HA!

...a feeling deep inside
Oh yeah, Oh yeah.

I've got a feeling, a feeling I can't hide
Oh no, Oh no, Oh no...

Skins - Cowboys Preview

...I got a feelin'...

This is Campbell's breakout year.

Let's Go Mets

Wile E Belichick, Super Genius

Bill Parcells never won a Super Bowl or Conference championship without Bill Belichick at his side running the defense. Many in the NFL whisper that it was really Belichick who gave Parcells the trophies, not the other way around, especially after Belichick won three on his own with the Patriots. Belichick never disputed the whispers. Perhaps he believes them.

In the NFL they keep records. Let's look at Wile E's head coaching record:

Overall: 144 - 86 - 0

That is genius territory, alright. Brilliant.

But let's break it out:

First HC job:
Cleveland: 36 - 44 (wince)

Humans usually hit their IQ peak before the age of 39 when Belichick took the job. What happened? Well, Cleveland has been bad for years; maybe it wasn't his fault.

Second and current HC job:
New England:
2000: 5 - 11 (Huh?)
2001: First two games: 0 - 2 (What?)
2008: Last game: 0 - 1 (a blowout loss at home to a team that won one game in 2007? How can this be?)

So, in these games the Genius has 41 wins and 58 losses for a 0.414 winning percentage.

Four-fourteen? Genius? Belichick said his most embarrassing moment in the NFL was when the Giants passed him over for the head coaching job and gave it to Ray Handley. Handley, was run out of town after two years, but even he could muster a 14 - 18 record for a 0.438 winning percentage. Rich Kotite had a 41 win and 57 loss record (0.418) as head coach of the Eagles and Jets. Kotite is considered one of the worst coaches in NFL history.

You think I am being unfair to Belichick for selecting certain games out of specific seasons? You must have guessed the significance by now.

Without Tom Brady at QB: 41 - 58 (0.414)
All other games 1991 through 2008: 103 - 28 - 0 ( 0.786)

With Tom Brady at quarterback, Belichick is a genius Hall of Fame coach.

Without Tom Brady at quarterback, Belichick is Lloyd Christmas; he's worse than Ray Handley and Rich Kotite.

That's enough of the Hall of Fame talk; enough of the genius label.

HOLD THE PRESSES!!! Carlos Rogers Caught a Ball that Hit His Hands / Redskins 24 - Cards 17 / What to Make of these Skins

In the second round of the playoffs in 2005, the Redskins had a 3 - 0 lead over Seattle with 8:54 left in the second quarter. The Seahawks were deep in their own territory when Hasselbeck dropped back to pass, look to his right, saw nothing, quickly spun to his left and let fly a duck. The Redskins' high first-round draft pick at cornerback that year, rookie Carlos Rogers, played it perfectly. Rogers stepped in front of the receiver near the 25-yard line, had all his momentum heading toward the goal line and there was not a soul in his way.

The Redskins defense had already knocked out of the game Seattle's best offensive weapon, running back Shaun Alexander, when an Arrington tackle gave him a concussion. Alexander had rushed for 1,880 yards that season and scored 28 TDs. The Redskins were about to take a commanding, crowd silencing, 10 - 0 lead into halftime in Seattle while their staff was busy making flight arrangements for the NFC Championship game in Carolina.

The Redskins had finished 10 - 2 in the Conference that year, including a regular season win against Seattle, and it would have been 11 - 1 had the referees in the Tampa Bay game overturned a bad call on a last play, two-point conversion attempt by Alstott. With a correct call, the Redskins would have been preparing to host Joe Gibbs's sixth NFC Championship game, and given their dominance of the NFC that year, they likely would have been the NFC representative in Joe Gibbs's fifth Super Bowl.

All Rogers had to do was catch the ball that hit him in the hands, chest-high between the numbers. But Rogers dropped the ball.

Seattle kept the ball and finished that drive with a touchdown and a lead they never gave up.

I had given the rookie a break on that drop. He was new, had shown great cover skills, and had missed part of the year with an injury. It was easy to forgive him when it looked like the Skins secondary was going to dominate passing offenses for years with Rogers, Springs, and Taylor. And, it became clear over the next few years that Gibbs had done a great job in that draft because Rogers's coverage skills were outstanding. He was always around the ball...and he always seemed to drop them.

Take the first game of this season, for example. With the Redskins offense still trying to get a grip on Zorn's west coast offense, the Redskins defense stepped up and held the defending champs to just 16-points. And, Eli Manning was very generous. It's just that Rogers was equally generous when he let two of Manning's gifts hit the turf after they had hit his hands. Two more interceptions of Manning passes were dropped by other players.

Redskins 24 - Cards 17
So forgive Skins fans for dreaming what it would have been like if Rogers could catch. Well, yesterday we got a glimpse of what it could be like. In the fourth quarter, with the score tied at 17 each, Rogers made an incredibly athletic play to make an interception and then got up and ran it 42-yards to the Cards 15-yard line.




Two plays later Campbell passed to Moss for the TD that put them ahead for good.

WTF?
On the Skins next possession with 9:55 left in the game and a seven-point lead, Campbell scrambled to his right, saw rookie wide receiver Devin Thomas all alone, fired a strike on the run and watched as Thomas jogged 68-yards for a game-icing TD. Unfortunately, the play was called back for unnecessary roughness. What happened? Well, with the play still live, with Campbell still scrambling with the ball in his hand, right tackle Stephon Heyer blocked the Cards' defensive end too hard.

I am not kidding. No, he did not hit him high while another player hit him low; that would be a penalty. No, he did not hit him in the face or head; that would be a penalty. No, he did not hit him in the back; that would be a penalty. Heyer hit the DE in the chest and knocked him to the ground. In the old days in the NFL (by which I mean as old as two days ago and probably far into the future) that was called blocking.

What's next? If a ball carrier gets tackled hard, will the tackler be penalized? Will we flag a guy who runs a 4.3-second 40-yard dash for running too fast? Remember the game against Green Bay a few years ago when Cooley got mauled at the line of scrimmage, shook the defender who fell to the ground, ran across the width of the field and then caught a pass only to be called back for offensive pass interference? Huh? The ball was still in the QB's hand long after Cooley shook the defender. Since when is it a penalty to hand check a defender who tries to jam you at the line of scrimmage? That negated a huge play for the Skins and turned a win into a loss.

It seems to me that NFL refereeing has gotten extremely bad in the past four years. I've said it before: Every play should be reviewable whether a flag is thrown or not. Give coaches ten challenges per game. The short season makes every call crucial.

What I Expect this Season?
In my shortened preview I said the success of this season depends on how fast Zorn learns his job because this is a playoff team that had gotten very healthy and deep. Zorn did not make me comfortable, though, with the way he handled the clock at the end of the Giants game. He had not earned my confidence. He was behaving like a QB coach when the Skins needed a Head Coach and there was too much uncertainty for me to make a prediction.

One thing happened to change my opinion about Zorn: Jason Campbell said before the Saints game that he talked with Zorn and told him to trust him. Zorn agreed that he would let go of micro-managing Campbell a little and that they would try to trust each other more. The Redskins offense has looked like a world-beater ever since.


Offense
As Peter King said, they have the best skill players in the division, and they have not even gotten their three second-round-pick rookies into the game plan yet (except for Thomas's called-back TD).

They have tremendous depth on offense. Whether it is Sports Illustrated's best back-up QB in the NFL, or the multiple receivers and running backs, they are extremely talented. When RB Marcus Mason, who led the NFL in rushing yards this preseason, and WR Billy McMullen, who led the team in preseason catches (20), were both looking for work after the Redskins final cuts, you know the Skins have talent.

Add to that the exceptional depth on the O-line and this is a potentially powerful offense. RT Stephon Heyer left the game for a while yesterday with an injury and Jon Jansen came off the bench to replace him. Jansen would be a starting LT, the most important tackle position, for most teams in the NFL, but in DC he is the second-string RT.

