THE MAN IN THE GLASS
by Dale Wimbrow
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what THAT man has to say.
For it isn’t your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people may think you a straight-shootin’ chum
And call you a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.
He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life
And get pats on your back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down — Mary Pickford
Well against Denver, I don’t think that nobody cheated the man in the glass. Well maybe almost nobody. Lol. This was a hard fought victory and like always both teams were deserving but this time the good guys came out on top. The game didn’t start pretty but it ended just the way we wanted it to and that’s with a win. My only problem is that I hate it when our defense gives up big plays. What I like even more is how we responded after giving up those big plays. Nobody got down and nobody thought the game was over so what did we do on defense? We fought and we fought ’til the last whistle sounded. So after giving up 14 points early in the game, the Denver Broncos only ended up with 17 total. Now that’s a group of men who when the going got tough, the tough got going. Our defense prides itself on stopping people and every man on the field will give everything he had to make this happen. Sometimes you will get beat but the most important thing is how you respond after you are defeated. We believe in rising to the occasion the next play and making up for what just happened the previous play. That’s why it wasn’t hard for us to turn things around and respond the way we did after starting out so poorly. In the future, I’m praying that we start faster and limit the mistakes that causes us to give up unwanted yards against us.
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn —- Hariet Beecher Stowe
Special teams is always a big key in the success of a team. Danny Smith, our special teams coach, is one of the best in the business. He always believes that hard work pays off and repetition at something makes it easier. On Sunday, he once again went into his bag of tricks and called a trick play on 4th and 20 which resulted in a touchdown pass from Hunter Smith (no relation lol), our punter, to Mike Sellers, our fullback. Now I had seen the special teams unit practice this play for several weeks and I have to admit, I thought it was a really nice play and that it was going to work. In practice I watched Mike run that play back-to-back-to-back until he looked exhausted and I even saw him drop it one time. Well, because we had run the play multiple times each practice, it really didn’t concern me that Mike dropped it only one time. On Sunday, I was really surprised when I actually saw us shift into the play with Hunter dropping back to quarterback. I actually stood up because I knew that this was the play and wanted to see it develop. Then came the snap and I saw Hunter roll right and actually he looked very comfortable rolling out and I even saw him pump fake to get the defense to come that way. Man, it looked like it took a long time on the roll out. Then my eyes went to Mike, who was sneaking out of the backside, and I watched him as he was wide open just like in practice. After pump faking to the right, Hunter threw a nice pass that seem to take forever to get to mike but the only thing that came across my mind at the time was the one miss in practice and I was like “Please catch this Mike.” Well Mike didn’t fail us and he caught the pass for a nice touchdown. Thanks to the special teams for turning the game around and getting us the momentum. Nice call, Danny. You really know how to get us into the end zone on trick plays.
Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting —- Napoleon Hill
This, my friends, is what our offense has been doing all year long. They have been fighting and doing a pretty good job at it. The reason I say that they have been doing a good job at it is that when you lose two key veterans on the offensive side of the ball in Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas and when these two guys are two of your biggest leaders, it hurts and takes a lot away from what you can and will be able to do. But with persistence and because our guys on that side of the ball never gave up on themselves through all the weeks of getting bashed by people on the outside looking in, they rose to the occasion on Sunday. Our offense is by far the biggest reason that we won the game. When we let Denver score quickly on the first drive of the game, the offense didn’t panic. Instead of panicking about being behind so quick, they went out and drove the ball down the field and tied the game up. After that they pretty much had their way with the Broncos for most of the day. The thing that I am most proud of is seeing the physical part of our game come to life in that we were able to run the ball and run it well. Whenever you can run the ball the way we did on Sunday, it makes it easier to call plays and helps the passing game become more effective. If we continue to do these things on offense plus with the defense getting stronger and the special teams staying special, we can do a lot of positive things in the weeks ahead.
