skins4eva

We have no linebackers and everyone knows it…

Lol this team.  Unreal.  Like a hot knife through butter.  Like we werent even on the field.

LFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  C'mon--this year will be different ladies and gents!

I’m 41 years old and already feeling nervous about tomorrow. It’s really incredible. I get anxious about nothing in life except this team…guess I’m never gonna grow out of it. 

On 9/10/2021 at 4:17 PM, kleese said:

2 days until we kickoff against the Chargers... 

 

Have we ever scored EXACTLY 2 points in a game? Glad you asked... 

 

The answer is Yes, with a bit of an asterisk 

 

In 1936 we lost to the Packers 31-2. For you historians out there, you would realize that because it was 1936, the team was still in Boston, moving to Washington prior to the 1937 season. That is the only time we have scored 2 points in a game-- we have never played a game where our opponent finished with exactly 2 points. 

 

For my memory today, doing another one that is a bit obscure, but one I believe has had a LITTLE bit to do with how history has viewed our most recent SB team... 

 

December 22nd, 1991

(Eagles 24, Redskins 22) 

 

First of all, this game meant absolutely nothing. We were 14-1 and had wrapped up the 1 seed. Eagles had already been eliminated as well, they were 9-6 heading into this game-- that 1991 Eagles team would have been REALLY good had Randall not torn his ACL week one that season. Their defense was insanely good and their QB situation was SO bad-- and they still managed a 10 win season. If Randall was healthy, they absolutely could have provided us our greatest challenge that season. 

 

What sticks out to me about this game was how excited I was for it. Such a fun scene/time to remember. I was 14 years old, 8th grade. Old enough to sort of "get it" on some things, but still very much a kid and a goofball obsessed with sports, girls, video games, staying up late to watch HBO (or better yet, Cinemax if I was at a friends house). The 1991 season was a total joy all around. I did not care that the game didn't matter, I wanted to go 15-1. The game was late afternoon at The Vet. Three days before Christmas; already out of school. Parents dropped me at my usual spot in those years-- The Outback Sports Cafe. Sat there all day watching games. Two weeks off a school ahead, presents three days away, Redskins already clinched playing the divisional round. Just awesome. 

 

Even though the game meant little, we started our guys and played them fairly deep into the game. As was typical for that season, the Eagles had a terrible time moving the ball. We shut them out (scroll back in this thread to #23) at RFK on MNF. In this game, the Eagles scored first on a pick 6-- but we led 19-7 early in the fourth. So through the first seven quarters of games against the Eagles that year, we gave up 0 points to their offense. I figured the game was a wrap. We pulled some guys, including Rypien. Jeff Kemp (son of Jack) was not good. But in the fourth quarter, he made a few plays. 19-7 became 19-14, then we fell behind 21-19. We drove and Lohmiller kicked his fifth FG of the game to give us a 22-21 lead. But boom, Eagles go right back down and kick a FG (pretty sure as time expired) to win it 24-22. 

 

This was one of those losses that bugged me for about 5 minutes. I really wanted that 15th win, but by the time I got in the car to go home I was over it. Already moved on to the looking forward to the fun weeks ahead. In 1991 and 1987 we earned the privilege to sit out WC weekend. That is really fun-- watching the first weekend of playoffs with no stress. I can't believe it's been 30 years since we had a bye in the playoffs-- and now that there is only one bye per conference who knows if we will ever get to enjoy that again. 

 

The one historical footnote on this game is that I think had we won and finished 15-1, people might remember that team a bit differently. In most retrospectives, the 1991 Redskins are considered one of the more underappreciated teams of all time. Adjusted for metrics that didn't apply then, that team ranks near the top in a ton of categories. It was as easy of a season as I've ever witnessed in the NFL. It was a down year for a bunch of teams that dominated that era (Giants, Bears, 49ers) and Dallas was still a year away from turning corner. Beating the Falcons and Lions to get to the SB always hurt our legacy I thought-- and I think that 15th win may have helped as well. None of if it really matters of course. But man, it's fun to look back at the fun and simple time in my life. 

