The Old Man’s Still Got It…..

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings came in to FedEx Field and stole a victory from the Washington Redskins on Sunday. Never mind the fact that the Redskins have had a ton of injuries. And never mind the fact that Adrian Peterson went out of Sunday’s game with an injury. Washington had plenty of opportunities to put this game away and just couldn’t quite do it. And the old man, Brett Favre, being the veteran player that he is, knew how to take advantage of the Redskins’ mistake and come away with a 17-13. Now what?

The Redskins are now 5-6. The last time that Washington was in this position, it was in 2007 where they won four straight games to sneak into the playoffs. At that particular time Washington was a dismal 5-7 and people were ready to bury Jason Campbell. Enter Todd Collins after a Campbell injury, and he gets the Redskins to the Playoffs. But Seattle quickly sent Washington home with a 35-14 loss. Well guess what people. Todd Collins is not in Washington anymore. Neither is Jason Campbell for that matter. So who’s to blame this time?

Let’s take a look at Sunday’s game. Minnesota wasn’t losing for lack of talent. It was a lot of stuff going on behind closed doors. I mean Vishante Shiancoe has been around for years and has always been a talented Tight End, but Brett Favre loves throwing to his Tight Ends and Shiancoe benefited from that last year. Now everyone knows who he is and trust me, the Redskins Linebackers were well aware of his whereabouts Sunday. Sidney Rice has always been a talented Wide Receiver but just never had a chance to show it on the big stage. He got his opportunity last year. Percy Harvin is just a stud. And trust me, if you think you’ve seen everything from that young man… you haven’t seen anything yet. Harvin is going to be a Top 10 Wide Receiver in the NFL in the future. And do I even need to say anything about Adrian Peterson? Minnesota also boasts one of the best Defensive Lines in the NFL. Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Ray Edwards and Jared Allen provide a solid Pass Rush for the Vikings and allow them to do a lot on the back end of that Defense. Antoine Winfield is probably one of the best Cornerbacks in the NFL, but you don't hear anything about him.  Nothing Minnesota did Sunday surprised me. A lot of what Washington did, did surprise me. And I see parallels between the Vikings and the Redskins.

Washington has just as much talent as Minnesota.  But just like Minnesota, Washington is not playing up to their potential right now. Washington has the talent on Offense to be able to score points on anyone in the NFL. I have seen McNabb do more with less talent on Offense. There were years in Philadelphia where McNabb only had Brian Westbrook and he was still able to win 10 games a few times. Anthony Armstrong is a welcomed surprise this season. Santana Moss is still a talented Wide Receiver. Chris Cooley and Fred Davis are probably the best Tight End tandem in football. But, the injuries have killed the momentum. The Offensive Line is banged up yet again. And if that is not enough, the Redskins are not turning the ball over. Takeaways were the name of the game in the beginning of the season. But, Washington had five dropped passes Sunday, one of which resulted in an Interception within their own 20 Yard Line. Minnesota didn’t make those mistakes Sunday so that is why they were victorious. That is why they were a Playoff team a year ago. Is Washington a Playoff team? Right now, I’d have to say no. The are staring down the barrel of an 8-8 season yet again, but after finishing 4-12 last season, it would be an improvement.

Sunday shed light on a few things that have not really been addressed from last year. At this point of the season everyone has at least one or two key injuries. It is how you weather the storm that separates the Playoff teams from everyone else. Right now, it seems as though an ego or two is holding back the Redskins. So what we have Offensive Linemen out. So what we have Defensive Backs out. So what we have a couple of Linebackers out. So what we have two Running Backs out. Do what you have to do to win games. Even if it means scrapping some of the usual plays in your Offensive and Defensive Playbooks and calling plays to benefit your personnel. Otherwise, load the team with talent during the Offseason. But looking back at the Redskins’ track record, has stacking talent worked? Has it worked for any team? I think the Shanahan’s need to go back to the drawing board. Otherwise, if you think the fans at FedEx were ruthless last Sunday, you haven’t heard anything yet. We have some of the most passionate fans in the NFL and they will tell you about yourself. So Mike and Kyle, get it together. This is not the place where you’d want the fans turning against you. It ain’t Philly, but it ain't the Ice Capades either.