Also in this game NFL Films’ Ed Sabol had knocked on Stram’s hotel room door the night before to ask him to wear a microphone for the game. Stram answered the door without his toupee, but still agreed. His banter on the sideline was priceless. “That’s a good mark there, Mr Official. Yes, Sir. Good mark.” Both Hank Stram and Len Dawson were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Parallels to this Washington Football Team season so far are plentiful. But, the most compelling comes from the world of Drag Racing. A National Hot Rod Association Top Fuel dragster is a marvel of a machine. The engines produce about 11,000 horsepower. Between every run the engines are stripped down to parade rest and rebuilt. Data is analyzed of performance. And, the car is adjusted for such minutiae as grains of water in the atmosphere. It takes many manhours in a concentrated time to get the car to the starting line. Oh, and it costs about $15,000 per run in pieces/parts and fuel. When the Driver finally gets the green lights on the staging tree the pedal gets mashed to the floor. Three things could happen. For whatever reason the engine just dies. It’s the least likely, but does occur rarely. Or everything goes beautifully as the tires grip the road hurtling the machine down the 1000-foot track in 3-seconds and change. In the process the car will accelerate from zero to 100 mph in slightly less than a second. OR the tires don’t grip the track. What happens then is a fit of violent shaking as the dragster goes essentially nowhere all the while producing billowing clouds of rubber smoke. All that work and money gone up in acrid burnt rubber vapor. It’s called “Tire Shake.” While that’s going on the competitor is likely long gone down towards the finish line.
This football team has a bad case of Tire Shake.
Off Course
Washington has had one pretty good game out of seven. The LA Chargers game was it. Games against the Giants, with Russell Wilson and the Raiders were functional. But, they were not pristine exhibitions. The Falcons’ game was frustrating. The games against the Packers and Cowboys were awful. This team has no rhythm. Until the injuries stabilize it doesn’t stand much of a chance to find it. Jayden Daniels is in and out of the lineup. “Scary Terry” hasn’t found the End Zone yet. Scratch that, he hasn’t found the field in a month. The Defense needs to go practice the Oklahoma Drill someplace away from reporters so they can learn to tackle. And, there are now three Defensive Ends on the season ending Reserve Injured List. At one point this week Ben Standig posted that Washington had only one Defensive End on the roster over 250 lbs. That would be Preston Smith, a 32-year-old who signed after the season started. There isn’t a COLLEGE team in the top-25 with only one DE over 250 lbs. It’s that dire.
We are Off-Course
Dan Quinn
Maybe it’s time to go visit Miss Rudolph. Instead the team will go visit Kermit the Quarterback and the rejuvenated Kansas City Chiefs. The guys in the desert have the game as Kansas City by 11.5-points. It’s the second-largest point spread this week only behind totally dysfunctional Tennessee going to Indianapolis. One of the more cruel NFL Hate Memes this week was a fake announcement that the NFL had flexed the Monday Night WFT/KC game to the Comedy Channel.
Man, this season went South quick, fast, and in a hurry. That’s Tire Shake for you.
Where to?
Sometimes the best questions are without an obvious answer. In spite of all the hand wringing the Offense still is scoring points. This despite not having the best three Receivers playing. Dallas’ Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus is a Zone-centric scheme guy. Last week with Washington missing the best part of their Receiver Room Eberflus went Man-t0-Man in coverage. His best Corner was on Tight End Zach Ertz. Washington still scored 22-points. But, that ties Dallas’ best Defensive effort of the year. The more one thinks about it the more remarkable it is that Washington scored that many points.
But, the WFT Defense was no match for the super high octane Dallas Offense. Dallas has two WR1s and a very solid Tight End. This team is the NFC version of the Bengals when Joe Burrow is upright. They are going to try to score so many points the opposition can’t keep up. It’s a formula that will generate wins against bad Defenses. However, it often fails against good teams when it matters most.
That game is in the rear-view mirror, thankfully. But, what does the team have to do to improve? The answer from the Afterguard this week has been to “Play better.” It’s a touch light on specifics. But, it isn’t wrong either. When it all goes to Hell get back to the basics: Blocking and Tackling.
Of Wakes and Pronouncements
This was a week for grand pronouncements throughout the fanbase: “That’s it. We won’t win another game.” “Season is OVER!!!” “The ceiling for wins is 7-games.” Those and many more like them was the common theme along with, “Fire Everybody.” There is no hiding the fatalism always just below the surface in this fanbase. It doesn’t need much of an excuse to show itself. This year so far has provided way more of an opportunity than was needed for it to be on full display.
Is the season really “Over” as in there is no chance for a playoff run however marginal? The odds are pretty foreboding. Washington actually has worse odds from Vegas than Baltimore who had won a total of one game entering the weekend. The promised brute of a schedule is getting ready to bare its teeth. After the Kansas City game the solid Seahawks come to town. Then the biggest day of the season for this team will arrive; the Trade Deadline on November 4.
One thing about this roster is that it has many players on one-year deals. Those guys can be oil-changed. A sixth or a seventh-rounder for any number of rental players could be coalesced into higher round picks. It has been widely reported that the front office has fielded as many as nine offers for Marcus Mariota. It’s a safe bet others have called about Deebo. The list goes on. If Washington loses these two games then it is perfectly reasonable to think Adam Peters will pull the drain plug. There would still be eight games on the schedule. With apologies to John Mellencamp; The season will go on long after the thrill of it is gone.
Two wins would change the narrative and the trajectory of the season. But, that is a mighty big ask. Either way the determination for the season will be here in a fortnight.
Game Information
Monday, Oct. 27
Commanders @ Chiefs—8:15 p.m ET, ESPN/ABC
TV: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst), Lisa Salters (sideline), Laura Rutledge (sideline)
Washington Radio: Bram Weinstein (play-by-play), London Fletcher (analyst), Logan Paulsen (analyst) BIG 100 WBIG-FM