This loss was a huge deal in the pantheon of where this team is ranked among great SB winning teams. We lost two games in 91 by a combined 5 points I believe (Dallas and this one). Oddly, I remember us pulling starters at half time. If we had won, people would have been forced to but this team up with and (in my mind above) the 85 bears. Statistically, these team was totally dominant in all three phases of the game all year. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. Obviously that NE team that was beaten by Elisha Manning was like it, but I still think this team was more dominant. We had what, two losses and two close calls all season (the giants game and I think the oilers game). 

On 9/5/2021 at 4:24 PM, kleese said:

Asleep at the wheel, missed a couple of days…

 

7 days until we kickoff against the Chargers…

 

Even with as common as the number 7 is in football, this was a very easy choice for me…

 

November 23rd, 1997

(Giants 7, Redskins 7) 

 

For those of you longtime ES’ers like myself, you’ve heard me talk about this game at length many times, along with the 1997 season in general. That season remains my personal most frustrating season as a fan. It’s the single season that elicited the most dramatic outbursts from me. We laid an egg in Tennesee that season, had a frustrating loss at the Vet, and then absolutely horrible home losses to the Ravens (the Bam Morris game) and the Rams (the Amp Lee game). Add the sleepwalking effort in tbe de facto division title game at tbe Meadowlands and you had a season rife with missed opportunities and meltdowns. 
 

That Sunday night game at FedEx had all of the above. 
 

It is of course famous for the Gus head butt. How humiliating. I was watching this game with my roommates/friends in our apartment sophomore year. They all had such a good laugh at the replays of Gus knocking himself out of the game. That was bad, but we led 7-0 and I really didn’t think the Giants were that great— I felt good about the game. Turns out, we probably win fairly easily if Gus doesn’t head butt the wall. Jeff Hostetler came in and might have thought he still played for the Giants. Good Lord, he was awful. 
 

The game devolved quickly after the Gus incident, but we still had tons of chances. It was an insane comedy of errors after the Giants tied the game 7-7. It seemed to go on forever. Hostetler threw three picks and lost a fumble in limited action. Even with all of that, we still had one very good opportunity. On a play at the sideline, the refs ruled a no catch on what looked like a nice play by Michael Westbrook. He got made, took off his helmet, and slammed it. Fifteen yard penalty. This took us from makeable FG range into long shot FG range— of course, we missed. The Giants also had missed opportunities in OT and the game appropriately ended in a tie. 
 

I don’t think fans are ever “happy” with a tie, but this absolutely felt like a loss— maybe worse. It was such a choke job on all levels- like the entire Norv era wrapped up into one pitiful night. I was very angry after this one. Kinda still am. 

This was and still is the most painful regular season skins game I’ve ever watched. F’ing Michael Westbrook. First he cold****s Stephen Davis in training camp and then he essentially loses this game for us. I watched this at my grandparents house. I think they both thought I needed professional help afterward. 

On 8/20/2021 at 4:33 PM, kleese said:

22 Days until we kickoff against the Chargers... 

 

Looking through our archives, we haven't scored exactly 22 points very often. As a matter of fact, while I may have missed one, I don't think we landed on exactly 22 points once between 1990-2005. Then, oddly enough we scored exactly 22 points three weeks IN A ROW in 2006. We lost at home to the Titans 25-22, then lost the next week on the road to the Colts 36-22. We were 2-5 and things were looking bleak in terms of building off our 10-win 2005 wild card winning season. 

 

November 5th, 2006 

 

Redskins 22, Cowboys 19 

 

Alright, before I go much further, I'll be honest and say I'm gonna probably rain on some parades here. I've seen this game in some fans' all-time Top 10 list. Yikes. This one probably isn't even Top 30 for me. I find it to be an overrated game/moment in our history. Had a fun/improbable ending but it didn't mean much when we won it, and we followed it up the very next week by getting drubbed in Philly, 27-3. So, in terms of greatest moments in franchise history? Nah, this one doesn't do it for me. 

