Even at ballet, it’s clear: Redskins, David Wilson have some magic going
The Sugar Plum Fairy has moves, sure, but can she rally a team on a sprained knee or do a backflip after scoring three touchdowns?
MY FAMILY IS THE ONE YOU DREAD SEEING AT THE BALLET.We’re just not cut out for it. My son spilled my cup of coffee in the aisle before intermission. My daughter, whose idea it was to spend more than $100 to go see “The Nutcracker” yesterday, wound up whining so much that my wife had to drag her outside and scold her. (No TV for a week for her now. That’ll learn her to insist on the ballet.)
Worst of all, there was the obnoxious little glow in the darkness coming from my seat, despite how much I tried to shield it — a cellphone with the ESPN app updating the Redskins-Ravens thriller.
Right about the time the Suger Plum Fairy was doing her money scene, a little pixie dust apparently got sprinkled on this Redskins team. My parents and brother are Redskins fans but I am a Ravens guy, so this didn’t make me particularly happy, but I can appreciate magic when I see it dancing on my phone.
Now we can see why the Redskins drafted Kirk Cousins.
I needed help from Twitter to figure out the sequence. Griffin goes down. Cousins comes in. Cousins does what? Throws a touchdown pass in the final seconds? Then RUNS in a two-point conversion to tie it? Then the Skins win it, 31-28, in overtime?
Holy Tchaikovsky!
Turns out Robert Griffin III only has a knee sprain, which completes the greatest sequence of events that could have happened for Washington. Think about it: Your franchise QB battles like a warrior, putting the team in position to tie before he finally says “No mas!” Think that doesn’t send a message of leadership?
And it came with no downside, because even though Griffin had to leave the game, he isn’t badly hurt. And Kirk Cousins, the 2012 draft pick many considered to be the biggest head-scratcher, proceeds to show he’s got some clutch tendencies. What a day for the Skins.
Also, Southwest Virginia Ballet did an excellent job with “The Nutcracker.” Sorry my family tried to ruin it.
CATCHING A RABBIT
TRYING TO FIND UPDATES ON DAVID WILSON THIS YEAR HAS BEEN DIFFICULT. There have only been two themes in the David Wilson NFL stories, really:
1. His fumbling put him in coach Tom Coughlin’s doghouse right away, and
2. He likes to chase rabbits.
We knew that last one already.
David Wilson backflips his way right out of Tom Coughlin’s doghouse.
Anyway, the former Virginia Tech star finally added a new storyline yesterday, and it was impressive. Wilson set a Giants record with 327 all-purpose yards, scoring two rushing touchdowns and another on a 97-yard kick return, to lead New York to a 52-27 victory over the Saints.
Wilson punctuated each score with a trademark backflip. Hence, The New York Post’s headline today: “FLIPPIN’ BIG VICTORY.”
And the start, finally, of what should be a fine pro career.
NAME THAT TUNE
I hope you’re enjoyin’ the scen’ry
I know that it’s pretty up there
We can go hikin’ on Tuesday
With you I’d walk anywhere
California has worn me quite thin
I just can’t wait to see you again...
December 10, 2012 - 8:47 AM
Aaron, where did you go to see the The Nutcracker? I went to see one myself at Radford University, but left at the intermission. I actually enjoyed the ballet and the music. It’s nice for a deaf person who can’t always follow a dialogue without an interpreter to just sit back and appreciate the story as it unfolds with body language, facial expressions, and gesturing.
David Wilson had a heck of a game last night. He was clearly the spark plug that lit some fires under some Giants’ butt. His performance makes up for a lack of discplined football by both the Saints and Giants, turnovers, penalties, and we all knew that David Wilson was good. We were just waiting for the light to go off.
Great job, David!
It would be nice to see both David Wilson & Ryan Williams go on to have solid pro careers. Injuries are always a concern. I think Wilson will eventually star on a consistent basis, if/when Coughlin comes to understand him. Coughlin is just so old school drill sergeant-esque that it will take time. If Williams can ever stay healthy, he’ll do well, too.
Trevor — Roanoke Performing Arts Theater. Good crowd on hand. Best part is I picked up a flier for Jim Gaffigan’s upcoming performance in March. I probably will fit in a little better at that one. “Hot Pocket!”
Come Monday by Jimmu Buffett.
I hit the nail on the head on the Hokies Saturday. Tough loss but they don’t have much time to dwell on it.
This year VT fans got to see just how good Wilson was (and is).
Make that Jimmy Buffett (typo, U is beside Y on the keyboard)
The ballet instead of football. On a Sunday. In December.
Good Lord.
And this is exactly the point that I was trying to make about that Virginia Tech offense that faced Alabama when David Wilson and Logan Thomas were freshman. There is just no way to explain why no one up in Blacksburg had come up with a gameplan to blast Alabama out of the Georgia Dome. 6 foot 6 Logan Thomas lined up at wideout as a true freshman would have caused nightmares for Alabama. They would have had to double team him. David Wilson lined up in the slot, with Ryan Williams and Darren Evans as the running backs and Tyrod Taylor as the QB. It was an embarrassment of riches and no one up in Blacksburg had a clue as to what to do with all that flavor. It was a complete and total waste of serious talent. Virginia Tech had more than enough talent to win that game and at LEAST play for a national title. There was no one in a week ACC that had anything close to what Tech had that year. In my opinion that 2009 Tech football team was a major underachiever. Beamer himself should have been fired after that season. Tech was that talented!
