redman Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Mid-season polls are fun to read, and it seems to be a hobby around here to get worked up over perceived slights of the Redskins in those rankings. That's for fun. Here's what's important. We are presently 4-0 in the NFC. Our only two losses have been to AFC teams, which is irrelevant for playoff tie-breaking purposes. Further, we're 1-0 in division. And not your ordinary 1-0, we're 1-0 on the road. I go into a season "expecting" to win my 3 home divisional games, and "expecting" to lose my 3 road divisional games. I then adjust upwards or downwards depending upon the quality of my team and the quality of the opposition in a given year. A win on the road in my view puts you at a huge advantage because it "steals" home field advantage away from that opponent the way that winning on the road in a seven game series in baseball does. The other team is obligated to return the favor, or else be waaay behind in the division race to you. Think about it - if they're tied with you to end the season, that road win is the same as an additional loss for them. This phenomenon is only heightened by the fact that there are now only 6 as opposed to 8 divisional games - every game is more important with fewer games to use to make up the gap. If a team gets swept by a divisional opponent, it has to sweep all of its other divisional games to end with a winning intra-divisional record. This division is going to be a dog fight all year long. There isn't a bad team or a doormat any longer. I could literally envision any combination of rankings within our division to end the season, including us winning the division and Philly ending last. Any of those are possible based upon what I've seen of all four teams. If we go up to the Meadowlands and win that game, we're not only 2-0 in division, we're 2-0 in division on the road. That, friends, would be huge. So following a win this week, the pollsters would of course generate whatever level of "respect" or contempt for us that they will, but the most important rankings will be the two that really apply here: won-loss record, and intra-division record. We would be leading both with a win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2thegibb Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Good point! Wins in the division on the road are HUGE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinstzar Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 2-0 in division with both being away wins is huge, you nailed it right there. Just imagine the atmosphere at Fed Ex on Nov 6 if we win this game. I think it will be the closest thing to RFK since Fed Ex was opened. It will be absolute hysteria. We win these next two and we drive the bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Good post. The only other team in the NFC that is undefeated in the NFC is the bucs, and that will change in three weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever21 Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 absolutely...these next two weeks will set the tone in the nfc east for the rest of the season...nothing will be decided...but momentum is huge in football...but before we can worry about philly...the win in new york must be secured...but the philly game is huge as well...if we can have 3 divisional wins with 2 being on the road...we are in control of the division because we will just about own the first tie breaker...and something tells me that could be a big thing this year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I agree that this a huge game for us for many reasons. 1. It's in the division, always must win games. 2. It's on the road, you have to win some games away from home if you want to make the playoffs. 3. It's against a vastly improved Giants team that is tied for first place (well... arent we all?) and is getting alot of media attention. Now there are a few reasons we have a good shot too. 1. The Giants are coming off a last second, emotional win at home last week. Could be flat. 2. Our offense is starting to click, and the Giants defense is a real weakness. 3. The Giants offense has been impressive but they havent played a defense nearly as good as ours yet this season. Eli may not be ready for the different looks Gregg will show him. 4. We should have pretty much everybody healthy. Griffin will probably be limited in practice but it seems that he will play. Portis, Betts, and Rogers have another week to heal up. Hopefully Taylor's ankle wont be a problem. And Lavar now has a full game of playing time under his belt. I'm certainly not saying this will be an easy game, or that we should even be favored, but just looking at it I think we have a very good shot and it would be a HUGE win. Not that I'm ever not excited, but this is the most excited I've been for a game since Dallas. :gaintsuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Giants will go out to win one for their recently deceased owner. They wont be flat. We have to go out and punch them right in the mouth, offensively and defensively, right from the start. Hopefully the looks Gregg Williams puts on the field will rattle Eli. Santana Moss can own their secondary, Will Allen is shaky at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budski Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 2-0 in division with both being away wins is huge, you nailed it right there. Just imagine the atmosphere at Fed Ex on Nov 6 if we win this game. I think it will be the closest thing to RFK since Fed Ex was opened. It will be absolute hysteria. We win these next two and we drive the bus. We win this weekend the Eagles dont have a chance at FEDEX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRMADD Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 It's very difficult to win on the road. This season, road teams have only won one-third of the games (66 to 36). Divisional games takes that up a notch. Winning at New York puts the Skins in the driver's seat for the playoffs. If they're 5-2, 2-0 in the division, it takes a meltdown to miss the playoffs given their remaining schedule. Still, I think the Skins have their work cut out for them in this game. It will be very tough to beat the Giants. Eli is emerging as a real QB -- I shudder to think of the years ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iheartskins Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Just thought I'd mention the fact that when we've won the Super Bowl, we've swept the Giants in the regular season. Not *that* important given that I'm sure there have been season when we've swept the Giants and not made it to the Super Bowl, but underscoring your point redman, the result of this game has potential, though remote, implications to our Super Bowl posture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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