some perspective on the season so far
 

If we looked at the first 5 games of the season back in August and tried to predict what would have happened, a 2-3 start probably wouldn't have been that far fetched of an idea.

Vikings - I think most of us would have predicted a 'W' here. Definitely one they should have won.

Cowboys - on the road in Dallas, I think a good part of us would have predicted a 'L'.

Texans - Most of us would have predicted a 'W' and they got it.

Jaguars - This makes up for the Vikings loss, I think a good part of us would have predicted a 'L', a surprising win to say the least.

Giants - I can't remember the last time they played well in NY. I'm sure alot of us would have slated this one as a 'L'.

So there we go. If you would have told me after 5 games the Skins would be 2-3, I would have been disappointed but I can see the logic.

Wilbon's article in the WP today makes alot of sense. Road games in the East are very tough games to win. Add in the fact the Giants had 2 weeks to prepare and they were a desperate team, and the Skins were coming off a very emotional 'W' against the Jags, and perhaps our expectations for this game were a little off.

After all, we got hammered 36-0 in the Meadowlands last year and ended up playing a week later into the postseason than the Giants. So, as Wilbon said:

[quote]Sometimes a loss isn't a window to a bigger picture. Sometimes there's no greater meaning to draw from an athletic event than the result of the day. And the Washington Redskins' 19-3 loss to the Giants on Sunday is probably such a case in point.[/quote]

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Matty, I going to start referring to you as The Eye of the Storm. As much chaos and "we suck" posting that blows around the Warpath you manage to bring solace and comfort to those caught amidst the turbulent waters of doubt and confusion.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Good summary Matty. I guess my expectations are too high. I expected the Skins to beat the Vikings and Texans. I expected them to be competitive against the Jaguars, Cowboys and Giants.

The Viking lost hurt bad. Too may missed opportunities. Any lost the Cowboys is extremely painly, no matter the situation. Despite the poor play in Dallas, they had an opportunity to comeback in that game and Brunnel faltered down the stretch, thus my calling for Brunnel to be benched. Brunnel redeemed himself against the Texans, but in my view that would have been a good opportunity to give Jason Campbell some experience against a weaker foe before some tougher games ahead. The Skins won a barn burner against Jacksonville. Brunnel still throwing the 5 yard dinks and dunks. His receivers and running backs bailed him with great runs after the catch. He did not escape from my doghouse. He showed his rear-end again against the Giants. The Giants were prepared for the short passes and force him to throw deep and Brunnel can't deliver. I wonder how long Gibbs is going to stay with a quarterback that throw deep? Bench Brunnel while the season is young.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

I agree that 2-3 is about what I expected after the first five games, but the most frustrating part about this team is the multiple faces it displays from week to week. One week they have a shootout with a top three defense and pull out a win. Then, they follow that up with a piss poor performance against a Giants team that has played like ass for all but one quarter of this season, before yesterdays game. And it's not like this is a new theme in Washington. This is the same way they've played for the past ten seasons, excluding last season.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[quote=Southpaw;226125]I agree that 2-3 is about what I expected after the first five games, but the most frustrating part about this team is the multiple faces it displays from week to week. One week they have a shootout with a top three defense and pull out a win. Then, they follow that up with a piss poor performance against a Giants team that has played like ass for all but one quarter of this season, before yesterdays game. And it's not like this is a new theme in Washington. This is the same way they've played for the past ten seasons, excluding last season.[/quote]

Looks who's back! I only see you when we lose.....

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[quote=hesscl34;226127]Looks who's back! I only see you when we lose.....[/quote]


Actually, I was on vacation last week, so I only caught the highlights of the Jags game. I didn't feel it would be fair to comment on anyone's performance when I didn't see the whole game, but what I did see from Brunell actually gave me hope. Then, wouldn't you know it. 100 passing yard... Woohoo.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

wilbon writing an article that makes sense? the one thing i didn't like about the game yesterday was, after halftime, we are playing like crap, no adjustments, and no sense of urgency

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Can we still make the playoffs? Sure. We're going to have to get on a big roll in December again, and we're going to need to take care of our NFC East home games.

It ain't over yet. But we really need Shawn Springs. I mean bad. We'll beat Tennessee without him, but we need him back to have a chance against Indy on the 22nd. After that it's a bye week, so he better get back after that, because then we're home against Dallas on the 5th (which I'll be in the stands for!).

