1. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...the offseason. They say it starts at different times for different people, but it always starts at the same time here in Washington. Truth be told, our season was "officially" over before Sunday night, but squeezing in one more ass-beating before the closing the book felt...right.
2. I love the NFL. I am an absolute junkie, ready to watch any two teams play no matter who they are or what their situation is prior to the contest. It is a good thing I feel that way, as I have had to apply that mentality to much of the latter half of the Redskins' season.
3. I won't delve too hard into the negative today--there is plenty of time to do that, and there is a lot of negative to cover. There are some positives to take home from this season, though they are hard to swallow with the glass of 5-11 water Mike Shanahan just poured for us.
4. I am trying to figure out if this 5-11 team is better or worse than last year's 6-10 team. It's like comparing turd sandwiches. On one hand, they do taste different, with discernible flavors and accents. On the other hand, we just got served our second straight annual turd sandwich. Listen, I have been preaching the long view for the last couple years. I do believe we are going in the right direction, but everywhere I look, I see other organizations making turnarounds at a much faster pace than us. Hell, the Broncos did it inside of a season. Most places, it is because of a quarterback. But look at San Francisco...Alex Smith is not some fresh-faced rookie savior. And they have a BYE.
5. 'Tis the season for finger-pointing. I hate it. I really do. But am I supposed to pen a letter to Mike Shanahan and Dan Snyder saying, "Thank you for another great year?" Am I supposed to just "believe" that Shanahan and Allen can do for us what other organizations in the NFL have been able to do for their fans? I can probably say with certainty that I will be among the easiest on this front office in the weeks and months ahead (on this site). How do I define easy? I am giving them a D on their report card. Whether we are getting better or not, they have to answer for the John Beck nonsense. They have to answer for a miserable year on special teams. They have to answer for the team yet again failing to show up for a couple games in the heart of a season where two more wins could have made the last game meaningful.
6. You want progress? How about this...I am not going to analyze this season by asking, "What went wrong?" I refuse to waste my time today pointing out the ridiculously obvious fact: the Washington Redskins organization remains MILES behind the leaders in this league. Maybe we are gaining ground. Maybe.
Oh yeah...HAPPY HOLIDAYS! hahahahaha
**Bonus bright-side shot: Even though we lost the game at Dallas early in the year, my high point will remain the way that Tony Romo was simply beside himself with the bad snaps and incorrect routes. Do you remember that point of the game where you just knew we were going to win and Romo was going nuts on his teammates? That is where I am freezing my emotions for the season. God that was great. God that was a long time ago.