Skins Great Escape, Still Smells Sweet!

The Redskins are 3-0 for the first time since 1991. They won the Super Bowl that year.

Okay, now that I have pointed out the two obvious statistical benchmarks that every idiot Skins fan (and I mean “idiot” in a good sort of way) will be quoting this week, lets get on with some actual analysis.

First off, there are no “*” or “+” or “#” designations for teams that are 3-0 to indicate that it might be a “soft” or “lucky” 3-0. They just put the records down in the paper, nothing more. And there’s a reason. Nothing else truly matters. Just so everyone is clear, 1 point wins, 2 point wins, and 3 point wins are all worth the same in the standings. One win. I know, I checked on this, and yes, we have one of each.

So accepting the fact – FACT – that the Skins are two hail mary’s and a obstructionist goal post from being a 1-2 team that can’t score 20 points in a game, here’s the good news. Any team that can win while playing mediocre, or getting lucky, is “banking” wins that will help them tremendously when that team actually has a good outing or two.

In a perennial 9-7/7-9 league, seasons are often built upon taking a few lucky wins and running with them. The Skins are poised to do this. Not certain. Just poised.

For about 3 quarters yesterday, Joe Gibbs was painting a “Gibbs Masterpiece” of a game. Solid defense, effective running, dominant ball control, smart quarterbacking, and few penalties. Like spotting a Picasso painting, or hearing a Mozart concerto, you could see this being a Gibbs game even if the Redskins were wearing brown paper bags over their uniforms.

As I wrote after Week One, Mark Brunell is the best QB we’ve got, and Gibbs did not owe #11 any apologies. I was still skeptical after the Dallas game about Brunell’s medium-strike arm-strength, but I now have been convinced it’s more than adequate. Furthermore, Brunell threw a lot of great off-balance balls while on the move that Ramsey is quite simply unable to make.

He also can’t run, while the #8 car still can – just enough. His scrambling skills, decaying as they may be, were again lethal for the opponent this week. Good work, Mark. We don’t, and won’t, hold a grudge from last season’s debacle of a season.

Things I really, really, liked about the win…

- Skins 13-18 on third down, including MANY of them on 3rd and long. Devastating.

- Alexander held under 100 (98) albeit, barely.

- Few major/stupid penalties

- Ball control and defense. These work in any weather, home or away.
- Nick Novak’s poise.

- Santana Moss running free in open spaces in zones.

- Clinton Portis fighting hard on 80% of his runs for 2 or 3 extra garbage yards.

Issues, concerns, and nits to pick….

- Levar issue. Okay, people. The games are up. What gives on this guy? This week the fans, and the media will demand some actual answers. Is it injury or attitude? Pick one. Because nobody is buying that they are “working him back in slowly.”

- I still think we are woefully underperforming on kick returns. Nothing against Betts, but he NEVER looks like a threat to break a big one.

- Secondary depth is a concern. Anytime Ade Jamoh and Ryan Clark are running around out there, I worry.

- Can we NOT get a delay of game, COMING OUT OF A FRIGGIN’ TV timeout, people? Sheesh.

- I know traffic is brutal, but the reduction of people in their seats at the start of overtime by about 30% (at least according to my eyes on the TV wide shot) is an issue of competitive disadvantage. Had Seattle won the coin flip, we could have used a full, live house making noise like they were earlier in the day.

Otherwise, it’s 3-0 and off to Denver, men. For the first time since 1999, we’ve got a real team, and a real season on our hands. Should be fun.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

This just in from Kwame Brown: “It’s not my fault.” That’s right, Kwame. It’s NEVER your fault. Get a load of this spoiled millionaire underachiever, as he tries to “explain” to the Washington Post on Sunday what happened when he flaked on the team last post-season.

"The thing is, the whole thing stems from Gilbert telling them not to put me in the game. I didn't come to practice because I was going to be a distraction. I was going to slap the [expletive] out of him," Brown said. "I'll admit it, what I did was wrong -- not showing up was wrong -- but I ain't saying what I would've done if I showed up would've been right. Being that I didn't show up I didn't put my hands on nobody. How a teammate, a supposed friend, would go to a coach and tell him don't put me in a game, I would've done something seriously wrong to him."

REACT: Boy, ain’t that convincing? Of course, Arenas and Coach Jordan both flatly denied this. It’s a denial that is hardly worth mentioning since it is so obvious. Good riddance, Kwame, you child. The last bit of comedy came from this quote:

"You see my house. It's bigger than the house I had in Washington," he said. "You see my team. It's better than the Wizards. This is the best organization in the league."

REACT: Yeah, Kwame. You got it all figured out. I can’t wait for Kobe to ride your ass, freeze you out, call you soft in the media, and torment the living hell out of you. But hey, you’ll have a nice big house to come home to.

>>>>>>>>>

The Texas Tech basketball program has locked up Pat Knight, son of Bobby. Or, as I like to call him, “Mini Me.” This from Andy Katz of ESPN.com.....

Knight said the uncertainty over a successor had just recently started to be an issue in recruiting. But since Pat and Bob Knight knew the succession plan this summer they have used it in recruiting and Pat Knight said it is already helping.

"As coach Myers told us, now the kids know who will be the next coach and that the philosophy and the system won't change," Knight said.

Knight said the Sutton succession plan at Oklahoma State where Sean has already been chosen as the head coach designate for his father Eddie helped make the decision for Texas Tech. Knight said he sees similarities with Tech and OSU and now he and his good friend Sean Sutton can foster a friendly rivalry for years to come.

REACT: Ah yes, the years and years of nepotistic gamesmanship between the schools ought to be a real barrel of fun to watch. Good move by Tech, because my “sources” said Pat Knight was being courted by Duke as Coach K’s replacement. Why take that chance?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jimmy Rollins’ hit streak reached 36 on Sunday and then died, victim of the end of the regular season. Or did it? Now, here’s the question: if someone takes a hit streak into the off-season, does it continue when 2006 begins? I say it should, especially since it will be very hard to START next season that hot. Hell, if he does reel in DiMaggio’s “unbreakable” record of 56 straight with a hit by doing it over two seasons, I’ll still be just as blown away. It will be like the “Tiger Slam” in that some will nit-pick it for spanning an off-season, but it will still be flat out incredible.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Your momma always said you’ll learn something new everyday if you keep your ears open and pay attention. Mama was right. What I learned over the weekend was that the fabled Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY – home of the Orangemen – does NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING! This is incredible! I know that most of the time in fall, spring, and winter you need AC up in Syracuse NY like you need more snow. But still, how ironic is it that the stadium named for one of the most famous AIR CONDITIONING companies doesn’t have it! Hell, the world headquarters for Carrier is RIGHT UP there! They could throw in some AC for nothing, I bet. What’s next? You can’t get an Orange Julius at the Orange Bowl?