[sportscurmudgeon]

smootsmack:

Sorry to keep you waiting...

I have nothing gloomy to say about the defensive statistics. Looking at the yards given up by the defense this year, it is obviously a positive thing. In fact, it is the only positive thing about the Skins this year.

I do notice that Jason La Canfora has neglected to mention one defensive statistic - probably because it does not fit particularly well with the underlying theme of this article/note. So I'll ask the question here:

How many points has the defense produced this year?

I believe that the Skins have lost 4 games this year by 6 points or less. So a defensive TD in any of those games changes the outcome. Obviously, the offense did not do its job sufficiently, but great defenses also win a game or two in a season.

If the Skins were 9-4 and had these defensive stats we could anticipate the possibility of the defensive unit getting on a roll and making a run through the playoffs. Now I know that the Skins are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs yet - and neither are the sorry-assed Arizona Cardinals - but at the moment the only realistic way to look at this is that the team is 4-9 and not doing anything after 2 January 2005.

Sorry that none of the comments here are gloomy. All I can do is see what exists and identify it for what it is.