Sunday's Army-Navy game wasn't just for the Patriots

I got a chance to go to see the game yesterday and to be honest I had really low expectations. I really expected a dog of a day with the fans kind of numb on cold, bitter day.

It started out though with one of the better ES Tailgates. Huly and Pez did their usual magic, but also want above and beyond bringing in boxes and boxes of toys for tots and organizing a little fundraiser for our own Chief Zee.

Phillip Daniels not only did a stop-by, but he stayed for about an hour. He and his wife chatted posed for picturesm goofed around, and talked Redskins, the draft... by the way, Phillip is hoping we get RG III, and he is still bleeding B&G. His wife was pretty cool too. They met in high school. They were one grade apart, but Phillip was actually moved up a grade because of his height.

We got to the game and it started out with Rex being as erratic as he could be and then there was that double pump wait for the sack fumble in the endzone and you just thought.... Oh, boy. Then, somehow the game got good and as usual we got reffed.... at least I think we did. When they called back the punt return, the forty yard pass... I knew there was no way they'd ever let a touchdown pass stand. Clearly though, when Santana Moss separated from his man he kicked up a blade of grass and it struck the Pats DB. How can you argue that being hit by the wind sheer from the turbulence Moss left in his wake was not pass interference?

The best part was how crazy the Pats fans went above us. We really got in their heads and they were singing Hail to the Redskins when Moss pitched the ball back to their guy. It was funny.
For me, I would have preferred the win, but the loss is easy to rationalize and doesn't hurt much in a lost season. It was great to see Helu and Royster contribute and know that we will probably have at least pretty good depth on the o-line next year.

That was a gutsy game considering the record and then losing possibly our two most important players on offense to stupidity this week.


As to the title of the thread, it was kind of cool seeing Army and Navy at either endzone during the Redskins game. Then again, when you fight for Washington... you are always a patriot... we represent the nation's capitol... We are the true Patriots! At least that's we I told the Pat's fans.

I liked the Army/Navy endzones. A great touch by the Redskin organization.

Agree the loss is easier to rationalize with this team versus beating the Patriots. Besides...ES would be going ballistic about why we should have lost for a draft pick.

Couple things stick out from yesterday. First, I was left wondering what we could have done if we had Cooley, Davis, Hankerson, Williams, Landry, Otogwe, and even Hightower. We were over matched, yet had the Patriots on the ropes.

The game yesterday also had to send a strong message to Williams and Davis. They had to see a Redskin team fight hard and almost beat the Patriots without them. This should show them they can be replaced.

Yeah, I thought I saw you ate the ES Tailgate but had to run over to get my ticket. My apologies for not introducing myself burg.

As for the game, I had a blast yesterday! Like you, I went in with no expectations. I did think we could win yesterday going in, but was prepared for the worst. I think we did very well bit we did not get enough pressure on Brady. We did pressure him and he was out of his comfort zone, you could tell by the poor throws he made that could have had them up by 3 TD's in the 1st quarter alone, but he is just too good for us to beat him with Rex getting into a slinging match with him. However, down 14-3 very early we did not simply lay down. We went into the half with a tie and nearly tied it up at the end of regulation if it weren't for a BS push off call against Moss we would have.

The thing that I enjoyed most was sitting with some truly old school fans on the Redskins' sidelines about 10 rows back. The old man sitting behind talked of the good ole days and he wasn't referring to Gibbs I, he was talking about sonny. He loved Sonny! He had on earphones (the battery powered ear phones one would have listened to 8 tracks with) and had a set of binoculars, old school accoutrements. He was a little bitter from the past 20 years like so many of us, but he was BGO through and through, and so was his wife!

Yesterday reminded me of why I love this team, it's fans, and the players (past and present). I closed my eyes yesterday as the fans sang Hail to the Redskins (and knew the lyrics) and felt like I was back at RFK for a very brief moment.

One more not about the team: Willie Smith and Maurice Hurt should be very solid backups for us for years to come. I don't see them being starters in the NFL, but I feel confident going forward that they can get the job done if a starter goes down. Tyler Polumbus did well enough filling in too and Montgomery really is settling in well, not an easy task with Vince Wolfork lining up over you.

Ah, would have been good to see you.

It was a good game... in a way, that's sad. This is exactly the kind of game in the glory days that would have driven me nuts and had me going on for days and days because of how we were robbed (and we were).

But, all the side moments were fantastic and the tributes to our servicemen and how Fed Ex stood up as one to salute them was fantastic.

God bless our troops and the USA....

One thing to note for those who attend games...

FedEx is OUR house!!! At no time should an opposing player be allowed to leap into OUR end zone seats!!! Ever!!! Never!!!

If an opposing player attempts to do so in the future, three or four fans should be right there to push him off the wall immediately!!! If that doesn't work, several drinks in the face and certain foods will do the trick.

I'm serious about this request. Wait! I'm serious about this DEMAND!!! Never again!!!

I hate to admit it, but my reaction would've been much more violent. Just saying. But enough is enough. The Patriots are a good team, but that stuff is not allowed.

Hope everyone had a good time yesterday - thanks for all of the updates and reports.