Talking Stuff

I can’t believe I punished myself by watching the entire Redskins/Falcons game yesterday.  My Skins were defeated 31-17.  Why do I put myself through this misery

Redskins go down fighting
Second-half rally isn’t enough to overcome first half marred by poor play, scuffle

By Jason Reid
Monday, November 9, 2009

ATLANTA — Of all the unsettling developments in another disappointing season for the Washington Redskins, this could be the most troubling: They have eight games remaining.

That’s a sobering reality for a team that failed again despite its most spirited second-half performance of the season in a 31-17 loss Sunday afternoon to the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Although the Redskins finally pushed back and made things interesting after being overwhelmed in the first two quarters in front of 67,982, the offensive line’s major deficiencies in pass protection and the defense’s alarming recent habit of giving up big-play touchdowns proved too much to overcome against an NFC opponent fighting to remain in playoff contention.

Washington (2-6) again fell short despite the determined performance of injured quarterback Jason Campbell, who twice returned to the lineup after leaving the game because of chest and ankle injuries after being battered behind the team’s ineffective line. In the running game, Ladell Betts displayed a burst rarely seen in the team’s past 16 games after replacing top running back Clinton Portis, who suffered a concussion in the first quarter and did not return.

Overall, though, Redskins players said they again too often executed poorly, were too undisciplined and unable to put everything together. Trailing by two touchdowns in the final six minutes, Washington twice turned over the ball on downs. Running back Michael Turner punished the Redskins’ defense, rushing for 166 yards with a 9.2-yard average. He scored on runs of 30 and 58 yards to help Atlanta (5-3) end a two-game losing streak.

For the Redskins, the loss renewed questions about every aspect of the football operation, extended their losing streak to four games and kept them in last place in the NFC East. And with half their schedule still to play, the Redskins could face two months of frustration and embarrassment unless they quickly find answers to confounding problems that seem to increase daily.

Speaking of the Washington Redskins, the Sports Bog section of the Washington Post today had me laughing. Since FedEx Field has pretty much taken freedom of speech away from fans by banning signs, Skins fans were in full force in Atlanta yesterday with plenty of signs expressing their displeasure at Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

Burgundy Revolution travels to Atlanta
By Dan Steinberg

I was still a few blocks away from the Georgia Dome Sunday afternoon, when I ran into a middle-aged husband and wife from a very wealthy part of Fairfax County who had traveled to Atlanta to see their Redskins. Wendy, the wife, had designed a pair of custom T-shirts for the occasion. On the front, the shirts said “Redskins.” On the back? “Love the team, hate the owner.”

“He’s breaking our hearts,” said Wendy, who said she was scared to give me her last name for fear of reprisals from the club. “We’re afraid to wear them to the stadium; we’ll get thrown out.”

A couple minutes later, I saw two friends from the D.C. area who carried a pair of paper bags. “Danny won’t let us protest at FedEx so we came to the Georgia Dome,” one of the bags read.

“Papers will be served next week,” cracked a nearby Falcons fan.

Not long after I entered the stadium, I ran into Antonio Fierro, a 23-year old Redskins fan from Miami. He was sitting in the front row, right behind one end zone, holding up a massive homemade banner that would later make the Fox broadcast. He bought the tickets on eBay, expressly so he could get a sign on television.

“CONFISCATE THIS DAN!” the sign taunted. “FIRE VINNY.”