"The Redskins are playing close games--and winning them." - Fredricksburg.com

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Saving their best for last

Redskins savor win, look ahead to Colts

Date published: 10/12/2010

BY RICH CAMPBELL

ASHBURN

--There's an ideal end-game scenario that has eluded the Washington Redskins through five games this season.

Instead of securing a comfortable victory by kneeling down to melt the final seconds off the clock, they have kept their fans popping antacids all the way to the final gun.

Four of the Redskins' five games this season have been decided on the final play, and they have won three of those.

The team will take a win any way it can manage one, of course. However, it's an indication that plenty of distance stands between these Redskins and the team they want to be.

"You do want to go out there and dominate a team, but in the NFL, how often does that happen?" linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. "Most games are three points or less, seven points or less, and it's going to come down to the last drive of the game. Once we all mature and continue to not beat ourselves, we will be able to eventually close out teams early on."

There's an upside to this, though. Optimists will note that the Redskins are finding ways to eke out wins in tight situations.

Against Green Bay Sunday, they overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Their defense stymied Philadelphia's late rally in a 17-12 win nine days ago after the offense stalled in the second half.

And the defense stopped Dallas' final drive in the season-opening 13-7 victory.

"It's a positive," linebacker Brian Orakpo said. "These are great teams we're battling with. They're not getting chunks of points, and we're not just going whoever has the ball last will win the game.

"These are great defenses going at it, guys hitting and being physical out there. That's just good football."

We're 3-1 in one-score games, compared to 2-8 last year. This is awesome. We all knew McNabb and Shanny could urn us around, but it is great that we are finally winning the close games that we normally would lose. And if Kubiak didn't call a timeout before Gano kicked the FG in ot, we'd be 4-0 in games decided by a TD or less. I was thinking when I was watching the Packers game, there was no way we would have won that game with Zorn and Campbell. I love it.

I was talking to a co worker about this - I think it's all about discipline. The Skins last year would have done what GB did in overtime - making stupid mistakes, panicking, penalizing and hurting themselves, ultimately putting themselves out of a position to win.

This season, the mental errors are fewer, the team is more confident and less jumpy in these tense situations. Basically so far, they are just holding their nerves better than the other teams. I think this pays even more off down the road when the games get bigger and the pressure grows.

Good teams find ways to win in close games. Let's hope the Washington Redskins continue to be good or better.

HTTR

Winning these close games that we would have lost under Zorn is a sign of a different culture here.

The players believe they can beat ANY team, and they keep believing it till the last whistle blows.

Good job, Shanahan.

I noticed that this Redskins team doesn't turn the ball over AT ALL. Minus a few ints from McNabb, which are bound to happen, we really haven't had those game changing fumbles or turnovers that cost us the game in the past. And that is a great thing. Now everytime the O steps on the field, I'm thinking how long will it take us to score, not how long will it take for us to make a mistake. It's a great feeling knowing that you have a team that can protect the ball, and FORCE turnovers on D to help the O out.

Players gave veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb credit for steadying the team in those tense final moments. He has won so many games during his 12-year career that they have an unprecedented faith in him.

"Donovan said [in the huddle], 'Hey man, give me a little bit of time, and we'll make something happen,'" right guard Artis Hicks said. "It's great having a guy back there that's like that. He takes command and he's poised, and you can work with that. You get a guy back there who gets rattled, it makes everyone kind of panic."

I guess leadership isn't overrated.

I was thinking when I was watching the Packers game, there was no way we would have won that game with Zorn and Campbell.

I don't think a Zorn/Campbell team would have even made it close after getting dominated early like the Packers were doing. Just to highlight two plays, there is no way that Campbell makes that deep pass to Moss that led to the first FG, and there is no way Campbell makes that TD throw to Armstrong. And that's just isolating two plays.