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.

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

[b]9/27 vs. the Cowboys[/b], 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'.

[b]10/3 vs. Cleveland[/b], 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.

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]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.[/QUOTE]

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...

To everyone who ponders what might have happened if only the Skins had been able to score 20 or more points in most of their games, think of this...


If Queen Elizabeth had balls, she'd be King Elizabeth.


She doesn't. The Redskins didn't. Deal with it...



Matty:

You are exactly on point. GOOD teams may lose to other good teams but GOOD teams do NOT lose three games to miserable teams. And you identified three losses to three miserable teams. Ergo...

I was gonna start a similar thread, but didn't want to kill the playoff fever by reliving painful memories. But since the box has been opened...

- What if we only had 6 TOs against the Giants instead of 7?
- What if the refs didn't screw us TWICE with horrible PI calls against Dallas?
- What if the refs called the helmet-to-helmet against Roy Williams (for which he was later fined) at the end of the Dallas game?
- What if Portis doesn't fumble in our red zone when we were up 10-3 against Cleveland?
- What if Betts blocked Ed Reed and/or Brunell didn't fumble when we were up 10-0 against the Ravens?
- What if the refs didn't reverse our go-ahead TD against GB (based on the worst call ever)?
- What if the refs called the PI against Gardner on the very next play?
- What if the refs called the PI against Owens (as it should've been) instead of Springs in the last Eagles game?

Anyways I know it's all in the past but it helps to vent a bit. Unfortuantely our schedule wasn't aligned properly for this team. We had most of our easy games early on when Brunell was in there and the team couldn't stop self destructing. When we got Ramsey in there and started rolling we had to face Philly twice and play in Pittsburgh.

I give Gibbs and the team kudos for sticking with it and not throwing in the towel. After all the turmoil we went though this year, it is amazing that we still have a shot at the playoffs, and I'm happy to be on the bandwagon.