My Beloved Redskins

You know, it's hard to believe that the Redskins are being counted out by just about every columnist in the nation. Granted, they are, currently, in last place in the NFC East. However, considering that their record is 2-1, there's nothing to be ashamed about and it certainly seems a bit premature to panic!

Consider this:

* The Redskins are in arguably the toughest division in football, yet played a close game against the 3-0 defending Super Bowl champions in their first game under their new head coach.

* They then took on the Saints. Granted, the Saints are 1-2 team, however, another 7 points and they'd be 3-0. Their win came against the 2-1 Buccaneers, who are hardly slouches this year. And the Saints other loss came against Denver, considered one of the top teams in the AFC, which was decided by only 2 points.

* Finally, the Skins defeated the Cardinals in week 3. In recent years, the Cardinals have been at the bottom of the abysmal NFC West. This year, however, they are at the top of a much improved division. They have wins against the 49ers (another 2-1 team) and the Dolphins (who just stomped the Patriots).

Not exactly a slouch schedule to start the season. And now they have back-to-back divisional road games. If they can emerge from the next 2 weeks at 3-2 (hopefully better), they'll have positioned themselves as a legitimate contender. Only time will tell if that will be enough to get them back into the good graces of the media, but one thing is certain. The Redskins, despite a very difficult start to the season, have set themselves up to go into their bye week (week 10) well over .500 and with a lot of momentum. Of course, games against St. Louis, Cleveland, Detroit and Pittsburgh will help out on that front...

Looking ahead to Dallas, Jason Campbell is coming off of 2 straight weeks with a passer rating over 100, is 61 of 93 so far this season with no INTs. And, the best game of his career came against the Cowboys last year.

The Redskins secondary is getting back to full strength; Shawn Springs, Carlos Rodgers, Reed Doughty, Fred Smoot, and the new up-and-coming Chris Horton represent a solid defensive back corps. And while Jason Taylor has gone down with a leg injury (recover quickly), the Redskins D-Line should prove capable enough to create a little pressure on Romo. Finally, the Redskins linebackers have the speed and size to take on Witten 1 on 1, which should help take away the check down from Romo.

Don't be so quick to count out the Skins just yet; the Burgundy and Gold are back in the hunt!