Mindless homerism at the Washington Post

[silverbear]

Seems like the Post is tryin' REAL hard to get back on Danny Boy's good side, judging from this quote in today's sports section, from an article titled "Commanders Go Back On The Offensive":

"In Joe Gibbs's fantasy world, the Washington Commanders spend the preseason walloping a collection of small college teams, with an NFL lightweight or two thrown in, and spend August showcasing their revamped offense and inspiring confidence among skeptical fans. Instead, his offense has looked shaky in losses to two of the better defensive teams in the NFL -- Carolina and Cincinnati "

Carolina was 20th in the NFL in total defense last year, Cincy was 19th... for comparison, the Cowboys, who were roundly criticized for their defensive play last year, ranked 16th...

In another article a few days ago, the Post talked about what good offenses the Panthers and Bengals had last year, when they ranked 13th (Carolina) and 18th (Cincinnati)...

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Seems like the Post is tryin' REAL hard to get back on Danny Boy's good side, judging from this quote in today's sports section, from an article titled "Commanders Go Back On The Offensive":

"In Joe Gibbs's fantasy world, the Washington Commanders spend the preseason walloping a collection of small college teams, with an NFL lightweight or two thrown in, and spend August showcasing their revamped offense and inspiring confidence among skeptical fans. Instead, his offense has looked shaky in losses to two of the better defensive teams in the NFL -- Carolina and Cincinnati "

Carolina was 20th in the NFL in total defense last year, Cincy was 19th... for comparison, the Cowboys, who were roundly criticized for their defensive play last year, ranked 16th...

In another article a few days ago, the Post talked about what good offenses the Panthers and Bengals had last year, when they ranked 13th (Carolina) and 18th (Cincinnati)...

They said the offense looked bad. Exactly how is that being a homer?

 

[silverbear]

They said the offense looked bad. Exactly how is that being a homer?

There are so many answers to that one...

For openers, the Skins' offense hasn't looked bad at all, when you consider that they're 2nd in the NFL this preseason, with an average of 395 yards per game... OTOH, they ARE next to last in the league in turnover margin, at minus 6... generally speaking, turning the ball over a lot speaks to mistakes by the offense, rather than brilliance by the defense...

More to the point, they tried to suggest that the Skins have gone up against really good defenses when they played the Panthers and the Bengals, and the stats show that claim is really quite ridiculous... those defenses weren't even MEDIOCRE last year, ranking in the bottom half of the league...

Now, the next 2 preseason games will be against two teams that do indeed have very good defenses, the Steelers and the Ravens... both teams ranked in the top 6 in defense last year...

One other interesting stats about the Skins this preseason-- they are currently ranked 26th in total defense... again, this is while playing teams that aren't exactly offensive juggernauts these days... last year's 3rd ranked defense is giving up an average of 346 yards per game...

Looks like they're missing Antonio Pierce and Fred Smoot more than they thought they would...

 

[Cowboy from New York]

While you have to take preseason results and stats with a truckload full of grains of salt. Hopefully Silver Bear is on to something, if their defense is having trouble coming together then that early Monday nighter will be a continuation of that great ***-whupping streak we've had on them.

 

[Smith22]

I don't fear that Deadskin offense at all, but Williams had that defense playing extremely well last year despite having, IMO, average to below average talent along the DL.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

to be fair silverbear, the Panthers D fell off because they played most of the season without Jenkins, they are going to rebound in a huge way this year, their whole team in fact...

idk, just like we tell opposing team's fans to not read into the Cowboys showing inconsistency this preseason, we have to do the same for other teams, it's only preseason

 

[Rack]

SB, don't mean to change the subject or anything, but what happend to your boy Izelle Reese?


To be honest, I predicted Davis would start but I thought Reese would at least be able to hang around as a backup and special teams player.

Now let's hope Davis actually makes it where we aren't looking for another FS next year.


About the POST... yeah I agree. But I think you and I would both agree that ranking doesn't always mean much. We sure as hell weren't as good as our ranking last year.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

The Panthers did have injuries last year, but so did we, so did everyone, they still have to prove a it agian this year, like every one else. Im tired of having to agree with everyone else that Carolina is a force to be reckoned with. Foster is in the mold of Chris Brown and Buchlater, talented, but injury prone. Davis is jsut about done, Shelton is a project. And Goings is nothing speical.

That front 7 doesnt play around though, that ill give them.

 

[silverbear]

SB, don't mean to change the subject or anything, but what happend to your boy Izelle Reese?

He got old overnight... never seen anything like it... LOL...

About the POST... yeah I agree. But I think you and I would both agree that ranking doesn't always mean much. We sure as hell weren't as good as our ranking last year.

No, it doesn't mean much, except when some suckup newspaper mediot goes around trying to tell us things that the rankings don't support...

 

[Rack]

No, it doesn't mean much, except when some suckup newspaper mediot goes around trying to tell us things that the rankings don't support...

True. But like you said, they're kissing Danny Boy's a** now.

