When Will Washington Learn: The Blame Game Doesn't Win Games

Please stop acting like you know what is wrong with the Washington Redskins. 

The fact is 11 players on the field, 53 on the roster, and dozens of coaches and administrators determine the success of a football organization. 

We the fans do not.

All the time I hear that Dan Snyder is a crook, Jim Zorn is an idiot, Jason Campbell is an incompetent QB, and Clinton Portis is an over-the-hill running back.  Like them or not, they are the members of our organization.

When a team's confidence is faltering, why are we doing everything we can to put them down?

Most would say professional athletes should be able to handle such criticism. And they do.  They lace up their boots and go to work every day.  They play for our city, and they don't criticize our lack of faith or our wavering loyalty. They go out and play football.

Lately, I have also been reading and hearing that players aren't playing hard enough. 

But while we're talking about professionalism, consider this:  If you are a waiter, or a singer, or working in any service industry, and everyone is making it clear that they don't appreciate or enjoy your work, how long do you bust your hump trying to fix it before you give up and settle for your paycheck?

The Redskins are trying to win games.  The play that hurt them most against Carolina was the special teams fumble, in which a player was trying too hard hold his block and lost sight of the football and his return man. The offense struggled after losing All-Pro tackle Chris Samuels, but Portis was able to score twice when in the red zone.

The defense forced a fumble, had a near pick-six, and made a big stop on fourth and goal from the one - the same defense we prematurely threw under the bus after a sub-par performance in Week 3's loss to the Lions.

Don't get me wrong: The Redskins need to make major improvements before they can be considered a contender. 

But that is why it is a 16-week season. 

Last season, the San Diego Chargers battled back from a 4-8 start to make the playoffs.  In a miraculous late-game comeback they upset the Indianapolis Colts in the wild card, before bowing out 35-24 against the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Listen, I understand that when things are down, everyone is going to get frustrated.  And I also understand it is almost like an unwritten law here in Washington not to trust your city's institutions - and to use harsh rhetoric to criticize them.

But football isn't a two-party system. 

The only real similarity between the two is that Washingtonians keep arguing about both, even when they don't know enough about either.