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LoyalSkinsFan

By LoyalSkinsFan
in The Stadium

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LoyalSkinsFan

LoyalSkinsFan

Posted
Posted

The other day I sat down with my five year old daughter to play a game of "GO FISH". I played it tight at the beginning, trying to make it interesting for the first few minutes...but soon enough, my love for this cute little girl lying across from me on the carpet took over and I began to "accidentally" unload cards at an alarming rate. It was a strategy I've used before and was in this case (I must admit) mapped out well before the game ever started. My plan was working to perfection....... (insert creepy laugh here)

And then - all at once- my two year old daughter entered the room, casually walked over, spewed out some mostly indiscernible chatter and proceeded to pick up all the cards and throw them into the air.

Game over.

That, my friends, pretty much describes the last 15 seasons of the Washington Redskins.

Since the early '90's, we've watched coach after coach pass by....each, with a plan in their hand and an eye to the sky. Each year we begin the season with great hopes and talent, only to find them being dashed and scattered around the room by any number of reasons. Injuries, lack of motivation and heart, poor chemistry, tough schedule....you name it. Even Joe Gibbs, in his second go-round, looked almost human.....running (arguably) out-dated schemes and even, in one case, by blowing one game by calling consecutive time-outs. This is stuff we've gotten used to after all this time...even come to expect.

And that makes me sad.

This past weekend was fun...and was, for this moment in time, against the grain. Seeing that thousands of Redskin fans had shown up in Canton was a sight to see. Hearing them cheer for FOUR MINUTES upon Art Monk's introduction was both unprecedented and moving.

But what REALLY got me...was seeing the Redskins show up for the first of five (arguably) meaningless pre-season games and appear to be well prepared. I read somewhere today that Danny Smith had actually mentioned to the special teams to be on the lookout for an onside kick prior to the start of the game. Now, THAT'S impressive. Considering that this piece of advice came before such a nothing game puts it, for me, right up there at the Yoda and Obi-Wan level.

The Redskins, yesterday, were efficient...which, I think, is the best word for it. Campbell was 5-5 with a touchdown and looks, quite simply, as if he's been coached. He was accurate and decisive. Colt Brennan was 9-10 with two TD's. Brennan was more up and down, but showed that he could have that "it" factor. Collins, sadly, seemed lost and reminded me WAY too much of Patrick Ramsey. He consistently held the ball too long and therefore paid the price. You can paint it any way you'd like, but in my opinion it was as simple as that.

Marcus Mason continues to show why the team should keep him around as long as they can....and the offensive line showed once again that if they can stay healthy they can be a top flight unit. Not a perfect outing, but sufficient at such an early stage.

The defense was maddeningly porous at times....but it's early and I have to believe that once the two bookend DE's and our lead linebackers (and main defensive playcaller) get in there the complexion of that squad changes dramatically.

I am buoyed, in fact, by the depth we appear to have on both the offensive and defensive lines this year. Injuries will come, but it seems we have strong youth coming up behind our aging vets.

I've forgotten more wide receiver names over the preseasons past than I can remember. Every year it seems there's some new, unknown guy that lights it up in preseason and then disappears...never to be heard from again. I would be willing to bet that this will happen once more. Still, neither Thomas nor Kelly were active yesterday...and there is no doubt that they will have a positive impact this season. Cooley is an all-pro, but having watched Davis during his time at USC, I just hope that they can find a way to utilize him as well. He's a monster.

There were both positives and negatives that I took from the game this weekend. But, overall, while tempering my emotions with memories of disappointments from the past, I have to say that I was impressed with the overall handling of the game. Coach Z seems to be finding his identity...riding neither too high or too low...and the entire coaching staff seems to be dialed in and on the same page. That communication is key in any work environment.

Management of the game is SO important...both on and off the field. Joe Gibbs had it in the 80's and 90's and we saw where that lead.

The signs so far are promising. But then again, there's always some two year old to come in and mess things up.

Let's see how it goes.

HTTR

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#98QBKiller

#98QBKiller

Posted
Posted

Good post man. I'm to the point now where I'm just neutral going into every season and if things go good, then fine I'm happy if they fall apart then I'm not surprised anymore.

But like you said, we looked unusally well-prepared for a preseason game. That's something I haven't seen in a long time.

