Here's a quick summary of how good the rest of the football watching nation says we aren't:
ESPN moves us from 25th to 27th. We're now competing in draft position with perennial powerhouses like the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.
When you spend as much money as the Redskins did on assistants and free agents, you're not supposed to finish last in your division.
Well thanks for that -- ESPN did rank us three spots ahead of the Tampa Bay Bucs. The case could made, of course, that they're a better team; they beat us in week 11.
Well thanks for nothing -- the Cardinals are apparently a better 4-9 team despite the fact that the Redskins have a tougher Strength of Schedule and Strength of Victory. Still, how sad is our season where this Redskin advocate has to haggle over the 26th spot in ESPN's Power Poll. Football Gods, what have I done to displease you so?
Pete Prisco at Sportsline ranks us 30th, which is exactly where we were last week. Only the Raiders and the Lions are below us. Are we really the worst 4 win team in the league? If you say so, Pete.
Remember all that preseason optimism inside the beltway? Based on what the coaches are making, the five victories are pretty damn expensive.
Well thanks for that -- nothing.
Well thanks for nothing -- and we mean it.
Aaron Shatz of Football Outsiders fame uses his brilliant DVOA rating for the Fox Sports ranking. We've actually moved up from the 25th to 23rd. DVOA rankings don't take into account wins or losses but rather it is a complicated statistical measurement of how successful a team is on any given down.
It's no surprise that there's some unrest among the Redskins fans. They put all their eggs in the Joe Gibbs basket, and the faith was not rewarded. I'm sure Daniel Snyder will try to solve the problem by throwing money at more free agents; it's one of the NFL's most predictable rites of spring. Which overrated wide receiver will the Redskins embrace this year? I shudder to think. Look at the make-up of this team, and you'll realize that the Redskins will always be a minor threat unless they can build some depth. There's really only one word to describe this franchise right now: fugazi.
Well thanks for that -- we're above the Falcons
and the Seahawks, two teams with winning records (and the Falcons beat us!). The Seahawks are the only division leader right now that has given up
more points than it has scored.
Well thanks for nothing -- at 23 we're going to shut up and accept it.
Peter Shrager, also at Fox Sports has a different take. The Redskins have remained steady at 28th.
A few days after signing a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract extension, Ladell Betts played the game of his life. Betts ran for a career-high 171 yards, his third straight 100-yard effort, and his second straight 150 yards-plus day. Alas, the Redskins found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard for the fourth time in five games. At 4-9, the `Skins `06 playoff dreams are now officially done. Joe Gibbs addressed the Washington fan base after the game: "I'm sorry that we've lost this many games," Gibbs said. "That's what we talked about this week: We didn't want to have a losing record. The way you finish is what people remember; it's the way you fight, even sometimes if there's nothing but just pride."
Well thanks for that -- we're above the 5 win San Fransisco 49ers!
Well thanks for nothing -- apparently we're the worst 4 win team in the nation. I cry foul!
Welcome to the cellar, Redskins fans. Where do you think we rank, relative to the rest of the league?
