Even though the Washington Redskins have won three of their last four games, there is plenty of work that must be done to fix the team's offense. Otherwise, the team will not continue to have success this season.
Oct 26, 2010 - After outlasting the Chicago Bears 17-14 this past weekend, the Washington Redskins are now 4-3 and very much in the thick of things in the wide open NFC.
In fact, nine teams in the conference are currently 4-3 or better, but only the New York Giants have a better record within the NFC (the Giants are 4-0 against the conference, while the Redskins are 4-1). And if the playoffs started today, the Redskins would be a part of the postseason festivities, which is noteworthy itself after just how bad the team was one season ago.
But don’t think for a minute that all is well in our nation’s capital. Sure, the Redskins have won three out of their last four games and have now matched their win total from 2009 with nine games to go, but Washington could just as easily be a one- or two-win team at this point.
That’s because the Redskins offense – even with the additions of head coach Mike Shanahan, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Donovan McNabb – is still painfully inconsistent.
Look no further than the win in Chicago, where the Redskins had ideal field position throughout the entire first half and still failed to capitalize on it. Three of the team’s first six possessions actually started at midfield. Washington’s offense went three-and-out in two of those three instances, and they settled for a field goal the third time.
The Bears offense was equally inept, but Chicago led at the half 14-10 because of a McNabb interception returned for a touchdown. If not for the stellar play of cornerback DeAngelo Hall – who became just the 19th player in NFL history to intercept four passes in a single game – then the mood at Ashburn would be decidedly different this week.
[Seriously, let’s pause and think about this for a second: if the Redskins didn’t get called for a delay of game penalty, then McNabb throws his third interception of the day, with the Bears returning two of them for touchdowns. If that play stands, then the Redskins likely lose a game in which their defense created six turnovers. Has that ever happened in the history of football?]
It also helped that the Bears’ offense was no match for the Redskins’ defense. Here’s a breakdown of their drives in the second half: fumble, interception, interception, fumble, interception, punt, interception. When lasting long enough to punt is the closest thing you have to an actual highlight, you know it’s not your day.
But even as Chicago continually handed the ball back to Washington, the Redskins offense was unable to take advantage. McNabb threw two interceptions – with a third one called back only because of a delay of game penalty on the Redskins – and Washington, as a whole, fumbled the ball six times. Fortunately, the team only lost one of the six fumbles, but teams are rarely that lucky.
Had the Redskins offense been somewhat respectable against the Bears, the game would have been a blowout. With the picture-perfect field position and the six turnovers forced by Washington’s defense, this game should have been something along the lines of a 33-10 beatdown. But that’s something this offense simply isn’t able to make happen yet.
Case in point: in five of seven games this season, the Redskins have scored 17 points or less. Oddly enough, the two games in which Washington scored more than 17 points this year were both losses – a 30-27 in overtime to Houston and the 27-24 loss to Indianapolis.
If not for a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Hall in the season opener, the Redskins lose to Dallas. If not for his 92-yard interception return for a touchdown against Chicago, the Redskins lose to Chicago too. Seriously, even though Hall plays defense, he’s tied with receiver Santana Moss and tight end Chris Cooley for touchdowns on the season with two. And sadly, those two are the only legit receiving options McNabb has.
I’d compare Hall’s five interceptions (which he’s returned 92 yards with one touchdown) to receiver Joey Galloway’s eight catches for 139 yards in seven games, but that would only further embarrass a senior citizen who has no business on a football field. It’s not his fault the coaching staff continues to let him take the field though. Galloway is simply doing what is asked of him – which is apparently standing around and letting other people do all of the work.
With stiffs like Galloway and Roydell Williams taking up valuable space on the depth chart, it’s no wonder the offense is struggling. But things are actually worse than you might imagine.
Through seven games, McNabb has completed 142 of 247 passes for 1,761 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions and has a quarterback rating of 76.0.
Last season, quarterback Jason Campbell completed 136 out of 206 passes for 1,481 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 85.8. And let’s not forget – Campbell was actually benched during that stretch for being ineffective. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if McNabb was benched? It’s safe to say that it wouldn’t be pretty.