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Rdskn4Lyf21

Rdskn4Lyf21

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I'm still shocked that you have a 5 and 2 year old at 44 years of age. I guess 40 is the new 20 huh?

Enjoyed your analysis and post. I agree. Exciting times for the Redskins. I really think we are building a strong foundation.

Fixed that :silly:

This team is going to be exciting to watch this year. The biggest point that the OP made was that JC looks like he's been "coached". It's true and its about damn time. Zorn is the man we needed.

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MattFancy

MattFancy

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Posted

I totally agree with the op. It seems like every year we go into the season with big expectations and something happens to derail everything. Take 2006 for example, everyone was talking about the possibility of a Super Bowl. Then the preseason comes around and Portis gets hurt, Springs gets hurt, and we finish the year 5-11.

This year's team has no expectations except for us fans. The media has us going anywhere from 4-12 to 10-6 or so. I know that its extremely early, but after the first preseason game, you would have to be crazy to say that you were not impressed by how well things went Sunday night. The opening drive by the offense couldn't have gone much better unless they scored on 1 play instead of 3. Campbell looked comfortable out there and was getting rid of the ball much faster than last season.

Then you look at the defense, yeah the first drive that Sorgi led against our D wasn't anything special,, but when the defense needed to step up and keep the Colts out of the endzone they did and they did it with only 4 starters out there.

Before getting too ahead of myself, this team looks to be very comfortable in the new offense and listening to what Zorn has to offer. Maybe this year we can live up to the hype we had going into 2006 and make a run at a Super Bowl, as I see it, anyone can win the NFC East and the NFC. Is it September 4th yet?!! See you all Saturday night against the Bills.

HTTR!!!

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zCommander

zCommander

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Fixed what:D

He made it bold. :silly: I am close to 40 :doh: and have a 2 year old with the oldest being 10. The kids are just 4 years apart each with one in the middle at 6. Point - you are never too old to have a child!!!!:D

Good write up!!!:notworthy

First pre-season game. To some meaningless. To the new HC Zorn, very important to get that first win and to see the players playing against another D and evaluating. Too many high notes in the game and one that we could build on and rock the regular season. And of course Skins Fans are the most important players as well!!!

HTTR!!!:point2sky

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Thinking Skins

Thinking Skins

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Posted

One thing that 'concerns' me is how much 'planning' did we do for this game? I know I remember Smith saying that last year the Colts started off the preseason with an onsides kick. How much scouting did we do of their players, just so that we could have Zorn come out here and look good? I'm bringing this up because I remember Zorn saying soemthing about planning for the Colts on Friday.

But even still, the execution we had on Sunday doesn't even come with regular season planning in most times. I mean, Campbell was getting the ball out, hitting WRs in stride, and looking comfortable in the pocket. Our RBs were picking up yards (mainly due to the dominance of the OL). We have few penalties, and few injuries. So I'm still happy about the performance.

But I really hope Zorn doesn't adopt Gibbs's philosophy of just running the ball if we go into halftime up by 7. I don't even want to admit what that had me praying for.

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IbleedBnG83

IbleedBnG83

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Posted
He made it bold. :silly: I am close to 40 :doh: and have a 2 year old with the oldest being 10. The kids are just 4 years apart each with one in the middle at 6. Point - you are never too old to have a child!!!!:D

Good write up!!!:notworthy

First pre-season game. To some meaningless. To the new HC Zorn, very important to get that first win and to see the players playing against another D and evaluating. Too many high notes in the game and one that we could build on and rock the regular season. And of course Skins Fans are the most important players as well!!!

HTTR!!!:point2sky

I'm not one to judge. I'm just saying. You had a kid at 35. He had a kid at 42. Big diff...

But your right. Kids are great!!

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BigRedskinDaddy

BigRedskinDaddy

Posted
Posted

LSF, as I read through this thread I think one thing went unnoticed. That was a very thorough, insighful and well-written OP. I <B Clinton voice> feel your pain, brother. In my youth the B&G reigned supreme, challenged only by the 49'ers for supremacy in the entire NFL. These last 10+ years, alas, have been more of the two-steps forward, one-step back variety. Here's to better things to come with a new, fresh HC and a FO that seems to be at long last learning from it's past mistakes.

HTTR

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