Silver Linings Playbook: 2013 Redskins Edition

By Guest Writer Megan Shoup:

Ok, the name may make you sick because if you watched the movie Silver Linings Playbook, you know the characters were Eagles fans. But this edition of Silver Linings is brought to you by a Redskins fan that thinks there is still hope after the worst start we could have imagined.

My brother does an amazing job of Redskins analysis by breaking down what the Redskins should do, could do and will do. He can tell you what on earth the Redskins can do, changes they should make, questions they should ask and personnel they should change to right this ship. I’m not capable of that analysis, but I am capable of seeing the glass half full even in dark times as a Redskins fan. I’m not trying to get you to drink koolaid and say the Redskins are great, because they are far from that now. And how can you drink the koolaid at 0-3?!

I simply think there is hope after this ugly start, based on some facts mixed with strong opinions, and here is why:

-The NFC East is awful this year. This is the worst division in the NFL in 2013. Its the only division with two 0-3 teams, so I don’t think you can debate this and most analysts would strongly agree.

-With that said, at just 3 games into the season, I think its clear there will not be a wildcard coming from the NFC East this season. There are just too many good teams in the NFC.

-So the Redskins would have to win the NFC to make playoffs this year. Feel free to enter the “PLAYOFFS?! comment here. So what will it take to win the NFC East this year? Given how bad the division is, probably 9-7 tops and maybe even just 8-8.

-Are the Cowboys our only competition for the NFC East crown? At the beginning of the season I would have said no way, but 3 games into the season, I think they obviously are the team to beat. The Giants are a bigger mess than us if that is possible. And I personally think the Eagles have too many things to figure out.

-Our Redskins have a very winnable game next week in Oakland and then a bye before the all important must-win game against the Cowboys in Dallas on Sunday night, Oct. 13.

-Isn’t it better to play our best football late in the season than early in the season? I’m not saying or think they can pull of another 7 game winning streak, but I do think we can win a lot of those games in November & December.

Bottom line, they have to go 5-1 again in the NFC East and win the rest of the NFC East games. Then they probably need just 3 or 4 other wins to take the East. IF the Redskins win all their MUST WIN NFC East games, I can get you to 8 or 9 wins with wins against:

-@ Oakland – big must win this Sunday out West. We can’t take the Raiders lightly, but if they control Pryor, they should win this game.

-Chargers at home Nov. 3 – Rivers & co. have to come East for a 1 p.m. game. I know they did it against Philly, but I think this will be our first home win!

-@ Vikings – we just have to focus on stopping Adrian Peterson. Christian Ponder doesn’t scare me, even against our poor secondary.

-Chiefs at home Dec. 8 – yes the Chiefs are 3-0 and much improved this year, but I could see them coming down more to reality by December. I think they are good, but I think if we’re playing our best football by December, then we can beat them at home.

So that means the rest of the schedule would look like this:

What do you think? Even on the blackest of Mondays, can you get here?  Let’s forget the first 3 games and focus on getting a big, convincing win in Oakland! Now if they lose in Oakland, scratch everything I just said…this season is OVER! But I have reason to believe we will be a lot happier next Monday.