Hail to the Redskins
Ever since Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs returned to take charge of the Washington Redskins four seasons ago, I've been saying he would succeed eventually. Until four weeks ago. That's when the Redskins lost at home 17-16 to the sorry Buffalo Bills. The loss was the team's fourth straight -- all close games -- and it dropped the Redskins record to 5-7. Worst of all, Buffalo won on a last second field goal, after Gibbs had called two straight time-outs in an effort to “ice” the kicker. That’s illegal, and the 15 yard penalty meant that the game-winning field goal attempt was only 36 yards instead of 51. I finally had to concede that the majority view – that Gibbs no longer had what it takes to succeed in the NFL– might well be correct.
After the Buffalo game, the team flew to Florida to bury its best defensive player, Sean Taylor, who had been murdered a few days earlier. Just three days later, in a Thursday night game, the Redskins took on the Chicago Bears. Early in the game, starting quarterback Jason Campbell sustained a major injury and was replaced by Todd Collins, who hadn’t started an NFL game in ten years. Campbell became the sixth starter out of 22 to be lost for the regular season. Suddenly, it seemed possible that the Redskins might fail to win more than six games for the third time in Gibbs’ four-year tenure.
As it turned, however, the accurate passing of Collins, the steady leadership of Gibbs, and the emotional energy that followed Taylor’s funeral carried the Redskins to victory not only against Chicago, but in the following weeks on the road against two playoff contenders – the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings – and at home today against Dallas, the team with the best record in the NFC. All three wins were decisive, and none more so than today’s 27-6 victory over the Cowboys, which brought our record to 9-7 and landed us in the playoffs. The 21 point margin of victory matched Sean Taylor’s jersey number, which the Redskins wear on a patch on their uniforms.
The Redskins averaged 26 points in the four games Collins played, compared to 19 points (not counting overtime) in the first 12 games. This suggests that the team’s mostly woeful offensive performances since Gibbs’ return may have had more to do with the lack of an accurate, decisive passer than with the game having passed the old coach by.
But the real key to the Redskins success this year has been Gregg Williams’ defense. Williams has been a great defensive coach for years, but when the defense tanked last year, the Washington Post – perhaps confusing Williams for a conservative politician – ran a nasty hit piece. As I complained here, the Post implied that Williams was clueless. But last week, Williams’ elaborate game plan shut down Minnesota’s league-leading ground game, holding rookie sensation Adrian Peterson to 27 yards. Today, the defense did even better, holding the entire Cowboys team to one (1) yard rushing. I guess it’s time for the Post to dust off its old “Gregg Williams is a genius” articles.
As for Gibbs, he’s now led the Redskins to two playoff appearances in his four seasons back in Washington. During the 11 years he was away, we made the playoffs only once.
JOHN adds: Vikings fans, of course, have a slightly different view of Gibbs' achievement.
