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You know what the difference between this Preseason and the last 20-ish is? The Skins are good. And I'm not anticipating the Preseason (and by extension the start of the regular season) just because I'm football-starved. I'm anticipating the start of the Redskins' season because we're good. And I want to see what happens next.
Sometimes, a TV show takes a couple of seasons to get really good, other times it happens quickly. But even when it happens quickly, the second season is almost always better than the first. My favorite show on TV right now may be Justified. The first season was terrific, fun and engaging - it had stand alone episodes that were amazing, and even had a somewhat clear story arc that took place over all 13 episodes to tie everything together. I love that first season.
But the second season? Wow. Just... wow. The relationships gelled more, the villains were... better - more complex and nuanced and the result was a tight, roller-coaster of a season that is incredibly rewatchable an undeniably cool. Not to jinx anything, but so far it is my favorite of the four seasons. I remember going into that season I was excited about it, but it completely surpassed my already high expectations almost immediately.
That's pretty much where I am with the Skins this year. What an amazing, shockingly surprising season last year that was more fun than I can remember in a long time. There are certainly question marks (suspensions, Griff's knee, etc), and I am not expecting a Super Bowl run this year, but I am expecting another fun year.
The cast usually takes a little time to develop chemistry with each other. Tim Olyphaunt and Walton Goggins had it right away, but the other marshals needed some time to develop chemistry with each other and to be worked into the storylines; similarly, the chemistry between Morris and Griff was pretty spectacular immediately, now imagine with a full year and another full training camp under their belts, how well are they going to play together? Last year at this time was a complete mystery, for EVERYONE. Including the players. As much as they may want to claim that they knew Griff would be so amazing from the very first practice, there had to be a lingering doubt or two that maybe it wouldn't translate to the playing field during gametime. Maybe this read-option thing is a gimmick? What if the Butler can't pick up blitzes and gets Griff killed? Can Garcon play well without Peyton throwing him the ball?
There are no doubts now. We have an elite QB, and with that comes an elite offense. We will be scoring points early and often.
The question isn't, "Will we be any good?" It's, "HOW good will we be?"
As a side note, Justified season two featured one of my favorite villains of all time, Mags Bennett, just a tremendous character who embraced the evil of her character which also humanizing her decisions to make it more relatable to the audience. Well, Mara certainly isn't relatable, but we do have our villain, folks. I am going to love to hate that ******* for a LONG time for the cap penalties that he fabricated. The Giants have moved to the top of my most-hated teams list due solely to the fabrication, and I can not wait for Griff to universally replace Eli as the best QB in the division, which shouldn't take long. I will enjoy beating the Giants twice a year for a while now.
Anyway, it's time folks. The second act starts tonight, and I have no idea what's going to happen or how the season will turn out.
But I do know we're going to be good. And I haven't been able to say that unequivocally for a long time. Feels pretty damned good to say.
Sometimes, a TV show takes a couple of seasons to get really good, other times it happens quickly. But even when it happens quickly, the second season is almost always better than the first. My favorite show on TV right now may be Justified. The first season was terrific, fun and engaging - it had stand alone episodes that were amazing, and even had a somewhat clear story arc that took place over all 13 episodes to tie everything together. I love that first season.
But the second season? Wow. Just... wow. The relationships gelled more, the villains were... better - more complex and nuanced and the result was a tight, roller-coaster of a season that is incredibly rewatchable an undeniably cool. Not to jinx anything, but so far it is my favorite of the four seasons. I remember going into that season I was excited about it, but it completely surpassed my already high expectations almost immediately.
That's pretty much where I am with the Skins this year. What an amazing, shockingly surprising season last year that was more fun than I can remember in a long time. There are certainly question marks (suspensions, Griff's knee, etc), and I am not expecting a Super Bowl run this year, but I am expecting another fun year.
The cast usually takes a little time to develop chemistry with each other. Tim Olyphaunt and Walton Goggins had it right away, but the other marshals needed some time to develop chemistry with each other and to be worked into the storylines; similarly, the chemistry between Morris and Griff was pretty spectacular immediately, now imagine with a full year and another full training camp under their belts, how well are they going to play together? Last year at this time was a complete mystery, for EVERYONE. Including the players. As much as they may want to claim that they knew Griff would be so amazing from the very first practice, there had to be a lingering doubt or two that maybe it wouldn't translate to the playing field during gametime. Maybe this read-option thing is a gimmick? What if the Butler can't pick up blitzes and gets Griff killed? Can Garcon play well without Peyton throwing him the ball?
There are no doubts now. We have an elite QB, and with that comes an elite offense. We will be scoring points early and often.
The question isn't, "Will we be any good?" It's, "HOW good will we be?"
As a side note, Justified season two featured one of my favorite villains of all time, Mags Bennett, just a tremendous character who embraced the evil of her character which also humanizing her decisions to make it more relatable to the audience. Well, Mara certainly isn't relatable, but we do have our villain, folks. I am going to love to hate that ******* for a LONG time for the cap penalties that he fabricated. The Giants have moved to the top of my most-hated teams list due solely to the fabrication, and I can not wait for Griff to universally replace Eli as the best QB in the division, which shouldn't take long. I will enjoy beating the Giants twice a year for a while now.
Anyway, it's time folks. The second act starts tonight, and I have no idea what's going to happen or how the season will turn out.
But I do know we're going to be good. And I haven't been able to say that unequivocally for a long time. Feels pretty damned good to say.
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