Pablo Rotondaro's Washington Redskins fan blog

Well, the Redskins found another way to lose a game yesterday, there were some good things, more bad ones and a few headscratchers.The only good thing about losing as many games as they have this year is that they still have their top draft picks next year (for now) and it's looking more and more like a top 5 pick...can't wait until April!

There were many positive things in the game yesterday, the most encouraging sign of the game yesterday was that the defense was able to hold the Cowboys to only 7 points playing without Albert Haynesworth and without creating much of a pass rush in the meantime. They played tighter coverage than usual and LaRon Landry looked like the top draft pick that they thought he would be as he was flying all over the field and put the fear of god in Roy Williams who looked scared out of his mind when he went across the middle. Witten was a non-factor and Romo, other than the last drive of the game, couldn't hit anyone.They did give up a ton of yards on the ground but that was to be expected without Haynesworth in the middle, something that should signal to those who don't see how valuable he is that without him the defensive line isn't even close to being as good everyone wanted to think they are, he is the anchor against the run and the pass rush, and is a central player in the defense. That being said, they played well enough to win and deserved the shutout.

Continue reading "And with the 5th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft the Washington Redskins select...."

Well, after 4 straight weeks of looking like a minor league team the Washington Redskins went out and played a game in which they actually resembled a NFL-caliber team. The deficiencies are still there and very much noticeable but the improvement from the previous 3 games was evident. The defense played OK, they did give up 2 (should have been 3) long touchdown bombs and made Kyle Orton look like John Elway for the 1st part of the quarter but then did manage to get some more pressure on him and after a sack by Brian Orakpo (the best draft pick the Redskins have had since S. Taylor) he was out of the game and the Redskins defense was allowed to play against a quarterback that hadn't been on the field in 2 years, game over. While the defense did their job and shut out the quarterbackless Broncos, the offense actually showed some resolve and ran the ball down the throat of the 2nd-ranked defense in the NFL, not too shabby but hardly something to celebrate as these Broncos don't resemble what they looked like in the first 6 weeks of the season. The biggest difference from the Redskins on Sunday to the previous 8 games was the hitting. They were popping the Broncos all over the field on special teams, offense, and defense including a huge shot that Lorenzo Alexander gave LaMont Jordan on the punt return and another pop that Rocky McIntosh gave Moreno up the middle, that set the tone for the game and gave the Redskins the extra juice they needed to make the game a typical NFL East game with heavy doses of running and hitting them in the mouth on every snap, a welcome sign that has been missing all year long. 

Continue reading "A Shot in the Dark"

Another week goes by and, especially in the first half, the Redskins still look like a minor-league version of an NFL team. They are slower, less disciplined, less passionate, less intelligent, and less functional than any other team in the league, including the Raiders and Browns. For what seems to be the 10th or 11th game in a row, the Washington Redskins came out of the gate in first gear while their opponents were in 4th or 5th. The defense, the strong suit of the team, allowed an opening touchdown drive, including 2 offsides penalties on 4th down that allowed the Falcons to go for the touchdown versus getting the gimme field goal that they were lined up for. The Falcons lined up on 4th & 1 with no intention of every snapping the ball, something that was apparent to everyone in the stadium and at home, but apparently not to Haynesworth and his teammates. That play summarized the entire season, game over!

Continue reading "The Washington Redskins - Offseason Champs, In season Chumps"

BAILOUT the Redskins! Such is the state of things in Washington DC. Like most of the stocks traded on Wall Street, there are many assets that have no real value but continue to produce millions for its shareholders and owners. The Redskins are just like the stock market, look great on paper and generate millions to the owner but filled with high price, former blue chip stocks that have no real value when put to the test. This team is worse than bad, they are horrible and with no young, up-and-coming players to pin our hopes on, no star QB in the making, no player ready to bust out, if there was ever a time to blow the whole thing up it is definitely now!

Fans of the Washington Redskins have grown accustomed in the past decade or so to expect that their team with have a fighting chance to squeak into the playoffs and then, as the cheesy and cliché statement says, anything can happen. This is the hope that fans of this once-proud franchise held, probably fooling themselves into believing that this system, one where the owner is GM and often plays with the team the way that some us enjoy our fantasy football leagues, could ever and will ever work. More and more people are coming to the realization that this is nothing more than a pipe dream and that this system in place will never and has never worked. 

Continue reading "The Washington Redskins - a perfect blue chip stock"

After a performance that including everything from a goal-line stance to a bizarre situation where Westbrook was pushed into Randle-El and had the ball hit off of his foot to create the turnover that gave Carolina their go-ahead touchdown, we are back to the same conclusion that we have been for over a decade, this is a mediocre team and we have to realize that, without any major changes to the upper management structure, it will continue to be one for a long time. Synder has a style of doing business that is clearly the reason that this team is going nowhere. There is no general manager for this team. I can't think of a single team that has any kind of success without a good general manager to be able to look at a roster, pick a player that fits the system and plug him in. How can you be a talent scout, look at an entire draft and not get at least 2 or 3 good players per draft? How can you draft 2 WR's and 1 TE and have them produce nothing in over a year and a half? There are plenty of rookies and 2nd year players that are producing on a weekly basis, why not get at least some of that production with all 3 of them? 