SI’s sign of the Apocalypse A Mac at the Nutcracker
Ryan, it’s called family time, which should always trump the NFL. Even for those with smartphones.
Great story on the Nutcracker, Aaron. The memories it brings back. My daughter was in that damn thing for what seemed like an eternity, so not only did we get to every year, we got to go every year to every performance, for 6, 7, maybe 8 years.
We took a sabbatical from it for a few years, after she ‘retired’ from ballet, until her best ‘ballet friend’ came back into town to be the Sugar Plum Fairy one year, because she is a REAL ballerina now.
My daughter, about 20 at the time, was annoying the crap out of people around us, updating everybody on all the parts she been in it over the years, which was a lot.
Jimmy Buffet it is. And it’s a Jimmy Buffet kind of day out there today — for December, anyway.
crooked, I’m pretty skeptical on Ryan Williams ever having much of a career in the League. He is so injury prone, I don’t see a team sticking with him too long, and once that happens, he’s done. You have to remember, or realize if you didn’t know it, but he was hurt in high school and missed the better part, if not all of one season. Then he comes to Tech, has the hamstring issue, and he’s having it happen in the NFL. Some guys bodies just aren’t cut out for it, despite the talent level.
Wilson, as dynamic as he is, he’ll be okay. When you can do what he did yesterday, a coach has to overlook a fumble or two. The benefits outweigh the risks.
As long as Wilson doesn’t become a divisive showboat like Tiki Barber, Coughlin will give him lots of opportunities. Coughlin is old-school but he also knows how to develop players in an all-around way, not just one dimensional. Humility is a great attribute (witness RG III’s attitude) and Coughlin will try to help that along with his players. Wilson has the goods and will go far if he can keep it all in perspective and continue to hold on to the football, which he is doing much better at. The Giants, however, will be very fortunate to win one of their 3 remaining games. Pencil the Cowboys in for that division title.
“Come Monday”, Jimmy Buffet’s best song.
Nice break out game for Wilson. Hopefully we’ll see more.
AM are you going to be allowed to participate in the Fearless Forecasters next year or will you be relegated to the “Moderatly Brave Forecasters” division? In most years I can’t say anything but I did pretty well this year with 200 correct.
Barry, I’m not so sure you can pencil Dallas in, just yet. It looks to me like it is going to come down to the last game, winner of Dallas and Washington, in Washington.
I see the Giants losing 2 of 3 remaining. The Deadskins have to go on the road for 2, but it is Cleveland and Philly, teams with their own issues. Dallas has a couple of tough home games with Pittsburgh and New Orleans, closing out at Deadskin land.
The NFC East is going to be a close one, for sure.
It may be depend on what happens with RG3. If he can come back, I’d say the ‘Skins are the team to beat. If he can’t, pick a team out of a hat of those 3.
Barry,
You’re the same one who predicted GT over VT and GT big over FSU. If you’re picking the Cowgirls as the NFC East champs, then the “thrilled with 8-8″ prediction I had for the Redskins at the start of the season will turn into our first NFC East title since 1999. HTTR!
Come Monday , it will be alright
Hearing that it’s believed Marcus Lattimore will declare for the NFL draft. Makes me wonder if he is gambling teams will overlook his injury history and take a chance on him.
I see changes in attitudes regarding Wilson who some said couldn’t make it in the NFL. He’ll be reading departure signs in some bigairports come playoff time. I see the Giants going deep again.
I see changes in latitudes for Williams. He is going nowhere with Arizona. Can’t run if they can’t block. And boy does that team stink. If he is stuck there I predict him wasting away in margaritaville.
If I was stuck there i’d be god’s own drunk.
The Cardinals remind me of Ringling, Ringling. You know, driftin’ away. Only 47 people going to the game today….. think of all the hopes and tears in the bottles of beer rotting out there.
To be honest, the ballet would have been a lot easier than spending half a day yesterday with a chainsaw cutting brush and trees down…now we have a small mountain of limbs and whatnot to break down into more manageable lengths so we can haul it off. Some of the stuff we were cutting/yanking down and dragging away is a good 15-20 feet in length.
My Lions found another creative way to choke away the game. They’re loaded with talent, but fail to do the little things right. It comes down to discipline, which is something they’ve been sorely lacking for years.
The Skins could have some trouble with Cleveland; the Browns are playing some very good football. The Ravens were very fortunate to beat them in the first meeting. I know that I picked GT to beat VT and they could have except for a miracle finish in the last 46 seconds. FSU could have lost to GT as well, only won by 6. Very good defensive effort by the Jackets in the second half. If the Cowboys can keep their running game alive and well, they are going to be the team to beat.
