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Blognosticator - Elephant
On my drive home this evening I was listening to talk radio, when an advertisement came on the radio that stated, "Join us for the Redskins' push for the playoffs." I pondered the thought for a moment..."playoff push." Then it hit me, on December 16, 2015 the Washington Redskins are actually in the hunt for a division title and berth into the playoffs. Some will discount this because our division is woeful, but it sure does sound good to me.
We have made the playoffs only three times in the past fifteen seasons, all three times we needed a late season win streak of four, five and seven to earn a spot. We find ourselves in a similar position this year...win the last three and we're guaranteed to host a post-season game, more than likely against the Seattle Seahawks. Just think about that for a minute...we were 3-13 last year and now face the possibility that the "paloffs are now!" The only difference in my mind, I was much more confident about a late season push under the coaching of Hall of Fame coaches like Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan. Does the current leadership under Jay Gruden instill the same confidence? Absolutely not! I am not discounting the chance we can do it, but if I am completely honest, Jay doesn't provide me with the same confidence I had in those teams.
However, before we get too far into the discussion of a playoff berth, we need to clear the next obstacle in our path...a Rex Ryan led Buffalo Bills team who seems to be as bi-polar as this Redskins team. This game is easily winnable, discounting the recent divisional loss to the dreaded team from Dallas (**** DALLAS!), we have been a good team overall at home all season long. Some of our best outings have been at FedEx Field this season, a far cry from the previous few years where it looked like we were the away team at times. I have attended 6 games so far this year, that appearance is gone. No game has seen a visiting team's fans take over our stadium...that has been a refreshing turnaround, I cannot tell you how miserable it has been to attend games where the opposition took over our stadium, I've seen it far too often.
Anyway, let's look at the opponent this weekend, the Buffalo Bills.
Mobile QB's have historically given this team fits. Tyrod Taylor has been using his ability to move in the pocket and even break off big runs all year. He's had a lot of success this year, and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. The INT he threw against the Eagles last week to cement the victory for Philthy was his first since September...he's only thrown two all year, and in his last three games he's thrown for 8 TD's. LeSean McCoy has absolutely shredded our defense over the years. I am not confident we can shut their offense down...luckily their defense has not been playing well so we could see a shoot out. They lost one of their best defenders in Stephon Gilmore for the season, their pass rush is one of the worst in the league and they are coming off a big loss. Teams that aren't very good, can completely deflate after a loss like that toward the end of the season with little to no chance to earn a playoff berth...we've seen it, we know what that collapse looks like.
To be honest, I just don't know what to expect from the Redskins' this Sunday. The last time we played a Bills team at home, we should've beaten, was a terrible day. It was the first game after the loss of Sean Taylor. We lost. This is a Bills team we should be able to beat, especially with their defense struggling. We have to limit their offense. Who woulda thunk we'd be saying that about a Rex Ryan team? I really don't think Ryan is a very good coach, but he does know how to get his team motivated...what Bills team shows up this week?
If we show up to play this game on this day, I think we win...handily. 42-20.
If we play like we did against Dallas (**** DALLAS), we will probably get beat up, their offense is far better than the Cowgirls. 27-13. I truly believe we got caught up in the idea of division champs when we went into the Dallas game and looked past them. Let's hope that doesn't happen Sunday.
I have the feeling we don't look past this Bills team and end up with one of the most solid games of the year.
Redskins 42
Bills 20
On my drive home this evening I was listening to talk radio, when an advertisement came on the radio that stated, "Join us for the Redskins' push for the playoffs." I pondered the thought for a moment..."playoff push." Then it hit me, on December 16, 2015 the Washington Redskins are actually in the hunt for a division title and berth into the playoffs. Some will discount this because our division is woeful, but it sure does sound good to me.
We have made the playoffs only three times in the past fifteen seasons, all three times we needed a late season win streak of four, five and seven to earn a spot. We find ourselves in a similar position this year...win the last three and we're guaranteed to host a post-season game, more than likely against the Seattle Seahawks. Just think about that for a minute...we were 3-13 last year and now face the possibility that the "paloffs are now!" The only difference in my mind, I was much more confident about a late season push under the coaching of Hall of Fame coaches like Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan. Does the current leadership under Jay Gruden instill the same confidence? Absolutely not! I am not discounting the chance we can do it, but if I am completely honest, Jay doesn't provide me with the same confidence I had in those teams.
However, before we get too far into the discussion of a playoff berth, we need to clear the next obstacle in our path...a Rex Ryan led Buffalo Bills team who seems to be as bi-polar as this Redskins team. This game is easily winnable, discounting the recent divisional loss to the dreaded team from Dallas (**** DALLAS!), we have been a good team overall at home all season long. Some of our best outings have been at FedEx Field this season, a far cry from the previous few years where it looked like we were the away team at times. I have attended 6 games so far this year, that appearance is gone. No game has seen a visiting team's fans take over our stadium...that has been a refreshing turnaround, I cannot tell you how miserable it has been to attend games where the opposition took over our stadium, I've seen it far too often.
Anyway, let's look at the opponent this weekend, the Buffalo Bills.
Mobile QB's have historically given this team fits. Tyrod Taylor has been using his ability to move in the pocket and even break off big runs all year. He's had a lot of success this year, and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. The INT he threw against the Eagles last week to cement the victory for Philthy was his first since September...he's only thrown two all year, and in his last three games he's thrown for 8 TD's. LeSean McCoy has absolutely shredded our defense over the years. I am not confident we can shut their offense down...luckily their defense has not been playing well so we could see a shoot out. They lost one of their best defenders in Stephon Gilmore for the season, their pass rush is one of the worst in the league and they are coming off a big loss. Teams that aren't very good, can completely deflate after a loss like that toward the end of the season with little to no chance to earn a playoff berth...we've seen it, we know what that collapse looks like.
To be honest, I just don't know what to expect from the Redskins' this Sunday. The last time we played a Bills team at home, we should've beaten, was a terrible day. It was the first game after the loss of Sean Taylor. We lost. This is a Bills team we should be able to beat, especially with their defense struggling. We have to limit their offense. Who woulda thunk we'd be saying that about a Rex Ryan team? I really don't think Ryan is a very good coach, but he does know how to get his team motivated...what Bills team shows up this week?
If we show up to play this game on this day, I think we win...handily. 42-20.
If we play like we did against Dallas (**** DALLAS), we will probably get beat up, their offense is far better than the Cowgirls. 27-13. I truly believe we got caught up in the idea of division champs when we went into the Dallas game and looked past them. Let's hope that doesn't happen Sunday.
I have the feeling we don't look past this Bills team and end up with one of the most solid games of the year.
Redskins 42
Bills 20