SOW: The World Is Not Ending

[E-Dog Night]

http://sonofwashington.com/the-world-is-not-ending/

The World Is Not Ending

By the end of the first quarter of the preseason game between the Redskins and the Bears, you may have felt physically ill. Understandable, considering the following:

• The Redskins were already down by 2 touchdowns
  
• Jay Cutler had already thrown for an easy 99 yards
  
• Brian Orakpo was lying on a training table in obvious pain with a shoulder injury
  
• Brandon Meriweather had to be helped off the field with a knee injury
  
• Robert Griffin’s stats: minus 3 yards passing, two sacks, one lost fumble
  

Yeeesh. That’s a really unpleasant fifteen minutes of football. Throw in a holding penalty on Adam Gettis and two drops by Niles Paul…can someone hit the reset button please?

There’s no doubt that in living rooms across the DC Metro area, there were cries of being a cursed franchise, of picking the wrong quarterback, of why Shanahan didn’t draft more safeties and offensive linemen, not to mention countless flurries of despondent tweets and text messages coupled with unnecessarily loud shouts of “NOT ORAKPO! ARRGH! WHY DOES GOD HATE US?!”

The sky was definitely falling yet again on Redskins Nation. Or so it may have felt.

But as a wise man once told me, feelings are not facts. When everything seems to be falling apart around you, take a step back, and look at everything from a detached, unemotional standpoint. And wait a little while; you’d be amazed at how the passage of time can change your perspective.

So as we sit here on Monday morning, things don’t look so bad. In fact, there are exactly as they are supposed to be.

First, let’s take a look at the Chicago Bears. Or should I say, the 2012 NFC Champion Chicago Bears. A little presumptuous? Perhaps. And yet, the Bears have that look about them. Sure, they play in the same division as the Packers, so even a division title will be a challenge. But clearly, they have nestled into that zone when the window is completely open and all the pieces seem to be in place.

Do they have coaching continuity? Check. How about a talented, veteran quarterback? Check. Solid offensive line in front of two very talented running backs? Check. Legit #1 receiver and perfect complimentary #2 WR? Check. Rock solid special teams? Check. Nasty defense with one of the most fearsome pass rushers in the NFL? Check check check.

Viewed from this perspective, there could have hardly been a better team for the Redskins to play in their second preseason game. The Bears, right now, are where the Redskins want to be, and they got a front row seat for the show. RG3 received a first class education on pocket awareness from the likes of Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije.

I’m sure Robert “Say All the Right Things” Griffin could have told you that he knew about the difference between the speed of the college game and the NFL. But now he REALLY knows. Experience is the best teacher, and when RG3 woke up on Sunday morning, he was a better quarterback than he was just 24 hours earlier, thanks to Messrs Peppers and Idonije.

Another thing that can make a fan feel sick to their stomach is when, after a play is over, the camera flashes to a player writhing in agony on the ground who is wearing their team’s familiar colors. Then the announcer says the name of a key starter. If said player is an All Pro and it’s the preseason, double the agony. If it happens to TWO players, time to start shouting at the heavens.

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[Darth Tater]

Since Saint Joe hung it up the first time, how many times have the "sky is falling" crowd been wrong? 1999, 2005 and 2007 and not by a much. Arguably 2001? At this point, its pretty much better to expect us to suck and be happy when we end up a enjoying a "strong" 7-9 season rather than expect 13-3 type division year and get a "weak" 9-7 year.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Since Saint Joe hung it up the first time, how many times have the "sky is falling" crowd been wrong? 1999, 2005 and 2007 and not by a much. Arguably 2001?

Depends on how you define "the sky is falling". From your post I'm guessing that the sky falling = no playoffs?

I think most who claim the sky is falling are talking about going 4-12, 5-11...and looking terrible while doing so...and reaching this conclusion during the preseason.

How many times has that happened since Saint Joe hung it up the first time?

