The Chat House
Michael Wilbon
Washington Post Sports Columnist
Monday, December 06, 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.
On Sunday, Clinton Portis rushed 31 times for 148 yards to lead the Redskins to beat Giants, 31-7, at FedEx Field.
Join Wilbon online Monday, Dec. 6, at 1:15 p.m. ET to talk about the latest in sports.
Submit your questions and comments any time, before or during today's discussion.
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.
Arlington, Va.:
Mike,
Though it was good to see the Redskin offense working at full yesterday, how much of a factor was the moribund Giants offensive line? On a scale of 1 to 10, a 10 being that yesterday was vintage Gibbs-football, and 1 that the Giants D was simply a high-school D-line that invalidates the performance, how excited do Redskins fans have a right to be right now? washingtonpost.com:
Winning From a Point Of Strength (Post, Dec. 6)
Michael Wilbon: I don't want to reduce the Redskins victory yesterday because it's simply too difficult to win a game in the NFL to discount beating anybody. HOWEVER, don't the Giants stink? The team is decimated by injury, and also appears dangerously close to giving up for the second straight season. They're starting a rookie at quarterback, too, and he's not Ben Roethlisberger...All that said, the Redskins played the way they're best suited to play. The ran the ball, hit people in the mouth, and threw judiciously. What's not to like. If you just beat the bad teams, like Cleveland, you can make the playoffs. But the Redskins lost a couple of key games that are costing them dearly now.
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College Park, Md.:
By how many points are the Redskins going to be smoked by this week? It's Monday after the first victory in forever, and I'm already having to stomach playoff talk. Are Redskins fans so blind in their faith in Joe Gibbs that they can just forget the first 11 games of the season?
Michael Wilbon: Will Philly be favored to smoke the Redskins? Yes, of course. It'll be another double-digit line in Vegas. Having said that, the Eagles are going to drop a game before the playoffs, I think. Will it be this week? I doubt it. But it's a division rival the Eagles are playing. And in Philly two weeks ago it was a real game into the fourth quarter when the Redskins sort of imploded with penalties and drops and sacks...I think it'll be a 24-17 sort of game with the Redskins having some of the same problems they've had all season. But I don't see a lopsided game where the Redskins are not competitive. There's no way anybody can suggest they have quit in a game or given up in a game or mailed it in...not even once. And they won't on Sunday...Forget the playoffs. That's not happening. Please. We won't even discuss the Redskins and "playoffs" in the same paragraph.
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Alexandria, Va.:
If the Eagles make it to the Superbowl this year to represent the NFC, as it seems they are the only credible team to be able to do so, which AFC team do you think represents the best game for a Superbowl match up?
I tend to believe it could be Indy. While NE and Pit may have better over all teams, I don't know that they will be able to slow down Manning now that the PI and holding calls are being called, which wasn't the case in last year's AFC Championship game.
Michael Wilbon: Listen to me: The Patriots are the champs. The Patriots are the champs until somebody knocks them out of the playoffs. I didn't think the Patriots could win 14 straight last year, and I was wrong. So don't expect me to bet against them. I would take the Patriots over the Steelers in a game right now, even if it was being played in Pittsburgh. And let me say, I LIKE the Steelers. I like Big Ben. I love The Bus...The Steelers are great. But the Patriots are the champs, dude. Indy gave up 24 points in one quarter or so to the Titans, a team that has scored more than 24 only once all season. Patriots, baby. Patriots.
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El Paso, Tex.:
Sup Michael! Joe Gibbs said recently that he was willing to do whatever it takes to turn the Skins into a winner. I'm hoping that means hiring a GM. The team needs a front office executive that isn't afraid to tell Gibbs, Cerrato, and Snyder no. Let Gibbs handle the X's and O's and let someone else handle the talent acqusition and evaluation side. Any chance that Gibbs hires a GM (Phil Savage from B-more) this offseason?
Michael Wilbon: Somebody is very smart in El Paso. Well, that's a self-serving because I agree with every word you just wrote. Every team needs a GM who is separate and apart from the coach. Gibbs can coach 'em up with the best coaches ever, short of maybe Lombardi and Halas. I mean, he's up there with Noll and Walsh (actually a half-step below them), Landry and Parcells and maybe Jimmy Johnson...But everybody needs a GM to manage the overall health of the franchise, which is a different mission for doing what's best TODAY, which ought to be the coach's sole mission.
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Riverdale, Md.:
Shifting to local college sports for a bit....First off, how about that Terps men's soccer team? Back to the semi-finals again. Seccondly, is the results of the BB&T tournament telling for the season for both George Washington And Maryland, or more of an early season fluke?
Michael Wilbon: Congrats to the Terps men's soccer team...I couldn't tell you a single thing about the team but I'm happy as can be for them...I can tell you I watched GW for two days at the BB&T Classic, and the Colonials are good. Karl Hobbs, who I watched play when he was a guard for UCONN in the early-mid 1980s, has recruited well, can handle himself well in games. The GW kids can really shoot it. Maryland is obviously good. And GW was aided by he Terps missing so many free throws. But the cool thing for basketball fans around here this winter is that the Wizards, Maryland and GW can all play, and will all be fun to watch from now until March...and in the Wizards case perhaps until May.
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New York, N.Y.:
Even if the Redskins finish 5-11 this season, don't you think that just by virtue of the fact that Gibbs has them fighting every week and that they have Portis and a burgeoning Ramsey, next season looks promising?
I mean, you gotta love the heart, right?
Michael Wilbon: Next season, in my opinion, looks promising for a number of reasons, starting with my position that the Redskins don't need to go out and overhaul the roster. They have most of the peices in place, starting with a great defense...But let's not start forecasting 11 months out. We're not going to be The Farmer's Almanac here.
