Despite division, Redskins players and fans need each other

The Washington Redskins are 6-3 on the season and have a firm two-game hold on the NFC East Division which also houses the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles.

With a win Sunday over the Houston Texans, the Redskins would improve their record to 7-3. This would give them their best start to a season through 10 games since posting a 7-3 record in 1996. That’s over two decades in the making but the futileness of the franchise over that span has started to interrupt an otherwise surprisingly pleasant NFL storyline.

All week long around the greater Washington, D.C. area, the talk amongst fans and over the local airways has been the empty seats at FedEx Field where the Redskins play and what has caused that problem. Some fans attribute the empty seats to a product that went awry over two decades ago when team owner Dan Snyder purchased the team. Others will describe a horrific traffic experience on gameday’s getting to and from the team’s stadium. Then there is the argument over rapidly rising seat costs that have turned fans off and away from going to games.

Whatever the reason(s), the Redskins are mired in a public debate that has players noticing empty seats, a large following of opposing team fans and general negativity surrounding the first-place team.

Cornerback Josh Norman and safety D.J. Swearinger were the latest players to comment on their desire to just play all of their games on the road.

This rubbed some fans the wrong way and ruffled a few feathers. Some supporters agreed, however, that the players should be met with more fan support at home on Sundays.

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Coach Jay Gruden wasn’t immune to the negativity surrounding his team despite their promising playoff forecast. He too, like many Redskins supporters, mentioned he was surprised by the negative tones surrounding his team but assured they would keep working.

“Yeah a little bit,” Gruden said about the negativity surrounding his team despite a winning record. “We’re obviously not satisfied or sitting in the lounge chair with our feet up right now relaxing. We’ve got to get back to work and continue to work. We know there is a lot of football ahead of us, a lot of great teams come in here to play and we have to go there to play and we have to do better. We have to do better on offense and there’s a lot more for us to get offensively and defensively for that matter. I’m glad that we’re winning without a doubt. We’re 6-3 in first place, that’s a heck of deal after nine games, but I’m also excited with the fact that we have not played our best yet and I think the best is yet to come. It’s our job as coaches to make sure we do the best we can to get it out of them.”

Gruden also mentioned that he would not let a 6-3 record validate him as a coach or his players.

“No, no, we’re not pointed anywhere, we’re just pointing our ship towards Houston right now,” Gruden said. “We’re just trying to do the best we can and we’ve got a good group here. We have a roster that I think is going to compete every week and I like the fact that win or lose, they come back, they are the same guys every week. They’re going to work their tails off Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and get ready to play a very good Houston team and that’s our sole purpose right now.”

It should be noted that new team President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer, Brian Lafemina, has been very transparent and has brought in an approachable style at Redskins Park and team events. That is a difference from years past where things were clouded in secrecy.

The Redskins have some making up to the fans to do to get things corrected for all of the years of “winning off the field” and then losing miserably on it. But fans have to understand it’s a process. The process appears to be fully in place from the front office down to the coaches and players. The team is drafting young talent and developing them. They are also drafting in the trenches which is evident in their success along the defensive line which has been a sore spot on defense over the years.

Times change and organizations do as well. It’s still early, but the 2018 Redskins could be the team that Redskins fans have been longing for over the past two decades. Granted, offensive style points won’t win over those looking for 40 point games, but how many high flying offenses in D.C. didn’t produce wins over the past 10 years? This years group has a hard-nosed approached that should sit well with fans 35 and older who can remember defense and running the ball down opponents throats.

In the end, the organization and fans need each other more than ever. Whatever the reasons for being disgruntled as fans, the team is in the midst of a playoff push. Whatever the reasons for players to speak out for lack of fan support, they can do their part and not lay an egg as they did in their last home game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Everything goes hand-in-hand and it will be interesting to see how each group responds to each other on Sunday.