Redskins.com: ES Fan Column by Om.

Nice, nice work by Om here:

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=9377

Team even linked to us directly off the front for the story so they're coming together on their end .

They even have two links within the article. It's starting to come together. Nice.

ExtremeSkins Fan View: Parsing Preseason

By Mark Steven

ExtremeSkins.com

August 25, 2005

By show of hands, how many here have noticed the growing phenomenon of otherwise savvy NFL fans breathlessly reading Tolstoy (War and Peace) significance into the comparatively Kismaric (Dick and Jane) landscape of preseason football? Let's see--one, two...a million.

Good. Seeing as how we're all simpatico...

It's our own fault, you know.

It's on the more highly agitated among us who call sports talk radio stations from their cars, hold for 43 minutes, then use their 12.4 seconds of air time (before being shouted down by the host-provocateur's professionally trained vocal chords, Bass Boost enhanced mike and finger poised on the almighty "Dump" button) to loose upon the ether such brilliance as...

"First time listener, long time caller. So get this--dude that my friend's brother knows overheard Bubba Tyer's former neighbor's ex-dog walker say that Gibbs is, like, trying to mess Ramsey up by calling all those interception plays. No, for real. He's like, forcing Ramsey to mess up so he can start Brunell again, so then everyone will stop saying how getting him last year was such a mista--"

It's also on the legions of message board aficionados; sincere folk who spend hours a day debating everything from the finer points of the 3rd-string quarterback's release point on mid-range passes while moving to his left, to the moral and ethical implications of whether or not the team should allow pedestrian traffic between the stadium and certain surrounding parking lots on game days, and the effect of that position not only the teams' on-field performance, but on their karmic balance as well.

Don't laugh--if it hasn't been debated yet, it probably will be now.

Don't get me wrong. We rightly love the saturation culture that's evolved over the last few years in pro football, and there is little doubt that as Grand Scheme things go, having such vehicles available through which to explore it is a wonderful thing ... but based on what we read and hear every day--in preseason--it has also become quite apparent that said luxury has turned an alarming number of our company into wide-eyed, hair-on-fire reactionaries, unable or unwilling to distinguish the proverbial forest for the trees.

Consider the general meltdown over a couple of interceptions--one in the end zone--thrown last Saturday night...and the apparently contemporaneous decision by more than a few to take a blowtorch to the quarterback depth chart.

Patrick Ramsey threw a couple of bad picks--which everyone, from his coach to his teammates to the man himself, has openly admitted. As result, an alarming number of us have projected dark portents indeed for the regular season and beyond. I can understand that, to a point--heck, in the heat of the moment during and after the game, I may have even muttered a little invective myself. But not enough to seek out a tall building. And it didn't last.

I chose instead to look at things form a slightly different perspective. Forgive the potentially patronizing tone, but...if logic allows us to project out "bad" things from a player or unit based on a two-game preseason performance snapshot, should we not just as properly project out "good" things for others?

With that thought in mind, I decided to take a somewhat broader look. First, the not-so-great:

The starting quarterback. Yes, Mr. Ramsey showed some nice flashes in game two, and there appears to be something brewing in the deep game. But geez, those picks. We'll have to go with "jury's still out" for now.

The two losses. Hey, losses are always bad. Not all are created equal. You'd rather win, whether it counts or not. Simply gonna have to get over that hump.

And that, quite frankly, is where I ran out of bad. Here's the other side of the coin:

The offensive line. Through two preseason games, this group, from top to bottom, has looked as good as any Redskins line in years. In fact (he says, with gleam in his eye and conspiratorial tone), watching as just about any running back trots out there and find holes to run through, one could almost wonder if maybe Denver isn't the only team in the league that runs well due to "system." Or that Redskins passers haven't had time to stand in the pocket like this since ... well, you know.

And let's not forget that the collection of running backs finding those aforementioned holes and hitting them with authority so far have yet to feature the young Pro Bowl starting back who figures to get 80 percent of the carries this year ...

Then there's the pair of new starting wide receivers, who suddenly seem to be running free through the secondary and catching just about everything thrown their way. Without the benefit of Gibbs' bread-and-butter--superior game-planning and sequencing to set up play-action. "Dang," you might think (were you given to such inner dialogues), "if they're this effective now, imagine what they'll do once they start working within the context of a targeted, Joe Gibbs game-plan ..."

I won't even mention the reliable, under-the-radar offensive weapon, young H-back Chris Cooley, who has yet to be deployed in any meaningful way. That might be offensively optimistic overkill.

Joe Salave'a gets after Bengals' QB Carson Palmer. (Don Wright Photo)

I will mention the defense, though.

