Tom Oli(syco)phant and Honest Dialogue on Race

Tom Oliphant of the Boston Globe was just on MSLSD (I love that joke from Mark Levin) talking about the Bill Bennett controversy. Oliphant said race is America’s original sin and that we are just beginning to develop a “scab over that wound” and that every once in a while someone “picks at that scab.” He said Bennett should have immediately apologized for his remarks; Oliphant said Bennett should have said he didn’t mean to say them.

I guess we need a Bill Clinton (“the first black President”) to sign a welfare reform bill and a Bill Cosby to talk honestly about racial issues. White males like Bennett need not apply. Oliphant actually said there is a "line that should not be crossed" when "discussing" racial issues. Honest dialogue about racial issues is nearly impossible as long as the Jesse Jacksons, Al Sharptons, and their sycophants like Tom Oliphant are around to “protect” free speech.

The right has a legitimate claim that the underclass is the left's "military-industrial" complex. Democrats need the underclass to hold power in elected office. Liberal intellectuals need the underclass to get tenure and get on the lecture circuit and book writing tours. African-American focused foundations need the underclass to raise money from guilt-ridden white liberals and corporate shakedowns. If the left ever cared enough to fix the problems of the underclass, they would all lose power. Honest dialogue is the first step to fixing the problem, which is why it is so important for the left to stomp on anyone who "crosses that line."

8 and 10...

…that is Joe Gibbs’s record since his return from retirement.

I can think of a dozen NFL franchises that would love to have had that record in their past eighteen games. Yet, if you listen to the MNF, ESPN, or Fox pre-game and announcing crews, you would think Gibbs has been a dismal failure. If you read the sports sections of major newspapers, you would think Gibbs has ruined his Hall of Fame credentials.

Apparently, most NFL fans get their information from these sources. As of midday, about 100,000 votes were recorded on www.nfl.com on the question: “Which 2 – 0 team is the biggest surprise?” The Redskins were number one in the poll with a five-point lead over the Bengals.

What is surprising to me is that several of the experts’ favorites to win or surprise in 2005, including Arizona (6 – 12), Carolina (8 – 10), Minnesota (8 – 10), the Giants (8 - 10), Dallas (7 – 11), and Tampa Bay (7 – 11), all have the same or worse record as the Redskins in their last eighteen games. Three other "favorites" this year--Kansas City, Cincinnati, and New Orleans--are 9 - 9 in their last eighteen. The Redskins' record when examining the last game that they played against any of the experts' favorites in the past two years is 4 - 1. The only loss was against Cincinnati in November 2004, by a score of 17 - 10. I can somewhat understand how the experts overlooked what was essentially a 0.500 team, but I cannot understand it when the experts pick other 0.500 teams to do well and overlook a 0.500 team that has outperformed virtually all of them.



5 and 2…

…that is Joe Gibbs’s record in his last seven games.

In 1981, in Joe’s first year as Redskins coach, he started 0 – 5; was humbled; adapted; and worked his butt off to finish 8 and 8 (that’s 8 and 3 in the last eleven games of 1981). The momentum that the team generated in those last eleven games was built game-by-game as the confidence of the players grew. That momentum led to Gibbs’s first Super Bowl championship the following year. If you do the math you will find that 5 and 2 and 8 and 3 (the streak in 1981) are approximately the same winning percentage. I think it portends good things for the near future of the franchise.

Finally, here is a clue why Gibbs has been so successful. After a dramatic win on the road against an arch rival that the team has lost to 14 times in 15 games, a win that put his team in first place in the division, and a win Gibbs called one of his most memorable in sports (which is saying something when you’re a Hall of Fame coach who won three Super Bowls and two Winston Cups), Gibbs is not satisfied:

"We need to be tough on ourselves," Gibbs said. "[The Dallas game] was a very emotional and great win, but there are a lot of things we have to improve on."