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

One thing we might also want to keep in mind is that for the first time in a long time this is not an all or nothing season. We have developed a core group of young players and the window for winning isnt all on this one season like it has been since Synder took over. Id love the skins to win and go all the way to the super bowl as much as the next guy, but whats probably more important at this time, with a new offense and an injury depleted secondary, is improvement. This game in no way was nearly as bad as last year and we have shown improvement thus far in the season, we just need to be more consistant week to week. This team is built to last and this loss will prove to be meaningless when all is said and done. We need to separate ourselves from that old mentality and look at the big picture

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Matty, excellent points as usual.. Fans (myself included) are so funny, after the Cowboys game we all were calling for Brunell to be benched, let's scrap the season and see what Campbell can do.. After beating Jax we were all saying this is the year, the offense is great, let's run the table. We are probably where we should be either 2-3 or 3-2 at this point in the season.

The key games, once again, will come at home and in October and November. We need to win 6 of the next 8 to get to 8-5 going into the last few weeks. There are more viable players this year for playoff spots (Philly, N.O., Atlanta, St. Louis, Minn.) than last year but some of those will fade and we play all but Minnesota later in the season so we have to take care of our business.

I still find it hard to beleive that Shawn Springs means THAT much to our defense that we are scared to blitz without him but his return should be a major boost if that is the case. With no new major injuries, a better understanding of the offense and the stability that Gibbs brings (although I could have choked him for not going for that 4th down yesterday!) the glass case around the panic button should be intact for a little while longer.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=dmek25;226144]no adjustments, and no sense of urgency[/QUOTE]

NONE! :madani:

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

I agree with the general nature of this thread...the world is not coming to an end.

But, I see that Vikings loss being the difference between making or missing the playoffs. We should have won that hands down, even if the offense was unfamiliar with the offense and the Vikings are better than people expected.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

i'm so tired of this big swing in playing. one week we look like we could be undefeated, and the next week they look like they could be winless. i'm just so tired of it!

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Great post, Matty. I agree. And as bad as we looked in our losses, we know we can play well, and especially on D, that we can play better.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Also, as bad as our defense looked yesterday, we still only gave up 19 points. We have to do something against the long ball, but 19 points SHOULD have been low enough for our offense to do something with.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Will someone please HIT THE PANIC BUTTON!! SOMEONE?!?!?

If there was such a thing, now is the time to press it, not when it's too late.

The season is NOT over.. it's not cooked......yet.

However, we HAVE to get this team turned around RIGHT HERE!
If we want a chance to grab a wildcard at 10-6, we have to go 8-2! (assuming loss @indy). There is no time for working things out or giving things time to gel. GOTO PLAN B RIGHT NOW. Saunders needs to move pass this shuffle play offense thats now obviously been over exposed on film for too many weeks. ....And if he needs to make player changes to get his REAL offense executed then by ALL means get it done. This is no time to hold onto player's feelings and friendships. That time was on opening day when its "all good". WAKEUP!! RED ALERT!! MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS!! Its all about survival now.

We need to get aggressive on offense AND defense. ATTACK ATTACK LIKE APACHES... Set the tempo, hit someone in the mouth, and then hit em AGAIN. We're playing scared AGAIN on both sides of the ball.. These players NEED TO GET MAD.. I see a bunch of pouters, and excuse makers in the lockeroom.

Someone better do "it" NOW because we are a handful of losses away from being out of the hunt, and there's still alot of games left!!

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Maybe we should hit the Easy button?

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;226102]If we looked at the first 5 games of the season back in August and tried to predict what would have happened, a 2-3 start probably wouldn't have been that far fetched of an idea.[/QUOTE]


I might have been a surprise of those that said the team's performance in preseason was nothing to worry about, don't you think?

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=Southpaw;226136]Actually, I was on vacation last week, so I only caught the highlights of the Jags game. I didn't feel it would be fair to comment on anyone's performance when I didn't see the whole game, but what I did see from Brunell actually gave me hope. Then, wouldn't you know it. 100 passing yard... Woohoo.[/QUOTE]

Yep. And last year's popular excuse: "Brunell's got nobody other than Moss and Cooley to throw to" won't work this season.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

i'm just worried about our in-conference and division record. i see us as having to go 8-3 or better (likely 9-2) to make the playoffs.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;226150]Can we still make the playoffs? Sure. We're going to have to get on a big roll in December again, and we're going to need to take care of our NFC East home games.
[/QUOTE]

We're going to have to start much sooner than December. Right now, we are 0-3 in the conference. Last year, we were 10-2 and controlled our own destiny with making the playoffs. Before December, we're @ Philly, @ Tampa Bay and have Carolina and Dallas at home. The Bucs fight like dogs every week but keep coming up short -- they will be no pushovers. Then we have games @ New Orleans, @ St. Louis, and a home game against Atlanta (who runs the ball very well - and that's something we haven't been too good at stopping yet.)

