Why I Refuse to Get Worked Up...

[firehawk157]

over this loss... And this isn't one of those, we needed this loss IMO, posts. That's just retarded. We don't need ANY loss.

1) The Steelers are a good team… I don’t think you can definitively say they are better than Washington or they’d win if we played at a different date/time. Still, there’s no shame in losing a tough physical match-up. There’s a lot of chances for us to win the game and luck was with the Steelers Monday. We’ve proven we can beat good teams, but nobody wins every game against tough opponents.
2) It was an AFC-NFC match-up… Thus, it does not affect tie-breakers. Unless you think the Giants are a 15-1 or 14-2 team, we still can get the division title. You can’t expect Washington to win every single game and we’re still on pace for a solid 11-5 season or somewhere about there, which should be enough for at least a wildcard.
3) The schedule gets easier… We won on the road in the division and if we can go 6-2 in the first half of the season, which was widely considered one of the most difficult stretches for a team in recent memory, we can definitely keep this train rolling and surge into the playoffs. Now we get our division foes coming to our house, when we won in theirs and the offense will be getting better as the players get more and more comfortable with the system.
4) We were EXTREMELY tired… You can’t play football almost every day for 4 months straight and not be tired. The Steelers were rested, having taken their bye week not too long ago and you could see it in the Redskins’ eyes, they were just simply exhausted. We may have been able to pull one out against a lesser opponent, but not against a premiere team. Zorn did the extremely smart thing and tell them to get lost for their week off and they deserve it. They’ll come back and those nagging injuries that slowed players down a step will be gone and we’ll hit the rest of the season at full stride.

[Hrabanmaur]

I'm not going to get worked up because I have faith in Jim Zorn to make the adjustments necessary to move on. He's proven throughout the first half of the season that he is willing and able to learn from his mistakes. Heck, he's downright eager to figure out what's not working and correct it. I love his methodical approach, and although he occasionally makes decisions I don't agree with, on the whole he has earned my respect and admiration. An extra week of analysis is all this guy needs to exploit the second half of the season.

[Redskinmayhem]

I'm not going to get worked up because I have faith in Jim Zorn to make the adjustments necessary to move on. He's proven throughout the first half of the season that he is willing and able to learn from his mistakes. Heck, he's downright eager to figure out what's not working and correct it. I love his methodical approach, and although he occasionally makes decisions I don't agree with, on the whole he has earned my respect and admiration. An extra week of analysis is all this guy needs to exploit the second half of the season.

very well said.

[smoak]

I love Zorn so far, and I have faith that we'll turn it around so I completely agree with the premise of the thread...

Can you smell a butt coming?

This was NOT the first game where the problems showed themselves, and the Redskins haven't played a great game since beating Pilthy on the road down 14. So I am putting all my faith chips into the pot for the next game... If we don't get the ship righted going into a HOME game against a hated rival after a bye... I could see us missing the playoffs.

[Hrabanmaur]

I love Zorn so far, and I have faith that we'll turn it around so I completely agree with the premise of the thread...

Can you smell a butt coming?

This was NOT the first game where the problems showed themselves, and the Redskins haven't played a great game since beating Pilthy on the road down 14. So I am putting all my faith chips into the pot for the next game... If we don't get the ship righted going into a HOME game against a hated rival after a bye... I could see us missing the playoffs.

I don't mind you offering a "but." Just keep your smelly "butt" to yourself. :moon2:

Yes, the Redskins have problems, and in fact, you could go back and look over the last several seasons and see that similar mid-season slump with our team. I don't know what that psychological slump is all about. The difference this year is that we didn't drop 4-5 games, only 2 (and one was against a legitimate contender). BUT, you're right. If we come out floundering against the Cowboys, who are on desperation row, we'll need a major turnaround to push for the playoffs.

[RedskinsDave]

My concern is they haven't played a good game since Philly. They can't claim to be tired the whole time.

[firehawk157]

I don't mind you offering a "but." Just keep your smelly "butt" to yourself. :moon2:

Yes, the Redskins have problems, and in fact, you could go back and look over the last several seasons and see that similar mid-season slump with our team. I don't know what that psychological slump is all about. The difference this year is that we didn't drop 4-5 games, only 2 (and one was against a legitimate contender). BUT, you're right. If we come out floundering against the Cowboys, who are on desperation row, we'll need a major turnaround to push for the playoffs.
That's the thing, I can't think of a single team in history (other than the 72 Dolphins) that didn't experience a slump of some type. The difference between top tier teams and the rest of the pack is during the slump, top tier teams find ways to win most of their games. We have won most of our games despite not playing to our potential.

