I didn't even know it was still there. After all these many long months, there it was, screaming for some love: my italics key. On a plane ride to Minnesota yesterday, I knew that today was going to feature a fresh batch of optimism. As you all know, I am the executive chef at this particular Kool-Aid bistro. If you think Ryan Kerrigan is too young to impact the defense in year one; if you think that Mike Shanahan is too ego-maniacal to effectively manage this roster; if you think that no team will EVER win as long as Dan Snyder is the owner--this article is not for you. On the other hand, if you think that Leonard Hankerson can grab 70+ balls in his rookie season; if you think that Jim Haslett is going to make outrageous gains in his second chance to put a decent defense on the field; if you think that the free agent frenzy we are about to embark on will add enough talent to our roster to win a few games that maybe we did not expect to win in 2011--well then you are ready to help me dust off the italics button and rock the next episode in our Boldly Hoping series.

Welcome back y'all. We have kept the peace around here for months in a football-less world. It was difficult at first, but all we missed was the offseason. Granted, we have always cherished our hardware when it comes to offseason trophies. While there is still some offseason left to win, the lack of a traditional offseason really gives this franchise a fresh start.

All the talk of process and rebuilding we have tossed around over the last few months is tabled for the moment. It's a good news day.  This Redskins team has an opportunity to make the playoffs in 2011. What?!? Welcome to Boldly Hoping.

Let's start at the top. Mike Shanahan in year two is going to be a lot different than most of the coaches we have seen here under Dan Snyder, except for only Joe Gibbs. When Joe Gibbs came back for his second tour of duty, he started out with a 6-10 record. The next year he turned that around to 10-6, and forgive me if I am off base here, but that team he took to the playoffs in his second season was not-on paper-a team to which people were attributing a lot of playoff buzz. Underscoring the notion that some coaches are, well, better than others, Gibbs made strides in his second season the first time around as well. He went 8-8 in his rookie season and then came back and went 8-1 in a labor strife-shortened season. We'll never know if Marty Schottenheimer could have built something from his 8-8 season, but given the 8-3 finish he had that year, it is likely he would have come back fairly strong. As for Mike Shanahan, he did not get a shot at a full second season under Al Davis as coach of the Raiders. But in Denver, you can see he made a ton of progress from the first year to the second year, going from 8-8 to 13-3 (he won the Super Bowl in his third year...no John Elway on our roster though.)

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Welcome once again to the offseason, the time of year when Redskin fans around the globe recharge their spiritual batteries. The time of year when supporters of the burgundy and gold defibrillate their loins following yet another season of mind-blowing mediocrity. The time of year when...well, you get it.

I have raised my glass to you all on numerous occasions over the last decade. A resilient bunch to be sure, we fans of the Washington Redskins have made a habit of picking ourselves up off of the pavement every winter. And then by spring, wouldn't you know it...we are in full-fledged guzzle mode at the Kool-Aid jug. I suppose we aren't all that different from fans of other teams. Assuming of course that those other teams haven't won a meaningful game in January in years, haven't prioritized stability over shiny new toys and have injected ridiculous drama into situations that otherwise could have transpired without notice or commentary.

Far be it for me to separate myself from this mentality. I know full well that the Redskins are nowhere near where the Green Bay Packers are as a franchise. I know that...today. But come April...May...June...I will have a Kool-Aid moustache that would make Burt Reynolds jealous. And I make no apologies.

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As if we weren't going to re-viva the Revolucion!

Here at Hogs Haven, we do our best to promote the exchange of Redskins tickets among Redskins fans. The last thing we want to see is tickets end up in the hands of Dallas, Philly, or New York fans. There is just nothing fun about going to root for the Skins and having to sit next to an idiot in an Emmitt Smith or Michael Irvin jersey. To me, what hurts the most is the thought that a diehard Redskins fan was potentially responsible for the Cowgirls moron in that seat. As a person who has been going to games for 10 years now, I know full well that selling Redskins tickets for what you paid can be hard at times. Everyone must look after their families and their wallets in the way that makes the most sense for them. I just believe that every effort MUST be made at the individual level to ensure that when you can't go to the game, a Redskins fan takes your place.