That's a brutal schedule no matter how you look at it. They'd have to be undefeated with the rest of the NFC, and then still may have to depend on someone else to lose in order to squeak into the playoffs.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

I'm with Matty. Actually, when the schedules were posted several months ago, My sons and I put down the "W"s and "L"s to see how well we could call it. So far, I'm only off with the Viking loss; the other 4 I've been right. Not that I don't believe in our team, but I see a win next week, a loss following that (Indy coming off of a bye)... then we start running the table.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[quote=50-GUT;226183]Will someone please HIT THE PANIC BUTTON!! SOMEONE?!?!?

If there was such a thing, now is the time to press it, not when it's too late.

The season is NOT over.. it's not cooked......yet.

However, we HAVE to get this team turned around RIGHT HERE!
If we want a chance to grab a wildcard at 10-6, we have to go 8-2! (assuming loss @indy). There is no time for working things out or giving things time to gel. GOTO PLAN B RIGHT NOW. Saunders needs to move pass this shuffle play offense thats now obviously been over exposed on film for too many weeks. ....And if he needs to make player changes to get his REAL offense executed then by ALL means get it done. This is no time to hold onto player's feelings and friendships. That time was on opening day when its "all good". WAKEUP!! RED ALERT!! MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS!! Its all about survival now.

We need to get aggressive on offense AND defense. ATTACK ATTACK LIKE APACHES... Set the tempo, hit someone in the mouth, and then hit em AGAIN. We're playing scared AGAIN on both sides of the ball.. These players NEED TO GET MAD.. I see a bunch of pouters, and excuse makers in the lockeroom.

Someone better do "it" NOW because we are a handful of losses away from being out of the hunt, and there's still alot of games left!![/quote]

I agree. It is time to panic. This team is under-achieving and if its time for the coaches to get in their faces a little. Especially the Offensive Line. They should be the best in football, but they only show up for home games. If I see Jansen laughing it up with the other team after an ass-beating like that, one more time, I will puke. Where is the intensity, the professional pride. I bet he never laughed it up with the Buckeyes after an Ohio State game, win or lose.

I disagree that the Giants game should have been counted as a loss in the beginning of the season. The Giants aren't very good. A good team would have put 40 on us yesterday. If we had just played average we would have had a chance. When I look at the schedule, yesterday's game was one they needed to win. This team was supposed to be a threat to win it all this year. There window of opportunity is closing very quickly. They cannot wait until December to get serious this year.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

yeah, it's not the end of the world, but the manner in which we've lost has been pretty discouraging. the wins have been the exact opposite though.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=That Guy;226358]yeah, it's not the end of the world, but the manner in which we've lost has been pretty discouraging. the wins have been the exact opposite though.[/QUOTE]

What is discouraging to me is even if we are bad there is always next years draft. Not in 07 because we trade almost the hole draft away! We really put all our eggs in this season!

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Heres some perspective for ya.........
I wore my moss jersey to school today with pride in my skins becuase i just relized that the skins had a bye yesterday and i was watching some other burgundy and gold team playing the giants. Man life is so much better that way. Then after school i drove away in my car with my skins flags flying becuase i know the skins are coming off their bye this week to kick some Titan ass.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=Redskin;226370]Heres some perspective for ya.........
I wore my moss jersey to school today with pride in my skins becuase i just relized that the skins had a bye yesterday and i was watchign some other burgundy and gold team playing the giants. Man life is so much better that way. Then after school i drove away in my car with my skins flags flying becuase i know the skins are coming off their bye this week to kick some Titan ass.[/QUOTE]

It's really hard to watch the 90's and 2000's teams. Except for a few players like Moss,Washington,Taylor and Portis it just like the old Redskins i grew up on!