Good 14 - Evil 13

Wow, what a game. My wife and I let our twelve-year old son stay up for the first three quarters. When I kissed him good night, I said “I’ll try not to wake you up when the Skins score two touchdowns and win.” He thanked me. I woke him at 6:30 this morning and led him to the TV where I had the TIVO queued up to 4:00 minutes left in the game. He reacted like he was watching it live.

So many demons were exorcised last night that it is difficult to name them all.

Starting with Clint Longley coming off the bench on Thanksgiving Day in 1974 and heaving a ridiculous bomb, it has always been the Cowboys that pulled off improbable, last-minute comebacks to beat the Redskins. Only once before, in 1992, did the Skins treat Dallas to a spoonful of heart-wrenching comeback. Beelzebub Longley? Drink some Holy water.

In 1979, on the last day of the season when a victory over Dallas would clinch a division title for the Skins, the Redskins held a 13 point lead with about five minutes left in the game. That's when Riggins ran around right end for about sixty yards to seemingly ice it. It took Staubach 140 seconds to throw two touchdown passes, beat the Skins 35 - 34, and knock them out of the playoffs. After the game, the great statesman Harvey Martin threw a funeral wreath into the Redskins locker room. Mephistopheles Martin and Samael Staubach? Die.

In 1999, heading into the fourth quarter, the Skins held a 35 - 14 lead. Dallas scored 21 points in the fourth to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Raghib Ismail was left uncovered and caught a ball and ran 76 yards for the winning score. Raum Raghib Ismail? Back to hell.

Last year, on December 26, the day after the birthday of Satan’s nemesis, the Redskins had a 10 – 6 lead with 30 seconds left in the game. In the Cowboys’ previous offensive series, Testaverde took three snaps from center and was sacked all three times. In their last series, Testaverde took two snaps and the Skins sacked him both times (Correction: The Skins sacked Testaverde a total of five times and only three times in the last two series). When he took his third snap, he threw a 39-yard TD bomb to Crayton for a 13 – 10 win. Get behind me Satan Testaverde!

There were other heartbreaking losses to Dallas, but they hardly seem important now that good has conquered evil.

More slates to wipe clean:
• It’s been ten-years since the Redskins beat Dallas in Dallas. Wipe that slate clean;
• Bill Parcells is 77 – 0 when leading by 13 or more in the fourth quarter? Make that 77 – 1;
• Parcells beat Gibbs eight straight times? Gibbs has the current winning streak;
• Redskins were 0 – 25 when trailing after three quarters. Reset the counter;

The best part about all of this was driving the stake through their hearts on the night that Aikman, Irvin and Smith were inducted into the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor. The announcers on the Redskins Post Game Show quoted Joe Gibbs saying: “They treated us like a homecoming team.” They scheduled the game against an opponent they thought they could easily beat so they wouldn’t spoil the “Triplets” night. Triplets? Ring of Honor? Dante has reserved a ring for each of them.

The Redskins still have areas they need to work on, but I’ll save those for another post. Today is a day for basking in victory. Yesterday, Satan Moss became the Cowboy fans’ demon.

Redskins Preview 2005

Prior to last Monday’s benching of Patrick Ramsey, I had planned to write a detailed preview of the Redskins’ season and write about an inexorable march to the 2005 NFL playoffs, but the benching has changed a lot of things. Friends call me the eternal optimist, so you can guess that I still think the Redskins will reach the playoffs this year. But, because the future is a little cloudier now, I have canned the detailed preview. Here is a less-detailed preview.

The Redskins will make the playoffs this year. My post on September 11 highlighted the three main reasons for the Redskins' bright outlook:

1. Joe Gibb’s record of success in everything he attempts
2. The outstanding defense
3. The best offensive line in football

The benching of Ramsey only changes one thing in this assessment. The offensive line is going to be challenged much more with Brunell at QB. Defenses are going to stack eight guys in the box and force Brunell to prove he can beat them deep. If he cannot, Portis and Betts are going to have a tough time finding holes to run through. No matter how talented any five offensive linemen are they cannot beat eight guys on defense, even if they are the worst eight defensemen in the league.

