Are The Skins the Real Deal?

Watching and cheering for the Washington Redskins can be a hit or miss proposition. There have been years back in the golden years where Washington would have perfect records for the year save the two games against Dallas. Similarly, when Dallas was having stellar years, there were times when their records were left blemished by losses to the Redskins. It's a rivalry that traces its roots back to nearly the beginning of both franchises and it has endured through thick and thin. And though victories are sometimes few and far between when it comes to Dallas, yesterday's victory showed fans signs that perhaps the Washington Redskins are in it for real this year.

Following a pre-season that started off in fantastic fashion but ended with horrific losses for our starting lineups, it was impossible to predict how the team would perform for the year. I mean there have been times when the team has started off with an undefeated pre-season record and ended up with nary a win in the regular season and I think a large part of it was due to the impatience and shifting priorities of the team leaders. The Redskins are among the most profitable franchises in the entire NFL and at one time it was impossible to conceive of any other team raking in as much money as the Skins did and although they aren't always on top of the profitability charts anymore, they are darn close. So with a franchise being so popular one would expect that the team would continue to draw on big names and while it has, it wasn't always to good purpose.

We have had big names but names alone don't win games. It pays off if you have a team that plays together and works more on teamwork and less on ego and that's certainly what the team has showed for the past four games. Even in the loss to the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, the team did show flashes of brilliance and poise that they have lacked for the last few years. Sure the team made it to the playoffs last year but it was more by the skin of their teeth than through talent and gameplay alone. In the last few years it's been an unsure thing and at times our fortunes in the post season hinged more on the rest of the leagues results than our own. It was like watching a canoe going downriver with a crew and no paddles. But now things are seemingly turning around.

The fourth quarter was usually when the team ended up losing the entire game. We would be leading the game and would appear to be poised for victory when our defense would fall apart or our offense would start handing the ball to the opposition as if asking... nay... demanding that they defeat us. It was disheartening for us fans but for the team it would have been even more so. To be on the threshold of beating a team and then to throw away those opportunities was ridiculous and I can only imagine how the morale of teams would go by the wayside in the face of that. But the team this year seems to understand that both the offense and the defense need to work together even though they are on the field at different times. If the offense can score and get ahead and then proceed to eat up the clock (as they demonstrated yet again yesterday) they can help ice the victory cake.

Sure there were mistakes which meant it was only a two point victory as opposed to six point victory but still, at least the mistakes didn't come back to bite the team too hard yesterday. I'm sure Casey Rabach is going to catch all types of Hell for his mitigation of two touchdowns yesterday but at least the chastising will be less in the face of victory. But what I find amazing about even that situation is that up until this year, it would have been amazing that we scored inside the red zone. But to have the play dropped because of a penalty would have meant disaster and the chances of ever scoring another touchdown on a repeat play would have been very difficult to imagine let alone execute but the team did it yesterday and I think it speaks volumes of the positive direction the team appears to be moving in.

Four games does not a season make but it's a fine start. A lot can change in the upcoming months and these three victories could be the only victories the team sees this season but it won't be for a lack of teamwork and comradeship. Though many would argue that the defeats of New Orleans and Arizona don't count for much seeing as how they are good but not stellar teams. The defeat of Dallas yesterday was proof that the defense has the ability to contain what is considered the best offense in the league as well as scoring against a formidable defense. They won it on the road against a bitter rival in a manner that was more by design than by mere luck and perhaps this will be the year that the team finally returns to greatness.