 

But it WAS certainly memorable and I did get very excited when it actually happened. This was pre-kids for me-- still about three years until the first came around, but I had been married for over 5 years at this point. We had recently moved to OKC from Tulsa and I started my own business. In what I thought was a pretty brilliant move, I installed DirecTV at my in-laws house instead of at our house. Figured I'd make watching the games at the in-laws the new tradition. My in laws are awesome and my father in law is a football fan (Cowboys if you can believe that) so it was a good example of killing multiple birds with one stone-- I mean, how mad can you get at me for watching football all day if I'm doing it at your parents house? The dish "lived" there for over a decade before we moved a bit farther out into the burbs in 2017. It was a fun routine in those years. My father in law always got a kick out of my antics. 

 

I actually don't remember a ton about the game other than it was kind of weird, with strange scores throughout. At one point it was 5-0, then 6-5, then 9-5, and then 12-12 at the half. Kinda sloppy, but a pretty entertaining/intense game. I do remember my heart sinking when it appeared clear that Romo had gotten the Boys into fairly easy FG range. Feel like in our history, we haven't blocked many meaningful FGs so I wasn't even really thinking that, just hoping he shanked it. Of course, we got the block, and I initially shot up thinking ST21 was going to take it to the house. I was legit standing and yelling during that moment. Then, in the chaos of the play, I got a bit confused myself and initially thought the flag would be on us-- I knew it was after the block, so I assumed OT. But then it dawned on me that they grabbed his facemask and it should be 15 and one untimed down. Remember thinking what a wild swing that was... and also not having a ton of faith in Nick Novak making a 47 yarder. Of course he did and that was one of those jubilant moments of relief-- just so happy we didn't lose at the buzzer. And sure, at the time, I was certainly still hopeful we could turn the season around. It gave us life for a week-- which again, was short lived. 

 

So while I think this moment has been a bit over-sold over the years, I still think it's a worthy note for the number 22. 

I still maintain that if ST had cut outside instead of inside, he would have taken it to the house!

On 8/17/2021 at 11:25 PM, kleese said:

25 days until we kickoff against the Chargers…

 

Today we go back to December 9th, 1990 in Foxboro.

 

Redskins 25, Patriots 10

 

This may be the worst weather game we’ve ever played. It rained the entirety of the game, and it rained HARD. It was also cold and windy as you’d imagine it would be on a rainy day in Boston in December. 
 

This was also back when the NFL would have 1-2 Saturday games once the college slate ended. This one was a 3:00 kickoff. 
 

It might be hard to imagine, but there was a time when the Patriots were BAD. Like, REALLY bad. The 1990 Patriots entered this game at 1-12. Terrible team. So, terrible team and absolutely horrendous weather conditions led to perhaps the most sparsely attended NFL game I can ever recall. Place was empty. 
 

This was also back in the days of real AstroTurf… so when it got wet, it was like an ice rink. 
 

For the Redskins, clinching a playoff berth was on the line— they’d missed the playoffs in 1988 and 1989– back then, that felt like forever. So I remember being excited to hopefully see us get back— The game itself felt like a formality, but you never know with a weather game like that what might happen.

 

Well, what happened was we took a 9-0 lead before we even took one snap on offense. Kurt Gouveia ran back a fumble for a TD and then we got a safety when the Pats snapped the ball out of the end zone. This was all less than 3:00 minutes into the game. Honestly, we basically tried to run out the clock for the remaining 57:00 minutes. 
 

Rypien completed FIVE passes on the day. Three to Sanders and two to Monk. That was it. Byner carried the ball 39 times. No one else had more than 2 carries. 
 

We took a 19-0 lead into Halftime. Patriots finally got on the board in the third, but never truly threatened. The second half was a boring slog, just bleeding the clock down. Final 25-10. Watched the game at home and was able

to rest easy after our clinching win. Earlier that day, the Giants lost in Buffalo (SB preview) in a great game. We knew it was wild card time

for us from there on out. 
 

A mundane, boring, methodical victory… 31 years ago, but due to the slip n slide conditions, it’s a game I’ve always remembered well. 

