I'm not going to comment (too) much on the Redskins perfection of the proverbial art of shooting one's self in the foot today. If not for the Patriots game, they'd be undefeated. They've beaten six teams this season. Five were opponents, but they've managed to beat themselves three times so far...and we're only 10 weeks into the season. Today's game was not about coaching; Gibbs, Saunders, and Williams did a great job gameplanning for the Eagles, and thoroughly outcoached Andy Reid from what saw. Buges did a great job on the offensive line, which had been offensive in more ways than one earlier this season (after being decimated by injuries). What the Redskins staff didn't know, however, was that Andy Reid had given access to his "Drug Emporium" to several of the Redskins' players (Chris Cooley, Ladell Betts, Casey Rabach, among others).
Meanwhile, the Wizards are pretty much embodying the above picture. Mike Wise, who despite past shots this blog has taken at him, is actually an excellent basketball writer, gave me a pretty good idea of how the season has gone so far in one column. I just wish he would stick to basketball and hilarious, mindblowing 'incites' into the personal lives of our favorite Redskins players, instead of writing "hard facts" Redskins columns that are written like he just got off the Amtrac train from New York and desperately wanted to fit in with the local sports scene by writing the safest, most obvious columns possible ("Wait, the Redskins have beloved old player doing their radio broadcasts? No way, I didn't know that!"). But hey, I'm trying to give the man his props, as Wilbon has said in the past, he really knows his stuff when he's talking hoops, and he's hit the 'Zards debacle of a season (so far) on the head. I agree (Ed. Despite the win today over a talented Hawks team) that they should shut Arenas down. He's not himself right now, and his knee is clearly hurting him. This is a situation where it's both in the team's interest and the player's to have him shut it down for at least a couple of weeks. If they can't win when he's toughing it out there's no point in not taking a more longterm perspective on the season and letting him rest up and come back at a later date. He won't like it because he's a baller/shotcaller and it's a contract year for him, but it's worth it for both parties in the long run. Arenas' next contract goes down anywhere from $500k to $1 mil everytime people see him hobbling off the court with his knee packaged more securely in ice than a transplant organ, so why not take a few weeks off and start dropping thirty or forty on people when you come back?
Sorry for getting serious for a minute, please accept this entertaining video evidence of how Rugby is much more manly a sport than Soccer, via Deadspin, as my apology. (Lil Bro, I know you have plenty of time to enjoy it....I expect an 800 word response by tomorrow).
2 comments:
We are beating ourselves, but we are also just a mediocre team.
As for the YouTube video, hilarious! Reminds me of when I saw Australian-rules football -- player gets hit so hard he is on the ground throwing up; finishes being sick, wipes his mouth, and is back in the game.
Skins: The argument about whether it's the players or the coaching is sort of moot; Gibbs is the GM. They're his players. People keep talking about the Skins forging a clear identity. I think their identity is clear, it's just not what we want it to be. They are a mediocre team that folds at key points in the game. They've been this way for 4 years, and since 1991 before then.
To quote today's Post article:
"Several veterans said they have learned to brace for confusion on the sideline in crucial situations, and doubt it will change nearly four years into the regime.
"It's frustrating, but it's not anything new to us," one said. "We look at it like it's something we have to overcome."'
Yikes.
Wizards: Hopefully, the team will get it together and Gil will use this as an 'excuse' to play more team ball, perhaps developing skills he hasn't chosen to in the past (D, assists). Why does this team have learn the lesson of sharing the ball again and again? Remember the 2005 playoff series where they came back against the Bulls by passing the ball. Practice what's going to win playoff games during the regular season, guys.
Colbert/Cowher 2008! Post forthcoming...
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