Die Hard Sports Fan

Wednesday morning; time to get back to work. We have a game this weekend against the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins are 4-1; the Rams 0-4. It sounds like a cake walk.

So, why is Redskins nation so nervous?

At half-time, during the New York Giants game to start the season, you could smell the rubber burning as all Redskin nation fans had their mind racing back and forth about so many things, like is Jason Campbell the right QB for this team, or was the offensive line getting too old, or was Clinton Portis fighting a losing battle trying to run against eight-man fronts. But, that was a long time ago.

Today, all Redskins fans, and especially the owner, Dan Snyder, are feeling euphoric, over four straight wins.

Moreover, because those wins came against the dreaded rivals of both the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, fans far and wide have rejoiced in unison. In the past 24 hours, this Die Hard Redskins Fan site has seen fans come from as far east as Melbourne, Australia and as far west as Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as points in between, including Oman, Greece, and Spain. Everyone, it seems is ready to believe.

But, here come the St. Louis Rams.

The St. Louis Rams have a new coach after firing the one they began the season with. They have their QB, Marc Bulger, back in the starting position after he was benched in desperation by the aforementioned former coach. They, and the rest of the team, remain perfect in a winless season with one very key, and common denominator: they all have something to prove.

The offensive world of the St. Louis Rams revolves around Stephen Jackson. He is their leading rusher *and* receiver. Thus, naturally, he leads their team in total yardage. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Redskins defense should focus on stopping Jackson and the Redskins would win the game.

But, this Die Hard Redskin Fan says, “not so fast.”

Given a moment to think about it, every Redskins fan can remember who the offensive coordinator for the team was for the past two years; Al Saunders. This is the same Al Saunders who is now the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams.

For two years, day after day during practice sessions, he became, by the nature of repetition, an expert in the defensive coverage skills of each of our entire secondary. I’d bet dollars to donuts that he could rattle off the five key flaws of Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot; maybe even ten for Carlos Rogers. Further, I’d be even more confident that he knows exactly how to move LaRon Landry out of position to create a deep strike down the field.

If the Redskins key on Stephen Jackson, Al Saunders will most assuredly attack deep down field. Though the Rams may not have been successful as of yet against other teams, Al Saunders has much more experience and knowledge of the Redskins that would enable him to call a more effective game, and find our vulnerabilities.

In short, this week’s game will be a challenge. Not just because of Saunders knowledge of our defense, but also because of the natural human tendency for the Redskins to take a mental holiday.

I recall, in college, graduate school, and even here in Corporate America, preparing for a big test, or a presentation to executive management. There is a palpable rush of energy that fills each of us when faced with challenging situations. It’s often referred to as the “adrenaline rush.”

The Redskins have had four straight weeks of the adrenaline rush that culminated last week with a huge win against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Philadelphia!

So, now what?

It’s called the “adrenaline FLUSH.”

After climbing the mountain, or escaping the attack of the mountain lion, human beings experience the adrenaline flush, which is a malaise of physical ability to move and respond. It is more commonly referred to as fatigue; specifically in this case, “emotional fatigue.”

The measure of Jim Zorn as a coach will be determined this week, more so than any of the other five weeks. Along those lines, the players speak about staying “medium.” I understand.

But, show us!

Hail to the Redskins.

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Wednesday morning; time to get back to work. We have a game this weekend against the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins are 4-1; the Rams 0-4. It sounds like a cake walk.

So, why is Redskins nation so nervous?

At half-time, during the New York Giants game to start the season, you could smell the rubber burning as all Redskin nation fans had their mind racing back and forth about so many things, like is Jason Campbell the right QB for this team, or was the offensive line getting too old, or was Clinton Portis fighting a losing battle trying to run against eight-man fronts. But, that was a long time ago.

Today, all Redskins fans, and especially the owner, Dan Snyder, are feeling euphoric, over four straight wins.

Moreover, because those wins came against the dreaded rivals of both the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, fans far and wide have rejoiced in unison. In the past 24 hours, this Die Hard Redskins Fan site has seen fans come from as far east as Melbourne, Australia and as far west as Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as points in between, including Oman, Greece, and Spain. Everyone, it seems is ready to believe.

But, here come the St. Louis Rams.

The St. Louis Rams have a new coach after firing the one they began the season with. They have their QB, Marc Bulger, back in the starting position after he was benched in desperation by the aforementioned former coach. They, and the rest of the team, remain perfect in a winless season with one very key, and common denominator: they all have something to prove.

The offensive world of the St. Louis Rams revolves around Stephen Jackson. He is their leading rusher *and* receiver. Thus, naturally, he leads their team in total yardage. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the Redskins defense should focus on stopping Jackson and the Redskins would win the game.

But, this Die Hard Redskin Fan says, “not so fast.”

