I’ve been a Skins fan since the day I was born, but there have been few Sundays (if any) in the past 15 years as glorious as yesterday.
Riding the Metro from downtown DC to suburban Maryland to watch the game, I noticed some graffiti by the Brookland / CUA platform. Catholic University received a lot of media attention in the NFL last week for hosting the Arizona Cardinals between their losses to the Skins and Jets, and being my alma mater, I thought this was a rather fitting place to see the following tag:
Riding the Metro from downtown DC to suburban Maryland to watch the game, I noticed some graffiti by the Brookland / CUA platform. Catholic University received a lot of media attention in the NFL last week for hosting the Arizona Cardinals between their losses to the Skins and Jets, and being my alma mater, I thought this was a rather fitting place to see the following tag:
That's some damn fine work.Getting excited for the game, as if it wasn’t easy enough, was just made easier. Another Sunday... another huge NFC East matchup... another game with so much at stake.
When the Eagles took their first possession, drove down the field and scored seemingly at will, the high hopes I had heading into the game were quickly brought back down to Earth. Desean Jackson’s punt return minutes later -- making the score 14-0 less than halfway through the opening quarter -- was like a knock-down sucker punch to the face. Add to that the fact that the Skins would be playing in front of a hostile Lincoln Financial Field crowd, without 3 defensive starters, and it appeared as though the men on the field and the fans watching at home were in for a very long and painful day.
For the past 10+ years, the Washington Redskins would be at a certain disadvantage in situations like this, both physically and psychologically. Climbing out of a two-touchdown hole, regardless of the circumstances, was as likely as signing a free agent Pro Bowler and having him return to Hawaii the following year (it could happen, sure, but I wouldn’t bet on it).
The Zorn Era, however, is clearly different.
Down but not out, the Burgundy and Gold showed yesterday that they are absolutely a team on the rise, one that is on a 4-game winning streak not because of a fluke play here or there, but because they possess the complete package. The offense is playing well, the defense is suffocating, the special teams is doing just enough to get by, the playcalling is sound and the desire to win, most importantly, has yet to fade.
While a certain former coach always praised his players for “fighting their guts out,” at times it seemed as if his assessment couldn’t be more off. Too often fans would witness a complete collapse, watch their beloved team play a game not to lose -- rather than maintaining an aggressive approach and finishing opponents off -- and simply get out-coached by sometimes-inferior opponents.
Not any more.
Yesterday’s win in Philadelphia, under mostly sunny skies yet in a rain-storm of penalty flags, was certainly not the prettiest in Redskins history. There were more than a few mistakes -- too many men on the field, worse-than-average punting, blown coverage but plenty of dropped balls -- but at the end of the day, Washington left the City of Brotherly Love with another crucial victory in the insanely-competitive NFC East.
Now they sit comfortably in second place, with arguably the toughest 3 road games on the schedule behind them. They still have yet to commit a turnover -- quite possibly the most unbelievable stat throughout this electrifying start -- and are mixing it up enough on offense to keep opposing coaches honest and on their toes. Couple those facts with the ability of the defense to limit some of the most productive offensive units in the game -- New Orleans, Arizona, Dallas, Westbrook -- and all of a sudden these Redskins are looking quite fierce.
Having said all of that, it’s easy to look ahead at the next 3 games and envision a 7-1 start. Unlike years past, when close wins like those over Dallas and Philadelphia were more right-place-at-the-right-time than anything, the current roster is playing with so much poise and confidence that it’s hard to imagine them losing at home to teams that, to put it bluntly, are not very good.
Am I going to be nervous hosting a team like St. Louis? Of course; this is the NFL, after all, and when you see a team like Miami blow out New England and then San Diego, you know that anything is possibly (with apologies to Kevin Garnett).
The Skins are on a roll, however, and until they start to show some major flaws, being optimistic is what it’s all about.
Danny Boy and Coach Z can act like kids all they want, because while many people doubted the Burgundy and Gold after their Week One loss, it’s becoming quite obvious that they are most definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Hail.
When the Eagles took their first possession, drove down the field and scored seemingly at will, the high hopes I had heading into the game were quickly brought back down to Earth. Desean Jackson’s punt return minutes later -- making the score 14-0 less than halfway through the opening quarter -- was like a knock-down sucker punch to the face. Add to that the fact that the Skins would be playing in front of a hostile Lincoln Financial Field crowd, without 3 defensive starters, and it appeared as though the men on the field and the fans watching at home were in for a very long and painful day.
For the past 10+ years, the Washington Redskins would be at a certain disadvantage in situations like this, both physically and psychologically. Climbing out of a two-touchdown hole, regardless of the circumstances, was as likely as signing a free agent Pro Bowler and having him return to Hawaii the following year (it could happen, sure, but I wouldn’t bet on it).
The Zorn Era, however, is clearly different.
Down but not out, the Burgundy and Gold showed yesterday that they are absolutely a team on the rise, one that is on a 4-game winning streak not because of a fluke play here or there, but because they possess the complete package. The offense is playing well, the defense is suffocating, the special teams is doing just enough to get by, the playcalling is sound and the desire to win, most importantly, has yet to fade.
While a certain former coach always praised his players for “fighting their guts out,” at times it seemed as if his assessment couldn’t be more off. Too often fans would witness a complete collapse, watch their beloved team play a game not to lose -- rather than maintaining an aggressive approach and finishing opponents off -- and simply get out-coached by sometimes-inferior opponents.
Not any more.
Yesterday’s win in Philadelphia, under mostly sunny skies yet in a rain-storm of penalty flags, was certainly not the prettiest in Redskins history. There were more than a few mistakes -- too many men on the field, worse-than-average punting, blown coverage but plenty of dropped balls -- but at the end of the day, Washington left the City of Brotherly Love with another crucial victory in the insanely-competitive NFC East.
Now they sit comfortably in second place, with arguably the toughest 3 road games on the schedule behind them. They still have yet to commit a turnover -- quite possibly the most unbelievable stat throughout this electrifying start -- and are mixing it up enough on offense to keep opposing coaches honest and on their toes. Couple those facts with the ability of the defense to limit some of the most productive offensive units in the game -- New Orleans, Arizona, Dallas, Westbrook -- and all of a sudden these Redskins are looking quite fierce.
Having said all of that, it’s easy to look ahead at the next 3 games and envision a 7-1 start. Unlike years past, when close wins like those over Dallas and Philadelphia were more right-place-at-the-right-time than anything, the current roster is playing with so much poise and confidence that it’s hard to imagine them losing at home to teams that, to put it bluntly, are not very good.
Am I going to be nervous hosting a team like St. Louis? Of course; this is the NFL, after all, and when you see a team like Miami blow out New England and then San Diego, you know that anything is possibly (with apologies to Kevin Garnett).
The Skins are on a roll, however, and until they start to show some major flaws, being optimistic is what it’s all about.
Danny Boy and Coach Z can act like kids all they want, because while many people doubted the Burgundy and Gold after their Week One loss, it’s becoming quite obvious that they are most definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Hail.
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