Is it really important to win.....

[SkinsRock36]

these next two games? I mean, there both AFC teams. Were already 3-0 in the NFC and 1-0 in the division. I still believe we'll win one of these games. Going 4-1 into the san fran game pushing us to 5-1. Whats your thoughts about these next two games?

HAIL BABY!!

[BurgundyNGold]

I think we'll win 1 of the next 2 and in SF too, but anything is possible in the NFL.

[CornerBlitz]

I think we'll win 1 of the next 2 and in SF too, but anything is possible in the NFL.
exactly we could lose both and that would be a huge disappointment.

[hogs86]

If you go 4-0 you have a 80% chance to make the playoffs !!

[IMALILTEAPOT]

i think if we go 1-1 in the next 2 games its great. i would rather win the denver one rather than the kc one. if we go 4-1, and we hopefully beat the 9ers, 5-1 looks reaaaallll good. pastabelly has no choice but to respect us

[SkinsKY]

Every game is important. Some losses will mean less in the long run, but every game is important.

[C-7]

Of course it's important to win these games, what are you thinking? I believe we can win these next 2 games, but we can easily lose them as well. The San Fran game is ours. From then on it gets REALLY hard...

[BurgundyNGold]

i think if we go 1-1 in the next 2 games its great. i would rather win the denver one rather than the kc one. if we go 4-1, and we hopefully beat the 9ers, 5-1 looks reaaaallll good. pastabelly has no choice but to respect us
No he doesn't. I'm sure he'll trot, er, well lummox out and provide his rationale for why we're the worst 5-1 team in the history of 5-1 teams. Whatever.

[EberKain]

in a couple weeks well be talking about the glory of 6-0.

[bwparker]

I've stated my opinion on this matter a number of times. Lets just say I have no problem starting 4-2.

[Biggie]

I'm not conceding any games, because conceding a game means lack of faith and lack of faith kills. They will be tough, yes, but I believe we can and should strive to win both.

[BIGSEF3]

Kansas City will definately be easier to beat than Denver. Although our chances of beating denver increase dramatically if Champ Baily doesn't play. John Lynch doesnt scare me against our receivers because Santana moss could just juke and make him smack into his own teammate. And Greg WIllaims defense will have NO PROBLEM with denvers offense. In my mind, it really does come down to whether Champ Bailey plays, and if he plays, if he is 100 percent or not.

Kansas City started out looking good, but every week new chinks in their armour are revealed. I think beating them will be almost as easy as beating SF.

[BurgundyNGold]

Kansas City will definately be easier to beat than Denver. Although our chances of beating denver increase dramatically if Champ Baily doesn't play. John Lynch doesnt scare me against our receivers because Santana moss could just juke and make him smack into his own teammate. And Greg WIllaims defense will have NO PROBLEM with denvers offense. In my mind, it really does come down to whether Champ Bailey plays, and if he plays, if he is 100 percent or not.

Kansas City started out looking good, but every week new chinks in their armour are revealed. I think beating them will be almost as easy as beating SF.
John Lynch is worse in coverage than Roy Williams, and I'm still concerned about the Chef's offense. The Browncows are going to be tough in Mile High too.

[Biggie]

Kansas City will definately be easier to beat than Denver. Although our chances of beating denver increase dramatically if Champ Baily doesn't play. John Lynch doesnt scare me against our receivers because Santana moss could just juke and make him smack into his own teammate. And Greg WIllaims defense will have NO PROBLEM with denvers offense. In my mind, it really does come down to whether Champ Bailey plays, and if he plays, if he is 100 percent or not.

Kansas City started out looking good, but every week new chinks in their armour are revealed. I think beating them will be almost as easy as beating SF.

Champ, even if he plays, will have a game hamstring.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

yes. these next 2 games will be HUGE confidence builders and a great test of how good this team is. this next game is against a team that is solid on both sides of the ball, playing very good football and at home. thats criteria for a big game IMO....

[ryflan47]

2 - 1 in the next three games would be so perfect, putting the Redskins right where they want to be...

"glory daaaaaaaysss"

[hail2skins]

6-0 is better than 4-2 or 5-1 in my book. Every game is important. To say it's acceptable to lose a game because it's a AFC is game is unacceptable.

