bubba9497 Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 The Record Speaks for Itself By Tony Kornheiser http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A29915-2004Dec27?language=printer You may not be thinking kindly of Vinny Testaverde today. But at least thanks to his last-minute touchdown heave we don't have to hear any of this fekockteh playoff foolishness anymore. You didn't honestly think these Redskins belonged anywhere near the playoffs, did you? Come on. You can't make a case that the Redskins were worthy. Let's put aside for the moment the fact that they lost to every team on their schedule with a winning record -- Green Bay, Baltimore, Philadelphia twice and Pittsburgh. Look at where the wins came from. The Redskins haven't beaten a team that's anywhere near .500. Let me call the roll of the juggernauts the Redskins have beaten: Tampa Bay, Chicago and the Giants are all 5-10. (Folks of my advanced age would refer to three wins over 5 & 10 teams as a "Woolworth Triple.") The Redskins also beat Detroit, now 6-9, and the alarmingly inept San Francisco 49ers, now 2-13. But it's not like the Redskins cleaned up as bottom-feeders. No, most embarrassing is that the Redskins sustained losses to the Giants and Browns, currently the worst teams in the NFL; neither has won since October. The Redskins belonged in the playoffs about as much as Sidney Ponson belongs on the high seas on a Ski-Doo. Reportedly, Sir Sidney went Frat-Boy-Wild on his "personal watercraft" (which we presume to be either a Jet Ski, an amphibious Segway or Belafonte from the capsizing "Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou") off the west coast of Aruba the other day, and got in a fistfight with a bunch of people, including a judge, who confronted Sir Sid about using his aforementioned "personal watercraft" to terrorize them. That landed Sir Sid in the pokey, where he might have to stay for a few days because there is no bail in Aruba -- something Sidney probably should have known, since he's a native. Now jail time might not be all that bad for Sir Sid; you'd have to think a bread-and-water diet might help him shed some of that tonnage. But I'm wondering exactly how bad Sid's behavior must have been. I mean, he's a knight in Aruba. He's actual, living, breathing royalty down there. Sidney Ponson is a "Knight in the Order of the Dutch Royal House," which I believe is two full steps up from being a Belgian Waffle. Shouldn't being a knight entitle him to something? Shouldn't a knight automatically be given a "get out of jail in Aruba free" card? What's the point of being a knight in Aruba if you can't cuff a judge around a little bit, huh? You don't see the Brits tossing Sir Paul McCartney into the hoosegow, do you? But I digress. Sunday's loss in Dallas was more proof of what a glass jaw the Redskins have had this season. Yes, they have fought teams hard -- good teams, like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. But they have lost 10 out of 15 games. Columnists have gone out of their way to praise the Redskins' defense. But how can you let Vinny Testaverde beat you late with a long bomb? For most of the second half Testaverde was getting belted around like one of the Klitschko brothers. Dallas fans were booing Testaverde so loudly, Bill Parcells had to stuff his Super Bowl rings in his ears not to hear it. All the Redskins had to do to win was hold on for 30 more seconds. But this isn't a season in which the Redskins hold on. This isn't a season in which the Redskins make the big stop or the big run or the big pass. How do you lose 10 of 15 games when your defense has allowed fewer points than 27 teams in a 32-team league? Here's how: When your offense has scored fewer points than 30 teams. The Redskins hardly ever score enough points to win. Clinton Portis is making an awful lot of money for someone who gains between three and four yards a carry; that's a fairly quiet 1,300 yards he's got. And for all the stones thrown at Mark Brunell, how much better has Patrick Ramsey been? Is there anything Ramsey does that reminds you of Peyton Manning so far? Or Eli Manning? Or Eli Whitney? Dallas has no defense whatsoever. The Cowboys had been giving up 26 points a game. And the Redskins torched them for how many, 10? In his first go-around here, Joe Gibbs was an offensive genius who loved to go deep downfield. Gibbs had something in Joe Theismann, and made something out of Doug Williams and Mark Rypien. We're all waiting to see what Gibbs does with Patrick Ramsey, besides tell him to throw short. I've read how all will be swell next year: Gibbs will be up to speed after that long layoff; the defense will be just as good as this season; the offense will be so much better. Really? What press agents are writing this stuff? Sure, it's fun to be optimistic. After all, every year some team bounces from the bottom to the top. Look at Marty in San Diego. He'll be coach of the year when everybody figured all he'd get was fired. But what are these assumptions about the Redskins making the big salmon-like jump upstream based on? Is it the luck of the draw? Is it our turn? Is it based on the Red Sox slogan, "Why not us?" Well, what if free agency skims some of the cream off the defense, like it does every year around the league? Gibbs has already named Ramsey the starter for 2005. What if he isn't much better then than he is now? Mark Brunell and Clinton Portis were supposed to make this team much better than the one Steve Spurrier coached. Joe Gibbs was surely going to make the coaching a lot better. There are real coordinators here now -- savvy, experienced NFL veterans. But the record is more or less the same. After changes upon changes they are more or less the same. It's been the same every year with the Redskins, disturbingly so. After changes they are more or less the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbo Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Am I the only one that hate Kornheiser? What a :jerk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskeypeet Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Well if its all about the record, I wonder what Kornheiser, and those who are looking for "any" sign of improvement will say if the Redskins win next weekend and finish 6-10. I mean, that would be one more win than last season.....right? Its