Washington Redskins
2011 PFF All-NFC East Team
The NFC East’s all division team almost perfectly reflects the final standings. The three top teams (the Giants, Eagles and Cowboys) are all well represented while the cellar dwelling Redskins had just five players make it.
It’s a testament to the talent level in the division that so many quality players missed out. Even scoring double digit touchdowns from the receiver position (Laurent Robinson) or coming close to breaking the sack record (Jason Babin) wasn’t enough to guarantee you a spot on an all division team which features some of the league’s best receivers and pass rushers.
Enough about those who didn’t make it though, let’s take a look at those who did …
Re-Focused: Redskins @ Eagles, Week 17
Despite neither team being eligible for the postseason, these NFC East rivals played a tough game, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at the score.
The 8-8 Philadelphia Eagles have many reasons to be hopeful, including their dominating 5-1 divisional record. While their running game was nowhere to be found with LeSean McCoy sitting out with injuries (75 total yards on the ground), Michael Vick (+3.2) was able to get the victory with his arm and help from a still-suffocating pass rush (one sack, nine QB hits, and 18 pressures).
The 5-11 Washington Redskins continued to show some fight, but also showed the same mistakes that have plagued them all year. This included turning the ball over, being unable to take advantage when chances present themselves (two red zone trips in the first half led to nothing), field goal woes and other completely avoidable mistakes. In the end, the Eagles’ superior talent won, but there were some positives for the Redskins going into the offseason. Check out some notable performances from both teams.
Three To Focus On: Redskins @ Eagles, Week 17
In the final game of the regular season, the 7-8 Philadelphia Eagles host their NFC East rivals the 5-10 Washington Redskins. Both teams have been eliminated from the playoffs, so neither has reason to hold back any starters.
The Eagles are coming off a dominant 20-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys (minus Tony Romo, knocked out early with a hand injury), while the Redskins, despite completing a season sweep of the New York Giants two week prior, are coming off of an embarrassing 33-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Redskins will be looking to go 6-10 for the second straight season, while the Eagles will be looking for a non-losing record and a solid 5-1 divisional record.
The first game between these two took place in Week 6 and changed the Redskins’ season–they were 3-1 and that point but suffered a 20-13 loss to the 1-4 Eagles. Rex Grossman turned the ball over four times and was benched for the next three games for replacement QB John Beck, who led the team to losses in all three. By the time the Redskins realized that a flawed Grossman was the better option, it was too late for their postseason hopes. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Vikings @ Redskins, Week 16
Nobody except diehard fans of both teams and fantasy football owners watched this Christmas Eve showdown at FedEx Field between the two win Minnesota Vikings and the five win Washington Redskins.
The Vikings were able to pull a victory out of this shootout, which saw their starting QB Christian Ponder and starting RB Adrian Peterson get injured on consecutive plays. Despite the win, one of their worst seasons in franchise history continues with the news that Peterson tore an ACL and MCL and his availability for the start of next season is in doubt. They can at least fall back on great performances from backups Toby Gerhart and QB Joe Webb.
The Redskins, dealing with injuries and still missing their starting LT and TE coming into this game, continued their good offensive streak, but once again Rex Grossman’s turnovers (a pick and a fumble) helped seal their fate. The story of the game though was the complete inability of their defense to adjust to Webb stepping into the starting lineup.
Three to Focus On: Vikings @ Redskins, Week 16
With only seven wins between these teams, if you’re watching this game on Sunday, it’s clearly not because of any playoff implications. Of course, teams playing solely for pride have accomplished some monumental upsets late in the season in the past. Perhaps these two teams can provide a more compelling game than their talent and production thus far would indicate.
With the Colts victory last week, the Vikings are inching closer and closer to consideration for worst team in the league. If they want to avoid that distinction, they’ll have to figure out their problems on defense against an offense that doesn’t intimidate much. Minnesota has held an opponent to less than 20 points only once this season, and that was against a Cardinals team that was much worse in Week 5 than it is now. Their deteriorating secondary is only making matters worse and their opponents have scored at least 34 points in each of the last three games. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Redskins @ Giants, Week 15
Just when you think you have the NFC East figured out a game like this turns up and throws it all upside down again. The Giants had finally steadied the ship and got to host the Redskins with a chance to solidify a place atop the division, but they got rolled.
