are we actually cursed?

[Rymanofthenorth]

That injury looked a lot like Theismanns injury, and we already have no damn depth on offence as it is.

I hate that we finally have a decent defence and now we have no offence. I have so much hatred in my heart for shamahan right now, and frankly if snyder doesnt get his head out of his ass and spend more money on scouting and finding talent, i am gonna just find another hobby. I retired from playing football, and really only watch now out of loyalty, I dont even enjoy it so why do it? We are always just on the cusp of mediocrity and honestly its become kind of wearing.

[Fear The Spear]

That injury looked a lot like Theismanns injury, and we already have no damn depth on offence as it is.

Did you know it happened 33 years to the day, after Joey's injury ?
And the final score of both games was the same ?

And Joey tweeted that it was exactly like his injury.

[Rymanofthenorth]

honestly I knew it was a similiar injury, had no idea it was 33 years to the day or the score

[ntotoro]

How is it anyone in the face of the Earth didn’t know? Theisman and his blow dryer took to every form of existing media short of Pony Express to remind everyone LOL!!!

[Sarge]

Yes. I've told this story a few times over the last 20 years, but it's been awhile so I'll tell it again. My Mom used to work for JKC. Kept his world straight. When Lord Farquaad took over the team he sent letters to everyone at Redskins Park saying their jobs were safe. The day the ink dried and he got the team, he came into town and started firing everyone, despite that letter he wrote. So.................every year to this day.......................the Fired Employees of Dan Snyder (FEDS) get together for a dinner somewhere in Ashburn. They have a good time at it, but every year since 2000 they've all broken out their Dan Snyder Voo Doo dolls and filled them full of pins at the end of the night.

That, and those damn throwback uniforms. I'd love to know what our record is when we wear them. Probably 2-70.

So yes, we are cursed, and will be as long a as the imp owns the team

[Sarge]

How is it anyone in the face of the Earth didn’t know? Theisman and his blow dryer took to every form of existing media short of Pony Express to remind everyone LOL!!!

It's always been "It's all about me" where Joey T is concerned. I always hated him as an announcer because every other play call started with "Well you know, when I was playing..........."

[Fear The Spear]

Besides the above, here's some more coincidences, that I heard about

- Both sack injuries happened at the 40.
- His LT, Jacoby was out with injury that game as Trent was in this game.
- Both were right leg injuries, involving complete breaks of both the fibula and tibula
- He has a nephew named Alex Smith who is 33 years old.
- Romeo Crennel was an assistant coach on the opposing sideline of both games.
- Theismann finished his season with 301 attempts; Smith entered Sunday’s game with 301 attempts

[Bulldog]

The final score of the game was 23-21. Another coincidence.

In 1985 Jay Schroeder came in and the Redskins went 5-1 down the stretch to finish 10-6.

I don't think anyone would be upset if that is what we do this time around.

Yep, we can all agree that Snyder at least for the first 8-10 years he owned the team treated people in reprehensible fashion and in some measure I can see that coming back on him.

But over time even owners like Art Modell that entire cities hated to their core for moving their team ended up winning a Super Bowl.

Irsay is another one that comes to mind after he moved the Colts to Indy and piled up how many DUIs and alleged harrassment complaints?

He went to 2 Super Bowls with Peyton Manning.

[Elephant]

It's always been "It's all about me" where Joey T is concerned. I always hated him as an announcer because every other play call started with "Well you know, when I was playing..........."

You're telling stories, I might as well chime in. Haha! My best internet Joey T impression.

Anyway, I really do have a story. My wife is almost as die-hard as the rest of us are/were. She's been a fan since she could walk. When she was about 10 years old, she was at an event where Joey T was signing autographs. Waiting in line patiently, the excitement was building as he approached her.

When he got to her, she handed him her pen smiling from ear to ear, giddy that her favorite player was standing right in front of her...her childhood crush was there! He tried to sign her book, but the pen didn't work.

Not a big deal, right? Just grab the pen from the next kid and sign the book, right?

Nope! That asshole handed her pen back and said, "Next time have a pen that works kid." Then he went on to the next kid. She was crushed!!! She's hated him ever since.

As for the curse? We can all think there are forces in play that are working against us, but the reality is that Dan Snyder does not know how to build things. All he knows how to do is tear existing things down, and rebrand them once they've been stream lined. He does not know how to build a winning franchise, and after 20 years, we're foolish to think he can.

