SOW: Don't Call It A Trap Game

E-Dog Night · September 11, 2012

http://sonofwashington.com/redskins-at-rams-storylines-its-a-trap/

Don’t call it a trap game; we’ve been trapped for years.

We’ve heard this story before: early in a given NFL season, the Redskins look good. They’re mixing in the run and the pass with equal success. The defense is sacking quarterbacks and making interceptions against good teams.

Then the Rams come along, who have averaged three wins a season since 2007. Three wins, people! Take out the 2010 campaign with their stratospheric 7 victories, and the Rams’ most recent win totals are as follows: 2,1,2,3. Ouchie.

So naturally, the Redskins might take a look at that kind of futility, and they look like perennial contenders in comparison. After the RG3 explosion, the letter “W” has surely began to appear on schedules hanging on cubicle walls and refrigerators across the DC Metro area next to perceived “easy wins”.

Then the regularly scheduled, early-to-mid-season toilet flushing occurs. See: the 0 for their last 19 Detroit Lions in 2009, or the 1-5 Carolina Panthers last season.

In Jim Zorn’s first year back in 2008 when the Skins started 4-1, Dan Snyder was yelling in the bowels of Lincoln Financial Field after the Redskins upset the Eagles 23-17, “Wooo! 4-1! In Philly! In Dallas!”

Flush. The very next game, at home against the Lowly Lambs, the Redskins were clinging to a 7-3 lead in the final minute of the first half and were in the red zone. Then a Jason Campbell pass got deflected at the line of scrimmage, and for some reason, LG Pete Kendall decided it would be a good idea to catch the pass. Problem! Offensive linemen aren’t used to being ball handlers, and Kendall predictably fumbled.

Could the ball have possibly fallen harmlessly into the hands of another Redskins lineman? Noooooooo. Future Redskins safety O. J. Atogwe scooped up the fluttering pigskin and proceeded to sprint across 75 yards of FedEx Field turf, and the Rams went into the locker room with a 10-7 lead.

The Skins would end up losing 19-17 and eventually miss a wildcard birth by one game.

Here we are again. It’s only one game into the season, but man, what an awesome game it was. Robert Griffin III had what may have been the best debut of any quarterback in the history of professional football. Every notable media outlet has as image of RG3 on their front page, and his spectacular outing is being dissected by talking heads across the nation.

Additionally, the defense held the mighty Drew Brees to under 50% for his completion rate, adding 3 turnovers and a sack. Even the special teams has an aura of excitement about it, as newly signed Billy Cundiff split the uprights 8 times without incident and regularly boomed kicks deep into the end zone (we won’t mention the blocked punt).

And ohhhhh! Lookie here. If it isn’t the Rams next up on the docket.

At some point this week, you’ll probably hear someone call this a trap game. Feel free to slap that person, verbally rather than physically, of course. While there is no set definition of what a trap game actually is, I believe there are three main criteria which encompass that term.

One, the superior team must...

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E-Dog Night · September 11, 2012