Hail to the Redskins! Hail Victory!
I've been hoping all year that Gibbs would finally step up and show the league how it's done, and boy oh boy did he come through in style. Many counted them out when they were down 5-6 midseason, but 5 straight wins later (including huge wins over division rivals) and it's the playoffs. The first time since 1999 -- and only the second time since Gibbs last coached us back in the 80's.
The Redskins have had a quality team all year, but it's taken them some time to put it all together. The key to this team is a top notch defense with a hard nosed offense, and a return to the heralded "smash mouth style" of football in the past few games. Gibbs teams in the past were all marked by their competence in dealing with the running game: stopping it on defense, and producing it on offense. In the past 5 games the Redskins defense has been among the top in the league in stopping the run, and Portis has averaged over 100 yards in each of those games on the ground.
The basics of a good offense remains the same since Gibbs last coached: run the ball, protect the quarterback, and run out the clock. Of course, to run the ball you need to have a passing game that's at least somewhat of a threat, otherwise the other D will just stack the line. This is where Moss and Cooley have come in handy. Moss has an absolutely amazing ability to judge the long ball -- Brunell can just launch it up there, and Moss will catch it. Combine that with his speed, and he's our deep threat. Cooley is just your all around smart player. He's big and he's fast, but more than that he can run routes really well and get open. Of course Cooley is not a WR, and the lack of a second WR threat is a problem that we'll have to figure out. Hopefully Patten will serve that roll once he's back next year. Of course, to run the ball you also need a good offenseive line, and we have one that has started to gel really well lately, especially under the leadership of Jansen.
On defense, all credit to Williams (who we just signed for another 3 years! yeah!). He is viewed around the league as one of the top defensive coaches, and his innovations have helped the Redskins defense rank in the top 10 the past couple years. Key players inlcude LaVar Arrington (who sadly we might lose next year - don't get me started on that debacle), Marcus Washington and Sean Taylor. I really like Sean Taylor, despite his offseason problems, I think he is a remarkably good football player. And of course, Shawn Springs, who we are all praying will be back to help us out against Tampa Bay.
No - I did not forget about Brunell. The thing I really like about Mark is his grace when times got tough. Back when he was derided as being a washed up quarterback, when he was booed in FedEx field and got pulled from the game, he was always consistently a very nice guy, and did not complain. And here we are, with Gibbs faith in him seemingly justified. Mark has really been able to show us what it means to be a strong player - hat's off to him - he's helped carry this team. And more than that, his willpower to always come out fighting has combined with that of Portis and others to be contagious.
In our last win against Philidelphia, when we were losing, Portis came up to Gibbs on the sidelines and asked him if he wanted to win. Gibbs, surprised at hearing this from his key running back, said of course. "Then we need guts and power. Guts and Power!" he yelled. What he wanted was more hard running up the middle, really taking it to their defense. Gibbs was suprised at the fervor, called more of those plays, and lo and behold Portis pulled in a touchdown. Guess what that means? The Redskins are a team again.
Next up: our revenge against Tampa Bay. This is going to be a tough, tough game. But we can win it. I hope we do.
I've been hoping all year that Gibbs would finally step up and show the league how it's done, and boy oh boy did he come through in style. Many counted them out when they were down 5-6 midseason, but 5 straight wins later (including huge wins over division rivals) and it's the playoffs. The first time since 1999 -- and only the second time since Gibbs last coached us back in the 80's.
The Redskins have had a quality team all year, but it's taken them some time to put it all together. The key to this team is a top notch defense with a hard nosed offense, and a return to the heralded "smash mouth style" of football in the past few games. Gibbs teams in the past were all marked by their competence in dealing with the running game: stopping it on defense, and producing it on offense. In the past 5 games the Redskins defense has been among the top in the league in stopping the run, and Portis has averaged over 100 yards in each of those games on the ground.
The basics of a good offense remains the same since Gibbs last coached: run the ball, protect the quarterback, and run out the clock. Of course, to run the ball you need to have a passing game that's at least somewhat of a threat, otherwise the other D will just stack the line. This is where Moss and Cooley have come in handy. Moss has an absolutely amazing ability to judge the long ball -- Brunell can just launch it up there, and Moss will catch it. Combine that with his speed, and he's our deep threat. Cooley is just your all around smart player. He's big and he's fast, but more than that he can run routes really well and get open. Of course Cooley is not a WR, and the lack of a second WR threat is a problem that we'll have to figure out. Hopefully Patten will serve that roll once he's back next year. Of course, to run the ball you also need a good offenseive line, and we have one that has started to gel really well lately, especially under the leadership of Jansen.
On defense, all credit to Williams (who we just signed for another 3 years! yeah!). He is viewed around the league as one of the top defensive coaches, and his innovations have helped the Redskins defense rank in the top 10 the past couple years. Key players inlcude LaVar Arrington (who sadly we might lose next year - don't get me started on that debacle), Marcus Washington and Sean Taylor. I really like Sean Taylor, despite his offseason problems, I think he is a remarkably good football player. And of course, Shawn Springs, who we are all praying will be back to help us out against Tampa Bay.
No - I did not forget about Brunell. The thing I really like about Mark is his grace when times got tough. Back when he was derided as being a washed up quarterback, when he was booed in FedEx field and got pulled from the game, he was always consistently a very nice guy, and did not complain. And here we are, with Gibbs faith in him seemingly justified. Mark has really been able to show us what it means to be a strong player - hat's off to him - he's helped carry this team. And more than that, his willpower to always come out fighting has combined with that of Portis and others to be contagious.
In our last win against Philidelphia, when we were losing, Portis came up to Gibbs on the sidelines and asked him if he wanted to win. Gibbs, surprised at hearing this from his key running back, said of course. "Then we need guts and power. Guts and Power!" he yelled. What he wanted was more hard running up the middle, really taking it to their defense. Gibbs was suprised at the fervor, called more of those plays, and lo and behold Portis pulled in a touchdown. Guess what that means? The Redskins are a team again.
Next up: our revenge against Tampa Bay. This is going to be a tough, tough game. But we can win it. I hope we do.
posted by slithytoves at 9:30 PM
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