Ten Yard Fight -- 50-50 Odds Favor Robert Griffin

1. And I thought the Vonnie Holliday for Tim Hightower trade was a real peach. Well, Robert Griffin III went and turned Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan's all-in move to acquire him into a roaring success story. It might not be at Herschel Walker-trade status...or is it?

2. "The Great Train Robbery" resulted in Dallas netting Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, along with a host of other serviceable players without household names. The Cowboys already had Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin. Jimmy Johnson used a bunch of the other picks he acquired to move into position to get defensive tackle Russell Maryland. Needless to say, the trade was lopsided. The Redskins will not be able to net the same quantity of players from the deal as the St. Louis Rams, but isn't it possible Robert Griffin III could ultimately make this trade more lopsided than the Walker deal? Emmitt was great, and Woodson did some great work on the field, but how do you replace potentially one of the most dynamic players to ever play the quarterback position? More time and data are needed to properly assess this, but if Griffin can stay healthy and continue to be productive, I will have no problem suggesting that we beat the Walker trade.

3. Don't think for a second that there isn't at least one person inside the building in St. Louis that didn't push hard to jettison Sam Bradford and start over with Griffin. Don't think for a second that this thought doesn't cross the minds of multiple people there on a regular basis.

4. It would be premature to count Andrew Luck out of the Pro Bowl just yet, so let's just call it the Premature Pro Bowl Scoreboard: Robert Griffin III -- 1; Andrew Luck -- 0.

5. By the time the echo of the last whistle fades away, a number of things will have been freshly decided. One thing that is already decided right now: the Redskins will have a winning season in 2012. Think about that. We were 3-6 at one point. We were on pace to break all-time worst records on defense. Our defensive coaching staff was being maligned at every turn. Getting to this point is beyond unfathomable. Not even ih8 could have mustered enough drunken optimism to put money on a winning record from there.

6. We've spent the years since Joe Gibbs came back for a second tour in a constant state of "expectation lowering." I think Gibbs succeeded in getting us out of the "we can get great overnight" mindset. Since then, a trio consisting of Jim Zorn, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman have forced even the most optimistic fans to settle for a more moderate definition of success. I seem to recall many Redskins fans suggesting that 8-8 would be a monumental accomplishment. Considering we have had only two winning seasons this century--neither one of which came with an NFC East title--going 8-8 would certainly have been welcome.

7. I'm not saying we should raise our expectations before the game on Sunday, but I am saying we should raise our expectations after the game, playoffs or not. If this front office can give the 2013 roster a few above average touch-ups, you might see Kirk Cousins starting a game like this next year because we'll be resting Griffin.

8. You can't put too fine a point on the Kai Forbath addition. I can just imagine Norv Turner tuning in to see how this team is doing and throwing his Pabst Blue Ribbon can at the TV. After all, if he had just had a kicker, he might have taken the Redskins very deep into the postseason multiple times. He might have been retained as our coach for legitimate reasons instead of us annually throwing our hands into the air and wondering why we would get rid of a guy who could clearly coach offense but was inexplicably bad at leading his team to the promised land.

9. Games like the one on Sunday night come down to little things and are decided by players like Kai Forbath. Often, the difference between winning and losing boils down to whether a guy like Forbath can stay perfect. If his magical run continues, so will ours.

10. It is cool to see ESPN and NFL Network blanket the Redskins in coverage. It is almost Tebow-esque...almost. I have not experienced anything like this for a very, very long time. I think you have to go back to the days when the Redskins signed Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders to recall a time when Redskins news was this dominant. As for who the talking heads are picking, I think we are seeing a steady mix of answers. This game is as close to a 50-50 venture as you can get. Money Lining the Skins might be the best bet, but that is only assuming you can survive the heart attack you will suffer while watching. I am taking the Redskins 37-35...long live Kai Forbath.