Thoughts on the game…

So as I sit here watching the end of the Redskins-Falcons game today, I can’t help but think that there is more to the crap that is the Redskins than just the owner. While I have not liked Dan Snyder since the time he bought the Skins out from under Jack Kent Cooke’s family, there is way more to this football team sucking than him. We have played much better during the second half offensively than we did in the first half of this game. Yet, with the offense getting better, the defense is starting to suck. Letting the Falcons get two touchdowns on crazy long runs or receptions and then runs after. How does that happen? And then…the execution of the plays is awful. Jason Campbell getting sacked 5 different times and now injured with Todd Collins playing at QB in the 4th quarter…we have no offensive line to speak of. We haven’t had an offensive line to speak of for I don’t know how long. I’m impressed with what Joe Bugel has been able to do with what he’s been given…yet, he needs something to work with. We have almost no depth at these positions and we can’t have any more injuries. We have got to draft some offensive line players in April…but with the people we have in the front office, it’s unlikely to happen.

And can I just say one thing about the “fight” or whatever that was in the 2nd quarter…that is absolutely ridiculous behavior on the part of grown men and has no place on this team. I think Jim Zorn should have sat them all down on the bench, at least for the following play, and more for the people most heavily involved. I can not understand it…allowing that sort of behavior and then not even addressing it by yelling in the guy’s face or anything. Just my thoughts on this ridiculous situation of the Redskins 2009 season.

How to handle…

In my new position as the social studies instructional team leader, I find myself in a very awkward position. I am teaching a new curriculum for the first time in 10 years, teaching a new level (Gifted and Talented) that I have not previously taught, and helping to teach/guide those same students through the National History Day project and competition. In addition to that, I oversee the other social studies teachers in my school. One of these is a bit hard to deal with and I’m not really sure how to go about handling what could be a very delicate situation. There have been multiple meetings between this teacher and myself as well as the principal and others. I am getting quite concerned about the instruction that is happening in this person’s classroom and yet, there isn’t really a whole lot that I can personally do about it. I want to hold this teacher accountable for what is going on in the classroom as well as for the instruction of the History Day competition (for a different grade). Yet, at every turn, we are faced with passive-aggressiveness (is that even a word???), illogical reasoning, personality conflicts, a feigned lack of knowledge and resistance. We are offering every kind of support we know how to do…meetings with me, meetings with the principal, assistance in planning lessons, a calendar of lessons and due dates of assignments for the students, meetings with our supervisors for our content area, and the list goes on. I’m truly unsure of how to proceed with this situation. I am also a bit worried because tomorrow we are grading the writing portion of our quarterly test for the first quarter. I’m not sure that his students are going to do well (in fact, I know many of them will do poorly) and then that will lead to an even more difficult conversation. Any advice? especially from those of you in management or leadership type positions?

Ridiculous

So, the news today is that Jim Zorn has relinquished play calling duties to Sherman Lewis. Apparently he was called into the front offices and asked to give up the offensive play calling. I have to say that as a head coach, the buck does stop with you…but…there are many more people that can and need to be blamed for this idiocy. First of all, the team owner…our “buddy” Dan…ugh!!! Ever since he arrived as the team owner in Washington, I have not liked him. And I thought it was just because it was someone different than Jack Kent Cooke. But, after he hired Deion (I mean, REALLY?!?!?!?!?!), he went out of my book as a “life-long Redskins fan”. If you were really a life-long fan, as you claim to be, you would not allow this abomination of a season to continue any longer. AND you would realize your part in this atrocity and apologize for it, and then do something about it. Much has been said about Vinny Cerrato’s part in all of this with the players we picked up in the draft and the players we didn’t. There is definitely blame to be laid at his feet. And then there’s the players…I know they have to go with the play that is called into them, but they aren’t even executing many of the plays well. When you call a running play deep in your own endzone and then can’t even run behind your blockers and therefore get tackled in the endzone resulting in a safety…who’s fault is that?!?!?! And clearly it is not just a QB problem, as Jason Campbell was taken out of the line-up after the half and then Todd Collins couldn’t do much better. How do we lose to the 32nd ranked defense in the NFL??? I’ll tell you how…play like ______, that’s how. I am so not supporting this team financially through the purchase of merchandise or anything else until something changes and things improve. And I don’t mean improve a little bit….I mean improve A LOT!!!!!!!

Ugh!

All I have to say about today…Ugh!!!!!!!!

Holy Crap, We won!!!!!

I still am in shock over the game! I did not watch the game in its entirety as I just couldn’t bear to get that emotionally involved, increase my blood pressure, and all that! So, the parts I did see….there was definitely some good, some bad, and A LOT of UGLY!!!! Throwing multiple interceptions, etc. Oy vey! as my Jewish friends like to say.

But in the end, it is a win. And what matters at the end of the season is the number of W’s in the W-L column…not how we won, or by how many points, etc. Just that we won…Thank goodness!

And the team did deserve to get boo’d by the fans at halftime. And if the players have any more to say about that this week, they need to get off the field. The money that we, the fans, pay to go to the games, park our cars, buy the food/drinks at the game, buy merchandise, etc. pays their salaries. Don’t we deserve to get something in return for that?!? I think we have a right to expect that the team should play well, should act like a team, and should be able to win, especially at home.

Ok….that’s all for my soap box at the moment.