Game Girl

Well, at least they haven't given up, right? I mean, hey, things could be a lot worse -- our team could have gone out yesterday and laid a serious egg against the Jags ala last year's end-of-season meltdown versus the Giants! And, as a bonus, at least we're getting to see how some of these young guys we've been hiding on the practice squad can play. So there's that.

But it IS a drag, isn't it? I'm standing at the Cross Street Market in Baltimore with my husband's family, our kids, and about a thousand rabid Ravens fans on Christmas Eve, and I'm thinking, how LUCKY are these people that their team is moving on to the post-season. Meaningful games in January...what a concept. Something we've not seen around here in a long time. Not since that awful loss to the Seahawks a few years back...or the other crappy loss to the Bucs when our hopes were dashed on a fluke/bad call (I still HATE that Mike Alstott, by the way!)

I know, I know, it's a process. It takes time. We'll get there eventually. But will we, really? Has Shanahan really righted the ship here, or is it all just more band-aids and scotch tape? I had hoped we'd have a better feel for the direction this team is headed by this point in the season. After one full off-season, a draft, OTA's, training camp and a full season under our belt, wouldn't you think we'd at least see some progress? Instead, we've had more of the same. Drama, drama, drama. Haynesworth. McNabb. Kyle Shanahan, who I personally think seems like a real jerk. I've lost that lovin' feeling for our leaders, and I'm nervous about the future.

I could live with another non-playoff season if I knew we were at least headed in the right direction. Maybe I'll feel better if we beat the Giants and knock them out of the playoffs.

It's a start, right?

Remember all those posts I wrote about how different the Shanahan era was starting to look? How nice it finally was to have some real professionals running the show out at Redskins Park? How we were no longer a league-wide laughing stock, and that win or lose, at least our organization was starting to take a turn for the better?

Well, forget I said ANY of that. The benching of McNabb, and particularly, the HANDLING of the benching of McNabb, speaks volumes about this new regime. And it doesn't bode well for the future as far as I am concerned. Guess what, folks? This regime and its leadership is not any different from the legions of idiots before them. The media "leaks". The benching on Thursday NIGHT before a Sunday game (after 2 practices!) Hey, the earlier benching during the final two minutes of the Detroit game. I mean, why even bother keeping McNabb around at all, since they obviously don't believe he can play a snap in this offense anymore. Or maybe they never thought he could.

So why, then, did they bring him here in the first place? Why give up two draft picks for a guy you think can't play? And now, with Grossman's semi-decent second-half play on Sunday, I guess Shanahan can puff out his chest and say to his critics, "See, I was right. McNabb was the problem."

Actually, Coach, I think YOU are the problem. You gave up two critical draft picks our organization can ill-afford to lose on a quarterback you now think isn't competent to run your vaunted offense. Really? Seems like someone didn't do his homework very well last off-season. McNabb is McNabb. He's ALWAYS been this way. A long bomb down field followed by a few short, ugly passes into the dirt. A scramble for a first down. A sly smile and a touchdown pass. He's inconsistent. Any Redskin fan worth his salt could have told you that.

So bringing him here is on YOU, Coach Shanahan. Stop trying to make McNabb the scapegoat for your bad decision-making. McNabb hasn't changed. He still gives you all he's got. He's a leader. A team-player. And a real class act.

He deserves better. And so do we. What a shame. Same crap, different regime.

The party is most definitely over. And thank goodness it is. I'm tired! This particular party guest has officially had enough. Let's call it a day and try again next year.

You know what's odd? I feel strangely relieved...you know what I mean? I'm actually sort of glad the season has officially ended (well, for all intents and purposes, anyway). Now I can just relax, turn on the TV on Sundays, and just watch football. No more pain and anxiety. No more yelling. No more hysteria or misery. Now, it's just football for football's sake.

Let's see how this team plays when the pressure is off. Let's see what kind of talent, character and leadership we really have. What kind of people and players these guys are. How our coaches handle these last 3 games.

now is when the real work starts, at least for this coaching staff. How will they fill the many holes on this team this off-season? How will they motivate aging veterans like Santana Moss who are just so, so tired of losing? How will they change the culture?

I have a million questions. But for now, I'm just going to relax, put my feet up, and enjoy the game. Phew!

Don't let the door hit you on the way out of town, Albert. And don't come back!

