Yes, I am a Redskin fan. Not a happy one. One who suffers through the season. I say things like, “If they don’t care, why should I.” Then something goes right and I get all excited – just to be disappointed again.
I am old enough to remember all the excitement with the “over-the-hill gang.” Watching Billy Kilmer (Old Furnace Face) follow his stomach up to the line of scrimmage. Then there were the Super Bowl victories in the 80’s and early 90’s. The glory days. It’s been about 20 years.
Ever since Dan Snyder bought the team, it has been a joke. And I don’t think it will change as long as he is in there tinkering (like a little kid with a toy – when he gets mad, he breaks it). Does he want a Super Bowl team? Desperately. Does he have a clue? Absolutely not. Letting his crony, Vinny Cerreto, run the team. Hiring Jim Zorn as the coach; then shaming him in the middle of the season to try to get him to quit (just to save some money). Everything seems to be more about Snyder than the team.
Then it dawned on me. There is still an exciting Redskin season every year. It starts in February and runs till late summer. It is only when they take the field against an opponent that I see the house of cards crumbling.
But during the off season, all kinds of exciting things happen. Like getting a new coach. Since Snyder took over, we get a new head coach on average better than once every two years. Exciting names like Shottenheimer, Spurrier and Gibbs. Marty Shottenheimer lost the first five games his only season with us (So did Joe Gibbs before he took us to the Super Bowl). He had a reputation for being a tough, successful coach. Some of the players complained that he wasn’t treating them with the respect they deserved. After he convinced them that he was in charge, they won eight of their last 11 games. Snyder fired him.
Snyder brought in Steve Spurrier, the Ball Coach. I had always been a Spurrier fan. It turned out he wasn’t ready for pro ball. He seemed to be clueless. Everyone in the stadium, the announcers and even the TV fans could see a blitz coming. But the Ball Coach had called a deep pass and that was that. Before the wide receiver even made his break, the quarterback was on his rear. At the end of the first year (7-9), I was still convinced that the Ball Coach would turn things around. I said, “He was duped and he is too good a coach to let that happen two years in a row. We won five games the next season. The Ball Coach took his $50 million and joined the Augusta Country Club.
Joe Gibbs will always be my favorite coach. But even he couldn’t win with Snyder looking over his shoulder. Poor Jim Zorn. He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Snyder had chased away all the legitimate candidates for head coach. Zorn had the same two-year record as the Ball Coach (12-20)!
Now we have Mike Shanahan. While his first season was 6 & 10, we Redskin fans never give up hope. Onward and upward.
Changing coaches isn’t the only thing that happens in the best part of our season. Two years ago, we paid $100 million for Albert Haynesworth. That was exciting. The problem was he was out of shape and didn’t play that much (he got tired). Then, when Coach Shanahan came on board, we switched to a 3/4 defense (three men down and four linebackers). Haynesworth would have been a pretty good nose tackle (plays right over the offensive center), but he didn’t want to play that position. Shanahan made all of his players pass a physical fitness test to show they were in shape. Haynesworth failed and failed and failed. Breaking news in the DC area was Albert had passed the test and could now practice. Then, he announced he only wanted to play on passing downs. Things went down hill fast. Then, he told the GM that he wanted no more direct contact with Coach Shanahan! Goodbye Albert.
Last year during the exciting part of our season, we traded for Donovan McNabb. We were getting a Pro-Bowl quarterback. The problem was that a good QB needs a good line in front of him. We didn’t have one. Shanahan inexplicably benched McNabb in the Detroit game (which we still had a chance to win & McNabb had a reputation for bringing his team back). Of course, we lost. The very next week, Snyder signed Donovan to an extended $78.5 million contract. Donovan should have read the fine print. Only $3.5 million was guaranteed and I suspect that is all McNabb will see.
Now we have the draft coming up. That’s an important part of our exciting non-playing season. Of course, we usually have traded away our draft picks. This year we have our first and second round picks, but no third or fourth round picks. And who will we pick? A QB? A wide receiver? I hope not. We desperately need someone who plays in the sand on offense or defense. We can use help in both places.
I have to go and start thinking about the draft. Egads, this is exciting. I shouldn’t have another set back until the first pre-season game.