Defense
Lost in much of the discussion about the Skins playoff runs over the past few years was the fact it was their defense that led them there each year. Gregg Williams had a top-ten defense for most of his tenure as defensive coordinator, and that was true last year despite multiple injuries. The Redskins offense, especially the passing game, was along for the ride. Only the smash-mouth running game made a serious contribution.

With all of the coaching changes this offseason, Snyder & Co kept the philosophy on defense steady by replacing Williams with Blache as defensive coordinator. Blache and Williams had been together for several years and they shared the same approach. This year Blache gets Rocky McIntosh, Carlos Rogers, Shawn Springs and Marcus Washington back. He gets a talented young safety in Landry with a year of experience under his belt who comes into the season with tremendous confidence after a great playoff game against Seattle in his rookie year. He gets a very good rookie safety in Chris Horton, who was the NFL defensive player of the week last week with two picks and a fumble recovery in his first NFL start. He gets a former NFL defensive player of the year in Jason Taylor, who knocked down three passes at the line of scrimmage yesterday. As good as the Skins D was over the past four years, it should be even better this year.

Prediction
The football season is short. NFL teams can get buried fast. It may sound crazy, but the Redskins season is probably going to be determined by what they do over their next two games. Both are division games on the road—at Dallas this week, and at Philly next. If it seems unfair for the Skins enter the season with a new head coach and have to play three division opponents in their first five games, then it is monumentally unfair for all three to be on the road. The Redskins schedule looks like one that Jerry Jones and the Mara/Tisch families would create.

If they come out of these next two games with a split, they will be 3 - 2 and sitting pretty for a playoff spot. Unfortunately, they will have to play the Dallas game without Jason Taylor, who is only on the team because they lost Philip Daniels for the season. Still the depth is strong and Evans and Wilson should do a decent job there. If they sweep the next two they will win the NFC East—the toughest division in the NFL (8 - 0 against non-NFC East opponents so far). If they lose the next two, then they will have to sweep all three home division games at the end of the year, which will not be easy.

One thing is certain: their offense is going to be much better in the second half than the first, but it is already off to a great start. Coupled with an outstanding defense and led by a coach that looks like he “gets it,” and I have high hopes today.

Prediction: 11 - 5
NFC East champs

I'll have a better idea of a playoff prediction as we get closer.

Redskins Season Preview 2008/Congrats to Monk and Green/Skins 7 - Giants 16 (Puke)

I have had no time to write because I have been launching a business. I probably would not have written much anyway because I do not know what to make of this team.

This team is talented. It is clearly a playoff-caliber team. Even Peter King, no Skins fan, wrote in his training camp notes that the Redskins have the best skill players in the division. He wrote that Campbell had the best camp that he EVER saw a quarterback have and he has been to many of these camps over the years including nineteen this year. They had multiple injuries to key players last year and the second-and third-stringers stepped in and the Redskins still reached the playoffs. Those second- and third-stringers are now back on the bench providing depth, but now they have significant experience. That is quality depth, which is absolutely essential to be considered a playoff team in the violent NFL.

Key players that missed significant time last year: On Defense: Sean Taylor (RIP), Carlos Rogers, Rocky McIntosh, Shawn Springs, and Marcus Washington.

On offense: Campbell, all three wide receivers, Jon Jansen, and Randy Thomas;

These were all starters. That is a significant amount of talent to get back: half of their defensive secondary, two-thirds of their linebackers, their quarterback, all three receivers, and the right side of their offensive line and they still made the playoffs.

First Game
But, what can I say about a team that seems leaderless? Jim Zorn looks completely out of his league. In the Giants game, with six minutes left and in need of two scores, he ran one rushing play after another or called short passes in the middle of the field and had the offense huddle after each play. He burned over four minutes off the clock. In a close, winnable game, that was unacceptable.

To make matters worse, when they got the ball back again with 1:30 left and still needing two scores, Campbell drove them downfield quickly into field goal range. Their only chance to win the game was to kick the field goal and try for an onside kick. Inexplicably they tried to convert the first and failed. Even if they had converted, the game would have been lost. What was he thinking? Every coach in the NFL would have kicked the field goal. My kid's high school coach would have kicked a field goal. Speaking of which, Madden said that Zorn should have the no-huddle offense in place by next week. My kid's high school coach had the no huddle down in mid-August.

Then, in his two follow up press conferences, he threw Campbell under the bus. He basically said he saw some good things, but then went on to criticize many things that Campbell did wrong. It sounded as if he was saying that if campbell played better, the Skins would have won.

The Skins should have won anyway, and if they had held on to the four interceptions that Manning tried to place in their hands, they would have. But, to say Campbell's play was not good enough to win is just plain wrong. It had the ring of a guy who has been a quarterback and then a QB coach his entire career, has been prematurely thrust in to the head coaching job because of the ineptitude of the Redskins front office, and feels so out of his depth that he can only fall back on what he knows well.

The Redskins are not young on either side of the line of scrimmage anymore, but the depth they have would have allowed them to rotate players and stay fresh. The Skins have great skill players and this should be Campbell's breakout year, but in the age of parity, a head coach matters a lot. Gibbs seemed to always find a way to lift this team up into the playoffs by winning close games in close races. They are young and talented at many positions, but not at the line of scrimmage. The Skins are built to win now. They are a playoff team, and after the Giants improbable run last year, it is clear that anyone with this much talent can win it all. I can only hope that Zorn figures it out before it is too late.

I like Jim Zorn. I think he is a stand up guy who would never want to be perceived as someone who threw his players under the bus. I think he would make a great quarterbacks coach and it is not his fault that he is in this position. Would you turn down that offer? The fault lies with Cerrato and Snyder, who inexplicably derided the importance of continuity in the NFL and dismantled Joe Gibbs program.

Coaching
Eight of the Redskins sixteen games last year were decided by seven points or less and in three more games the difference was within one scoring drive (with a two-point conversion). In the all-important division games, the Redskins were 3 - 3, but in all three losses they were within one scoring drive of tying or winning the game. Perhaps the most memorable of those losses came in week three when the 0 - 2 Giants were nearly buried for the season by the Skins. Down by seven, Jason Campbell drove the Skins 64 yards to the Giants one-yard line. With 53-seconds left in the game and a first-and-goal at the one, the Giants saved their season by stopping the Skins.

In games that were decided by eight points or more, the Skins were 6 - 2, including wins against all three division opponents.

Prediction:If Zorn does not figure it out, the Skins will have trouble winning six games, so let's call it 5 - 11. If he does, the sky is the limit. He already as the horses.


Hall of Fame:
What can you say about the reception that Monk received at his induction ceremony in Canton? No one receives standing ovations at these things in part because the attendees are usually diverse with players from several teams inducted. This year Redskins fans took over Canton. Why? Well, for one thing there were two Skins inducted at the same time--Darrell Green and Art Monk. For another, all Redskins fans and just about every NFL commentator in the media felt it was an injustice that Monk was not inducted much earlier.

Congratulations to two great and deserving Redskins players, who also happen to be outstanding people with great character.

Congrats Giants/Belichick Spits the Bit

This is my recollection of the last time the Skins played the Giants. As the priceless NFL Network commentary shows, it was a huge game for both teams. It's a reminder of just how close the Giants' season came to ending on that day. But, the Giants fought through what would have been a devastating loss to many teams.

They fought through two missed field goals in Green Bay, stayed in the game, and were given an easy pick from Favre to seal it; they beat a Dallas team that wasn’t very good after all, which the Skins overwhelmingly proved in December; and they beat up on the Bucs.