Continue reading "The Model of Mediocrity"

Yesterday the Washington Redskins were a half away from losing to 2 of the worst teams in the NFL in back-to-back weeks, only an inspired defensive game and a few timely plays prevented them from going to 1-3 and most likely ending Jim Zorn's reign in Washington. The good news was that they finally opened up the offense a bit and went downfield in the second half, the first resulting in a touchdown to Moss and the second was a forced passed by Campbell who seemed intent on making Talib look like Champ Bailey as he hauled in his 3rd, a very poorly-thrown ball, interception. Even though he did not look good at all and seemed to be the same Campbell we are used to seeing, he did come through in the 3rd quarter and helped turnaround the game for the squeaker, but none-the-less, a win.

Continue reading "Half bad, Half decent"

Well, after a few days of reflection, mostly to let off some steam after the anger that Sunday's game instilled in me, I am prepared to give an assessment of what is unfolding in Redskins park. Not only did the team lose to the sorry Lions, they were dominated on both sides of the ball, something that was not expected from almost anyone. While most people did actually pick the Lions to beat the Redskins (how sad is that?) nobody expected an ass-whipping like it was.

The game came down to each team's first drives, The Redskins inability to score and the Lions marching down the field, 99 yards to put the ball in the endzone; game, set, match. While Campbell and the offense looked pedestrian, the Lions rookie quarterback looked like a 10-year vet, shifting around in the pocket and hitting wide open receivers downfield at will. Kevin Smith looked like Adrian Peterson busting through the gaping holes that his line created, constantly getting 5 or 6 yards at a time. If Stafford would have completed some of the overthrows that he had, this game would have been 35-14 easily. The defense played soft and undisciplined and paid for it. The offense was once again inept, predictable and downright pathetic except for the garbage time drives that make them seem to be not as horrible as they are.

Continue reading "Groundhog Day"

Well, another example of the Redskins playing to the level of their competition, they played just good enough to squeak out a win against a horrible football team, not good at all. There were both good and bad signs about yesterday's game but mostly, there is a sense around the town that this team got a bit lucky to not lose the game and the offense is ridiculously conservative and predictable in the redzone, a combination that leads to more losses than wins.

COACHING

While I personally like Jim Zorn, his play-calling is becoming more infantile and predictable than ever and clearly not efficient. First, his going for it on 4th down twice, to me, was the right call, the problem was the stupidity of running a stretch play when you have to pick up a foot to get a first down and put the game away. I like the calls because they had an inferior team backed up inside the 5-yard line that had not really shown all day that they could move the ball against the defense and the fact that the defense knew there was no worries about any running plays with less than 2 minutes left and no timeouts so they could go upfield and get after the quarterback as Orakpo and Haynesworth did on 3 consecutive plays.

Continue reading "The anger of winning"

Well, here we go again. This team looks just as mediocre as last year's team with a few differences. The Offense still has problems making first downs when they need them and their quarterback looks like he can't do anything at the crucial moments in the game. The defense was OK, they made a few big plays but could not get the Giants off of the field when they needed to and allowed them to take control of the game in the first quarter. The special teams were good with the fake field goal and no major mistakes but shows no signs of explosiveness in any way. The 2nd-year receivers were non-existent and were once again a non-factor in the game. The play-calling was good at times but too repetitive and run-heavy, even-though they could not run against the Giants, other than the first play of the game. Overall, the team looked like it did last year, a team without any explosiveness, aggressiveness and lacking the big play from the offense that could give us some hope.

Continue reading "Deja Vu: New year, same team.....for now."

Well here comes another season for a franchise that was once a power and has now been reduced to the regular champ of the offseason without translating that success to a better real season. Not that owner Daniel Synder hasn't put the money into the team that was needed but has mostly spent it on other people's best player who never seems to pan out. The Redskins have crippled their team throughout the past decade by trading away draft picks for older or big-name players that never seem to make an impact on this team excluding of course London Fletcher.

THE OFFSEASON

The big headline this offseason was the addition of Albert Haynesworth is there going to be any difference? Maybe this year the investment will pan out after all. Haynesworth is an absolute monster of a player and should help the pass-rush-less Redskins Defense get back on track and with the double and triple teams that he will face all season should free up A. Carter and, most impressively, Brian Orakpo. Of the offseason moves that the team made, none looks to be as sure of a bet as this guy. He has a non-stop motor and speed that should make him into one of the best pass-rushing defensive end/linebacker in the league. Orakpo has the potential to become our DeMarcus Ware (I hate using a Cowboy as a reference but this guy is in his own league) and create havoc for the entire NFC East.

Continue reading "2009-2010 Redskins Outlook"