The Hangover

My favorite scene from The Hangover is when the guys are asleep in their Vegas hotel suite following a night of debauchery. The room was a complete shambles, a white chicken was wondering about, a baby was found in the closet, and when one of them goes to relieve himself, much to his surprise, he finds a roaring tiger in the bathroom.

Through the first three games of the season the Washington Redskins have resembled the trailer for The Hangover. Much like the comedy the Redskins started out rather normally, but have since devolved into a series of unexplained, bizarre, and head scratching events that are all interconnected. To be clear, it's not the Redskins record that's so disconcerting and bothersome. Let's face it, NFL teams start out 1-2 all the time, recover and later find themselves in the hunt for a playoff bid. In fact, it could still happen to the Redskins. But following the performances over the past two weeks, such a scenerio seems less and less likely with each game that passes. This team continues to be plagued by penalties by veterans who should know better, poor tackling, bad clock management, and of late, a once stout defense giving up long and time consuming drives to offenses that usually struggle. These mental errors, accumulated little by little, will drain even the most talented and well intentioned team.

Last week I wrote about the Redskins being close. Close to being a better than average football team. Quite frankly, close to being a playoff contender. It seemed reasonable to me that a team that last year finished 8-8, returned most of it's starters, and a head coach with another year under his belt didn't need to make any major adjustments. On top of that the team upgraded in a few areas, including All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth. While the talent is still there, the teams organizational structure, long term strategy, and lack of motivation displayed yesterday have even left the franchise's most ardent defenders with their hands in the air.

Yesterday's lost to the Detroit Lions has turned into one big hangover for Redskins nation, except no one's laughing. The proverbial shit officially hit the fan yesterday. This wasn't just another loss to another subpar opponent. This was their tiger in the bathroom. Or in the Redskins case, the Lions.

Last week I wrote about the Redskins being close. Close to being a better than average football team. Quite frankly, close to being a playoff contender. It seemed reasonable to me that a team that last year finished 8-8, returned most of it's starters, and a head coach with another year under his belt didn't need to make any major adjustments. On top of that the team upgraded in a few areas, including All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth. While the talent is still there, the teams organizational structure, long term strategy, and lack of motivation displayed yesterday have even left the franchise's most ardent defenders with their hands in the air.

Yesterday's lost to the Detroit Lions has turned into one big hangover for Redskins nation, except no one's laughing. The proverbial shit officially hit the fan yesterday. This wasn't just another loss to another subpar opponent. This was their tiger in the bathroom. Or in the Redskins case, the Lions.Based on the evidence from the first two games, you were probably right in concluding the Redskins were close. Now they've unquestionably taken a step back. How big? We'll probably need to see the Tampa game to decide.

It could be "the season is over!" type bad or it could be "what the hell happened in that game?!" type bad. But we'll need to see more to know for sure.

Good post 12th man. It's so unbelievably nice to read posts that are well-written and thoughtful.

Very well written post 12thMan. I also thought we were close to being a competitive team. The crazy thing is, I still do. During most hangovers there appears to be no end in sight to the feeling of BLAH. But slowly but surely you pull out of it and realize what the problem was and how to avoid it. It's not the end of the world. You learn to make adjustments.

I think we're a little quick to declare what is going to happen. Everyone has an opinion based on what we've seen but that is assuming we will keep playing the same way and make the same mistakes. As Gtripp said, we'll know more after Tampa Bay. Really good post man.

Okay, so we're 5 weeks into our semester and this is the first rainy, chilly, "hoodie" weather we've had up in west Michigan.

And, naturally, it's the first time since April that I want to break out my Redskins hoodie, which I cannot do because THEY LOST TO THE LIONS.

Hangover indeed.

Very well written post 12thMan. I also thought we were close to being a competitive team. The crazy thing is, I still do. During most hangovers there appears to be no end in sight to the feeling of BLAH. But slowly but surely you pull out of it and realize what the problem was and how to avoid it. It's not the end of the world. You learn to make adjustments.

I think we're a little quick to declare what is going to happen. Everyone has an opinion based on what we've seen but that is assuming we will keep playing the same way and make the same mistakes. As Gtripp said, we'll know more after Tampa Bay. Really good post man.