[Timmy Smith]

It was just a preseason game and we weren't game-planning at all. We were out there using the game to run drills, and the score doesn't matter. Players reminded the media of this after the game, but, as is usual with preseason reporting, it was rarely highlighted in the post-game articles. Meh.

I view this season as a rebuilding year. It's been that way in Redskins Land for a while, but I'm fine with it again this year. The goal is to get younger, and get more across-the-board depth at key positions. Looking at the roster, we're reaching that goal. On the downside, we're playing with $18M less salary cap room than other NFL teams, this year and next. That stings. We would have used that money to shore up our offensive line, but instead we have to resort to a patchwork group.

[No_Pressure]

I think there are a lot of people who are quietly freaked out that maybe Griffin isn't as amazing as we all heard he was. He had passes off the mark, and was making small mistakes under pressure. Many people understand that these are things which every rookie has trouble with- but then even saying that brings up those nagging thoughts in the back of our minds that we've told ourselves this before while the player in question- whether it was Campbell or a player at another position was in fact just not as good as we hoped. I say these fans are quietly freaked out because nobody wants to say it and be that guy to say it. Nobody wants to say "Andrew Luck has looked a whole lot more ready for professional ball than Griffin" even though it is true and to be expected.

The problem is even people who told themselves they wouldn't buy into the hype have bought into the hype. We hear stories about how great of an arm he has, how quick he is in every facet of the game, how outstanding he is for a rookie- we hear it from the media but we also hear it from our veteran players. We allow ourselves to think "what if?". The Bengals had a good season with a rookie QB, and he wasn't half as talented as Griffin therefore we should have a great year! It's only pre-season, it doesn't mean anything. At the same time we're hoping that Griffin isn't a higher picked Kordell Stewart, and we realize that every year we've looked really bad in the pre-season we've been really bad in the regular season. We tell ourselves the 1991 team went 0-4 and so did the Colts many of the pre-seasons they were dominating the league, which is true. The games are vanilla and coaches aren't looking at making the starters play at their fullest potential. We also realize that if both teams are playing vanilla and we're still getting our asses kicked, we probably wouldn't be doing much better in a real game situation vs. the same team.

Personally I think that at the end of the day being a QB in the NFL is mostly about a player's brain and work ethic. I know for a fact that Robert Griffin is highly intelligent and an extremely hard worker. I also know that Andrew Luck is the same way, but he was at a school which put him in more of a pro style offense while Griffin played a college offense, so his learning curve will be different. I think he looks just great where he is right now in his progress and I think we'll have a good season with ups and downs for the offense- though overall more ups than downs. None of the things which happened in the Chicago game were 100% Robert Griffin's fault. People will pick apart the things he had trouble with, NFL.com described his outing as "shaky". His outing was normal, the shaky play came from the offensive line, the receivers, and the coaching staff.

1. Griffin was sacked multiple times in 2 quarters, pressured even more. He may have left the pocket early on some plays due to being a rookie, but I'm surprised he hung in there as long as he did considering how quickly the pressure was getting in there.

2. The fumble was not really his fault. Most QBs in the league in that situation would have had the exact same thing happen. He was pressured up the middle, sidestepped it, was flushed to his left, and a 2nd free rusher tackles him from behind. Contrary to popular belief he wasn't holding the ball out in a ridiculous manner which made it easily fumbled. The fault was on the O-Line.

3. Niles Paul dropped 2 passes. Sure 1 was slightly behind him (which rookie QB's do sometimes) but it was not uncatchable and he dropped a sure first down.

4. None of the highlights on NFL.com show Griffin's good completions including the one he made to Moss middle right.

5. All of the highlights show Griffin's overthrown ball to Moss. Had it been on the money Santana would have gotten laid out or the pass would have been intercepted.

6. The highlights on NFL.com didn't show his nice scramble on the FG drive, nor did it mention the fact that the replacement refs gave us a 17 yard penalty on our first drive while we were moving the ball quite well.