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;226150]Can we still make the playoffs? Sure. We're going to have to get on a big roll in December again, and we're going to need to take care of our NFC East home games.

It ain't over yet. But we really need Shawn Springs. I mean bad. We'll beat Tennessee without him, but we need him back to have a chance against Indy on the 22nd. After that it's a bye week, so he better get back after that, because then we're home against Dallas on the 5th (which I'll be in the stands for!).[/QUOTE]



Good to see a little optomism and faith in our team despite the fact we struggle at times to be consistent. It seems that some of us here have forgotten that old addage that "on any given Sunday" I drew a sense of solance from Wilbon's article in the Post this morning, as a matter of fact it was the first article I read. To be 2-3 at this point is exactly what I thought we would be after looking at our schedule. We must win our division games at home however to have a realistic chance at the post-season.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

There are about 5 games you're going to win regardless and 5 games you're going to lose regardless - its the other 6 games that make or break the season.

This was one of the 5 games the Skins were NOT going to win, and they knew that as they got on the bus. It showed in every aspect of the game - they packed it in.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

But the problem is, if you went over the schedule each week and said this is a losable game, this is a winable game, you would have us going 8-8 probably. So even though 2-3 is not outrageous, we are a far way away from being where we need to be. Last year at this point we were 3-2 and that extra win - that game on the road in Dallas that we "shouldn't" have won by Wilbon's or anyone else's criteria - turned out to be the difference between us making the playoffs and Dallas staying at home.

Yeah, we can still salvage a good season, but not if we dont win a bunch of games which it would otherwise be reasonable for us to lose.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=DeSkined;226401]There are about 5 games you're going to win regardless and 5 games you're going to lose regardless - its the other 6 games that make or break the season.

This was one of the 5 games the Skins were NOT going to win, and they knew that as they got on the bus. It showed in every aspect of the game - they packed it in.[/QUOTE]


You are correct in your way of thinking because as much as I was hoping we would win that game yesterday, I knew our chances were slim. The Giants had two weeks to prepare, they were desperate to get a win. and we were coming off an emotional high of the last two weeks. It's difficult enough to win three games in a row in the NFL, and further complicated when you have to play a divisional foe on the road. Plus the Giants have weapons, you can't look at them and say "we should win this game". I was not totally shocked by the outcome of yesterday's game.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

The Giants were well prepared...the Redskins were riding emotions off a huge home victory. Sometimes those things are ingredients for a big let down. It's always been tough winning in the Meadowlands. I don't believe this spells doom and gloom for this team, nor do I feel it's time to start pointing at one game and deciding it's the reason why we MAY NOT make it to the playoffs. I believe things will get better.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=724Skinsfan;226116]Matty, I going to start referring to you as The Eye of the Storm. As much chaos and "we suck" posting that blows around the Warpath you manage to bring solace and comfort to those caught amidst the turbulent waters of doubt and confusion.[/QUOTE]

Darn, you sound like a poet (he, he). In all seriousness I can't say I'm terribly upset--just disappointed. I have complete confidence in Gibbs; just not sure about what's happening to the rest of the group. On a positive note, we seem to have a lot of guys with good character, and that will be the biggest factor in bouncing back from a loss like this.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Matty I agree with the theme of your post, but the problem for me is that I had high hopes for this team at the start of the season.

I thought we could be a serious SB contender, but to do so we'd need home-field or at least a first round bye in the playoffs. But I also knew this would be almost impossible given our tough division. The Bears and Seahawks are both good teams, and their schedules are a joke compared to ours. Still I agree with this:

[QUOTE=70Chip;226264]I disagree that the Giants game should have been counted as a loss in the beginning of the season. The Giants aren't very good. A good team would have put 40 on us yesterday. If we had just played average we would have had a chance. When I look at the schedule, yesterday's game was one they needed to win. This team was supposed to be a threat to win it all this year. There window of opportunity is closing very quickly. They cannot wait until December to get serious this year.[/QUOTE]

IMO a real SB contender finds a way to win that Vikings game at home (though the Vikes were better than expected). The Bears did just that against the Vikes and they weren't at home.

And I understand our division is tough, but is 4-2 in the division so much to ask for from a supposed SB contender? Like 70Chip said I don't think the Giants are very good and they were teetering on the brink of collapse. We could have ended their season right there. But we don't seem to have the urgency.

And what's worse is...

I don't think we have the talent.