I was at this game. Awful, Awful weather. I was visiting a good friend in Boston and his dad took us. We left at halftime and watched the rest from his living room…

9 hours ago, Jericho said:

So it's basically pick three of these guys to cut to round out the roster (for now):

 

WR/PR DeAndre Carter

LB Jared Norris

LB David Mayo

DL Shaka Toney

DL Casey Toohill

DL David Bada

TE Ricky Seals-Jones

CB Darryl Roberts

 

I vote that we all designate Shaka Toney's new nickname: Shaka Khan! And anyone who gets this joke is over 40.  Reveal yourselves!

52 minutes ago, KDawg said:

This team woefully mismanaged the linebacker situation. Again. 
 

I like Jamin. So I’m not going to be too aggressive here. But this team has consistently missed at LB. 

Take Rocky McIntosh's name out of your mouth!

Seriously, it's crazy how we've missed at this position.  It has been a weakness for a long time.  The last good to very good group we had was M. Washington/London Fletcher back when two G Greg was our coordinator...

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

That's crazy.  Better than RG3 on Thanksgiving in Dallas?  

 

Would be curious to see how they come up with their rating, but whatever it is, it's still really high praise.  

 

Dude needs to be in competition for QB1 next year.  Take that first rounder, address a position of need or BPA.  Get another good WR.  Let this kid do his thing.

 

We'd have won 10 games, maybe more with quarterback play like that this year.  

That's also such an indictment of the position for this franchise for years.  We've been in purgatory for decades because of our inability to find even above average talent at the most important position.  There have obviously been some other factors as well, but it's truly remarkable.  

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

The fact that he needs to learn all that makes him not elite. He's good to very good. But I think next year he'll make that elite jump.

He needs to work on his pass rush skills.  He really had nothing last night against a top LT.  He hesitated off the ball and went outside almost every time.  He looked slower to me than usual.

Just now, Csup said:

Again - I didn’t see a dominant defense out there regardless of the score.  If that’s your definition of a dominant defense well you throw around the term “dominant” way too easily.

Can't have dominant defense with B team linebackers and awful safeties.  

16 minutes ago, NickyJ said:

People called the Cult of Colt weird, but there's something freaky to get people on this website so fired up into witch hunts over who said what about Jason Campbell when he hasn't played for us in over a decade.

Leave Jason Candle's name out of your mouth!

I think Rivera has seen enough of Haskins.  I'm sure the rest of the team has too.  Can't win with a QB like him.  Doesnt give us a chance.

That is some of the worst tackling and pursuit I've ever seen.  What is 51 doing?  Our entire back LB and and safety core would be backups on most teams.  Just no talent there.  

That is literally one of the worst throws I've ever seen. My lord.  

Need a kicker. Add it to the list. 

Hurry up is the only time Haskins looks even remotely comfortable 

Bench his lazy ass. I’ve seen enough. He’s not ready and never will be. 

Will do. He’s one of my best friends from high school and law school. As you can imagine, life got in the way and he had other stuff to do. I know he still holds this place close to his heart. 

On 3/15/2020 at 5:05 PM, KAOSkins said:

I bought that book as part of the short lived ES book club at IHeartskins' recommendation.  Hope he's doing well these days. My God, if there is a more depressing book written I haven't read it.

he’s doing well. Wife and three kids in Brooklyn. I’ll send your regards. 

Some of you need to look more carefully at the scheme before we criticize the player.  We are running the most vanilla of defensive schemes, especially upfront.  We are making it as easy as possible for opposing QBs.  Look back at the tape on the third and long situations where Philly converted (either first downs or long TDs).  You will essentially see a three man rush with everyone dropped into soft zones.  No stunting up front no blitzes with any imagination, no disguise of what's coming.  A huge, huge part of the lack of production from the D-line relates to the positions they have been put in.  

1 hour ago, Tom [Giants fan] said:

Bye Mcadoosh!!!

I'm sad to see him go--great head coach, and I was hoping he'd stay in NY for a long, long time

Off to Jerry world 

Cowgirls crap the bed again 

Jones wants gloryhole