 

[silverbear]

True. But like you said, they're kissing Danny Boy's a** now.

They want their season tickets back...

 

[followthestar]

i keep saying it and i'll say it again - i predict an abysmal season for the Skins. the Giants have gained a toehold on them and should climb past them, and the Cowboys are off to seek another Lombardi. the Eagles will sweep them, and they'll win few games outside the division either. they'll be at 4-12 and Gibbs will be off to greener pastures and they'll screw up another draft and... you get the picture.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

They want their season tickets back...

I don't think they'll get their passes back with that paragraph.

Maybe I need another cup of coffee, SB, or maybe it's too early for irony.... but I can't quite grasp the homerism even after you explained it.

I noticed the defensive 'fall off' in the first preseason game, but I wasn't even paying attention to how much blitzing they were doing. Was probably minimal. Loosing Smoot and Pierce hurts, tho.

But my guess is they go into the regular season with Williams' D once again carrying a stagnant offense. How much of that preseason yardage was put up against late game scrubs, and how much of it ended up in the endzone?

I saw one fairly evident fact in preseason - Patrick Ramsey STINKS. Underthrowing Moss, inaccurate all over the place. Brunnell looked better from what I saw...and I'd bet Gibbs is dying to get Mark back under center. That zone formation oline hadn't exactly 'gotten' it either.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I don't think they'll get their passes back with that paragraph.

Maybe I need another cup of coffee, SB, or maybe it's too early for irony.... but I can't quite grasp the homerism even after you explained it.

I noticed the defensive 'fall off' in the first preseason game, but I wasn't even paying attention to how much blitzing they were doing. Was probably minimal. Loosing Smoot and Pierce hurts, tho.

But my guess is they go into the regular season with Williams' D once again carrying a stagnant offense. How much of that preseason yardage was put up against late game scrubs, and how much of it ended up in the endzone?

I saw one fairly evident fact in preseason - Patrick Ramsey STINKS. Underthrowing Moss, inaccurate all over the place. Brunnell looked better from what I saw...and I'd bet Gibbs is dying to get Mark back under center. That zone formation oline hadn't exactly 'gotten' it either.

It's not the coffee...I hate coffee but I am wide awake right now and I just don't see the major homerism that Silverbear is claiming either.

I like silverbear but in this case he is either reaching too much or really having a bad hair day (over sensitive).

 

[silverbear]

I don't think they'll get their passes back with that paragraph.

Maybe I need another cup of coffee, SB, or maybe it's too early for irony.... but I can't quite grasp the homerism even after you explained it.

Well, they start off talking about the offensive struggles... then they try to justify those struggles, claiming the Skins' two opponents had good defenses... only problem is, their two opponents did NOT have good defenses last year, as shown by the stats I quoted...

To me, distorting the truth to explain away a struggling aspect of the team's performance is the essence of homerism... "oh, they're not really that bad, they've just played some awfully tough defenses"...

And as I noted, a few days earlier the Post was talking about how good the OFFENSES were for the Panthers and Bengals... again, the stats show that to be a bit of an exaggeration...

But my guess is they go into the regular season with Williams' D once again carrying a stagnant offense.

Actually, I think their offense might well be fairly efficient early on-- until the inevitable injuries to the offensive line crop up... they have ZERO depth on the OL... the question is, will they continue turning the ball over at the pace they have thus far in preseason??

I also think that their defense is much like ours was last year-- highly rated because of their performance the year before, but not really all that good... in particular, I wonder how they put up the numbers they did with a decidely subpar defensive line (which they haven't done a whole lot to address in this offseason)...

I saw one fairly evident fact in preseason - Patrick Ramsey STINKS. Underthrowing Moss, inaccurate all over the place. Brunnell looked better from what I saw...and I'd bet Gibbs is dying to get Mark back under center.

I am completely flabbergasted at how good Brunell has looked this preseason, after watching him last season... I was convinced (along with most Skins fans) that the guy had nothing left...

That zone formation oline hadn't exactly 'gotten' it either.

I dunno, they've gained a lot of yards these first 2 preseason games... and without much help from Clinton Portis... and that's even with them coughing up the ball with considerable frequency...

 

[silverbear]

It's not the coffee...I hate coffee but I am wide awake right now and I just don't see the major homerism that Silverbear is claiming either.

It's really so obvious, I'm surprised you and others can't see it... perhaps it would help if I shared the sub-header under the title of that article:

The Commanders face another elite defense when they play host to the Steelers on Friday

Except this will be the FIRST "elite defense" they have played in preseason... the Panthers and the Bengals simply did not qualify last year... they weren't even in the top half of the league, how in God's name does THAT qualify as "elite"??

This is alibi-ing for the Skins' offensive performance to date, plain and simple... worse, down in the body of the article, they quote Gibbs as saying:

Carolina, I think they were in the top five [in defense]

They weren't even CLOSE to the top 5 in defense, but did the fact checkers at the Post correct this mis-statement?? Nope, they just let it stand... now, if I'M capable of researching that assertion and finding it erroneous, I have to think that somebody PAID to do that job should be able to ascertain the truth...