[Neophyte]

As for the curse? We can all think there are forces in play that are working against us, but the reality is that Dan Snyder does not know how to build things. All he knows how to do is tear existing things down, and rebrand them once they've been stream lined. He does not know how to build a winning franchise, and after 20 years, we're foolish to think he can.

With respect El, the Danny has made plenty of mistakes over the years. I can't disagree. Having said that, this would be a good team today without all the injuries and he deserves some credit there. He isn't a trainer or doctor or in charge of conditioning. The injury bug this team has is legendary in scope but without it I think this team would be 3 games up in the NFC East and favored to win in Dallas on Thursday.

[Elephant]

With respect El, the Danny has made plenty of mistakes over the years. I can't disagree. Having said that, this would be a good team today without all the injuries and he deserves some credit there. He isn't a trainer or doctor or in charge of conditioning. The injury bug this team has is legendary in scope but without it I think this team would be 3 games up in the NFC East and favored to win in Dallas on Thursday.

Kinda get sick of this excuse. You cannot excuse 20 years at sub-.500 level play on the field and I am surprised there are some defending him. Your injury assertion is just that, conjecture. 3 games up? Umm...have you watched Alex smith play this season, he is not a good QB and we do not have enough talent without the injuries to make him better.

I maintain that the Redskins will never win a Super Bowl with Dan Snyder as the owner. Never!

I asked myself why I still watch if I'm so convinced of that, and I've come to the conclusion that if it weren't for Fantasy Football, I probably wouldn't watch. I'm stuck. Call me insane.

[Boone]

Neo didn't say anything like that. He said, very clearly, that we'd be a better team the past 2 years without all the injuries. I don't really see how that is a 'contestable' point?

[Neophyte]

Kinda get sick of this excuse. You cannot excuse 20 years at sub-.500 level play on the field and I am surprised there are some defending him. Your injury assertion is just that, conjecture. 3 games up? Umm...have you watched Alex smith play this season, he is not a good QB and we do not have enough talent without the injuries to make him better.

I maintain that the Redskins will never win a Super Bowl with Dan Snyder as the owner. Never!

I asked myself why I still watch if I'm so convinced of that, and I've come to the conclusion that if it weren't for Fantasy Football, I probably wouldn't watch. I'm stuck. Call me insane.

It's not an excuse and I'm won't make them for previous versions of this team. Having said that, at some point the next man up is just not going to be good enough and that holds true for every team not coached by Belichick. This team used 35 different offensive line combinations last year. 35! That is more than 2 per game! No team is successful like that and we are working on a second year of ridiculous numbers like that.

I have seen Alex play and I absolutely believe that with a healthy Crowder, Scherff, Williams and Guice, this team beats Houston on Sunday (and maybe Smith doesn't get injured). That puts us 2 games up right there. After looking at the results from this year I was probably being optimistic in saying 3 games. I thought I remembered another close loss but there isn't one.

I still maintain that this is NOT a bad team though. In fact, I think it's pretty good team. Not great, mind you, but good. This team isn't a threat to go to the Super Bowl. I know that. But it is a far cry better than some of the embarrassing squads we have had to deal with watching over the last 25 years.

I know you are mad at Snyder and want to blame him for everything but if you step back from the anger (which I have plenty of as well) and look at the last few years you will see an owner trying hard to do the right things for the on field product. The fact that all those things haven't worked out doesn't change the effort.

[SkinsOrlando]

Cursed no......makes me curse, YES

[Bulldog]

Yes, the Redskins would have been a better team the past 2 years without all the injuries.

But the point with Smith in 2018 is that for the first 5-6 games of the season before everyone went down, we weren't producing any results in the passing game.

We had wide receivers and tight ends that were averaging less yardage per catch than a running back like Alvin Kamara.

Smith was simply not standing in the pocket and delivering the football. He was pulling the ball down after his first read wasn't there and taking off.

Chris Cooley went through the performance of the receivers and noted how Smith despite having Travis Kelce in Kansas City failed to connect with Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis enough despite their being open on a number of plays down the field over several weeks.

He also missed a wide open Jeremy Sprinkle for a sure touchdown from 8-10 yards out a couple of weeks ago as well as Maurice Harris on a potential long gainer on the outside.

Brian Mitchell indicated he thought Smith was playing very tentatively as if he didn't feel comfortable with the offense or already had an injury of some sort (?) he was trying to play through.

Bottom line, though, both Cooley and Mitchell thought Smith left a lot of plays to be made on the field.

