Redskins Reality Checks: An offseason report card and prescription
By Tim Payne
Are the Redskins building a franchise or chasing meaningless wins to avoid further embarrassment?
As difficult as reality is to swallow during the season, it can be downright impossible to come by in the offseason. The further we get from the last meaningful game the Washington Redskins played, the more desperate and insane our ideas for their improvement and eventual success become.
Less than five days into the 2019 NFL league year, it can be very tempting to already proclaim the offseason a success or failure for each franchise. Massive roster turnover, record free agent signings, blockbuster trades, and unexpected cuts leave most fanbases confident they know the direction of their team for the coming season. And while social media makes it easy to find people to validate almost any opinion you hold, the word “fans” is short for the word “fanatics”, and “rational”, “measured”, and “thoughtful” are words rarely used to describe the fanbase of any NFL team.
The Reality Is, Redskins fans are no different. The #FireBruceAllen movement was evidence that fans of the once-proud football franchise based in the nation’s capital have deep convictions about the direction the team is (and should be) headed. And while I love interacting with both those that agree with my assessment and those that think I’m an idiot, I do find myself continually running into one fundamental roadblock as I dream and scheme and interact about the future of my beloved Redskins: I can’t resist getting caught up in the moment, instead of staying focused on the long-term. Let me try to explain.
As the 2018 season progressed, I knew two things, deep down: The Redskins had no chance to compete for a Super Bowl, and their current leadership structure was such that no appreciable progression toward that eventual goal was likely without major reconstructive surgery. And yet, in spite of knowing those two facts, I couldn’t help but dream of playoff glory when they reached 6-3 with a two-game division lead. I couldn’t help but give my Cowboy fan buddies a hard time for how bad they were looking and crow a bit about the downfall of the Giants. And even worse, with Alex Smith injured and Colt McCoy injured and Mark Sanchez benched and Josh Johnson out there running for his life behind a replacement-level offensive line, I couldn’t help but celebrate a meaningless win in Jacksonville that all-but-guaranteed the Redskins would not get a top ten draft pick.
The thing is, I’m a fan, and that’s what fans do. We suspend disbelief and set aside our rationality for the sake of the dream of glory. And frankly, with what we pay in merchandise, tickets, parking, cable packages, and emotional energy, we have every right to do just that. But that’s the difference between us fans and the owners, front offices, and coaching staffs of our beloved teams. We get to dream, they have to plan. We get to make bold predictions, they have to make tough decisions.