Here’s my issue: even with McNabb only having limited resources to work with – namely Moss, Cooley and running back Ryan Torain – the offense should be producing better than this. The Redskins have scored 130 points this season, which places them tied with Jacksonville for 19th best in the NFL. As good as the defense has been this year – and they’ve been downright dominant at times – they’ve allowed 133 points (16th best in the league). The defense is keeping Washington in games, but at some point, the offense needs to show up and do their part.
I’m honestly starting to wonder if Kyle Shanahan forgot his playbook in Houston and is instead working out of Al Saunders’ 700 pages of vanilla. We’re talking about the man who led the Texans’ top-ranked passing attack in 2009. He comes to town to reunite with his father in the feel-good story of the offseason and all we’ve got to show for it is a bunch of three-and-outs.
People talk about saving the best for last, but unless that involves Hall playing receiver to give the team a second option at wide out after Moss, I’m not sure this offense has what it takes to make the playoffs. And that’s a shame.
The NFC is so watered down that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are claiming to be the conference’s top team. While it’s both laughable and admirable that head coach Raheem Morris would actually make that claim, it’s further proof that there is no dominant team in the NFC.
They haven’t been able to do it yet, but if the Redskins can string together at least four consecutive quarters of competent football on offense, Washington could be in good shape the second half of the season. If not, then there’s little doubt we’ll be looking back at the 2010 season and thinking about what could have been.
6 comments
Comments
I blame Ovechkin
He has become so predictable on offense, the Redskins have been affected and stopped scoring. Their mom’s should tell them to stop hanging out.
by InsaneNun on Oct 26, 2010 10:16 AM EDT reply actions
oh yeah ...
Well, if Mike Green were scoring more than none of this would even matter. So there.
PS – If fault is being passed around, then you definitely need to blame Jeff Schultz too. Mouth breathers love to hold his feet to the fire whenever possible.
by Homer McFanboy on Oct 26, 2010 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Schultzee
Can’t blame Schutlz, he took his first slap shot of his career the other day. And it was a good one.
Maybe the Redskins are upset because OV told them the girls in DC pale to those in eastern Russia. They have no motivation, because who cares if an ugly chick digs the long ball.
by InsaneNun on Oct 26, 2010 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions
No chance.
Wouldn’t that make Redskins players more motivated to impress the local talent if the biggest star in town takes himself out of the game? I mean, Clinton Portis said there are 53 flavors to choose from in that locker room, right?
by Homer McFanboy on Oct 26, 2010 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions
53 flavors sure......
But the kicker is like broccoli flavored ice cream. Even fat chicks don’t each vegetables.
by InsaneNun on Oct 26, 2010 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions
Very good points. But am I the only one that thinks...
That Joey Galloway is like our Reed Doughty on offense…the guy is a total liability. He just looks lost on the field and just looks weak waiting for the ball to come to him instead of actually jumping with the defender
Anyway that said, there is a ton of room for improvement. McNabb needs to play better, but I have faith it will come around in time. This is arguably one of his worst years ever and much can be factored to that
I don’t agree that the score could be 33-10. The Giants crushed them way worse than we did and only put up 17 points. Plus we turned over the ball as well…so a loss would mean that both teams played terribly and turned the ball over too much. There’s no way of telling what would have happened if say..the pick 6 had counted. Play calling may have been different, who knows. Plays are called based on the situation more often than not
As for the Jason Campbell reference, our schedule was much…MUCH easier last year. If Jason Campbell could only win 4 games on that schedule, he would most likely lose every game on this schedule. No way he beats the Packers…and he probably wouldn’t have us in as many positions to win. Plus, McNabb avoids way more sacks than Campbell, the line doesn’t look any better to me. And how many rushing tds did we have at that point last year? Because McNabb has led the team down the field a couple of times only to hand it off to Portis and Torain
I also think the defense has lost us just as many games as it’s won us. But overall you’ve made great points, and we will not have success at all if we cant improve on offense
by Brian Daley on Oct 26, 2010 12:12 PM EDT reply actions
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