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Blognosticator - LoyalSkinsFan
I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
As much as I’ve tried to put Sunday’s game against the Dolphins in the rear view mirror as quickly as possible, I’m finding it very difficult to do since, as we all know, objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Though we are clearly moving forward and can now look towards the game against the Cowboys this weekend, our last game DOES appear closer than we want it to. Closer to who we have been, closer to who really are, and closer to what we may yet become.
We’re now over halfway thru the season and after a good - no, TERRIFIC start – we’ve taken a decided turn downward. The word spiral comes to mind. There are boatloads of reasons (excuses) for this…….any one of them could really apply. Injuries, play-calling, the quarterback position, youth and inexperience….pick your poison.
All along I’ve been behind our defense….presenting the argument that with an offense as inept as ours we really can’t fault our defense for giving up scores when they’ve been on the field for two thirds of each quarter…..or better yet, defending a short field. Our offense, with Rex Grossman (who’s really not all that sexy) at the helm, reminds me of a hamster on a wheel – spinning madly between the 30’s but not really going anywhere else. With Beck at the proverbial wheel, it reminds of the time I tried driving my old Honda up and down San Francisco’s hills without a clutch. There was no up. Just down. Backwards, forwards, whatever……it was just plain DOWN. Let’s face it, folks…what we’ve been watching the last five weeks is just not pretty.
Having said all that, I honestly still believe that we’re on the right path. I suppose it just plain takes more than one or two seasons to right so many years of wrongs. Sure, I get just as frustrated as the next guy watching the Bills, the Lions…..hell, even the Bengals turn it around in only a year. I guess we’re just not them.
A good offensive team can hide a lot of defensive ills (just ask the Colts)…..but, compared to many, our defensive ills are manageable. An upper level quarterback and solid offensive line would go a long way in curing whatever offensive ills we possess. Looking closely, I’m not down on our young receivers at all. The bottom line is that we need to put in there a quarterback that can get make all the throws, play intelligently and just put the damn ball where the receivers are in a position to make an athletic play on it and do something after the catch. We find a quarterback capable of doing that and it would be….well…..the bomb. Pun intended. Sadly, we may actually find ourselves in a good position to do that in the next draft. This time, I hope we don’t hesitate to pull that trigger. The Andy Daltons and Christian Ponders of the world really do give you that leg up on the competition. Identify your playmakers and then give them the rock any way you possibly can. Don’t futz around with the secondary folks. You have Andre Johnson or Drew Brees or Calvin Johnson or Frank Gore……you feed it to them until they puke.
In truth, I only count one real off season’s worth of new talent to date. Year one of the Shananahan (yup, did that on purpose) regime doesn’t count. That was a prototypical “we think we’re only a piece or two away” failure. Looking back on our last draft and a few prior, I actually like many of the new players…..although I wouldn’t dare label some of them elite as they may have originally been touted to be. Some, like Ryan Kerrigan and even Fred Davis, are living up to their promise……others, like Trent Williams, appear to be falling short. Still, we’re finally on the younger side of decrepit for a change, and although many of the people we have in place now aren’t star players, they will certainly provide the depth at many positions that we so desperately need going forward. I, for one, am happy to give Bruce Allen and crew another year (at least) to fill in some of the obvious holes with the star or elite players we need so badly to take us to the next level. To be honest, I’m not even too upset to see Santana Moss and Chris Cooley go down. I like them both very much but we so clearly need to get the young legs in and give ourselves the opportunity to get the hamster off the wheel.
And now…..it’s Dallas week. We’re at home and the Cowboys are coming in for their yearly visit. I hope…..I pray that we don’t allow it to be a happy visit for them. However, DeMarco Murray, after a four game explosion, is now the starter…and the team as a whole is on the upswing after a thorough dismantling of a Buffalo squad that we simply couldn’t keep up with a couple weeks ago. Somehow, we manage to keep teams just close enough to make us crazy….and I don’t see that changing this week with Danny White….er, Tony Romo running things. He’s gonna throw it around and I guess we’ll see what we see. Jason Witten will get his…….the key for us will be if we can get ours. Pressure on Romo is what we must have to give ourselves a fighting chance. Turnovers, either coming from sacks or INT’s will be critical to the game. Didn’t seem to help against the Dolphins, but giving our offense a short to field to work with is, in theory, better than not. I’ve read books and articles that say this is so……though I have yet to see it in practice.