Maybe most important of all is how they overcame Eli Manning’s five fumbles and two interceptions and a 14-0 Bills lead in Buffalo in the game after their nearly devastating loss to the Skins. The Giants scored twenty-one unanswered fourth quarter points to clinch their playoff spot. If they hadn’t found a way to beat the Bills that day, they probably wouldn’t be Super Bowl champs today and everyone would have pointed to the Skins game as the culprit. That is how close everyone is in the NFL. That is why resilience and persistence are so important, and the Giants had the most of both this year. (Ed Note: Phil Simms just said the exact same thing on the Mike and the Mad Dog radio show (2/4/08). He said that there were a couple of plays in almost every game that the Giants played after the Skins game that if they didn't go the Giants way, they would not be champs today and would probably have been watching the game on TV.)

As for Sunday's game, the Giants can thank three things for the trophy: 1.) their front four put pressure on Brady all day; 2.) Tyree made an amazing catch with his right hand pressing the ball against his helmet to keep the game winning drive alive; and 3.) Bill Belichick made an asinine decision to go for a first down on fourth-and-thirteen when the Patriots were well within Gostkowski's indoor range for a 48-yard field goal;

The loss by three must sting a bit now, huh?

I guess even "geniuses" can make stupid calls. This tarnishes the reputation a bit. I don't believe in luck or karma, but if I did, I would say Belichick had this coming to him for running up the score on the Skins and other teams this year. Shotgun formation, four wideouts, Brady in the game throwing on nearly every down with a 35-point lead and 12-minutes left? The same thing sans Brady with five minutes left? Vrabel on kickoff coverage with a 40+ point lead and two minutes left to play? Belichick deserved this loss.

The Giants and Redskins each showed similar resilience this year. Let's hope that Zorn and Blache and their new head coach can get the same results—Skins 22-Giants 10—two times next year.

"It's a Redskin Day, Baby"

"It's a Redskin day, baby.'' That was how Darrell Green put it yesterday.

Yes, it was.

The Hall of Fame voters finally got it right; they selected Art Monk yesterday. It is still a travesty that Michael Irvin was selected before Monk by these same guys last year. I still think the voting process needs to change. Sports writers are full of biases and apparently vindictiveness if you read any quotes in the past few years from one voter—Zimmerman. Sports writers are also susceptible to campaigning, which is the only explanation for Irvin’s selection last year. Here is Peter King on the Monk selection:

The dogged strength of Monk's candidacy -- buttressed by an unending stream of e-mails and phone messages to the selectors -- probably knocked out Carter and Buffalo's Andre Reed.

King didn’t mention that Andre Reed said he would not want to be selected for the Hall if Monk was not in.

Watching Darrell Green make his speech and hearing Monk’s over the phone made a few other things very clear. These were not just great players, they are also great people. Green and Monk could not have been more humble or grateful.

Green speech included this line:

"For my whole career, I was overpaid, over-respected and over-cared for, so I just want to say to all of you, thank you so much."

Green and Monk were/are the epitome of the classy players with which Gibbs populates his teams. Gibbs has always said character is the first thing he looks for when evaluating talented players and he found it spades in these two. He has also found it in Campbell, Thrash, Randle El, Rogers, and dozens of others that he brought in over the past four years. Gibbs put together a very good core of young guys who could win an NFC championship next year. I hope Snyder does not screw this up.

For Darrell Green to be selected with the first ballot is an honor that few receive. I think the selectors were trying to make up for past wrongs with respect to the Skins. In eleven seasons from 1981 through 1991, the Redskins made five trips to the NFC Championship game, won four NFC championships, and won three Super Bowl titles. Yet, prior to yesterday, the only Redskins player in the Hall of Fame from that era was John Riggins, and he was only around for two of their five NFC Championship games (1982 and 1983 seasons). By contrast, Monk was there for all five and Green was with the team for four. The Hall has not finished its work.

I do not know why special teams’ players are rarely considered for the Hall of Fame when it is clear special teams often make the difference between champions and also-rans. Mark Mosley was the only kicker in NFL history to be named league MVP (1982). When he retired, he owned the record for most consecutive field goals and was way up there in points. Brian Mitchell retired as the player with the most yards gained in NFL history, which was broken by Jerry Rice in 2004, but not by much (23,546 to 23,330). Mitchell still holds the NFL record for touchdown returns, although Hester is a good bet to break it. These guys should be in the HOF.

The Redskins had some outstanding defensive players then, too. Dexter Manley was the all-time sacks leader for several years and was passed by Lawrence Taylor who is in the HOF already. Dexter always had a left tackle over him and often a tight end would help block him. Unlike with Taylor, there was never any surprise when Dexter was coming. Dave Butz took on double teams and still consistently stuffed the run. Unfortunately, defensive tackles don’t have flashy stats that they can use to impress the HOF voters.

Then there are the Hogs. They set the standard for offensive linemen that is still being emulated today: Bigger and stronger players who are quick enough to pull (as in the counter trey) and protect the quarterback. At least two of the Hogs—and probably three—should be in the HOF: Jacoby, Grimm, and maybe Bostic. They didn’t just have a catchy name; they were dominating in their era. That is the only explanation for three Super Bowl championships with three different quarterbacks and running backs. It is the only explanation for Timmy Smith, who still holds the Super Bowl rushing record with 204 yards in his first and only start in any NFL game.

Super Bowl
Today is Super Bowl Sunday. I just caught four minutes—and only four minutes—of Fox’s pregame and it coincidentally included the part where they honored former NFLers who passed away this year. It took me about twenty seconds before I realized that the picture of one of my favorite players of all time was about to be flashed on the screen. I still cannot believe that the Redskins’ 24-year old safety--a guy who I thought would be in their secondary for many more years--is dead. They ended the segment with Taylor’s picture in uniform with his right arm raised high and the years of his life scrolled underneath. It made me very sad once again. I thought I was over it.

I am going to root for the guys with the “21” on their helmets today. Go Giants! They understand what it means to honor a great player.

Sean Taylor was a guy who would have been inducted in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in the class of approximately 2023. RIP.

Santana!

Even the Wilpons couldn't screw this one up, although a quote from Santana's agent makes me believe they came close. Santana's agent, Greenberg, said:

"I honestly thought the deal was dead."

He said that when they were five million dollars apart. Are you kidding me? Five million?

The most important thing to keep an eye on now is whether the Mets try to dump some guys with slightly high prce tags like they did with Cameron in 2006. If they don't, the Mets should win the NL pennant and they have as good a shot as anyone for the World Series title.

Mets Get Santana? Not yet

The Mets may have just pulled a rabbit out of a hat the way I am praying that Snyder will in a few days.

Acquiring Santana for four mid-level prospects--and not including Reyes--instantly makes the Mets the NL pennant favorite.

But wait. He is not in the bag yet. The deal is contingent on Santana signing a contract extension. Never underestimate the potential for the Wilpons to screw this up. Especially now because, as Olney of ESPN.com points out, Santana and his agent have ALL of the leverage now that the trade has been announced. The Wilpons are absolutely squirming right now.

Will they say Santana's demands are unreasonable as they did when they cut off the A-rod negotiations several years ago before A-rod signed with Texas? Will they stop $8 million dollars short of sealing a deal and a sure pennant, as they did when they traded Mike Cameron two years ago? Will the Wilpons try to nix it, as they tried to do in the Piazza trade in 1998?

Don't celebrate yet Mets fans. Let's see it in writing first.

Dan Snyder is Insane

I am afraid that my Redskins are in disarray. This head coach decision is a debacle. It appears that Snyder and Co. are back to their old attempts at quick fixes. We’ll soon find out if they go back to signing old, expensive free agents whose best days are in the past. And, I thought that Snyder had learned something from Gibbs. I have always been a strong defender of Snyder, and anyone who follows the Redskins knows that he has received a lot of criticism. If Snyder does not hire Gregg Williams, he will have lost me, too. (ed note; that should have read: If Snyder hires Fassel over Gregg Williams, he will have lost me, too. Maybe Snyder will pull a rabbit out of a hat.)

