Redskins Fan Farewell? Not a goodbye though!

Years ago, my mom made an announcement that I couldn’t fathom, couldn’t wrap my head around.  She said that she was no longer a Washington Redskins fan.  I don’t recall what game or moment prompted the dissolution of the relationship between my mom and the only team my immediate family shared (barring my sister who could care less), I simply remember not being able to comprehend a member of my football watching family not being a Redskins fan.

FlashForward like ABC to find me sitting here realizing that I no longer have the fire in me to cheer for the Redskins.  Too many years of mismanagement have led to too much  heartbreak.  It’s like I have battered fan syndrome.  And I keep coming back for more.  The Snyder years have been marred by inconsistency of the worst kind — the inconsistency that leads to a sliver of hope.  Hope for either the next game or the next season.  Only to be slapped down by the angry villain that is reality.

As of right now, I’m still a Redskins fan.  I have to be.  I’ve spent far too many years, too many beers, too much money, too much passion, and too many good times not to be a Redskins fan.  Not to mention, those that know me know that I have a pet peeve for people that switch teams, that don’t sweat out the bad times.  I can’t be those that I talk about and sleep through the night.

However, I will not be investing my passion, not this season anyway.  Yeah, I know, if there’s some miraculous turnaround I’ll have to eat my fair share of crow.  But here’s the thing, I used to get excited for the Redskins games, even in the Brunell years when I knew anything thrown over 5 yards was considered a deep pass for our crew. The Spurrier years held their own kind of disappointing magic as I just knew that somehow things would come together under the ol’ ball coach. Each little era held something.  Now, not so much.  Watching virtually every team in the league get better in some way and seeing absolutely nothing in terms of progress at FedEx field leaves one depersonalized from his team.  I can’t even build up the passion to hate Jim Zorn.  I think he’s a horrible coach but I no longer seem to care enough to tell him how bad he is.

So for 2009, I’m done with the Redskins.  I’ll watch their games if their on or follow the scoreboard online. And I truly hope they can turn this thing around.  But I’m not spending any time thinking about it.  I’m definitely not spending any money on it.  When they come to Atlanta this year, I won’t be there like last time.  I don’t have that kind of free time for something I half-heartedly believe in.  I’m certain my passion will come back one day (when Snyder sells, or becomes a deaf-mute), but for right now my focus will be the Hokies.

Xpinionated Sports Recap

As some of you may have noticed if you’ve looked at the tags, my Redskins, Hokies, and Lakers blogs are now residing here.  My time and effort to those blogs had become minimal, not to say I’ve been a workhorse on this blog either but whatever.

Up first, we’ll go with the Lakers.  The Lakers had three games this weekend with double digit wins over Phoenix (thurs), Denver..again (fri), and Sacramento (Sun).  At 11 – 1, there’s a feeling that something special is a-brewin’.   Everyone knows their role, and does it well.  A coming out party for Trevor Ariza this season has been an unexpected surprise.  I am still looking for a bit more from Sasha Vujachic but Farmar is showing signs as being the successor to Derek Fisher.  Luke Walton has spiralled to a position on the end of the bench.  I’m not even sure he has trade value at this point.

The Hokies squeaked by the Blue Devils of formidable Duke.  As this game wasn’t televised, there’s not a whole lot I can say about the actual game.  Turnovers seemed to be what made it a tighter affair than what was expected with four turnovers from T-squared in the first half.  That still doesn’t explain the inability to score against Duke in the second half save for a pick six.  A win next week and the Hokies have managed to limp into the ACC game.  Still not so sure that’s a good thing.  I never want to wish bad luck on the Hokies, but part of me needs Bryan Stinespring fired.  And success does not act as a catalyst for severance.

The Redskins finally won a game in Seattle.  I believe Seattle has put the ‘Skins out of the playoffs in 2 of their last 3 meetings and beat them in a regular season matchup as well.  The ‘Skins were able to move the ball well 30 – 30 but had trouble translating that success into touchdowns.

Weekend Recap

Technorati tags: Washington Redskins, Virginia Tech Hokies, University of Alabama, University of Georgia

By far this was one of the better football weekends than I have had in a long long time.  Two games (and a side interest, propelled by hate, in a third game).  Virginia Tech at Nebraska.  Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys.  And the University of Alabama at University of Georgia.

Let’s take it in chronological order.  Alabama whipped Georgia in the first half jumping out to a 31 – 0 lead and then lost interest.  The final score was 41 – 30.  My hatred of UGA fans has led me to actively cheer against the Bulldogs.  Today’s most common question from the less than knowledgeable base of UGA fans — why didn’t they play the first half like they did in the second half?   Uh, because Alabama still cared in the first half.  The second half for the Crimson Tide was all about running clock.  They weren’t making the timely offensive calls of the first half.  They were simply chewing up the ticker.  Any time Georgia came within two scores, Alabama marched down the field and put some points on the board.   Thud…the sound of the overrated coming back to earth!

The Hokies traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the undefeated Cornhuskers.  The last time these two teams met, Nebraska showed Virginia Tech what it was going to take to be a big time team with a 41 – 24 dismantling in the 1996/97 Orange Bowl.  Virginia Tech set the tone early with a blocked punt midway through the first quarter.  They followed that with an interception deep in Nebraska territory, eventually getting the touchdown and taking a 9 – 0 lead.  Though a competitive game throughout, the Hokies biggest lead was 28 – 10 before a furious comeback attempt fell short and the Hokies left the sea of Red 35 – 30 victors.  The offense was actually very productive with over three hundred yards of output.  The defense was stout making the Cornhuskers rushing game a moot point.  Ahhhh…the sound of a HOkies fan base seeing an offense work despite it’s coordinator!

