We want Dallas
Its Dallas week, folks, in case you haven't been paying attention. That's right, America's Team (gag!) visits Fedexfield this Sunday with playoff implications. The last time that happened was in 1992. (Do the names Jason Buck and Danny Copeland mean anything to you? Uncle Terry has a great picture incase you need to refresh your memory.) Dallas...at home...in the cold...with the playoffs on the line. What could be better? Maybe a lap dance... but it's too close to call.
This is the Sunday when we find out what the Redskins are made of. This is when we find out if the Monday night game in the big D was a fluke or if we truly are a playoff team. After 13 up and down weeks, the Skins are on the brink of elimination and must win the next three games to even have a chance to go to the post season. Those three games are against the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles. Imagine that! Games that matter against division rivals around Christmas-time. Just like the good old days. The NFC Beast is awakening, my friends!
Playing must-win games, which the Redskins have done the last two weeks, teach a team what it takes to win. If they lose, they can learn from their mistakes and try to carry that over into the next game; the next season. Its a learning process. You have to walk before you can run. It's been so long since we Redskin fans have witnessed a meaningful division game, i think the first Goeroge Bush was president. Coach Joe is trying to teach his team how to win. Its been a long time since we had a Redskins' team that knew how and when to win. Or when to win, for that matter!
Which sets up Dallas. Oh yes! Nothing beats a meaningful game against Dallas in December. A game that magnifies the hatred and contempt for the rival Cowboys to mammouth proportions. Both teams need to win, to keep the playoffs alive. Both teams need to take the next step in order to make the NFC great again. What better way to bring back the old glory of the NFC East than to have a smash-mouth, for all the glory, Cowboys-Redskin game in December?
I keep hearing a voice in my head, repeating the same line over and over, like some sort of mantra...I can almost make it out...
Fuck Dallas! Fuck Dallas! Fuck Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells! But mostly, Fuck Dallas! I have a t-shirt that says that. Fuck Dallas...Dallas Sucks.
Big Bird becomes a Shark
Was it just my jaw that dropped to the ground when Joe Thornton was traded from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks? I mean, I'm no hockey insider--I'm sure you all are shocked to hear that--but I've read all of the trade rumors from the beginning of the season and Big Bird was not mentioned once. Thornton was the 1st pick in the draft in 1997. He is one of top 10 best forwards in the league. He's big, he's strong and he scores points like strippers collect dollar bills. Thorton was the Bruins Captain, the face of the franchise, like Bobby Orr and Ray Bourgue before him. He wasn't a guy that was on the block...or so most people thought. But it happened. The B's traded Thornton because the team is in last place and there were reports that the front office felt Tornton wasn't passionate enough. He led the Bruins in points and they cut him loose. Like one guy can win by himself? Please. The Bruins threw him under the bus.
The Sharks couldn't be happier. They traded Marco Sturm, some other guy and some other scrub and got one of the best set-up men in the league. Thornton makes his teammates better, creates scoring chances and wears number 19...perect! I sure wish the Caps had traded Brendan Witt and Danius Zubrus for Thornton so Alex Ovechkin would have a real center. It could have been our T.O. line! Just kidding.
Boston threw away there best player for lesser players. After winning their first game without Thorton, the Bruins have lost three straight. The Sharks haven't lost a game and Thorton is racking up the points. Are Scooby and Shaggy running the show up in Bean-town or what?
Of course, everything comes down to money, and this trade did as well. Boston signed Thornton to a contract in the off-season for $6 million a year that included a no-trade clause that kicks in after this season. If they didn't trade him this year, they couldn't for the next three years. But why they didn't do a sign and trade deal before the season started is beyond me. they could have gotten a better player or two if they had done that.
Poor Joe, he got shipped out of town because he didn't light a fire under his team. He has new life in San Jose. Without the spector of the past Bruin greats to live up to, he can just be Joe Thornton. Looks like he got thrown under the bus and came out unscathed on the other side. Too bad the Bruins did not.
This weeks list: Top 5 most memorable Redskin Cowboy Games
Since I was barely alive for the Clint Longley game, I can't put it on the list. I'm starting with 1982 and moving froward. Games I saw or went to. So many to chose from. Here it goes.
5. Monday Night Football 2005: Two touchdowns in the last 4 minutes. A win over the hated Cowboys, over Bill Parcels and in front of the whole country. Sweetest win the Skins have had in years.
4. Opening Day, 1999: Rocket Ishmael caught a 80 yard touchdown in overtime to win a shootout. I was there. People were throwing themselves off of the ramps on the way out. Typical game from the Norv Turner era...played well enough to win, until the end.
3. Jason Buck 1992
2. Thanksgiving 2003: The Skins lost, but thats the game where Brian Barker broke his nose. That was gross! I remember everyone in the room screamed..." Ugh! That is gross. He looked like he a pig nose.
1. December 1982, NFC Championship Game at RFK
Quote of the week
"So I'm running with Antonio--it was awesome--and i got a chance to take out this guy. But I remember the coaches telling us, 'If you you got a guy lined up, but he's behind the play, leave him alone.' So instead of taking this guy out, I watched Antonio blow kisses."
-Jimmy Farris, Redskins receiver and special teams player, blocking for Antonio Brown last week against the Cardinals.
That's coaching, folks.
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