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"

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"

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...."