There’s nothing worse than a December funeral.
The Washington Redskins buried their postseason hopes Sunday. They’re a long shot even to finish with a .500 record. Will they win again? Fans again are relegated to planning something else to do on Sundays. It has become a Christmas-time tradition around Washington.
An ugly 31-7 loss at the New York Giants dropped the Redskins to 5-7. Other than a surprising victory over Tennessee on Nov. 21, Washington hasn’t played well since late October.
An old team is fading away, and a bad team is appearing.
It’s not losing on a cold, windy day (which favored the Giants’ running game) that’s so appalling. It’s the defense standing around, letting New York take a 14-0 lead with persistent big plays sandwiched around Washington’s three-and-out offense. It was poor tackling, largely because of poor technique.
It’s dropped passes and six turnovers and four sacks.
The Mike Shanahan-Albert Haynesworth feud arose again. The Redskins desperately needed the defensive lineman to play well. Instead, he didn’t play at all. Haynesworth said he was two minutes late for a Friday meeting. That means the infraction was probably much worse since we all tell the police we were doing the speed limit when we really were 15 over it.
Shanahan said Haynesworth had a rumbly in his tumbly. Well, we all know who are sick to their stomachs when it comes to this feud — the fans. The coach simply needs to cut Haynesworth at this point and move on rather than continue this nonsense, which is hurting both sides. The team has bigger problems than wasting energy on this season-long dispute.
The Redskins haven’t quit, but a lack of a running game and a second receiver has crippled the offense. The line isn’t even playing that badly. It’s not five blocks of stone, but on their sliding scale of ineptitude the last month was better than the first two. Still, somewhat resolving the season’s biggest early problem hasn’t staved off the team’s decline.
The current 1-4 slide gives no hope the Redskins will finish .500. They may not win again, which would mean a last-place finish in the NFC East. Find any expected win over the final month — Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and New York are all vying for the playoffs. Dallas is in postseason form since it fired Wade Phillips.
A 1-8 finish usually gets coaches fired around Redskins Park. Shanahan is too solidly entrenched, but the defense is dead last in the NFL and has allowed at least 30 points in five games. Paging Jim Haslett — you’re retirement plan is calling. The 401k wants to know where it’s being rolled over to next year.
Washington already is playing for next season, trying to figure out which spare parts to save and which old ones need replacing. Another massive roster rollover is looming.
Meanwhile, get ready for a long final month.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