Last but certainly not least:

7. The play selection was questionable at times- one instance which infuriated me a great deal was the 3rd and 10 at around the 20 yard line. We're practically in the red zone, we've got this young QB who needs to learn from game situations. We've got a 3rd and 10 and it's about 20 yards to the end zone. Sure the Bears will be expecting a pass but sometimes we're going to have to throw the ball when the other team is expecting us to (duh). I couldn't believe my eyes when we ran another ****ing 3rd down draw and got nowhere. I hated that play call. Some may say the coaches didn't want Robert to get killed, but we had moved the ball that drive, we were getting something together, Griffin had completed some passes. Give the guy a few options, send Cooley, Davis, or Paul up the seam, see if we can go for 7. At the worst we turn the ball over, yes, but that is a learning experience in the pre-season. This is where you take those chances and get a rookie in those situations. Would we rather have it that he's doing these things for the first time in week 1 against New Orleans??? Why do we have such a lack of guts? The kid is playing the game to throw the ball. It's 3rd and long from the 20 and we're down by 17. Why are we playing for the field goal??? I'd love to know if that was Mike or Kyle.

[Darth Tater]

Depends on how you define "the sky is falling". From your post I'm guessing that the sky falling = no playoffs?

I think most who claim the sky is falling are talking about going 4-12, 5-11...and looking terrible while doing so...and reaching this conclusion during the preseason.

How many times has that happened since Saint Joe hung it up the first time?

I think it is obvious that the phrase "sky is falling" has little to do with playoffs. It has to do with EXPECTATIONS. If you don't expect much more than 6-10 season, you are going to be happy (or at least entertained) with a strong 7-9. You expect a 13-3 season then you'll usually be unhappy. How long till most fans get so beat down when you have high expectations but they are not met? This is why right now I'd hate to be a Cowboy fan like you (:pfft:), every year you get your expectations built up and you get crap.

[Laxpunk2006]

I think Chicago is a good team too but solid offensive line?

Chicago gave up 49 sacks last year.

"Perfect complimentary #2 WR"?

Who's that?

[E-Dog Night]

It was just a preseason game and we weren't game-planning at all. We were out there using the game to run drills, and the score doesn't matter. Players reminded the media of this after the game, but, as is usual with preseason reporting, it was rarely highlighted in the post-game articles. Meh.

I view this season as a rebuilding year. It's been that way in Redskins Land for a while, but I'm fine with it again this year. The goal is to get younger, and get more across-the-board depth at key positions. Looking at the roster, we're reaching that goal. On the downside, we're playing with $18M less salary cap room than other NFL teams, this year and next. That stings. We would have used that money to shore up our offensive line, but instead we have to resort to a patchwork group.

I'm not sure that the game planning, or lack thereof, was the issue. The biggest thing is that the starting O-line was simply over-matched by the Bear's D. They were pushing Gettis, in particular, around like a rag doll.

But this is why I am not concerned: Gettis is a rookie, and kind of undersized at that. It would be have been almost weird to see him consistently hold off Idonije.

Imagine if, say, Brian Orakpo was going up against an undersized rookie. You'd expect Rak to dominate. And the career of player that he dominated would not be over based on that one game. It would be a learning experience, and that's ok.

For me, 6-10 is ok, 5-11 is depressing, 4-12 or worse and I just got hit upside the head with some sky.

---------- Post added August-20th-2012 at 04:44 PM ----------

I think Chicago is a good team too but solid offensive line?

Chicago gave up 49 sacks last year.

"Perfect complimentary #2 WR"?

Who's that?

The sacks has more to do with Mike Martz's scheme than anything else. Watch, you will not see the same issues this year. Not even close.

The greatest return man in NFL history is Cutler's #2.

[darrelgreenie]

The whole 'sky is not falling' or 'world is not ending' bit is tired and canned.

Imo it takes away from real discussion of the game or the pre-season.

I've heard more strawman arguments as to why the sky isn't falling then I've heard people actual react as if the sky is falling.

Heck, if everyone is saying the sky isn't falling people are eventually going to look up and wonder is it?