I really don’t want to go on and on about the Cowboys and tell you what they can or can’t do. And I simply don’t have time to dig up stats to support any argument I may make here. The truth is, I just hate them so much. I’ve watched every game between the Redskins and the Cowboys since at least 1970 and there isn’t any other team I love to hate more. I hated the flex defense and I hate whatever defense Rob Ryab decides to throw at us this Sunday. I hated the way their offensive line used to do that all-in-sync shift just before the snap….and I hate everything about Dez Bryant. From the name Dez, to his me-before-team attitude. I mean, it’s just such a natural rivalry. Bears and Vikings…..Steelers and Ravens…..good, yes. But c’mon….Cowboys and Indians??? Hard to beat. Sure, I know it doesn’t hold the same level of popularity around the NFL today as it did 25 years ago, but for me it does. Admittedly, there have been Cowboys I’ve respected over the years……but that doesn’t mean I didn’t hate them just as much as their teammates. Roger Staubach comes to mind. Maybe Tom Landry. Ummm……..that’s it, I think. Oh, maybe Calvin Hill…..but that’s only cause he ended up on our side. Oh wait, I like Stephen Bowen, too….but the jury’s still out on Tashard Choice. Can’t address that one until he hits the field, I suppose. For now, I hate him.
So, there you have it. I’ve no idea what we’ll see this weekend…..probably more of the same. I’m REALLY hoping to see improvement and would like nothing better than a win against our hated rival. I’ll continue to hope, each week, that this is the week we turn it all around……and maybe one of these days I’ll actually get it right.
I suppose this has been a bit of a downer read…...but it’s a bit of a downer week. Still, as I’ve always reminded myself, these are the times that make the best of times the best of times. I have to hold onto that. It gets me through.
Unlike some, I’ll watch every game, every year for the rest of my life and I’ll love every minute of it, win or lose. The Redskins are mine and no matter who happens to be calling the shots on any given day I’ll support my team.
But I’ll make you a deal……I’ll share them with you.
Happy to.
Truth is, I think they need us as much as we need them these days.
Keep the faith……
HTTR
COWBOYS AND INDIANS
I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.
As much as I’ve tried to put Sunday’s game against the Dolphins in the rear view mirror as quickly as possible, I’m finding it very difficult to do since, as we all know, objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Though we are clearly moving forward and can now look towards the game against the Cowboys this weekend, our last game DOES appear closer than we want it to. Closer to who we have been, closer to who really are, and closer to what we may yet become.
We’re now over halfway thru the season and after a good - no, TERRIFIC start – we’ve taken a decided turn downward. The word spiral comes to mind. There are boatloads of reasons (excuses) for this…….any one of them could really apply. Injuries, play-calling, the quarterback position, youth and inexperience….pick your poison.
All along I’ve been behind our defense….presenting the argument that with an offense as inept as ours we really can’t fault our defense for giving up scores when they’ve been on the field for two thirds of each quarter…..or better yet, defending a short field. Our offense, with Rex Grossman (who’s really not all that sexy) at the helm, reminds me of a hamster on a wheel – spinning madly between the 30’s but not really going anywhere else. With Beck at the proverbial wheel, it reminds of the time I tried driving my old Honda up and down San Francisco’s hills without a clutch. There was no up. Just down. Backwards, forwards, whatever……it was just plain DOWN. Let’s face it, folks…what we’ve been watching the last five weeks is just not pretty.
Having said all that, I honestly still believe that we’re on the right path. I suppose it just plain takes more than one or two seasons to right so many years of wrongs. Sure, I get just as frustrated as the next guy watching the Bills, the Lions…..hell, even the Bengals turn it around in only a year. I guess we’re just not them.
A good offensive team can hide a lot of defensive ills (just ask the Colts)…..but, compared to many, our defensive ills are manageable. An upper level quarterback and solid offensive line would go a long way in curing whatever offensive ills we possess. Looking closely, I’m not down on our young receivers at all. The bottom line is that we need to put in there a quarterback that can get make all the throws, play intelligently and just put the damn ball where the receivers are in a position to make an athletic play on it and do something after the catch. We find a quarterback capable of doing that and it would be….well…..the bomb. Pun intended. Sadly, we may actually find ourselves in a good position to do that in the next draft. This time, I hope we don’t hesitate to pull that trigger. The Andy Daltons and Christian Ponders of the world really do give you that leg up on the competition. Identify your playmakers and then give them the rock any way you possibly can. Don’t futz around with the secondary folks. You have Andre Johnson or Drew Brees or Calvin Johnson or Frank Gore……you feed it to them until they puke.
