Redskins are, uh, going to the playoffs
Sunday, December 30, 2007 | Labels: Angels in the Outfield, Jason Campbell, Joe Gibbs, Redskins, Sean Taylor, Todd Collins | 1 comments |
I wrote this team for dead five or so weeks ago.
Our team was battered, our coaches decrepit, our running game floundering, our quarterback slumping, our owner a schmuck and our safety dead. But then we found some sprightly defensive lineman, our coaches coached, our running game flourished, our quarterback went down and our team went to a funeral.
And just like that, the Redskins rattled off four straight wins to reach the playoffs. What this team did is easily the most impressive feat I've witnessed since I sprouted armpit hair. Not since 1991's Super Bowl run with Mark Rypien, Art Monk, Charles Mann and Jim Lachey have I seen the Redskins so congealed, so on the same page.
The difference has been three-fold.
First, the Redskins developed a consistent pass rush from their front four. The rotation of Anthony Montgomery, Kedric Golston, Chris Wilson and Cornelius Griffin on the defensive line has been impressive to watch. Gregg Williams still blitzes like William Wallace invading York, but he's curbed it a bit, allowing linebackers to help out his depleted secondary at times.
The second is the ghost of Sean Taylor. The man has simply possessed Reed Doughty. He's also made LaRon (the Ron) Landry a bit Measty, particularly when it comes to late hits (but we'll talk about that later). Point being, this guy is inside everybody right now. Everyone thinks they're playing for Taylor, god or some combination. That's powerful Gummy Juice. Just ask native Americans about what freaks laced with the spirit of "god" can to an entire nation, let alone on the football field. OK, it's really not like that, it's more like Angels in the Outfield. Speaking of AITO, it has two Oscar winners in it. Can you name them?
The third is Todd Collins. He's a system quarterback who will one day be exposed for the limited-skill-set slinger he is. But he's smart, and he's in the right system. That's worth something in this era of athlete-quarterbacks. He doesn't make mistakes and he knows where receivers will and should be. He's winning the battle at the line of scrimmage, before he says "hike," which is something Jason Campbell couldn't do. He's smooth, he's cool and he's showing the league that brains, not cannons, are still worth something.
So it's Redskins-Seahawks next Saturday at 4:15 ET in the Pacific Northwest and for the first time in a while, I'm a fan of the team I love.