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Hollywood, Md.:
Do you really believe the Redskins can be a Super Bowl team by completing 60% of thier passes and only getting 100-150 yards per game? (Name another that did? And don't compare them to the Ravens Defense of thier superbowl year. This D is far from it against good teams)
Hasn't the game passed Bugle and Gibbs by due to this simple fact? Aaiken, Manning, even M Vick needs to pass for more yards to win. Looke at the Giants ala Warner vs. Manning II.
Michael Wilbon: Okay, I'm posting this to remind everybody that the Chat House will not be taken over by preposterous Redskins "what if" questions for the next six weeks. Not gonna happen. Why would we think the Redskins can be a Super Bowl team by...anything right now?
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Potomac, Md.:
A lot to talk about, but here's something off the beaten path:
The California Golden Bears went 10-1, losing only by six points at No. 1 USC. They're fourth in both the AP and ESPN polls, and the only team to be in the top six nationally in scoring offense and defense. And their reward is the Holiday Bowl on December 30? Is the BCS that messed up?
Michael Wilbon: Yes, the BCS is that messed up. It's awful. It promises every year to be better and it isn't. It's better than the old bowl system, but it's awful. And anything other than a playoff system is a farce. You might have noticed that Division I-AA, Division II and Division III are all engaged in playoff games right now. Not polls, but playoffs. The Division I-A college presidents are frauds on this. Cal is getting screwed big-time, and so is the Rose Bowl, which I think might not even sell out for a Michigan-Texas game. I'm a product of the Big Ten system (Northwestern, so trust me, nobody who plans vacations around the Rose Bowl from the midwest (which accounts for a huge percentage of the tickets sold) wants to see Texas. You go to see USC or Stanford or Washington or Cal play your Big Ten representative...not Texas.
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Washington, DC:
Michael,
The Giants win is nice, but who would have thought the Redskins would have fewer wins by December than the Wizards.
What's been the biggest change over at MCI? It's a different team right now.
I know the Wizards are only beating bad teams right now, but there are a lot of bad teams to beat in the East.
Michael Wilbon: Ah, good a Wizards question! They're actually pretty good. They've got three big-time, 20-point per night scorers in Jamison, Huges and Arenas. Plus, Jarvis Hayes can score 20 on a given night with no difficulty, so the Wizards are difficult to defend. Brendan Haywood has been a nice surprise with his double-digit rebounding on a lot of nights. Jamison rebounds and does whatever is called on in a given situation. He's a prince of a person and helps Arenas calm down...though I don't want Arenas to be too calm. Juan Dixon and Steve Blake (when healthy) are really good off the bench. They don't need to be starters. They couldn't be starters on a really good team. They need to be support players. It's a deep team, a team with offensive options, but a team that still has to learn how to defend.
Is the East dreadful? Oh yes. But the point is to play as deep into the season as is possible. The Wizards, right now, are probably about the fifth best team in the East (forget record, I'm talking about in terms of talent, experience and accomplishment) behind Detroit, Indy, Miami, and Orlando...somewhere in there. Let's see how the Wizards handle a playoff team from last year, Denver, on Wednesday night.
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Austin, TX:
Who was that guy rolling out, scrambling and throwing COMPLETIONS on the run for the Redskins? He had Ramsey's number, but I thought Patrick R was supposed to be incapable of moving his feet and throwing at the same time.
Seriously, that was really nice to see, and I heard no mention of it during the game. Is anyone in DC talking about it? Wasn't Mark Rypien a bit of a wooden indian in the pocket that developed into a pretty good motion passer?
Michael Wilbon: Good question...They apparently need to roll Ramsey out a little. Get him away from the line. To listen to opposing coaches and players, he doesn't see the field real well in a conventional pocket situation. So perhaps the coaches are trying to help him see defenders by having him roll out where there's a little less tangle to try and negotiate
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Adelphi, Md.:
Hi Michael,
Whenever people say that the coach and GM need to be separate entities, no one ever mentions the success of Andy Reid. I know he's lost 3 NFC championship games in a row, but that's better than 95% of the other temas with a separate coach and GM. I dont necessarily disagree that it's not the best thing, but Reid has made it work, if no one else.
Michael Wilbon: Great point. But I should point out to you that Joe Banner is the guy who does the personnel stuff, in the main, for the Eagles. He's the cap guy, the guy who does the heavy lifting. And clearly he's damn good at it.
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Eldersburg, Md.:
What sorry NFC team do you think will grab the 3rd wild card spot and what do you think the record of that team will be?
Michael Wilbon: Okay, here are the sorry 5-7 teams in the NFC that could reach the playoffs. In fact, one of them almost certainly will. St. Louis, at 6-6, is only one game ahead of Tampa, Carolina, Detroit, Chicago, and the Giants...The Cowboys, if they win tonight, will be 5-7 also. I think it's going to come down to Tampa and Carolina. And I would not want to play Carolina. Their coach, John Fox, has done one helluva job without Stephen Davis, without DeShuan Foster, without Kris Jenkins...That team is decimated, and they're on a roll. So is Tampa. Monte Kiffin, their defensive coordinator, has just shellacked Michael Vick just about every time Tampa has faced Atlanta...I expect the Atlanta Vicks to bounce back next week and win 11 games total to get a bye and a home playoff game. But Carolina and Tampa are looking like recent former conference champs...finally.
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Michael Wilbon: Okay, it's time to start working on a BCS column and a TV show, so I'll sign off now, say thanks to everybody, and hope you'll join us next week after the Eagles game when we can tell whether yesterday's victory over the Giants means the Redskins are moving in the right direction or that the Giants are the worst team in the NFL.
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