Last night the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts by the score of 31-17 to win Super Bowl XLIV.   To clinch the annual NFL Championship the Saints had to undo the largest lead that has ever been rallied from.   To capture the win and secure their first Championship the Saints had to employ “risk” into their strategy.  Going for it 4th an goal towards the end of the first half may not have produced a touchdown, but it did lead to a field goal cutting the Colts lead to four.    The on-side kick to start the second half signaled the type of game plan the Saint had: A winning game plan.  However, the Colts played valiantly down the stretch, making this game competitive.  The Saints set the tone by taking risks early, and not thinking twice about it.  Because of their faith in their own team last night, they woke up today as Super Bowl Champions.

So 10 down, has it been done before?  Yes.  What team did it?  Kate Beirness tell us it was the 1987 Washington Redskins.  It the highlight of a controversy filled season, both on the field and off the field.  Off the field, disagreements between the Player’s Union and the Owners caused a strike.  Unlike the 1982 season,  there was no work stoppage, minus the cancellation of ALL week three games, but there were replacement players.  These “temp” football players played from weeks four through six.  The Redskins’ players were 3-0 in this period and even beat a Dallas team at Dallas that had starters jump the fence.

On the field the Redskins were going through a quarterback controversy between Doug Williams and Jay Schreoder.  One week it was Doug the other it was Jay.  This was just not a competitive battle, but this was also personal.  In the NFC Championship, versus the Giants one year earlier it was never more made clear the awkwardness of this situation.  Schreoder was hurt and Williams was called up to spell for him.  Schreoder yelled at Williams telling him to get off the field, refusing to give up his spot.  This embarrassed Williams and caused a rift between the two signal callers.

The Redskins won their division in 1987 and entered the Playoffs.   Prior to the Playoffs the Skins paid a visit to the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season finale.  Both Quarterbacks got a chance to show what they had in this game.  Schreoder started off the game, but played sub par.  Williams came in relief and rallied the team to an overtime win.  Williams was then named starter for the duration of the playoffs, by Head Coach Joe Gibbs.

They [Redskins] went to Solider Field in Chicago to take on the Bears.  Aided by a remarkable punt return by Darrell Green, the Redskins were able to leave the subzero temperatures of the Windy City for a Home Field Date with the Minnesota Vikings.  Once again, it was Darrell Green maing a goal line pass defense that vaulted the Redskins back into the Super Bowl.

The end of the First Quarter of Super Bowl XXII was coming to an end and the Redskins had a problem.  First of all, they were down 10-0 to the favored Denver Broncos, and then fireworks happened.  Bombs to Sanders(2TD) and Clark, a long touchdown run by Timmy Smith, and a pass to Clint Didier capped a 35 point second quarter. The finest quarter perhaps ever played by any Quarterback, Doug Williams’ feat may never be duplicated, but the effort is displayed on a yearly basis.

The New Orleans Saints last night may be closer to the 1991 Redskins, but the team effort displayed was truly one deserving of the NFL’s most coveted prize.

The early 80’s and early part of the 90’s are easily considered the greatest  era of Washington Redskins Football.  Many of the different corps throughout the team had nicknames.  With your receivers you had the “Fun Bunch”, the “Smurfs”, and the “Posse”.  On Defense you had the “National Defense” and the “Pearl Harbor Crew”.  But the cornerstone to the many years of glory the Skins participated in were “The Hogs” and at the heart of the Hogs was Russ Grimm.

On the eve of the Super Bowl, Redskins Nation came together wondering and hoping that this humble giant would earn his rightful place among the NFL’s greats.  Though certain players, such as Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, were considered shoe-ins, Grimm had an excellent shot at getting the call.  At about 5:20pm, it was made official.  The Associated Press via ESPN.com reported:

They will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 7….Rice, the NFL’s career receiving and touchdowns leader, and Smith, the top rusher, were joined in the Hall by John Randle, Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau. Little and LeBeau were elected as senior committee nominees.

Grimm, a member of the Washington Redskins‘ famed Hogs offensive line, won three Super Bowls. A guard, he made four Pro Bowls and was selected to the all-decade team of the 1980s.