[cal_junior]

My concern is health of Nos. 60 and 89. If those two are hobbled the rest of the way it could be a very rough final 7 games.

And this Dallas game is HUGE. I like going to Seattle with a realistic shot at being 8-3 when the Giants come to town. If the Skins beat Dallas everything is still alive.

The thought of going to Baltimore at 7-5 makes me ill.

[firehawk157]

89, I think, will be fine. Hammies are something that don't require much attention to go away. 60 is very concerning though. Hopefully a week of rest will allow him to make it through the season.

[csquared]

89, I think, will be fine. Hammies are something that don't require much attention to go away. 60 is very concerning though. Hopefully a week of rest will allow him to make it through the season.

Hammies are a big issue. Especially with a WR like Moss. They are very troublesome and can hang around for a long time.

[cal_junior]

Hammies are a big issue. Especially with a WR like Moss. They are very troublesome and can hang around for a long time.

That was my thinking. Either Moss needs to get healthy in the next two weeks or Devin Thomas needs to grow up in a hurry. The Skins have to have that deep threat to open things up for Portis.

[BigCountry]

Firehawk you're right on all accounts, but during the bye week they need to see if the team from weeks 4 and 5 is hiding in the building somewhere cause i sure do miss them. We haven't seen them for a month and a half.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

I refuse to get worked up unless we get mathematically eliminated from post season contention. All I know is that this bye week is most certainly coming at a great, great time.

[Meatsnack]

I agree with you, Firehawk. If anything I would much rather have the Rams game back, an NFC matchup, rather than worry too much about the Steelers loss. As nauseating as it was to see us get physically beat, its one game and one loss and if we get the ship righted, no harm done other than a non--conference "L" in the record book.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

I agree with you, Firehawk. If anything I would much rather have the Rams game back, an NFC matchup, rather than worry too much about the Steelers loss. As nauseating as it was to see us get physically beat, its one game and one loss and if we get the ship righted, no harm done other than a non--conference "L" in the record book.
Yeah, thats what I was thinking. That Rams loss seems a whole lot bigger now.....

[SkinsfaninNJ]

I refuse to get worked up unless they lose to Dallas. Then I will look back at this game as when the season started to derail. While we still could make a December run, it probably would not be enough if the November slump is that bad.

[CarMike]

My biggest concern is #76. How the mighty have fallen. I can't believe how horrible he looks in pass protection.

[cal_junior]

My biggest concern is #76. How the mighty have fallen. I can't believe how horrible he looks in pass protection.

He's been like that all season, no? Isn't that why he was benched for Heyer?

[Patrick]

I'm not going to get too worked up about Sunday BUT their performance is not going away either. There are concerns and I really doubtful that 13 days off are going to solve ALL of them.
The best I can hope for is that JZ makes some good adjustments and gets rid of all the stuff that has not been working.
The Dallas game now becomes HUGE and will be the difference between very sucessful and a somewhat acceptable season. Of course that is just my nickels worth.

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

I'm not going to get too worked up about Sunday BUT their performance is not going away either. There are concerns and I really doubtful that 13 days off are going to solve ALL of them.
The best I can hope for is that JZ makes some good adjustments and gets rid of all the stuff that has not been working.
The Dallas game now becomes HUGE and will be the difference between very sucessful and a somewhat acceptable season. Of course that is just my nickels worth.
I think your opinion is worth more than a nickel, Patrick. I'd at least a solid dimes worth, ;). Lol....

That performance, along with the other 2 losses will not and cannot be dismissed, simply for learning purposes. Two of our 3 losses were very similar, the defense bailing out the offense that was clearly outperformed by the opposing teams defense. And a couple of guys need a gut check. I totally agree about the Dallass game--I didn't think that game could get any bigger than what I had thought a few weeks ago. We win and set ourselves up nicely for the stretch run and also bury Dallass at the same time. Lose, and we're scrambling around searching for answers while giving Dallass more hope. We can't have that.

[CarMike]

He's been like that all season, no? Isn't that why he was benched for Heyer?

You think?

[Hrabanmaur]

You think?

I think the Jansen is alright if we run more than we pass b/c he can grind on those ends (or OLBs in the 3-4) in the run game and eliminate some of their "suddenness." If we have to play from behind or pass too much, he's a liability. Was the Steelers game different? Yes and no. Jansen was the same; we just couldn't play to his strengths and suffered the consequences.

