On Yom Kippur, we atone for our sins. Mocking, Insulting, Lusting, Lying, Killing. Maybe we atone for being incompetent, listless, purposeless, careless, neglectful, irresponsible, unnaccountable. The Washington Redskins should atone for causing so much pain and rage to their endlessly devoted fans. The Redskins lost to Detroit 19-14, ending Detroit's 19 game losing streak.It wasn't like we lost a heartbreaker. We played like shit from beginning to end, and deserved to lose to the worst team in football, which isn't so lousy anymore, thanks to us. In order for atonement to be achieved, one must list and categorize the sins committed.
Sin #1--Going for Fourth and 1 in the first quarter with no score, on the road, and running left, and getting stuffed. First of all, I am on record saying kick the field goal. Get up 3-0 and try again later. Going for it shows that you are not coaching against this week's opponent, it shows that you are coaching against the media, the expectations, the booing fans, the owner's cell phone. Be desperate, don't act desperate. Portis got stuffed running to the left side--something former Redskin Jon Jansen could have called attention to in the first minute of the first meeting of the week. Half a yard--go straight ahead. Hell, jump over the line with your busted ankles if you want.
Sin #2--Not blitzing quarterback Matthew Stafford. He's a rookie. Blitz him. Orakpo had a nice sack, but there was no real pressure on the QB, again. He missed a couple of passes badly, but when he had time, he made some really nice throws and was able to continue drives, three long ones. Does this sound familiar? Is a theme developing? How on earth did Greg Blache earn a reputation for loving exotic blitz schemes? He never uses them. Is giving up these long drives really better than gambling on a more aggressive attack that runs the risk of giving up a big play?
Sin #3--Not throwing the ball in the end zone on the last play of the game and instead running a hook and lateral play. Yeah, we probably would not have scored but not trying is just ridiculous when you have tall guys like Marko and Kelly now. Down 13-0 at half, the Skins came out and struck quick with a 57 yard catch and run by Santana Moss who really had a great game. With the score 13-7 with 13 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, we really thought we'd back in the game and hopefully win in an ugly squeaker.
But after a killer pass interference by Chris Horton which set up a touchdown, we knew there wasn't going to be enough time to come back. Campbell drove the team down for a touchdown--a short pass to Rock Cartwright--but there just wasn't enough time after we got the ball back. The hook and lateral play stalled at the 20 after Ladell Betts was taken down.
Portis had 42 yards rushing. He looked pretty good on a couple of runs, but a little slow, maybe because of his ankle spurs and maybe because he has LaDainian Tomlinson washedupedness, which would be really sad. So they lost, we ate brisket, and got changed and headed for Kol Nidre at Georgetown University.
Its a devastating loss that not only questions whether the Skins could compete for the playoffs, but whether Zorn should be fired or when, who would takeover, how much it would cost to take the team from Snyder, whether the players give a crap about anything, and whether fans should even continue their support.
One fan has put his fan loyalty up for bidding on ebay. Others are jumping ship, saying they will root for the Steelers or Ravens because they have their shit together. First of all, the Skins are 1-2, not 3-9. This nadir has happened in September and not in November. Lots of teams start how terribly and catch fire later on. Those teams usually beat us when we need wins in November, and we can still be one of those teams.
This week, in addition to all the rage and despair, there is also schizophrenia. Either we are a great team that has tons of excellent talent that is underachieving and being poorly coached, or we are delusional about our talent and depth and therefore, we really shouldn't be all that pissed off at a 1-2 start and playing lousy/mediocre football. Seriously, the right side of our offensive line is Grade A, 100% lousy. Almost half of our offensive line is not useable, so how are we supposed to expect to score 30 points?
My take is that we aren't as talented as we though we were in August, but we ARE TALENTED. And if we had coaches who could call dynamic/non-static plays and inspire our players to go balls-out and hunger for victory, we'd be a lot better. Second, with regard to all that emotional energy that is making fans want to give up--that energy cannot be transferred to another team, and anyone who thinks different is delusional. The rage that makes you punch the couch or throw your hat to the ground when something bad happens, or the floating joy you feel after a big win that makes you want to frolic with the animals like in a Disney movie became part of your emotional DNA when you were a kid, and its not going anywhere even if you wish it would.
One may ask, but wait, weren't you a Baltimore Orioles fan from a very young age, and didn't you have no trouble shedding that allegiance when the Nationals came to town? Yes, but that only highlights the fact that as a Washingtonian, there was a glass ceiling on my connection to a team that played in Baltimore. You can't give up the Redskins, and there aren't any grounds to do so anyway. This rage is actually a cold hard slap of reality--the team is not built to compete right now and probably won't be for a while even under the best of circumstances.
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