[NCskinsfanatic]

As stated numerous times above, every game counts. I hope we win against Denver, KC and SF but I think 2-1 is more likely. I think if we have aspirations of winning within our division this team needs the confidence that winning on the road against tough competition brings. If we go 1-2 over this stretch the playoffs are obviously still a possibility, we'd still be 4-2, but it's all about momentum and 2 tough losses back to back might hurt, especially with the schedule only getting tougher from then on out.

[Redskin Scott]

Every game is important. Some losses will mean less in the long run, but every game is important.

That's my thinking, too. Play each game like it's the make-or-break matchup, and don't give a thought to next week's foe.

One game at a time.

[BigCountry]

I'd say no but the next 10 games include Philly twice, Giants twice, at Tampa and San Diego at home so we need everything we can get. Spliting the next 2 games would be in no way a step back but the road gets alot harder. Welcome to trying to make the playoffs.

[skinfanjon]

If you think of the two games together, you begin to rationalize the effort and 1-1 becomes acceptable. I am thinking only of Denver. Can we beat Denver and Kc back to back on the road in two of the most hostile places to play in the NFL after starting 3-0? Most likely, no, not if you think about it like that. On the contrary, can we beat just Denver this week, on the road? Of course we can. It should be a very close, hard fought game just as the rest have been to this point. We just need to keep winning the close ones.

My point is, looking ahead to the schedule past a given weeks' opponent will get us nowhere but loserville. I realize it's what we do as fans, speculate and make predictions, but we really need to get out of the habit of accepting a split. Saying it is okay to split with Den/KC, or Philly, NY or Dallas is accpeting failure. Good teams do not accept failure, and we should not either.

[skins74]

I say lets just try to beat the Broncos. Ford doesn't even make a Bronco even more.

[Redskin006]

Just take it one week at a time. We have to focus on winning in Denver first. That's all that matters. We shouldn't even be discussing losing at all. We should be focusing on winning all of our games. I know that some are just trying to be realistic, but I'd say that it's realistic to try and win every game and not think about losing games. Focus on denver for now. Please, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[Redskinfan28]

6-0 is better than 4-2 or 5-1 in my book. Every game is important. To say it's acceptable to lose a game because it's a AFC is game is unacceptable.

Yep - every game is important because we really haven't done anything special yet. It is possible that this team could still end up 7-9. Its not like we have been dominant.

These next 2 games are huge, IMO, and have to win 1 if we have a chance to make the playoffs.

[Redskinfan28]

Just take it one week at a time. We have to focus on winning in Denver first. That's all that matters. We shouldn't even be discussing losing at all. We should be focusing on winning all of our games. I know that some are just trying to be realistic, but I'd say that it's realistic to try and win every game and not think about losing games. Focus on denver for now. Please, let's not get ahead of ourselves.


Well, us fans can always look ahead because we don't matter. The team should only focus on Denver, of course.

[smoak]

6-0 is better than 4-2 or 5-1 in my book. Every game is important. To say it's acceptable to lose a game because it's a AFC is game is unacceptable.

I agree, but I'll clarify how I feel a bit further. If we lose to both Denver and KC, I will not feel discouraged or worried that we are notbuilding something special. Some fans run around like a chicken with its head cut off at the slightest bump in the road. True championship teams don't do this. Look at the Iggles. They started 1-3 (two years ago) and fans were calling for McNabb's blood... but the team stayed confident and still won the division.

IMO, I can't "accept" a loss, but at the release of the schedule I really felt we needed to be at least 2-1 or hopefully 3-0 going into this two games stretch if we wanted to make the playoffs. Now my other keys to a successful season are beating NFC East teams. We MUST have a winning record in the division to get into the playoffs.

[Redskinmayhem]

I don't like these, "win 2 out of 3 games" mentalities. We need to win every game we step out on the field for...PERIOD. If we lose, then we move on to the next week. IMHO, after more than 10 years of mediocrity, every game is a "must win". I'm not saying we have to go 16-0 but we need to play every game like it's the playoffs.

[Redskinmayhem]

You guys think we're all high and pretty atop the NFC east but philly and the gints are right on our heels. If we get complacent, it's bad news. I'll say it again, EVERY GAME IS A MUST WIN.

[smoak]

You guys think we're all high and pretty atop the NFC east but philly and the gints are right on our heels. If we get complacent, it's bad news. I'll say it again, EVERY GAME IS A MUST WIN.

