Doom, gloom, rending of garments. That’s the poetic way of remembering how Redskins fans felt after the last time the team headed up to New Jersey to play the Giants. If you’ve forgotten that game, here’s a brief capsule of how it went: the teams were introduced, there was a singing of the national anthem, then a coin toss, followed by a kickoff, then the ball was handed to Tiki Barber–and the next thing you knew it was 36-0. It was the best news possible for DC United, as it took a lot of attention away from their own humiliating playoff elimination. But nobody else enjoyed it much.

In the end, the Redskins righted their ship and even managed to contend with the Giants for the division title. This year, however, neither team has done much to acquit themselves. Washington’s only just rebounded from a pair of bad, season-opening losses, and the Giants have, thus far, been a study in inconsistency. Both teams most likely view a win this week as a chance to get back into the post-season conversation.

The lead-up to this week’s match has been framed by the war of passive-aggressive snark between former Redskin LaVar Arrington and linebackers coach Dale Lindsey. Arrington, now a Giant, has been looking forward to playing his former team for some time now, and this week, he’s sparred with his former coach in a way that reminds one of the elevated repartee of blog comments. Regarding a Washington playbook Arrington is said to have given to Tom Coughlin, Arrington said:

“Well, I’m gone now. It’s Arrington property now. Or New York Giant property now. And I understand some things.”

To which Lindsey replied:

“If he has got [a playbook], I guarantee you it’s never been opened.”

Ha! PWN3D!

At any rate, plenty of Washington fans are still fond of Arrington, his chess room, his Eastern Motors commercials, and that one episode of While You Were Out that he did. But, most of Washington has moved on to another favorite: A man named Dolemite Jenkins. Vote for Santana!