Baby, Its Cold Outside: Redskins 20, Jaguars 17 OT

"Even when the Redskins are frustratingly, heartbreakingly, soul-scorchingly mediocre, I manage to look forward to Sundays every week. We're only doing this one more time. Sure, the offseason stuff is fun, but it's fun the way the intermission ice hockey mites are fun. I really like the games. And there's only one left."--Dan Steinberg

The big blizzard was supposed to drop a ton of show on us, but then it changed to 1-3 inches. We were going to take the Metro up to Grosvenor, but then figured, what the hell, maybe the roads won't get too bad.

The weather held up, the fire was warm, the fancy cheeses were luxurious, the mood of the RClub with the highest attendance of the year was relaxed, and the Redskins won a close one to go to 6-9 on the season, thanks to the high energy of a bunch of low paid no names on defense, such as Derrion Scott, Joe Joseph, Rob Jackson, Kevin Barnes, and Macho Harris.


We had to watch on tape-delayed DVR while everyone loaded up their bagels with lox and whatnot, but when we pressed play, we watched Rex Grossman toss a short td to Sleepy Davis (after an easy Cooley drop) and Carlos catch an interception--yes--catch an interception. His first since the Houston game..

Then of course the game got bogged down Redskins style, meaning no more offense and no more third down conversions. However, late in the third quarter, Rex and company put together a really long drive that culminated with a Ryan Torain touchdown plunge on 4th down to go up 17-10.

The game went to OT after a David Garrard scramble touchdown.

We lost the toss, but Vonnie Holliday forced Garrard to throw a stupid pass right into the arms of Kevin Barnes--
and Gano slipped in the winning field goal.

A 7-9 record wouldn't be so horrible. It would match the predictions of all the naysayers who said we're be very mediocre though.

Looking back, it made perfect sense to me to envision Donovan McNabb throwing 12 touchdown passes to Chris Cooley thanks to a functioning and robust Shanahan run-oriented offense lead by a finally healthy Clinton Portis.

This did not happen.

McNabb got benched because he has a dearth of weapons at his disposal/he stinks at throwing. Clinton Portis can't get his body to give him one last great season. Cooley often disappeared from the game plan. Santana Moss had a very good year statistically, but he no longer appears to be thought of, or able to be, the deep threat/number one guy. Armstrong made some contributions but he's not that guy either. That guy ain't here yet.

All that's left is the Giants game and a chance to knock out a rival from the playoffs. Spite!

Long Hard Times to Come: Cowboys 33, Redskins 30

When McNabb got an Amtrak and came to Washington, and Campbell flew out of town, Redskins fans like me tried to hold our noses and think about how the days of "field-goal-instead-of-touchdown" were over. McNabb is inaccurate sometimes, but when he has first and goal inside the 10, he finds someone and gets him the ball for a touchdown--that was the salve of this deal that forced us to root for the Eagle who killed us for a decade.



But now look at him. 14 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and Rex Grossman is the dude tossing 4 touchdown passes in a game, all from inside the 20 yard line. Hey, McNabb. Why don't you don't you go and shove your hands down your pants? Oh, already doing that? Good, good for you.




This is a catfish--a bottom feeding fish. DC sports teams are the bottom feeders of the sports world at the moment.

And So This is Dallas Week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUCbZhIfQbA


So this is Dallas Week
And what have you done
Another season over
And the misery weighs a ton




And so this is Dallas week
I hope we’ll have won
But the team’s lacking talent
and we need to get young

A very merry Dallas Week
And a happy Next Year
Let's hope for some functioning rookies
That we don’t have to jeer



And so this is Dallas Week
For weak and not-so-strong
For the underachievers and also-rans
This season turned out wrong
And so happy Dallas Week
So in lieu of toys
Just give us one simple thing
A victory over the Cowboys
A very merry Dallas Week
Perhaps I’ll drink some beer
To deaden the sensation
If Jon Kitna’s kicking our rear


And so this is Dallas Week
And what Has Shanahan done?
Has all this been rebuiliding?
Or another failed delusional title run?
And so this is Dallas Week
A Cowboy sweep will keep us warm
But if you look at Skins recent history
Its far from the norm
A very merry Dallas Week
And a happy New Year
McNabb, its time to step up
Stop Throwing like Johnny Weir

This season's over now

If you want it

The season is over

Now...

Horse Shit: Bucs 17, Redskins 16

Horse Shit!

What the hell are you DOING?
What the HELL are you doing?That's Horse Shit!--drunk guy with poncho

C'mon Redskins! REDSKINS! (full throated screaming)

I want a win and Do It ("It" not specified, but screamed without reservation nonetheless)--another drunk guy

Hunter! Hunter the Punter, alright! (Lady fan cheering despite the Redskins being forced to punt after after an incomplete pass)

These are the people in my community. Redskins fans. People who decided to sit in the cold December rain and watch a 5-7 team blow what would have been a heartbreaker had the team still been trying to make a legitimate run at the playoffs.

