In the past, the Washington Redskins were ‘messing me up, my whole head….teasing me, just like Tisha, did Martin,’ but now those days are over, and the quest for something bigger seems attainable for the tribe called Redskins Nation.
How did this team go from finding a way to lose to finding a way to win? Could the simple difference be a rookie head coach who wasn’t hired to captain the ship in the first place? A Cowboys fan, having lost that smirking smile at the losing ways of the Skins, seemed to find solace in telling me that Joe Gibbs should have been let go three years ago. Not so fast my friend. Joe Gibbs laid the foundation, allowing the current players to become men. Jim Zorn came along and has let those men loose.
Zorn has left ‘job on the line’ decision making out of his coaching strategy. In doing so, he’s brought “guts” to his team, and gained the respect of the players, all while providing a calming presence which allows for the disregard of an early 14 point deficit in the hostile territory of a division rival.
Under Jim Zorn, ‘panic’ is not part of the job description of the Washington Redskins. He’ll leave the ‘finger on the red button’ mentality to the obsessive-compulsive fans of the DC area.
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I was so content, and mostly shocked, that the Redskins beat the Cowboys on Sunday, I wasn’t quite sure how to react. There are so many Dallas fans around DC, that it would have been easy to gloat, but something inside me said that it was just another victory, and it’s still a long season. Essentially, winning is saying enough. Then again, a picture is worth a whole bunch of words. (And I’ll let others do the talking.)
The two biggest cry-babies of NFL week four. It’s an ironic circle:
- Tank Johnson had to be restrained because Rock Cartwright celebrated on the Dallas star at the 50 yard line after the game. Tank, being a classy man himself, brought up the issue of class.
- Mr. Irrelevant reminded us all of a Star logo controversy of the past between Tank’s current teammate, Terrell Owens, and former Cowboy, Emmitt Smith.
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Redskins Nation will be killing the radio shows, blogs, and message boards over this one. I was defeatist at first, calling for a 31-3 loss after the hurtin’ Brandon Jacobs put on LaRon Landry. But then, as the defense got into rhythm, hope was built, albeit pessimistic hope….because after all, I am Redskins fan.
I’ve never been so silently frustrated at the offensive play calling…..even after witnessing years of persistent Joe Gibbs running it up the middle over and over again. I understand it was Zorn’s first outing, but couldn’t help wondering if he’d been on the sidelines of many live football games before. The first half would have been absolutely disastrous had the Redskins not scored. Not electing to call a timeout with all of them left and seconds ticking away in the Red Zone? Incomprehensible.
The Washington offense looked to be testing scenarios in the waning moments of an inconsequential preseason game when the fire was in the hole, down 16-7 as time was running out. The term “sense of urgency” will be thrown around in the coming days. So where was it? Do we chalk this up to Campbell’s insecurity with the offense? No, he’s not a rookie and Zorn wasn’t born yesterday. Shifting up a gear when the situation calls for it should have been refined, adequately at a minimum, before game one.
This season is going to be a learning process, we knew that after the last two preseason games. If things start to click, NFL history has dictated that momentum can turn at the blink of an eye. Maybe the players, led by Campbell and the ‘C’ on his jersey, need to focus on learning the offense, but it’s Jim Zorn’s job to get everyone on the same page. Zorn will learn quick that in DC, if you’re throwing others under the bus every week, eventually that bus is going to go in reverse and run over you.
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With the late July legal win for the Washington football franchise, it’s safe to say that the Redskins will be the nickname of the team for the foreseen future of countless generations. Essentially, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that a 16-year old Native American lawsuit attempting to invalidate a trademark on the Redskins name was not filed within a timely manner of when the trademark was issued in 1967, and to do so now would cause the franchise too great of an economic hardship. The court did not comment on the racially offensive nature of the legal battle and the case now heads back to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Recently the pot of questionable racism was stirred when The Big Lead compared the use of “Redskins” to the “eye slant” photo of the Spanish men’s basketball team, and then when Mr. Irrelevant refuted the comparison. Debates such as these will unquestionably continue as long as Redskins is the team nickname.
What is a Redskin? The reasoning behind the meaning seems to split into three areas of thought: the skin color of Native Americans, the warpaint Native Americans used before battle, or the bloody scalp remnant resulting from a Native American crossing the path of a bounty hunter.
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Little Danny Snyder, champion of the off-season paper title. He’s puffed up his little Danny Snyder chest for photo ops with the likes of Deion Sanders, Adam Archuleta and Steve Spurrier while spending more money and living in the now. His antics have kept Washingtonians interested while nickel and diming their pockets in the interest of boosting franchise value. Snyder doesn’t meddle as much as he used to, maybe it’s gained maturity, but that doesn’t mean that a majority of the Skins fan base has love for the guy.
Plain and simple, the Redskins are Danny Snyder’s toy. He’s spawned a beloved franchise into reflections of a faceless corporation. Being the self-made owner of the team, he certainly has the right to do so. No one is denying that professional sports is a business, but does it have to be rubbed in our grill so much? Acts such as making moves to control DC Sports Radio just don’t feel right.
About a year ago, Sports Illustrated gave Snyder a pat on the back for trying hard and ranked him the fifth best owner in the NFL. The message boarders at ExtremeSkins, an officially official Redskins message board, gave Snyder an 84% approval rating back in June. Of course, that was only judging Danny’s actions in the previous two months. Snyder certainly gained credibility in bringing Joe Gibbs back to DC (and the accompanying laissez-faire policy with the coaching staff, something Danny hadn’t been able to keep his mitts off before), as well as his patriarchal handling of the SeanTaylor incident. But not all Skins fans enjoy having the lil’ guy at the helm as his June ’08 DC Sports Bog approval rating stands at 41%, perhaps a more effective gauge of Snyder’s popularity.
So what’s to appreciate about Danny Snyder? Maintenance of relevancy. He’s a local-bred fan who seems willing to spend whatever it takes to keep the Washington NFL franchise always in contention…..for what, I’m not sure. But how many other teams possess the capable moxie to trade for a former NFL defensive MVP within mere hours of losing both the starting DE, Phillip Daniels, and a reserve, Alex Buzbee, for the entire season on the first freaking day of practice?
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Maybe you’ve seen some of these links before, maybe you haven’t…but I liked ‘em.
>> I never really liked Chris Berman. Some wonder why. I now present, via The Big Lead, a sizeable Deeewshhhh.
>> My friend Chris has a t-shirt that says ‘No More Drug War‘ — Hence, an enlightening post from True Hoop.
>> I would love to have Ocho Cinco in DC. Would that let Lil’ Danny Snyder off the hook for all this coaching B.S.? Hell no. UPDATE: Mr. Irrelevant has a great pic of Ocho Cinco with some Redskins jerseys.
>> What would you do if your dad sold your Michael Jordan rookie card for drugs? Would you decide to make it to the NBA? Rafer Alston did. True Hoop links to this New York Times article from 1994 by Tom Friend about current Houston Rocket, Rafer Alston aka Skip to My Lou.
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