Joe Gibbs put in place a foundation and process for long-term success. Gibbs retired early and now Snyder is about to blow the whole thing up. Why? The rumor was that he was about to snub Gregg Williams, who was Joe Gibbs’s choice as his successor, and hire Jim Fassel. I’m sorry, but since when has Fassel ever been confused with being a football genius?

Fassel had a less-than-average record as an NFL head coach, a piss-poor record as a college head coach, and as offensive coordinator in Baltimore he presided over one of the NFL's worst offenses. In the 2001, Marty Schottenheimer had a better record than Fassel in Marty's only year as Skins HC. In 2003, Spurrier--for Chrissakes--had a better record than Fassel and Spurrier was pushed out head first. Fassel may have been my locker neighbor at our Country Club, but he was a no show at the Club as much as his teams were no shows in the playoffs. Almost all of the success of his Giants teams—what little there was—could be attributed to Fox.

When the rumors starting flying that the Redskins were about to announce that they hired Fassel, Redskins Nation went nuts. Nearly every fan site ran a poll: From Extremeskins.com to the Washington Post’s web site, Gregg Williams was the landslide choice of the fans. Fans were calling in to talk radio and posting that they would stop buying Redskins souvenirs and apparel and season ticket holders were pondering what they would do with their next invoice. It was enough of an uproar that two reporters from WaPo speculated that it forced Snyder to reverse the Fassel decision. If that is true, good for the fans. Fassel is now saying that he feels betrayed, so the initial reports were probably true.

Why wouldn’t Williams be the choice for head coach? He had the Redskins defense in the top ten in three of the past four years. He has had tremendous success as a defensive coordinator wherever he has been. The players are solidly behind him. No one wants to start over and fix something that’s not broken. He’s Joe Gibbs’s choice for goodness sakes. And he certainly would have continued down the same path as the past three years. He would not make radical changes to a team that needs tweaks. The blue prints for success are in place and he is one of the chief architects. The Redskins were in the playoffs in two of the past three years despite numerous obstacles. In the prior twelve years since Gibbs left the first time, they had made the playoffs just once.

But, as I write this, ESPN is reporting that the Redskins have given Jim Zorn a three-year contract to be their offensive coordinator. Unless Williams gave his nod to Zorn behind the scenes, this is not good news. Any head coach worth his salt is going to want to hire his own assistants. That either means that the coach that Snyder plans to hire has already agreed to the job and has signed off on Zorn, or it means that the new head coach is going to be Snyder’s lap dog, or it means Snyder is going to pay Zorn for three years to do nothing. And consider this: Saunders is now out as OC, so the Redskins are going to lose their second string QB, Collins--the one who led them to the playoffs this year with a four game winning streak. Collins success is almost completely due to his knowledge of Saunders system and Collins is a free agent. He'll probably wind up wherever Saunders does. What a debacle.

Tom Boswell of the WaPo (and not one of the speculators on the result of the fan uproar)had this to say today:

Who brought in both Williams and Saunders with their proven systems? Who drafted Jason Campbell to be the quarterback of the future? Who identified Clinton Portis and Santana Moss to be featured offensive stars? (Ed. Note: And Chris Cooley, the tight end who has the most NFC TDs since 2004; and Antwaan Randle El; and London Fletcher, a perennial top-ten tackler; and Marcus Washington; and Sean Taylor; and on and on…) Who constantly selected players for personal or character traits that might make them "True Redskins?"

The answer, of course, is Gibbs. No one in town did much more than ask, "What do you want, Joe?" then go out and get it for him. And who was Gibbs's clear choice, as recently as the day he left, to be the next coach? Williams.

If any other Hall of Fame coach with three Super Bowl rings, some Walsh or Noll, had been courted out of retirement when his old team called -- desperate, dysfunctional and in disarray -- to help the franchise regain its dignity, wouldn't his wishes have carried weight on the day he left? Is everything Gibbs put in place really so easy to blow up? Is keeping staff members hanging in the dark about their future for 16 days really the way to go?

The Redskins have plenty of excuse for being disoriented, and perhaps even a little wounded, by Gibbs's sudden departure. But the organization should reconsider its first and most obvious choice for head coach (Gregg Williams). That is, if it isn't already too late.

After watching the Wilpons destroy my favorite MLB team, to the point where I cancelled my season tickets which I owned for five years, I now am watching the Redskins go down the drain. They were “this” close to the Super Bowl this year, and are obviously a better team than the Giants, Cowboys and Packers, and now it seems that they are starting over. I don’t have much time for sports fandom any more. I never thought that giving up my Skins season tickets would ever enter my mind, but now it has. Maybe I’ll just sell them on StubHub like all of the fans who own seats around me do, sell to the opposing team fans, until new ownership takes over or Snyder comes to his senses.

AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

It was a hell of a ride. And, it was an incredibly emotional ride.

They had the game. They would win.

• Fourth quarter;
• They just scored their second TD in a couple of minutes to take their first lead;
• They kickoff and the ball bounces over the returner’s head and the Skins recover at Seattle’s 14. It was actually returned for a TD by Mix, who has done an outstanding job on specials this year since they picked him up off waivers in the middle of the year, but the rule says that kickoff teams cannot advance the ball;

So, the Skins have a first and ten from Seattle’s 14-yard line, with about 12-minutes left and have a 14-13 lead. Game over, right?

No.

• Incomplete to Cooley;
• A few more stops;
• 30-yard FG…missed;
• Seattle drives for a TD and two-point conversion to take a seven point lead;

Even Landry’s second pick of the day to kill a Seahawk drive was not enough. An inexperienced Collins tried to force two passes into coverage and had both picked and returned for TDs making a very close game—right to the end—appear like a blowout.

But, the loss is not on Collins. He did reasonably well under the circumstances. For the Skins, the loss has to be pinned on the offensive line. Their injuries finally caught up to them. Portis had little running room and Collins was under pressure all day. Almost all of the pressure came from the Skin’s right side where Skins stars Jansen and Thomas would have been playing if healthy. Next year.

There are silver linings. Actually many silver linings. A lot depends on whether Gibbs comes back, but my gut says he will. I think he realizes that this team is very close.

One silver lining is that a lot of young guys played their first playoff game today, earned a lot of valuable experience, and did well. In some cases, the young guys played “superstar’ well. I’m thinking specifically of LaRon Landry who moved over to play Taylor’s free safety spot after Taylor’s death. What a game he played—two picks and the first gave them their first lead, and it came in the fourth quarter. What an athlete he is. The future is very bright for him and the Skins. Can you imagine the defense they would have had if Taylor was back there with him next year? Only in spirit, now.

Heyer and Fabini, filling in for Jansen and Thomas, earned valuable experience. They will make great backups next year and they are very cheap. The skins O-line should be very solid with those six and maybe one other offseason pickup. Doughty, who won the strong safety spot after Landry moved over, played very well, too. He is another find who came cheaply. The only drawback was that Jason Campbell wasn’t able to get any playoff experience because of his injury. But, they probably wouldn’t be there without Collins.

Do you think the skins have to worry about a backup QB? I think they will make Collins happy in the offseason. It shouldn’t take a ton of money, either.

The Skins have a great core of young guys. They should be able to make some simple moves in the offseason to make this, not just a good team, but a dominating team. Their defensive line found great backups in Evans, Golston and Montgomery…and Alexander who played offensive line, too, when all of the injuries hit that unit. What a valuable guy he turned out to be…and he would be tackle-eligible and go in motion…go figure.

They also found out some good things about some veterans. Carter hit double digits in sacks from the DE spot. Randle El CAN play wide receiver. Kendall was a great pick up from the Jets. Thanks Mangini. Suisham is very good…forget the miss today. Cartwright is the reincarnation of Brian Mitchell. I believe he led the NFL in kickoff return average, and he is a fiery guy. He had some great returns today; two that were called back on penalties.

