Sep-TIMBER

My Texas Rangers started September by losing 15 of the first 20 games. It was a nightmare. Each loss left like a swing-and-miss for American League wild-card race. Post-season play was slipping away and away for a team that made a post-season appearance the last three years. You play baseball to play in October.

The Rangers played 162 games and yes, they all counted! To stay alive in the AL wild-card race they had to win the last seven games of the regular season.

They played Tampa Bay in game 163 for the AL wild-card tiebreaker. The last wild-card tiebreaker was in 2009. The good news was that Nelson Cruz is back from his 50-day vacation; the bad news was that the post season all comes down to ONE game. It felt just like a “Game 7” only the knots in my stomach were much bigger.

The Rangers have fun when they play, they fight for wins and when they lose they break hearts and shatter World Series dreams. We just got Nellie back; baseball season can’t be over before October in Texas. But after losing the tiebreaker 5-2, baseball is officially over.

The Redskins started 0-3 and finally beat the Raiders in Oakland 24-14 for the first win of the season. The Redskins offense still hasn’t scored in the first quarter this season and it’s obvious that RG3 still isn’t the same magical QB we saw last year. The defense has taken a huge beating in the media and on the field. When the offense leads the league in 3 and outs (I just made that up, but other than Jacksonville, we have to be really close to owning that stat) the defense cannot play the entire game.

Robert threw 5 interceptions in 15 games last year. This season he has thrown 4 interceptions in 4 games. Maybe someone should just delete RG3’s snapchat app so he can focus on the football game plan not his personal ‘game plan’. Yep, taking a personal shot because I’m still pissed he doesn’t know how to slide or the simple rules of sliding. The team as a whole still needs a lot of work after a 1-3 start. And by a lot, I mean we need a miracle to help this team win this season.

The Skins start October with a bye week, then at Dallas, host the Bears, and then at Denver where Peyton Manning has been putting on a QB clinic all of September. At least we can’t lose the first week in October. #Hail has quickly become #Fail.  

The University of Tennessee may have started 3-2, but when the win are over Austin Peay, Western Kentucky, and South Alabama it doesn’t feel like a season to cheer about. The Oregon game was awful and we lost to Florida, AGAIN!!!!

Justin Worley is just a QB mess. He’s proven that making great decisions are not his strength. Worley’s stats against South Alabama: 20-35, 202 yards, 2TD’s and 3 interceptions, not the stats you want as an SEC team. And just when September looked ugly for Worley and the big orange, it’s only going to get worse in October with Georgia, bye week, South Carolina, and at Alabama.

I’ll be at the Georgia game this Saturday. I really hope I get to see one of the true freshmen QB’s Dobbs or Ferguson. Surely, they can’t be any worse than Worley.

And add to the crash of September, somehow I was talked into being the pilot of my company’s National Red Bull Flugtag team. The National Harbor was one of five locations where this crazy flying event took place. Each site only allowed 30 teams to compete after hundreds of entries. I was one of 150 people in the USA that was brave (or stupid) enough to literally ‘take one for the team’. While sitting on a makeshift piano, I was pushed off of a 30-foot platform and then crashed into the dirty Potomac River. What was I thinking? Clearly, I wasn’t. A baby grand can’t fly! It’s been over a week and the bruises still look like someone beat me. 

Where’s Peyton… I need an audible

What a depressing weekend in sports. I know my teams have tough schedules, but when my college and NFL football are not even in the game, it’s embarrassing. Losing is nothing new for the fan bases of the University of Tennessee and for the Washington Redskins, but losing this season stings more than past seasons.

The University of Tennessee was crushed in a 59-14 loss at Oregon. So much for duck hunting the #2 team in the country and for shocking the world of college football. What was more shocking is how terrible QB Justin Worley is. Sorry kid, you may be the worst in Tennessee history. Yes, he can protect the ball, but it’s clear that he can’t make big plays. I’ve never wanted a freshman QB to step up more in my life. Start warming up Riley Ferguson and Josh Dobbs, we need one of you to figure this out.

The Washington Redskins were embarrassing, again against the Packers. How bad does the first half have to be for Coach Mike Shanahan to pull RG3 and put in Cousins? Why does Kyle Shanahan still have a job? What does the offence do all week? Practice was not on their to-do list.

