SB Nation DC - Redskins Vs. Rams: Washington Loses Back-And-Forth Game, 31-28

Redskins Vs. Rams: Josh Morgan Receives Death Threats Via Twitter

2012-09-19T16:56:22Z

The revelation that follows is predictable and disappointing, but since we made a big deal of what happened to Joel Ward during the Stanley Cup playoffs earlier this year, it wouldn't be fair to let this pass without making a note of it.

From John Keim of the Examiner:

Redskins receiver Joshua Morgan said he received death threats on Twitter after his costly 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in a 31-28 loss to St. Louis. Morgan's penalty forced the Redskins into a 62-yard field goal attempt that Billy Cundiff missed wide right.

Keim managed to preserve some of them, and they're after the jump.

And here they are:

"James Isaac Northrup ‏@FreddeteJr JOSH MORGAN I WILL KILL YOU IN YOUR [Expletive] SLEEP YOU AUTISTIC [bleep]"

"radarada4 ‏@JacRada @FeetzMorgan202 u are sum [bleep] kill ur self"

"@ParallelRhymes: @FeetzMorgan202 I hope your mama loses her foot to diabetes and has trouble walking up/down stairs"

"@TroobAdore: I hope someone throws a football at ur firstborn child"

Charming stuff, we think you'll agree. I think it goes without saying that these people barely deserve the attention they've already received. For a refresher course in Twitter etiquette, let's turn the program over to our Redskins editor, Daniel Shiferaw.

Here's when it's acceptable to make death threats to an NFL player: Never. It's really that simple. #Redskins
— Daniel Shiferaw (@dshif) September 19, 2012

Redskins Vs. Rams 2012 Reaction: Josh Morgan's Play Only One Of Several Washington Mistakes

2012-09-18T00:25:33Z

The Washington Redskins lost to the St. Louis Rams Sunday in a chippy, penalty filled game, 31-28.

The defining play of the game took place with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Redskins wide receiver Josh Morgan caught a third down pass from Robert Griffin III and although he was tackled just short of the first down marker, Morgan had the Redskins within field goal range. However, Morgan lost his cool, threw the ball at a Rams defender and incurred an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, pushing his team out of field goal range.

Kevin Ewoldt of SB Nation's Washington Redskins blog, Hogs Haven, listed that play among several others which led to the Redskins' loss.

Anyone grading the coaching staff across the Redskins Offense, Defense, and Special Teams would probably give F's across the board. Kyle Shanahan called a decent game at least. The blame is plenty to go around due to:

The horrible defensive scheme to play zone all day long.

Poor special teams play again. Another blocked punt up the gut.

The dropped Aldrick Robinson bomb to give the Redskins lead.

The wretched officiating to allow the game to get so fiesty and chippy all day long.

Josh Morgan's bonehead penalty knocking the Redskins out of field goal range.

Shanahan's decision to kick a 63-yard FG to tie the game.

How did Bradford have so much time when THREE OL starters were out? Not to mention their backup Left Tackle Wayne Hunter went down too. Ugh.

The Washington Redskins enter their Week 3 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals with a 1-1 record, tied for second in the NFC East.

For more on the Washington Redskins, check out Hogs Haven and SB Nation D.C. For more news and information on the rest of the NFL, please check out SB Nation's NFL Hub Page.

NFL Injury Report: Redskins Lose Adam Carriker, Brian Orakpo In Loss To Rams

2012-09-17T13:21:44Z

The Redskins lost to the Rams on Sunday, and they may have lost a pair of key defensive contributors for an extended period of time, as well. Both defensive end Adam Carriker and linebacker Brian Orakpo left the game with potentially serious injuries.

Orakpo appears to have injured the same pectoral muscle that forced him to undergo surgery after 2011, and is expected to miss some time after the injury. He's expected to undergo further tests on Monday as the Redskins try to determine how much time he is going to miss.

Carriker was hurt just 21 seconds into the game, and spent the game watching from the sidelines with his knee heavily wrapped. He's scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday, and coach Mike Shanahan said that the injury "didn't look good."

Cornerback Josh Wilson also left the game in the third quarter. Wilson suffered a concussion, and there is no word yet on his status for the game against the Bengals.

For more on the Redskins, head over to Hogs Haven and continue to check out SB Nation DC.

Redskins Vs. Rams: Five Takeaways From The Redskins 31-28 Loss

2012-09-17T12:11:03Z

Two games into the Robert Griffin III era, one thing's for sure: The 2012 Redskins will be a rollercoaster ride all season.

One week after one of their most impressive wins in recent memory, the Redskins found themselves on the wrong side of a back-and-forth affair with the St. Louis Rams, dropping them to 1-1.

Here are the five takeaways from Sunday's action-packed game:

1. Lack of poise, composure doomed the Redskins: This game was needlessly chippy. It was one fracas after another, with Redskins and Rams players almost trying to one-up each other to get in the other's head with each shoving match. It was bound to cost one someone big, and it wound up being the Redskins.