Russ Grimm was an outstanding player and was considered smart as he was tough. Naturally positioned at Guard, he was versatile and was capable of filling in at Center.  Mark May once said of Grimm:

“He was a blue collar stiff and proud of it.”

Grimm appeared in all four of the Redskins’ Super Bowls captained by Head Coach Joe Gibbs, winning three.  Grimm also has four Pro-Bowl Selections to his credit and was named to the 1980’s NFL All Decade Team.  After Grimm’s career ended he coached the Tight Ends for the Redskins from 1992-1996 and then the Offensive Line from 1997 until 2000 as he was dismissed by incoming Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer.  Grimm then joined on with the Pittsburgh Steelers where he coached the Offensive Line.   In the 2005 season he captured his first title as a coach as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.  In 2007 he went to Arizona to become Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach.  The Cardinals also made it to the Super Bowl in the 2008-2009 season, only to fall short to Grimm’s old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Russ Grimm has been well traveled as a coach and firmly grounded as a player.  His induction should signal an awareness to the voting committee on the importance that offensive linemen provide.  Grimm was a man who played the game silently, but boasts the hardware most players can only dream of.

If you saw the Washington Redskins play a very hot Chargers team today in San Diego, you might have come away with the impression that the Skins can compete with 3/4 of the teams in the league.  After all, they moved the ball when they had to, and had a solid scoring percentage when in the red zone.  Were it not for a Derrick Dockery false start, they probably would have won today.  Of course, they played much of the game against San Diego’s second string.  Still, the Chargers are a deep team.  Their second string is better than some teams’ first strings.  I probably shouldn’t dwell on that fact, as it might cause me to say something unkind about our Skins.

So, the Redskins gave it the old college try, Jason Campbell played well, and Jim Zorn went out with dignity.  Now we hear that Joe Bugel may once again retire.  Bet it’s for good this time, even if he is still dying his hair.

The Washington Examiner reports that Charlie Casserly stated on TV that Mike Shanahan has already started picking  his staff.  I could be wrong, but I don’t think he’ll retain any of the Redskins’ current coaches.  For a few, that may be more a matter of choice than a matter of fate.  I’d lump Danny Smith and Jerry Gray into that category, if I was a betting man.  Oh wait, I am – I like to play blackjack.

With Shanahan at the helm, expect competition at every position.  Further expect the Redskins to draft Sam Bradford.  I don’t have a crystal ball, but let’s face it, Shanahan is used to working with QBs who are stellar enough to be the face of the franchise.  He’ll swap running backs on and off the roster like they come a dime a dozen.  He’ll ensure the offensive line is stout, and he’ll continue what the Redskins have already started – deploying speed on defense.  Of course, he won’t do all this by himself.

George Allen will do some housekeeping.  It’s likely that a couple of veterans who can still play at a high level will be given their walking papers.  That’s what happened at Tampa Bay on Allen’s watch.  He seems to like younger players, even if they’re still developing.

Allen and Shanahan have a pretty decent set-up.  There are a number of very talented players on the Redskins’ squad just waiting for the system to allow them to showboat their skills.  Like Al Davis used to preach, they want to ‘Just Win Baby’.  (I have no idea what he preaches now, though I suspect it’s “I’ll take Speed and Size Over Talent baby.”)  The Redskins could easily improve to .500 next season.  That depends in large part on how much of their core is ripped out and tossed aside.   After next season, with a decent 2010 and 2011 draft, the sky’s the limit.  There truly is nowhere to go but up.

Two final thoughts … 1) I’d like to wish Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn both a happy new year.  I think they deserve it.  2) There’s no truth to the rumor that the Redskins are going to consider signing T.O. during the offseason.  (Oh wait, I just started that rumor.)

As they say in Vegas, thanks for playing y’all.  The season may be over, but there will be a lot of Redskins news to discuss.  RedskinsGuy and I will be here.  Hopefully you will be too.

Hail to the Redskins!