And so, with the season bearing down on us, I introduce "Redskins Fans Seeking Redskins Fans". Please remember, we are not a ticket broker, and we do not have any intention of becoming one. But there must be a way for us to do more than just decry the practice of unknowingly selling your tickets to fans of the opposing teams on StubHub, or other ticket sites. So we decided to start a grassroots effort where Hogs Haven members could trade tickets with each other.

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For those who joined the site during the season or pre-season, you missed out on a semi-regular offseason column I like to write. "Missed" is of course a subjective term (as is "column", "write", and "semi".) As Redskins fans, we have little more than hope to hold onto. We have little more than our faith to keep us from spinning right off of this planet into the great unknown. At Hogs Haven, we spend a great deal of time combining our love of italicizing contrived stories with letting unbridled optimism run free. Because of this, I like to warm up the italics button and deliver a panty dropping installment of the world-famous Boldly Hoping series.

Let me take you back to Sunday, October 26, 1997.

The 3-4 San Diego Chargers played the 0-7 Indianapolis Colts. Neither team was very good, though each side had some pretty awesome players. The Colts had Marshall Faulk, and the Chargers had Rodney Harrison...and the immortal Stan Humphries.

The Chiefs and the Broncos were the class of the AFC West. The Chargers had managed wins over just the lowly Saints, Ravens and Raiders--all of which finished the season with losing records. The Colts were winless and were fighting for respectability and pride. Neither spent too much time in Indy that season.

The Colts were winless entering the game and the Chargers were winless for the remainder of the season. Both teams would finish the year with 4 victories.

What happened that day though, had huge implications that rippled through time. Imagine you are a fan of either team, tuning in to watch your boys play a game that would most likely be unwatchable. It would never occur to you that the outcome of this affair would shape your team for years to come.

The early MVP of the game was a kicker named Greg Davis. Through two quarters of play the score was Greg Davis 12, Colts 0. Stan Humphries passed for 229 yards and a touchdown for the Super Chargers, while Paul Justin (yes, that Paul Justin) tallied 243 yards and two touchdowns. Suffice to say the game has not been featured on ESPN Classic.

So why did the Chargers 35-19 victory over the Colts that season matter?  Based on a rudimentary understanding of how they break ties to determine the NFL draft order, it is likely that Indy's conference loss here vaulted them to the top draft spot in the 1998 draft...exactly one spot higher than the San Diego Chargers.

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Good day to all of you out there fighting to keep hope alive. Time to dust off the ol' series that serves up the tastiest Kool-Aid in town. Time to dig deep for reasons why our beloved Redskins remain in the hunt for a Super Bowl sooner rather than later. Time to break out the italics, because the latest chapter in the Boldly Hoping saga continues now.

I have been dreading this look at our secondary. Like many of you out there, spending more than 2 seconds thinking about the state of our defensive backfield is impossible without re-visiting the tragic death of Sean Taylor. Laron Landry and Sean Taylor were a wet dream standing back there. There is no need for me to further spell out the destruction they would have brought to this league, as we all dwell on it still. Let's move that to the side for the moment and look at who is there now.

