Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins have, at times, looked like a playoff team this season. But at other times, they’ve looked like they would have lost to any of the five UFL teams.
They currently sit at 5-6, but despite their sub-.500 record, streaky play, and being in third place in their own division, McNabb has ensured his team and Redskins fans that Washington, D.C. will have a representative in the playoffs.
“Today will be start of a great run,” McNabb tweets. “Redskin nation will have a spot in playoffs.”
It’s not a Joe Namath-type guarantee. But there it is.
It’s also not like McNabb to do a lot of talking. This reeks of a guy who realizes that his team his crumbling and is looking for anything to get them going — even just a little. The Redskins are struggling in nearly every facet of the game, and I suppose McNabb figures this might get them to rally and start playing as a team.
But it’s probably too little too late.
Mike Shanahan’s feuds with McNabb and with Albert Haynesworth have already doomed this team. I get the strong sense that players in the locker room aren’t as fond of Shanahan as they let on and neither the offense or defense has bought into what the coaches are selling.
It also doesn’t help that the Redskins finish the season against the New York Giants twice, the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Three divisional games and two games against playoff contenders doesn’t usually mean a playoff spot for a team that has already dug itself into a hole.
Then again, the AFL was never going to beat the NFL, either.