Playoffs? Playoffs.

Any idea how much I relish the very IDEA of getting to write a ‘playoff picture’ for my Washington Redskins? Yet here we are – four weeks to go – and not a lot of math to be done to forge the Redskins path to the playoffs. Let’s take a look:

NFC East

Redskins (6-6)
Division Record: 3-1 in NFC East
Conference Record: 6-4 in NFC
Remaining games: Ravens, at Browns, at Eagles, Cowboys

Giants (7-5)
Division Record: 2-3 in NFC East
Conference Record: 6-3 in NFC
Remaining games: Saints, at Falcons, at Ravens, Eagles

Cowboys (6-6)
Division Record: 3-2 in NFC East
Conference Record: 5-5 in NFC
Remaining games: at Bengals, Steelers, Saints, at Redskins

If the Redskins win their remaining four games, then obviously the Cowboys would be eliminated by virtue of the fact that the two teams play each other in the final game of the regular season. The Cowboys have arguably the easiest remaining schedule of the three NFC East teams in contention, so it may just come down to that.

The Giants still need to lose a game for either Washington or Dallas to have a shot at the NFC East, but they have a very tough remaining slate of games – including against the 11-1 Falcons. The 9-3 Ravens will be a very tough match-up for BOTH the Giants and Redskins.

The ‘experts’ only seem to concentrate on the Redskins getting into the playoffs via the Wild Card spot, but they actually still have a very legitimate shot at winning the division if they can win their four remaining games.

Wild card contenders

Seahawks (7-5)
Conference Record: 5-4 in NFC
Remaining games: Cardinals, vs. Bills (in Toronto), 49ers, Rams

Vikings (6-6)
Conference Record: 4-5 in NFC
Remaining games: Bears, at Rams, at Texans, Packers

Bucs (6-6)
Conference Record: 3-5 in NFC
Remaining games: Eagles, at Saints, Rams, at Falcons

The Seahawks are the front-runners right now, what with having the best record, and having 3 of their 4 remaining games at home where they are 5-0 this year. Even their away game isn’t really an away game as they play Buffalo in Toronto. However, the Seahawks still have to play the 49ers and if they were to lose that game, then they would also slide to 5 conference losses, where the Redskins currently only have four. Since we’re assuming that the Redskins have to win outright to get this done, a 49ers win over the Seahawks would mean a Wild Card spot for the Redskins.

I won’t even discuss the Vikings and the Bucs, because again, we’re assuming that the Redskins have to win their remaining games. If all three of those teams finished at 10-6, Washington have beat both teams this year and would win the tiebreaker.

So to sum it up is pretty simple…

… if the Redskins win their remaining games, and the Seahawks lose to the 49ers, and the Giants lose to the Falcons (or anyone else) – the Redskins are in.

They may not completely control their own destiny yet, but the stars don’t exactly have to align for it to come to pass.

Keep your nose down Redskins Nation – four more games – and the next time you take a sniff, it might smell like playoffs.

Conference Standings

Tags: Washington Redskins

Pluck The Cowboys Thanksgiving Style

Yeah, yeah, yeah – this is a day or six, and probably a couple of dollars short. The cool answer is that it took this long to work out the alcohol consumed during the Redskins thrilling 38-31 victory over the Cowboys last Thursday. The honest one is that I actually just forgot to actually POST the blog after I had written it. (Hey, maybe the alcohol can actually be blamed!)

I digress, here’s five no-longer-quick-thoughts on the game: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alfred Morris, DeAngelo Hall, Kai Forbath, Robert Griffin III, Tyler Polumbus

Cowboys Fan Petitions President to Oust Jerry Jones

Reading NFL.com’s story on a Dallas Cowboy fan petitioning Barack Obama to get rid of Jerry Jones, is really way more joy than I can handle in the same week that my Redskins smacked up the Cowboys in their own stadium, and on Thanksgiving to boot.

