Redskins Newsletter

Volume 12 #12

December 3, 2007

Redskins lose to Bills 16-17

BILLS SNEAK PAST EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTED REDSKINS... Drained before they ever took the field, the Washington Redskins somehow played a football game to honor their fallen teammate in front of 85,831 fans waving their No. 21 towels. "It makes your heart drop all the way to your feet," quarterback Jason Campbell said. "We wanted to come out here and win one for Sean." "I didn't show up to play this game," said Smoot, the Washington cornerback. "I showed up for a tribute for my friend, to send him out right, and we found a way to mess it up."

Five days after Taylor died from a gunshot wound in Florida, the Redskins defense did Taylor proud by not allowing a touchdown. Buffalo's points came on five field goals and a safety. In the end it was not the players but the coach that cost the game. Buffalo started its final drive at its 22 yard line with 56 seconds remaining and no time outs. Buffalo had worked its way down the field and was attempting a game winning 51 yard field goal. Buffalo’s kicker Rian Lindell made a 51-yard goal that didn't count because Gibbs called time out just as the ball was snapped. Gibbs then called another time out as Lindell lined up a second time, but consecutive time outs aren't allowed in the NFL, and that resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when specifically called to freeze the kicker. Then Lindell kicked a 36-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give the Buffalo Bills a 17-16 victory. "There's nobody to blame but myself," Gibbs said. "I should have known the rule." This season the Redskins have lost five second half leads and 15 since 2004.

On Wednesday, Taylor's father, Pedro Taylor, addressed the Redskins and exhorted them to win five games in a row and make the playoffs. But Washington has now lost four straight and quickly fading from the playoff picture. "I just hope as a team we can get down to Miami for the funeral and get some closure so that we can move forward," defensive end Phillip Daniels said. "It's been tough for everybody.... It wasn't easy to get out there and play today."

When the Redskins defense came on for the first time, Taylor's safety position was vacant; only 10 Redskins were on the field. Then Taylor's replacement, Reed Doughty ran out onto the field for the next play. Doughty commented on the gesture saying: "It was important for the team to know that he was with us one last time on the field. That was special. It's really difficult to be running out there taking over for somebody who is of legend proportions. It was really hard." Buffalo’s coach Dick Jauron said of the game: "It was a very emotional day for everybody. I'm sure more so for them, but we have a number of players on our squad that were very close to Sean. I thought that both teams really played hard, and that would honor him. He played it all-out that's how he played the game."

When Moss, one of Taylor's closest friends on the team, caught his first pass, he held up his index and middle fingers and his pinky. It was his way of spelling "21" for all to see. He repeated the gesture throughout the game. Portis, a close friend of Taylor's and University of Miami teammate, lifted his jersey to reveal a white shirt that included the words "In memory of Sean Taylor" after the 3-yard run that gave the Redskins a 16-5 lead in the third quarter and close to their goal of winning one for Sean Taylor.

The Redskins continued to have the same problems as in the past: an inability to finish drives. Washington kept settling for field goals instead of touchdowns. Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham kicking first-half field goals of 27, 28 and 33 yards. The Redskins injured continue to pile up with injuries to corner back Shawn Springs and right tackle Todd Wade. Antwaan Randle El missed a game for the first time in his six-year NFL career. The Redskins will fly to Sean Taylor's funeral Monday, then must try to find a way to focus for a Thursday’ game against the Bears.

Trivia: Last week’s trivia was: How many winning seasons did George Allen have and who was his replacement? In 1977 the Redskins closed the season with a 9-5 record but it was not good enough for a playoff spot. Following the season Coach George Allen was fired and replaced by Jack Pardee despite posting 7 straight winning seasons.

This week’s question is: What was Joe Gibbs first year with the Redskins and what was his record?

beganjrfl@comcast.net