In truth, I only count one real off season’s worth of new talent to date. Year one of the Shananahan (yup, did that on purpose) regime doesn’t count. That was a prototypical “we think we’re only a piece or two away” failure. Looking back on our last draft and a few prior, I actually like many of the new players…..although I wouldn’t dare label some of them elite as they may have originally been touted to be. Some, like Ryan Kerrigan and even Fred Davis, are living up to their promise……others, like Trent Williams, appear to be falling short. Still, we’re finally on the younger side of decrepit for a change, and although many of the people we have in place now aren’t star players, they will certainly provide the depth at many positions that we so desperately need going forward. I, for one, am happy to give Bruce Allen and crew another year (at least) to fill in some of the obvious holes with the star or elite players we need so badly to take us to the next level. To be honest, I’m not even too upset to see Santana Moss and Chris Cooley go down. I like them both very much but we so clearly need to get the young legs in and give ourselves the opportunity to get the hamster off the wheel.
And now…..it’s Dallas week. We’re at home and the Cowboys are coming in for their yearly visit. I hope…..I pray that we don’t allow it to be a happy visit for them. However, DeMarco Murray, after a four game explosion, is now the starter…and the team as a whole is on the upswing after a thorough dismantling of a Buffalo squad that we simply couldn’t keep up with a couple weeks ago. Somehow, we manage to keep teams just close enough to make us crazy….and I don’t see that changing this week with Danny White….er, Tony Romo running things. He’s gonna throw it around and I guess we’ll see what we see. Jason Witten will get his…….the key for us will be if we can get ours. Pressure on Romo is what we must have to give ourselves a fighting chance. Turnovers, either coming from sacks or INT’s will be critical to the game. Didn’t seem to help against the Dolphins, but giving our offense a short to field to work with is, in theory, better than not. I’ve read books and articles that say this is so……though I have yet to see it in practice.
I really don’t want to go on and on about the Cowboys and tell you what they can or can’t do. And I simply don’t have time to dig up stats to support any argument I may make here. The truth is, I just hate them so much. I’ve watched every game between the Redskins and the Cowboys since at least 1970 and there isn’t any other team I love to hate more. I hated the flex defense and I hate whatever defense Rob Ryab decides to throw at us this Sunday. I hated the way their offensive line used to do that all-in-sync shift just before the snap….and I hate everything about Dez Bryant. From the name Dez, to his me-before-team attitude. I mean, it’s just such a natural rivalry. Bears and Vikings…..Steelers and Ravens…..good, yes. But c’mon….Cowboys and Indians??? Hard to beat. Sure, I know it doesn’t hold the same level of popularity around the NFL today as it did 25 years ago, but for me it does. Admittedly, there have been Cowboys I’ve respected over the years……but that doesn’t mean I didn’t hate them just as much as their teammates. Roger Staubach comes to mind. Maybe Tom Landry. Ummm……..that’s it, I think. Oh, maybe Calvin Hill…..but that’s only cause he ended up on our side. Oh wait, I like Stephen Bowen, too….but the jury’s still out on Tashard Choice. Can’t address that one until he hits the field, I suppose. For now, I hate him.
So, there you have it. I’ve no idea what we’ll see this weekend…..probably more of the same. I’m REALLY hoping to see improvement and would like nothing better than a win against our hated rival. I’ll continue to hope, each week, that this is the week we turn it all around……and maybe one of these days I’ll actually get it right.
I suppose this has been a bit of a downer read…...but it’s a bit of a downer week. Still, as I’ve always reminded myself, these are the times that make the best of times the best of times. I have to hold onto that. It gets me through.
Unlike some, I’ll watch every game, every year for the rest of my life and I’ll love every minute of it, win or lose. The Redskins are mine and no matter who happens to be calling the shots on any given day I’ll support my team.
But I’ll make you a deal……I’ll share them with you.
Happy to.
Truth is, I think they need us as much as we need them these days.
Keep the faith……
HTTR