Game Girl

Yes, it's really me! Redskins Gamegirl, at your service and back in action. No, I didn't fall into a pit of despair during last year's miserable season, although it WAS a pretty tough slog there, wasn't it? Actually, my absence was part Redskins fatigue, part personal drama, but suffice it to say, I'm not sure we really missed all that much by not chronicling the hideous ins-and-outs of last year's season/debacle. Best to just forget it and move on, shall we?

I must say, I'm using that mantra in many parts of my life right now, and it's working out quite well...just move the carcass out of the road and keep going. So I'm applying the technique to our Redskins, too. Turn the page and don't look back. In with the new and out with the old. Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the you-know-what. We're moving forward, no holds-barred.

And so, with all of that misery behind us, it's almost time. Yup, we're finally, FINALLY, going to draft ourselves a quarterback tomorrow night, and honestly, I couldn't be more excited! RG3 certainly looks and sounds like the real deal, doesn't he? He is charsimatic, personable, charming, and hell, can this guy run. He's Michael Vick without the baggage (hopefully). He's one-part athlete, one-part charming front man, one-part Redskins savior. A lot to put on one guy's shoulders, but I'm betting he can take the pressure. Did you hear his interview with local beat reporter Chris Russell today? The dude is slick, but heartfelt. He is -- I think -- the real deal. At least so far. As the song says, only time will tell. But hey, it sure will make the rest of the off-season and training camp more fun than usual. And for me, that's saying somehing, cause you KNOW how much I love me some training camp. But I digress.

Tomorrow night promises to be the beginning of the next phase in Redskins history. Maybe we'll finally have a franchise quarterback to lead our team to victory. It certainly can't get much worse than what we had to endure last year, right? I mean, seriously. I nearly had heart failure every time Rex Grossman had the ball in his hands. And I'm not even going to TALK about John Beck. Enough said.

So, here we go, Skins fans. It's time. Time for new beginnings and fresh starts. Time for high expectations and lots of hope. Maybe even time to invest in a new jersey, RG3-style. I might really be all in this time.

So, at 8:00pm tomorrow night, I'll be on my couch, waiting with baited breath for the best words of 2012 thus far:

"With the 2nd pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Washington Redskins select...Robert Griffin, III. Quarterback, Baylor University".   Amen.

OK, three down and one to go. The most important preseason game each year is in the books, and it seems to me we're left with a few more questions than answers.

Like, Beck or Grossman? To many, that is THE question. And it's a valid one, for sure. But it's certainly not the ONLY question. I'm wondering a few other things of note, like what will become of the defensive line now that Jarvis Jenkins is gone? Will that push up front become weak like last year? And how about DeAngelo Hall -- he's an interception machine but gets beat in coverage way too often...and without a strong push up front, will he be even more exposed? And what about the health of Cooley and Landry, among others?

Yes, the offense looked pretty efficient against Baltimore last night. Can't deny that, although I'd like to have seen a few more visits to the end zone from the first-string offense. And the defense held up pretty well, except for the secondary getting beat more than I personally feel comfortable with. And our special teams looks solid, which is also good news. And how about Gruden and the gang fawning over our team's "hustle" and overall strength. That was all pretty positive.

So why do I feel sort of luke-warm about the whole thing? I guess becuase I still don't really get what this team is about. OK, I know now we are a zone running team, and a 3-4 defense (with MUCH better personnel this year). We play with heart, and with quick tempo. All good.

But who, exactly, ARE we? Who will lead this team? Who will quarterback this team? Who will help us move from the bottom of the NFC East cellar and into respectability.

I'm still waiting. Guess we'll find out on September 11th against the Giants...

All I'm going to say is, don't get too crazy yet. It's just ONE preseason game. Remember that ridiculous Osaka, Japan blow-out with Steve Spurrier back in the day? When he ran up the score, and we all got excited about the team, and they wound up just absolutely stinking the joint up ("Well, 5 & 11, not verrrry goooood", I believe was the parting shot Spurrier gave us during his infamous press conference exit...)

So, yes, the team looked good. Crisp. Fast. Tight and precise. Kept the penalties to a minimum and the offensive plays to a mazimum. All good, I agree. But, and this is a very big BUT -- it's ONE preseason game. With Rex Grossman at the helm, against a very vanilla Steeler's defense that wasn't exactly bringing any serious blitzes to knock him on his tailbone.

Don't get me wrong. I think the value of preseason for evaluating your own team -- their strengths and weaknesses, their knowledge of the playbook, their overall mental acuity and physical toughness -- has it's place. But I don't think it's necessarily an indication that our team is going to play well in their regular season opener against the Giants on September 11th. Rather, I think it's a good indication that the Shanahan gang knows how to run an efficient training camp, which seems to translate to a very visible quickness on the field that is hard to ignore.

Let's just say that at least our starters played well, for the most part. And our rookies had their moments, too...some better than others. Leonard Hankerson needs to learn to hold on to the ball, for example. But honestly, the team we all watched on Friday night could have, and for all intents and purposes, SHOULD HAVE, looked a lot more flat and confused and crappy. But they didn't.

So, I guess that's a good start. Let's see what Friday night's game against a very weak, Payton Manning-less team tells us this Friday.

I know, I know...I've been pretty lax about writing on my blog these past few weeks, but really, what was there to say? That I was totally depressed about the NFL lockout? That I was having nightmares about what my summer would look like without training camp to look forward to? That my worst fears about life without a football season seemed to be coming true? For your sake, and mine, I decided to spare you that drivel. It just wasn't going to get us anywhere.

