Sean's Gone

There was no good way to say it when it happened.

There is no good way to say it now.

But this is how Sean Taylor's death struck me then,  

so I will continue to make this silent tribute

for as long as the feelings remain.

  

(Reprinted from November 28, 2007)

It’s not a long drive to my son’s high school, maybe 15 minutes.

Most mornings, we share sleepy wise cracks—which of us looks worse; whose day projects out the bigger pain; the lameness of a certain radio commercial.

Sometimes we talk daily routine—remembering to turn in an order form; calling if he needs to be picked up; the logistics of an upcoming outing with friends.

Sometimes we talk a little sports. Redskins, mostly.

Once in a while, as events dictate, we talk real life—there will be other girls; they just discovered an Earth-like planet 20 light-years away; it’s junior year partner, these grades count.

Tuesday morning, we rode in silence.

He’d had a strange look on his face as he came down the hall from the living room, where the morning news was playing, when we readied to leave the house. His voice had a flatness to it when he spoke.

“Sean’s gone.”

I wasn’t fully awake—I didn’t understand. Then I saw the look in his eyes, the awful news story I had fallen asleep thinking about came flooding back, and I understood only too well. I don’t remember now if it was raining as we headed out into the dark, but it always will be in my memory.

As we were pulling out into the road a minute later, a voice on the car radio confirmed the reality.

“Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died this morning from a gunshot wound suffered in his home …”

We drove in silence, staring straight ahead.

I don’t really know if the time it took to get to the school took forever, or if it flashed by in an instant. Time has a strange quality to it in times of stress. What I do recall is the unsettling jumble of disjointed thoughts, feelings and impressions...

Synaptic Shotgun: 3-1 Washington Redskins

I don't get to write very often these days. But there's so much to write it's driving me crazy keeping it bottled up. So I'm going to try the shotgun-style thing for a while. Again.

In no particular order, and definitely not exhaustively ...

DC Jim Haslett

Few doubted Haslett earlier or more pointedly than I when the Redskins brought him in to implement the transition from a 4-3 to 3-4 defense last year. And, through the end of last season I had seen little to change my mind. But fair is fair, and credit where it's due:

Mr. Haslett, the product you have put on the field so far in 2011 has been a revelation. I am happy with the game-planning, happy with the rotation, happy with the halftime adjustments, happy even with almost all the playcalling. My only nitpick is with still too-often telegraphed blitzes that don't get there. Even then, I understand that kind of second-guessing is easy for armchair coordinators. And I recognize that the view from the living room is a little different than the view from the sidelines. In the same way, for instance, as planning to get in shape, and actually getting in shape, are a little different.*

Hell of a job so far. For the record, I would like nothing more than to see you continue to rub it in the faces of doubters like me for a long time to come.

QB Rex Grossman

... is perhaps the only 3-1 quarterback in NFL history to garner a lower approval rating in his own home town than the sitting President. Well, there is nothing like raising the bar on preseason team expectations to make everyone forget that the current trigger man was never going to be more than a placeholder to begin with. Crawl a couple games above .500 and suddenly it's not "rebuilding year," we're talking Super Bowl.

Sigh.

But back to Rex...

2-0 Redskins Stare Opportunity in Face

Two short weeks ago, the 2-0 Washington Redskins were viewed by the football-watching world as an afterthought. Heading into tonight's Monday Night Football showdown with their arch-rival Dallas Cowboys, however, the burgundy and gold are suddenly a sexy story.

Like the emerging 3-0 Detroit Lions and Buffalo "Really?" Bills, the Redskins quick start has forced people to sit up and take notice.

It started in week one with their surprisingly convincing, 28-14 home win over divisional nemesis the New York Giants. In that game, the Redskins were, quite simply, the better team. Forget the "Giants were injured" angle. If you watched the NFL at all this week, you know about "any given Sunday." The Giants had owned the Redskins, for a very long time, and no one would have been surprised had said ownage continued. 

It did not. Emphatically.

And it was more than "just" starting 1-0, by the way.  In that game the Redskins re-vitalized defense came up with a play that, it says here, will be recorded in unofficial lore as the Turning Point. Rookie draft pick. Blue collar. Deflected pass, returned for stadium-rocking touchdown. Shades of  Hogeboom and Grant (Wham! Bam! It's the Redskins!).

Oh, I know...very different stages. Just planting that flag in the ground here and now.

Then, in week two, the Redskins won a game that they would have lost in recent years—a game they dominated in every way except on the scoreboard. How many times have we seen it over the past generation ... the Redskins domintate time of possession, yardage, the run of play in general ... only to come up short on the one stat that, at the end of the day, anyone really cares about—the scoreboard.