This just goes to show how difficult it is to pinpoint one player or one unit on a team and declaring it the best or worst. If a team has a quarterback who can accurately throw downfield, it will open running lanes for its running backs and it will have a balanced offense. That will allow lineman to open up holes and protect its QB, making talented linemen seem extraordinarily talented. The protection the linemen provide the QB will make the QB seem better than his talent, and the same is true of the running backs and receivers. All the units rely on each other for success. The same is true for the defense. The Redskins have had a very talented secondary for the last ten years, but between 1996 and 2003 their defensive linemen have been average or below average. Their defensive linemen gave opposing QBs so much time to throw, the Redskins’ secondary seemed much worse than its talent. Furthermore, when an offensive unit consistently goes three-and-out and forces the defensive unit to play thirty-five or more minutes per game, the defense can also look worse than its talent. Football is a team sport.

So, the main question for the Redskins in 2005 will be: Can Brunell throw for a higher average yards-per-attempt than the five yards he earned as starter last year? If the Bears game is any indication, the answer is no. Much of Brunell’s passing in that game was rocket screens to the wide receivers that picked up three or four yards, much like last year. His only memorable deep attempt resulted in an interception on a poorly thrown ball, but the interception was reversed on pass interference. Brunell will try the patience of the offensive linemen and running backs and the Skins will have to win with defense and special teams.

How good is the defense? In the third (and typically most important) preseason game, the Skins starters gave up three points against the Steelers. In their season opener, for all intents and purposes, they pitched a shutout against the Bears (the Bears managed to score seven points when the Redskins fumbled the second-half kickoff deep in their own territory). Since facing the Redskins, the Steelers and Bears are a combined 3-0 in the regular season and scored a combined 99 points in those three wins. The Redskins defense is damn good.

Special teams are now a concern with the injury to kicker John Hall. In tonight’s important game against the Cowboys, the Redskins will be relying on a kicker who never attempted a regular-season kick, which is not a good recipe for victory on an offensively challenged team.

So, where is my optimism coming from? I have always been a huge fan of football teams that win with defense and a ball control offense. I love Joe Gibbs’s teams of yesteryear because of that old style of play. When not playing against the Skins and when the Skins were eliminated from the playoffs in the past few years, I rooted for the Patriots because they are a throwback team. The Ravens won the Super Bowl in January 2001 because of defense and ball control (but I could never root for any team with a player who was an accomplice to murder). The Redskins defense is as good as or better than the defenses that won the last five Super Bowls. That is the primary source of my optimism.

Since the late eighties, when rules increasingly restricted defenses from getting physical with players on offense, offenses opened up. The mobile quarterback became more important than the quarterback who could step into a blitz and deliver the pass downfield. Fast receivers who pick up twenty yards three times per game before stepping out of bounds became more important than possession receivers like Art Monk who consistently moved the chains by catching eight- or ten-passes for ten yards in the middle of the field before taking excruciating hits. Teams built the “modern way” have frequently won division titles (think Eagles, Colts, Falcons, etc.), but no team that was built the “modern way” has won a Super Bowl in the last five years. I don’t think the “modern way” is a good prescription for building a Super Bowl champion. When Gibbs bent over backwards to hire Greg Williams as defensive coordinator, he sent a message to Skins fans who suffered through years of defenses built by modern coaches: Turner and the Ole Ball Coach. When he traded for Portis, he made a statement about the running game (how could Spurrier let Stephen Davis go?).

So, my optimism is in DE-FENSE and Portis and Betts (the running backs, not the Gershwin musical); especially Betts because of his size. The Redskins earned 164 yards rushing last week against an excellent Bears defense. If they can repeat that kind of performance against lesser defenses, they will be very good no matter who QBs. The Defenders who will be fun to watch are Arrington (who returns from missing most of last year due to injury), Sean Taylor (who hits harder than any safety since Ronnie Lott), Cornelius Griffin (awesome run stopper, how could the Giants let him get away?), Marcus Washington (he's all over the field), and rookie Carlos Rogers. But, Williams has proven the point that the team is more important than the individual. Since he came on board, the Redskins have more players around the ball than I can ever remember. It's rare to see a solo tackle; the whole team likes to get in on the fun.

