Hail To The Redskins

Well, I went to bed a little happier last night than I have in past recent Sunday nights. I think my sleep was even a little more restful. Why? You may ask.... I watched my Washington Redskins defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 10-3 last night. Not trounce, not lambaste, not squeak by........ Defeat. Anyone that knows me knows that I could care less about sports. Don't know one stat on one player from one team in any sport and didn't care to learn........ Until this year.



The Redskins from last night looked like the Redskins from the first half of the season that Skins fans were so amped up about. Of course, we had a couple of key factors that definitely pitched medium hopes for the season, which is overall what they've produced. First of all, with the new coach came a new offense. Jim Zorn, who I used to watch quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks in the King Dome back in the early 80's when my Dad had season tickets. What made Jim Zorn a surprising choice in head coach for the Skins is the fact that had Joe Gibbs not retired last year, Redskins owner Dan Snyder probably would have fired him for sub-par preformance. He's tired of the Skins not performing or producing anything beyond a first round playoff loss, so he brings in a first-time head coach who brought with him the West Coast offense which seemed to be effective for the first half of the season. As fond as I was of my memories of Jim Zorn and the Seahawks, I was hesitant to sign on to the team emotionally at first. I remember thinking that throughout all the press conferences and the sneak peaks of him at training camp, he only seemed to have one facial expression - determination laced with apprehension. Nonetheless, I had hope and a feeling....



I attended only one game this season as I found myself to be in the right place at the right time to be invited to the Washington - New Orleans game. Not having watched too closely the games prior to this one, it was an awesome experience to be at FedEx Field and tailgate for two to three hours and hustle to our seats to what proved to be an emotional game. Despite Clinton Portis's comments regarding his offensive line earlier in the season, everyone performed at peak and the Skins pulled it out. I went home hoarse, happy and hooked. I had finally caught Redskins fever. From that point on, I was able to go into work every Monday and chat about the game with co-workers who were fellow fans and we would relive as much of the game as we could. We tracked Clinton Portis's rushing yards and Jason Campbell's no-interception streak with pride in our team. It didn't take too many games before I was a self-proclaimed Redskins expert.

I've enjoyed every game this year. I was a high on the hog with the 6-2 mid-season and was looking forward to what looked like the makings of a lethal first season for Zorn and a force to be reckoned with in the Skins. Unfortunately and ion what most Skins fans will tell you, the Skins became the Skins again this season. Injuries plagued the team and we had a demoralizing backslide - The next six games consisted of 5 losses and only one win. As the Skins took the field for the Philadelphia contest, I found myself thinking "Here's a team we beat once this year, but we have no business beating tonight." The team that took the field was reminiscent of the team we watched play the first 8 games. All the starters were healthy and played like it actually mattered. The game ended with an exclamation point you don't often get to see in football. A stop-dead hit by LaRon Landry and Fred Smoot that caused the Eagles wide receiver's body to literally defy the laws of physics as he was denied entry into the end zone, thus ensuring no overtime play. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons had already done away with the Skins' playoff hopes by defeating the Vikings. Did the game end up being all for naught? I don't think so. I don't think next week's game against San Francisco will be either. I'd be proud to end the season 9-7, which is more than we could expect from a first year coach whi onstalled the first part of a new offensive system. I truly believe that once brought closer to perfection, the redskins offense will be as unstoppable as our 4th rated defense was this year. I'm keeping an eye on Chris Horton for next year. I had to be told he was a rookie. It certainly didn't show from his performance this year. I look forward to seeing what London, Chris, and D'Angelo produce next year....

All I can say is "congratulations boys" to a season that went better than expected. If nothing else, you have a believer in me.