Exactly. That's kinda the point I wanted to bring out without saying. Every hangover eventually ends. It just sucks when you're going through it.

Well, that light may be the light at the end of the tunnel, or it might be a train.

We'll see, no doubt. But right about now, it's hard to stay optimistic. That being said, my undying irrational love of the Redskins tells me that we're going to turn it around, slowly but surely, and we'll be in the mix down the road. I have no evidence for this. I have no plausible argument I can offer in support. But that's my story and I'm sticking to it, even after losing to the 0-19 Lions.

It's always darkest before the dawn. Can it get much darker in here? I really hope not.

Okay, so we're 5 weeks into our semester and this is the first rainy, chilly, "hoodie" weather we've had up in west Michigan.

And, naturally, it's the first time since April that I want to break out my Redskins hoodie, which I cannot do because THEY LOST TO THE LIONS.

Hangover indeed.


OMG! I didn't even think of a poor Skins fan living in Lions territory and having to put up with this. WOW that is rock bottom.

My favorite scene from The Hangover is when the guys are asleep in their Vegas hotel suite following a night of debauchery. The room was a complete shambles, a white chicken was wondering about, a baby was found in the closet, and when one of them goes to relieve himself, much to his surprise, he finds a roaring tiger in the bathroom.

Through the first three games of the season the Washington Redskins have resembled the trailer for The Hangover. Much like the comedy the Redskins started out rather normally, but have since devolved into a series of unexplained, bizarre, and head scratching events that are all interconnected. To be clear, it's not the Redskins record that's so disconcerting and bothersome. Let's face it, NFL teams start out 1-2 all the time, recover and later find themselves in the hunt for a playoff bid. In fact, it could still happen to the Redskins. But following the performances over the past two weeks, such a scenerio seems less and less likely with each game that passes. This team continues to be plagued by penalties by veterans who should know better, poor tackling, bad clock management, and of late, a once stout defense giving up long and time consuming drives to offenses that usually struggle. These mental errors, accumulated little by little, will drain even the most talented and well intentioned team.

Last week I wrote about the Redskins being close. Close to being a better than average football team. Quite frankly, close to being a playoff contender. It seemed reasonable to me that a team that last year finished 8-8, returned most of it's starters, and a head coach with another year under his belt didn't need to make any major adjustments. On top of that the team upgraded in a few areas, including All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth. While the talent is still there, the teams organizational structure, long term strategy, and lack of motivation displayed yesterday have even left the franchise's most ardent defenders with their hands in the air.

Yesterday's lost to the Detroit Lions has turned into one big hangover for Redskins nation, except no one's laughing. The proverbial shit officially hit the fan yesterday. This wasn't just another loss to another subpar opponent. This was their tiger in the bathroom. Or in the Redskins case, the Lions.

Unfortunately, that 8-8 record looks more and more misleading, although it probably already had some glaring signs of problems. Since our 4-1 start last year, we're 5-9, with the 5 wins coming against the Browns (who finished 4-12 and who we beat 14-11), the Lions (who finished 0-16 and who we beat by a touchdown), the Seahawks (who finished 4-12 and who we beat by a field goal), the Eagles, and, this year, the Rams. During that same stretch, we lost to last year's Rams (who finished 2-14) and Bengals (who finished 4-11-1). The win against the Eagles, at least the second one last year (if not possibly the first as well) looks to be the true anomaly.

I also thought that this year's crew could only improve its record from last year, but I realize more and more that last year's 8 wins didn't reflect that actual talent level of the team.

Okay, so we're 5 weeks into our semester and this is the first rainy, chilly, "hoodie" weather we've had up in west Michigan.

And, naturally, it's the first time since April that I want to break out my Redskins hoodie, which I cannot do because THEY LOST TO THE LIONS.

Hangover indeed.

When I was a kid I always wore my Washington Redskins sweatshirt to school after a loss. I figured that it really proved something if you wore the colors after a loss and I always told myself that it would be that much better once the team reached the mountain top because I had been there in the valley. I'm 27 so these were middle school days and the true nadir of Redskins football ('93-'95). Unfortunately I'm still waiting for the mountaintop.