Time for Cautious Optimism or Pessimism?

We fickle fans in Washington have a very short term memory. It reminds me of the movie, "Memento" at times with the way opinions and pre-conceived notions can change seemingly in the blink of an eye or passing of the week when it comes to the fortunes of our long-suffering-yet-beloved Redskins. Three weeks ago on the opening night of the season, the Redskins lost to division rivals, the New York Giants. The Giants coming off of a Super Bowl victory back in January were expected to do well but still, the Redskins weren't expected to 'stink' as much as they did.

So what happens? Just the usual for any Washington fan. There were protests against Coach Zorn for his play calling and control of the clock and the team. There were shouts to bench Quarterback Jason Campbell in favor of any other quarterback who could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. There were calls for ending the season early because the Redskins weren't ever going to move past this dismal point in their season. Flash forward one week and all of a sudden the picture suddenly becomes rosier and everyone has dancing sugarplum visions of the Redskins marching out of the tunnel at the Super Bowl at the end of this season following a victory against the New Orleans Saints. Now I am as excited as the next fan that the team is actually doing well for a change as compounded by the victory over the Arizona Cardinals yesterday but I'm still not ready to share in those joyous visions of a Super Bowl trip.

Having lived through the original Gibbs era, I can attest to the joy of the times when the Redskins were the dominant team and were capable of going to the playoffs at the very least nearly every year. In the ensuing years, it's become less and less of a sure thing and though part of it is due to the changing face of the National Football League due to rule changes and shifting priorities, some of it is also due to the fact that we as fans of the Redskins are impatient for a return to the glory days of yesteryear. It's something that isn't out of the realm of possiblity but something that we haven't seen a hint of in recent times. Sure we've been to the playoffs a couple of times since 1991, but those years were few and far between and nothing akin to the type of teams that once resided in Washington.

Our town is anything if not staunchly behind the Washington Redskins and win or lose, there are some of us who will still don our commemorative jersey's and sigh in frustration as the team fails to put together a winning drive yet cheer when a 4th-quarter interception helps pave the way for a go ahead touchdown and victory that inevitably follows. I'm always happy when the team does well and I know that the team has the potential to be consistent but what we need to understand (and more so the owners and ultimate decision makers on the team... hint hint Dan Snyder) is that effecting permanent and lasting change takes time. Don't groom a quarterback and then bench him or get rid of him for someone else who may be a bigger name or more popular. I was deathly afraid that during the whole broughaha surrounding Brett Farve's desire to return to football would signal his arrival in Washington.

Don't get me wrong, Brett Farve is destined to be in the Hall of Fame but why invest in someone who is going to play for another year or two rather than a quarterback who could potentially develop into a great one. I applaud the fact that Jason Campbell has had to endure much criticism and ribbing despite the fact that he's had to learn three offensives over the course of his time here in Washington. Despite all that he's managed to improve his game and shows increasing signs of greatness. There are few players who 'come out of the pot' ready to lead their teams to win after win but if we show a bit of patience then I think we could see that here in Washington again. Is it time to start the perennial chants of "We want Dallas" as a means of showing confidence against our hated division rivals? Sure... but if the worst happens and we can't pull out a victory, don't jump on the team's back and beat them up. We cheered for them once, let's keep on cheering for them.