What a difference five weeks (and a bye) make.
On Oct. 15, the 0-4 Washington Redskins faced the 0-4 Dallas Cowboys in a Monday night football game that, surprisingly, received higher ratings than the New York Yankees vs. Oakland A's playoff game.
The Cowboys won the stinker 9-7, sending the Redskins to 0-5.
A month and a half later, the Redskins are the only team not to have lost since Oct.15, and now the 5-5 Redskins face off on Sunday against the 2-8 Cowboys.
Okay, six weeks didn't do much for the Cowboys, but it has given the Skins new life. In fact, they have so much new life that Washington is now in second place in the NFC East, only a game behind the Philadelphia Eagles, the team that Washington disposed of last Sunday, 13-3.
Apparently Donovan McNabb hasn't been eating his chunky soup. Better tell his mom about that. Washington held Philly's versatile quarterback to 97 yards passing and 39 yards rushing. Additionally, Eagles' running backs Duce Staley and Correll Buckhalter were limited to a combined 55 yards on 19 carries.
Don't tell the Skins, but Philly and the New York Giants are supposed to have the best defenses in the East.
And with the Giants in the midst of a five-game nose dive, the Redskins have a legitimate chance to win the division. The Redskins sit one game back of the Eagles, but Philadelphia still has one more matchup with Washington this year. Working in the Skins' favor is the fact that when they play on December 16, in what could determine the divisional champ, it will on their home turf.
So how come the team with the most offensive nickname in sports has undergone a revival? No other team in NFL history has started the season 0-5 only to win their next five games. The NFL community is abuzz about this turnaround, but before you get too excited, remember that the Skins should have been 5-5 at this point in the season.
Running back Stephen Davis is amongst the best running backs in the league, and if he doesn't get into the end zone as much as other top backs, he is consistently around the 85-90 yard mark. Wide receiver Michael Westbrook may not be in the top flight of NFL receivers (in order, Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, and Rod Smith), but he's as good as anyone else.
Don't forget that this is a high-priced defense, as well. Cornerback Deion Sanders is in the CBS studio - doing a surprisingly good job, by the way - but there are still a number of high draft picks in the defensive huddle.
Defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson was the first player selected in the 1994 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. His linemate, Kenard Lang, was a first round pick in 1997 out of the University of Miami. Cornerback Champ Bailey was the seventh man taken overall in 1999, while his secondary partner Fred Smoot was taken high in the second round in 2001.
And don't be fooled by the foolish free agent spending owner Dan Snyder did last year. The heart of this team was built through the draft. Other than the blue chip defenders previously mentioned tight end Stephen Alexander was drafted in the second round in 1998. Offensive guard Jon Jansen was taken in the late rounds in 1999, while Davis was selected in the fourth round in 1996.
But the biggest move the Redskins made all season, and for this give credit to coach Marty Schottenheimer, was to bench Snyder's chosen quarterback Jeff George in favor of Tony Banks. No one is going to mistake Banks for Joe Montana, or Tony Eason for that matter, but he's gotten the job done.
In fact, this whole winning streak is a testament to Schottenheimer, who refused to deviate from his system when the going got tough. But a message of warning to the optimistic Skins fans out there - Schottenheimer's system has gotten many a team to the playoffs, but it usually comes up a few points short of a Super Bowl.
The good
The decision by New England Patriots coach Bill Belichek can be described, extremely mildly, as good. Belichek announced last week that second-year man Tom Brady would be his starting quarterback the rest of the season. It wasn't a completely shocking announcement, considering Brady took over an 0-2 team and lead them, like Lazarus, to a 6-5 record and back into the playoff hunt.However, Belichek does have a former Pro-Bowl quarterback on the sidelines, who is healthy now, and is making a lot more money than the coach, so benching him took some - pardon my Yiddish - chutzpah.
Brady made his coach look good, though, on Sunday, as he tore apart a solid New Orleans Saints defense. The Michigan grad threw for 258 yards and four touchdowns, putting to rest the quarterback controversy, at least for another week.
The bad
Just a few weeks ago, St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner became the fastest quarterback in league history to throw for 10,000 yards. So how did he get into the bad category so quickly?Easy. Turnovers. In the past five games, the Rams have 22 turnovers.
The Rams haven't had to look over their shoulder in the standings too much this season, and in a sense, they still don't need to. Instead, they should look to the side, where they will see the mistake-free San Francisco 49ers tied for the division lead.
For Warner's sake, when the two teams play in a few weeks, let's hope he doesn't turn over the division lead.
The ugly
There's a list of them this week. The Eagle's offense, Nebraska's run defense, LaVarr Arrington's helmet toss (fiery, but not original), or the hair tossed on Bud Selig's head - take your pick.
