Winners know how to win plain and simple. They know how win when the terrain is perfect and they know how to win when they are challenged. The Redskins are far from being a winning team comprised of winners. They are a medicore team comprised of overpaid losers who crack under pressure. Some say the stars aligned and the fates intervened to miraculously propel the undefeated Saints to yet another win. I have a different outlook. I don't think Providence, the fates, angels or anything divine cares very much about football. Rather I would like to think that these celestial divine beings are focusing their energies on the more pressing problems wrong with the world today like hunger, famine, war, poverty, etc. To think that they really care enough about intervening in a football game to propel any team to victory is a little silly. It wasn't divine intervention that carried the day for the Saints, it was the culmination of a bunch of overpaid losers on the Redskins not knowing how to win when their numbers were dialed up.
There are 7 factors that contributed to our loss, in order of ratio of contribution they are number 6, number 30, number 41, number 17, number 92 not living up to his pay grade and Danny and Vinny. That's it. Not fate, not Thor, not Oden, not Zeus, not angels in the field, not divine Providence descending from heaven so the Saints can win against a lowly, mediocre team. Karma, maybe, Snyder has a lot of making up to do that's for sure. Perhaps if he walked away from the team, Karma would then intercede in the fan's favor.
As one of my favorite players Reed Doughty said in Thomas Boswell's article, "Close" is for losers, "Really good teams find a way to win games. And we're not that right now."
Campbell played the best game of his career without a doubt, but in the end, when your best is not good enough, you can't be the best. One of my favorite hip hop artists, Nelly, puts it best, "2 is not a winner and 3 nobody remembers." It doesn't matter if you played the best game of your life, if you throw a costly interception in overtime when you are on the verge of a massive upset over arguably one of the best teams in the league...you are not a winner. You are a fine player who cracks under pressure and costs his team and the fans a memorable victory. This is not good enough to be a top QB in the NFL or to be top in any walk of life for that matter. Winners know how to win on smooth waters or under turbulent conditions. They may not win all the time, but they certainly win more times than they lose.
Good coaches also know how to coach players to hold on to the ball. Don't be flashy, and don't be the hero when you've already made a huge interception at the end of the half. We don't have good coaches. Kareem Moore was part of the problem, making a nice play loses it's flavor when you fumble to the other team for a touchdown. You are then no longer a hero, you are a culprit who contributed to the loss. Jason Reid makes note about Kareem's (number 41) reply to this blunder, "All I was thinking about was trying to get nice field position for us and maybe even score," Moore said. "I tried to spin out of [Meachem's grasp], he used my momentum against me and he just took it from me." WHAT'S THIS? THE HERO MAKES A STUPID EXCUSE AND BLAMES THE OTHER GUY FOR HIM MAKING A MISTAKE. Newsflash, the other team doesn't want you to win, this is why you need to protect your momentum and not allow it to be used against you. Winners don't make excuses, they simply deliver results. Whoop, guess Kareem Moore doesn't fit that winner description.
I think I have made a successful argument to the point that divine Providence, the fates, angels in the field, and celestial interventions have nothing to do with winning or losing a football game. It's the owners, players and coaches, plain and simple. Let's not hide in denial that our beloved team sucks and is made up of losers who don't know how persevere through adversity when the time calls for it. The Redskins need a makeover from top to bottom. That is the only way to explain a consistently losing team, any losing team, bizarre conditions or not. Thus the ailing Redskins are left to wander off the field in yet another explicable dissapointment searching for an excuse other than themselves.
