About 6 years ago I packed everything I owned into a 4' x 6' Uhaul and moved out to Southern CA. Of course my allegiance to the Redskins came with me. In my time out here I've met some great new friends, one of which is a die-hard 49ers fan. Up until last season, he suffered through exactly what we've been suffering through for much of the decade.

But then something up there changed, and his team is back to being competitive again. 

When Mike Nolan was relieved of his duties, the front office in SF had enough wherewithal to look within the organization and find their next great Head Coach. Enter Mike Singletary - the man, the myth, the legend. This guy is as spit-fire, in your face, won't take no shit from nobody as you could possibly ask for from your team's head coach, and his players have adopted that attitude. They are a team. They win together, and they lose together and when they lose, they are held as accountable as the coaching staff.

It's much more than him dropping his draws in the locker room to make a point. For Singletary, it's all about accountability, and that's exactly how it should be in a profession with salaries as high as those in the NFL. Take a look at this video and tell me that had the Redskins suffered as humiliating a defeat (yes, the Detroit loss was humiliating, but at least the Redskins had the opportunity to win it at the end) as the 49ers faithful endured this past Sunday that you wouldn't feel like your team was still in good hands.

49ers Humbled After Loss

Mike Singletary and the 49ers organization have built their team around football players, not bloated salary seeking me first individuals, which is what much of the Redskins roster consists of.  If an individual like Dre Bly appears to be losing sight of the common goal, he is held accountable, as you just saw in the video. Imagine if Zorn trotted DeAngelo Hall to the podium and made him apologize for not being able to tackle Jake Delhomme at the end of the game Sunday. Wouldn't you feel slightly more confident in the direction of this team?

I can only hope that someone at Redskins Park has taken notice of the transformations under way in cities like SF and ATL, and vows to do the same thing in DC.