There are so many issues with our game/team/play calling right now, but what really makes me mad is what happened after the game! We know that RG3 missed all of the preseason games and was rehabbing his ACL instead of practicing with the team and we know he was cleared by Dr. Andrews to play in game one of the season. I appreciate Coach Shanahan supporting Robert, however to say “I think he’s really doing a good job, for not having team practices and then coming back in the tick of things, you know it’s going to take time for everybody to get on the same page and timing to get where we want to get”. I’m sorry, all I heard was HE’S NOT READY TO PLAY AND IT’S COSTING US GAMES!

Even if you are an amazing athlete, that’s not enough to play in the National Football League. You have to be NFL ready and RG3 clearly isn’t NFL ready.

Robert said he will be hard on teammates if they want him to be, but he’s not an a- - hole and believes in positive reinforcement. The difference between Robert and I is that I’m okay with being called an a- - hole.

Here’s my positive reinforcement; figure this out now or soon you will be another disappointing QB in the history of the Washington Redskins. When you step on to that field you are telling everyone that you are 100% ready to play. The first two games have proven that you are not 100% or that you are not the same player you were a year ago. We the fans want you to be that player you were last year and we want that player for years and years to come. But the player that we’ve seen the past two weeks is like reliving the past QB nightmare in Washington. If you have to sit out to get better, we will support you through that. But if you continue to play like this and say you are ‘ready’ then you should change your name to Owen, because your record next week will be Owen – 3  (0-3). 

The only good part of the game was when the camera crew zoomed in on Aaron Rodgers and his dreamy eyes looked right at me. We had a moment.

And to add to the weekend of sports sadness, my Texas Rangers were swept by the Oakland A’s in a must win series for a chance at post-season play.

But the biggest audible for the weekend was seeing Justin Beiber walk in with Floyd Mayweather and The Money Team before “The One” on Saturday. Beiber is in Mayweather’s entourage? Stop it! This isn’t real life! 

I wouldn't call it a Comeback....

Monday Night Football week one: Redskins vs Eagles in FedEx. We’ve had this date on our calendars for months. I purchased a new game jersey and baked for five hours to prepare for tailgate. The fans were ready for week one; the Redskins were not ready.

The first-half was like an SEC team playing a Big South team. The Eagles dominated in yards 322 to the Redskins 75 yards and the Eagles crushed the Redskins 21-3 on first downs. THREE first downs in the first-half of a Monday Night Football game, THREE! It was awful and embarrassing and knowing it was all happening against my most hated NFL team made me want to throw up.

The Redskins first seven plays will be on ESPN’s Not Top Ten plays. A lost fumble by Morris, a three-yard loss by Morris, illegal shift penalty, a screen to Morris for a loss of yards, RG3 throws an interception on a triple coverage, Young dropped pass, and Morris dropped the ball in the end zone for a safety. It was some of the worst football I have ever witnessed.

The Eagles ran 53 plays in the first-half; they ran only 24 in the second half. The Eagles gained 322 yards in the first-half and only 121 in the second-half. They scored 26 points with 20 minutes and 20 seconds of possession of the ball in the first-half and only scored 7 points with 12 minutes and 19 seconds of possession of the ball in the second-half. It was all because they were not in Chip Kelly shape (thank you sports gods)! If the Eagles were in Chip Kelly shape this game would have been the 2010 MNF nightmare all over again for the Redskins.  

                 

How long the Eagles offence will last in the NFL is questionable, but the bottom line is that it worked on the Redskins and the Redskins are now 0-1.

When the Eagles scored in the 3^rd quarter to go up 33-7 I was more shocked to see FedEx still packed. Usually, the fans leave when it starts to get ugly but this mood was different; we were all in shock. THIS wasn’t the team we expected to see. And don’t get me wrong; Washington fans are very familiar with losing seasons and we usually set our expectations low, but THIS year all we’ve heard is how special THIS team is. Shocked, we were all in shock.

After the game I kept hearing about the great “comeback “. Let’s be honest. The Redskins only put points on the scoreboard because the Eagles were exhausted from Chip Kelly’s marathon, don’t stop, no huddle, play after play offence. We are lucky the score was only 33-27.

It’s scary to think that if Kai would have made his field goal and we could have made the two-point conversion in the 4^th then those five points would have made it a one-point game. Even then, I would still be just as worried about my team in burgundy and gold.

Maybe the media hyped the expectation, maybe RG3 has become a bigger brand, or maybe they should just call training camp, camp. We have A LOT of work to do and being “rusty” isn’t an excuse. I expected the Redskins to show up game ready and I hope that by playing RG3 when he’s not 100% doesn’t haunt us in the future.

Win or lose I’ll still be chanting Hail To The Redskins, but I’ll call it a “comeback” when the Redskins show up ready to play four quarters in the NFL.