Monday, October 31, 2011

We Are Who We Thought We Weren't

I returned to Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1999, and began full time on The Sports Reporters with Andy Pollin in the spring of 2000. That was when the first great Snyder splurge began. Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Deion and on and on. We know how that went.


There's been 3 playoff games in those 11 years. One inTampa (a lucky win with 116 yards of total offense), and two in Seattle (both losses). No division titles. We've had 7 head coaches, which is more than a new one every 2 years on average.

Kinda like your cellphone.

We've had a smattering of good home grown players, but nobody remotely worthy of being put on the Cover of SI, or the Cover of Madden. Nobody really relevant in the national scheme. Nobody really, really good...

And we've had flops.. disasters... debacles... Archuleta, Lloyd, Duckett, Taylor, Haynesworth... et al....

Andy and I have sat here on the radio and howled at the moon, we've brayed at the stupefying incompetence of it all. We've pounded our fists in cathartic anger....

And here we are, 23 games into the Shanahan era, and nothing has changed.

Nothing.

We are.... who we thought we were... a dysfunctional... dispiritied... and without a coherent path to respectability... team.

Be patient, they say. Okay.
He's a good coach, they say. Okay.

Once he finds HIS quarterback, we'll be on our way, they say.

Ohhhhkay.

But are we wrong to expect something more, in the meantime. Some fiestyness? Some innovation? Something bold, something new, something out of the box?

Something other than "he won 2 Super Bowls, so you shut up and sit down."

Preparing for my usual Monday re-cap of the game, and a balancing of micro issues (week to week, plays, players, and game situations) vs. the macro issues (roster, talent, scheme, coaching staff) I was contemplating a fire breathing, name naming, finger pointing, let's fire this guy, and that guy... and ol' what's his name... RANT....

Yet I managed to stop to myself to ask..... why... WHY... do I bother?

It hasn't worked for 11 years, why would it work now?

Something is wrong. Very, very, very... WRONG.. out there at 21300 Redskins Park Drive.

I fear, it's either a curse, or the culture.... and I'm not sure which one is easier to fix.

There's no pulse... there's no heartbeat... there's no... "there"... there.... right now, and I don't get it.

The injuries are not an excuse...
The talent is not... an excuse...
The lockout is not an excuse...
Even the QB.s... are not an excuse...

The Miami Dolphins came off a gut-punch, pie-in-the-face loss at home to Tim Tebow... and delivered a helluva fight against the Giants.

The St. Louis Rams shrugged off a world class whomping by the Cowboys, and used a backup QB to fully humiliate a Saints team coming off a 62 point game.

Don't tell me.... there's not enough talent here. There is. Do something with it.
You have exactly 2 more games to right the season. Two. Home against a somewhat overachieving 49ers team. Then away at the putrid Dolphins.

Win one. I'll still care. Barely.
Lose 'em both.. and go eff yourself.

6 comments:

  1. Coming from a Packers fan, who grew up during the 70s and 80s, I know exactly where you are coming from and where you are right now. I don't know what to tell you, I have no words of wisdom or hope. To be honest, during the thick of it in the 70s, I jumped ship to the Steelers, and still follow them to this day. All I can say is that we got Ron Wolf, and within a few years got Reggie White, Brett Favre, ect, and Superbowl trophies followed. Your road might take a while, Snyder is a young guy, but it will happen. Hell, even Detroit is legitimate now, and that only took a couple of years after casting off Millin...

    In the mean time, wear your Packer gear with pride my friend. We'll take you!

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  2. Czabe, are you ready to escape from Cuba(Redskins) yet? Because as long as Castro(Snyder) is the dictator of that country, there will never be a winning team in Cuba....er, uh Washington.

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  3. The fish rots from the head. When ownership pays attention to the little non-football things (i.e. moving the Marching Band from the lower deck - a 75 year tradition - and scatters them among unsaleable club seats) the message is clear. "We're all in it for the money, not the glory." Mark my words, Shanny is Gibbs 3.0.

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  5. Somewhat overachieving Niners? The 49ers are the EXACT team you wish the Skins were, Czabe.

    The Niners have hand-picked talent leading their team: Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Navarro Bowman, Aldon Smith. These men are leading the NFL in their respected positions. Who on the skins is drafted talent and a top quality player? Also, who did they pick up on free agency over the off season? Besides Harbaugh being added, the 49ers are the same talent as last year; however, Harbaugh is actually guiding them, unlike Two-Superbowls-With-Elway-In-The-Ninties-Shannahan.

    The 49ers are actually winning with a team, running game, and not giving up the ball. The Redskins are the exact opposite of the 49ers. The Niners are the very team you reach for every season.

    The Redskins are-to coin a Seinfeld episode-Bizarro Niners.

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  6. Czabe, You are so right on the Skins. I really do wish I could disagree with you on ANY point, but I can't.

    It's been almost 2 years since Vinny "resigned" and we are still having the EXACT SAME bloody issues as always. Start off decent enough to give us fans a glimmer hope, and then around Halloween it all goes to pot. Year-in year-out you can almost set your calendar by it. Michael Myers shows up on cable marathon and the Skins season falls apart.

    With the exception of London Fletcher I felt like I was watching a bunch of guys impersonating Adam Sandler in "The Longest Yard" when he started to throw the game. Shanahan (take your pick)he's got too much of an ego to walk away, and Snyder can't fire him because if he does then who comes into this mess? (There will not be Joe Gibbs 3.0 to save him this time!)

    You and B-Mitch tell it like it is and I really like listening to you. Thank you for giving the fans a chance to vent.

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