Loaded up and truckin’. Or flying, as the case may be. The 49ers are once again heading east for a game. This one somewhere near our nation’s capitol. Hope these guys are saving their frequent flier miles. We drove by a sign that said RFK Stadium, but we never saw it. I think it’s in VA, or MD . . . 

Anyhow, Washington is a team in desperate straits right about now. They are tied for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in the NFC East at 3-4. No one knows where the Cowboys are going, but the Iggles look to be getting their shit together. Wa? No. They have lost 3 in a row, and 4 of 5 games. Gross Rexman was a total flameout, and Shanny’s decent start has been followed up with a couple monumental (hyuk) floaters. After starting out 2-0, and (like us) almost beating Dallas, the Native Americans stood at 3-1, looking to beat the Iggles. Rexman threw 4 picks in the game, and was replaced by Jeff’s long lost brother John Beck. He staged a valiant but failed comeback, and then went into a death spiral of his own, losing to the Panthers and getting shut out by the Bills. A first for Shanny at any level in the pros. He didn’t even get shut out in his disastrous stint with the Raiders. Somewhere in hell, Al Davis is laughing maniacally.

So, where does that leave the 49ers? Well, they are coming off a solid yet flavorless victory over the Cleveland Browns. What has in the past been a daunting task, winning in the eastern time zone, has become something of a breeze this year. 3-0 on the east, with all the wins being the comeback variety. I don’t think we’ll even need to come back this game. Washington has a pretty decent pass defense, even without recent defector, Carlos Rogers, but teams are running on them pretty well. I foresee more of the same. With Braylon Edwards rounding back into form, I’d like to see the 49ers try to hit Braylon on a couple deep passes. The deep game is about the last thing to install on the menu of upgrades from the previous regime. And they really haven’t had the weapons to try and go deep. The Smith/Crabtree connection isn’t one, and VD isn’t really much of a deep threat due to his blocking ability, and the fact that there’s no one behind him who blocks as well.  That deep seam route used to be the ONLY deep pass in the 49er arsenal. Still and all, Edwards becomes the de facto deep threat due to no one else being up for it.