[ComManDersFan57]

Let us not forget that the Bears were totally embarrassed in the first week's game against Denver. They were out to prove something this time. The sky isn't falling for me. I expected RG3 to have a rough going of it in this game and make mistakes. I'm glad he was under pressure since it will better prepare him for the season. I also expect him to make mistakes throughout the year. It was a tough 15 minutes to be sure, but it's not the end of the world.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

I think it is obvious that the phrase "sky is falling" has little to do with playoffs. It has to do with EXPECTATIONS.

but you said the only times the "sky is falling" crowd has been wrong were in 1999, 2005 and 2007...all playoff years. "Maybe" 2001...

And it's not JUST about expectations. When Norv went 8-7-1 was the "sky is falling" crowd right? According to your first post, yes. What were our expectations before the season began that year?

[Tarpon75]

I think Chicago is a good team too but solid offensive line?

Chicago gave up 49 sacks last year.

"Perfect complimentary #2 WR"?

Who's that?

Yea,I was thinking the same about the Bears O-line,they have a couple issues there.Denver gave them fits and the coaching staff was pretty concerned about how they would respond against the Skins.Switching gears,as far as the Redskin defense, things should stabilize going forward.Fletcher not playing and Orakpo going out early had a major impact.Alexander did a decent job under the circumstances,but he's not Fletcher.London is the glue that holds it together.Offensively,I think the coaching staff is working on certain things and will show a few more wrinkles when the real bullets start flying,wrinkles that showcase more of Griffin's talent.

[JSSkinz]

Since Saint Joe hung it up the first time, how many times have the "sky is falling" crowd been wrong? 1999, 2005 and 2007 and not by a much. Arguably 2001? At this point, its pretty much better to expect us to suck and be happy when we end up a enjoying a "strong" 7-9 season rather than expect 13-3 type division year and get a "weak" 9-7 year.

This is exactly the truth, people are just repeating what they hear, "Just be patient", "Everything will be ok", I have been with this team almost 30 years now and the last 19 have put grey hairs on my head. Im looking at this now as I will believe it when I see it instead of going in thinking things will be diferent when they never are. Im scared to death about this QB, we gave so much up for him and Im not sure he was worth it and I hope Im wrong.

[darrelgreenie]

...People will pick apart the things he had trouble with, NFL.com described his outing as "shaky". His outing was normal, the shaky play came from the offensive line, the receivers, and the coaching staff.......

Last but certainly not least:

7. The play selection was questionable at times- one instance which infuriated me a great deal was the 3rd and 10 at around the 20 yard line. We're practically in the red zone, we've got this young QB who needs to learn from game situations. We've got a 3rd and 10 and it's about 20 yards to the end zone. Sure the Bears will be expecting a pass but sometimes we're going to have to throw the ball when the other team is expecting us to (duh). I couldn't believe my eyes when we ran another ****ing 3rd down draw and got nowhere. I hated that play call. Some may say the coaches didn't want Robert to get killed, but we had moved the ball that drive, we were getting something together, Griffin had completed some passes. Give the guy a few options, send Cooley, Davis, or Paul up the seam, see if we can go for 7. At the worst we turn the ball over, yes, but that is a learning experience in the pre-season. This is where you take those chances and get a rookie in those situations. Would we rather have it that he's doing these things for the first time in week 1 against New Orleans??? Why do we have such a lack of guts? The kid is playing the game to throw the ball. It's 3rd and long from the 20 and we're down by 17. Why are we playing for the field goal??? I'd love to know if that was Mike or Kyle.

I hear you.

I have questions about the gameplan/playcalling too.

During the 1st qtr Griffin wasn't even running the base offense.

1st and 2nd downs they were in a 3 TEs 1 WR sets.

The playing calling didn't account for the youth on the OL.

Adam Gettis showed well in the 1st preseason game but it doesn't make sense to have him out there without help.

And it showed he was getting pushed back in the running game and beat in the passing game.

While preseason is an evaluation its also time to prepare a rookie QB and putting him behind an OL that is struggling and not opening up holes doesn't teach him a lot. (except maybe to expect poor pass pro).