In the NFL it's about finishing, and for 20 years that has been the one thing the Redksins have not been able to do. But last week, in crunch time, it was the Redskins who made the big stop. It was the Redskins who converted the big third down (and fourth for that matter).

And last week, for a refereshing change, it was the other team feeling they "let one slip away."

Redskins 22, Cardinals 21. 

Think there isn't a big difference between 2-0 and 1-1? Just ask Dallas.

Redskins vs Buccaneers - To Your Health

Just one week of pretend games to go. Gracias al cielo.

The first three weeks of the 2011 preseason have been a bit of a revelation. Ever since that first opening offensive drive against the Steelers three short weeks ago, these young(er) 2011 Washington Redskins have done nothing but surprise, impress, excite and even begin to alter expectations.

I admit it—I've been as surprised as anyone. I hoped that Year Two of the Shanahan/Allen Era would bring the kind of synergistic upswell that we've gotten hints of the past three weeks ... but there's a difference between hoping and seeing.

Forget the stats, the record, all that. To me it's been the un-scientific stuff—about the "look" and "feel" of this team so far in 2011—that stands out. The attitude, the body language, the confidence, the execution, the crispness. Preseason or not, there's a "feel" you get for a football team after a few of these gloriried scrimmage, and through three weeks of preseason, these Redskins feel a whole lot different than anything we've seen from them in quite a while.

Yes, I know, self-described "realist" fan. It's just preseason. I get that, really. But they've looked pretty good. Far better than anyone really dared hope. It's all right, no one's keeping track. You can admit it.

Now on to what I really care about heading into this last preseason "game"...

Redskins vs Ravens Spotlight: Beck and the Big Men

Time to get out front on the whole Beck vs Grossman thing. Seems only fair to do it before tonight's meeting with the Baltimore Ravens.

I will not denigrate Rex Grossman. He has more than earned respect in this town—or should have—for both his on- and off- field performance as a Redskin. But the truth is, if I’m coaching against the Redskins offense this season, my preference is to defend Rex Grossman over John Beck.

Why? Because I know where Rex is going to be. Because I feel confident that if I can take away his first option more often than not, and force him to move, re-load, improvise, I stand a pretty good chance of forcing errors. Of creating that one key errant pass, logging that one key sack, and, given his proven penchant for losing control of the ball when hit, creating that game-altering turnover.

Yes, Rex Grossman is going to challenge me down the field. Particularly if his first option comes open. But over the course of a game, I like my chances of keeping him generally under control, and more importantly,  generating that crucial turnover if I can take away his first option and apply consistent pressure.

Beck, meanwhile, is the kind of opposing quarterback that drives me to distraction.

You can have the perfect defense called. You can break a pass rusher clean. You can have the man dead to rights and in the cross-hairs for a crunching sack ... only to see him whip a siderarm dart out of traffic with that quick-trigger release. Or sidestep a pass rusher, drift into open space and go downfield quickly and accurately.

A guy like Beck will throw off his back foot, drifting sideways, at full gallop—from any platform—and find a receiver operating outside the confines of the initial play call and improvising on the run as well.

It's a morale-killer.

If the John Beck we saw against the Indianapolis Colts last week is any indication, he is the kind of quarterback that will turn opposing defensive coordinators (and fans) hair gray, set their teeth to grinding and have their backsides puckering, every time a play breaks down and he starts moving.

It's been 25 years since the Redskins had a guy like that.

Tablesettings: Game 2, Redskins vs Colts

Last week's game setup was easy. Football was back. Even an ugly loss would have been borderline okay (it's just preseason, right?). Point was, we were watching live Redskins football again.

But something unexpected happened. Not only didn't the Redskins lose, but they won.  And looked damn good doing it.  Aainst none other than the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The AFC Champions. "Those" Steelers.

Preseason or not, the Redskins went toe-to-toe with one of the NFL's big boys and came out on top. Forget the score; Friday night's pleasant surprise was about the young "rebuilding" Redskins showing  organization, speed, cohesion, efficiency ... things that have been all-too wanting around here for a long time.

There were also noteworthy individual performances:

QB Rex Grossman—maligned and subject of more undeserved scorn from his home town fans than any player I can  recall—was sharp.  Don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

Newcomer RB Tim Hightower flashed big time.  One half of preseason football doesn't automatically project into a Pro Bowl season, no, but few Redskins fans could watch Hightower burst around left end, one-cut and slash decisively, and for good measure truck former Redskins safety (and Steeler lightning-rod du-jour) Ryan Clark, and not get just a little bit juiced.

WR Santana Moss shined.  Sharp routes, sure hands.  7 catches, 64 yards and a TD in a half. 

The new defensive line—Carriker, Cofield & Bowen ("The Firm")—was stout, and even provided something Redskins fans barely recognize ... consistent pass rush from the down linemen.

Oh, there were concerns to be sure ...