[The Skinsinator]

My concern is they haven't played a good game since Philly. They can't claim to be tired the whole time.This is my concern also. We have played average since beating Philly. I think everyone will be a little worked up over the loss until we pound Dallas hopefully. The Dallas game will be very telling for the rest of the season. Please get healthy Springs and Taylor. Our defense could be dominant if those two stay completely healthy and play up to their high level.

[smoak]

I don't mind you offering a "but." Just keep your smelly "butt" to yourself. :moon2:

Yes, the Redskins have problems, and in fact, you could go back and look over the last several seasons and see that similar mid-season slump with our team. I don't know what that psychological slump is all about. The difference this year is that we didn't drop 4-5 games, only 2 (and one was against a legitimate contender). BUT, you're right. If we come out floundering against the Cowboys, who are on desperation row, we'll need a major turnaround to push for the playoffs.

:D Just being an idiot....

Agree that we're in much better position this year in that we won the games like Detroit, Cleveland, and even dallass that we should have lost. I think that lost in the euphoria of beating dallass and handing them their first loss, was the fact that we made a lot of mistakes and left points on the field. Its these reoccuring mistakes that trouble. Is any football team perfect? No, but our red zone offense is attrocious. Get that buttoned-up and beat dallass at home and we can talk about making a run on the division. Lose and we are playing for our playoff lives as usual...

IMO of course.

[smoak]

I think the Jansen is alright if we run more than we pass b/c he can grind on those ends (or OLBs in the 3-4) in the run game and eliminate some of their "suddenness." If we have to play from behind or pass too much, he's a liability. Was the Steelers game different? Yes and no. Jansen was the same; we just couldn't play to his strengths and suffered the consequences.

Amen. Jansen is still better than a lot of the RTs out there, but even Samuels (albeit on a bum knee) struggled to the point where after one play I looked b/c I assumed Heyer was in at LT. The key is and always has been that the Redskins need to run the football and wear on teams. It touches on another reason that I am not going to get all "worked up"... I think the Stillers are one of the teams best suited to beat the Redskins. They way they bring pressure, if we were not leading, I expected the game to snowball. that is why I was ticked that we settled for two FGs and missed a pick 6. Those are the things that have been happening for years (not just to #22) that will cost us in close games. The Redskins simply are NOT going to blow teams out so EVERY play of every possession is magnified.

[NCskinsfanatic]

My concern is they haven't played a good game since Philly. They can't claim to be tired the whole time.

Exactly... like I said in another thread, 6-3 or not, imo we have only proved, that we are an average team that barely beats below average teams and struggles against the good ones. I was catching a lot of flack for being critical of them in the game threads but there's no way we should have lost to the Rams at home(after containing Jackson), barely beating a browns team whose QB couldnt hit anything and then struggling against the Orlovsky led Lions. And what happens next? We get completely dominated by the steelers at our house(yet again).

Infact I'm not convinced that we can handily take care of the Seahawks, Bungles and 49ers...much less defend our home turf against the division. Right now I think we've been more lucky than good...and luck tends to run out. I love this team and think we have some things to definately celebrate and build on. However unless we develop a more stable passing game and find a way to not play down to inferior opponents then imo we'll be sitting home during the playoffs.

[Battle Cat]

I am not getting worked up because it is brutal to not have a bye week until week 10. We were really really banged up. Moss, Portis, Samuels, Griffen, Smoot, J. Taylor and always S. Springs need a week off.

[ARParr]

yeah, i'm disappointed by the loss to Pitt. mostly because of our complete lack of production on offense. puts too much of a burden on the D, and sets them up for failing in the game sooner or later. we've got to be able to score more points and score more consistently. offense is not highly-powered enough yet, though we're growing.

the current situation makes that atrocious loss to the Rams that much more sickening. it just shouldn't have happened, and makes all the games in the future that much more important and potentially stressful.

for the most part, i'm okay with 6-3 right now. what i'm not okay with is the fact that in the losses, for the most part, we didn't get beat, we just didn't perform to the best of our abilities. failing to perform is much more difficult to accept than just getting destroyed by a team which is clearly superior.

i'm just trying to keep things in perspective by remembering that we're in our first year under a BRAND NEW head coach, and we're NOT 3-6 having an excruciating rebuilding year. i'm trying to look at the positives, while still hoping for increased performance as the season progresses.

hail.

