First, a small piece of trivia. Is there anyone out that remembers in 1987, the second of three successful Super Bowl runs, that WVEC-TV had as its Redskins reporter none other than M. Matthew Gooding? It's true. We were down on sports guys at the time--Scott Cash was the only one we had. He couldn't work seven days a week. And, being a Philadelphia Eagles fan, he didn't mind bestowing the Redskins job on me. He didn't have to ask me twice.
Anyway, about the current day--I'm not sure I know what's going on with the Redskins' four million dollars worth of assistant head coaches. I'm referring to Al Saunders and Gregg Williams. It seems that Joe Gibbs has relinquished all important decision-making to these two. And I'm not sure that's wise.
Let's talk about Saunders, shall we? In the Green Bay game, the mighty 'Skins were winning by four, and had just gotten a massive 50 yard kickoff return. The Redskins were semi-deep in Green Bay territory and what does Saunders do? In the pouring rain, on the road, he calls a trick play, tasking the injured and ineffective Santana Moss to take a reverse handoff deep in the backfield on a wet surface. Of course he fumbled. Of course the Packers got a 56 yard touchdown return. Of course the Redskins lost.
Now, about Gregg Williams. Let's take a look at the game against the sorry, no-account Cardinals. The 'Skins were facing the virtually crippled Kurt Warner. Yet, in 73 defensive downs, the Redskins blitzed a grand total of three times. If you'll recall, in the fourth quarter, the Redskins never laid a hand on Warner, and it's only because the Cards' kicker shanked a 55 yard field goal with two seconds left that the Redskins hung on, and are now 4-2. A miracle, to say the least.
So now, they must play the undefeated Patriots. In New England! Last I heard the Redskins were a 14 point underdog. All that said, I predict that somehow, the Redskins will win. I must. That's what a true fan does. Even when it makes positively no sense. And neither do the assistant head coaches.