Given a moment to think about it, every Redskins fan can remember who the offensive coordinator for the team was for the past two years; Al Saunders. This is the same Al Saunders who is now the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams.

For two years, day after day during practice sessions, he became, by the nature of repetition, an expert in the defensive coverage skills of each of our entire secondary. I’d bet dollars to donuts that he could rattle off the five key flaws of Shawn Springs, Fred Smoot; maybe even ten for Carlos Rogers. Further, I’d be even more confident that he knows exactly how to move LaRon Landry out of position to create a deep strike down the field.

If the Redskins key on Stephen Jackson, Al Saunders will most assuredly attack deep down field. Though the Rams may not have been successful as of yet against other teams, Al Saunders has much more experience and knowledge of the Redskins that would enable him to call a more effective game, and find our vulnerabilities.

In short, this week’s game will be a challenge. Not just because of Saunders knowledge of our defense, but also because of the natural human tendency for the Redskins to take a mental holiday.

I recall, in college, graduate school, and even here in Corporate America, preparing for a big test, or a presentation to executive management. There is a palpable rush of energy that fills each of us when faced with challenging situations. It’s often referred to as the “adrenaline rush.”

The Redskins have had four straight weeks of the adrenaline rush that culminated last week with a huge win against the Philadelphia Eagles, in Philadelphia!

So, now what?

It’s called the “adrenaline FLUSH.”

After climbing the mountain, or escaping the attack of the mountain lion, human beings experience the adrenaline flush, which is a malaise of physical ability to move and respond. It is more commonly referred to as fatigue; specifically in this case, “emotional fatigue.”

The measure of Jim Zorn as a coach will be determined this week, more so than any of the other five weeks. Along those lines, the players speak about staying “medium.” I understand.

But, show us!

Hail to the Redskins.

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It’s time to vote!

Clinton Portis is up for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week. Portis rushed for 145 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries against the NFL’s top-ranked rush defense in the Redskins’ 23-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s do it!

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It’s time to vote!

Clinton Portis is up for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week. Portis rushed for 145 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries against the NFL’s top-ranked rush defense in the Redskins’ 23-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s do it!

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On Sunday, by 12 PM, I had my three televisions in the living room set up.  With the two extra co-axel cables running through my living room, down through the garage roof, and through the wall, and the bedroom DirecTV receivers out in the living room and successfully connected to everything, I was pumped and ready to go for the 1 PM games with of course the Redskins-Eagles game on the 40 inch High Definition TV with the sound blasting.  The other televisions would be muted but there for me to enjoy the rest of what the NFL had in store for the day.  Yes indeed, the NFL Ticket on DTV is better than sliced bread.

Then the door rang and it was my Dad.  After all these years, he and I still watch each and every Eagles game together.  Our weekly tradition was only temporarily interrupted when I was away to college (WE ARE!!  PENN STATE!!) and didn’t make it home on Eagles game day weekends.  He walked in, said hello to the dog, put his stuff down, and sat in his spot.  He looked up and said “good you have the Eagles game on the big screen, but can you put one of the other tv’s to the Phils game?”

Huh, what?!  It’s October.  The leaves are changing colors.  The weather is getting cooler.  Its week 5 of the NFL and he wants me to reduce my NFL intake by 33% for baseball?!  I am a Die Hard Eagles Fan.  It didn’t even occur to me that yes the Philadelphia Phillies are in the playoffs, but to watch the game while Eagles football was on?

I gave in.  This way, we didn’t have to flip back and forth between the two channels on the big screen and risk missing an Eagles play or two as the channels takes forever to flash back.  However, it turns out I am not the only one that feels this way.

The Eagles had a week 5 regular season game the same time the Phillies played for the winning game of their first playoff series.  It turns out that the Eagles blew the Phillies away television viewing ratings wise.  The Eagles drew a rating of 22.7 while the Phillies, again in a playoff game, drew a rating of 13.8.

My first thought was wow.  But that quickly dissipated and my true feelings are shining through.  I knew it.  This place is Eagles country and will always be.  Even if we are 2-3 and the Phillies are now in the NCLS.  Yes, it is definitely Eagles country!

With that said, “E-A-G-L-E-S!!  EAGLES!!”

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As most people know, I live in the Philadelphia metro area. My kids were born at the very first hospital in the nation. Unfortunately, Matt Terl hasn’t called me yet to come work with him on the Redskins blog. So, until he does, I may be stuck here for a while longer.

A few years ago, my son came home from pre-kindergarten singing the Eagles flight song.

“Fly Eagles, fly, on the road to victory…”

Well, as you might be able to imagine, that just wasn’t going to work. You see, one of the teachers at his school knew that I was a Redskins fan and he purposely taught my son the Eagles fight song to get under my skin.