In summary, I think they just need to add a little talent—say their top two draft picks—on each side of the line.

I am very sorry and sad that the run is over. The memory of Sean Taylor will fade quickly for the media and will fade for many casual fans. As long as the Skins were alive that would not have been true. New players will join next year. Let’s hope the chemistry and cohesiveness that brought this team together does not disappear. They are not far from a Super Bowl championship.

The Redskins’ road to the Super Bowl begins next year by winning enough regular season games to get home field and never have to face the piped-in noise in Seattle again. In fact, I would love for the skins to return the favor next year. I would love to see Seattle try to play in Landover in January next year.

(note: i wrote this quickly and may need to edit)

Hail to the Redskins

I stand by the prediction that I made at the beginning of the season: The Redskins are going to the...

SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!

Hey, I was right about their defense. I said it would be a top-ten D after finishing at number 31 last year. I was right about this too: The Redskins are going to the Super Bowl because they are the best team in the NFC. Here are the facts:

• There is no other running back in the NFC playoffs within 250 yards of the rushing yards that Portis has gained this year. And, Portis has improved immensely as a receiver this year making him a Westbrook-like release valve for Collins and the rest of the offense. Portis is the best running back in the NFC playoffs. A strong running game is key in January and February;

• There is no other NFC quarterback within 9 QB rating points of Todd Collins. I concede that Collins rating was earned in only four games, but even the best four-game stretch of the other QBs in the NFC playoffs only matches what Collins has done. Only Brady in the AFC has a higher rating and it is only slightly better. Collins also leads the NFL in yards per attempt. He has stretched the field and helped open up the running game for Portis. Collins was the NFC Offensive Player of the Month. The timing of his arrival is impeccable;

• The Redskins have the second-highest ranked defense of all the teams in the NFC playoffs (tied with the Giants / behind the Bucs), and it is playing its best right now;

• There is no other team in the playoffs that has played a tougher schedule. You read that correctly. The Skins had by far the toughest schedule of all the teams in the playoffs from either conference. They faced teams with a combined 0.555 winning percentage. Seattle, by comparison, not only had the easiest schedule of all of the teams in the playoffs, they had the easiest schedule of all 32 teams in the NFL;

• Certainly, there is no other team that has had to overcome the adversity that the Redskins have overcome this year. The Redskins proved they have championship-quality depth when six starters were lost for the year (or forever) and they still managed to get into the derby. All except Jansen and Thomas were first-round draft picks who were replaced by guys who were mostly low draft picks or undrafted free agents. Jansen and Thomas were high second rounders. Great depth and the proven ability to overcome adversity is how conference championships are won;

• The six fill-in starters have gained valuable experience because many of the injuries occurred early in the year. The timing was both a curse and a blessing. A curse because it cost them in losses in early games that they would have won. A blessing because those fill-ins—like right tackle Stephon Heyer who shut out Adewale Ogunleye, Strahan, and DeMarcus Ware in three of the last four weeks—have made major contributions in the four-game win streak and are ready to help this team win in the playoffs. They are peaking at the perfect time;

Let’s Review How we Got Here
Last Sunday the Redskins crushed the Cowboys—the NFC’s number-one seed—to ensure a playoff spot. Don’t tell me that the Cowboys didn’t care about the game. They were going full out with their best players on the field until the Redskins put the game out of reach late in the third quarter. Even then they only pulled Romo and a couple of defensive players (not Roy Williams).

Do you think the Cowboys want to see the Redskins again? No team would want to face a division foe in the playoffs regardless of the quality of the opponent because division foes know each other so well. But, when you consider that the Cowboys also know they should have lost both games against the Skins this year, you can understand the urgency in which the Cowboys played this game.

Also, consider this: Marion Barber entered the game needing 19-yards to reach the 1,000-yard rushing milestone. He ended the game needing 25-yards. Witten needed seven catches to go over the 100-receptions mark. His two catches didn’t get him there. They wanted it, but the Skins took it from them.

How badly did Phillips want this game? Most of his starters were on the field for the whole game. How badly? He called Romo out of the tunnel just before halftime to run another play on an un-timed down due to a Redskins penalty. The Skins then sacked him and hurt him. Romo was wincing as he walked into the locker room. Yet, the Boy Blunder was back out there to start the second half. Wade Phillips risked the franchise in an attempt to win this game and knock the Skins out. Super Bowl and number one seed be damned.

Now, let’s look at other games against playoff teams this year in chronological order. Two things should become evident. First, the Redskins were “this” close to 12 to 15 wins, a bye, and home field advantage. Second, the team flying to Seattle is a different team from the one that let six wins slip away earlier in the season. This is true for several reasons, one of which is more important than most…which I will write about later.

1. The Skins lost to the Giants by seven points after jumping out to a 17 – 3 early lead. First-year starter Jason Campbell did an admirable job leading the team 64-yards down the field in the final two minutes, but the drive stalled on the one-yard line as time expired;

2. The Skins lost to Green Bay by three points in Green Bay after they had a 14–7 early lead. Santana Moss, who had been battling injuries most of the year until December, had his worst day as a pro. He dropped several deep passes and fumbled the ball that Green Bay’s Woodson returned for the winning TD in the second half. Jason Campbell did an admirable job leading the team to Green Bay’s 33 in the fourth quarter, but that drive and two subsequent ones fell short of a score;

3. The Skins lost to Dallas by five points in Dallas. With a 10 – 7 lead late in the third quarter Rocky McIntosh intercepted Romo and returned the ball to the Dallas three-yard line. That was the ruling on the field, anyway. At the very least, replays were inconclusive with several that showed McIntosh had at least one hand under the ball. Somehow, the interception was reversed and Dallas scored a TD on the drive resulting in a 14-point swing. Jason Campbell did an admirable job on two drives with less than three-minutes left. On one he overthrew (by five inches) a wide-open Santana Moss in the end zone on what would have been the game-winning TD. Two plays later he was intercepted;

4. The Skins lost to Tampa Bay by six points in Tampa. The Skins turned the ball over to the Bucs SIX times. The Bucs did not return the favor once, and the Skins only lost by six on the road. Are you kidding me? Every fumble that hit the ground, including one by the Bucs, landed in Tampa’s hands. The Bucs recovered four fumbles in the first half at the Washington, 28-, 26-, 18-, and 32-yard lines and the Bucs scored 16-points on those turnovers. In the third quarter the Skins were stopped on a fourth-and-one play at Tampa’s four-yard line. Late in the fourth quarter, Campbell did an admirable job on two drives. On one, he took the Skins from their nine-yard line to Tampa’s 32-yard line before he was intercepted. On the other, he took the Skins from their seven-yard line to Tampa’s 16-yard line before his potential game-winning pass was intercepted in the end zone;

And, of course, there were two losses to non-playoff teams. They had a five-point lead against the Eagles with four-minutes left and lost by eight. This was the game in which the Redskins had a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter before Sean Taylor injured his knee. That injury allowed Philly to score 26-points in the final 18-minutes by exploiting the part of the field that Taylor abandoned, after they could only score seven in the first 42-minutes with Taylor in the game. Taylor's injury also led to his murder, and his death was responsible for the team’s one-point, last-second loss to Buffalo on the day before Taylor’s funeral.

In fact, if you changed the outcome in just three extremely close games, the Redskins would be the NFC East division winners with a bye right now: 1. Give Buffalo the win over the Cowboys in that Monday night debacle in which the Cowboys--in 3:45--scored a TD, missed a two-point conversion, knocked forward and recovered an onside kick with 18 seconds left at the Buffalo 47, and kicked a field goal to win by two; 2. Reverse the first Dallas-Washington game; and 3. Reverse the Buffalo-Washington game. Reverse the outcome of these three close games and the Skins and Cowboys are each 11 - 5 with the Skins holding the head-to-head tie breaker. That is how close the Skins are to the number one seed in the NFC.