I certainly hope the team feels that way. As fans I think we're allopwed to look at things differently, but I agree. We must find a way to keep winning games. For me, I'm just comparing the 3-0 start to how I pictured the season going the day the schedule was released... so far, so good. I thought we'd need to be 4-2 after six games.

[dj_stouty]

I'll be ecstatic if we go 2-0 over the next two games.
I'll be content if we go 1-1 over the next two games.
I'll be pissed if we go 0-2 over the next two games.

[smoak]

I'll be ecstatic if we go 2-0 over the next two games.
I'll be content if we go 1-1 over the next two games.
I'll be pissed if we go 0-2 over the next two games.

Mostly I agree.

If we went 18-1, I would have been pissed after the one loss. My rule is I take Sunday/Monday to celbrate or mourn and then it is on to the next game.

[redskinz#1fan]

That's my thinking, too. Play each game like it's the make-or-break matchup, and don't give a thought to next week's foe.

One game at a time.

Could you make your font a little bigger for those of us who are vision challenged! :)

[Sweepea436]

When I played soccer, my coach used to tell us, "It's not wether you win or lose, it's how you play the game"................ We used to lose alot.

I say win at all costs (and pray for no injuries), there's no "played hard football" entries in to the playoffs. There are spots for teams that WIN GAMES BABY!!!! Win them all!:bounceit:

[smoak]

When I played soccer, my coach used to tell us, "It's not wether you win or lose, it's how you play the game"................ We used to lose alot.

I say win at all costs (and pray for no injuries), there's no "played hard football" entries in to the playoffs. There are spots for teams that WIN GAMES BABY!!!! Win them all!:bounceit:

I agree but I would clarify that I would not "win at all costs" if it meant cheating. Somehow, I think I would regret the victory if it came out later that players were cheating. Just get out there and dominate the man across from you until he quits.

[Sweepea436]

I agree but I would clarify that I would not "win at all costs" if it meant cheating. Somehow, I think I would regret the victory if it came out later that players were cheating. Just get out there and dominate the man across from you until he quits.


Of course no cheating........(did the Broncos fans leave yet?)

I wouldn't call and complain if we got another one of those pass interference calls on the goal line though........:Peace:

[smoak]

Of course no cheating........(did the Broncos fans leave yet?)

I wouldn't call and complain if we got another one of those pass interference calls on the goal line though........:Peace:

Of course not, but I can't imagine getting calls to go our way??? I wonder what that would be like?

I just wouldn't want something like steriods, gambling, ref payoffs, etc to come out. I think the season the Panthers had a couple years ago is absolutely tainted in my mind.

[frankez99]

There is another game after the Bronco game? :rolleyes:

My brain doesn't allow me to look any further forward then the next game in hand.

Too many variables come into play every game to make predictions against teams further off then the next game....i.e. imagine how much your predictions would change if we faced the 49ers in 3 weeks without Brunell...Portis...and Moss...due to injuries sustained in the Broncos game? (NOT A JINX...ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN...DON'T WORRY)...I imagine your "we will roll right over the 49ers" predictions may take a little more thought.

Every game is a must win...but analyze one game at a time. Let's concern ourselves with the Bronco's.:)

[GWBlitzST]

I don't like the way people are looking past the Niners either. It's not that they're good, it's just that if we lost to them we'd be right back where we started in the eyes of most football fans. Remember we probably wouldn't have beaten them in last year's game without a INT returned for TD by Antonio Pierce. One game at a time is definately the way to look at it. It's just as scary to lose to bad teams as it is encouraging beating good to mediocre teams.

[bwparker]

I agree, but I'll clarify how I feel a bit further. If we lose to both Denver and KC, I will not feel discouraged or worried that we are notbuilding something special. Some fans run around like a chicken with its head cut off at the slightest bump in the road. True championship teams don't do this. Look at the Iggles. They started 1-3 (two years ago) and fans were calling for McNabb's blood... but the team stayed confident and still won the division.

IMO, I can't "accept" a loss, but at the release of the schedule I really felt we needed to be at least 2-1 or hopefully 3-0 going into this two games stretch if we wanted to make the playoffs. Now my other keys to a successful season are beating NFC East teams. We MUST have a winning record in the division to get into the playoffs.
This is how I feel. Of course there is no game that the team should give up on. Of course every game counts. Of course a win is better than a loss.