Yes, as I have stated previously, I think this situation could have been handled better from the get-go by Shanahan and Allen, but the fact is, they rolled the dice and lost. Happens to the best of us. They tried to make lemonade out of lemons by keeping Haynesworth around and attempting to motivate him by appealing to his "conscience", his so-called "work ethic", and his "love of the game" of football. But they found out the hard way what so many others -- especially those in Tennessee -- already knew: that Haynesworth isn't motivated by ANY of those things. He's not even motivated by money...gobs of it. More money than 99.8 % of people will ever see in their lifetime. Dude couldn't even get his butt in gear for 40 MILLION dollars. Wow. Talk about spoiled, entitled athletes.

But whatever. Shanahan tried. His teammates tried. The defensive coaches tried. OK, so we don't know the whole story. Who said what to whom. But here's what we DO know: we know Haynesworth didn't want to play in the "3-4" defense (if that is the defense this team is even running). We know he didn't want to train in the off-season with his teammates. We know he didn't (or WOULDN'T) give his all on every play each and every time he was on the field. We know he sure had a lot of "issues" for a rich guy living the dream of playing in the NFL.

So, as Shanahan said yesterday, it was just time. Time to cut our losses and take our lumps for the biggest free-agent bust of all time, at least where the game of football is concerned.

What happens now? Well, I for one certainly hope we can wipe the slate clean. Learn from our mistakes. Take a good, hard look at where all this ridiculous obsession with free agency has gotten this franchise...staring down another 5-11 season with mediocre talent, overpaid past-their-prime stars and a whole lot of disgruntled fans. Pay attention, Dan Snyder -- this means YOU! Remember when you said you had learned "patience" from Joe Gibbs? Well, funny how after he left, you went out and signed the world's most selfish, entitled player to join our team. Raced down to TN in your plane like the world was on fire to get him as soon as the market bell clanged. Brought him here on a bloated contract and watched as he tried to destroy this team and this franchise. Stole your money -- and not just your money. MY money. The fans' money. We pay for all those jerseys, those tickets, those beers at the stadium. And YOU, Dan Snyder, squandered our money on the worst personnel move anyone has ever witnessed.

Here's hoping we have finally hit rock-bottom. Maybe we can finally starting heading in the right direction.

Happy now, Haynesworth?

Well, I've officially had enough. Enough of the pain and suffering. Enough of the embarrasment. Enough of the angst. Last week I said I wished this team would make up it's mind and decide which direction it was going in -- either decide to be good or be bad and just be done with it. But maybe I was too hasty. Because they must have heard my plea, and decided to go with "bad". Yuck.

How many ways can I write about my disgust with losing? Week after week, I'm singing the same damn tune. We need a better pass rush. Our offensive line is, to coin a phrase, offensive. McNabb is inconsistent, and it doesn't help when his receivers continually drob passes. Our special teams are up and down. We just can't get out of our own way.

Today was something else, wasn't it? When the Giants drove down the field on their opening possession and scored that touchdown as easily as you can say 1-2-3, well, I knew it was going to be a bad day. I'm actually surprised the final score was as low as it was, considering how porous our defense was and how many times we turned the ball over (6, if you're counting).

When that first Giants drive was finished, and the cameras flashed on Haslett and his one-word expletive (four letters, first one is an "f"), that pretty much summed it all up, didn't it? And while we're on the subject of dear old Haslett, does anyone else think his days are numbered? And if they're not, don't you think they should be! Why on EARTH did he come in here and take the one semi-strength of our awful team from last year -- our defense -- and turn it upside down, inside out, and proceed to essentially wreck it in the process?

And to add insult to injury, why are we benching Albert Haynesworth when we need him so desperately? What kind of point is Shanahan trying to make -- that being late to a meeting won't be tolerated? How about losing to our freakin' division rival in an embarrassing fashion...how about not tolerating THAT?? The NFL isn't the place to teach grown men life-lessons. That's not what I'm paying for as a fan. It's not what I'm watching this team for, either. It's great that London Fletcher is such a nice, classy guy. But would it matter to me if he wasn't? Not particularly. He's such a great player, I'd be willing to settle for him being less than perfect as long as he continues to produce on the field.

Seriously, what is to become of this Redskin team this year? And what about next year? And the years to come? I'm beginning to think this whole team is cursed. From our crappy stadium to our horrible gaffes and bad luck on the field, we are simply a franchise in disarray. Sure, we all thought Shanahan was going to have his hands full when he got here. But didn't you think he'd at least have us heading in the right direction by now?

Did you really think this team would be this bad off?