The unhappy recap is they could have waltzed into the playoffs with home field advantage. But, then they wouldn’t be the heartwarming story that they are now. They are America’s team now.

What is different now? Why are they blowing away opponents now when they lost close games before?
There are many who say the main difference is Taylor’s death. They believe the team is riding a wave of emotion that carried them this far. I think it is true that several key players who were close to Sean have stepped up their game, but the Redskins are not winning on emotion. Emotions eventually burn out. No, this team is winning because they are good. They are wining because they are the best team in the NFC. They are winning because they have great coaching, an excellent running game, and an outstanding defense. And, they are winning because they finally have a quarterback who knows how to run the Gibbs-Saunders offense. Todd Collins is the main difference between early-season close losses and late-season dominance.

Readers know I love Jason Campbell’s future. I think it is bright. I also think it is much brighter today if he incorporates what he learns from watching Collins run the Redskins offense. Again, his injury was a curse and could be a blessing. He would not have had this chance without the injury.

I was optimistic about Collins after I heard the comments from Skins leaders after the Redskins knocked the Bears out of the playoffs. It was Collins first game and it came in relief. Cooley said he was surprised that when he came out of his break and turned to look for the ball, it was already there. The coverage had no chance to make a play on it. Sellers said he was surprised at how quickly Collins releases the ball. The Gibbs-Saunders passing offense is complex. It takes years of study and practice. It is all about spreading the field, reading defenses quickly, going through progressions with receivers, trusting receivers will make the same reads, and getting rid of the ball on time. Campbell will run it well some day. Collins runs it extremely well now.

You cannot argue with success. It’s hard to argue about four straight wins against conference opponents fighting hard for something. It’s hard to argue with an offense that scored an average of 26.25 points per meaningful game when it could only muster 19 points per game before Collins. And, when Collins keeps drives alive, he helps the defense too. The defense is only allowing 13.25 points per game now, when it was giving up 21.42 in the prior twelve. The pre-Collins 5 -7 Skins had an average point differential per game of minus 2.3. The Collins-led 4-0 Skins have an average margin of victory of 13-points per game, which is 60% greater than Dallas’s margin and almost as high as the Patriots’.

Time for a Little Cold Water on the Face, Counter Trey?
Collins is a backup quarterback. How many of those led their teams through the playoffs and into the super Bowl? Hmmmm.

Well, Jim Plunkett was a backup who led the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XV. He was also the MVP. The Dolphins used a platoon of Woodley and Strock to get to Super Bowl XVII. Doug Williams was Jay Schroeder’s backup and led the Skins to a victory in XXII. He was also the MVP. Jeff Hostetler led the Giants to a victory in XXV in relief of Phil Simms. Kurt Warner started for the injured Trent Green and led the Rams to victory in XXXIV. He also broke Montana’s passing yard record and was named MVP. There are two coincidences in XXXIV: Green was the Skins QB before signing with the Rams, and Al Saunders was a coach of the Rams offense. And, then of course, there was a guy named Tom Brady who led the Patriots to a win in XXXVI after Drew Bledsoe was injured. He was also named MVP.

The history of the Super Bowl would be a lot less interesting without the backup QB.

The Matchup with the Seahawks
We already know about the difficulty of the Redskins schedule and the pathetically easy schedule the Seahawks played this year. What about the strengths of the Seahawks? People say the Hawks have a prolific offense, especially their passing game. How did they achieve their stats?

Well, they exploited the poorest defenses in the NFL. The Seahawks' three division opponents were ranked 21, 22, and 28 against the pass. That's a sum of 71 (out of a maximum 93).

Only Green Bay had an easier division to pass against: 27, 31, and 32 for a sum of 90(out of a maximum 93!!!!). It's no coincidence that Favre had a 95.7 passer rating this year, but when he faced Philly, Washington, and Dallas he had a passer rating of 58.2, 43.5, and 8.4, respectively.

In comparison, the Skins faced division foes with pass Ds ranked 11, 13 and 18 for a 42 total.

The Seahawks' division foes had an overall D ranking that totaled 67 (again, out of 93), while the Skins' division foes had overall D rankings that totaled 26. Six games against this kind of competition--almost 40% of a team's games--can make some team's stats look great.

In addition to division foes, here is a sample of some of the other teams the Seahawks faced with overall D ranking in parentheses: Cincinnati (27), New Orleans (26), Cleveland (30), and Chicago (28).

Exactly half of the Seahawks games were against teams ranked in the bottom 25-percent in total D (i.e. defenses ranked 25 through 32), which gave the Seahawks the schedule with the largest number of games against easy defenses this year.

The Seahawks only played four games against top-10 defenses and averaged 18.75 points per game in those. That’s a little different from the 24.6 PPG I keep reading about. Oh, and the Skins have the eighth-ranked defense in the NFL.

Gibbs
Finally, there is the coaching. Do I have to rehash Gibbs record in games played after November 30? He is the best. Whether we’re talking about Gibbs I or II (I really hate those monikers), he gets his team prepared and he leads them. They respect him and play hard for him and they win. And, given all of the adversity he faced this year, he probably had his best year as a coach in his career.

Grieving Sucks

I have been struggling. I was having difficulty concentrating. I have had little energy.

Maybe it is the culmination of several things, but I think most of all, it is that I am grieving. I had to euthanize my family pet of fifteen years in mid-November. What hit me most was when I realized that my two sons never woke a day on this earth without him. But once the boys got over it, I did too. No, what is hurting me now is how cheated I feel. I keep thinking about how short Sean Taylor’s life was and what a great blow it is to the Redskins.

It has been over a week since Taylor died and I am starting to get some energy back. I watched his funeral on TIVO--correctly guessing it would go overtime--and feel even more cheated. He was a great football player and a good person who let the media define him. The media love negative stories and so they mistook his quiet humbleness for antisocial behavior. They mistook his ferocity on the football field for a gangster mentality. They mistook his attempt to recover property that was stolen from him as hood mentality. They mistook a DUI arrest as a DUI conviction, which never happened.

Why didn’t we know about his deeply felt faith when he was alive? Why didn’t we know about all of the money and time he donated to youth sports programs in his community? Why didn’t we know that everybody on his teams truly loved this guy? Not just Redskins, but all of the Miami players around the NFL. Jeremy Shockey was at the funeral yesterday and was completely broken up. Several Ravens were distraught because they had to play a game last night and would miss his funeral. Ray Lewis cried during the moment of silence. McGahee and Reed huddled with Lewis prior to kickoff to pay tribute (play video)to Taylor and then all three went out and played inspired football and nearly beat the Patriots. McGahee rushed for 138 yards.

Why didn't we know that when the media covered his high school football team, Taylor--who scored 44 touchdowns (a Florida record), rushed for 1300 yeards, made over 200 tackles, and led his team to the Florida HS state championship--didn't want to talk about himself? Instead he gave credit to his teammates and talked about how tough his opponent was.

Why didn’t we know about his Herculean work ethic? Gibbs talked about how he would show up at Redskins Park well in advance of when the players were due and find Sean drenched in sweat because he was running laps around the park. Shannon, Taylor’s DB coach at Miami, talked about how he kept crossing paths with Taylor when giving motivational speeches to youths near Miami in the offseason but how he never ran into him. Then, he saw a note on his desk on campus one day from Taylor and he asked his assistant when Sean left it. She said he works out nearly every day on campus late at night. We hear from Gregg Williams that he would stay late studying film; from Joe Theismann that Sean asked him to stay late so he could tutor Sean on what quarterbacks look for in safety play and how to disguise coverage; from Clinton Portis how he would try to coax Sean to go clubbing at night. Taylor would always say he’d meet Clinton, but tell Clinton the next day that he fell asleep early. We hear from Reed Doughty, who was second string at Sean’s position and so played on the scout team. When Doughty had a mild knee sprain Taylor told him to rest it and Taylor took Doughty’s reps with the scout team after practicing with the starters. Why didn’t we know these things? Because unlike many stars, Taylor didn’t promote himself. Unlike many stars, he avoided the camera. And, so the guys behind the cameras, with limited information, made his story a negative one.