Lastly, the Redskins traveled to Dallas for their last game in Texas Stadium.  Underdogs coming in, the ‘Skins had a lot to prove in this game.  Already being considered an also ran in the ultra competitive NFC East, going into Dallas and winning would go a long way in proving to the world what we had.  Jason Campbell showed more improvement as he dinked, dunked, and evaded the Dallas defense on his way to a 26-24 win.  Heehee….the sound of smug laughter as the wheels fall off the Cowboys bandwagon. . . .

Redskins 2008 Debut

The Skins face the Giants tonight as the 2008 season kicks off. To be honest, I’ve no clue what to expect from this year’s team. Of course, I’m hoping for further development at the QB spot but I don’t know enough about our new coach Jim Zorn to have a feeling either way on how this season is going to go.

After a blistering 3-0 start in the preseason, we were on the drubbing end of losses for the final two games. Not exactly confidence building as those are the games where everything is supposed to be coming together. We’ll see how we roll tonight and hope for the best.

Jason Taylor Injury

On top of our worst preseason beating in years, possibly ever, new Redskins DE Jason Taylor sprained his knee. He’s expected to be out 10 days to two weeks.

(Source – Madden 09 — How freaking cool is that!?)

Retrospect

What better day than Super Bowl Sunday to consider what could have been in the world of Pigskin Glory?

The Hokies season ended in yet another bowl loss as the Kansas Jayhawks outcoached and out-gameplanned Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Though I still believe the Hokies are the better team per se, the Jayhawks came prepared to do what they needed to do. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, got too cute with their offense, abandoned the run which was the only consistent success they had, and gave up entirely too many third or fourth and short plays.

The Redskins season ended in a playoff loss to Seattle….again. If you recall, the last time the ‘Skins made the playoffs, the season went terminal with a loss to the Seahawks. In this game, the ‘Skins struggled for the entire first half, made a run to take the lead in the third quarter and early fourth, and let a missed field goal propel Mr. Momentum to the Seahawks bench as they scored 22 straight points to win 35 -14.

With all that said, two very good seasons. An ACC championship and a playoff berth. And with the way Daniel Snyder is handling this head coach search, a playoff berth may not be in the ‘Skins new future. The Hokies, meanwhile, will probably be in a slight rebuilding mode as the defense will be losing a few folks. With that said, another ACC championship is not out of the question given the recent mediocrity of the conference as a whole….

RIP Sean Taylor (1983 – 2007)

The Redskins lost a member of the family early this morning.  Sean Taylor succumbed to injuries sustained during a suspected burglary.  We send our best to his family and loved ones.  Sean was 24.  Rest in peace.

Pats are classless

It’s called pro football.  For the New England area, the ‘pro’ is short for professional as in professionalism.  Something the Pats haven’t showed…..

Running up the score is an iffy situation.  As a coach, you don’t tell your team to stop playing when you’re up 38 – 0 in the fourth quarter.   As a coach, though, you also don’t call bombs and go for it on fourth down….twice….when a field goal is a chip shot.   Unless you’re Bill Belidick.  Whatever chip is on his shoulder will come back to his team, whether it’s an injury or an opposing coach running the score up.  But it will happen,  and I pray that there are Pats fans around me when it does.

Oh, and according to ESPN, the Redskins headsets malfunctioned as well…odd that would happen against a team that has already been caught cheating dontcha think?

As far as everybody else’s golden boy Tom Brady is concerned, I would love to see how many of his touchdown passes this season have come long after the game is decided….there’s an asterisk worth adding to any records accumulated by him this year.

Says it all

Packers 17, Redskins 14

Santana Moss did as much to cost his team this game as one player can do without sparking an investigation by the gaming commission. He dropped every pass thrown in his direction, including one that he batted into the air for an interception. Then he fumbled on an end-around, generously providing Charles Woodson with the only TD of the second half. Still, the Skins had a chance to win until they went with their standard, game-losing play: Ladell Betts running left on 4th-and-1 for no gain.

Positive first step

The Redskins came up big in overtime for a 16 – 13 win over the Miami Dolphins on the first full day of the 07-08 NFL season.  Though the ‘Skins were up against a rebuilding Dolphins squad, the defense looked great with the exception of some cornerback play, mainly Fred Smoot’s issues with the Dolphins bigger receivers.  The run game was walled as the Dolphins could get nothing started on the ground.  It’s definitely a step in the right direction as the ‘Skins were hard hitting and stout.

Jason Campbell’s numbers weren’t overly impressive, especially given the bloat of an almost game winning hail mary reception by Antwaan Randle-El.  Speaking of Antwaan, I think we may have our bonified number two receiver as he made big catch after big catch.  Portis looked like preseason play is overrated as he and Betts both had pretty good days on the ground.  It was nice to see Jason Campbell throwing some passes longer than the Brunell-limited eight yard out patterns.  And later in the game, Campbell came up with some mobility on key scrambles. 

With the next test being division rival Philly on Monday night, the optimism that is the beginning of the NFL season is in full flourish!