The Chat House
Michael Wilbon
Washington Post Sports Columnist
Monday, November 29, 2004; 1:15 p.m. ET
Welcome to another edition of The Chat House where Post columnist Michael Wilbon talks about the latest in sports.
The Redskins lose to the Steelers, 16-7, on Sunday and dropped to a low of 3-8 for the season. Clinton Portis carried only six times for 17 yards.
Wilbon was online Monday, Nov. 22, at 1:15 p.m. ET to talk about the latest Redskins loss, the NBA brawl, whether D.C. baseball is going to happen and all things sports.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Washington, D.C.:
While I find it hard to dispassionately critique a game while it is being played, sometimes when I read the story in the paper the next day, it seems like Coach Gibbs is field-testing different possibilities, as if he is looking towards the off season and discovering where his biggest problems are under pressure.
Another possibility is that he sees things during practice that never materialize on Sunday.
Do you have any insight?
Michael Wilbon: Alright, away we go with a great, great question...something I wondered about yesterday during the game...I don't think Joe is consciously doing what you and I wonder about. But I think he might be at a loss for how to get the offense jump-started...and he's trying different things. I, by the way, would understand that to a degree. It's not like this team is going to make the playoffs, not after the loss to the Bengals. So maybe he's just intent on findout out what he's got...what people can do what so that he can make so absolute decisions. If that's the case--and I'm just supposing all this myself--it might not be a bad idea. But wouldn't we all want to be let in on what he really, really, really believes he's seeing right now, and not just what he has to say publicly...
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Washington, D.C.:
The wizards have a better winning percentage than the Redskins, I thought it would never happen, even as bad as the Redskins are. If the basketball season were to end today the WIZ would be in the playoffs, are they for real and is this run going to continue?
Michael Wilbon: Amazing, isn't it? The Wizards look damn good right now. They've got guys who can score. They rebound as a team. They don't do much in the way of great defense, but they don't have much in the way of size, either. I'm wondering whether the return of Kwame Brown (whenever he's able) will be addition, or subtraction through addition. Will he help or hurt? But that's looking too far ahead. They certainly are exciting to watch. And I hope Eddie Jordan makes a quick and full recovery from this blood clot situation. How cool would it be if the Washington-area had a basketball team worth following closely from now through April...It's been so long since the franchise even had a winning month of November in 20 years! Big ups to the Wizards for winning, for toughing out some OT games, for winning on the road, and for having identified a terrific player and person in Antawn Jamison.
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North Potomac, Md.:
As a long-time Redskins hater, this season, while preliminarily threatening my well-being as Joe Gibbs was introduced as the second coming of the Messiah, is shaping up rather nicely. Rumors are now flying about the possibility that Joe got more than he bargained for and is considering a graceful exit after this season, thus upsetting my karma. Which option do you think would be better to slake my unquenchable thirst for more Redskins misery--Joe staying and possibly perpetuating the growing feeling that the NFL has passed him by, or Joe going and the Redskins enduring yet another coaching change?
Michael Wilbon: The last thing the Redskins need is another coaching change. Or another roster overhaul. Gibbs, I think, will do what Gibbs does, which is dig in and get it done. This is what he's always done, whether we're talking about the Redskins or NASCAR. He's got a good defense. Until yesterday's punt-coverage breakdowns, he had some good special teams. The Redskins aren't losing games 35-7 every week like they did last year; they're in every single game with no quarterback. Gibbs is a coach. He has never done particularly well picking talent, but that's no idictment. Can Holmgren pick the talent? Appears the answer is no. How many coaches are good at picking the talent? Hardly any of 'em. Jimmy Johnson did it in Dallas. But I like Gibbs coaching the quarterback picked by somebody who knows talent, like Bobby Beathard knew talent.
Look, health can always change a man's plans. But Gibbs says he's fine. And I'm not a doctor, so I'm taking his word on that until we know something otherwise. If you had thrown Dick Vermeil out of his office in St. Louis after one season, or even two, you would have missed a championship season the third year. So, while Gibbs has to be disappointed now, he's got the stomach for this even if fretting Redskins fans do not.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
Mike,
Am I the only one who was impressed by Patrick Ramsey's throws? It seems as though he gets the ball in the right place with an adequate amount of time. Do the recievers need more time practicing with Patrick? It's almost as if they're not used to catching a ball with that much heat on it.
Michael Wilbon: Let's not turn Patrick Ramsey into Peyton Manning, okay? Ramsey missed a whole lot of throws, and more than a few bonced off the hands of Steelers defenders. Ramsey's throws were okay. He's got an arm; we know that. He had a few drops. But he makes some bad throws...It's not like he's putting it on a dime all the time. If he did, he wouldn't have been 19-for-34 or whatever it was yesterday, for a buck 38. The Redskins still need to find or develop a quarterback.
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Reston, Va.:
Have you noticed that 2 Virginia colleges (William & Mary and
JMU) have teams in the I-AA football playoffs and
that they both won this weekend? I hope that if they
continue to advace they'll get more than a blurb in
the paper.
Michael Wilbon: Chances are, it won't be much more than a blurb. Both schools are located more than an hour from Washington, D.C. and most of our readers. But I'm more than a little interested because of the playoff format that so many people declare us un-workable for Division I-AA...
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Washington, D.C.:
Mike... give us your top 10 for men's college basketball.