Which brings us to Joshua Morgan. His fourth quarter penalty showed an alarming lack of self-awareness. What's worse, the defensive player who incited the foul was not just any cornerback; it was Cortland Finnegan, someone who's been known to get into offensive players' heads. Provoking this kind of behavior is what he does. Finnegan's in-game attitude is no secret, and even Morgan himself acknowledged as much earlier in the week when he spoke with the Washington Post:

"You don't want to be the second guy because the second guy is going to get caught," Morgan said. "[Finnegan]'s going to come at you and he's going to be the first, second and third guy. You've got to remind yourself not to be that fourth and fifth guy, and throw your hands up and walk back to the huddle."

And yet, he couldn't keep his composure when Finnegan tried to rattle him in a critical spot.

Composure has always been the word that Shanahan uses when talking about these type of situations. He has noted repeatedly that officials will usually never flag the instigator of these incidents, but the retaliator. That's exactly what happened, and Morgan's penalty was one of the many reasons why the Redskins left St. Louis with a loss.

2. The officials didn't cost the Redskins the game, but.....: Let's be clear: The Redskins did not lose this game because of the officiating. In the end, they simply did not make the plays they needed to in critical situations.

But some of the mistakes from the replacement officials were quite glaring. They missed some relatively routine calls -- the hit on Fred Davis comes to mind -- and it cost both teams opportunities to extend drives.

In addition to some questionable calls (and non-calls), the officials were not able to stop the game from getting out of hand. You have to wonder if the players even feared (or even respected) the replacement officials, because after each play, Redskins and Rams players would continue to get into it with each other. It seemed the refs had zero influence on stopping the fracases, and compounding that with their missed or questionable calls made it an ugly, ugly affair.

3. The Redskins strongest unit let them down: Coming off an impressive performance against the explosive New Orleans Saints offense, it seemed the task of stopping Sam Bradford and the Rams would prove to be a bit easier.

That wasn't the case.

Jim Haslett's defensive gameplan was a far cry from last week, opting for more zone coverage against the Rams receivers instead of man. The problem for the Redskins this week was that they simply were not able to generate enough pressure on Bradford, and he picked the zone defense apart.

Bradford not only had time to make plays downfield, but the Redskins pass coverage was shoddy, and tackles were missed in the open field often. It all contributed to an ugly statline for Washington: 452 yards allowed to go along with 31 points. No one's confusing The Rams offense with the 2007 Patriots, so Sunday's performance was certainly a cause for concern. It's rare that the Redskins offense has to bail out the defense, but it seemed like that would be required if the Redskins were to pull Sunday's game out.

4. Injuries: As if the Redskins frustrating day on defense wasn't enough, they also had to deal with three starters going down.

Adam Carriker suffered an apparent knee injury, with Shanahan saying that "it doesn't look good" after the game. That's a huge blow if Carriker is out for considerable amount of time. He had carved out a nice niche in Haslett's defense, and was hoping to build on the career year he had in 2011, where he finished with 5.5 sacks.

The hits kept on coming later in the first half, as Brian Orakpo re-aggravated his shoulder injury from the preseason. What's unfortunate is that even if Orakpo is able to get back on the field in the next few weeks, there's no guarantee his shoulder will stay pain-free the rest of the season. More details about Orakpo's injury will come out during the week, but the hope is that the shoulder injury isn't a chronic issue for a player who was expecting to take a big step forward this season.

Finally, Josh Wilson, arguably the Redskins defensive back, went down with a mild concussion in the second half. He'd had a solid game up to that point, scoring a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage after a Danny Amendola fumble, and making a touchdown-saving tackle on a long Daryl Richardson run.

Given Sunday's performance, it's tough to tell how the Redskins defense will be able to rebound moving forward. Add in the injuries suffered, and you have to wonder if there will be shootouts every week.

5. RGIII plays well enough to help the Redskins win, but the supporting cast doesn't: Robert Griffin III didn't light it up as much as he did last week against the Saints, but he did more than enough to help the Redskins win. Throwing for 209 yards, throwing for a touchdown and rushing for two more, he helped catapult Washington to 28 points, which most thought would have been enough to secure the victory.

He did have his rookie moments, however. He threw a critical interception just before halftime to the aforementioned Finnegan, and missed a few throws later in the game. But to ask more of Griffin at this point might be a little unreasonable.

When Mike Shanahan spoke about Griffin shortly after drafting him in April, he consistently stressed having a good supporting cast. The coach said it's not fair to put all the pressure on a first-year passer, and he needs to have those around him contributing at a high level. That means having players like Aldrick Robinson taking advantage of the deep pass threw to him late in the fourth quarter. Or having the defense holding the opposition to less than a 58% conversion rate (7-for-12) on third down, or having the special teams not allow a punt to be blocked for the second consecutive week. Those mistakes have nothing to do with the quarterback position, but are important all the same.

Each week, the focus will be on Griffin's performance, and rightfully so. But in order for the Redskins to become a consistent team -- especially this season -- it'll be up to those around him to elevate their game, and not put it on the shoulders of a first-year passer.