Bottom line, the turnovers that have bedeviled the Skins to date are not the result of "stiff defenses", they're the result of boneheaded mistakes by the Skins... period...

But the Post is trying to make it appear that the problems offensively are mainly the result of having to go up against a succession of really tough defenses... focus again on the following lines from the article:

Instead, his offense has looked shaky in losses to two of the better defensive teams in the NFL -- Carolina and Cincinnati

Now, consider that the the Panthers ranked 20th in the NFL in total defense last year, and the Bengals ranked 19th... this is "two of the better defensive teams in the NFL"?? The Cowboys ranked ahead of both of them; would you call them one of "the better defensive teams in the NFL"??

Again, I have to think the Post has researchers on their staff capable of ferreting out the TRUTH about claims like this, whose job it is to prevent such laughably wrong claims from appearing in print... so yeah, when the Post repeatedly exaggerates the strength of the caliber of competition the Skins have faced, to me that smacks of homerism...

And that's not the only example of this puffing up of the opposition, in an article discussing Carlos Rogers' debut in the Bengals game, Cincinnati was described as "a talented offensive team"... this "talented offensive team" ranked 18th in total offense last year, 17th in passing offense... the Cowboys ranked ahead of them; would you call them "a talented offensive team" last year??

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Pittsburg is an elite defense as you have said.

Prior to Jenkins injury last season I do not think it is a stretch at all to say Carolina had one of the better D lines in the game. Healthy Jenkins and Julius Peppers on the line...I say they will be, if they are not already, one of the better D-Lines in the Game.

Cincy - Cincy is Cincy but they have gotten better it seems since they got their new coach and they don't exactly have chopped liver at all positions on their defense.

Maybe washingtons offense still sucks...but I see nothing homeristic about a newspaper that is notorius for ripping on the skins pointing out a good defense on other teams.

Futhermore just because a defense did not rank high last year does not mean they have not improved in the offseason.

So once again...I don't see it as being homerism by the papers article.

I acutally see it as a case of you being anti-homer towards the skins and reading too much into it.

 

[TobiasEagle77]

Carolina was 20th in the NFL in total defense last year, Cincy was 19th... for comparison, the Cowboys, who were roundly criticized for their defensive play last year, ranked 16th...

In another article a few days ago, the Post talked about what good offenses the Panthers and Bengals had last year, when they ranked 13th (Carolina) and 18th (Cincinnati)...

Carolina ranked 5th in points scored and 5th in points allowed.

I have a ton of respect for the Panthers. I think they're a well coached team with alot of talent and fight in them. I don't think their ratings in yards give a true picture.

 

[silverbear]

Pittsburg is an elite defense as you have said.

Prior to Jenkins injury last season I do not think it is a stretch at all to say Carolina had one of the better D lines in the game. Healthy Jenkins and Julius Peppers on the line...I say they will be, if they are not already, one of the better D-Lines in the Game.

Cincy - Cincy is Cincy but they have gotten better it seems since they got their new coach and they don't exactly have chopped liver at all positions on their defense.

Maybe washingtons offense still sucks...but I see nothing homeristic about a newspaper that is notorius for ripping on the skins pointing out a good defense on other teams.

Well, I do, when the defense isn't really good... the numbers don't lie, BP...

Yeah, the Panthers MIGHT be a better defense this year... or they might not...

I acutally see it as a case of you being anti-homer towards the skins and reading too much into it.

That just shows you don't know me real well... in point of fact, I have proven over the last coupla years to be better at sizing up the Skins' potential than I have the Cowboys'... pissed off the boys over at the NFC East Rantatorium with my criticisms of them, particularly my criticisms of their offensive line... and at season's end, they were even more pissed to have to admit that I called it exactly right...

I also don't hate the Skins with near the passion that a lot of folks on here do... in fact, most of my family are Skins fans, including my late Mom and my nephew/roommate... now they come by it honestly, since most of them live in the Virginia suburbs of DC...

I read the quotes I mentioned at the start of this thread, and I 'bout to fell down laughing, because I have a pretty fair memory, and I knew the claims from the Post about the caliber of the Panthers' and Bengals' defenses were entirely bogus... in the last coupla years, the Post has been d*mn near SAVAGE in their criticisms of the Skins, which is the main reason Danny Boy got pissed enough at them to jerk a whole bunch of their season tickets...

And once I got done laughing, I figured I'd share the laugh with y'all... if you can't see the humor in it, I guess I can't help you...

 

[silverbear]

Carolina ranked 5th in points scored and 5th in points allowed.

Nope, they were 13th in scoring offense, 15th in scoring defense... at least, if NFL.com can be trusted...

Think about it, pal, if they were ranked that high in both categories, how in God's name could they have finished with a 7-9 record??

I have a ton of respect for the Panthers. I think they're a well coached team with alot of talent and fight in them. I don't think their ratings in yards give a true picture.

I actually kinda like the Panthers my own self...