I was going to write a separate post on the outrageous media coverage of his death, but I could barely concentrate. How dare guys like Len Shapiro, Michael Wilbon, Peter King, and Colin Cowherd intimate or downright speculate that Taylor somehow got what was coming to him. Oh, King backpedaled like crazy in this week’s MMQB column, but the one thing King never said was “I am sorry.” On last week’s Inside the NFL show on HBO, King had no problem saying this horseshit: “A friend of a very prominent NFL player that I know said he distanced himself from Taylor...blah, blah, blah.” Of course he was trying to create the impression that Taylor was a bad dude. At least Costas had the good sense to immediately jump in each time after King was finished to say, “We are taping on Tuesday, so we really don’t know the facts.”

By the way, two of those guys have Hall of Fame votes. It's another example of why the NFL should reclaim the privilege to induct its players.

The mayor of Taylor’s hometown, who eulogized so eloquently yesterday, spoke for me:

"One of the things that I hope comes out of this tragedy is that the media get a small lesson in grace and humility," said Florida City mayor Otis Wallace, a friend of the Taylor family. "For those who took the liberty of recklessly speculating that this young man's death was caused by the way he lived, all I can say is they should be ashamed."

Readers of this Blog know how happy I was when the Redskins signed London Fletcher this offseason. Fletcher is a tackling machine with excellent leadership abilities. He spoke for me twice this week. First, about the leadership the Skins wanted to see from him:

'Why'd you need me? You already got a great leader, and it's Sean Taylor,''' Fletcher told SI.com ... "I mean, he loved football. If we were on the sidelines during practice, he'd run out to take some scout-team reps. We're getting beat bad in New England, and he's saying in the huddle, 'I don't care what the score is! Keep playing, keep playing.' Last week, before Thanksgiving, he's in the trainers' room, getting treatment, he's telling everyone in there to have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the time with their family. That's a leader.''

(Ed note: As I watched that Patriots game I started to get angry that the Redskins weren’t fighting in the fourth quarter as the Pats ran up the score. It was right around that point that Taylor started a fight with Vrabel, the Pats all-everything linebacker, who was playing on kickoff coverage (kickoff coverage!!!!) with the score 52-7. Taylor spoke for me that day.)

Finally, Fletcher also spoke for me when he said this:

"I thought he could have been the best safety in the history of pro football,'' Fletcher said. "He was 6-3, fierce, a hard-hitter, a great cover guy, great speed for a guy his size, great ball skills, incredibly instinctive and had a great passion for the game. Teams didn't challenge him deep. It's no secret why we've given up so many explosive plays in the middle of the field the last two weeks -- it's because Sean wasn't there.''

I still have a hard time choking back tears when I replay this four-minute tribute, which was shown before the Dec. 2 Bills game at Fed Ex Field; there wasn't a dry Redskin-fan eye in the house. The most difficult parts for me are when Taylor runs down the tunnel with Moss and Portis (because it won’t happen again), when he thanks God for getting a chance to play for the Redskins, and when he dives in the end zone in Philadelphia to clinch the Skins only playoff appearance in his short tenure. It is not a highlight film. A highlight film would haven taken hours.

Sean Taylor RIP

“Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been.” –John Greenleaf Whittier

Yesterday I had planned to write my first post in a while. I was going to write that the Redskins playoff hopes were not even close to dead, which many of the pundits had been saying. How could they be dead when they were only one game behind the sixth-seed Lions and the Redskins owned the tie breaker against that team? I was going to write that the main reason for their three heartbreaking losses in a row, starting with the Eagles loss, was the absence of Sean Taylor, but that there was a lot of reason for hope because Taylor would soon be back.

The Redskins had held a 15 - 7 lead late in the game against the Eagles when Taylor sprained his knee, sadly, directly in front of my seats at FedEx Field. I remember watching him as he was resting on his hands and knees on the field long after he finished a tackle and I was thinking, “he’ll be back.” But, Taylor never returned.

Without Taylor to contend with, the Eagles started to exploit the part of the field—the deep middle—that Taylor had vacated. When Taylor was in the game, the Eagles did not even try to go near there. The Eagles scored four TDs and won after Taylor left the game—all of the TD plays went down the middle of the field.

I had planned to write that when Taylor was in the Redskins secondary, Terrell Owens had never even come close to having the kind of game that he had two weeks ago against the Skins. Owens scored all of the Cowboys’ points in that game two weeks ago. A quick search on YouTube would explain why Owens never had success against the Skins before. Taylor owned Owens. That's "owned" with a capital O, as can be seen starting at about 3:15 in this video of 2006 meetings. Owens hates being hit and Taylor was one of the most vicious hitters in the NFL.

Owens feared Taylor. Even when Taylor was a rookie playing his first game against the All-Self-Important Owens, Taylor sent a message. Taylor put Owens on the trainer’s table at 1:35 of this video. Then, on a play going to another receiver far away from Taylor, Owens ran into Taylor’s part of the field and shot off his mouth. The rookie Taylor told Owens to shut his mouth...with his forearm...to Owens’ head (2:15) (In his rookie year Taylor wore number 36 and Owens played for the Eagles). Those two videos only cover 2004 and 2006, but they give a good idea of the kind of player he was. They don't include great plays from the Skins 2005 playoff run and they don't include his performance this year, probably his best. He was not a dirty player, but he did inflict pain.

Immediately after the Eagles loss this year I was going to write about how frustrated I was that Taylor was going to miss his first game this year and that it was going to be the game against Owens. Since the first day of the season I was looking forward to seeing Taylor shut down Owens.

Owens never had a 100-yard game against the Skins when Taylor played and never had more than one TD. In four games over three seasons against a Taylor-led secondary (Owens was suspended for both games against the Skins in 2005) Owens had a total of 18 catches for 165 yards and just two TDs for an average of 4.5 catches, 41.3 yards and 0.5 TDS per game. Not bad, but Owens averages were significantly higher against other teams in those years. And it wasn’t like Owens’ teammates were not trying to get him the ball. It was that Taylor had repeatedly separated the ball from Owens and left him writhing on the ground in pain.

So, yesterday I was going to write that the Redskins were still very much in the thick of it, and because Taylor was expected back in a week or two, that they would make a run.

And, then I heard the news.

I feel terrible about the senselessness of this. This is an absolute tragedy of the kind that Aeschylus and Shakespeare could write: A warrior in the prime of his life, revered by many, who is about to embark on great conquests but is struck down by some fluke just before he realizes greatness.

I feel sadness for his family and friends. But, I did not know him personally, so I cannot feel what they do. What I do feel is this: I feel horrible for me as a huge fan of the Redskins, which is much, much, much, more selfish. I think that Taylor and his family would understand that and would appreciate it. It is homage to him.

What I know is that when he played for the Redskins, they were feared, and that kind of intimidation is extremely valuable in football. What I know is that Sean Taylor was as valuable to the Redskins franchise as Favre is to Green Bay, Owens is to Dallas, Peyton Manning is to Indianapolis, and Hester is to Chicago. People talked about how valuable Deion Sanders was because he took away one half of the field when quarterbacks refused to throw to his side. Well, Taylor was a sideline-to-sideline player who took away the whole field beyond fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage.