Are the Heels for real this year?
Thanks
Michael Wilbon: There shouldn't even be a college basketball poll until January 1. What we do know...what we knew coming out of last season was that the ACC has five potentially great teams: Wake Forest, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Duke, Maryland. Virginia looks great so far. N.C. State could be really good. But it's November, still. College basketball isn't even on my radar quite yet. I'm peeking but not looking. But Maryland and Virginia could make this a good winter for the local basketball scene.
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Annapolis, Md.:
I liked your column a while back about naming the new baseball team the Grays in homage to the old negro league team. I was sold on your argument, and By the way, I'm not black. I thought the name would instantly draw a nation-wide fan base, and at the same time pay homage to whom it's owed. Mayor Williams liked the idea. Why do you think the team opted for the Nationals instead? That name is dull.
Michael Wilbon: It is dull. And the logo is absolutely dull. But I think it's a comprimise between "Senators" which Mayor Williams disliked because D.C. doesn't have representation in the U.S. Senate, and "Grays" which the mayor wanted...This, after all, is Washington. Imagination and creativity maybe strengths elsewhere, but not here. We're about the status quo, and a status quo nickname is what the baseball team has.
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Chantilly, Va.:
I gotta hope Gibbs is going to have some answers in the near future for our ailing offense. I see Ramsey out there doing a good job from my vantage point, but our receivers are just dropping too many balls out there. Do you see Ramsey as our starter next year and do you think the receivers are the issue or what?
Michael Wilbon: If Ramsey improves dramatically between now and then, he deserves to come into camp with a sho at the job. If not, I don't know what you're looking at from the games against the Bengals, Eagles and Steelers that suggests Ramsey is doing "a good job." I guess our definition of "good job" differs. A lot of guys playing quarterback did a good job yesterday, some in defeat. But nothing Ramsey did even stands out to me and I WAS AT THE GAME! He wasn't absolutely awful. And he had some drops. But "good job." My bar is set a little higher than that.
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1-AA:
not sure what you mean by "workable"...?
Also, UVA and JMU and W&M are exactly as far away as each other from DC!
Michael Wilbon: UVA plays Division I-A football. JMU and William & Mary do not. Surely you understand the difference. We cover Howard University if it makes the Division I-AA playoffs, because the school is located in The District. But we're not likely to cover much of a small college football team that doesn't play here. That combination isn't in big demand for a newspaper which has to carve up space between the Redskins, Wizards, Maryland basketball, a baseball team which is in the news everyday, the NFL, NBA, national college football scene, etc., etc.
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Chantilly, Va.:
With the Washington Nationals coming... are you at all excited about "covering" another sports team?
Michael Wilbon: It'll be exciting to have baseball, period. I grew up in a town with two teams, so to me a city is a little soul-less without baseball. It means extra nights of work for me, though I won't be a primary source of baseball commentary. For that Washington Post and washingtonpost.com readers will be lucky to have Thomas Boswell, one of the best baseball writers and columnists who has ever stepped to the keyboard. And I, in the context of having baseball in town, will act lik the typical Washingtonian and go and see "my" tean--the Cubs--when they visit town, or to see certain players, from Barry Bonds to Unit to Clemens to Pujols/Edmonds/Rolen. I'm very, very much looking forward to it.
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Pennsylvania:
Mike:
How low have the Bears sunk? Jeff George, you have got to be kidding me. What does that say about Tim Couch, obviously his carear is OVER. What do you think?
Michael Wilbon: However bad the Redskins quarterback situation is, the Bears is exponentially worse. Jeff George? It's like a bad joke. Yes, it's true. He just signed with them. How desperate can a team be than to bring this guy in three years after he last played any meaninful time? Jonathan Quinn may be the worst quarterback to start a game since the NFL-AFL merger. And George, even at his best and in his prime, was inadequate because he was so selfish in his approach to playing the position.
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Washington, D.C.:
Excellent column today. Here's my take on the Portis situation: I think it all comes down to the O-line. I think Gibbs realizes that the line is terrible, and that has dictated everything they've done offensively -- screen passes instead of a real running game, quick throws, etc. It think the fact that Portis has run for over 140 three times this year is a testiment to him, but in most games, he gets no blocking whatsoever. How many times this season has he been hit before or right at the line? Too many. I think that Gibbs truly just wanted to see what Betts could do yesterday. I think this off season, the one position that will be overhauled the most is o-line, I wouldn't be surprised if Jansen and Thomas are the only two left next year. Your thoughts? washingtonpost.com:
Seemingly Backward In the Backfield (Post, Nov. 29)
Michael Wilbon: Thanks for the feedback, and thanks for he observation.
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Boswell's Saturday Column...:
I realize this is your chat, Mike, but Boswell's Saturday column about Good Counsel's quarterback muffing a play and losing a winnable game in the playoffs was absolutely brilliant. One of the best columns I've ever read. Every now and then I read something that brings me to the edge of my seat. Happened again Saturday.
You guys rock!! washingtonpost.com:
If Sports Is a Game, Why Do Its Lessons Last a Lifetime? (Post, Nov. 27)
Michael Wilbon: It was great wasn't it? Thanks much for noting Boswell's column. Gotta run to prepare for PTI. Talk to you guys next week after the big Redskins-Giants tilt here in town.
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