But when someone asks if its a "must win" game, that means: is the season lost (or near lost) if we lose? The answer to that question is simple and obvious. No. We could lose both of the next two games and still easily make the playoffs. Losing to both these teams would mean we lost to two real good non-divisional opponents on the road. Its not accepting loss, its an honest assessment of where our team would be IF we should happen to lose these games.

Do I think we CAN win both games? yes. Will I be disappointed and upset if we don't? Of course. but that goes for every game we play. The question here is: If we lose both games, do we throw in the towl and quit? The answer is a resounding NO!

[bwparker]

I don't like the way people are looking past the Niners either. It's not that they're good, it's just that if we lost to them we'd be right back where we started in the eyes of most football fans. Remember we probably wouldn't have beaten them in last year's game without a INT returned for TD by Antonio Pierce. One game at a time is definately the way to look at it. It's just as scary to lose to bad teams as it is encouraging beating good to mediocre teams.
The "easy win" games are the "must win" games IMO. I'm not looking past the Niners. A win against them counts just as much as any other, we need to be ready for that. Winning all the hard games and losing all the easy ones gets you just as far out of the playoffs as the opposite. You MUST win all the "easy" games, because you AREN'T going to win enough of the hard ones to make up for stupid losses.

[ozomulsion]

Portis should be able to run all over the Chiefs. You guys should be able to win that one, no doubt. He will have a much tougher go this weekend.

[cnhnyy]

Yes, It is very important to win every game. If there is one thing we learn this season, that is any team can win on a given sunday. We should not be scared at Denver/Kc and must not overlook 49ers. I mean, we beat Dallass at Texas but barely held against bears at DC.
My prediction for sunday (us 21 Donkeys 20)

[redwolf1218]

yes it is important to win because even if you win in your conference and in your division it wont matter if you have a crappy losing record overall.

[Kope65]

In the NFL all games are important. Period.

[redwolf1218]

In the NFL all games are important. Period.
that's what i love about it. you dont play 180 games. you cant sit out 15 games because you feel sore, or you twisted your ankle. you start in the heat of august and end in the ice of january. nothing else like it.

[redskins_MA]

Think about it. Denver is one of our first real tests (a game against another legitimately good team on a hostile homefield). If we win that then we have shown we can beat a team that is not a definite or at least close to definite win. Now, the KC game is even more important because even though they are AFC, the Eagles were able to generate a comeback against them. If the eagles can beat a pretty good KC team then you better beleive we have to if we want to be a contender in our division. I think its basically a push about which game is more important. I am honestly assessing, right now, which matters more. If we beat Denver we have the coninuity so the doubts don't creep up on the team. But if we beat KC and lose to Denver it shows we can play right up there with the Eagles. To be honest, I would rather keep the continuity now that I have laid it out there. Our test against the eagles will come when it does. Not much we can do about that.

[IVSkinsFan]

Every game is important. I think its possible that both wild card teams could come out of the nfc east. To accecpt a lose as no big deal, is unaccecptable to me. Until we are locked into the playoffs, all games are as important as the next. Our schedule doesn't get any easier, we have to keep rolling.

[Sweepea436]

Think about it. Denver is one of our first real tests (a game against another legitimately good team on a hostile homefield). If we win that then we have shown we can beat a team that is not a definite or at least close to definite win. Now, the KC game is even more important because even though they are AFC, the Eagles were able to generate a comeback against them. If the eagles can beat a pretty good KC team then you better beleive we have to if we want to be a contender in our division. I think its basically a push about which game is more important. I am honestly assessing, right now, which matters more. If we beat Denver we have the coninuity so the doubts don't creep up on the team. But if we beat KC and lose to Denver it shows we can play right up there with the Eagles. To be honest, I would rather keep the continuity now that I have laid it out there. Our test against the eagles will come when it does. Not much we can do about that.

Agreed. And it would quiet alot of doubters. We (here on this site) pay alot more attention to non-division.conference teams. Alot of people I know don't pay attention outside their division let alone conference. We can talk til we're blue in the face about Chicago's D being pretty good and what not...but who wants to do that? Let's beat Denver, beat KC so we can show the world we can beat a team with a "recognized" good D and a "recognized" good O.....

[Patrick]

Don't understand that type of question/thinking ......... Why would you not consider every game as an important win. I could care a less if we were 15-0 and had home field advantage through out the play offs.
The last game IS still important to win too.

