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SI: Temperature at Redskins Park: absolute zero


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Temperature at Redskins Park: absolute zero

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/football/nfl/12/16/bc.fbn.redskins.spurrier.ap/index.html

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Tim Hasselbeck was greeted with a warm hug from coach Steve Spurrier's wife near the front desk at Redskins Park on Monday. Such comfort was needed a day after he posted the ultimate quarterback goose egg.

"I'm going to play better next week," Hasselbeck said. "I'm telling you that right now."

That's hardly an audacious guarantee. Hasselbeck has nowhere to go but up after his 0.0 quarterback rating in the Washington Redskins' 27-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

"I'll be disappointed for a long time about it," Hasselbeck said. "But at the same time I need to forget about it."

Hasselbeck completed just 6 of 26 passes for 56 yards with four interceptions. Perhaps out of sheer mercy, the NFL's complex quarterback rating formula automatically bottoms out at 0.0 when the performance gets bad enough. If not, Hasselbeck would have been in the negatives.

"He had a guy in his face almost half the night," Spurrier said. "Maybe he didn't have as many guys open as we had hoped at times, so it was a difficult night."

But he also made some bad throws. The first interception was an underthrow; the second was an overthrow. The rainy weather had much to do with it; Dallas' Quincy Carter completed just 10 passes, although he had no interceptions.

"It's tough conditions," Hasselbeck said. "But at the same time there were plays to be made out there, and I didn't make them. I'm just going to try to learn from it and move on."

Hasselbeck joined the team at midseason when Spurrier decided Rob Johnson wasn't a satisfactory backup. A season-ending foot injury to Patrick Ramsey then thrust Hasselbeck into his first NFL starting stint. He is 1-2 and hopes to earn at least a backup roster spot next season.

"Tim has performed, we think, very well for a young man who came in five-six weeks ago," Spurrier said.

That's exactly what Hasselbeck doesn't want to hear. He wants to earn praise for playing well, period, and not get an OK grade just because he's new in town.

Which means Hasselbeck is one of the few players who is glad the Redskins (5-9) simply can't ask the NFL to cancel the last two games against Chicago and Philadelphia. Even the well-worn excuse that "most of the games are close" didn't wash this week as the players reviewed the tapes. What motivation can be left after such a shutout loss to a big rival?

"We've got to lower our goals and say we want to win this game," cornerback Champ Bailey said. "That's all we can do."

Completely out of answers, Spurrier said almost nothing of consequence in his weekly news conference and started leaving the room after just nine minutes.

"I don't think it's our responsibility to tell all you guys what we see or who messed up," Spurrier said. "We all share in it together."

It would take him too long to name all the messers-up anyway. The Redskins lack talent along the defensive line. The linebackers haven't lived up to their Pro Bowl reputations. Bailey has had to play hurt. Ramsey and the top running backs have missed multiple games. George Edwards has had some learning pains in his first year as a defensive coordinator. Spurrier has vacillated in his offensive philosophy and can't seem to decide how to rein in problems of discipline.

Overseeing it all is owner Dan Snyder, who has put the franchise on a steady downward slope since buying the team in 1999. The records: 10-6, 8-8, 8-8, 7-9 and now 5-9 with two to play. The Redskins are approaching the level of perennial bottom-dwellers such as Arizona and Detroit.

"Every year it seems so unexpected, but we still find ourselves in this position," Bailey said. "The tables are turning. We definitely don't want to be replacing those teams." Notes:@ Ramsey had surgery on his foot in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday. He'll wear a walking cast for about a month and should be ready to return for the spring minicamps. ... Injuries from Sunday's game: S David Terrell, S Matt Bowen and LT Brandon Winey all have sprained knees and will be either limited or unable to practice Wednesday. ... Winey was starting for LT Chris Samuels, who hopes to return this week from a knee injury. ... Spurrier wasn't impressed with New Orleans' receiver Joe Horn's unusual TD celebration. Horn made a cell phone call from the end zone after scoring against the Giants on Sunday night. "I would hope our players wouldn't do that," Spurrier said. "But you see a little bit of everything nowadays: cell phones, Sharpies and whatever else comes up." However, WR Rod Gardner said he would try to outdo Horn if the Redskins were winning. "We ain't in that position right now to be out there showing ourselves like that," Gardner said. "But I swear, if we were, I promise you, I'd be out there doing all kinds of craziness. ... Some people might not like it, say it's showboating and all of that, but at the same time, it's on TV all day. You've seen it all morning on 'SportsCenter."'