I am continually surprised when I find myself in an actual debate about the skills and impact of Laron Landry on our defense. People whose opinions I don't easily dismiss argue he just isn't a force and doesn't make enough plays to be considered an elite player. They argue that he doesn't seem to be around the ball the way Taylor always was and that he doesn't change the game the way Taylor always did from a turnovers perspective. I get names thrown at me...Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, etc. To be frank, they have a point. But this debate is not one-sided. First thing first--the Reeds, Polamalus, and Sean Taylors of the world are beyond elite. They are otherworldly and their greatness is exceeded only by their scarcity. The point being that there are players in this league that are great players that aren't on the same level as Ed Reed (for example.) So I am unprepared to judge Laron Landry by that standard today. It is easy to look great next to Sean Taylor, and then become invisible when it takes a 7th round draft choice playing beyond expectations to lock up the spot beside him. For the sake of registering an opinion, I do think Laron is a special player, capable of taking over games in the defensive backfield. He has the speed to impact the deep passing game, and the power to impact the running game (can we not talk about the Brandon Jacobs train that ran him over last season?) Most importantly, it seems to me that he has the mean streak in him necessary to want to be a physical, nasty presence back there. I believe he was making a large impact last season by taking away a side of the field for example against teams trying to flood intermediate and short zones. At FedEx, I watched him before most plays and witnessed how he played mind games with the opposing quarterbacks, starting up and moving back, or starting on one side and sliding over, or up. I do think his presence was the determining factor in a few games last season, and what at times seemed like his disappearance was nothing more than the offense going away from him. However, to make the leap to elite status he has to turn up the heat in the turnover department. He was tied for 5th among defensive backs last season in forced fumbles. But his INT total--2--is not where we need it to be. In the opener last season, Eli threw one right through his arms. That play (that kind of play) simply has to be made. Ed Reed does not drop that ball...EVER. And the exciting thing about Landry is that with the ball in his hands, he is as explosive of an athlete as there is on the field. He has to put himself in that position more. Because even with relatively young, talented corners on the field for us next year, it will be Landry that will have to dictate to opposing offenses what is there and what isn't. While you may argue the point, you can't argue that some bold hoping is starting to take place here!

Speaking of our corners, let's get past whether DeAngelo Hall is overpaid or not. It doesn't matter. He's 25, a starting talent for most teams (including ours), and he is a Redskins fan. That is enough for me to trot out some serious hope. Hall and Carlos Rogers theoretically represent one of the better CB tandems in the league. Rogers turned the corner last year and despite showing a few signs of ego/attitude at the end of last year when it came to playing time and his contract, he remains someone we will have to count on to lock down the bigger, physical receivers in this league. It is my hope that the Redskins lock this player up long-term in the course of this season. Cornerbacks with the ability to cover man-to-man are a valuable commodity in this league, and especially in a year when there does not appear to be much in the way of top-tier talent coming out of the draft, securing the position is imperative.

And don't think I have forgotten about Captain Steubing. Smoot is a fan favorite, and as a 3rd corner, is a luxury that a lot of teams don't have. He is no up-and-comer that is trying to work his way into the top two. He is an established veteran used to being a starter. If our top two corners do their jobs, it will be Smoot that gets thrown at most, and that is something that should favor the Redskins. He has proven he is able to catch the ball and he has exhibited the kind of toughness and mental resolve that you wish every player had. Plus he is an absolute riot jawing with opposing players, fans, his own teammates, refs, himself, etc.

Finally, back to where we started--safety. IS Chris Horton for real? For a front office that stupidly prides itself on paying whatever it takes to land splashy, big-name players, Horton was an absolute breath of fresh air. A 7th rounder that gets named NFC Defensive Player of the Week in week 2? It took him a while to be in the right place on the majority of plays, but his ability to be in the right place when turnovers were at stake (especially early in the season) is something that some players just have. Personally, it gives me great pleasure to see a guy play his way into our starting lineup that wasn't the focus of some huge off-season saga. Really harkens back to the days where homegrown talent was the rule, not the exception. Year two will hopefully be the pudding that bears the proof that he belongs on the field now and for a long time to come.

The Redskins were #4 in team defense last season. Turnovers, sacks, "big plays"...all still largely elude this unit and ultimately tell the tale of why they are not perceived by many to be a truly great defense. The addition of Haynesworth should help the secondary as much as anyone else on this defense if he does in fact increase the pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Another pass-rushing LB would do the same thing. As we sit right now though, our defensive secondary is as sound as we could hope for, and has the juice to rank as one of the best in 2009. You asked for it and you got it...Boldly Hoping where no hope has helped before.

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