bandleader Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 The October game at the Meadowlands was uniquely lackluster for the Gibbs Redskins; the Christmas Eve rematch was a better measure of the two teams. I don't think the Redskins somehow threw the first game. What I do feel is that un-kosher sh*t happens in the NFL, all players experience it (Gibbs' Skins way more than most), and all NFL employees are routinely reminded to not publicly denigrate the institution that makes them rich and sometimes famous. After the November travesty in Tampa, a TV reporter asked Santana about the officiating. As closely as I remember, he answered "There's a lot I could say, but then again there's not a lot I could say." [Gibbs submitted four (including two game-winning) blown calls to the league office after Tampa; only then did chronically lopsided anti-Skins officiating begin to abate.] Knocking the Bucs out in January was poetic justice. The NFL works hard on its image, and has large staffs for PR and "security" (spying on employees' behavior, chiefly to head off bad PR.) But if a "star" goes bad (e.g. Lawrence Taylor) there's an effective cover-up, made more so by the Sports Press's parasitic relationship to the League. The NFL's biggest image problem of the last 13 years has been the dilution of its product, caused by the CBA and its free-agency/salary-cap rules. Ostensibly the game is supposed to be better now than ever before. A crisis came in the late '90s, when just about the only QBs who could move their teams were old (Elway, Cunningham, and Chandler come to mind), and first-rounders like Heath Shuler were routinely being ruined by being played too soon. Too many games were boring low-scorers (and NOT defensive gems). In a desperate move the League began recruiting thugs/gangbangers to up the violence/entertainment factor, a la WWF. This move backfired badly on the League's precious image after a few high-profile heinous crimes by NFL starters. Then came Kurt Warner and NFL Europe, giving the League hope that a new crop of competent QBs would emerge after all. That's when they moved to clean out the riff-raff (except the "star," Ray Lewis). After that, things stabilized a bit, as bigger/faster athletes and simplified playbooks compensated for eroded team cohesion... Until Snyder brought back Joe Gibbs. The League has never really liked Gibbs, for several reasons: He "needlessly" polarizes the fan base, irritating some with his outspoken Christian Testimony. His emphasis on TEAM rather than on STARS robs the League of PR raw material, and constantly exposes the Sports Press as mostly fakes, basing their "expertise" and predictions on conventional wisdom - which Gibbs' teams consistently confound. Worst, he's eminently successful, arguably the greatest coach in NFL history (this I believe). Snyder's willingness to open his wallet, coupled with Gibbs' penchant for success, makes a double-edged weapon aimed at the League's collective purse AND its precious image: Our BEST PAID coaching staff, when successful, will "up the ante" for every other owner. Our staff may also imperil the current convenience of dumbed-down playbooks, since we'll coach up our players better than our rivals do. If Gibbs waltzes right in and wins, it damns by implication the current level of League play; it undermines the NFL's PR line that it provides the Best Football Ever, by showing fans there's always been a better way. If Gibbs' way is right, then a lot of proud, influential owners, GMs, and coaches will be shown up as wrong. A trap is being sprung on the League - but a trap of its own making: By achieving parity, the League created a mechanism whereby small changes can tip the scale. One or two (or four or more) pivotal calls have a high probability of being the difference-maker in most outcomes, while losing coaches are left to blather about how one or two calls shouldn't have been so critical. Pro gamblers naturally love this, and the League itself would be hard-pressed to resist the temptation to pursue short-term agendas when it so readily can. The wisest course for the NFL would be to protect and celebrate their wonderful sport, keeping it as pristine as possible. Sadly, the Captains of Business are too often blind to their own ENLIGHTENED self-interest. Remember the Movie Industry lobbying to suppress consumer videos, or the Musicians' Union going on strike against records? Remember Enron? That trap is now springing: The Gibbs Way IS ALSO a difference-maker, tipping that finely balanced scale toward the Redskins. We went 3-0 against bad officiating (remember that first Dallas game?). So the officiating got worse - Denver stands out, and our HOME Philly game had a phantom holding call (yes, the League admitted it didn't happen) that gave the Eagles one last possession (but McNabb threw a pick near our goal line to lose anyway). Finally they went too far in Tampa, costing the League some of its precious image. While this made them hate us more, it forced them to tone down to a level that could be counter-balanced by Gibbs' coaching. I imagine that a part of Gibbs' coaching has been to foster an "us-against-the-world" mindset that's encouraged team cohesion in the face of injustice. This makes the Halloween game all the less explainable: The officiating was no worse than it had been, and seemed to be totally fair once the Jints were in