Vision Quest: Playing With House Money

When you walk down the street today there is pep in your step. The food tastes better. The air smells sweeter. The girls look prettier. The traffic lights on the way to work all seem to be green. Your wife and family are nicer to you. Your clothes fit better and you could swear you have grown an inch over night.

All this because your Washington Redskins are in the playoffs.

Normally just being in the playoffs would not excite me so much. Granted it is only the third time in 15 years, but this the Washington Redskins. We don’t play football just to be in the playoffs, we want that fourth Super Bowl trophy. However for this team to make the playoffs with the adversity and tragedy that they have faced is nothing short of amazing. Losing 6 starters to season ending injury and multiple games from the remaining starters and backups would easily take a team out of playoff contention. Throw into that the tragic loss of their best player and emotional leader Sean Taylor at the very apex of the season and no one, not even me, would have blamed the team for playing out the string and looking toward next year.

But this team quietly and definitively was on a mission. Even after the Buffalo loss and losing starting quarterback Jason Campbell the next game, they had decided to will their way into the playoffs. There were no t-shirts made, no big parades. No banners were unfurled and no press conferences and high profile player only meetings. Sometime after burying their friend and teammate the Redskins collectively and perhaps subconsciously decided that it was time to make good on the talent that God gave them. Not for themselves. Not for their families. Not for the Redskins. Nor for the Fans.

They did it for Sean.

So one opponent after another came up and the Redskins took care of business. Against Chicago they lost their starting quarterback and lost hope that Randy Thomas would be back on the offensive line. Yet they won 24-16. Against the NY Giants they not only had to the loss of their starting OLB Rocky McIntosh but Mother Nature who unleashed a virtual tempest on the field. Yet they won 22-10. Then the Vikings, one of the hottest teams in the league with a 5-game win streak. No one gave the Redskins a chance to win on the road and yet again they won 32-21.

Finally the Dallas Cowboys. Our hated rival came to Fed Ex on the last day of the season. With the playoffs hanging in the balance the Redskins took the field and immediately showed that they wanted this game more. There was an air of confidence all week long. And on the field the Redskins showed that it was deserved. They played like warrior poets and took it to the #1 seed in the playoffs.

Can we dispel the notion that the Cowboys were not going to play to win this game? They played their starters well into the third quarter and did not sit them until after the Redskins put up a 3 possession lead. And if there was any doubt the Cowboys were playing to win this game, the fracas caused by Wade Phillips at the end of the first half ends it. Instead of going into halftime content with getting the ball back, Phillips argued with the Refs to allow for 1 play with no time left. He put his star quarterback out there to attempt a desperation throw. Chris Wilson made them pay by hitting Romo like he was Nick Lachey.

Why would Phillips risk such a move if they were not trying to win? The Cowboys had the first round bye and the top seed in the playoffs. Why not play like Tampa & Seattle did on the final game of the season? The answer is simple; they don’t want to face the Redskins again. And with them playing with a purpose, who would? The Cowboys knew that it is likely if they didn’t beat us last Sunday we will see them again in two weeks.

But first up it is Seattle and as chance for revenge from 2005. It is easy to draw comparisons to the 2005 club and this one. Both followed up losing seasons to make a run on the playoffs. Both had their backs against the wall, needing improbable winning streaks at the end of the season. Both teams recommitted to the run to keep their streak alive. Both teams played inspired defense down the stretch to protect leads.

That is where the comparison ends. The adversity this club has endured has given them an incredible will to win. The 2005 club was playing to make the playoffs and achieve personal glory. They were talented and though had nagging injuries to some contributors, relatively healthy. The 2007 club is less talented & less healthy, but they have more heart and will then any team in the NFL right now. They are playing for something more then themselves right now.

And one other thing this group has is an identity. They are a team in every sense of the word. Sure there are individuals who are doing but this team is watching each other’s back. When one guy goes down, another is stepping into their place. No excuses are being given, though there are plenty of reasons. Bad plays happen and they get right back up and get on to the next one.

No one expects anything from this team. Just making the playoffs is a major accomplishment. If the season ended today, we in Redskin nation would be happy and look forward to next year. But I have a feeling this team is not quite done yet. I have a feeling that this team has a will in them that we are just scratching. Playing for a fallen teammate and a coach’s honor, they are going to take the field Saturday with a sense of pride and determination of will that few 9-7 teams ever possessed.

They are playing with house money right now and the sky’s the limit.

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