Fitz Posted December 2, 2001 Share Posted December 2, 2001 Tony looks at the reasons for and against a Redskins victory this afternoon. The factors in Washington's favor are more grounded in reality, while Dallas has intangibles and superstitions to giv them hope - Recent Winning Streak Has Redskins Tangling With Great Expectations By Tony Kornheiser Sunday, December 2, 2001; Page D1 What's different about today's game is that for the first time all season everybody expects the Redskins to win. That hasn't happened before. You can go back and check. Don't tell me everybody expected the Redskins to beat San Diego in the opener – because the gasping performances the Redskins put on during the exhibition season made everybody nervous. And even though the Chargers had been 1-15 last season, they'd added Norv Turner, who knew the Redskins well, and Doug Flutie, who'd beaten the Redskins. And after the Chargers smoked the Redskins, 30-3, the Redskins certainly weren't expected to beat Green Bay. And after Green Bay destroyed them, 37-0, the Redskins certainly couldn't have been expected to beat Kansas City. And then, when Kansas City pounded on them 45-13 (at home!), the Redskins weren't expected to beat anybody. Certainly not the Giants; nor Dallas, not really; not even the futile Carolina Panthers – not with Washington groggy at 0-5. Even after the Redskins beat Carolina (late, and only because LaVar Arrington intercepted a pass that should never have been called), who expected the Redskins to beat the Giants in a rematch? Not me. Seattle? Nobody here knows anything about Seattle. You might have hoped the Redskins would beat Seattle. But expect it? Beat Denver in Denver? No way. Beat Philly in Philly, where the Redskins had lost nine of their last 11? Double no way. This is the first time all season the Redskins are expected to win. (Last season they were almost always expected to win. Remember what happened?) Gaack! With five in a row the Redskins could be overconfident. What could be worse than that? I mean, other than, say, Jerry Jones's plastic surgeon was turned loose in the Redskins' locker room. But here are the reasons the Redskins should beat the Cowboys: 1. The Cowboys bite. Really, they bite like they're at an orthodonture convention. 2. The Cowboys are starting a rookie quarterback, Quincy Carter. Carter is involved in a season-long game of musical quarterbacks with Anthony Wright, Clint Stoerner and Ryan Leaf. Guess which one is going to Canton and you, too, can coach the Cowboys. 3. Speaking of the Dallas coach, Dave Campo, on Thanksgiving day he watched his team get a fourth-quarter touchdown that left them 10 points behind Denver – and instead of trying a two-point conversion to get his team in position where another touchdown could have tied the game, Campo sent his kicker to get one point. Dave, bubbeleh, what are you nuts? Do the math. You don't have to be Einstein on this one. 4. See reason 1. But here are some reasons why folks in the Redskins owner's box might begin perspiring. 1. The Cowboys have beaten the Redskins eight straight times! And this is during a stretch where the Cowboys haven't beaten anybody else. What's wrong with this picture? (The other day My Man Deion Sanders told me, "I've been in both locker rooms, and in the Cowboys' locker room they know they can beat the Redskins." Gosh it was great to reconnect with Deion, who faithfully filled up my notebooks last year, and might have again this year if he hadn't had an allergic reaction to Marty Schottenheimer. Now that we're both in the television business I've asked Deion to help me with my wardrobe. I'm looking for something he might wear, like a five-piece, 12-button, mink-trimmed, Italian-cut suit I could also use to cover my car.) 2. Emmitt Smith is grousing. It isn't like Emmitt to rap management, but he took a shot at Campo the other day, saying, "I don't know why he feels I'm not a 30-carry back. They haven't given it to me 30 times to find out if I can still carry it 30 times." Thanksgiving day, they gave it to him nine times. (And Emmitt gained nine yards.) To add insult to injury, twice when the ball was on the 1-yard line, they left Emmitt on the sideline! Give me a break here. Emmitt Smith is the NFL's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns. You have to give it to him on the 1! "Let me run the football," Emmitt pleaded. Will this be the game Campo tries to wake the echoes and gives the ball to Emmitt? Maybe Emmitt is only a shadow now. But the one time Emmitt gained over 100 yards this season was against the Redskins. Does this look like a set-up, or what? 3. The Cowboys get lucky against the Redskins. Washington should've beaten them on "Monday Night Football." The Redskins were ahead 7-6 and trying to run out the clock, when Stephen Davis fumbled, and Dallas managed enough yards to get the game-winning field goal. 4. Come closer, I want to whisper this: As bad as all four quarterbacks have been for the Cowboys this season, there was one more who Dallas hated so much they dumped him in training camp. They said, "Get out of here! Throw your stuff in a bag, and just get out!" That quarterback was named Tony Banks. Anybody know what became of him? 5. Virginia beat Penn State yesterday. "What's that got to do with the price of eggs?" you might ask. Only this: A Letter to the Editor in Friday's Post tracked the eerie similarity in the down-and-up seasons of Penn State and the Redskins, pointing out, "The two teams [PSU and the Redskins] have played on the same weekend nine times, and nine times have achieved the same result." Uh-oh. 6. And this is the worst news of all: Guess who's on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week? The Redskins. (Oh, no!) Chris Samuels and Stephen Davis are under the headline, "Skins Game. How to go 0-5, then 5-0." Surely you know about the SI cover jinx. It's as inevitable as the tide. Whoever is on the SI cover is doomed. Nebraska's Eric Crouch was on the cover last week – just in time for the Colorado game. So I close with the immortal words of Dirty Harry Callahan. You can see him now, with the perpetrator in one hand, and a .44 Magnum in the other, saying, "You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya?" © 2001 The Washington Post Company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildbill Posted December 2, 2001 Share Posted December 2, 2001 The letter wrote into the post about Penn State sounds like it may have been one of the guys from this board,I've heard that mentioned here several times before.It's 12:00 here and I can't wait for this game to get underway.Fedex field should be rockin, so to all the guys that are going to the game, make some noise for me. I'd love to be there.Hail Skins [ by wildbillskins on December 02, 2001.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pga Posted December 2, 2001 Share Posted December 2, 2001 SI, smessI. Cover or not Stephan Davis wil run left, run right, run between the 2 best tackles around, and that means TD's and a 'Skins win! 34-13. I can't wait to get their today! I'll be screaming for everybody and won't be able to talk 'til Tuesday!!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted December 2, 2001 Share Posted December 2, 2001 I think Kornheiser captured it perfectly. The logic for why we SHOULD win, and the nagging Norvousness with which we are approaching this contest. There, in a nutshell, is the tortured psyche of the Redskin fan today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted December 2, 2001 Share Posted December 2, 2001 I guess we will see if the era of Norv is officially over today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted December 2, 2001 Author Share Posted December 2, 2001 Originally posted by NavyDave:I guess we will see if the era of Norv is officially over today. So far, he's hanging in there (end of 1st Q) And if Frank Herzog says, "Hello Redskins, this is your wake-up call" one more time, I'm switching to FOX... [ by Fitzman on December 02, 2001.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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