OJ, I still have some summer storm tree debris to deal with, if you have gotten really good at that chainsaw, let me know! I have actually been putting it off until cooler weather so I wouldn’t lose 20 pounds sweating, while doing it. July and August weren’t the ideal times to do it.
I am still waiting on Sir Isaac Newton’s gravity principle to bring some of it down, at that. Only time will tell, I guess.
Keep the revisionist history going, Barry. I also seem to recall you singing a different tune after the Hokies beat your Jackets back in September as opposed to this “miracle finish in the last 46 seconds” crap you’ve been spouting the last few weeks. Honestly, the Ravens are far worse than the 9-4 record indicates and a lot of it is Joe Flacco. Consider that the Ravens only scored 9 on the Chiefs. As bad as the Chiefs are, the Ravens are the only team to not score double digits against Kansas City.
Here are some numbers on the Chiefs for you to show just how bad they are:
35-17 loss
37-20 loss
26-16 loss
31-13 loss
27-21 win
30-7 loss
You’d think that, other than the 27-21 win, those losses are to the Pats, Broncos, Falcons, Texans, etc. Nope. While Atlanta is on their schedule (40-24 loss) and KC’s only game against Denver so far was a 17-9 loss, those games are against, in order.
Buffalo (5-8)
San Diego (5-8)
Oakland (3-10)
San Diego again
Carolina (4-9)
Cleveland (5-8)
The Cowgirls won’t be going anywhere except home after the season is over. The Giants or the Redskins will end up winning the division – my money is on the Giants. All I really want from the Skins at this point is another win over Dallas and my season will be complete. 8-8, far better than expected, and a sweep of Dallas.
Rick, why don’t you hire some beavers to do it? I hear they are looking for a place to crash.
757 and Barry are smokin’ the same weed. The Gobblers couldn’t beat the Tide if they played them every week 757. BTW, try weak in lieu of week. And Barry, you can’t be serious about the Cowgirls.
Roll Ride!
—————-
And this is exactly the point that I was trying to make about that Virginia Tech offense that faced Alabama when David Wilson and Logan Thomas. There was no one in a week ACC that had anything close to what Tech had that year. In my opinion that 2009 Tech football team was a major underachiever. Beamer himself should have been fired after that season. Tech was that talented!
Comment by 757 Resident — December 10, 2012 @ 10:08 am
The Giants, however, will be very fortunate to win one of their 3 remaining games. Pencil the Cowboys in for that division title.
Comment by Barry from Ivy — December 10, 2012 @ 11:30 am
I agree that Wilson should stop doing those crazy flips; reminds me of the year that Ohio State played Florida in the NC and Ted Guinn was horsing around in practice before the game and ended up out with an injury before the game started. There is too much at stake for the Giants for this horseplay. They might have to face dem’ Cowboys again before it is all over.
Wilson was very close to a fumble on that goal line stretch. He was very fortunate to not be the fumble goat again. He definitely has a fumble problem and I don’t think he has the maturity to restrain himself from fumbling.
The maturity is definitely in question, thus the back flips. He likes the attention that things like climbing the cassell, chasing rabbits, wearing suits to class and that crazy car bring.
Then again he is who he is and that’s what got him this far, so have fun and try cut back on the fumbles just a little.
I believe the Redskins have beat the cow patties once this year.
Nice to see an area young man do well. Give the flips a rest.
Zman, well said. And appreciated.
Agree fully, 757…great post.
Ozzie Smith did a backflip every time he ran onto the field for the St Louis Cardinals, for about twenty years. 162 times a year for around two decades. Carl Edwards does a backflip off his car(!!!) every time he wins a NASCAR race. If David Wilson wants to expend that little amount of energy celebrating scoring another TD in the NFL, what’s the problem? I’d much prefer seeing him do that than some long choreographed dance routine. Doing a backflip is horseplay? Compared to all the outher touchdown celebrations we see weekly?
Come on, folks, let him enjoy the moment…
on David Wilson: considering some of the hits he takes from defenses while scoring those touchdowns and the risks involved in making those runs, it seams that a controlled back flip or two would be less dangerous for him. “heart” wins football games also and I believe that the 2012 version of the Redskins are experiencing much of that heart from RGIII. Does Dallas or NY have that asset going for them? time will tell. Anyway it is good to finally see some home grown talent succeeding in the pros, and the pro home team seeing success also.
haha, Rick…I’m actually surprised we didn’t have more tree damage to clean up from that storm. Wore the chainsaw blade out though, it needs a solid sharpening before we work on hacking everything down to size…I’m sure not doing that by hand. I’d sooner drag it and stack a pile and burn it all, but our neighbor is awful touchy about the burning of any brush…she swears we’re trying to burn her house down.
OJ, we actually utilized our neighbors for the burn. One wasn’t shy about dousing the pile with kerosene to get rid of it! And, let them burn up the big spot in their yard, not mine!
We still have a bunch of ‘hangers on,’ big branches that won’t fall, and we’ve done the outdoor fire pit thing way more than I’d have ever imagined we’d do. Thank goodness for a mild fall.
It has been ridiculous, but fun, we’ve had some great drunken times on these fires!
I guess we’ll have those same good times in the spring.