“We, the Citizens of the Great State of Texas, and Dallas Cowboys fans worldwide, have been oppressed by an over controlling, delusional, oppressive dictator for way too long. Request the Executive Branch’s immediate assistance in removal of owner and GM, Jerry Jones. His incompetence and ego have not only been an extreme disappointment for way too long, but moreover, it has caused extreme mental and emotional duress.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, RGIII, Thanksgiving

Five Quick Thoughts: Eagles

It was good for the Redskins and for Redskins fans, to get back on the winning side of the ledger this week. Facing a struggling team, and coming off an extra week off, the Redskins were expected to do exactly what they did on Sunday – dismantle the Philadelphia Eagles. Here are some quick thoughts about the game — Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Brandon Meriweather, Darrell Young, Robert Griffin III

Live With DY… Hooters Rockville… 7PM

Join me tonight for the second edition of Darrel Young’s new show ‘1st & Goal.’ I will be Skype-ing in obviously, but you can catch him live at Hooters in Rockville, Maryland if you’re in the area.

Be there from 7-9pm as players, fans, and media converge into one show! There will be a live stream from 7:30-8:30pm at Bmitchlive.com as well, for those unable to attend. Join Darrel, @skykersein @mrdcsports @Bmitchliveshow and myself as we talk about the Panthers game and more.

Follow me on Twitter @TheHogsdotNet and hit me up there if you have any questions.

Hail!!

Tags: 1st & Goal, 1st and Goal, Darrel Young

New Show Delayed By Sandy

Earlier this week I told you about Darrel Young’s new show ’1st and Goal’ starting up tonight at Hooters; unfortunately Hurricane Sandy got in the way.

Internet problems in the area due to the storm, mean a small wait in the debut of Young’s show, which will now take place on Thursday night instead.

Join Darrel, Niles Paul and a motley crew of guests like myself and Andre Mitchell from HTTR-24/7, and more.

But Thursday night, not tonight.

Hail!!

Tags: Darrell Young, Niles Paul

Summing Up The Steelers Loss

I thought quite a bit about how I wanted to sum up the Washington Redskins 27-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Did I want to take a look at some of the important statistics?

Did I want to stick to the positive and talk about some of the good things? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins

New Redskins Show For Redskins Nation

Next week a brand new show will be starting up for Redskins Nation – one that promises to be a ton of fun. Some of you may remember that last year I was a regular on Brian Mitchell’s ‘Tailgate Show’ – a show that featured us regular Joe Redskins fans talking with Redskins players, and of course with Brian.

Brian has his thumb in a lot of pies this season, so the show’s producer Matt DeNapoli wanted to come up with something equally cool for Redskins fans, and that would allow Brian to still participate when available.

After jumping through some hoops, it is now official – they will be doing a new show called ’1st and Goal’ with the Redskins starting fullback Darrel Young! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 1st and Goal, Brian Mitchell, Darrel Young

Vote YES for Question 10

As a Marylander who lives in close proximity to Washington D.C., politics are unavoidable for me, especially when election time rolls around. These days, Marylanders are urged to vote for Question 7, Question 4, etc. Being inundated with political commercials is a quick way to ruin one’s football-watching experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: lavar arrington, Question 10, Robert Griffin III

New RGIII Superman Wallpaper and Twitcon

Well I figured since RGIII loves Superman, and plays like a superhero, why not do up a wallpaper?

SO I present to you another RGIII wallpaper for your desktop,and I even modified it for use as a twitcon.

Just click on the image to download the zip file, and then unzip the file into a folder of your choosing to put on your desktop, or in your Twitter profile.

Please don’t remove the subtle watermarking on them – the abuse spreads. Work goes into these things.

Twitcon – 500×500 pixels

Enjoy them.

Please share them on your social networks if you enjoy them, and be sure to hit me up on Twitter @TheHogsdotNet and let me know if you put them to good use!!

Hail!