The second quarter wasn’t as ugly as the first, but it wasn’t pretty either.  The Redskins intercepted a tipped Tony Romo pass intended for Roy Williams, but lost Reed Doughty, the interceptor, on the play.  The Skins’ best plays were all provided by the defense.  There were the usual London Fletcher highlights, the afore mentioned pick, Chris Clemons staying home on a double reverse, and some decent pressure on Romo.  That ain’t much, but it’s better than nothing.

I’m convinced LaRon Landry can’t cover, regardless of his blazing speed.  Jason Whitten made him look silly and slow, but he’s not slow.  I know Whitten is a great Tight End, but Landry still looked pathetic.  Sorry LaRon, I’m tired of watching you look lost on big plays.  I know you’re not the only one. 

With 38 seconds to go Dallas had a 3rd and 1 at the Washignton 46.  The Cowboys moved the ball to the 41 with 31 ticks to go and no timeouts left.  After a 5-yard Marion Barber run Romo had to spike the ball.  Then, the Cowboys managed to get a first down near the Redskins’ 20, but the last 10 seconds counted down as Miles Austin had caught the ball in the middle of the field.  Based on Romo’s reaction, I’d say someone ran the wrong route.

Like the first quarter, there wasn’t a whole lot of Redskins’ action to write about.  Also like the first quarter, the Cowboys outscored the Redskins 7 to zip.  Dallas 14, Washington 0.  Dallas will receive the ball to start the second half.  Let’s see if the Skins can turn this thing around with a patchwork offensive line which, at this point, is downright scary if you’re Jason Campbell.

Go Skins!

The Washington Redskins began tonight’s match-up with division foe Dallas in dubious fashion.  Jason Campbell led Fred Davis too much, resulting in a tipped ball which was picked off at about the 50 yard-line and returned to the Redskins’ 35.  Shortly it was Dallas 7, Washington 0.  The next Washington drive was defined by a Santana Moss offensive holding penalty.  The Redskins couldn’t recover, and were unable to move the ball into Dallas territory.

The Redskins’ defense is playing tough, bending but only breaking once.  That may not be good enough, as the Cowboys will receive the ball to start the 2nd quarter.  As the TV announcers noted, London Fletcher got away with a forearm to the head of Patrick Crayton.  Thankfully, Crayton was not injured.

There’s not much else to say.  The ‘Skins can’t let Dallas get ahead by two scores.  Fortunately, the 12th man showed up big-time tonight.  Go Skins!

What goes around comes around.  Don’t burn bridges.  You never know what tomorrow may bring.  Tomorrow’s another day.  The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

I don’t know which of the worn-out cliches above best applies to the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins, but the Giants’ players will surely come up with a few axioms of their own.  After all, they pretty much wiped the uninspired Redskins off the face of the earth at FedEx Field last week.  This week, they laid a Giant egg at home against the banged-up Carolina Panthers.  It was downright ugly at FedEx last week, and it was downright ugly today at Giant Stadium.  What a way to close out a historic sports venue.

So now the Giants need help, and they need it from the Redskins.  They need the Skins to beat the Cowboys.  I’m almost tempted to root for a tie tonight.  Almost.   It’s too bad I hate the Cowboys more than any other team.  I could care less about the Giants’ playoff hopes.

It’s too bad my boss is a Giants’ fan.  I’d dump all over the Giants.  I’m not afraid to do so.  He just does such a better job than me.  He yells at his TV.  I’ve been to his home – he has plenty of room for pacing back and forth.  Good thing.  Seriously, there’s nothing more fun than a disgusted Giants’ fan.  It beats listening to the incessant whining and outright denial spewed by Cowboys’ fans.  I can’t say much about Eagles’ fans – they’re on top of the world going into the playoffs.

New York started the season 5 – 0.  How on earth could they lose 41 – 9 at home to the Panthers?  I just hope Tom Coughlin doesn’t have a heart attack yelling at his players.  He’s old school – I kind of like him.  Anyhoo, now the Redskins have a much larger set of fans rooting for them tonight.  They’re the same people who laughed derisively at our Skins last week.  I need to check and see if there’s a full moon out tonight.  How odd.

