Brooks’ Groin Pain as Metaphor

Okay, let’s review our pre-game ‘The World is Against Us and We’re Bitter About It’ checklist. First game of the season on the road? Check. In a hostile environment against a division opponent? Check. Superbowl trophy presentation, including retired superstar player and fan-favorite? Check. New coach? Check. Preseason injury bug? Check. Looks like we’re all set to get this season started!

Even with the Checklist of Doom, I certainly did not expect the Redskins to come out and play one of the worst halves of football I think I have even seen. Aside from a seven-point gift at the end of the half from the Giants and the guys in stripes, the Redskins were about as bad as you can be in all three phases of the game. The only bright spot was Durant Brooks getting his family jewels run into on a punt (okay, maybe not a bright spot for him) which kept the drive alive, and allowed the offense to get a little extra work and go six-and-out, instead of the usual three-and-out. Nice work, fellas. It’s true, we got punched in the mouth, and didn’t do much punching back. When the clock turned over to start the fourth quarter, you could feel that the game was already over – not because there wouldn’t be ample time to score twice, but because the Redskins – despite their resilience in the second half – did not have enough motivation or momentum to pull it out. Let’s hope that next week we’re Tommy Lee, and the Saints are the paparazzi.

And now, enough with these coherent organized thoughts, and onto some random drivel….

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Match-Up To Watch: Stephon Heyer vs. Justin Tuck

Gone are the days of yore, when my favorite thing to watch when the Washington Redskins and New York Giants met on the gridiron was my favorite player, Jon Jansen, battling one of our generation’s premier pass rushers in Michael Strahan. With Strahan following former teammate Tiki Barber off the field and into the studio, and Jansen’s unceremonious removal from the starting line-up, a new rivalry could be in the making.

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Bring on the 2008 Season

Stats can be deceiving. Looking at preseason stats really don’t tell us anything, or am I really missing something? Things just don’t add up. – The Redskins starting quarterback Jason Campbell finished the preseason with 23-of-39 completions for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His backup Todd Collins finished with 33-of-47 completions for 260 … Read more

Numbers, Schmumbers

Numbers.  47-3.  24-3.  71-6.  Sure, they mean something, and right now they don’t look good.  But this game is about more than numbers, which sounds silly to say, since the score has actual numbers in it, numbers which determine the winner and loser.  However, in the preseason, I’ve tried to look past the numbers, and what I see from the Redskins is rather exciting.

So, with gloom and doom lurking around the Redskins as of late, I thought I would brighten your day with a few positive notes:

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Prayers For Buges

From David Elfin in the Washington Times’ Redskins 360 blog: Everyone’s thoughts at Redskin Park are with offensive line coach Joe  Bugel, who left after Saturday night’s game for Arizona where his 35-year-old daughter Holly is battling cancer. As theHogs.net, we’d be remiss if we didn’t send out our thoughts and prayers to the Bugel … Read more

Is it time to wake up already?

(*Cue dramatic nature-like music & deep voice-over-type voice*) Like a bear – a big, burly brown bear – or wait, maybe a like a black bear, yeah, a black bear – like a black bear, I awaken from my winter slumber to emerge into the spring that is…..the NFL Preseason. Just like the bear, I am hungry – starving for sustenance. For him that means fish and berries – for me, it means Redskins football. And just like the bear, I have to poop, since I’ve been holding it for months. Actually, that’s where the metaphor falls apart, because I have been pooping all winter, but hang in there with me for a moment longer. (*Ahem*) Just like the bear, I’ve forgotten the struggles of the last year, and I look forward to the triumph that the new season seems to promise. And as the bear and I gaze upon the shining spring sun, we’re both thinking the same thing – ‘Man, I hate the *bleeping* Cowboys.’

So now that I’ve warmed up my metaphoric muscles, I’ll get to the meat of the act. I was going to write about how we as Redskins fans need to CALM DOWN and not get all giggly and squirmy just because the team has looked pretty darn good in the first couple of preseason games. But then I thought – hey, why not get all giggly and squirmy? This may be our only chance to get all giggly and squirmy, so we might as well do it now.

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