Redskins Show Yankee-Like Qualities, and That's Not a Good Thing

For the last two seasons, the Redskins have had an admirable professional resilience in the face of adversity. But they also have consistently brought that adversity on themselves by losing, either at home or when they were favored or both -- like last season's loss to Norv Turner's lowly Raiders or this year's opener against the Vikings.

"We really never got anything going in any part of the game," Coach Joe Gibbs said. "We needed a big play for a spark. Today, it didn't happen for us. When that happens, you gotta say, 'Hey, hats off to New York.' "

Perhaps you also have to ask whether the Gibbs teams of 1981 to 1992 didn't have a bit more edge and spark. None of his players ever seemed comfortable. As last season's late run showed, Gibbs is still inspirational, especially in the faith he shows in his players and his ability to minimize back-biting and infighting during a long, sometimes-dispiriting season.

But his week-to-week motivational skills -- that capacity to instill a consistently violent mentality in almost every player -- is not yet present to the same degree that it was in his first term. Back then, by his third season when he'd had time to pick his kind of "character" players and polish his offensive system, the Redskins were dismantling opponents. Gibbs can't be expected to recreate his past. But the dissimilarities can't be totally ignored.

The current Redskins perplex themselves at times. They aren't quite sure if they're as good as their clippings, statistics and salaries. Yet they also sense that they aren't far from finding a coherent team personality and playing style. "We just haven't started to play Redskin football yet," Portis said. They played with a team identity at the end of last season and, even after a loss in which they were often manhandled along the line, they think they are close to being a first-rate team.

But should a team's confidence be so intact after a game in which it forced no turnovers, got no sacks, allowed Tiki Barber to rush for 123 yards and let Eli Manning complete 23 of 33 passes for 256 yards while barely getting his pants dirty? Should the Redskins' emotions be under control after a game with definite grudge elements with former Redskins LaVar Arrington, Antonio Pierce and Chad Morton leading a constant barrage of insults and challenges?

"There were a lot of trash talkers out there today, especially the guys who used to play for us," tackle Chris Samuels said. "They definitely wanted to pay us back. It was all out, all the time, just a lot of cussin' and words that would make my mama take out a switch."

Too often in recent years, the Redskins have not played their best until after they've been taken to the woodshed. They're lucky they don't have "New York" on their jerseys. If they played here, this 2-3 team with the unlimited supply of skill players and assistant coaches with head-coach salaries would have switch-marks all over them.