Imho they may as well start gameplanning for the players that are on the field right now because they're very likely gonna be the players we go into the season with.

A nit pick I have in the running game is appears that either the OL are in too much of hurry to get to the second level or their being taught that way.

But the end result is often an OL getting to the second level (not always making the block) but his neighbor losing at the point of attack on the LOS.

And if the POA is lost on the LOS it doesn't matter if the other lineman makes it to the second level while the play is being blown up in the backfield.

Most of the mistakes and missed assignments came from the 3 TEs set.

And imo they level of execution of lack thereof smacked of lack of preparation.

The offense looked much better in the 2nd qtr when they started to get away from the 3 TEs sets and into the base offense.

Even amidst all the mishigas Griffin still shined though.

The throw to Moss up the seam/post, the deep comeback to Hankerson on the run off boot-action.

The flash of lightening when Griff took off around the corner when Polumbus got beat (again) the time to the inside by McClellan.

I still think Griffin scores if he doesn't lose his balance on the sideline.

But, personally I would like to see Griffin in the straight dropback rhythm passing game more and get more passing attempts in general.

I'm with you 100% on those 3rd and long play calls.

Call a play that works against that Cover-2 and let Griffin read it out and let it fly.

[Mursilis]

I think most who claim the sky is falling are talking about going 4-12, 5-11...and looking terrible while doing so.

Isn't going 4-12 sort of the definition of looking terrible?

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

I think Chicago is a good team too but solid offensive line?

Chicago gave up 49 sacks last year.

"Perfect complimentary #2 WR"?

Who's that?

Same thing I was saying lol. They assumed a lot off of a few CHI possessions

---------- Post added August-20th-2012 at 05:34 PM ----------

This is exactly the truth, people are just repeating what they hear, "Just be patient", "Everything will be ok", I have been with this team almost 30 years now and the last 19 have put grey hairs on my head. Im looking at this now as I will believe it when I see it instead of going in thinking things will be diferent when they never are. Im scared to death about this QB, we gave so much up for him and Im not sure he was worth it and I hope Im wrong.

okay man...RG3 played a half. There is literally no way you can determine that he wasn't worth it yet

[2STaylor1]

I read all your articles... well atleast the ones you post here and whether i agree or disagree its always a good read, so thanks for that! when i watched griff play on sat i was disappointed but not all with him.... he made rookie mistakes we all knew he would make but hoped he didnt (or atleast from a homer pov thought he might not make). whats surprised me the most now that its monday is the media isnt dogging him like i thought, given i dont live in the DC area but they seem to be on board with it being rookie mistakes. i dont know of any other QB's that woulda done better with the looks griff got.

lets look at some positives.....

Al Morris looked great, i was impressed with him. he isnt easy to bring down

Aldrick Robinson looks like he secured a WR spot on the 53

Crawford looks like another guy who has done the same

Kirk Cousins threw great passes, throwing to where someone will be instead of waiting for them to be open.... dont get me wrong, i have my colt brennan goggles on so im still skeptical but the guy looked great

[Darth Tater]

but you said the only times the "sky is falling" crowd has been wrong were in 1999, 2005 and 2007...all playoff years. "Maybe" 2001...

And it's not JUST about expectations. When Norv went 8-7-1 was the "sky is falling" crowd right? According to your first post, yes. What were our expectations before the season began that year?

No, because by 1997, that was the normal expectation of a Norv team. Again, it has nothing to do with when but I guess your Cowboy fan hood doesn't let you see that.

---------- Post added August-20th-2012 at 06:06 PM ----------

This is exactly the truth, people are just repeating what they hear, "Just be patient", "Everything will be ok", I have been with this team almost 30 years now and the last 19 have put grey hairs on my head. Im looking at this now as I will believe it when I see it instead of going in thinking things will be diferent when they never are. Im scared to death about this QB, we gave so much up for him and Im not sure he was worth it and I hope Im wrong.

When people are talking about 6-7 win season being solid, they are victims of the "sky is falling" mentality themselves and often don't see it.

