week 5= the week of proof
Okay…so we’re a quarter of the way through the season going into this week, folks. Notably, the Redskins opened the season in an ugly way versus the Super Bowl Champs. However, I think the more important factor in our 3-1 record would be our win over the undefeated Cowboys last week. IN DALLAS! So considering we’re in second place in the division right now, we’re in a good position going into Philadelphia to take on another NFC East rival.
Week 5 is critical for us here, on more notes than one. First of all, lets take a peep at last season real quick. In a quick glimpse, the Skins barely beat the Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL to open the season. Next, they beat a shaky looking Eagles squad and then lost to the Giants going into their bye week. After the bye, they crushed the Lions in week 5…but that game was followed by an eight game stretch where we only won 2 games.
This caught my attention because we went into the second quarter of the season last year having only been beaten by the Giants. Sound familiar? Granted, last years Giants squad was 0-2 by the time they came to town… but the slow start wasn’t bad enough to keep them from winning the super bowl! In the last year, the Redskins have been through a lot as a team. But considering we have the same record we did then before hell broke loose, it’s just a little bit nerve wrecking.
To start the 2008 season, Washington played all three of their division rivals AWAY in their first five games. That’s pretty friggin’ tough, especially as a contender in the NFC East. After the Eagles, we get the simplest part of our schedule with the Rams and Browns at home and then heading to Detroit. We’ll host the Steelers at home for Monday night football and then we get a breather with our bye at week 10. And our boys are gonna need that rest to prepare for the Cowboys, Seahawks and Eagles immediately after. FUN!
We’ve got the talent. We’ve got the coaches. We’ve got the ambition. With a few exceptions, we’ve even got a good amount of experience under our belts now too! Now the Redskins just have to go out and prove to the rest of the world what WE, as fans, already know. That this team hasn’t just gotten lucky and we CAN make it to the playoffs…and not necessarily just as a Wild Card. It’s been a funny year so far in the NFL and week 5 is generally when you start to see the good teams pull away from the rest. Hopefully we make that happen and become 3-1 in the division. This season, we’re not a fluke. This is the real deal and we prove it more and more every week.
Oh yeah, and just for kicks… by week five last season, guess who was sitting at the bottom of the division? the E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!! coincidence? I think not.
