The Lost Boys

Well, so much for my “fear” of winning.

Ha. God, how stupid I was.

The only thing the Pats didn’t pull on us, was the ol’ confetti bucket. Guess the Globetrotters still own the rights to that one. But the rest of it? Like a troupe of mischievious clowns toying with the kids in the audience.

Fake spike TD? Check.
4th down QB sneaks? Check.
Linebacker eligible TD’s? Check.
Sack-fumble-touchdowns? Check.
Backup quarterback garbage time? Check. For all three guys.

The Patriots are at such a high level, it’s not even funny. To watch it “up close” via HDTV on a play-by-play level, really hammers it all home.

Take for example the ruthless 1:48 left in the 1st half drive for a TD to make it 24-0. Most teams, would only make a token effort to score here, leading 17-0. I know my Redskins, might take 3 knees. Be forced to punt with 1:06 left, and then get scored on the other way playing a soft prevent.

The Patriots just took the ball, and rammed it down our throats like they were filming Caligula XII.

So much that went on in this game was just humiliating.

Assante Samuel jumping every 5 yard Santana Moss out pattern. Proof that Patriot players pay attention in film session, and bring it to the field on Sunday.

Then there was Mike Vrabel with another laughably easy play-action goal-line TD catch. Proof that our guys don’t pay any attention in film session. Marcus Washington, that one’s on your bill.

Then the Pats got us with the fake spike. And yeah, Moss “pushed off” on that play. Sorry, but Leigh Torrance is not getting that call against him and the Patriots in Foxboro. Deal with it. Or maybe push back harder. How about THINK as a DB, and realize that a P.I. call there is hardly a bad thing.

Of course, the communication went out between our coaches on the sideline and the booth, something I am sure will be coddled like a convenient excuse. Sure it’s damn fishy. But how does that stop the Patriots from scoring 24 points? Gregg’s on the sidelines. Are you saying the Skins would have scored 21 in the first half otherwise? Please.

NOTE: Conspiracy theorists are already whispering: Maybe Joe’s “headset malfunctions” with the booth are all in his head. Maybe he just wants to drive the car himself. Hmmmm.

The part I really loved was when with 14 seconds left in half, Gibbs gets “aggressive” with a screen pass (always a chance for a tip, a fumble or a jumped route) and then calls timeout to get one hail mary with :05 to go.

Super. Hail Mary, indeed. That about summed up our chances. Of course, he then threw another screen. Or, errrr… Al Saunders called it. Right. Whatever.

And then our onsides kick down 52-7. Perfect. Well done. Keep fighting! What, is Pepper Rogers coaching this team?

It’s all a big joke. Nice effort. And nice job by Gibbs to soft-mouth, mush-mush, the game afterward. I’d get more mad, but what’s the point? Its obvious now, that paranoid Gibbs just won’t use the middle of the field, won’t allow Gre (he’s lost those last two “G’s” for genius) Williams to play an ears-pinned-back aggressive scheme anymore because Gibbs can’t score enough to spackle over mistakes. Saunders is coasting on his $2 million salary, and guys like Clinton Portis can take themselves in and out of games as they please.

Dysfunction, thy name is Redskins.

The Patriots have such a keen eye for not only talent, but talent that will fit their scheme. I was dubious about the cost in picks and money for Wes Welker. I was wrong. The guy is perfect as a slot wideout. Runs the right routes, tough as shit, great hands, can and will play specials.

Compare that to the Skins signing of Brandon Lloyd. He was a known shitbag, who doesn’t play teams, doesn’t practice hard or well, isn’t team guy, and hates contact.

Gibbs said: “We’ll take him!”

The Gibbs lack of personnel acumen was evident in the dying days of his first tenure, as GM Charlie Casserly’s influence waned, and free agency dawned. Gibbs’ tone deaf ear to what makes a good player, and a good FIT – more importantly – to a team, is worse than ever.

The emails that come crashing into my inbox on Mondays (sometimes even after a shady win like Arizona) from fans saying “Fire Gibbs” keep increasing. Their unforgiving tone and harsh language is starting to actually surprise me.

The problem is, firing Gibbs won’t really solve anything. The next guy in there, will still be undermined by the short man with the big beltbuckle and cash to burn.

This is a team that could perhaps find it’s feet for a 9-7 record and the playoffs. You could I suppose declare that a “success” of a season. But at the rate of 17 ppg (adjusted to 15.5 per game when you factor in two DFTD’s and a safety) you are always going to struggle to win.

I think Gibbs has a self-fulfilling prophecy at times about this team. From the moment he came back saying: “This is going to be the hardest thing ever…” to week in week out declarations that “I think its going to do right down to the last play” you start to wonder: is he saying this out of humility, or is he predicting his own destiny?

I sorta wish he didn’t play the whole Lou Holtz “we’ll be the biggest underdog in the history of sports” angle, since they sure played like they deserved it.

As Warner Wolf would say: “If you had the Redskins plus the 44.5 against the Patriots… YOU LOST!”

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AND NOW, YOUR PIC O' THE DAY!!

Another Chinese product that has been recalled for safety reasons!