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The Germans have a lot of long words that encompass very difficult concepts. Words like "schadenfreude," "Hubschrauberlandeplatz," and "Verantwortungszuständigkeiten." I don't know if they have word for the frustration you feel when you've thought that your team had already managed to overcome the mistake you thought was going to cost them the game -- like a fourth-quarter Ladell Betts fumble -- only to discover that the relief-shattering error that was going to lead to a horrible loss was laying in wait a few minutes later, but whatever I was yelling at the teevee would be a great place to start, etymologically speaking.
Two things that playoff caliber teams do is win their home games and win their division games. Something else playoff caliber teams do? Score from the goal line. And for the second straight home division game, the failure was the same, an inability to get a touchdown once they got down to within sniffing distance. The Skins had seven chances inside the seven yard line to score a game-icing touchdown and came up with only a Scott Suisham field goal for their trouble. That left the door open for a Philadelphia comeback, which the Eagles accomplished on their very next drive, when Bryan Brian Westbrook went on a 57-yard screen pass scamper for the go-ahead score.
It was a terrible, and all too abrupt, way for the game to conclude, especially since the action before provided ample evidence that the Redskins were well on the way to solving many of their problems. A second-straight 100-yard rushing game from Clinton Portis seemed to provide the team with some identity. Jason Campbell played with poise and passed with accuracy, getting the ball to the wide receivers and passing for three touchdowns. The defense played some stifling football, frequently exposing Donovan McNabb as not being the accurate passer he once was.
None of it ended up mattering, and aside from a good day from the Savior, the Redskins' inability to score ended up wasting a fantastic day from James Thrash, who scored two touches and made great plays with and without the ball. In fact, based upon the ill-prepared defense Philadelphia was deploying on third-and-goal from the two-yard line, Thrash looked like he was about to run free into the near side of the end zone. But for Chris Cooley's false start flinch, Thrash might have ended up delighting the seven or so fantasy football owners that started him on Sunday.
Ultimately, Washington's inability to punch in some touchdowns at home against divisional foes are going to loom large. To be 7-2 or 6-3 at this juncture in the NFC, would place you in position for a playoff berth. At 5-4, Washington finds themselves in the murky middle of the conference, only a game ahead of the conference's mediocre teams. Fortunately for us, the Giants and Lions, who remain a game ahead of us in the wild-card race, both lost today. They'll have a tough task ahead of them, however, as they travel to Irving, Texas to take on the division leading Cowboys. Better brush up your German.
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The Redskins aren't a game ahead of the mediocre teams in the conference, they ARE a mediocre team. With the exception of Dallas and Green Bay (and even they have their flaws), there isn't another team in the conference that isn't at best inconsistent. Yesterday, the Lions turned the ball over five times and the Giants couldn't cover a sole and they are both 6-3.
Their only hope is that if they can win the four remaining out of division games (@TB, Buff, Chc, @MN) they will have 9 wins. That may be enough to catch the Lions who they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker for the final wild card spot.
The Redskins still have a fairly good shot of making the playoffs - it is the NFC, after all, and any junior-varsity squad has a chance!
It's Brian Westbrook, not Bryan. And McNabb's never been a short-to-intermediate accurate passer; he's only ever really been accurate on his deep passes.
It is time for Gibbs to go. I never thought I would say this, but it is. Maybe even Saunders too. But I'd like to see what he could do under the coaching of Bill Cowher, who will hopefully be the next coach of our fledgling and flailing team.
aww, don't feel bad. eagles red zone defense is siiiick.
If Cowher has half a lick of sense, he will stay the hell away from the Redskins. One of the worst owners in all of football, without a doubt. I honestly think dude is retired for good, or at least a couple more seasons, unless the Bears job comes up vacant.
The Redskins will not be consistently good until Dan Snyder comes to his senses and hires a real GM. The George Steinbrenner-type owner does not work in football. It's just sad that after all these years Snyder still hasn't realized this. And it also wreaks havic on my sanity as I have to listen to Redskins fans, year-after-year, get their hopes up, get cocky, and then come falling back down to reality when it becomes obvious that the team just isn't that good.
I say this as an Eagles fan that recognizes my team just isn't that good this year either and that we did not deserve to win that game yesterday. But what has made us one of the best in the NFC for the previous five years or so is a smart GM-Coach that looks beyond the present year and builds for the future.
Also an Eagles fan, and I'm not trying to boast. The problem all across the NFC is teams being "good enough" instead of "good". Although I'm glad for the win, it was an ugly, bungling mess of a win. Ah well.
But what I don't understand is why Gregg Williams still has a job after saying "If they're not smart enough to take a knee, let them score." I thought the Pats taught the Skins that lesson.
disco stu, I thought that was actually a good decision. So you stop them and they kick a field goal leaving you with less than 30 sec to score a touchdown (would have been a four point game). This way you have 2 and a half minutes to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion. I like my chances better the latter to be honest.