JMO

[camasterton]

There is this expectation of the Redskins having to apaologize for being undefeated. I just listened to Gary Myers of the NY Daily News pretty much say the Packers don't "deserve" to be 0-4 and the Redskins don't "deserve" to be 3-0. To annoy the experts and mock the pervasive attitude in the legacy media are ample reason's we need to keep this streak going.

[bwparker]

Don't understand that type of question/thinking ......... Why would you not consider every game as an important win. I could care a less if we were 15-0 and had home field advantage through out the play offs.
The last game IS still important to win too.

JMO
important and necessary are two COMPLETELY different things.

[openallnight]

There is this expectation of the Redskins having to apaologize for being undefeated. I just listened to Gary Myers of the NY Daily News pretty much say the Packers don't "deserve" to be 0-4 and the Redskins don't "deserve" to be 3-0. To annoy the experts and mock the pervasive attitude in the legacy media are ample reason's we need to keep this streak going.
LOL!

[Skinz4lyfe]

I think its important for us to win every game but to take it game by game. I'll be satisfied if we can give a maximum effort every game and just eliminate the silly mistakes that have plagued us for years. Everything else will fall into place because I feel if we're on our game, we can beat anybody.

[smoak]

Don't understand that type of question/thinking ......... Why would you not consider every game as an important win. I could care a less if we were 15-0 and had home field advantage through out the play offs.
The last game IS still important to win too.

JMO

Yeah, I can think of a couple 1 and 2 loss teams that got bit in the playoffs. Right now, Denver is the most important game on the schedule. By Tuesday of next week it'll be the Chiefs.

[CowboyKilla]

These two games coming up are a great test for the skins. Every single W counts so getting one of the next two would be Huge for our chances of making the playoffs.
We really have nothing to lose the next two weeks and we should play loose with great effort and we may be able to steal one.
The Denver game would be the one I would choose b/c the chiefs will be coming off their bye and two loses, which will make that one Extra tough.

[ShaggySkins]

Every game is a must win in the NFL. There is too much parity and we have too difficult of a schedule to think that a couple of games are not that important. We still have several playoff teams coming up on our schedule like San Diego, Philly (twice), and St. Louis (on the road). Added to us playing Dallas again which will be another dog fight and the Giants (twice) and Oakland who is dangerous. There are no games that aren't very important when you are trying to make the playoffs.

[Jeremybozz]

Denver has our 1st round pick this year.

[BandWagon]

I don't want to overstate the obvious..but it really does make a lot of sense.
You can only play the teams they put on your schedule
Win your home games
Have a winning record in the division
and steal a game or two from other divisional opponents


That's how you get in the playoffs and go 10-6 or better.

As of right now...we're doing great. Splitting KC or Denver helps with #4. Beating Dallas in Dallas helps #3. Beating the Bears helps #2. Now we've got to beat the 49ers and hopefully pluck one away from the Giants...if not no biggie. Beating Philly becomes the number one priority on Sunday night. I like how the season is setting up.

[BallhawkOM]

Denver has our 1st round pick this year.


Ironic that we will improve our draft position regardless of outcome :rolleyes:

[smoak]

Ironic that we will improve our draft position regardless of outcome :rolleyes:

Yeah, I know a lot of the Denver animosity towards Skins fans can be attributed to the recent trades and the fact that I'm sure you all wanted us to go 0-16. Hopefully the two picks are the 31st and 32nd. And hopefully you trade the 32nd pick back to us before the draft.

:D

[Fathead]

We want to win games now. I hate it when people downplay the first half of the season. The wins there mean just as much as wins later. Win all 8 of your first 8 games, go .500 the rest of the season and you're still a playoff team.


Do I freak if we lose this game? No. But we need it if we can get it.

[ObiWan1278]

Last year I believe we went 0-4 in the AFC if we had of split those games...Skins would have made the playoffs. We need to win even the AFC games.

[JakeIron]

These next two games really scare me, but it's not going to get any easier. We have a tough schedule this year. If we go 1-1 the next 2 weeks thats good but IMO 0-2 wouldn't be a disaster. We could still bounce back to 4-2 and work it from there. However every game is very important and I think whenever you win 10 games you make the postseason, doesn't really matter who you win. Lets get at least those 10 wins, thats only 7-6 from this point on !!!