Washington, at this point with nothing beyond a poorer draft pick to play for, turned up to play despite an ugly interception from Grossman on the first offensive snap of the game, and never really gave the Giants a sniff of the victory.
The good news for New York is that despite Dallas and Philadelphia (who are still somehow mathematically alive) both winning, the Giants still control their own destiny. Win out (including a game against Dallas), and they win the division.
Three To Focus On: Redskins @ Giants, Week 15
The Latest NFC East showdown finds the 4-9 Washington Redskins going on the road to take on the 7-6 New York Giants. Different year, same story for these two squads: the Redskins are out of playoff contention with three games left, while the Giants still have a shot at playing in January and beyond.
The Giants are coming off a clutch victory over the divisional rival Dallas Cowboys in which Eli Manning once again led a comeback, this time from a 12-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. The Redskins are coming off a similar close, high-scoring game with the New England Patriots, but the end result was different as Rex Grossman’s red zone pass late in the fourth quarter bounced out of Santana Moss’s grasp, and into Jerod Mayo’s hands.
The Redskins haven’t had much success against Eli’s crew–winning only once against them since 2007–and their opening day 28-14 victory this season was far closer than the score suggested. Take a look at some key matchups in this very important game for the Giants. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Patriots @ Redskins, Week 14
The game came down to the wire as the Washington Redskins drove down the field facing only a seven-point deficit against the heavily-favored New England Patriots. Linebacker Jerod Mayo thwarted the comeback attempt by intercepting quarterback Rex Grossman and we were left wondering if Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan would have gone for two, and the win, had they scored a touchdown.
The Patriots move to 10-3 on the season to maintain the four way tie atop the AFC, but this game did nothing to quell the weekly fears of Patriots fans who wonder if the defense is good enough for a playoff push. Though quarterback Tom Brady’s sideline shouting match with offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was probably overblown, one has to wonder if he, too, is feeling the pressure of carrying the defense every week.
Despite a promising 3-1 start to the season, the Redskins fall to 4-9, good for sole possession of last place in the NFC East. They showed a lot of heart in this game, especially considering the absence of their leading receiver and starting offensive tackles. They have exciting young players in running back Roy Helu and linebacker Brian Orakpo, but at this point of the season, Redskins fans have their eyes fixed on a Top 10 pick in the draft.
Let’s take a look at the performances that defined the game. Read the rest of this entry »
Three to Focus on: Patriots @ Redskins, Week 14
The 9-3 New England Patriots travel to the Nation’s Capital to face their final NFC East opponent on the year, the 4-8 Washington Redskins. For these two teams, it’s the same old song: the Patriots are poised to secure a top seed in the AFC, while the Redskins have already lost any postseason dreams in another underwhelming and drama-filled season. Bill Belichick and company are coming off a 31-24 win at home over the dreadful Colts which was, at one point, 31-3 before they let up. The Redskins lost 34-19 at home to the New York Jets despite the score being tied at 13 at the end of the third quarter.
The last time these two met was in 2007 when New England went 18-1 and Washington made its most recent trip to the playoffs. The result was a 52-7 beat-down in Foxborough. Several of the Redskins remain from that team and will be determined to avoid a similar embarrassment. Anything can happen on any given Sunday and the Patriots have been far more vulnerable on the road where they’ve lost twice. It will still take great efforts from nearly every Redskin to pull off the upset, though.
Re-Focused: Jets @ Redskins, Week 13
For those of you who follow me on Twitter (and if you don’t why not?) you’ll remember I mentioned that I turned down analysis on the Broncos at Vikings game this week. I’d seen so much option the last few weeks I thought I’d somehow time-slipped a day and been watching games on Saturday by accident. Well after watching these two quarterbacks define a standard of ineptitude I thought neither of which was capable; I’m seeing Tim Tebow in a completely new light.
To be fair, the Jets won not just because Mark Sanchez was less awful than Rex Grossman (he would certainly have had to have gone some to be even on a par), but because their offensive line looked to be gelling for the first time this year and their defense yet again made up for their deficiencies rushing the passer with sound run defense and excellent coverage. Indeed, what looked like one of the Redskins’ major advantages in the encounter, their pass rush, floundered against the Jets’ offensive line, to the tune of only two hits and three hurries.
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