Blaming the Officials

It's appropriate that the Washington Post column by Mike Wise reporting on Sunday's loss by the Redskins -- now with a paltry 2-5 record seven games after the return of of legendary coach Joe Gibbs -- is named after this blog. Fear and Loathing in Landover [washingtonpost.com]. That's because I simply cannot stand the whining, mercurial fans that populate FedEx Field, with their constant booing of quarterbacks, fervent conviction that the Skins are cheated out of winning only by the officials, The Washington Redskins have been a bad football team for the last 10 years! The gonzo faithful who battle through the interminable traffic to take in the games cannot admit that because it would make their whole religious infatuation with this team transparently quixotic.

Mike Wilbon remarks that:

That's not right. This city has thrown more all-star QBs out of town than any other place in the NFL, at last three of which -- Stan Humphries, Brad Johnson and Trent Green -- have proven their worth by leading teams elsewhere to glory (and twice to the SuperBowl itsellf). In the just over 10-year season period starting with Norv Turner's 1994 coaching debut, the Redskins have used 16 different starting quarterbacks (actually, 23 in total, counting mid-season substitutions and roster reversals) playing for five different head coaches. Read 'em and weep:

• John Friesz
  
• Heath Shuler
  
• Gus Frerottte
  
• Jeff Hostetler
  
• Trent Green
  
• Brad Johnson
  
• Rodney Peete
  
• Jeff George
  
• Tony Banks
  
• Kent Graham
  
• Shane Matthews
  
• Danny Wuerffel
  
• Patrick Ramsay
  
• Tim Hasselback
  
• Mark Brunnell

Oh, and in the game itself this weekend, Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers played masterfully in the first half, softly dropping two long passes -- a skinny post and a go route -- into the arms of his sprinting wideouts right in front of our seats at the 20 yard line. In his first, and perhaps only appearance in DC, Brett showed why he is a lock for the Hall of Fame.

 Posted by glenn