jim haslett | Barely In Bounds

February Fury: Constructing a bracket to determine who is the absolute worst Redskins offseason acquisition since 1999

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Peter Hailey

According to the calendar on my phone, it is currently February. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but that means March is right around the corner, which in turn means two huge sports events are almost upon us: March Madness and the start of offseason NFL moves.

As a college basketball fan, I couldn’t love March Madness any more. And as a Washington Redskins fan, I couldn’t hate the NFL offseason any more. However, there’s no denying the impact that both events have on me each year, so today, I’m going to combine the two in this post.

Because the Washington Redskins are infamous for their decision making in the offseason, I have created a NCAA-ish tournament bracket to figure out which offseason decisions were the absolute worst. Here’s how the bracket was made Read More

Say no to Joe: 9 people I’d rather see the Redskins hire for defensive coordinator than Joe Barry

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Peter Hailey

Yesterday, Redskins fans erupted on social media (I feel like Redskins fans are always erupting on social media) when news broke that the team was planning to hire Joe Barry as their defensive coordinator.

I guess you could say the reports weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms, as Barry, the former defensive coordinator of the 0-16 Detroit Lions, definitely wasn’t at the top of many fans’ wish lists. Read More

Nine extremely well researched and thought out lists ranking a variety of things related to DC sports

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Peter Hailey

As the final days of 2014 passed by, I found myself looking at a lot of lists. “Best songs of 2014,” “Best movies of 2014,” “Best games of 2014,” a list here, a list there, a list everywhere. Everyone was coming up with all these lists, and I began to get self conscious: “Am I doing something wrong by not having any lists?” I thought to myself.

So on the 29th of December, I sat down to make a list. But the problem was figuring out exactly what I was going to make my list about. Should I make it best about the best seasons by DC athletes, or the best plays by DC teams, or the biggest bloopers by DC teams, or the moments I felt like crying the most because of DC teams? I just couldn’t figure out what to make my list about!

But then, a funny thing happened. I realized I live in America, and I realized I have freedom.

It was at that point that I decided I wasn’t going to limit myself to just one list; I decided I was going to make a BUNCH of lists. So whenever I had free time, I would brainstorm a list and add it to the post. And now, after three days of hardcore listing, everything is finally ready. Read More

With the 2014 season officially ending today, the Redskins look just as lost as they always have

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Peter Hailey

I woke up this morning in Joplin, Missouri, the heart of Chiefs and Rams territory, where I will be for the next few days visiting my grandparents. Since I am in the Midwest, I was worried the Redskins-Cowboys game wouldn’t be on TV, but luckily (I guess it really should be unluckily) I was in fact able to watch the Skins season finale. And as I was watching, I realized a metaphor that perfectly captures how the whole year went for the burgundy and gold was unfolding right in front of my eyes. Read More

The free fall continues: Random, relatable, and above all, negative thoughts from today’s Skins-Rams game

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Peter Hailey

Today was the first day that I can remember in which the Redskins and the Wizards had the exact same start time, with both teams kicking/tipping off at one o’clock.

While I wouldn’t blame anyone who chose to watch the winning Wizards over the regressing Redskins, I decided to tune into the events that unfolded today at FedEx Field, because I’d rather watch the Redskins, even if they lose by 10000, than do anything else; no matter how bad or how embarrassing they are, I’m simply addicted to the burgundy and gold, and I love the three hour blocks on Sunday way too much to just not watch.

My girlfriend, however, who is very supportive of my fandom and has been there to wipe away my tears after countless defeats over the past two season, sent me this text just before kickoff:

It made me sad that she wouldn’t be watching, but mostly, it made me jealous…she knows watching these games are a waste of time, so it’s very easy for her to pull herself away from the TV. Unfortunately, I have yet to master that skill. And until I do, I will continue to waste my time. Read More

Survey says!: How 50 Redskins fans feel about Jay Gruden, RGIII, the chances of winning a Super Bowl, and more

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Peter Hailey

As I sat on my couch this past Sunday, watching Andrew Luck throw deep ball after deep ball to completely uncovered receivers, I realized that I had never felt so hopeless as a Redskins fan.

The game was disheartening and ugly, and it caused fans and analysts alike to question just about everything about the organization: Was it right to make a change at the quarterback position? Should there be changes on the coaching staff? Does Gruden even deserve another year? And will things ever get better?

With all these questions floating around, I decided to create a survey that covered various issues related to the team, in an attempt to illustrate how the fan base was feeling as a whole. Read More

Graphs, Charts, and Broken Hearts: A visual representation of the Redskins frustrating season thus far

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Peter Hailey

Graphs rock.

Graphs are a lazy person’s/teenager’s/pretty much every normal human being’s dream, because instead of having to read through boring paragraphs or lame stats, you can instead get the same information from a pretty and colorful chart that is super easy to understand.

Yesterday brought a loss that is hard to make sense of, and the Redskins are 3-6 for a fourth straight season, making this yet another campaign that is hard to make sense of. This is where I come in.

I present to you a handful of graphs and charts designed to help you understand certain aspects of the Redskins 2014 season. They’re mostly sad, because being a Redskins fan is a mostly sad thing. But, being the Skins fan that I am, I’ve learned to sift through the massive piles of negative things to find tiny slivers of positive things. So here’s a positive: I am now really good at using graph generators on the internet! Hooray!!!! Read More

One step forward, 4536 steps back: Random but relatable thoughts on a typical Redskins letdown game

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Peter Hailey

I KNEW this was coming. We KNEW this was coming. AND WE STILL GOT OUR HOPES UP.

My mom is sitting in the room with me saying “It’s hard. I know it’s hard. But remember, you have your health. They feel worse than you do.” It’s supposed to help. But it doesn’t 😦

Every single time there’s a flash of light, it’s taken away. It’s like when your power is out during a snowstorm, and all of the sudden the lights come on for like two minutes, and you start using your computer and watching TV, but then, just as you get comfortable, the electricity goes out again for two more days. The Cowboys game was that two minute grace period of light. This game was the power going back out.

This one hurts. They all hurt, but this one has the potential to linger for a while. I was sitting there after Morris’ second TD getting notes together for a post after a win. All downhill after that. Here are my very sad post game thoughts. Someone pass the tissues.