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Fight for Old DC: October 29, 2007
When I think about the Washington Redskins and the New England Patriots, I don’t instantly remember the 2011 game in which the Redskins made an honorable attempt against a legendary franchise, ultimately losing by a score of 27-34. I remember the lasting sting of the complete embarrassment that took place on October 29, 2007.
The 52-7 thrashing. The roughly 57 minutes with a goose egg on the scoreboard for the burgundy and gold. The measly 47 rushing yards. The appearance of the Patriot's second string quarterback part way through the fourth quarter. The rage of fans who couldn’t believe Belichick would "run up the score" on Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.
Just thinking about it makes me hang my head.
Modern Day State of Affairs: November 8, 2015
While I can't say I'm expecting a total disaster in Foxborough on Sunday, there isn't exactly a lot to be excited about. The Patriots, a commanding 7-0, are coming off a dominating 36-7 performance against their division opponent, the Miami Dolphins. Arguably, New England looks about as good as they did during their (almost) undefeated 2007 season.
As Gruden reported yesterday, the secondary is still struggling with injuries that have limited players in practice, and Tom Brady is likely to give that unit fits. It also doesn't help that the Redskins have a weak history of successfully covering tight ends when they'll now be asked to face Pro Bowl player Rob Gronkowski. Washington's defense, currently ranked 14th in the NFL, is going to have to have one of its best outings to hold the Patriot's offense to a respectable showing, and the Redskins offense is going t o have to be on point.
This will be our first look after the bye week to see if the Redskins managed to make enough adjustments to get the run game going and to see what the offense will look like with Kirk Cousins again having the chance to target Desean Jackson. The question is whether or not it will be enough.
And the winner is...
Never say never, but this week's game couldn't possibly be as bad as 2007's... could it?