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Goodbye Honeymoon, Hello Reality

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The Redskins leave Carolina limping and embarrassed after absorbing a 47-3 preseason beating and losing defensive end Jason Taylor to a sprained right knee.

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The remaining pass rusher the team hoped to count upon, Erasmus James, playing his first series with his new team, jumped off sides.

There were small signs of hope. Clinton Portis rumbled as much as he ran, earning a paycheck in the preseason. And Derrick Frost, punting out of his own end zone, unearthed a rocket off his right foot that traveled 64 yards. Sprinting downfield, he helped make the hit and skipped off the field like a special-teams kamikaze, slapping helmets and hands, trying to win a job that has been his for three years.

Mostly, though, as owner Daniel Snyder combed the locker room to offer encouragement afterward, this was a reality check. Before this eyesore of an exhibition, they were still in Costa Rica together, on an extended honeymoon.

Last night they came back to their one-room dump with the leaky ceiling. Now the real part of the relationship begins.

What do we really know about Zorn and this team with 11 days left before the regular season opener? We know they need work, they need to get healthy, their offensive line needs to sustain a block and their defense needs to tackle with more malice than malaise.

We know they probably need more than 11 days.

Funny, no, how much all the doubters kept taunting the believers with one phrase after each win in games that didn't count? The phrase usually began, "That's great, but it's preseason."

Now, after how bad they looked last night, the idealists and dreamers need to incorporate those words into their own comeback. "It's only preseason."

And believe it until Sept. 4. The alternative is to hop aboard a train that now comes equipped with air bags.

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