Before the Ramsey benching, I looked at tonight’s game as winnable. The next two opponents are Seattle and Denver, so if they beat Dallas the Skins could realistically be 4-0. That record would do wonders for this team’s confidence. Overnight, commentators would go from saying that the game has passed Joe by, to saying he’s the next Vermeil with a shot at his fourth Lombardi; such is the fickleness of NFL commentators. I had expected that confidence to accrue to Ramsey’s account, not Brunell’s, and I expected that accrual to establish this team as a Super Bowl contender for the remaining tenure of Gibbs’s contract (four years). With Ramsey’s benching, the future is cloudy, but with this defense the Redskins will be in every game. It will be up to Joe to pull the rabbit out of the hat to turn one-point losses into two-point wins until Ramsey wins his job back.

Skins 9 / Bears 7: Quick Takes

There were three very encouraging aspects to yesterday's game for Redskins fans, and two discouraging ones.

Encouraging:
1. The offensive line was outstanding, as expected;

2. The defense was even more spectacular than expected. Although LaVar only played in about a dozen plays, the defense, led by Sean Taylor, put some hurt on the Bears and it is likely to continue to play that way for the rest of the year;

3. Clinton Portis ran like John Riggins, especially near the end of the game when he killed the clock. And, the Skins didn't lose much when Ladell Betts gave Clinton a breather. Some credit for that has to go to the offensive line;

Discouraging:
1. I believe that Joe Gibbs knows what he is doing, but all of his post game comments gave the impression that Patrick Ramsey has lost his starting job. Mark Brunell definitely had a better preseason than Ramsey overall, but Ramsey can stretch the field; Brunell couldn't stretch the field with heavy equipment. (Update 8:50pm: Gibbs benched Ramsey today and gave the starting job to Brunell).

Ramsey averaged 9.5 yards per attempt yesterday after putting up big numbers in that area in the preseason, and he converted about 75% of his third down passes. Those are good numbers despite having a touchdown to Cooley on third down get called back on a questionable offensive pass interference call. Brunell used to put up those kinds of numbers, about five years ago.

I understand the importance of holding on to the football. I know that with the exceptional defense that the Skins have, mistake-free football can get you to the playoffs. Hell, that was the formula that gave the the Ravens their Super Bowl rings for the 2000 season, and I'd rather have this Redskins team than that Ravens team. Given a choice between Ramsey and Dilfer at QB who would you pick?

But, Ramsey only made one bad mistake: the interception in the first quarter. He settled down after that until the attempted murder by Lance Briggs took him out of the game. (Seriously, I know it's a violent sport, but clotheslines of the quarterback are penalties in the NFL about 999 times out of 1000; Briggs should have played the lottery yesterday). But, despite the importance of mistake-free football, some consideration has to be given to the next step.

What is the next step? I define it as getting to that dominating level of play that we saw in Joe Gibbs's Redskins teams of the 1980s when Skins fans could look forward to any game with confidence that the Skins had a great shot at winning it. If the team is going to take the next step, they'll need to have a balanced offense. I don't think Brunell can deliver that balance. Patrick Ramsey can deliver it because he can get the ball down field, which opens up the running game for Portis and Betts. With Brunell at QB, defenses are going to stack eight guys in the box and Portis and Betts are going to take a pounding. Their offensive line is great, but I'll bet on eight defensive players when they go against five offensive lineman. When you add in that Brunell has no future here and Ramsey has the potential to be a starting quarterback for years, it makes the case for Ramsey a lot easier to make.

2. John Hall, the kicker, is injured again. He hurt the same leg that knocked him out about half of the season last year. At least it came on the winning kick. If you have a QB that can't stretch the field (Brunell) and you put the whole burden to win on the defense and special teams, you can't afford to lose your only good kicker.