I think there is hope for the offense. We have tons of weapons and I have faith in the scheme. When we've looked good we really do look like Saunders' Chiefs and it's fun to watch. But this offense all depends on the O-line, and like others have mentioned, I think ours is average at best. This is the highest paid unit on our team and they must earn it if we're gonna be a serious contender. I hope in time they can become more consistent (and cut down on the penalties!) as they learn the new scheme. But time is running out.

And the D scares the hell out of me, that's all I can really say about it. Springs and Prioleau out are killing us, but still. We haven't stopped ANYBODY. Leftwich ripped us apart all game and we blew a 10-point 4th quarter lead at home like nothing. If we lose that OT coin-flip, we lose that game.

I guess I can summarize like this:

Let's say theoretically the Skins rally back, get into the playoffs, and even win a 1st round game. Does anybody really think this team can go into Chicago or Seattle (or both) and win? From what I've seen so far, I think the Bears would murder poor Brunell, and I shudder to think what Hasselbeck and the Seahawks would do to our D.

Right now the Super Bowl seems very far away.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[quote=dmek25;226144]wilbon writing an article that makes sense? the one thing i didn't like about the game yesterday was, after halftime, we are playing like crap, no adjustments, and no sense of urgency[/quote]
I was thinking ..well it's close at halftime .. we are in good shape..They will make the adjustments.... Like against Jacksonville....Just didn't happen...

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

First off I am not going to go negative, I did too much of that last year, and engaged in way too much Brunell bashing, which does not lead anything constructive. Joe Gibbs believes in Brunell, so that is good enough for me, I am just Joe the Fan, like they say on the John Thompson show on AM 980 here in DC. If we look back at one of the greatest Redskin teams of all time it was quaterbacked by Mark Rypien, who I remembered has a dubious stretch were he set a record for fumbles, obviously not during the 1991 season. Anyhow there are plenty of games left, this team still needs to gel, like it did last year on it's playoff march. Hopefully that will happen soon. If the team can win these next two games, I think they can set up Dallas to walk into a buzz saw at Fed Ex, and then start something special this season. Hail to the Redskins.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[QUOTE=Hogroll;226240]I'm with Matty. Actually, when the schedules were posted several months ago, My sons and I put down the "W"s and "L"s to see how well we could call it. So far, I'm only off with the Viking loss; the other 4 I've been right. Not that I don't believe in our team, but I see a win next week, a loss following that (Indy coming off of a bye)... then we start running the table.[/QUOTE]
"Indy coming off a bye.." Why is it we play 3 teams coming off of byes??? cowboys, giants and colts?.. Any other teams in the league have to play 3 teams coming off of byes in their schedules? Seems like a lot.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

[quote=dblanch66;226680]"Indy coming off a bye.." Why is it we play 3 teams coming off of byes??? cowboys, giants and colts?.. Any other teams in the league have to play 3 teams coming off of byes in their schedules? Seems like a lot.[/quote]

The funny thing is, the Giants had only won four out of their last 23 games coming off the bye week. Unfortunately, three of those four wins were against Washington...

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

Matty, I agree that 2-3 isn't that farfetched, but I don't think anyone would have predicted an 0-3 conference record. If the Skins don't right the ship in a hurry, we're looking at almost no chance of enjoying the upper hand we had in division/conference tie-breakers last season. As for the Wilbon article, he's correct that we shouldn't be surprised by a loss, but it's the way the team offered no resistance that is so disappointing. At least Dallas put up a fight in Philly. Boswell's column captured the essense of the second Gibbs regime - this team only gets up for a game when it's backed in a corner.

Re: some perspective on the season so far
 

9-7 probably won't make the playoffs this year, especially with the nasty tiebreaker situation we currently find ourselves in (0-2 division, 0-3 conference).

We need to get to 10-6.

As you look at the schedule, you gotta figure we're in trouble when we go to Indy and go to Philly. If we lose those two games, we're up to 5 losses.

That means we'd have to go 8-1 against our three division opponents at home, the Titans, Rams, Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Buccaneers.

Do we all realize what an uphill battle that is? We either need to steal a big one from the Colts or when we go to Philly, or need to come up absolutely huge in November and December.

Being at 2-3 is not something the team should have expected, nor should we be saying oh gee that's par for the course given our schedule. We're in a big big hole. We can still climb out of it, but I can't accept 2-3 as some kind of acceptable situation.