sign of our dominance in that era. Sadly, current Redskins fans can’t even take solace in knowing things have been different here. I really feel for them.

Like all beneficiaries of incredible good fortune, those lucky enough to have enjoyed it took it for granted, not believing it would ever end. Not really.

Well Redskins fans. It’s gone.

And suddenly we find ourselves asking… how did the infamously hapless teams of NFL history arrive at their haplessness? Could we be destined for that fate? What magical formula could lead to Dante’s 9 circles of NFL hell? Might we already be on our way there?

I hope not.

I long for those Sunday mornings. I still roll out of bed, bleary-eyed. I still wonder, which team will show up at today’s game, although the answer is less in doubt every Sunday. More and more, I wake with the realization that we probably won’t win. We’ll have flashes of potential, a heart-racing moment or two where we can almost glimpse a last second win. But these Sunday mornings, it feels more like a masturbatory dream than a real hope of consummation - and about as satisfying.

We used to be the good guys. That used to be a part of it. From golly-gee George Allen and his Over the Hill Gang, to the studious professor of football’s fine arts, Joseph Jackson Gibbs, even in defeat, Redskins fans could pride themselves on what our team represented. These days, it’s hard to know what we represent. The players themselves tell us, they don’t know who we are anymore. Our owner? He’s a hard man to love. He’s not misunderstood. He’s just not a very nice guy. We wore Redskins gear to school as kids too Mr. Snyder – but that alone isn’t enough. I want to believe you’re the ultimate fan – but it’d be easier to believe and to support you if you’d stop trying to sell me something every 12.5 seconds.

I don’t believe a return to glory in Washington DC is impossible. But it will require new ownership or a real paradigm shift starting at the top of the current regime. Hire great people. Give control to a football boss who knows how to run a football team (they call them G.M.’s I think?). Make sure none of these folks are your friends. Leave. Them. Alone. Let them do what they know how to do. Plan for the next 20 years, not next year. Make hard decisions and sacrifices today in order to enjoy a promising tomorrow. Set aside your maniacal and cutthroat business acumen. Ditch the Armani suit, sunglasses, celebrity friends, and your famous glare. Uncross your ****ing arms and be nice to people. Mean it. Put on a redskins sweatshirt. Hell, wear it to meetings. Smile. Give honest, sincere interviews. Stop blaming the press for asking legitimate questions about your failing franchise. Stop coveting your fans wallets. Try not to sue season ticket holders. When fans bitch, ask ‘why?’, and respond ‘maybe my customers have a point and we should do something about that’. Watch ‘Heaven Can Wait’ – practice being Warren Beatty at the board meeting.

I don’t think we’ll ever be a great organization or a winning franchise if some of the above doesn’t occur first. Of course football is about football. Even Satan might win a few games now and then (we may have already proven it). But in life, sometimes you get what you deserve. Today’s Redskins are a cutthroat, money-first, leadership by intimidation organization. The bad karma encompassed in those qualities alone could keep us mired in mediocrity for the rest of my days if we’re not careful. Step one in turning the ship around – create an organization that’s first and foremost about creating a positive organization, about quality, that’s about doing the right things even when no one’s looking or writing a story in the Post about it. Figure out what this franchise is about, and start living it. Things will fall into place. Great people will fall over themselves to join you. Good things might happen.

I want that Sunday morning feeling back. I don’t expect my team to win every Sunday. I appreciate how hard it is to win any Sunday. But I want to feel good about my team, the team I pretended to be on as a kid tossing it around in the backyard all those days of my youth, even when it loses.

If things don’t change in the next several years, I think I’ll have to change. I’ll have to find something else to get excited about as I roll out of bed on Sunday. Like a beautiful woman you know is bad for you, but holds you spellbound and helpless, I’ll just have to get in my car and drive away, to somewhere else, anywhere else, because it’s the only way I can get her out of my life.

Redskins fans all feel it – we’re living in a time of diminishing returns where being a fan just sucks the life, money, and enthusiasm out of you. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Lets hope it’s not going to be for much longer.

Wow.

Minutes after a Redskins home opener win, and all should be right with the Universe. Glory, celebration, and good cheer should fill the air.

But there's a stench hovering over this Burgundy and Gold land - the stench of something rotten, just barely out of view. Like a dead mouse, trapped in a wall - you can't see it or touch it, but you can smell....that smell...

These Redskins aren't very good. Not yet anyway. Maybe not ever. Is it Jason Campbell's fault? I think the more we see, the more we realize - probably not. Campbell, at worst, has made the most of his limited opportunities. His 2009 offense couldn't get on the field in game 1 against the Giants. They fared better today against the Rams, and Campbell was just fine. Far from a perfect performance, Campbell did plenty of good things, most notably keeping a number of plays alive with his feet, shifting in the pocket to buy a precious extra second or two, and most importantly hanging in there under pressure to make a throw. I've decided, although JC will never be a perennial Pro Bowler, we can win with him. Unfortunately, we have another problem.

Coach Jim Zorn is coaching scared. Rex Ryan he is not. In fairness, Zorn inherited Jason Campbell. However, as the saying goes, you gotta dance with the date you brung, and there is no question that as Jason Campbell goes in 2009, so go the Redskins, and ultimately Jim Zorn's head coaching career. Zorn does not trust Campbell. It is clear and it is indisputable. Running up the gut repeatedly in the red zone, running trick plays in a panicked attempt to score says one emphatic thing. I do not believe in my QB.

Thats really a shame.

Because, if Campbell cannot be trusted, the Redskins 2009 season is over before it's begun.

The complaints and second-guessing after our weak showing in a game 1 loss to the Giants have risen to a low rumble. Soon, they will be a roar. Both local media and fans are turning on this coach and team. Never have I heard such criticism, anger, and harsh words directed at a team following a home win. The city of DC and hordes of lifelong Redskins fans are close to saying 'I've had it'. They're tired of their pocket-padding owner, they're tired of the crap stadium experience, and most of all, they're tired of a team and coaching staff that plays scared, sloppy, and underachieving football.

I hope Zorn gets it, and gets it soon. He has two choices - make a QB change if he cannot trust Campbell to run this offense, or set his misgivings aside, and give Campbell the opportunity to succeed or fail on his own merits. Drifting somewhere between the two got us dominated by an NFC rival, and nearly beaten by one of the worst NFC teams out there (one that had to travel halfway across the country to nearly best us). Without a sea change in Zorn's mindset, despite one of the softest schedules in the NFL this season, the Redskins will be lucky to get to .500.

We'll see if Zorn and his coaching staff can somehow slap some duct tape and super glue on these wheels and get us back on the track to Redskins football again.

Color me hopefully skeptical.