Reacting to the loss to the Eagles

[Update: Just FYI looks like it will be tomorrow night before I can finish the 1st quarter review.]

Losses hurt, and divisional losses hurt more. But given that most of us expected the Redskins to lose between eight and ten games this year, I am befuddled why many among the fanbase are reacting as if this one loss to a tough opponent is particularly disastrous or disappointing.

We already knew Rex tends to throw dumb interceptions. This is the sort of game we were all expecting when he was named as the starter. It was an absolute train wreck of a game, but when you have a QB who throws dumb interceptions you’ll have the occasional week where he throws four of them.  And I think most of us assumed that we would be seeing John Beck at some point. This is what we signed on for.

We already knew that the Eagles have very good cornerbacks who can neutralize most wide receivers.

We already knew that the Eagles’ receivers are capable of beating the Redskins cornerbacks in man coverage. This is because the Eagles’ receivers are really good and can beat pretty much any corners one on one.

We already knew that the Redskins line is improved enough that it can create cutback lanes against bad defenses, but still sufficiently mediocre that it can be shut down by talented opponents with a good game plan. Hopefully the game review (which I will begin right after I post this) will provide more insight on the run game’s failure.

Nothing about this loss should be remotely surprising. Everyone agrees the Redskins are a flawed team, and they played an opponent who had struggled to this point but is stocked with talent that matches up well against the Redskins.

Here are the valid real reasons to be concerned about this loss.

- I am legitimately distraught over having to rebuild the left side of the offensive line.

-   As I wrote yesterday the Redskins next three games will be challenging, and we should expect a couple of losses. I badly wanted a win against Philadelphia to build some cushion in the standings.

-          Jim Haslett, once again, called a terrible game that set up his secondary for failure against very talented wide receivers. But at least he got to further add to his Aggressive All-Out Blitzer persona which is evidently more important than crafting a sensible approach to beating the opposition.

  

End result – the Redskins are 3-2 and both losses came against opponents that match up well against the Redskins’ weaknesses. Sorry, but I can’t get too worked up over this one. It’s football and sometimes the other team just beats you. It's just another loss, and there will be more this year.