Some of them seem to impersonate what happens in pentecostal churches when they catch the holy ghost and start dancing around speaking in tongues.

The Redskins version of that is (all yelling):

1. C'mon do something (positive)
2. You guys are (doing something negative)
3. Let's go Redskins
4. Full throated, cave man call of the wild screaming of just "Redskins" like Redskins was the first word they thought of when they slammed their hand in a car door.

I wasn't imbibing like those people were, but I am them. When a Tampa receiver caught a long pass and then flexed toward our section in the stadium, the only thing that I found appropriate was to give him the middle finger and tell him that he sucked.

The guy who kept saying horse shit made me crack up. I'm glad he didn't see or hear me because it was hilarious. The people who drink to destruction at Fed Ex are a sad bunch, but today being drunk was the way to be because it was cold and wet and the Redskins did their thing--scoring a touchdown after a 2 minute drill and the botching the extra point that would tie the game.

It was an unusual situation. Scoring to tie it up with nine seconds left, then missing the extra point because of a high snap/botched catch, but not really caring, getting up, and walking out of the stadium. From the joy to misery in an instant, but all completely muted because of how consistently this team lets us down. Emotional scar tissue, I suppose. Ryan Torain was a total beast in the first half, running for 150 yards or something. But you need those yards in the second half, and we couldn't get them because we can't throw consistently.

Not enough talent.

One nice thing is that the players noticed, according to the DC Sports Bog:



"I notice everything," Phillip Daniels said. "I just appreciate the people that came out here in the rain to support us. I really love those people for doing that. You know, they didn't have to. They could have did just like the rest of them, stayed home and not supported us, but I appreciate the fans that came out. You can't do anything about the crowd. It's bad weather, we're not winning, so those things play a factor, but at the same time, I appreciate every fan that stands behind us regardless of what happens or where we are. I love those kind of fans."

"I noticed it," Andre Carter said. "I noticed it. But at the end of the day, it's about us. We appreciate the diehards that came out and contributed and made it as loud as possible."




"One, when you don't win, you kind of expect that, and two, on a very cold and windy day, you kind of expect that," Reed Doughty said. "But the fans that were here, I really appreciated what they brought to us, and I thought it was a pretty lively crowd. If you're gonna show up [on a day like that], you're gonna cheer. I felt like they were with us til the end."
"You know what, I have to say this about our fans: given the circumstances, given the rain and the cold, I was impressed with the fans, the true fans," Vonnie Holliday said. "Those are the people that sat out in that rain the whole time, and that cold, and supported their team and cheered us on. Hats off to them. With those conditions, at this point in the season, to show up and to cheer us on, I mean, it's much appreciated. I know all these guys in the locker room appreciate that."

Acceptance: Giants 31, Redskins 7

I've been looking for this quote from an episode from 30 Rock from a few years ago. In it, Liz Lemon is describing how settling for her dysfunctional yet predictable relationship with Dennis Duffy suits her just fine; how it allows her to enter a sort of relaxed state of acceptance and tranquility.

Her friend quickly interjects that she is describing the physical sensations one experiences when drowning to
death.




When the Giants went up 14-0 yesterday in the first quarter, I crossed the line from hoping/scheming/scoreboard watching to a relaxed state of acceptance and tranquility. The competitive portion of the 2010 campaign was over. The 2010 Redskins had in fact drowned, and the remaining four games have become an "intellectual curiosity," as Dad said yesterday.



Some people say the team quit or whatever, but the moral of the story once again is lack of talent. The defense has talented players, but they are not suited for the 3-4. The offensive line is nothing but a patchwork. It would be nice for Shanahan to say so explicitly. "Yes, these guys tried very hard but they all have to go or hit our bench. Big upgrades needed." If he's thinking "I really thought these guys had what it took to go the distance--I can't believe our misfortune," then this personnel purgatory nightmare will continue.




Anyhow, watching the game at Steve's place was a really nice change of pace. The panini place on F Street makes a mean turkey reuben. WMATA was generally accurate with its Red Line schedule. McNabb threw a nice touchdown pass to Anthony Armstrong to cut the lead to 21. Reed Doughty made a nice textbook tackle on Jacobs. I didn't see any Giants fans on the street. That's it for positivity.

Ohhh, Devin Thomas Is a NY Giant, Now. I Love It!

(skip to 3:00)

http://www.willferrellsnlskits.com/will-ferrell-snl-skits/will-ferrell-as-the-angry-boss

Idiot Thomas! Big, bad, video superstar, can't get on the field, can't stay awake in team meetings, can't beat out Joey Galloway on the depth chart, can't play for Jim Zorn, can't stay on the 1-10 Panthers. You are a g-damn New York football Giant, now? Oh, holy shit. Let's see this, Idiot Thomas!