Game Girl

Skins 42, Buffalo 17! Yup, you read it right, folks...the Redskins not only won their pre-season opener Friday night, they totally dominated Buffalo in all three phases of the game. For the first time in a long, long, LONG time, the Skins manhandled another team. And yes, for the record, I know it's preseason. I know it doesn't count. I KNOW it was our 3rd-stringers against their 3rd-stringers for a lot of the second half.

But still.

They won. And won big. And looked pretty good doing it! OK, actually, they looked a bit shaky at the outset - the defense looked a little soft (against a not-so-great quarterback in Trent Edwards) and our special teams dropped a kick-off return and bobbled a punt. But then something happened, and they seemed to wake up. They shook off the rust after those first few minutes of half-hearted effort, and suddenly, they began playing with a certain efficiency and crispness I haven't seen out of any Redskin team in, well, I'm almost afraid to say how long. It's been a LONG time, let's leave it at that.

This team began to play together. Here's the thing -- I have had to reset my expectations for this team over the past decade because they have been so pitiful to watch. My threshold for them is pretty low at this point. Now, when our offense breaks the huddle, walks to the line of scrimmage, runs a play without any penalties or flags, and the play actually WORKS, well, then, I'm happy. Thrilled. Estatic.

Yes, I know...that's what a football team is supposed to do. But anyone who has had to suffer through the past few years around here knows that to accomplish even these small feats of offensive banality should be considered a step in the right direction. And then, to put together a drive all the way down the field that actually culminated in a touchdown (a real, live touchdown, people! Not a field goal...not 4th-and-goal and turn it over on downs. An actual 6-point touchdown. Oh, and we made the PAT, too!) Well, it was all almost too much for me.

Please understand: I'm not saying I suddenly think we're going to the Superbowl anytime soon. I'm not going to perpetuate the stereotype held dear by legions of Redskin fan-haters that says we win one game and we're Superbowl bound, baby. Not this time, anyway. It's been too brutal for too long around here for me to fall prey to the myth that things might actually change. I've been burned too many times...seduced by too many "new regimes" that fell flat to think that this time it might actually be the real thing.

But I CAN say with a certain degree of cautious optimism that it sure is nice to watch our offense walk onto the field and run play after play after play without endless false-starts, 3-and-outs, holding penalties, and gadget plays that don't work. It was nice to sit on my couch Friday night watching the game and realizing I wasn't holding my breath, gritting my teeth, or pacing the floor in agony. Quite the opposite, in fact. I was (gasp) enjoying myself! Football was actually fun again.

So, let's wait and see what this Saturday brings. Perhaps another efficient offensive performance might convert me into a believer. But for now, I'm just saying -- it's nice to watch this team play again.