Commanders Post at The Warpath - View Single Post

calia · 11-13-2011, 05:15 PM

As much as I would like to hope that next year's Skins will be this year's 49ers, there are two reasons why I suspect that this will not be the case. First, the 49ers showed some signs of life at the end of last year with their team playing better as the season wore on. It is the mark of a team headed in the right direction. This year (and I realize that we have a bunch of games left), it is hard to imagine this group being competitive here on our, much less win a game or two. 9 points against the Dolphins? 1 TD in 3 weeks? Pathetic by any measure. Second, while I might agree that we have a nucleus of talent, we do not appear to have any leadership on this team, save for London Fletcher on D. The 49ers have a pretty firey coach -- like him or not, he has his team believing that they can win every week. I don't think Shanahan is a bad coach, but in a league of "what have you done for me lately," one has to think back a long way before you can point to a real accomplishment.

Last year, we struggled to 6-10. This year, it seems like there's a likelihood that we will actually do worse than that (it seems very unlikely that we can tie last season's record). It isn't as though we can look to real stud players that we've lost since Shanahan took over; if anything, folks would likely agree that the roster has made modest improvements (it's at least younger). But there's precious little to show for it. And that does not suggest that we're on the right track here.

Sorry to be doom and gloom. I have been a fan since about 1973 or so. But this franchise is starting to feel cursed. It's been 20 years since the Redskins were relevant on a regular basis. That is a long, long time.

What's crazy is that teams that have been bottom dwellers for years -- the Lions, Bengals, 49ers, Bills -- are stepping up and playing well this season (for the most part). Of those teams, I suspect that the Lions and 49ers will actually be able to sustain it, and perhaps the Bengals as well (unsure about the Bills). It seems like for the Redskins, being good is always just out of reach. It's like Alice in Wonderland: jam yesterday and jam tomorrow, but never jam today.

Just once -- once -- I would like to see this team go out and just want to kick the crap out of another team. The O-line to play mean and to beg to smash the ball down the throats of an opponent, and for the D to hope that the offense scores quickly so they can go out on the field and pummel someone. I just don't see our guys with that attitude. It has been about 2 decades since we've seen that.

Sad that we're all focused on next year and it is before Thanksgiving.

11-13-2011, 05:15 PM	#486
calia Playmaker Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Woodside, CA Age: 57 Posts: 3,759	Re: Redskins v. Dolphins Gameday Thread As much as I would like to hope that next year's Skins will be this year's 49ers, there are two reasons why I suspect that this will not be the case. First, the 49ers showed some signs of life at the end of last year with their team playing better as the season wore on. It is the mark of a team headed in the right direction. This year (and I realize that we have a bunch of games left), it is hard to imagine this group being competitive here on our, much less win a game or two. 9 points against the Dolphins? 1 TD in 3 weeks? Pathetic by any measure. Second, while I might agree that we have a nucleus of talent, we do not appear to have any leadership on this team, save for London Fletcher on D. The 49ers have a pretty firey coach -- like him or not, he has his team believing that they can win every week. I don't think Shanahan is a bad coach, but in a league of "what have you done for me lately," one has to think back a long way before you can point to a real accomplishment. Last year, we struggled to 6-10. This year, it seems like there's a likelihood that we will actually do worse than that (it seems very unlikely that we can tie last season's record). It isn't as though we can look to real stud players that we've lost since Shanahan took over; if anything, folks would likely agree that the roster has made modest improvements (it's at least younger). But there's precious little to show for it. And that does not suggest that we're on the right track here. Sorry to be doom and gloom. I have been a fan since about 1973 or so. But this franchise is starting to feel cursed. It's been 20 years since the Redskins were relevant on a regular basis. That is a long, long time. What's crazy is that teams that have been bottom dwellers for years -- the Lions, Bengals, 49ers, Bills -- are stepping up and playing well this season (for the most part). Of those teams, I suspect that the Lions and 49ers will actually be able to sustain it, and perhaps the Bengals as well (unsure about the Bills). It seems like for the Redskins, being good is always just out of reach. It's like Alice in Wonderland: jam yesterday and jam tomorrow, but never jam today. Just once -- once -- I would like to see this team go out and just want to kick the crap out of another team. The O-line to play mean and to beg to smash the ball down the throats of an opponent, and for the D to hope that the offense scores quickly so they can go out on the field and pummel someone. I just don't see our guys with that attitude. It has been about 2 decades since we've seen that. Sad that we're all focused on next year and it is before Thanksgiving.