all about the record after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 It's not that the Skins were great or anything, but at 5-9 they deserved to be in the playoffs just as much as any other 5-9 team. You take what you can get during any given season. One season maybe you have to be 11-5 to get a wildcard, and a lot of good teams miss the boat, and another year a 7-9 team gets in and there is a lot of blowouts in the first round. You take what the cards deal you and all of this "omg the Skins didn't deserve it anyway" crap is a load of bunk, as they deserved it just as much as any other team fighting for that last spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Uh-huh Tony, absolutely no mention of the piss poor offensive line....right. I actually like Tony to a certain extent, but lately he is sounding like a broken record. Saying Ramsey hasn't reminded anyone of ELI MANNING!?! Umm...WTF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Gut Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Dallas' defense is sad, but it's obvious they woke up a bit starting with their game @ Philly. Still no excuse. I remember our predictions before the season began. Most of us predicted our offense would be top 5, and our defense, top 20, top 15. Wow, wow, wow, how wrong we were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hail2skins Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Tony is right on. I'd like to give the 2 NFC wildcards to a couple of AFC teams instead of the stiffs who will make it in the NFC. And as for the Redskins in 2005, projections that they will be a strongly improved team are just based on blind faith. Not that blind faith is a bad thing to have (lord knows its almost needed!), but that's all it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panel Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 I read the first paragraph, and I'm not going to read any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXREDSKINS44 Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by panel I read the first paragraph, and I'm not going to read any more. Yeah I did the same thing I took one look at the first paragraph and thought this man is an idiot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimster Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by panel I read the first paragraph, and I'm not going to read any more. I now regret the time that I absolutely wasted reading this article. It takes ZERO intellect to kick someone when they're down....and this guy gets paid a lot of money to do this? I'm done with Kornheiser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aluadan Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 You guys are too funny, really. Anytime any writer badmouths the redskin they are considered trash or clueless even though a fair amount of the time they're speaking the truth. The skins stink this year, as good as the defense has been playing the offense and special teams has completely screwed it for them. Teams play as a single unit and as a single unit they really stink, simple as that. Don't hate Kornheiser simply for pointing out the obvious which quite a few people seem to want to ignore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herrmag Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by Aluadan You guys are too funny, really. Anytime any writer badmouths the redskin they are considered trash or clueless even though a fair amount of the time they're speaking the truth. The skins stink this year, as good as the defense has been playing the offense and special teams has completely screwed it for them. Teams play as a single unit and as a single unit they really stink, simple as that. Don't hate Kornheiser simply for pointing out the obvious which quite a few people seem to want to ignore. WRONG! Tony constantly talks poorly of Washington area teams. Constantly. He feeds off of negativity. He has no more insight into sports than you or I. He is a freakin' Style page columnist, not a sports analyst. But, fortunately for him, there are people that will read his crap articles and listen to his radio show and think that he is funny. He states the obvious as though it were some kind of keen insight. He is a bitter, pampered, ORANGE little man, with an ego the size of Washington DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aluadan Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by herrmag WRONG! Tony constantly talks poorly of Washington area teams. Constantly. He feeds off of negativity. He has no more insight into sports than you or I. He is a freakin' Style page columnist, not a sports analyst. But, fortunately for him, there are people that will read his crap articles and listen to his radio show and think that he is funny. He states the obvious as though it were some kind of keen insight. He is a bitter, pampered, ORANGE little man, with an ego the size of Washington DC. It's hard to not talk poorly of Washington sports teams when they all stink. Every year we Skins fan sit back and talk just how great are team is going to be this year and every year they let us down. I can't blame him for taking the low road when I'm certain every person he talks to trys to tell him this will be the year for the skins. When they are actually worthy of praise, I'm sure he will write plenty of it but that hasn't been the case for a long long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Dog Night Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 It's hard to not talk poorly of Washington sports teams when they all stink. Every year we Skins fan sit back and talk just how great are team is going to be this year and every year they let us down. Thank you. What do expect Kornholer to write, anyway? He gets paid for writing stuff that's catchy. If he wrote an article about how everything was just fine and mountains of success are just around the corner, I'd have to wonder about his objectivity. Remember '91? Tony didn'y write a disparaging word the entire season, eve when the Skins lost. We're going to be 5-11 for the second straight year, our offense is one step past pathetic, we were better in almost every offensive catagory last year...what do you expect? Do you think Wilbon is a jerk for bashing the offense in yesterday's