The disease has hit me again

[BeastsoftheNFCeast]

This happens to me all the time, I fall ill with dilusion about the Redskins. At first, I always say what I think will really happen (which in this case is I initially thought that the Skins were going to suck), but then I start thinking, and thinking, and thinkings some more. And I always find a way to convince myself how the Redskins will kick ass. I initially thought that our D-line was a joke, Carter is OK, Griffin is OK, Daniels is junk, Golston is below average but might be good(and neither golston or griffin are run stoppers), and Salevea is junk. Our corners are a mystery (Rogers might improve, Springs always gets injured, and we dont know how Smoot will be with us even though he sucked last year), Our MLB is too old and will be productive but not great, Washington is still good but is 31 and on the downfall of his career, McIntosh is unproven, Taylor seems to be regressing but that might be a cause of our poor defense and not his fault, so that is a mystery, and Landry is a rookie and therefore is unproven. But the disease has now hit me and hit me hard. My heart now says that the skins Defense will be studly next year (even though my brain keeps telling me im wrong, that voice is fading away and will soon be gone). I now think that we have studs at every position except D-line, where Carter and Griffin are quality, and Daniels will be good against the run. Golston is now my only worry. Hes just not a run stopper, hes a pretty good pass rusher, but that makes both our dts pass rushers. (for the record, my ideas on offense have stayed the same, it will be ok averaging maybe 20 pts a game) Am I the only one who is constantly convincing himself to believe things that go against his better judgement. I know this is the NFL and anything can happen, but in all probability it wont.

[12thMan]

Dude, we all catch it as we closer to September. Look back on my own posts, I've ripped GW and Gibbs up one side and down the other. But now they aren't looking so bad. I love them all over again.

That's the great thing about being a fan. It's a love/hate relationship. But usually any hate for your team gives way to the fan inside you.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

...and the only prescription is more cowbell!

[Monkeydad]

I'm relieved....I thought you had the Ramsey Rash. We've finally got that disease under control around here.

[Longtimefan]

Sometime thinking can be a dangerous asset.

Check out "Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10" posted by diehardskin 2982.

[Southpaw]

As much as I try to be a realist, I catch the fever in late summer too. A lot of it depends on preseason, but I'm already more positive than last season, since the alleged starting quarterback isn't a geriatric feeb that throws five yard checkdowns on 3rd and 8.

[Hog1]

Sorry, I can't help.
I'm a Classic Enabler!

[MonkFan4Life]

I too am an enabler. While I try my best to think realisticly/Anti-Washington's success however you want to put it, I'm like Captain Optomism over the Summer. I could give you every reason why the Redskins would make it all the way to the Bowl. I sit in my office and think about how empty my building would be because everyone, well not everyone but at least me and about 5 other guys would be at the parade......BLASTED !!!!!!

I think everyone should be able to dream up their respective Super Bowl hopes, it's your right as a fan to do so. Now if we're in pre-season and the team looks like they did last year then we might want to squash those hopes and dreams. I have a friend who always gets mad, LITERALLY, because I always think the Skins will be good every year. He's a Texans fan, I tell him that you're allowed to dream big and have faith in your team at least until they look like utter shit on the football field.

Hail Joe Gibbs' 4th trophy !

[Aussie_Skins_Fan]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

...and the only prescription is more cowbell!

Man i love that sketch!

[freddyg12]

a dude in my office stopped by & asked about the draft yesterday. I proceeded to spend 10 minutes on what a solid draft if was for us, how JC & the O will be awesome, but that it all depends on how well the D comes together.
I started to say 10-6 or something like that, but I realized that I think that every year we're going to be good. Catching "the disease" is simply part of being a skins fan in the spring. Every year we do something, even this year we picked up Fletcher & Smoot and we're all starting to think the D will be back in the top 10.

So what I told the dude is that I see us as 7-9 at worst, but if team chemistry is rebuilt then we can win 3-5 more of those close games & have a great year. I think fans of any team have a hard time seeing things in the big picture because we spend all our time reading about our team & exaggerating every positive trait of every player & prospect. I mean is it realistic to get excited about Justin Hickman, an undrafted free agent? Probably not, but I couldn't help seeing this guy in my head speeding around Flozell Adams and tomahawking the ball out of Tony Homo's slippery right hand.

So yeah I get the disease & relapse every year. I honestly see this season as more about rebuilding the team's chemistry & identity, more than how much talent we have. We have enough talent to make the playoffs, but to me the real question is can we get back to playing inspired football as we saw in 05?

[BigSKINBauer]

to me it is not a disease. It is enlightenment. Us that are enlightened are the few that know the truth.

[MonkFan4Life]

Preach B.S.B !!!!

Preach !!!!

[Paintrain]

I've got the same affliction but not as bad as years past. Last year I just KNEW we were destined for the playoffs and convinced myself that the pre-season was meaningless. Anything less than 11 wins was inconceiveable.

Now I am optimistic we will be better than last year but not deluded that we are a budding powerhouse. I expect great things offensively but similar struggles on defense. I think our divsion is weaker with no Tuna or Tiki but I don't expect us to run thru it at a 6-2 clip as I expected last year.

Last year I had the full blown fever, now it just a bad case of the sniffles.

[JoeRedskin]

Personally, I go to a camp every spring where I am forced to pray b4 a cardboard cut-out of Joe Gibbs and scream "He is our savior". The counselors (Matty, Saden and Daseal) force me to give them money to recruit others to our cause and yell at me to do more. Sometimes they make me cry, but that's okay cause I am a Skinner and should cry when I have impure thoughts caused by looking at an Eagles Cheerleader calendar.

The crazy thing is I keep going back year after year. It makes me feel good.

[Crazyhorse1]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

Dude, we all catch it as we closer to September. Look back on my own posts, I've ripped GW and Gibbs up one side and down the other. But now they aren't looking so bad. I love them all over again.

That's the great thing about being a fan. It's a love/hate relationship. But usually any hate for your team gives way to the fan inside you.

I'm still thinking disaster, but give me Schobel, Keyshawn, a stud DT, and a viable backup for Campbell ( rather than Brunell or Collins) and I'll start to lose my mind again.