[nimblehippo]

For me Griffin's performance was quite pleasing - he had a heck of pressure, and never looked flustered. Sure he got sacked and fumbled, but he kept going and didn't let it affect his game - he ended stronger as well! The line - that has me worried - Griffin looks just rosy to me!

[TSO]

Since Saint Joe hung it up the first time, how many times have the "sky is falling" crowd been wrong? 1999, 2005 and 2007 and not by a much. Arguably 2001? At this point, its pretty much better to expect us to suck and be happy when we end up a enjoying a "strong" 7-9 season rather than expect 13-3 type division year and get a "weak" 9-7 year.

Except, "expecting us to suck" is not happiness in and of itself. Basically, you're telling us to be miserable from the start and then be miserable while we do suck if it happens. :doh:

Unless you're a weirdo who enjoys expecting us to suck, lol. :pfft:

No, I'd rather have hope and enjoy the optimism that we could turn things around now until there is no doubt that we're failing to do so, then I'll allow myself to be disappointed. And if we do, I get to be happy the entire time.

Here's some simple math:

Expecting to suck = MISERY for a fan

Actually sucking = MISERY for a fan

-------------------------------------------------------------

MISERY + MISERY = MORE MISERY

Expecting to suck = MISERY for a fan

Actually winning/progressing = JOY for a fan

-------------------------------------------------------------

MISERY + JOY = MIXTURE OF LIMITED MISERY/JOY

Expecting us to win/progress = JOY for a fan

Actually sucking and being disappointed = MISERY for a fan

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOY + MISERY = MIXTURE OF LIMITED JOY/MISERY

Expecting us to win/progress = JOY for a fan

Actually winning/progressing = JOY for a fan

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOY + JOY = A LOT OF JOY

Now, what's the healthier option and WHY in the world would I take your advice, again?

[2cents]

I think some posters here need to learn that the Bears have a new Offensive system and a new coordinator who is not interested in getting his QB killed, unlike Martz. The Bears will be a lot better this year.

[Darth Tater]

There could be a big difference. Going 4-12 with those 4 wins being blowouts and the 12 losses were 1 play losses (especially if the missed play was on you) is significantly better than going 4-12 with those 4 wins being 1 play wins and the 12 losses all being blowouts. Also, when could be a big difference maker. Good teams may lose to bad teams in October but not in December. So if you go 0-12 and finished 4-0 you probably look better than if you started 0-4, went 4-0 and finished 0-8. 4-12 could mean you need to start a total build again or find a few tweaks to win those close ones (or, more likely, somewhere in between). Are you a 4-12 team on the rise (kind of like the Ravens in 1996), a 4-12 team stuck in suck (that would probably be true for us) or a 4-12 team at the end (somewhat like us in 1993). If you don't make the playoffs, records never tell the whole story.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Isn't going 4-12 sort of the definition of looking terrible?

No, it's the definition of doing terrible. Granted, it would be rare for a team to go 4-12 but still look promising lol...although we came close last season.

[Darth Tater]

Except, "expecting us to suck" is not happiness in and of itself. Basically, you're telling us to be miserable from the start and then be miserable while we do suck if it happens. :doh:

Unless you're a weirdo who enjoys expecting us to suck, lol. :pfft:

No, I'd rather have hope and enjoy the optimism that we could turn things around now until there is no doubt that we're failing to do so, then I'll allow myself to be disappointed. And if we do, I get to be happy the entire time.

Now, what's the healthier option?

How do you figure that? Never said that expecting suck itself makes you happy, just that expecting suck and getting mediocrity does. You may meet people who deny this but most are just lying.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

No, because by 1997, that was the normal expectation of a Norv team. Again, it has nothing to do with when but I guess your Cowboy fan hood doesn't let you see that.

What the hell are you talking about? lol

So was 1997 a year when the "sky is falling" crowd was right? According to you, the team met expectations, so the answer should be "no, they were wrong"....but you didn't list that season earlier. So the answer should be "yes, they were right" lol...