Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Have the Redskins hit rock bottom?

The first step to solving a problem is realizing that you have one. Maybe the Redskins players have come to that realization.

After the Eagles game, the players were apologetic. They truly felt bad that they had laid such an ugly egg on national TV and in front of a large crowd at FedEx Field that was looking for a reason to be enthusiastic. And while they didn’t necessarily think that the beatdown was a fluke, they didn’t think that is was much of anything to be worried about in the long term. The team had the memory of having beaten the Eagles in Philadelphia earlier in the season and the strong temptation was to think that it was just an off night, that they got punched early and often and couldn’t recover. In their minds, it wasn’t that there was a great talent disparity between the two teams; it was just an off night. Then they gutted out a win in Tennessee despite a mind-boggling run of injuries being suffered both before and during the game. A week later the Vikings won after a Brandon Banks punt return for a touchdown was called back by a penalty for an illegal block that didn’t have any effect on the play. That gave them a crutch. It was a game that the “could” have one, maybe even on that they “should” have won. There were no such illusions after the Giants game.

There also are some thoughts about Albert-Shanahan in the article:

I don’t quite know how to react when people blame Mike Shanahan for the Albert Haynesworth mess. Since when is establishing rules, norms, and procedures, the kind that any organization needs to be effective, being on a power trip or being a control freak? Not that Shanahan has handled things flawlessly. But blaming him for the fact that Haynesworth’s relationship with the organization is now irreversibly in shambles would be like blaming the cop for a burglary because he arrested the guy who broke into the house.

Go here to read the complete article.

Setting the record straight re: Phillip Daniels

This from my Quotes With Notes article that I posted yesterday on CSNwashington.com:

Phillip Daniels, speaking to another CSN Washington associate before practice: “Tell Rich Tandler that I play special teams.” I suppose that one sign that you’re getting established at a major media outlet is that players will call you out when you make a mistake. Daniels read my article from Tuesday about the defensive players who may be coming and going between now and the start of the 2011 season and he had a couple of bones to pick with me. I should point out that it was all in good-natured fun, which is fortunate since Daniels is one of the strongest players in the NFL. When I wrote the article, I forgot that Daniels does play on the field goal block team. This was a particularly bad error on my part since he blocked a field goal earlier this year and he was involved in a key play against the Lions. Daniels was charged with jumping offside just before the Lions were about to kick a short field goal. That gave Detroit a first down and they went in to score a touchdown. Daniels, for his part, said that the center had moved, drawing him offside. There is some video evidence to back up Daniels’ claim. Daniels also called me out on some shoddy math skills in calculating his age. He will be 38 next season, not 39. As far as me having him in the “Change of scenery” category, I told him not to worry since I have written him off every year since 2006. He agreed that it probably was a good sign.

Note to self--check your math when writing about NFL players who are 6-5, 302 and could power lift your car.