Redskins Week 4 Reality Checks – Is it 2020 Yet?
By Tim Payne
The Giants are on the schedule this week, but it sure feels like the chatter has been about almost anything other than the Giants in Redskins land.
The image of Case Keenum losing the ball as he stretched out over the pile is emblematic of the entirety of my last 2.5 decades of Redskins fandom. I, unlike those younger, at least have first-hand memories of the tail end of the glory days.
But since Mark Rypien was handed that Superbowl MVP trophy, the experience of a Redskins fan is nicely summed up by that fumble and its context.
The team has been: In the national spotlight for the wrong reasons; behind, but making a last-ditch effort to come back; some weird oscillating combination of heroic and moronic; resilient but ultimately incompetent; not all that close and never a cigar. Ladies and gentlemen, your 1993-2019 Washington Redskins!
As a result, most Redskins fans are understandably more concerned about the state of the franchise than this week’s opponent. After yet another gut-punch of a Monday Night Football loss, even the most loyal fan is left to do some serious soul-searching. It’s one thing to be 0-3. It’s another to be embarrassed on national TV.
Again. It’s one thing to be beaten by a better team. It’s another to prove to be the “get right” game for a team that had previously not found its footing.
But these are all positions Redskins fans are used to watching the team in for the last 25 years. The fantastic failure followed by a desperate attempt to salvage some respectability has been the clearest hallmark of Daniel Snyder’s time as owner of the Redskins. So here we are, only three weeks into the season, and the most reasonable discussion to be having about this season is, “What can this team be doing now to prepare for success in 2020?”