Skins Preview?

Okay, I know I promised a detailed preview of the Redskins before today's opener. Unfortunately, work took too much of my time this week after a brief family vacation over Labor day weekend. But, here is a short version of the longer piece I expect to write next week.

The Redskins WILL make the playoffs this year. I could leave it at that, but I'll whet your appetite a little more with the three main reasons:

1. Joe Gibbs has been successful in everything he has attempted. Whether it's coaching in the NFL and playing in five NFC championships in ten years, winning four NFC Championships and three Super Bowls; or it's winning the national senior handball champion, or it's winning two NASCAR Winston Cup Championships, Joe knows success. That kind of success requires a strong intellect, great people/managerial skills, and the ability to adapt. Those qualities do not evaporate simply because you have "been away from the game." He is eager to prove his critics are wrong;

2. The defense is outstanding thanks in large part to Greg Williams, one of the best defensive minds in the game. This is a defense that now gets LaVar Arrington back after missing virtually the entire 2004 season. LaVar is to this Redskins team what John Riggins was to the early 80s teams. They missed him immensely last year;

3. The offensive line is the best in the NFL. They have two young, proven pro bowlers on either side of center (Samuels (LT) and Thomas (RG)), a new young but proven starter at center (Rabach), and a young and exceptionally talented left guard in Dockery who played superbly in his rookie season last year and will step it up this year. Bugel thinks Dockery is the most talented lineman he has. This is a unit that gets a young Jansen back at right tackle after missing the entire 2004 season with an achilles injury. This unit is coached by the best offensive line coach in the game--Bugel--and it could have four starters in Hawaii in February.

These offensive lineman are ALL in the prime of their careers and the odds are pretty good that they will stay healthy and peak together. But the most important impact that they will have is not opening holes for Portis, althought they will do that with alacrity. No, the biggest impact they will have will be in keeping Ramsey standing tall in the pocket all year. Ramsey's confidence will grow with each game until he reclaims the fire that we saw in his eyes in his first two seasons.

Ramsey has already shown some of that brilliance in a preseaon that has brought all of his critics out. He may have been a bit sloppy in the preseason, but one statistic tells an important story. He threw for over 8 yards per attempt and his wide receivers avergaged 19 yards per catch. They did not stretch the field like that last year, but they will this year. That will force the safeties to play deep and will open up a ton of running room for Portis.

Joe Gibbs knows success.

World News Trivia Contest

Test your knowledge of world events. Which of the following recent events occurred in Fallujah, and which occurred in New Orleans:

1. …shots were fired at a military helicopter, making it clear that it had become too dangerous...

2. …And National Guard Lt. Col. Pete Schneider said the military suspended the ground evacuation because (of) fires set by (locals)...

3. …(hospital officials) asked authorities late Wednesday to help evacuate a fully functioning hospital…after a supply truck carrying food, water and medical supplies was held up at gunpoint…

4. …There are physical threats to safety from roving bands of armed individuals with weapons who are threatening the safety of the hospital…

5. …"We're trying to deal with looters as ruthlessly as we can get our hands on them…"


Scroll down for the answers.
















Of course you guessed that all of the events occurred in New Orleans.

As you might know, 100% of the Louisiana Executive branch, including the Governor, is made up of Democrats. Sixty-four percent of the House and 63% of the Senate are Democrats. Given demographic data, the percentage of liberal Democrats residing in the City of New Orleans is much higher than that found statewide, and clearly the entire state leans left. Maybe the left should get its own house in order before it worries about what we should do in Iraq. There are no excuses for this behavior. These "citizens" are a disgrace to the entire country.


1. Richard Zeuschlag, Chief of Acadian Ambulance New Orleans
2. Lt. Col. Pete Schneider
3. Tenet HealthCare Corp.
4. THC spokesman Steven Campanini
5. Haley Barbour, Mississippi Governor

All quotes were found in a story on www.signonsandiego.com written by:

Adam Nossiter
ASSOCIATED PRESS