Vision Quest: The Super Bowl is Next Week for the Redskins

I like many of you were bitterly disappointed in last week’s game. Disappointed is an understatement. I was devastated. As my friends around the Sports Bar and I made our vows to be back next week, no matter what, you could hear the doubt in many of their responses. I know many of the guys I have watched Redskin football with since this particular Sports Bar opened up would be back, but you know there will be less Burgundy & Gold in front of the big screen next week.

When I got him I could not even log into hR and post I was so mad. What a Rollercoaster us fans have had over the last two weeks. After the Jacksonville game I was as high as could be and now I was as low. I spent a couple of days piecing together an article full of bile and hatred calling out every coach, every player, and every front office person I could. I felt like I had been betrayed by the team I loved and looked forward to 10 more games of ineptitude and an off season of despair.

But after 3 pages of pure emotional I decided now is not the time for it.

We all know what is wrong with the team. Hr has plenty of articles and threads addressing what is wrong. The offense is out of synch and too complicated. The defense can not tackle or cover. The special teams are inconsistent. And the Front Office has made several infuriating trades and big signs that have just not worked out.

Quite simply the Redskins are not a very good football team. The playoffs are a distant hope. Heck just getting to .500 will be a challenge. And with a road game to Indy before the bye week on the horizon it can just get worse.

However for Many Redskins the Super bowl is next week, in Indianapolis.

At 2-4 the Redskins are on the precipice. A loss at Indianapolis will most assuredly signal the end of any playoff hopes. So our coaching staff will have the bye week to implement the changes over the Bye week and see if any of our youth will be able to step up and play NFL football.

Here are the top 5 Candidates that are playing for their jobs this Sunday.

1.) Mark Brunell. The old veteran is just not clicking with this offense. Mark is more of a West Coast outside the harsh marks passer rather then a stretch the field bomber. He has this last week to get things right. He must cut down on mistakes, stop locking on Moss, and most importantly, lead this team to victory. Brunell’s support from coaches, players, and fans alike comes from his season saving leadership last season. True leaders get going when their back is against the wall; well Brunell’s back is almost through it. If he loses it is time for Jason Campbell to show what he is made of.

2.) Warrick Holdman. We read how Holdman has gotten better and will be a bigger part of the defense this year. And in many ways he has. But opponents are running right over the right side of our defense. Holdman’s poor tackling and bad angles are a big part of that. Rocky McIntosh may be a rookie but his athletic ability should be able to overcome his defensive knowledge by this point.

3.) Andre Carter. Same as above. Not only has he produced little in the sack department but he is on his back more often then Paris Hilton. Renaldo Wynn was one of the best run stopping defensive ends in the league last year and if Carter can’t get it done, Renaldo will.

4.) Joe Salave’a. I labeled him in pre-season as the most likely starter to disappoint this year and he has done so. Big Joe is hurt a lot and while effective when he is 100%, he rarely is. Golston has been a rare find in the second day of the draft and should be given the bulk of the snaps after the bye week.

5.) Al Saunders. This is his offense after all. He calls the plays and he determines what happens on the field more then anyone else. Saunders won’t be fired if we lose in Indy, but he could get his play calling abilities reduced or redefined. The bye week would be the perfect time to scale back the playbook and add back the gut and power running that won us so many games last year. We have the same principle players on offense and we do not need to revamp much to get it done.

For those five and for the Redskin post season hopes, the Super Bowl is next Sunday in Indy. A win and good play will keep their jobs safe over the bye week. A loss and poor play will not.

5 Things We Don’t Know Now?

Losing again brings up many questions. Here are the top 5.

When we traded way our future did we know what we were getting? Over the last two years we have traded away a plethora of picks for players that just are not contributing to the team. For Jason Campbell we traded away a 1st, 3rd, and 4th and he remains the third QB on game days. TJ Duckett warming the bench cost us a third next year. Rocky McIntosh cost us a 2nd this year and next to barely get in on kickoff coverage. Brandon Lloyd cost us a 3rd this year and a 4th next to be ignored in the passing game. Now I was for all of those trades (except Duckett) but so far they all look like mistakes. Either they are disappointments or the front office is….or both.

How bad is it going to get? Unless the Redskins win at Indy, very very bad. First we host the Cowboys, then we travel to the Eagles, and it does not get much better after that. Our remaining opponents currently have record of 36-19 and include a resurgent Carolina squad and world beater New Orleans. If we lose to Indy it is time to start thinking about who we draft, not playoff scenarios.

Does this defense have any pride left? We used to be world beaters and now quite frankly get scored on more then Madonna at an NBA player’s meeting. We have the same amount of talent as last year’s squad and the squad in 2004 and arguably more depth in some positions, but we are playing without heart and courage. Tackling, coverage, turnover generation, nothing is going right. If I was Gregg Williams I would question his player’s very manhood. Time to shake things up a bit and get people to commit to stopping the other team. A lot of good defense is the exerting your will on the opposing offense. Right now we are being run over and playing soft 15 yard cushions. That just is not cutting it.

Will Saunders realize this is a running team? Our offensive line is made to pound the other team and we have a starting running back who is not afraid to lower his shoulder and pound those yards. Portis can also bounce outside for big gains turning 4 yard dives into 50 yard scampers. Behind him are Betts an adequate North-south runner and Duckett a bruising short yardage red zone specialist. If you can’t run the ball with these players, you can’t do anything. 15 rush attempts in a 3 point game is unacceptable and borderline criminal. Run the damn ball and run with guts and power and we will win, period.

Can the ship be straightened out? The hardest question to answer. The simplest answer is yes, by winning. Winning against Indianapolis and winning against the Cowboys can get us back to .500 and in essence restart the season. The odds of this are long and hard. In the long term it is time to get some youth involved like Campbell, McIntosh, Golston, and others. We may not be able to dig ourselves out of the hole this year but these youngsters need valuable game experience to help us for next year. PLAY THE YOUNG GUYS!!!!!!

Looking Ahead

It’s hard to look ahead when you have your fingers in front of your eyes. I usually write here a brief tidbit of how the Redskins win the next game but I just don’t know how we can do it. We lost to a winless Tennessee with a rookie QB in a rebuilding mode and now face an undefeated Colts squad with a vet QB perched for a super bowl run. We have not shown the ability to stop the run or the pass, and Indy excels in both. And while Indy’s defense is susceptible to the run and straight forward ball control attack, we prefer trick plays and short high risk high reward drives.

But I can’t quite bring myself to give up on the Redskins. I have to think our hall of fame coach can turn around this season before it gets too far gone. That turn around has to happen against Indy, otherwise this season so full of promise as far as two weeks ago will be a long slow crawl into oblivion.

Hail to the Redskins