As a Skin fan, you have to feel good about the 4-1 record but you have to feel even better that we did it against the type of competition we have faced.
Every team we have played has an offense ranked in the top 10.
4 of the 5 teams we have played have defenses ranked 14 or better (2 or in the top 6).
Washington has the 6th ranked offense and the 13th ranked defense.
JC is the 8th ranked QB in the league and has a 96.7 QB rating.
CP is the second leading rusher in the league.
Despite not catching a ball yesterday, Moss is one of the top 10 WRs in the league.
Again, you have to look at the competition to really appreciate that 4-1 record. The NFC East continues to be the best division in football. The combined records of the various divisions are as follows:
NFC East: 14-5
NFC North: 6-12
NFC South: 12-7
NFC West: 6-12
AFC East: 11-6
AFC North: 7-11
AFC South: 9-9
AFC West: 8-11
Again, out of the 5 losses of those East teams only one game was lost to a team outside of their division (Chicago over Philly).
A week after gashing the Cowboys for 144 rushing yards, the Redskins picked up 203 against the Eagles. Philadelphia came into the game giving up 53.8 yards per game, but Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts combined for 70 in the first half alone. Portis finished with 29 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown.
What game was McNabb watching? In training camp, I listened to McNabb review last season's 8-8 record and talk about the NFC East games the Eagles should've won. He boldly stated that the Eagles were the best team in the NFC. But at some point, even McNabb's bravado can't cover up the fact that the Eagles are a mediocre team right now. And after observing Sunday's loss, maybe I'm being generous.
McNabb's comments after the game rang hollow to me, and I'm pretty sure they'll have the same effect on Eagles fans. "I was embarrassed these last two weeks," he said. "I mean [to lose] to two teams we shouldn't have lost to. There is no way that you can look at this game and say that, and not taking anything away from them, but there is no way that this team is better than us."
With that statement, the only person embarrassing himself is McNabb. The Eagles lost to a superior football team Sunday. This wasn't some nip-and-tuck game where the last team with the ball won. This was the Redskins scoring 23 unanswered points and running down the Eagles' throats.
The Redskins have to be considered the one of the hottest teams (if not THE hottest team) in football. Tennessee might have a case given they are undefeated. However, you also have to look at the difference in competition. The teams the Redskins have played have a combined record of 15-8. The Titans opponents have a combined record of 5-17.
I'm sure there are doubters and haters out there but again, as a Skins fan you have to feel real good with where they are right now.
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!!
2 comments:
We are clearly beating quality opponents. It looks like the Saints are the worst team of the four we've beaten so far, but with that offense, they're no pushovers. The Cardinals ripped apart the previously unbeaten Bills. The Cowboys and Eagles are better than 90% of the league. There's no doubt that we belong in the discussion among the best teams. Unfortunately, the best team may be the one we lost to. On the plus side, we held the Giant to 16 points and lost by only 9 when our offense was clearly not ready to perform. We're a different team 4 weeks later and I know we'll make the Giants struggle when we play them next time.
McNabb was just being a bitter loser. He clearly believes his team is better than 2-3, but the fact remains they are pretty average when Westbrook isn't on his A-game. I don't think the Eagles are a bad team. They have a strong defense and a good QB, but their receivers are average at best and you can't win consistently when you rely so much on one guy (Westbrook).
After 5 weeks, teams should be in better form and you can tell the contenders from the pretenders. We have had stiff competition and we have played well. We haven't won by luck or a fluke play. We have dominated and we have been consistent. Certainly we have to be mentioned (at this point) as one of the stronger teams in the league. This comes as a surprise as I would have never expected for things to have gelled so quickly.
McNabb is an idiot. He needs to look closer at his own team. We dominated them. He can feel that they have one of the best teams in the NFL but right now they are 2-3. That is a fact. Philly does have a strong defense but they blitz a lot and if you can figure that out, you can beat that defense. Westbrook now has broken ribs and who knows when he will be completely healthy. That is a big blow for that team. Frankly, I don't care much what Philly does. I am focused on the Skins and am happy with the way the team is progressing. For the first time in years, I feel like we are building something and headed in a positive direction. It's not just patchwork or this or that. It appears the team has really taken to Zorn and he has communicated and connected well with the players. Despite what many people said about JC and him not being a good fit for Zorn and Zorn not liking JC, the two of them seem to be forming a pretty good bond and seem to be gaining trust with each other.
Hopefully we can keep this going and not have a let down against the teams we face in the next 3 weeks. They are weaker opponents but frankly each and every game is tough and presents their own challenges so we can't take those teams lightly. We'll see what happens but right now I am very excited about this team.
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