Would we have been less than 6-4 with McCoy as the starter and a younger draft pick being developed as a future go-to guy?

I am not saying we should not have drafted Payne anyway at #13 , but those picks in Round 2 and/or Round 3 were available.

[Elephant]

It's not an excuse and I'm won't make them for previous versions of this team. Having said that, at some point the next man up is just not going to be good enough and that holds true for every team not coached by Belichick. This team used 35 different offensive line combinations last year. 35! That is more than 2 per game! No team is successful like that and we are working on a second year of ridiculous numbers like that.

So what do they do about it in the off-season? Do they sign a new LG and bring in a couple rookies? No. They bring in the oft injured old, horrible LG we had on the team for years who proved inadequate, and draft a single rookie to help. Sounds like solid front office reasoning to me.

I have seen Alex play and I absolutely believe that with a healthy Crowder, Scherff, Williams and Guice, this team beats Houston on Sunday (and maybe Smith doesn't get injured). That puts us 2 games up right there. After looking at the results from this year I was probably being optimistic in saying 3 games. I thought I remembered another close loss but there isn't one.

I was on board for the Smith trade...until I saw him get worse and worse as the season wore on. At least with Cousins last year, he still put up numbers with that abysmal line combination number. Difference this year, our defense is actually pretty good, they sucked last year. The win difference isn't because a conservative Alex Smith, it's because our defense is balling.

As for your assertion about winning the game on Sunday with our starters on offense. Adrian Peterson had 2 TD's Sunday, Guice could have been better? I love how fans suggest a rookie we've never seen play a down in the NFL would be better than a solid old vet who is getting it done, regardless of his physical limitations. And the banged up OL just faced one of the best defensive lines in the game, and did a pretty solid job. Not sure how much more could have been done with Scherff and Trent, but OK...maybe Smith doesn't get sacked 3 times. Crowder? I think last year proved he is not the WR we all want him to be, without other WR's on the team to keep the double teams off him. Quinn proved he could do what Crowder did for most of last year.

I still maintain that this is NOT a bad team though. In fact, I think it's pretty good team. Not great, mind you, but good. This team isn't a threat to go to the Super Bowl. I know that. But it is a far cry better than some of the embarrassing squads we have had to deal with watching over the last 25 years.

I have not said the team is bad, it's mediocre, with a chance to win a poor division. And this is no better than RG3's rookie year, and the 2 playoff runs under Gibbs 2, or even Brad Johnson's single playoff run for us. More of the same, if you ask me...not bad, but definitely not good. Mediocre.

I know you are mad at Snyder and want to blame him for everything but if you step back from the anger (which I have plenty of as well) and look at the last few years you will see an owner trying hard to do the right things for the on field product. The fact that all those things haven't worked out doesn't change the effort.

Look, I am not angry. I defended Snyder for years because I knew (or at least thought) he was a fan, and wanted to win. I am not sold on the "wanting to win" anymore. I think his desire for status and money far outweigh his ability to completely step away from the decisions of the day to day operations to allow someone to build a perennial contender. Bruce Allen ain't that guy...and I'm not sold Doug Williams is, either.

[fansince62]

Neo didn't say anything like that. He said, very clearly, that we'd be a better team the past 2 years without all the injuries. I don't really see how that is a 'contestable' point?

You can. One can also respond that opens the gate to fantasizing that all other teams moved back to the starting line as well. Projecting this into victories is hard to do.

[Rymanofthenorth]

I think we will see against dallass if smith was the problem or if he actually covered up problems.

[fansince62]

Redskins rank 27th in scoring offense. True, injuries have played a role. As I recall, however, the offense's decline started in the second half of the very first game. We can discuss the FO strategy for QB another time. The effects of its practices and ability for uncovering talent for the receiving corps were evident early in preseason.

Like most things with the Redskins, over time, there has never been sustained execellence in any areas of the roster. We seem to always chase the tail. This FO manifestly cannot build a championship roster; it is not adept at discovering nuggets in the mid lower rounds of the draft - it finds players who can play capably for 3 to 4 years. It doesn't unearth ocassional game-changers.

Note that, with the exception of Jordan, our most dependable (i.e., productive/impactful) receviers (Garcon, Jackson) in the recent past have been free agents - not home grown.

The problems for this franchise run much, much deeper than injuries.

[Elephant]

Neo didn't say anything like that. He said, very clearly, that we'd be a better team the past 2 years without all the injuries. I don't really see how that is a 'contestable' point?

It's conjecture.