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Gardner said. "But I swear, if we were, I promise you, I'd be out there doing all kinds of craziness. ... Some people might not like it, say it's showboating and all of that, but at the same time, it's on TV all day. You've seen it all morning on 'SportsCenter."'

That's just what we need. :rolleyes:

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Spurrier wasn't impressed with New Orleans' receiver Joe Horn's unusual TD celebration. Horn made a cell phone call from the end zone after scoring against the Giants on Sunday night. "I would hope our players wouldn't do that," Spurrier said. "But you see a little bit of everything nowadays: cell phones, Sharpies and whatever else comes up." However, WR Rod Gardner said he would try to outdo Horn if the Redskins were winning. "We ain't in that position right now to be out there showing ourselves like that," Gardner said. "But I swear, if we were, I promise you, I'd be out there doing all kinds of craziness. ... Some people might not like it, say it's showboating and all of that, but at the same time, it's on TV all day. You've seen it all morning on 'SportsCenter."'

Gardner, have a nice steaming mug of shut-the-****-up.

Why don't you pull out your cell phone after one of your drops and call God and ask him why you haven't lived up to your potential?

The last thing anyone on this sorry team should be thinking about is what he's gonna do when he gets into the end zone. This team is allergic to the end zone.

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"I would hope our players wouldn't do that," Spurrier said.

I know this is just his aw-shucks style, but I wish he would grow a pair and say something forceful like, "If one of my players pulled that ****, I'd shove his cell phone up his ass on national television. See how he likes seeing that on SportsCenter."

Or even say, "****, my guys can do anything they want in the endzone -- hell, they can borrow my cell phone. Just score!"

Anything forceful! Anything with a little spirit. Instead it's this weak girly crap: "I hoe our players wouldn't do that!"

Just shut the **** up, Steve.

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I'm sorry, I just don't see anything wrong w/ the TD celebrations we see. After all, if the defenses were doing their jobs we wouldn't see any celebrations now would we. I say it's all a part of the show you knopw kinda like entertainment. Or is this not the reason why we watch sports. I think the weirder the celebration the more fun it is to watch.

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I'm really starting to believe that Gardner is just Jeff George playing another position.

Million $ talent, $.10 head.

He has to lead the team in penalties. He is definitely one guy I would like to see the team move in the offseason. Get what you can for him, like the Rams did for Canidate.

I can't believe Spurrier hasn't demoted his sorry a$$ already. If ever there was a player who needed it, it's Gardner.

I'm really beginning to loathe the guy. :mad:

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However, WR Rod Gardner said he would try to outdo Horn if the Redskins were winning. "We ain't in that position right now to be out there showing ourselves like that," Gardner said. "But I swear, if we were, I promise you, I'd be out there doing all kinds of craziness. ... Some people might not like it, say it's showboating and all of that, but at the same time, it's on TV all day. You've seen it all morning on 'SportsCenter."'

You want to know why the team is 5-9... just read the above again and again. Do you think NE, Philly, St. Louis players are thinking like this?

This is exactly why he'll be traded this offseason. Instead of trying to determine what he can do better to jumpstart the offense, he's dreaming about what kind of TD celebrations he can come up with to be shown on SC.

I'm confident Spurrier and the F.O. see the same thing, plus alot more on game film of him loafing and running poor routes. He's the only player we can afford to trade and get some value for this draft.

Another Loser who needs to find a new home!

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Originally posted by Cskin

You want to know why the team is 5-9... just read the above again and again. Do you think NE, Philly, St. Louis players are thinking like this?

This is exactly why he'll be traded this offseason. Instead of trying to determine what he can do better to jumpstart the offense, he's dreaming about what kind of TD celebrations he can come up with to be shown on SC.

I'm confident Spurrier and the F.O. see the same thing, plus alot more on game film of him loafing and running poor routes. He's the only player we can afford to trade and get some value for this draft.

Another Loser who needs to find a new home!

Actually I think he's just being honest and it gives insight into why Joe Horn does it. It may sound trite, but the media gives those actions so much attention, that of course people want to do it. Some people think it's cool to run on the field at times; yes, they can get in trouble, but it's worth it... some of them feel it's worth it because they get the attention they crave, they get shown on the news or even ESPN. These players are no different, they just want more attention. Watching themselves all day on ESPN gives them the reason (heck they had a pretty stupid interview with Joe Horn about it, where Dan Patrick was trying to grill him about the big cell phone celebration... pretty stupid waste of time if you ask me, not this big of a news story). Must have felt great for Joe to get all the attention he had wanted... and maybe he's hoping for a call from Nokia or one of the other big manufacturers, which would just be icing on the cake.

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