Washington Redskins' Five Preseason Games Are a Blessing in Disguise

For as long as I can remember, I have hated the preseason.

Sure, it’s nice to see football in August after the dreadful June and July months of summer. But the excitement wears off by the second quarter of the first game and morphs into sheer terror.

After every play, I scan the field feverishly, looking to make sure everyone wearing burgundy and gold got up without the assistance of players and trainers. At halftime, I check to make sure that all players walked off the field as opposed to being carted off. 

The terror of losing a key player in exhibition games is not worth watching football a few weeks before September. 

I'll watch America's Got Talent or Everybody Loves Raymond reruns for a few more weeks, I don't care. I made it this far through summer; I can put up with another two or three weeks.

That being said, this year is different. One would think that I’d be even more furious since the 'Skins have five preseason games as opposed to four (thanks to the Hall of Fame Game played last week). But that’s not the case. This year, I welcome the extra practice, even with the risk of injury. 

The reason for the 180 in my thought process is simple: The Redskins have to get on the same page faster than ever before.

Three of the first five games are on the road. The Redskins open up at New York, home against the Saints and Cardinals, followed by road games against the Cowboys and Eagles.

Only the Saints had a record less than .500 last year (7-9), and anyone that has kept up with their offseason knows that this year, New Orleans will be a team to reckon with. 

Digging themselves into an early hole by losing two of their first three heading into road games at Dallas and Philadelphia could prove fatal for the Redskins' 2008 playoff hopes. 

There is no single stretch of four games during the year which one could term, “The soft part of the schedule.” 

Sure, they play the Rams and Lions, but each of those games is followed by clashes with the Browns and the Steelers. It is true that the 'Niners and Bengals are on the schedule, but playing at Baltimore, at Cincinnati, home against the Eagles, and then a cross-country trip to San Francisco is no easy task to finish off the season. 

That is why a quick start is of dire importance this season, and is precisely why I am glad the Redskins have a little extra practice time, courtesy of the preseason. Adjusting to a new head coach, a new philosophy, and some new additions on both sides of the ball are not the easiest tasks to accomplish. 

It is common to see a team under a new head coach struggle the first few games, sometimes half the season, and gain momentum in the latter stretches. For this team and this year, that adjustment period time is not in abundance. 

A quick start by winning two out of their first three against New York, New Orleans, and Arizona could go a long way in giving this young team with the young coach the necessary confidence for battles at home and on the road against veteran teams such as Seattle and Pittsburgh, not to mention the divisional foes. 

In addition, since each of the first five opponents figure to be in the NFC playoff race, it would be a nice bonus to have the advantage if a tiebreaker is needed. (Just ask the Browns how important a tiebreaker advantage would have been last season.) 

So, until next summer, Ray Romano will have to wait because for this year, and this year alone, I am thankful for the preseason games. Even the extra one.