control. But the Skins clearly GAVE UP- something they never do, not even during a 6-10 season. Somehow, Mara's death, given his icon status, must have played into... Okay, here's a theory: The Giants were truly fired up for Mara, and we were too ****y coming off the SF blowout, so two bad calls was all it took that day to deflate us... AND maybe bitter experience had us collectively paranoid about how the Mara thing would play out; we may have just assumed early it wasn't meant to be our day. Whatever happened, that game sure stands out, badly. Also, consider this angle: Gibbs' outspoken Born-Again evangelism is most unwelcome in the DC area by the Political Establishment, which currently holds DC and its surrounding jurisdictions firmly in the "blue" column. While Joe's never been political, the implications of his success potentially could influence a lot of minds about Life's fundamental choice, which often leads to a change of political alignment, too. Conversely, his failures reflect badly on his Testimony. So The Washington Post's football coverage has been pointedly anti-Skins this season; Tuesday it wondered in print if the winning Skins aren't just a flash in the pan (!?). Kornheiser, Wilbon, and especially Sally Jenkins p*ssed on our successes all year, highlighting the bad and underplaying the good. It got so bad that Jenkins had to write a "mea culpa" column after the last Philly game, trying to rebuild some credibility. In fact, if you Believe, then it's no stretch to figure that Hell itself (which, according to the Bible works through "powers and principalities") would actively work against a Gibbs-led Redskins. This could make for an awesome movie! Joe Gibbs would still win in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlSkinfan Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Real good insight. Makes me look forward to your next column. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyf316 Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Joe Gibbs would still win in the end. Nice post. I hope your future posts are this thoughtful and insightful; I'm sure I will enjoy them as much as this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabronijames Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Good post with a smattering of salient points. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernSkinsFan Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Wow! What a way to start! Welcome, bandleader. BTW, what band do you lead??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSilverMaC Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Gibbs vs The Devil himself eh??? Thats pretty epic, but I think I'll go ahead and watch that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#98QBKiller Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 So are you saying that you have a theory that the league pressured the Redskins into losing the game after Mara's death...or that the Redskins simply went in overconfident after the SF game, and after two scores felt that it wasn't their time to win due to Mara's death? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giants102180 Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 The October game at the Meadowlands was uniquely lackluster for the Gibbs Redskins; the Christmas Eve rematch was a better measure of the two teams. Garbage. Yea its entirely more accurate to judge us in that game with all of our LBs out, Shockey getting hurt, and Eli Manning wearing down having played the first full NFL season in his career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FedEx_Skinz Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Garbage. Yea its entirely more accurate to judge us in that game with all of our LBs out, Shockey getting hurt, and Eli Manning wearing down having played the first full NFL season in his career Come on dude you proved what kind of team you are in the first round of the playoffs and if your owner wouldn't have died that week of the 36-0 blow-out we would have swept your sorry team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Come on dude you proved what kind of team you are in the first round of the playoffs and if you owner would have died that week of the 36-0 blow-out we would have swept your sorry team. What he said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Interesting and thoughtful post, I look forward to reading more of yours But really, I think you are making too far of a leap thinking the Washington Post sports section writes negative articles about the Redskins because of Gibbs' faith and the fact the Post tends to be biased towards the left If anything, the stream of negative press started when Snyder took control of the team, and escalates as the media continues to battle him, rather then Joe Gibbs As far as officiating, I cannot believe there would be a leauge wide conspriacry to slow down a Joe Gibbs team, yes there have been missed calls, but missed calls occur in all games (this weekend Colts-Steelers game) and are unfourtantley a fact of life in the NFL. You make the good point that due to parity, one, two or three missed calls can tip the scales from a playoff coach, to a coach looking for a new job. However I still do not think the NFL *delibritly* makes calls against the Redskins About the Giants game itself, it was clear the Giants were playing on a whole different level