Games against Eagles/Bucs/Bills...

I remain convinced that a 9-7 record will earn a playoff spot in the NFC. That means the Skins are not out of it yet, but they have a tough row to hoe given the balance of their schedule.

And IF they do not make the playoffs, everyone needs to remember these last three weeks because those last three games would be the reason the Redskins are sitting at home in January.

The Redskins are a better team than the Eagles. The Redskins coughed up a hairball and lost that game when they should not have.

The Redskins are equivalent in talent to the Bucs - - but when Jeff Garcia goes down on the second or third play of the game and can't throw a pass when he comes back in the 4th quarter - - the Skins are a better team than the Bucs. The Redskins blew that game when they should not have.

The Redskins are a better team than the Bills. Even with the emotional stress on them all last week, the Redskins had that game in hand and gave it away at the end.

Those three games against three teams the Redskins should have beaten on the basis of talent on the field could be the unravellling of the season.

We should have won 4-6 of our 7 losses. For whatever reason, be it play calling, player execution, clock management, or something else, we simply have not been able to close games. That's what makes people so upset; everyone knows we are in just about every game and SHOULD be a team with a good record, but we are not because of a series of unfortunate events. I just wish people would say as much instead of thinking that we are a pathetic, miserable team the likes of which no one has ever seen.

Unfortunately, however, I can't see us going 9-7. My guess is we end up 7-9 and pick around #12 in the draft.

We should have gone for the win at the end of the game when it was something like 3rd and 6. Grandpa Gibbs wants to have CP (who averaged 2 ypc) run the ball up the middle. Wow you ran a few more seconds off the clock. We should of gone for the first down with a pass. If we get it, we win if we don't what's the worse that could of happened JC throws a pick? We lost anyways. My point, You gotta go for the win!!

You look at the way things round out with the schedule and you want to be optimistic. But it's just so hard to imagine this team winning out, especially after the toll of these last 4 losses. I can't remember anything like this past month in my sports viewing life. 4 improbable losses and, oh yeah, your best player gets murdered.

How can we expect anything from these guys the rest of the season?

And let's not forget the Green Bay and Giants losses where the Skins were in control but found ways to give those games away. Bottom line, Joe Gibbs does not have the players to salt away close games. He needs to stop playing to win games 17-14 because this team cannot hold a lead that is less than 2 touchdowns. How many double digit leads must this team surrender before he sees that? I would be happy if I didn't see our incredibly weak jumbo package for the rest of the season. Most teams convert TDs with 1st and goal inside the 5. We've settled for field goals all year, and that will be this team's undoing when we look back on the season.