Erratic Washington walks fine line
Acquiring Alabama players has helped alter team culture
While Josh Norman was going full Norman last week on the FedEx Field crowd atmosphere, lesser-known Ryan Anderson stood 20 feet away and refused to revel in victory.
The media didn’t swarm him. It was just a 1-on-1 session. But Anderson’s words, though neither inflammatory nor worthy of a week’s worth of content, depicted a changing team psyche that the Redskins have desired for a long time.
In ripping his own fans for booing and making home games tense, Norman was, in essence, asking that the team receive credit for its 6-3 record. That didn’t enter the mind of Anderson, a secondyear linebacker from Alabama groomed for the NFL by the never-satisfied Nick Saban.
There is no room for premature praise in Anderson’s world. There is no room to measure the crowd reaction and glean any esteem from it. There is only focus and process.
“You don’t want to focus on winning,” Anderson said, just 25 minutes after a 16-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “You want to focus on dominating. You can win a game 55-50. You didn’t dominate it. So I really focus on dominating, and I feel like if we’re dominating, we control our box. Winning follows. You don’t think about the end result first. I don’t wake up every morning and say, ‘Win this game.’ What is that? First, it’s, ‘What do I got to do to win it?’ I’ve got to practice. I’ve got to watch film. I’ve got to get to the ball. I’ve got to hold guys accountable, and guys have to hold me accountable.
“It’s not just about winning. If you’re preaching win, it’s not really going to go anywhere. You could win a game on a Hail Mary and then get blown out the next week. Then, are you happy with that win? You know what I mean? It’s about dominating and building.”
Norman had a legitimate point, but he made some on the team and in the organization cringe. It wasn’t just because, after factoring in all that these fans have been through the past two decades, their patience, loyalty and passion should be considered bulletproof. In expressing his frustration, Norman inadvertently touched another nerve: The franchise’s sad culture of wanting credit before it has done anything to warrant it.
Norman actually isn’t the type to settle; he seldom seems content. But over the years, Washington has had too many players — and even coaches and executives — who couldn’t handle success because they viewed it as an item on a checklist and not a mentality that requires constant investment. That is why they have gone 26 years without making repeat visits to the playoffs. That is why they struggle to put together winning streaks and keep the right core together for long periods of time.
In the taxing pursuit of sustainable success, they don’t just ask, “Are we there yet?” Many times, they’ve declared, “We’re there! Hail us!” And it has led to inevitable embarrassment.
But this culture of premature credit may be over because many fans are refusing to play that game. The season began with small crowds and booing.
As Washington has improved, public enthusiasm doesn’t match the typical 6-3 team because this isn’t the typical 6-3 team.
So there will be no midseason parades. The franchise seemed to be onto something three years ago, when it elevated Kirk Cousins to starting quarterback and won the NFC East. But they couldn’t repeat the good of that team. They couldn’t get Cousins to sign a long-term contract as both sides basically squabbled over who deserved the credit — the player or the system — for Cousins’ development. Now, they’re trying something new with Alex Smith and a bunch of sledgehammers on their offensive and defensive lines.
There’s another element to this team, however. They’re doing a better job of understanding the difference between a great talent and a great winner who is talented enough.
It has been discussed quite a bit in explaining why the front office is targeting so many Alabama players, including defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, the team’s past two firstround picks. But the decision to trade for Smith last winter was motivated because of his winning qualities. It also fits that, at the trade deadline, the team acquired safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, another Alabama product who also spent five years in the Green Bay Packers’ culture.
The result is that you don’t sense as much complacency anymore. Washington still has some up-and-down moments, and there were eye rolls and “same old Redskins” concerns after a 43-19 loss to New Orleans earlier this season. But this team has given consistent effort and focus so far. Although the players are happy to be 6-3, they don’t see themselves as much more than a developing team headed in the right direction. They don’t need the hype because they’re seeking something greater than a mid-November pat on the back.
The process to restore fan trust will be long and difficult because of all the baggage the franchise has accumulated. But it’s not a bad thing to have something to prove. Winners never ditch that mindset.