Reality Check

Stop. Time to take a deep breath and make sure that what we are seeing is true. Is it true that ESPN now has them #3 on their power rankings? Not that this would ensure anything but the fact that they are being talked about with the likes of Dallas, the Giants and Tennessee is a good sign, right? Does this mean that they will win the Super Bowl this year as so many people who call into talk radio and proclaim them as the next team to rise to the top or will they burst our collective bubble and let us down once again. Time will tell but it's great to be in this position right now.

This weeks game against the Rams seems to be a perfect chance to see what this team is made of. It's one thing to get up to play against 2 straight Divisional rivals on the road but it's another to get up for the worst team in football. While we look at the schedule can we help but think that going into the Pittsburgh Monday night game that we will be 7-1? I think that they will need to because NY and Dallas both have the same easy schedules as the Redskins so they will have to keep pace but did anyone think we would be here after the first game of the year? I know I wasn't ready then, nor am I ready now to declare anything about them. They are a much better team than last year because now teams have to respect both our passing and running games and our defense is playing very well but there are still many games left and the good teams are the ones that beat the bad teams so that will be the true test for this group of Redskins. If they go out and blast the Rams and put the game out of reach in the first half then you can count me in on the bandwagon this year (not that I'm not already there - almost) of those who think the team will go far into the playoffs.

Maybe it's the fact that we have seen this before or that we are becoming a fan base that is used to failure but I want to see more to feel better about the team. I do feel that the new coach has instilled a new confidence in these players that hasn't been seen around here for over 15 years. The last time that a Redskins team got on the field and we could feel confident about them playing well and being in the game to the end was back in 1991 when they just demolished everybody that was put in front of them. This year they aren't blasting teams but they are always "medium" as Zorn likes to call it, never too high, never too low, this is why the game against the Rams will test whether they can maintain this attitude facing a poor team, but one that still has a few playmakers that can make them look bad and might even beat them. If the team goes out as it has in the past 4 weeks than this game should be over quickly, if not, hold onto your hats because it will get bumpy and nerve-racking.

Clinton Portis said that he felt that the toughest part of their season was over and that he found it interesting that the NFL put the Redskins on the road for the first 3 games in their division to "get the Redskins out of the picture" so that the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles could battle it out for the division as that is what the ratings are asking for, not one to adhere to conspiracy theories but this one might actually be true. Why else would they start 3 of their first 5 games against their division rivals on the road? When was the last time anyone did that? I can't remember but it ended up being in their favor.

Now the Redskins have to prove that they are a good team, by beating the Rams, Browns, and Lions they would show that they can focus on beating the good teams and the ones that they are supposed to beat. If they drop 2 out of 3 it would not be because they aren't better than those teams but because they lacked the concentration necessary to go into every game and show that they deserve to be praised and spoken about amongst the better teams in the league. 

Full speed ahead for me, I'm ready to be in the tank for this team as they have finally brought back the sense that we have a team to be respected and one that will make the rest of the league take notice. It starts Sunday against the Rams, time for a reality check.