Like the starting line, for instance. Against Cincinnati, in their brief appearance the front four dominated the line of scrimmage, reducing the starting Bengal offense to QB Carson Palmer scrambling on long yardage just to convert a couple of first downs. And the linebacking corps--yet to deploy the ticking, ready-to-take-out-a-year-of-frustration-on-somebody-in-a-wrong-colored-jersey time bomb that is LaVar Arrington--which is swarming to the ball and filling holes the way you draw it up on the blackboard. And the secondary, featuring a surging Shawn Springs, a freakish man-child in Sean Taylor, and soon to feature top draft pick Carlos Rogers, who, when he could breathe (welcome to the NFL, rook), displayed a presence on the field that almost made one forget he'd just donned an NFL uniform for the first time a couple of hours earlier.

Seriously...one would have to possess a dour outlook indeed to not see the depth, spirit, discipline and swarming intensity of the unit Gregg Williams is prepping to face QB Chad Hutchinson and the Chicago Bears on September11. For his own sake, one almost hopes young Mr. Hutchinson isn't inspired to emulate Mr. Palmer's forays down field too often. Hook slide, Chad. Better part of valor.

And what of the Special Teams? Oh, they're just coming this close to springing Antonio "Electric Rabbit" Brown several times a game. And blocking kicks. And covering kicks. No serious fan of the Washington Redskins has forgotten the backside-tightening feeling of watching kick coverage around here for the past few seasons. Don't know about the rest of you, but personally, after two weeks I'm already sitting quite comfortably watching this year's unit stay in their lanes and make the tackle. That's not something we've had the luxury of taking for granted here in a long time.

And then there's the whole brain-trust thing.

As much if not more than on its players, the 2005 Washington Redskins will succeed or fail on the strength of their coaching. On both sides of the ball. Gregg Williams and his staff have already proven their genius; it was on display throughout last season, and again thus far this preseason. In fact, based on the early returns, there's reason to suspect they may even be better than the group that ended up ranked 3rd in the NFL last year.

Hey, why not--preseason performance matters, right?

Which leaves Joe Gibbs himself-the X Factor on this team. During his Hall of Fame incarnation in the 1980s and early '90s, what set his teams apart--in addition to talent well-suited to their roles--were heart, smarts, cohesion, conditioning and schematic wizardry. Gibbs was unsurpassed at getting his players on the same page mentally and emotionally, crafting for them superior game plans, and then making masterful in-game adjustments. What we have not seen thus far in 2005--and will not until September 11--is the extent to which his full year-and-a-half back in the saddle, with the re-acclimation to the league, comfort with his own roster and time to adjust schemes that it has afforded him, will translate into improved offensive performance on the field.

Again, I don't know about you, but it says here, in no uncertain terms, that based on the man's track record, the smart money would not be in betting against him.

So yes, the play at starting quarterback has justifiably raised an eyebrow or two. And yes, it remains an issue for the zealots to dissect until such time as it ceases to be one. But perhaps the most ardent among us can also be persuaded to remember--before dialing up the radio hosts, ranting on the message boards or just regaling the patrons at their favorite watering holes--to consider the entire team picture...both in terms of what we have seen, and what remains, for the moment, just a gleam in Joe Gibbs' eye.

Books by their cover, friends. And forests for the trees.

Hail.

Discuss the 2005 preseason on the new message boards at ExtremeSkins @ Redskins.com

Great stuff, as usual - glad to see they didn't try to pare it down. Hope people take those words to heart.

Great stuff, as usual - glad to see they didn't try to pare it down. Hope people take those words to heart.

The team is being very kind in terms of editing thusfar. Pretty much both articles to this point have gone in as is. Of course, that means Mark knows how to write .

hail brother

Sellout.

Total ownership of the resident 'hair-on-fire' reactionaries.

Stellar.

Keep'em coming.

Sellout.

trouble maker

So you think Patrick Ramsey is better than Brett Favre?

:laugh:

Nice article, OM.

Great article Om. You really put the proverbial hammer to the nail.

Thats dead-on. What more can you say?

Okay.

Thats ELOQUENTLY dead-on

Outstanding!

Very nice.

Even those of us that weren't overreacting were still a bit nervous.....until reading that. Now I feel a sense of relief akin to taking a four-beer-relieving pee after standing in the long halftime line at RFK in 1991. Nice job Om.

OM, that was a great article.

Oh, did anybody else laugh out loud when they read "Antonio 'Electric Bunny' Brown"? I was laughing so hard at that. I'm still laughing in-fact.

Om - That was a spectacular bit of glass-half-full. A very refreshing view of reality that gets the heart pumping and the hopes renewed. Well done.

.

OM,

Great article as usual :applause:

Sweeeeeeeeeeet!!!

You got my already optimistic hopes up. Good writing, and good argument.

Great job Om!

Good stuff OM, how does it feel to be on Redskins.com?

Good stuff OM, how does it feel to be on Redskins.com?

It was pretty cool reading that ON the actual redskin site. Awesome read and congratulations. :applause:

Maybe it's just me, but the link doesn't work and I didn't see anything on redskins.com mentioning the article.