The Audacity of Hope: are the Redskins on the warpath again?
Indulge me as I take you back to 1983. As a fresh faced ten year old, I was getting ready for a (association!) football practice when the teacher taking us put on a t-shirt.
The t-shirt was a burgundy colour and seemed to have a Native American on it. A series of questions followed suit and that was it, I was transfixed, my team decided by chance. The 1980’s were a great time to be a ‘Skins fan. Players such as Joe Thiesmann and John Riggins graced the shirt delivering Super Bowl appearances and a couple of victories to boot. The Redskins were under the guidance of Joe Gibbs and were a great team.
Fast forward to 2011 and compare….4 wild card playoff defeats since defeating the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. It has been a lean time for Redskins fans. A move from RFK stadium to FedEx Field (Jack Kent Cooke Stadium to those opposed to anything owner Daniel Snyder does) hasn’t brought any reward. 2011 ended with another disappointing season and a terrible 5-11 record.
2012 could be the start of something very different for the Washington Redskins. Having the number 2 pick, Robert Griffin III was selected: athletic, mobile, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback. A creative and inspirational quarterback has been missing for a long time now and in ‘RG3’, the Redskins may just have one. His college career showed that he can do everything that a great QB can do. Now, he has to apply it at the highest level and become the player he can be. Although his rookie season in the NFL will be difficult and, whilst expectation is high, RG3 needs to improve week on week. Cam Newton showed last year that the bar can be set fairly high but it will take time to get the team to gel.
The rest of the offensive line will need to fully contribute to the success of the team. The passing game will need wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Santana Moss to get into positions for RG3 to hit them. Tight Ends Davis and Cooley will also have to make themselves available as outlets. Tim Hightower, returning from injury, and Ron Helu will have to rack up some decent yardage to keep the drives going. However, I feel the real key to RG3’s success will be the blocking he gets at the line of scrimmage.
RG3 has already passed the first test when his brief appearance against the Buffalo Bills. His third drive resulted in a 20 yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon for the game winning touchdown in the 1st quarter. It augurs well for the future as RG3 showed the critical success factors for his, and the Redskins, development. Coach Shanahan and his backroom staff still have much work to do but, in RG3, he’s finally got a QB to build a team around.
I don’t expect the Redskins to end up in New Orleans on February 3rd 2013. I do expect the Redskins to be competitive, improve decision making in games, and maybe upset some teams. They did this twice last year against eventual champions, New York Giants, so a more competitive NFC East is a minimum this year. Is a playoff place a reasonable target? I think so as it’s too easy to write the season off as RG3’s rookie season. It’s time for the NFL to be aware, the Redskins are on the way back and they’re looking for scalps….
