A Deo Lumen

On the decisive drive and probably the most telling moment of this season thus far, the Redskins had a 30-23 lead with less than two minutes left in the game.  They had driven the length of the field after the Saints made it a one score game on the previous drive.  The Redskins could have taken some risks and tried to punch it into the endzone.  Instead, they were content inside the 5 yard line to set up a short field goal, and Suisham missed it.

They did not see the bigger risk of taking their foot off the gas–and taking their foot off the neck of the Saints.  And they paid for it.

They lacked the killer instinct.  The Saints did not.  The Saints, like the team of destiny they must believe they are becoming, executed like a champion when they had to.  They grabbed a win when the Skins opened the door a crack.  That is the mark of a champion, a team with a killer instinct.

As a result, the Redskins lost more than a momentum-building game heading into the offseason.  This could have been the kind of win to signal to Dan Snyder this team could play with anyone.  It may have suggested that only a few more pieces and some patience were needed to turn this group of players into a winner.

Now, they look like losers afflicted as with a disease for turning near success into massive failure.  This begs him to massively overhaul this team–and perhaps give Jason Campbell the boot, even though he played mostly a great game today.

The Redskins did not quit today, but they did not seize the day either.  Perhaps that is a form of quitting.  Out of respect for this team and its effort, I won’t conclude there, but I will say that the killer instinct is a level of discipline to which they have not yet attained.

And it is very much in question if they ever can do so without a football man at the helm–the kind of leader who demands discipline up and down the organization and has no interest in anything other than building a winning culture in Washington again.

So close, and yet so far.  With Snyder as young as he is, this sad saga could go on for a generation.

One answer is for me not to take football so seriously.  But that is hard to do when I think of the way sports is a window into all of life–for life is war.

It is especially hard when I watch guys I really respect, especially guys like Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn as the public faces of this franchise, take it on the chin week after week.

Maybe this is what each of those guys need to become (on the field at least) some nasty SOBs that would as soon rip your heart out as shake your hand.  Maybe that is the greatness they need, and maybe I have been wrong all year and they don’t really have that.

Eeesh.  I could drive myself crazy thinking about it all.  I can only imagine how hard this must be for the team and the coaches.

Of course.  But, might they have more than an “on any given Sunday” chance of winning?

I think they do.  Now, my record of predictions is way off here.  I still think the Skins players and coaches have some real special qualities–the qualities that could make this team great.  But, with all the data that has come in this season, it is clear that as Rich Gannon has said, there is a lack of discipline up and down the organization.

We all know where that starts.  I won’t belabor that.  And I am amazed at how well Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell have handled themselves as stand up guys in very difficult circumstances.

But on the field, where greatness must be proven out amid all on-field and off-field adversity, the data is clear: this team has fallen far short.  They have lacked the killer instinct needed to win the close games.  As a result, they are in the bottom of the NFL.

But is it possible that this team, which does not appear to have an ounce of quit in it, could muster the focus, determination, and execution to beat the undefeated Saints–a team that increasingly looks like the team of destiny this year?

Yes, the Skins could make their mark on this season by giving the Saints their only loss this year.  And that is what I am thinking may happen.

If Jason Campbell and the rest of the players on the field can get the kind of nasty that Gregg Williams took to New Orleans–instead of running things here–I think they can do it.

Now, the nasty on Williams’ side of the ledger is not to be overlooked.  He will have no small chip on his shoulder today.

An intriguing matchup, to be sure.  The Skins could easily get housed–and Williams could make this a massive statement against the Snyder regime in the face of the entire league.  Part of me is cheering for that–anything to get Snyder to see this franchise is a public trust, a diamond in the rough of this partisan loudmouthed city, and not a marketing organization.  This is a football team and it needs to be run by football people, not yes men.

But the Redskins team is not the Redskins organization.  And I got this team giving the Saints all they can handle–coming up short by a field goal or last minute drive.

And the disappointing reality of the good that could have been this season–and the bad that will continue year after year without a culture change from the top down–will be on display for the world to see.

Again.

Yes.

I have seen true greatness in the way Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn have responded being benched and stripped of play calling duties, respectively.  They have been open about their disappointment, but they have also been uncritical of those above them. Zorn especially has impressed me by saying he gave up being in the loop on Sherm Lewis’ sending in the plays to Jason Campbell because he wanted to “avoid the temptation” of changing the calls.

Accepting a demotion, being disappointed but supportive of the team, and still moving forward…that looks like humility to me, and that’s true greatness.

It has yet to translate into much success on the field, but I know in my own life that the outward success that may think to be so hard to realize really is not that hard, compared to winning the war within.

I am not sure the Redskins will win many games on the field of battle this season, but if these small breakthroughs of humility by the head coach and starting QB are for real, there is reason to think there may be some good things ahead…especially for an historically streaky team that seems to always play to the level of their competition.  Considering how much better the coming teams on their schedule are compared to the last four games, maybe we’ll  be pleasantly surprised tonight.

And secretly in the middle of all that has happened this week, one very important breakthrough occurred: Jason Campbell will undoubtedly be relied upon to make more play calling decisions.  I can’t see Sherm Lewis being as determined to call the plays his own way as Zorn was.

I am such a homer, I know, but I still have hope for this team, as crazy as that sounds.

Regardless of how bad they have played, I am still loving this Skins team regardless.  Some good sign about the team’s unity rallying around Zorn from the Redskins Insider blog, even though The Strain is Showing in Ashburn:

In the wake of the revelation that some prominent Redskins would appreciate a show of support from management for their coach, Jim Zorn said he didn’t need such an endorsement to carry forth with his job.”I would love to pull out the belt,” said Portis, who is 10th in the league in rushing.

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After cornerback Carlos Rogers spoke out the other day, saying management was part of the problem, at least one team leader congratulated him for his candid assessment. Rogers definitely is not alone in being fed up with how the team operates.
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[S]aid Portis, who is 10th in the league in rushing…”I would love to have a game where I could pull out the belt. But around here that’s the furthest idea from my mind. Finding a way to win first is really the concern.”

Not. Dead. Yet.

But they MUST do their talking and shows of support with W’s on the field of battle.