I refused to allow that to stand one minute longer than necessary! I promptly went to Google.com and looked up the words for the entire “Hail to the Redskins” fight song. To my wife’s dismay, my son and I memorized those words that very night. I sang the melody and made sure that when he returned to school the next day, he’d have the appropriate song for “show and tell.”

My son did me proud. So, when I saw this video today, and I just couldn’t resist sharing. It brought a smile and fond memories of teaching my son the right way to watch football; from the lense of a Die Hard Redskins fan.

Hail to the Redskins!

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As most people know, I live in the Philadelphia metro area. My kids were born at the very first hospital in the nation. Unfortunately, Matt Terl hasn’t called me yet to come work with him on the Redskins blog. So, until he does, I may be stuck here for a while longer.

A few years ago, my son came home from pre-kindergarten singing the Eagles flight song.

“Fly Eagles, fly, on the road to victory…”

Well, as you might be able to imagine, that just wasn’t going to work. You see, one of the teachers at his school knew that I was a Redskins fan and he purposely taught my son the Eagles fight song to get under my skin.

I refused to allow that to stand one minute longer than necessary! I promptly went to Google.com and looked up the words for the entire “Hail to the Redskins” fight song. To my wife’s dismay, my son and I memorized those words that very night. I sang the melody and made sure that when he returned to school the next day, he’d have the appropriate song for “show and tell.”

My son did me proud. So, when I saw this video today, and I just couldn’t resist sharing. It brought a smile and fond memories of teaching my son the right way to watch football; from the lense of a Die Hard Redskins fan.

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Speaking as a Die Hard Redskins Fan myself, I aspire to attend a Skins game in every one of our NFC East rival territories.  So far I’ve made it to Dallas, and I actually had the invite to Philly this weekend, however I declined for a couple of reasons.  Meanwhile, some good friends and fellow Die Hard fans were brave enough to travel 2 1/2 hours up 95, into the city of ‘Brotherly Love’ (give me a break) to watch the Redskins humiliate the Eagles in front of their home audience.

My dear friend, let’s call him Boog, accounts for the beginning of the Eagirls experience.

“Driving into the pay parking lot with ‘Hail To The Redskins’ blaring from our rented minivan, I was expecting to have beer bottles flung at us…We had no trouble with fans making it into the stadium after about an hour of tailgating.  Although once we made it into the stadium, fans attitudes changed.”

I guess the ‘presence’ of such loyal fans just angers Eagle fans.  Boog went on to say that they ran into about six or seven Redskins fans on the way in, however they were hiding undercover by not representing the burgundy and gold. I’ve been told time and time again that if you go to Philly, you DON’T wear a Skins jersey…because you will get beat up. Now, what the heck kind of rule is this and who has made it acceptable for Eagles fans to behave like complete Neanderthals? Oh WAIT, maybe that would be the Eagles franchise who decided to put an actual JAIL in the stadium! Let’s read more.

“When we filed into our seats just as the teams were taking the field, one not-so-friendly Eagles fan with a green and white mesh jersey (’practice jersey’) asked us hastily to find our seats.  When we replied that we had in fact found them, a bit of a shouting match endured. My friend, let’s call him Redskin Rick, got ‘Practice Jersey’ to take a seat rather quickly when he didn’t have much to say after his inital one liner.   ‘Practice jersey’ also was part of the ‘pack it up at the 2 minute warning’ club, as fans left the game before the game had come to an end. Some fans, huh?”

This makes me laugh, however it is in no way surprising. Personally, I feel that Eagles fans are bitter and HAVE been for numerous reasons.

1. Has your franchise EVER won a super bowl? EVER? I know… I’d be pretty mad too.
2. Your city is stuck and pretty much LOST between two of the greatest football-oriented metro areas in the country.
3. When your fans boo the local weatherman as well as the halftime entertainment…yeah, I’d say you guys are in need of a ‘fan-based face lift’.

Back to the Philly experience…

“Many of our cheers during the game led to comments like “Go back to DC” and “95 South Is over there.” There was also a dirty napkin that found the side of my face and my roommate claims to have been hit by a flying french fry… All in all, the Eagles fans did not turn out to be as bad as they are made out to be, with many of them being gracious in defeat and letting us know that the skins played a great game…That of course can’t be said about the drunk 20-something that decided to get in a pushing match with my buddy, let’s call him Scooter, in the parking lot. Scooter’s brother stepped in to handle the drunk with a punch in the face and the 20-something was then arrested. HAIL VICTORY!”

Now I have never been one to promote violence or fighting…that is actually one of the reasons I didn’t want to go to Philly this weekend- I hear their fans are pretty much relentless and if I was the only girl…TROUBLE!!  But when you are a home team fan and the home team LOSES… wouldn’t you think you should let it go? As if it isn’t embarrassing enough that the Redskins walked into your home field, let you score two touchdowns in under a minute to be up 14-0 but STILL come back to take the win back to DC… I think you need to either be wasted or a complete fool (or both?) to go around instigating like that. But this just goes to validate my bitter eagle fan theory.

