Looking back on '04

With how incredibly mediocre the NFC is, it made me wonder what our record could have been if we had only beat the teams we should have beaten.

The saying goes that good teams beat the lesser teams, and when you match up against other quality teams you can break even but as long as you beat the teams you should beat, you'll likely be a playoff team. Looking back, these 3 games in my opinion were the key to the season.

9/19 vs. the Giants, lost 20-14 in the turnover-fest, this is a game we definitely should have won.

9/27 vs. the Cowboys, another game we definitely should have won considering the Cowboys at that point had no running game at all, with no thanks to the refs in this one we should have came away with a 'W'.

10/3 vs. Cleveland, can you believe we lost to these guys? Granted they weren't the same team then that they are now but still, a winnable game that we flat out didn't get the job done in.

Even if we just went 2-1 in these key losses we're 7-7 right now and very much in the playoff race, if we go 3-0 we're 8-6 and a wildcard favorite.

The lessen here is you've got to beat the bad teams to be a good team.

I'd like to add the Ravens game as well. Really they just had two plays the entire game. But that's all they needed

That Packers game always comes back to haunt me. I cant belive that game.

If only we had Ramsey. I really dont think we lose to the Ravens, Packers or Bengals with him in there. Whatever, nothing we can do now. At least we still have some hope!

I didn't add the Ravens and Pack because I considered them to be quality opponents.

Yeah we could have beaten these teams, but my simple point is if we go 3-0 vs. the Browns, Giants and Cowboys we're very much in the playoff race.

Good teams will lose to other good teams, but if you check the records of good teams vs. bad teams, you'll find that generally good teams will beat up on the lesser teams.

I didn't add the Ravens and Pack because I considered them to be quality opponents.

Yeah we could have beaten these teams, but my simple point is if we go 3-0 vs. the Browns, Giants and Cowboys we're very much in the playoff race.

Good teams will lose to other good teams, but if you check the records of good teams vs. bad teams, you'll find that generally good teams will beat up on the lesser teams.

Good points. I just can't get over that Ravens game. But absolutely, you have to beat the bad teams.

Yeah the Ravens game was a killer, definitely another one that got away

Well if we just averaged 20 pts a game this is gonna make you all crazy. We would be 10-2-1. How bout them apples!!

What is important to remember is this:

1. We are a better team now then we were when we lost those early games.
2. Gibbs is a better coach now that he has seen what the league is going to throw at him.
3. Most of the team and coaching staff will be back next year to continue what they started.

I think that if we were to have a second chance now against the teams we lost against (minus Philly and the Stealers) we would at least break even and probably be more like 9 and 5 instead of the other way around.

AND! How long has it been since we looked this strong in December? I'm still excited about this year, but can't wait till next year....

this team has grown alot this season.

hindsight is always 20/20...

the Skins are a better team than their record indicates, and they will go into next year with a full year under their belt in the Gibbs system. people don't realize how much time it takes to get used to a system...and for many of the offense, this is their 3rd or 4th offense they've had...defensively, 5 for 5...

i heard that 20 point stat this morning and almost spit out my coffee. it's hard to believe if we could have averaged 2 more points per game, a lousy 28 more points, and we could be in the thick of the hunt, not just waiting and praying...