It's Been a Great Season

[mheisig]

I thought I'd do something of a "preemptive" post here and go on record as saying I think this has been a fantastic season, regardless of whether we get into the playoffs or not.

This team has had to overcome some enormous obstacles this season, just to recap a few: we lost our starting QB, a starting CB, endured injuries to the offensive line that at one point we were basically left with Chris Samuels. We were without our star #1 WR for a few games, we lost James Thrash for a while as well as ARE. Marcus Washington was out for a few games and started the season a little rusty from injury. Rocky McIntosh goes down with a shredded knee. Randy Thomas goes down for the season. Smoot is banged up. While it's not really a "loss," we also managed to have Brandon Lloyd end up on IR due to a freak practice accident. Portis is also continually banged up and it seems that at one time or another, every player on the team has had a hamstring injury.

Add to all of those "regular" football trials the permanent loss of your #1 safety, Pro Bowler and team leader Sean Taylor. That loss, though, is even eclipsed by the more tragic and heartbreaking loss of a friend.

I think 2007 will go down in Redskins history as probably the single most difficult, trying season in team history. Whatever could go wrong pretty much did.

With all that being said, I couldn't be happier about where the team is and what they've accomplished. Along those lines and in light of the hardship these guys have endured, I thought I'd highlight what I believe are some of the more important positives about this season, regardless of the outcome on Sunday vs. Dallas.

1. Joe Gibbs
Say what you will, this "senile old man" who has supposedly "had the game pass him by" has been the glue to hold this team together. Lesser men and lesser leaders would have had their teams in shambles. Look at Petrino: his team has had about half the adversity of the Skins, and he flees town with his tail between his legs and his team at 3-12. Yes, plenty of teams have been bitten by the injury bug and had their share of problems, and they are sporting records well below .500 and are eliminated from playoff contention. He's made his share of mistakes, but I am convinced that without Joe Gibbs this team would be a complete disaster right now with hardly a prayer of rebuilding, let alone being competitive.

2. Todd Collins
Turns out we have a pretty damn good backup and a mentor for Jason Campbell. At 36, he's not going to lead this team for the next decade, but talk about stepping up when he had to, and I really look forward to seeing him mentor Campbell over the next few years. It's nice to have some depth at the QB position.

3. Clinton Portis
How many threads did we have about whether we should go with Betts or Portis? How many posts about Portis being over the hill and done with? This has been a relatively quiet, mediocre season for CP, yet he's still #8 in the NFL in total yards, #3 in the NFC in total yards. We can argue all day that he's not as good as Adrian Peterson or LT, but who else is? Two out of 32 teams have an Adrian Peterson or an LT. Given that there are 32 teams in the league, each sporting multiple running backs, it's not too damn shabby to have a back ranked in the top 10 even when he's having a "so-so" year. Add to that the intangibles that he provides, the blocking, the heart and the work ethic, we've got ourselves a damn fine running back.

4. Daniel Snyder
I'm not sure I've ever read anything positive about Daniel Snyder, but I think he really stepped up in the wake of Sean Taylor's death. He seemed more distraught and heartbroken than almost anyone else during the press conferences, and he didn't even think twice about chartering three planes to fly the entire organization down to FL for Sean's funeral. He also setup a trust fund for Taylor's daughter to make sure that she is financially provided for. If you ask me, Snyder stepped up when he was needed and showed his true colors and generosity.

5. Stephon Heyer, Reed Doughty, et al
Guys have stepped up when they've been asked too. Heyer has been playing his ass off and progressing. Doughty has done a pretty good job of filling in. Smoot moves from #3 to #2 and is playing some awesome football. Alexander is really starting to prove his worth. This Anthony Mix kid seems to be in the middle of every special teams play and is hopefully progressing toward being a receiving threat. Through all this adversity and injuries to our "big name" players, it's the backups and practice squad guys that are stepping up and carrying this team towards the postseason.

This list could go on forever. Cooley. Landry. Fletcher. Sellers. Blades. Montgomery. Carter. How many guys have really stepped it up in the face of adversity and played their hearts out? This team has endured hardship above and beyond any team that I am aware of and has risen to the occasion and is playing meaningful football in late December.

Players and coaches of lesser character and fortitude would have fallen by the wayside months ago, but not these guys.

Regardless of what happens on Sunday or the next few weeks, I for one could not be more proud of this team and optimistic about our future.