I'll start out by saying this: I was at the Redskins game yesterday and I am pretty sure Mike Wilbon was there too. So I find it surprising that he so easily dismissed the role the crowd played in the Bears three straight false start penalties. It was loud, and Wilbon makes it seem like the crowd had nothing to do with it. Silence and the Skins defense could have done it just as easily.
Now about the game: How it is passed over I understand. No one cares about two very good defense holding two offenses to single digits. But that the Redskins are getting no credit is a joke! I wasn't sure of a win until the false start sequence, but I never felt like the Redskins wouldn't be able to respond. The offense was strong enough to make one certain that even if the Bears got a field goal, they could drive for at least a field goal if not a touchdown.
SI's Peter King is a homer, in that he loves NY teams and he loves player and coaches that are nice to him. So I really don't mind that he praised Bears QB Kyle Orton, without mentioning the Redskins. But the fact that the Bears defense could take blame for the loss (Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times) is entirely misleading. It sounds like the Skins defense could have lost the game to Orton, and it was the Skins offense which won the game. To be honest though, I don't respect King (to slanted) and the Chicago columnists do spread the blame for the loss. But still no one is crediting the Skins for the win.
And to Len Pasquarelli's column I say: okay fine, the Skins didn't outwardly impress this weekend. But maybe you should have watched the game before commenting. The Bears red zone offense and special team was pretty good. And the Redskins did score a touchdown, but it was taken back on a questionable offensive pass interference (Cooley was being held on that play). Plus, not everyone wins blowout games (see the Patriots for more on that). The Cowboys impressed me, but they could have easily lost that game, and th Giants win just showed me that Arizona apparantly isn't the sleeper everyone was talking about (it looks like their defense will keep that from happening).
Come to think of it this game reminded me of another game I attended back in 2000. The Redskins lost to a Giants team with a great defense, 7-9. The Giants went on to lose the Super Bowl that season to a better offense, the Baltimore Ravens. That Giants team knew how to win the close ones with a questionable QB, Kerry Collins, and great tandem in Thunder (Ron Dayne) and Lightning (Tiki Barber). Reminds me of Patrick Ramsey, Ladell Betts, and Clinton Portis.
I'll finish by thanking everyone for not talking about the Skins. Not too many people were talking about the Giants and Ravens before the 2001 Super Bowl. Just like no one was talking about the Rams (2000 Super Bowl winners) and the Patriots (2002 Super Bowl winners). Since then we had a string of expected Super Bowl participants (except for the Panthers) so I think it's time for a little of the unexpected, the untalked about.
No comments:
Post a Comment