I started to write this immediately following the game on Sunday, but I was too emotional, so I decided to wait until Monday to allow my feeling to moderate a bit.  It didn’t work . . . I have NEVER been angrier about a game than I was after Sunday’s loss to the Eagles!  We had that game WON!  We should be 6-3 right now and enjoying Cowboys week!   We have one of the best pass-catching Tight Ends in football, and a young Quarterback who has shown he is capable of running a Pro-Style Offense.  We had the lead, and 1^st and goal TWICE in the 4^th quarter.  But instead of going for the throat, Coach Gibbs decided to “Play it Safe,” climb back into his time machine, and “pound it in.”  I hate to break this to you, Coach, but it ain’t 1990.  We are paying Al Saunders, one of the most exciting Offensive Minds in football, $2,500,000 a year to sit in the booth and play solitaire on Sundays.  He must be doing that because he sure isn’t being allowed to call plays that he wants to call when the chips are down.  I will allow myself the one rein-in moment of this rant here . . . I love Coach Gibbs for what he has done for the Team I love over the years.  But what he is doing now --  the attitude he is instilling in the players, the approach we are taking on gamedays -- has created a team that seems to have NO HEART in critical situations.  Everyone -- the press and fans included -- is reluctant to speak the obvious truth because of the respect we have for Coach Gibbs and his past record.  But the truth is also that if he were anyone else in that position, we would ALL be screaming for his head.

We have the talent to be one of the elite teams in the league, and we are only going to get better as Jason Campbell continues to progress.  However, injuries are taking their toll on both sides of the ball, and the injury to Sean Taylor has the potential to leave our secondary perilously exposed going into the Cowboys game.  Moss needs to man up and take a shot for his “bruised heel.”  Betts needs to hold on to the damned ball when he gets a chance to play.  We will need everybody to play with more fire than they have previously if they are to beat the Cowboys on Sunday at Texas Stadium.  We need to bring Laron Landry early and put a few hits on Tony Romo because if we sit back, he will pick us apart.  A nice couple of early hard hits on Terrell Owens wouldn’t hurt my feelings either.

The task looks daunting, but it looked very daunting in 1995 also.  Coming into town with Heath Shuler at the helm didn’t fill any of us with a whole lot of confidence.  The picture I have on my wall of the Texas Stadium Scoreboard at the end of the day is one of my most treasured possessions.

Redskins 24 – Cowboys 17

Strange things happen in this series . . . Believe it!