Strange night.
As I’m getting ready to head home from work for the game late yesterday afternoon, I get a call from my daughter in college. Seems the school is being evacuated due to the approach of Hurricane Hanna, and how would I feel about taking a little drive?
Erk.
The good news, as it turns out (other than getting to see my daughter of course) was that I didn't get to watch the game.
What I did do was listen to the first two possessions on the car radio before arriving at her school. Which, as it turned out, was more than enough to stir bile and summon demons.
Before the game even starts, we get our first injury, as Khary Campbell manages to hurt himself on the coin toss. I’m not an “omen” kinda guy, but that one has me muttering.
Special teams starts out great, as Mike Sellers pins the Giants at their own 14, and I’m thinking “oh yeah.” The defense is solid on first and second downs, but that doesn’t excite me, as that’s not our problem. On the first third-down opportunity—our Achilles' heel for as long as I can remember—the Giants convert easily.
In a non-descript car rolling down Route 64 somewhere in SE Virginia, a lone driver takes a long swig from his water bottle, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and says, “shit.”
And as he already kind of expects, the Giants waltz down the field with little resistance. Along the way, they expose Carlos Rogers, Kedrick Golston gets hurt, the 'Skins can’t get to Manning...and the NY crowd gets to celebrate way, way too early.
I’m slowly shaking my head. Not exactly what you wait eight months for.
Then it’s our first offensive series, and again, it’s hold-your-breath time. So much on the line here, getting the first read on what kind of offense we’re going to have early on.
And, as if scripted, Jason Campbell gets sacked on first down. Stephon Heyer and Randy Thomas apparently get their signals crossed. Two predictable give-up runs, and we punt. Beautiful.
So now I’m at the school, shutting down the car. I sit there for a minute or two, listening to a very staticy Larry Michaels, Sam Huff, and Sonny already sounding the alarms, and I make the decision not to listen to another play.
I’m thinking this one has 35-7 written all over it...and what's worse, the demons of the past 15 years of Redskins football have created are already break dancing in my brain.
Same ones you entertained, I suspect:
We're fatally weak up front on both sides of the ball.
We still don’t have a QB—or if we do, he’s sitting on the bench and won’t be ready to compete at this level for at least a couple of years.
Our coaching is average at best, incapable at worst.
Our skill players never play up to their reps.
It’s going to be another long year.
I click off the radio, take a deep breath, screw on a smile, and head off to collect my child.
*
7 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Craig Garrison Sr 10 months ago
Nice job Mark, very pleasant read.
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Mark Steven 10 months ago
Thanks, Craig. Having now watched the tape, two things are clear to me.
1) the passing game is the one element of the team not up to NFL standard to start the season, and how quickly Zorn/Campbell can get it up TO standard will determine the course of the season, and
2) the overreaction to the game--not unexpectedly from the more reactionary fans but a bit over the top even for a DC press organ always poised to gleefully tear Team Snyder a new one--is comically exaggerated.
If the Skins come out against NO next weekend, JC has himself a good game and team wins, I fully expect the press to self-flagellate and apologize profusely.
I also believe in Nessie.
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Craig Garrison Sr 10 months ago
Go Nessie!
Good take on it, I wrote about essentially the same point in my "Jim Zorn's Doom and Gloom Begins" article, with points that I was pleasantly surprised at just how many fans I actually found with the same overall viewpoint as you and I. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/54256-jim-zorns-doom-and-gloom-begins-with-redskins-or-does-it)
We'll see next week, for now, let's just hope the Browns can shock the world and take out the 'Boys today!
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Tanner Kluth 10 months ago
The offense we saw on Thursday will not be the offense we see by the end of the season in two ways:
1.) Campbell we become more and more comfortable.
2.) As Campbell becomes more comfortable, Zorn will start letting him loose more and more while running the ball less and less.
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Mark Steven 10 months ago
Agreed. Have to say though, watching the bizarre, plodding offensive approach to the last 6 minutes, it seemed pretty clear Zorn did not think his QB (or more likely, offense as a unit) was ready to compete at an NFL level.
He's got a lot of work to do with that unit, both physically and between the ears, before the Saints come to town Sunday. Not worried about fan reaction or the press ... but another showing like Thursday night's and the drums are going to start beating loud enough where things in the locker room and at the Park could start getting ugly.
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Mark Steven 10 months ago
Craig, saw & enjoyed your "or-does-it" piece as well. If we could figure out a way to track it, though, and reliably break down by percentage how the team's fans break down on this one, the headline would read something like ...
"FanStatTrack reports 22.4% of Redskins fans believe Zorn/Campbell can successfully operate an ATM, while 77.6% believe the rookie Head Coach and somnambulent QB cannot remember which mattress they left the damn cash under."
Here's to championing the minority view.
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Craig Garrison Sr 10 months ago
LOL Very, very very, good Mark, got me laughing on that one, my wife must think I'm nuts!
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