But now...well, things are really looking up! Looks like football is coming BACK, baby, and aside from my son's 5th birthday this past weekend, THAT is some of the best news I've had all summer.

I'm trying not to get too over the top about it quite yet, as there are still some loose ends that need to be tied up before the "suits" and the players can finally put this labor dispute mess behind them. But for all intents and purposes, it looks like we are going to have a football season this year after all. And not just a season...we're going to get training camp and preseaseon thrown in for good measure. I'll write later about my passion -- make that my total OBSESSION -- with training camp. But suffice it to say that things couldn't look any better for those of us who are true football fans.

Hey, folks, we did it! And we should be congratulated, right? We were forced to wean ourselves off football right after the Superbowl back in February and really turn our attention to other things, and we were all able to somehow muddle through. Without any of the usual off-season tidbits, free-agency info, mini-camps or rookie symposium details to keep us going. Without any good news to pin our hopes on. And all with the niggling fear that maybe, just maybe, we were going to be forced to spend our fall Sundays mowing our lawns or going antiquing with our families. I can't even bear to think about it.

But we made it. And so I say, thanks, women's soccer, Osama Bin Ladin & Seal Team 6, and Kate Middleton for providing us some interesting diversions while we waited for football to come back. At least we had them to keep us busy and stop us from obsessing about a possible life without football. It could have been worse, right?

But now. OH, the excitement. The anticipation. Training camp is right around the corner, and all is right with the world. Pat yourselves on the back for a job well-done, folks. We can finally exhale. Football is BACK!

Get your DVR ready, folks. The next few days present some major TV-watching dilemmas, and you need to be prepared. Tonight, it's the first round of the NFL draft, which is now in primetime and is oh-so-awesome to watch. Full of intrigue, mystery and excitement. And of course, my alarm is already set for tomorrow's royal wedding extravaganza, which might just cause me to stay in my pajamas and obsessively watch TV all stinking day (well, I would if I didn't have mommy duties to attend to, but hey, a girl can dream, right?)

And then there's the final show of The Office, where Michael turns out the lights and heads for greener pastures with Holly in Colorado. That starts at 9, I think, but I need to double-check. Oy. What's a girl to do??

OK, so the Redskins pick 10th, unless they trade up (or down), so that gives me some extra time to switch back and forth a bit between The Office and the draft. But who am I kidding? I won't miss a MINUTE of this year's draft, starting with Carolina at #1. Will they or won't they pick Cam Newton? Will there or won't there be player trades now that the lockout has been lifted? And on it goes. OK, so that means DVR The Office and watch later. Go to bed at a relatively decent hour so I can get back up at 4 to watch the wall-to-wall craziness that is the royal wedding coverage.

And it doesn't stop there. If you're an NBA fan, there are games all weekend. And NHL fans (including local Caps fans) have to squeeze in some hockey. And don't forget the draft goes all weekend, for those nuts like me who actually care which players their team drafts in the 7th round. Wow -- it's going to be one of those weekends where you know you're going to have to leave the house at some point, but you're really not going to want to.

All I can say is, embrace it. Enjoy every minute of it, because excitement like this doesn't come around too often. Seriously.

Tomorrow is Draft Day -- a big milestone in the NFL that this year, has been nearly overshadowed by the lock-out and labor dispute. But draft they will, even if the new players don't know how much they'll be getting paid, when they can start playing or even IF they'll be playing come September.

But for now, opportunity looms for many newly-minted players. The possibilities are endless. The choices wide and varied. For players and teams alike, the intrigue factor is high. Will the guy we really want be there when it's our turn to pick, teams wonder? And will the team I REALLY want to play for actually pick me, players ask?

Ah, the mystery. The secrets. The behind-the-scenes deals. What a blast it must be to be in those meetings as teams are deciding which players they're going to pick...who is available, who's not, and what kind of trading stock will it take to get the player they really want!

As always, I'm nervous and anxious to see who the Redskins are going to pick, since the draft has never really been our forte, thanks in large part to Dan Snyder and his player management people who seemed to feel it was better to pay handsomely for washed-up players on the free-agent market than to simply pick new players coming out of college. Duh. But things have been changing lately, and now the question is, what will the Skins do with their first-round pick? Draft a quarterback? Fill out the defensive line? Try to find a competent nose tackle?

We'll have to watch and wait and see. That's the beauty of the draft. No one knows. Absolutely no one! Not the players, not the media, and not even really the teams themselves. Major surprises on draft day can really shake things up.

I know one thing for sure -- it's going to be fun to watch.

So glad the federal judge from Minneaapolis in the NFL labor dispute lock-out has some common sense. Who knows? Maybe she's a closet Vikings fan herself. Or maybe, just maybe, she recognizes how absoultely ridiculous this whole situation has become and has decided enough is enough.

Whatever the reason, kudos to her. And props to the NFL Players Association for pursuing a federal injunction against this absurd lock-out in the first place. Now maybe both sides -- players and owners -- can sit down and really hash this thing out like grown ups. it's gone on long enough.

With the draft looming later this week, and mini-camps not too far behind, the normally busy NFL off-season needs to crank back into gear. Without yesterday's injunction against the lock-out, the off-season would have remained a pipe dream, with players continuing to work out on their own in local high school gyms around the country. NOT a good scenario if you are a player, or more importantly, a fan. Less preparation in the off-season means weaker players and weaker games when the real season begins. These players need to practice, to work out, to prepare. Football is a year-round game these days, and preventing players from practicing in the spring means upsetting the apple cart for the entire 2011 season.

Now, maybe the players can start practicing while their representatives meet with management at the negotiation table to hash out a deal both sides can live with. Here's hoping a deal gets done sooner rather than later. Please??