then the Redskins were that day, and would have completely torn apart any team in the NFL that day. Likewise, if not for a self made error, and a fluky TD towards the end of the half, the Redskins dominated the Giants on Christmas Eve and took control of their playoff fate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peckerwood Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 that's a nice little conspiracy theory there.... the whole thing about religion is a crock. i am not religious at all, but i've always been a fan of gibbs. he knows how to get a team to win, he's a good coach - PERIOD. i don't care if the man worships cucumbers and eats poop on his own time, all i care about is his work with the FOOTBALL TEAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieskin Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 All of gibbs teams have been champion teams not a team of champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefPowhatan17 Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 This post had alot of insight. But, I think if we over analyze the loss in the meadowlands we are wasting time. You win some and you lose some. That day we were destined to lose.:logo::logo::logo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinzRool Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 the whole thing about religion is a crock. i am not religious at all, but i've always been a fan of gibbs. he knows how to get a team to win, he's a good coach - PERIOD. i don't care if the man worships cucumbers and eats poop on his own time, all i care about is his work with the FOOTBALL TEAM. :applause: :applause: :applause: I also think that you are making way too much out of the league not liking Gibbs. Bellichick and Reid have built their teams the same way JG likes to build his; through blue collar guys who work their a***s off. The NFL seems to have no problem with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#98QBKiller Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 i don't care if the man worships cucumbers and eats poop on his own time, all i care about is his work with the FOOTBALL TEAM. Well, when you're right you're right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCNightHawk Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 very insightful post. Good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Future_Redskins_QB Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 very interesting analyses...i like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSW Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Ahhhhh, may need to switch to decaf. We played awful at NY because CG was hurt and we could not stop the run. We also had a couple of other KEY defensive stars out during that game. The Giants were playing at home and had a lot of emotion on their side due to the loss of a beloved owner. It's football not rocket science! Even the best teams in the league have a game where it all goes wrong. Do you really think that we were 30 points better than the Cowboys in that last game? It all averages out over the season. Religion is a non-factor, it's all about winning and loosing. A really thorough anlaysis would have shown that we had serious depth issues on the defensive line and the loss of 1 or 2 key players made us into a totally different team....a team unable to stop the run. Once that happened, it was game over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ_Skins Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I'm not sure I got your point about the Giants game. As for Gibbs, there is no question that a lot of liberals who write about sports or report on it for TV don't like him for religious reasons. These are usually people who have never played a sport in their life, and majored in journalism or mass communication in college. There are a boatload of them at ESPN and the Washington Post. Within the realm of football though, I think the resentment towards him comes from people like Gruden, who view themselves as geniuses and "the future" of the NFL, who are somewhat embarrassed to get showed up this "old man" who decided to spend a decade racing cars. Joe Gibbs is the best the NFL has to offer, and they should be proud of him. I'm sure most are. I don't think the league has it in for him, although they may have it in for Snyder on some level. The media, yes. I think their reasons for disliking the Redskins are numerous, and all phony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSW Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 No believe it or not Liberals do not have an agenda against Joe Gibbs...basically all the animosity that the skins suffer in the media is a result of the early mgt decisions of Dan Snyder. Joe Gibbs is one of them most beloved figures in football. Yeah, there was a lot of talk of him having "lost his touch" earlier in the year, but that had absolutely zero to do with his religious beliefs...may have had something to do with him being away from the game for so long. Like I said before, it is all about winning and loosing. I guess you have a theory about how liberals are trying to deny you the right to worship also. What happened to thoughtful FOOTBALL analysis. I did not know that this was the political/religous forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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