11. Gibbs makes good: Redskins go 9-7, barely squeak into the playoffs but lose in their first playoff game in years. Oh well, its progress. The difference? Gibbs hands over offensive coordinator responsibilities to someone from the Denver Broncos, giving Portis the spread plays he likes as well as putting Ramsey into the shotgun more often. Redskins routinely score 21+ points a game, while still having a top 10 defense.

So far the Redskins have beat my expectations.

They’ve gone 10-6 in the regular season, one better than I thought. They just won their first playoff game and are going to play Seattle on Saturday.

Gibbs didn’t give up the responsibilities, but he did put in more spread and outside running plays for Portis as well as put in the shotgun. They definitely won the game today over the Bucs with their defense – they set a record for lowest offensive output while still winning a playoff game. :) They did average almost 30 points per game over the season. And they ranked 9th in total defense and 11th in total offense.

I was bouncing off the walls when they won and gave my dog an extra treat. It has been a long time since DC denizens have had some good basketball to get excited about. Even James Carville and Tim Russert were ecstatic at courtside. LA may have the movie stars, but we’ve got the political consultants!

BTW, I thought it was fitting that Tyson Chandler went for a 2 pointer as time ran out even though Washington was up by 3. He committed a really rough flagrant foul on Larry Hughes earlier in the game. Another time, when Jeffries got poked in the eye, he pulled away one of his teammates who was trying to comfort Jeffries.

What is amazing is the fact that the Wizards are now only the ninth NBA team to win a playoff series after starting off 0-2. I don’t know how they’ll do against Miami, but there will be at least 4 more playoff games for the Wiz. And so us Washington fans will get at least a few more times to watch and root for our team.