All together now – Go Skins!

Tonight’s the big night.  The Washington Redskins host the Dallas Cowboys at 8:20pm eastern.  The game will be televised on NBC, and will be broadcast on Westwood One radio.  Of course, you can always listen to the game on espn980.com, if you prefer.  The Armed Forces Network is also broadcasting the game live.  As for those who are going to the game -  Redskins.com reports that the FedEx parking lots will be open 4 hours before kickoff, and the stadium gates will be open 2 hours before kickoff.  So there – you have no excuse for not seeing or hearing the game, unless of course you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan and don’t want to see another December melt-down by Tony and the ‘boys.

My many fond memories of Redskins-Cowboys games have jaded me – I distinctly don’t remember Jimmy Johnson’s first year when the Cowboys won one game all season – over the Skins.  Neither do I remember his second year when the Cowboys went 3 – 13, beating the Redskins twice.  Nope.  I remember my Dad taking me to RFK when I was in 5th grade  so we could see Sonny Jurgensen lead the Redskins to a thrilling fourth quarter comeback and whip the Cowboys 34 – 31.  At that time, RFK was called DC Stadium.  I remember Dexter Manley TKOing Danny White with a clean hit during the 1983 Conference Championship game.  The Redskins went on to win their first Super Bowl under Joe Gibbs.  It was the franchise’s second trip to the Big Show.

Speaking of memories, what true Redskins’ fan over 30 will forget the October 14, 1984?  Riggo ran through the Cowboys like butter as the Redskins routed them, 34 – 14.  The next day the Washington Post printed this quote from Tom Landry – “This is the lowest ebb we’ve had [this season] because we’ve lost two in a row. [But] we’re still 4-3,” said Landry, who now has split six games with Gibbs. “It can get worse than this.” Maybe so Tom – the Redskins went down to Texas Stadium on Dec. 14 of that same year and came from behind to defeat Dallas 30 – 28.  A key play in that game was provided by Mr. Darrell Green who turned in a 32-yard ‘pick 6′.

I have many more great memories of the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry, not the least of which was the 37 – 10 drubbing the Skins laid on the Cowboys on Dec. 22, 1996.   Most of you probably remember 2005, which was a playoff year for the Redskins orchestrated by Joe Gibbs in his second incarnation.  The Skins beat the Cowboys twice that year, 14 – 13 in Texas Stadium (Mark Brunell deep to Santana Moss twice in the last 4 minutes) and 35 -17 at FedEx (Chris Cooley plows over Cowboy defenders for 3 touchdowns).

If you’re a Redskins’ fan, I hope this brief walk down memory lane gets your juices going.  If you’re a Cowboys’ fan, you should realize that a victory over the Redskins is never a foregone conclusion, no matter how either team has fared in their other games.  We all know Romo wants to put an end to the ‘wilts in December‘ talk once and for all.  He took a step in that direction last week, but it will be for naught if the Redskins win tonight.  We all know that’s true.  And then there’s the Dallas playoff streak – 13 years without a playoff win.  How badly must the Cowboys want to end that?  As fate would have it – their road goes through Landover, MD.  What a way to bridge Hanukkah & Christmas to New Years.

Hail to the Redskins!

I wanted to tell you my thoughts on George Allen.  I was hoping to sound cerebral even.  But, it’s Dallas Week and I’m thinking of a couple Christmas presents I’d dearly love to have, one of which is a win over Dallas.  In the spirit of the holidays, I will not say ‘I hate Dallas’.  The heck I won’t – I really hate the Cowboys.  Their cheerleaders are nice, though.  Of course, the quality of the Redskins’ cheerleaders has improved markedly over the decades.

Fansided.com is buzzing with news that Shawn Suisham might be telling Dallas coaches a thing or two about the Skins’ tactics.  Woohoo.  I wasn’t happy that he was released, to be honest.  But, this new kicker is something else.  So, sqawk away Mr. Suisham.

Until Saturday, Go Skins!