To close on a more positive note, Boog went on to add this little tidbit at the end of his memoir for future reference for us all as Die Hard Redskins fans:

“Wanna shut up a philly fan? Just mention the fact that we all hate Dallas. Wanna make em’ talk again? Mention that we took care of the business they couldn’t in Dallas.”

Hail to the Redskins, the BEAST in the EAST!!!!!!!

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Over the years, I have learned that certain things just weren’t meant to be.  As a kid, I always wanted a brand new baseball glove.  I played every season for years and always used one my parents bought at a yard sale.  It had to be 40 years old at the minimum.  My little sister played softball one year with a brand new glove.  A new glove for me to be proud of just wasn’t meant to be.  In college, I spent a majority of my one class daydreaming about a believably good-looking girl that sat a row ahead of me, wondering what she looked like without all those annoying and frustrating clothes on but never found out.  It just wasn’t meant to be.  Life’s lessons never end because on Monday, I just realized another thing in my life that is not meant to be.

After suffering through a painful, horrific, and humiliating loss to the Washington Redskins Sunday, and trying to recoup from the loss, the hits just keep coming.  Philadelphia Eagles RB Brian Westbrook now has two fractured ribs.  I don’t know who is in more pain; Westbrook or us Die Hard Eagles Fans.

Brian Westbrook is the heart and soul of the Eagles offense.  No offense to QB Donovan McNabb but Westbrook is anything and everything to our offense.  He instills fear in the minds of opposing defenses.  Other teams have to account for him on every play.  They have to spend all week game planning for how to stop him as a multi-level threat. 

We know what the Eagles can do with and without “Westy”.  We saw that for the 2^nd half of the Steelers game and unfortunately the entire Bears game.  With a current record of 2-3 and a 0-2 NFC East division record, can there be any worse time for this injury?  My hopes and dreams of an Eagles Super bowl are fading by the second.  Maybe it is just one more thing in our lives that is not meant to be.

With that said, “E-A-G-L-E-S!!  EAGLES!!”

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This has been a decision I’ve been contemplating for about 24 hours now.  How do you decide who gets the game ball when the team as a whole pretty much won us the game?  Both sides of the ball were executed phenomenally, however my Die Hard Redskins Fan game ball goes to…Chris Cooley.

While I was quite impartial, debating between Cooley and Clinton Portis, I decided to go with Chris Cooley for a number of reasons. One, he had his first touchdown of the season yesterday, an 18 yard option toss from WR Antwaan Randle El that gave us the go-ahead in the third quarter.  Which, by the way, was the first visiting team touchdown scored at Lincoln Financial Field since last season. Two, he had a career-high 109 yards versus last weeks #9 power ranked Philadelphia Eagles.  Three, with the biggest concern for the Eagles defense being tight end coverage, Chris Cooley walked into the game ready to eat it up!

He credits “Tana Man” Santana Moss for his production in his official blog today.

“I finally put a touchdown on the stat sheet. I knew I was going to have a great opportunity to help the offense this week and really I felt it was a compliment to Santana Moss. Although he was catch-less, he opened up all kinds holes for the rest of us.”

Now, let’s move onto grading the team.  Beginning with the defense, I am handing out a B+.  Granted, Brian Westbrook isn’t healthy, but his presence did offer the Eagles their only touchdown in the game on Sunday.  Our defense was missing three key starters- Marcus Washington, Shawn Springs and Jason Taylor, however as a whole, they only allowed 58 yards on the ground.  DE Andre Carter recorded six tackles in the game, a team record so far this season.  And despite the mishap in the first quarter where WR Desean Jackson returned a kickoff for a touchdown, the most notable performance by the Redskins defense was when the Eagles pushed to the two yard line, followed by a no-gain second down and a 3 yard loss on third down, both on the account of Brian Westbrook. Ackers came in for the field goal where the Eagles were finally able to put up points after the Skins had posted 23 unanswered points.

Onto the offense. CLEARLY I am going to give the big O an A for their performance Sunday.  Between 204 yards on the ground against the #1 rushing defense in the league, along with a career-topping performance by Cooley, a brief taste of what may be to come with WR Devin Thomas, and the distraction methods used by Santana Moss, our boys worked together as a whole and executed beautifully in this win.

K Shaun Suisham racked up the points in field goals the first half yesterday, scoring us 9 points.  While at the time we were probably squirming a bit trying to catch up to the 14 points Philly scored early, those critical field goals won us the game in the end.  And they were all LONG balls too, and therefore I will be giving special teams an A as well.

CONGRATS TO COOOOOOOOOOOOLEYYYYY for having your best game yet in your career and scoring the Die Hard Redskins Fan game ball!

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