column, too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffylookin Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 If Wilbon writes an article critical of the team, that would be okay. He, at least, goes to the games and watches the team. Kornheiser is washed old man who desperately wanted to move away from sports and has failed miserably and now is PO'd that he's still stuck covering sports. He only likes stars and the "event” nature in sports. He was gushing all over the Skins when they hired Gibbs because it was the biggest story around. He absolutely loved the 2000 Skins with Deion and Jeff George. Now that there's some building to do, Kornheiser's has no interest in actually looking at the team closely and analyzing the improvements made or not made during this season. He blames Portis for his 3.8 ypc because he's one of the fools who always says "you can find a running back anywhere" and that it was a mistake to trade Champ "I didn't know there were so many Amani Toomer clones in the AFC" Bailey. How about the O line Tony? Perhaps it's a testament to Portis' great running that he's been able to get 1300+ yards behind this line and with this passing game? And I'll answer his question, yes Tony, Ramsey has been better, alot better than Mark Brunell. He's got more yards and a better QB rating than Brunell while facing much better defenses and while not lighting it up like one would hope, he's been more effective than Brunell at moving the offense. Our problem has been red zone scoring. Again, it's not criticism that's the issue. It's who decides to crawl out from under their pile of unsold books to write an article bashing the Skins that is the issue to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herrmag Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by IbleedBurgundy&Gold Thank you. What do expect Kornholer to write, anyway? He gets paid for writing stuff that's catchy. If he wrote an article about how everything was just fine and mountains of success are just around the corner, I'd have to wonder about his objectivity. Remember '91? Tony didn'y write a disparaging word the entire season, eve when the Skins lost. We're going to be 5-11 for the second straight year, our offense is one step past pathetic, we were better in almost every offensive catagory last year...what do you expect? Do you think Wilbon is a jerk for bashing the offense in yesterday's column, too? My point is, Tony sucks. He has nothing to offer in his articles. No substance. Wilbon, on the other hand, is a "Sports Journalist", not a Style Page columnist. Wilbon studies and understands most aspects of the sports that he covers. Tony, on the other hand, likes to wait for a team/person to fail, and pile on with cute remarks as though he was the first one to know that they were going to fail. In his own words, "He STINKS"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by Aluadan You guys are too funny, really. Anytime any writer badmouths the redskin they are considered trash or clueless even though a fair amount of the time they're speaking the truth. The skins stink this year, as good as the defense has been playing the offense and special teams has completely screwed it for them. Teams play as a single unit and as a single unit they really stink, simple as that. Don't hate Kornheiser simply for pointing out the obvious which quite a few people seem to want to ignore. Right on! Kornheiser gets it while people here apparently don't. Every year the Redskins have another excuse. Injuries. Conspiracy with the refs. It's always something people here conjure up. Like other teams don't have injuries or bad calls go there way. It is pretty simple...the Redskins stink. And really, what hope do we have that realistically, the Skins will improve next year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[[ghost]] Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwall-2 Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Originally posted by TXREDSKINS44 Yeah I did the same thing I took one look at the first paragraph and thought this man is an idiot! Why is he an idiot?Because he told the truth?Year after year we spend big and talk large and in the end,what do we have to show for it?5-11?That's right,11 loses,because lets face it,the Vikings are gonna do just enough to win this weekend. And I don't want to hear anything about "next year"is gonna be the year.I'm going to take the Lavar Arrington approach and wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psutrain Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 I hate it too when good writers speak the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiLfan Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 i find very little to disagree with what Tony wrote in that article....he did it in a humorous way, which is fine, i read him more for entertainment than enlightenment anyway. but seriously, he brought up legitimate concerns....not saying we won't rebound next year, but it's clearly an uphill battle, and the odds are not necessarily with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chachie Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 The only thing nobody can dispute is that Tony is right. The more the Redskins change, the more they stay the same. Keep Gibbs, keep Williams, don't sign any more high-priced FAs. Let THIS team GROW. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drex Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 Unfortunately, the truth hurts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MumboSauce Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 May be the truth..but I don't see what bashing them is going to accomplish. He's stating the obvious..whoopdeedamndoo. Just the usual press status quo...bash/kick someone while they are down...or swing by thier sack when they are winning or doing well. what's new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan080 Posted December 28, 2004 Share Posted December 28, 2004 What do you expect. Were 5-10, blast away. I like Tony, I think he's a good writer, and most of it is the truth. I do however think there is reasons to be optomistic about next season, pending we dont have anouther overhaul of the team. I think htat could be the difference. Let these guys play together., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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