How good was Taylor? Gregg Williams was the Assistant Coach or Head Coach in charge of defense on three teams: The Titans (when they went to the super Bowl), the Bills, and now the Redskins. Williams has had the number one defense in his conference several times and had a top-ten defense for the Skins in two of his three seasons here. Over that time he has coached some outstanding defensive players (think about Kearse, Arrington, any of several Redskins Pro Bowlers, and dozens of Titans and Bills Pro Bowlers). After one season of coaching Taylor, Williams unequivocally said that Taylor was the best defensive player he had ever coached.

How athletic was Taylor? Larry Coker, his head coach at the University of Miami, said on today’s Mike and Mike show on ESPN that he recruited Taylor out of High School and couldn’t decide if he was a running back, wide receiver, linebacker, or defensive back; he felt he could play at a high level at any of these positions...for a National Championship team. Running back Clinton Portis said on today's John Thomson Show that when he was at Miami and they were recruiting Taylor he had the opportunity to see Taylor's high school football video where Taylor had played running back. He said he immediately asked, "what position does he want to play here (at Miami)?" When the coaches said "safety" Portis said "Good." Portis was afraid of losing his job.

Sean Taylor was not just a good safety in the NFL. He was a great safety and probably the best. Many have said he was a great safety because he had the size of a linebacker and the speed and cover abilities of a cornerback. And, he had a legendary love of laying the big hit. He not only played at a high level, he made the other ten players on his defense better, which is how the loss of just one player can make that much of a difference. He was just 24 years old, had not yet reached a peak, and had a long, great career ahead of him.

As long as he roamed the Redskins’ secondary, they were going to be very competitive. As a fan, I looked forward with optimism to the future success of the Skins. When the Redskins made the playoffs two years ago, it was a Taylor TD return of a fumble recovery against the Eagles that won it and clinched their playoff appearance. In the next game, in the Redskins only playoff win that year, it was an extremely athletic return of a fumble for a TD against the Bucs that gave the skins an insurmountable lead in what was a close game.

Taylor began his career in the NFL at a high level as a rookie and was getting better every year and every game. Before his minor knee injury three weeks ago against the Eagles, he was leading the NFL in interceptions. He’s still leading the NFC. Fittingly, this year, he handed Brett Favre his milestone, all-time interception record. Six more years of his kind of play and we would probably have been talking about several of the Championships that he helped the Redskins win, and we would have certainly been counting down the days until his induction in Canton.

“…the saddest are these: It might have been.”

God, I am a heartbroken fan today.

Rest in Peace Sean Taylor

No Jansen, No Rogers, No Taylor, No Marcus, No Thomas, No Thrash, No Moss...No Mas

I love it when fans of other NFL teams say that injuries are a part of the game and everyone has to deal with them. They usually only say that when their team has not been decimated by injuries the way the Redskins have. I hate it when even Redskins fans do not understand what this Redskins team is experiencing and instead blame the coaching as if Gibbs were playing right tackle.

The Redskins entered the game without Marcus Washington, a Pro Bowl Linebacker; without Santana Moss, a Pro Bowl receiver who earned the Redskins’ receiving yardage record just two years ago; without the starters on the right side of their offensive line; and without first-round pick and three-year starter Carlos Rogers. Yet, they still held a nine-point lead early in the fourth quarter against the reigning NFC East champs yesterday.

They held a nine-point lead because of their deep bench. Their second and third stringers filling in for the right side of the offensive line were able to open holes for Portis for most of the day and keep pass rushers off of Campbell. When they didn’t open holes for Portis, Portis took it upon himself and exploded around the edge or through tacklers to earn 137 yards rushing, the highest total in the NFL yesterday.

They were able to get and hold that lead because the Eagles were afraid to throw the ball deep down the middle with Sean Taylor playing a deep safety and taking Eagles’ heads off and helping to pick up the slack in the secondary due to the missing Rogers.

They were able to get the lead because their remarkable depth allowed James Thrash to step into Santana Moss’s spot and catch two touchdown passes in addition to making the first two Redskins’ plays that went for 30+ yards this year. Thrash did all that and still made great plays on special teams in punt and kick coverage.

So, it is not that the Redskins do not have depth. They had tremendous depth. The problem is that they have blown through that depth with injuries upon injuries at the same spots—offensive line, wide receiver, and the defensive secondary.

The Redskins lost the game in the fourth quarter. With the Skins winning by nine points, the Eagles outscored the Redskins 20 – 3 over the last 12:36 of the game. Why? Sean Taylor did not play in the fourth quarter because of a knee injury. The Eagles threw three touchdown passes that went right up the middle of the field—the place that they were afraid to throw or run to when Taylor occupied that spot. James Thrash did not play in the fourth quarter because of a knee injury and could not add to his two TD performance. And, the line failed on a couple of occasions to open holes wide enough to get a crucial yard that would have either gotten them in the end zone (Yoder and Portis) or kept drives alive (Sellers) and the Eagles offense off the field.

Redskins’ fans have criticized Gibbs all year for what they deem conservative play calling. Today they are criticizing Gibbs because he ran Portis three times from a first-and-goal at the three in the fourth quarter. These are the same people who criticized Gibbs for not running Portis with a first and goal from the one-yard line against the Giants. I cannot stand arm-chair quarterbacks who have no idea what they are talking about.

You wanted Gibbs to throw the ball there? Okay. Whom is he going to throw to? Moss and Thrash were in the trainer’s room. Randle El was double covered. Cooley had to stay in and help the second and third stringers block. Where was Gibbs going to throw the ball? And you ALL know that if Gibbs called for pass plays in that spot and they failed to score a TD or got called for a false start or holding, you would have said “why didn’t he use Portis when they had the chance? What are we paying Portis $50 million for if he cannot get three yards?” You Gibbs critics know you would have, so please, do us all a favor and shut up.

JC Walks on Water
Jason Campbell played the best game of his career yesterday. It was his sixteenth professional start, which officially gives him one full year of starts. He completed 68% of his passes for three TDs and no INTs, made some beautiful touch passes, and took a huge step forward. The only thing missing from his repertoire now is a few more Favre-like comebacks that end in victory. He has two overtime drives that ended in victory this year and he has come close several times in losses, most recently driving the Skins 61-yards against the Giants to the one-yard line in the final 2:19. A few wins in regulation would go a long way to put the finishing touches on a quarterback who should be a perennial Pro Bowl player.

Where are the Redskins?
With all of the bellyaching from Skins fans, you would think they are in last place. No, last place is where the Eagles reside, which I was happy to remind Eagles’ fan in mid-celebration in the FedEx Field Club Level yesterday. You would think the Redskins were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. No, even the 1 – 8 Rams, who surprisingly blew away the pundit-favorite-for-NFC-champ-Saints, can still make the playoffs. You would think the Redskins had no legitimate shot at the playoffs. No, they are one game back in the loss column from the Giants and Lions, who currently own the last two seeds for the NFC playoffs. Oh, they beat the lions—handily—so all they have to do to knock the Lions out is finish with the same record. Oh, and they have one more game against the Giants, who have a much tougher schedule than the Redskins from here on out.

I would have loved to see the Giants beat the Cowboys yesterday and keep the Skins within two losses of the Brokeback Boys and the NFC East title, but even the fifth seed is better than the seed that eleven other NFC teams will earn this year. Anything can happen in the playoffs, especially when you are as good as the Redskins are and you could be much healthier by January.

Where were the Redskins’ Fans?
How is it possible that at every game that I attend at FedEx Field (six- to eight-per year), I am surrounded by the opposing team’s fans? If you are a Redskins’ fan and you sold your seats to Eagles fans—a division rival—when the Skins are very much in the playoff hunt, you should have your season-tickets privilege revoked. It is bad enough to sell to a Dolphins fan for a Dolphins game, but selling to the most obnoxious fans in the NFL? Dante has reserved a circle for you.