Welcome to Staying Medium

Hi everyone,

My plan here is to try to add a somewhat rational voice to discussions about the Redskins. All of us are attracted to football partly by the extreme emotions it provokes - and I am certainly not immune. However, the passions involved sometimes make it hard to have a reasonable discussion about what is an exceedingly complex and subtle sport. Just turn on talk radio after a game and you will see how detached from reality people can become: a succession of frantic callers will either be making plans for the next three Super Bowls or stating authoritatively that the Redskins will not win another game all year - all based on the outcome of a single contest the result of which quite likely could have been reversed by a very small number of plays going the other way.

That's why I've co-opted Jim Zorn's slogan: "Stay medium, men." Let's not allow success to give us to big a head, or failure to doom us to despondency.

Before the season, we will try to locate the strengths and weaknesses of this team and try to get a grasp on the potential range of performance. During the year, we will avoid the simple story lines given by most media outlets and discuss what's working and what's not, and what that might mean for the future. After losses we will analyze the failures in a rational light and try to ascertain if the problems are correctible, rather than just go off on a spittle-spewing rant against Dan Snyder. After wins we will talk about what's going right, but keep an eye out for lingering shortcomings that could derail us in the future.

One note. I don't really expect the readership of this blog to expand beyond my immediate circle of friends, but I want to throw in a disclaimer for anyone who may not know me:

I have never coached or played organized football at any level. I am most assuredly not pretending to be an expert, and I do not claim to be anything more than a fan. I also do not claim any "insider" information - my sources are only from the media or other blogs, and most of my go-to sources on Redskins info are included in the links on the right side of the page.

As such, I welcome any and all feedback on my opinions. Ideally the posts on this blog would be springboards for conversation, rather than just one fan laying down his opinions as if he has some sort of authority to do so.

The agenda moving forward:

The bulk of my first posts will be position overviews. These will lay out my thoughts on each position group as we head into training camp. I will try to have all of the positions discussed before the preseason games begin.

Then of course, I'll be watching all the action and sharing observations on the preseason games and trying to glean what useful information they may provide, and tracking the preseason story lines that will be played out in them.

As the preseason wraps up, we will probably come back to the early position assesments to see if there is reason to revise any expectations. I will also post my reactions to any significant Redskins news that comes out. Throughout, we will be trying to get a better grasp out of just what we can expect from this group in 2009 and beyond.

Additionally, I do a lot (maybe too much) of football reading in my spare time. If I find a article that grabs me, especially if it is relevant to our favorite team, I will post links along with my thoughts on it. Hopefully you will find some of them interesting as well, and will give your responses.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your feedback and reactions.

Stay medium, people.