[SkinsfaninNJ]

Exactly... like I said in another thread, 6-3 or not, imo we have only proved, that we are an average team that barely beats below average teams and struggles against the good ones. I was catching a lot of flack for being critical of them in the game threads but there's no way we should have lost to the Rams at home(after containing Jackson), barely beating a browns team whose QB couldnt hit anything and then struggling against the Orlovsky led Lions. And what happens next? We get completely dominated by the steelers at our house(yet again).

Infact I'm not convinced that we can handily take care of the Seahawks, Bungles and 49ers...much less defend our home turf against the division. Right now I think we've been more lucky than good...and luck tends to run out. I love this team and think we have some things to definately celebrate and build on. However unless we develop a more stable passing game and find a way to not play down to inferior opponents then imo we'll be sitting home during the playoffs.

I agree with your premise, but wins are wins, so if "luck" carries us to 12-4 or 11-5 who cares?

We should have never lost to the Rams. We dominated them every which way but on the scoreboard. The sad part is if any of the three turnovers don't happen, we probably win by double digits. But I don't call it luck since in addition to beating the Browns and Lions, we statistically beat them, especially the Lions who we destroyed statistically.

Having said that, they definitely have to get their stuff together by next Sunday because they can't be a healthy Cowboys team playing the way they did against the Steelers or Browns. Rams and Lions not so much since it was a few mental errors that cost them, but not overall play.

[smoak]

I am not getting worked up because it is brutal to not have a bye week until week 10. We were really really banged up. Moss, Portis, Samuels, Griffen, Smoot, J. Taylor and always S. Springs need a week off.

we could have a bye every week in the first 10 and springs would still be out.

[NCskinsfanatic]

we could have a bye every week in the first 10 and springs would still be out.

amen...

[skinsfan36]

ill only get worked up if we lose to the cowpukes we need 5 more wins to get in and dallas and philly/nyg have to be two of them. 11-5 or you are stuck at home watching the playoffs this year with tb,atl,phi all buying for spots

[coffdogg]

over this loss... And this isn't one of those, we needed this loss IMO, posts. That's just retarded. We don't need ANY loss.

1) The Steelers are a good team… I don’t think you can definitively say they are better than Washington or they’d win if we played at a different date/time. Still, there’s no shame in losing a tough physical match-up. There’s a lot of chances for us to win the game and luck was with the Steelers Monday. We’ve proven we can beat good teams, but nobody wins every game against tough opponents.
2) It was an AFC-NFC match-up… Thus, it does not affect tie-breakers. Unless you think the Giants are a 15-1 or 14-2 team, we still can get the division title. You can’t expect Washington to win every single game and we’re still on pace for a solid 11-5 season or somewhere about there, which should be enough for at least a wildcard.
3) The schedule gets easier… We won on the road in the division and if we can go 6-2 in the first half of the season, which was widely considered one of the most difficult stretches for a team in recent memory, we can definitely keep this train rolling and surge into the playoffs. Now we get our division foes coming to our house, when we won in theirs and the offense will be getting better as the players get more and more comfortable with the system.
4) We were EXTREMELY tired… You can’t play football almost every day for 4 months straight and not be tired. The Steelers were rested, having taken their bye week not too long ago and you could see it in the Redskins’ eyes, they were just simply exhausted. We may have been able to pull one out against a lesser opponent, but not against a premiere team. Zorn did the extremely smart thing and tell them to get lost for their week off and they deserve it. They’ll come back and those nagging injuries that slowed players down a step will be gone and we’ll hit the rest of the season at full stride.I agree with all you sai. However if we lose the the Girls when we return from a bye then I think we are in trouble.

[coffdogg]

I'm not going to get worked up because I have faith in Jim Zorn to make the adjustments necessary to move on. He's proven throughout the first half of the season that he is willing and able to learn from his mistakes. Heck, he's downright eager to figure out what's not working and correct it. I love his methodical approach, and although he occasionally makes decisions I don't agree with, on the whole he has earned my respect and admiration. An extra week of analysis is all this guy needs to exploit the second half of the season.Agreed but I am still keeping my fingers crossed

[coffdogg]

Hammies are a big issue. Especially with a WR like Moss. They are very troublesome and can hang around for a long time.As we have seen with him and ARE

[PikesPeakSkins]

Zorn is in control and this one loss will just be a learning tool. 6-3 and in good position....

[skinsfan36]

we should be the favorite in almost every game the rest of the way,lets play like it. we have to win 5 more games to get a wild card in my opinion.
we have to beat dallas and split with the other 2 nfc beast opponents.
atl,tb,phi,maybe a team from the north are right on us we need to keep winning.
although i do see atlanta fading at with their remaining schedule.new orleans could get hot but a head to head victory is huge over them