Last week I had a wonderful time going down to the NFLPA to visit with our soldiers in the armed forces. It was my pleasure to be able to spend time with them on my off day to celebrate veterans day. We skyped soldiers across seas and it was a lot of fun being able to talk to them about what was going on in their lives and them asking us questions about what’s happening in ours. I know that the men and woman of our military work really hard at keeping us safe. Our jobs as football players is easy in that we entertain people and have fun doing what we do on the field playing football. Our soldiers jobs are real and it is not for entertainment purposes and they have to be ready to go at last seconds notice to protect us and our freedom. My hat goes off to everybody who has served and still serving today. Nothing comes close to what you guys do for America and I will respect you and consider you the real heroes as long as I live. I know a lot of our soldiers watch us play and respect what we do but we on the other hand respect and honor what you do a whole lot more. So with that I would like to say thank you to each one of you for protecting us and keeping us safe each and every day. To our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, I pray for a safe return home to be with your loved ones. My hat goes off to all of you because of your great sacrifices.
This week we face the Dallas Cowboys. It should not be hard to get up for this game as this has been a rivalry for decades. After winning last Sunday, hopefully we will take that momentum into Dallas and play a great game. As everyone knows that when it comes to playing your rival, nothing ever comes easy and it is going to take us being focused every step of the way to get a victory. This game will probably be one of the most physical games that both teams will play all year. There has been some great battles between the two of us and I don’t think this week will be any different. Both teams are deserving of a victory but I’m praying that this week we come out on top. Road games are always the hardest to win so I’m hoping that we have a lot of Redskins fan support in the stands. This will be the first time that the Redskins and the Cowboys play in the new stadium and I know it will be one to remember. I had a fan say to me that “if you don’t win any other games during the season, just beat the Cowboys.” Lol. I’m pretty sure that the Cowboys have heard a fan or two say the same thing about the Redskins. The rivalry lives on. HTTR
On a sadder note, this will be my last blog this year. Because of so many requests for community service during the holiday season and starting a business of my own, I really don’t have the time to put into writing a blog also. I hope that you have enjoyed the blogs that I have written thus far and it was my pleasure to share information and my life with you. It was a lot of fun seeing all the responses that I got from writing the blogs and I would like to say thank you to everyone who followed me on a regular basis to read them.
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcomings, but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. —— Theodore Roosevelt
OPENED AND CLOSED DOORS
We need to learn to thank the Lord for closed doors just as much as we do for open doors. The reason God closes doors is because he has not prepared anything over there for us.
If he didn’t close the wrong door we would never find our way to the right door. Even when we don’t realize it, God directs our paths through the closing and opening of doors. When one door closes, it forces us to change our course, then yet another door closes; it forces us to change
our course yet again. Then finally, we find the open door and walk right into our blessing.
But instead of praising God for the closed door (which kept us out of trouble), we get upset because we ‘judge by the appearances.’ And in our own arrogance, or ignorance, we insist that we know what is right.
We have a very present help in the time of need that is always standing guard. Because he walks ahead of us, He can see trouble down the road and He sets up road blocks and detours accordingly. But through Our lack of wisdom we try to tear down the roadblocks and push aside the Detour signs.
Then the minute we get into trouble, we start crying. ‘Lord how could this happen to me?’
We have got to realize that the closed door was a blessing. Didn’t He say that ‘No good thing will He withhold from them that love Him?’ If you get terminated from your job – don’t be down, instead trust God and thank Him for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves.
It might be a better job, or an opportunity to go to school. If that man or woman won’t return your call, it might not be them, it might be the Lord setting up a roadblock (just let it go).
I’m so grateful for the many times God has closed doors to me just to open them in the most unexpected places. ‘The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way.’ (Psalms 37:23) The mountain top is glorious, but it is in the valley that I will grow!
Always Remember God gives you…
Enough Happiness to keep you Sweet
Enough Trials to keep you Strong
Enough Sorrows to keep you Human
Enough Hope to keep you Happy
Enough Failure to keep you Humble
Enough Success to keep you Eager
Enough Friends to give you Comfort
Enough Wealth to meet your Needs
Enough Enthusiasm to make you Look Forward
Enough Faith to banish depression, and
Enough Determination to make each day a better day than the last.
Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards.
Commit to the Lord in whatever you do and your plans will succeed. — Proverbs 16:3
God closes doors no man can open & God opens doors no man can close.
I would like to leave by saying thanks to all who gave me the opportunity to share my words with the fans and I would like to say thank you to all the fans who supported me throughout my comeback from my injury and throughout this season. I’m praying that you continue to support like you always have and I love you all.
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Run or pass and score — we want a lot more!
Beat ’em, Swamp ’em,
Touchdown! — Let the points soar!
Fight on, fight on ‘Til you have won
Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!
Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Phillip Daniels