For more Redskins coverage, follow Daniel on Twitter at @dshif .Also, be sure to check out SB Nation's Redskins blog, Hogs Haven, as well as SB Nation's NFL hub

Redskins Vs. Rams: No One On The Redskins Was Happy With The Officiating

2012-09-17T02:05:35Z

When you come right down to it, the job of an NFL official is pretty simple: Enforce the rules that protect the players and the integrity of the result, while simultaneously keeping the emotions of players under control. Difficult task? Sometimes. Impossible? Not at all.

Sunday evening, after the Washington Redskins had lost 31-28 to the St. Louis Rams, just about every Redskins player who found himself in front of a microphone thought the officials had failed to do their job.

After the jump, a sampling of quotes via the Tweets of the ever-awesome Redskins media corps.

Darrel Young: "This is THE dirtiest game I’ve ever played in." #Redskins
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 17, 2012

RG3 on the extracurricular activity: "It got out of hand."
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 17, 2012

Santana Moss on the chippy play: "If you ain't a punk, you ain't going to lay down. When those guys throw hands, what are you going to do?"
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) September 17, 2012

Fred Davis: "They were doing a lot of dirty stuff after the play. In those situations, sometimes your emotions get the best of you."
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) September 17, 2012

DeAngelo Hall: "I think the game was out of hand from early on. It was tough to try to keep your composure. It was real chippy." #Redskins
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) September 17, 2012

Mike Shanahan: "Everybody saw the game. The game was a little bit out of control. You don't like to see it." #Redskins
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) September 17, 2012

Trent Williams on the officials on CSN's #Redskins Post Game Live "They looked overwhelmed at times"
— Sky Kerstein (@SkyKerstein) September 16, 2012

And so on and so on. You get the idea. But we'll leave the last word to an expert in this field.

I'm officially over it. The regular refs need to get back on the field. Enough is enough.
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) September 16, 2012

Redskins Vs. Rams Blog Reaction: 'Where To Start With This One?'

2012-09-17T01:36:29Z

The easy reaction is to blame Josh Morgan for the Washington Redskins' 31-28 loss Sunday, but his late 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was far from the only factor. The penalty made a difficult potential game-tying field goal impossible after the team had already put itself in a position to lose late against the lowly St. Louis Rams.

Kevin Ewoldt of Redskins blog Hogs Haven found problems with every aspect of a team whose defense gave up 31 points to the Rams and whose offense couldn't find the end zone in the final quarter:

Anyone grading the coaching staff across the Redskins Offense, Defense, and Special Teams would probably give F's across the board. Kyle Shanahan called a decent game at least.

Ewoldt cited poor defensive schemes and bad play by the defensive line as reasons for the loss.

The bright side for the Redskins is obviously Robert Griffin III, who might have thrown the first pick of his NFL career, but accounted for all three of Washington's touchdowns and, as Ewoldt put it, "sure throws a pretty deep ball".

For more on the Redskins, head over to Hogs Haven and continue to check out SB Nation DC.

Adam Carriker Injury: Redskins Lineman Will Have MRI Monday, According To Report

2012-09-17T00:32:25Z

Washington Redskins defensive lineman Adam Carriker's right knee was injured early in the first quarter Sunday in the team's 31-28 loss to the St. Louis Rams. While engaged with a St. Louis offensive lineman, Carriker's knee was rolled up on, and he immediately left the game, having to be helped off the field. After the game, it was announced Carriker would need a MRI. Via Tarik El-Bashir of Comcast SportsNet:

Adam Carriker said he planted and felt sharp pain in knee. Lots of swelling. No MRI yet. Tomorrow. #RedskinsTalk
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikElBashir) September 16, 2012

Adding insult to actual injury, this was El-Bashir's follow-up Carriker tweet:

Carriker just left locker room on crutches. #RedskinsTalk
— Tarik El-Bashir (@TarikElBashir) September 17, 2012

For more on the Washington Redskins, check out Hogs Haven and SB Nation D.C. For news on the Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more news and information on the rest of the NFL, please check out SB Nation's NFL Hub Page.

Redskins Injury Update: Mike Shanahan Talks About Adam Carriker, Josh Wilson, Brian Orakpo Injuries

2012-09-17T00:19:44Z

The Washington Redskins were defeated by the St. Louis Rams, 31-28, on Sunday at the Edwards Jones Dome.

After the game, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan said that defensive end Adam Carriker, cornerback Josh Wilson and linebacker Brian Orakpo had sustained injuries but did not give a timetable for the return of any of the players.

Carriker sustained a knee injury in the first quarter of the game and did not return. Carriker will have an MRI but Shanahan expects him to have surgery. Orakpo had a right shoulder injury in the second quarter. He briefly re-entered the game before leaving for good with what the team described as a shoulder strain. Josh Wilson sustained what Shanahan described as a mild concussion when Wilson was hit on Rams running back Daryl Richardson's long run in the fourth quarter. Wilson had started the scoring in the game on a 30-yard fumble return touchdown in the first quarter.

For more on the Washington Redskins, check out Hogs Haven and SB Nation D.C.