JC2832's Team by Team Analysis: Washington Redskins

[JaguarCrazy2832]

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Washington Redskins (5-11)

The Washington Redskins’ season was over before it started last year. Going into the season hoping John “McGruber” Beck would be their savior which ultimately busted hard led them back to start “Train” Rex Grossman again. After the season the Redskins made the biggest move of the draft and maybe even the offseason trading 2 first round picks (2013 and 2014) and a 2nd round pick in 2012 along with the 6th overall pick this year to move up to the 2nd pick in the draft and take Robert Griffin III to be their franchise QB that they have been craving since Joe Theisman. The defense looks to be in place or at least just a few pieces away but the offense will need RG3 to be as good as advertised to really take off.

Offense:

Griffin comes into an offense that will play to his strengths that will utilize his mobility with roll-outs and boot-legs. He is an accurate passer that can make all the throws, but there are some concerns with the talent surrounding him. His offensive line was pretty poor last year for the QBs but they also held on to the ball too long and didn’t have RG3’s mobility (few do). Trent Williams and Jamal Brown are the bookend tackles but Trent has struggled with injuries in the past, although he has been good when healthy, while Brown will start out on the PuP list this year. I hope for Griffin’s sake Jordan Black isn’t the next guy in line. Kory Lichtensteiger and Chris Chester look to be the starting guards for the redskins while Will Montgomery starts at Center. The entire line has a good amount of experience and even though there are some concerns with pass-protection at times, it is a Shanny line, so you know the ZBS can open up lanes for the running game. The Redskins will probably start 4 different players and a hotdog vendor at RB this year and they will all average 80 yards a game and 4.5 ypc. Shannahan is a running game’s dream and a fantasy owner’s nightmare, but no one cares about the 2nd part. Roy Helu Jr, Evan Royster, and Alfred Morris should all see significant playing time throughout the year, but there is no telling which RB will start which weeks. All that we know is that whoever it is, will be effective running and receiving. The WR position has improved dramatically this offseason by simply getting Leonard Hankerson off injured reserve and Pierre Garcon from Indianapolis. Garcon is a highlight reel waiting to happen making incredibly acrobatic catches, but he has a tendency to drop some easy ones too. Hankerson has a lot of potential and was starting to tap into it last year before he got hurt, but also has his own problems with concentration. His blend of size and speed is something that RG3 will love. The Redskins still have the speedster Santana Moss as well at WR who is good for a few big plays and catches across the middle as well. Fred Davis is now the starting TE for good, now that Chris Cooley is gone, although Cooley may be back very soon. Niles Paul moved over to TE from WR and is expected to be the 2nd string TE and see the field as a mismatch maybe on 3rd downs. This offense is very young top to bottom with the exception of Santana Moss so they should get a chance to gel together and if the development of Griffin III goes well, this offense could light off some fireworks.

Defense:

The Redskins defense was banged up on the front line early losing rookie Jarvis Jenkins to the IR very early so the skins had to plug in their backup NT early on. However, the defense wasn’t bad, but will get better this year. Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan are a great young pass-rushing combination off the edge and will wreck havoc on opposing QBs. Some questioned whether or not Orakpo and Kerrigan could play in the 3-4 defense thinking the 4-3 was a better fit, but have proven people wrong. Orakpo’s rookie year he was playing LB in the 4-3 but has made a great transition to the 3-4 and is one of the best 3-4 OLBs in the NFL. London Fletcher is still one of the ILBs of the 3-4 defense and even at age 37 he is still playing at a high level. Perry Riley is the other ILB and will look to start his first full season his 3rd year in the league. The front 3 will be led by Barry Coefield, Stephen Bowen and Adam Carriker. Bowen and Carriker provide some good pressure from the DE spots while Coefield does a strong job plugging the middle. The threesome combined for 14.5 sacks. With Jenkins back and healthy this line will be able to work in a good 4 man rotation with guys being able to move around the line. Deangelo Hall is the main-man in the secondary now but he is still a boom/bust CB taking many risks a game either amounting to an INT or a big play for the offense. Josh Wilson will be starting opposite Hall again after having a good full year in DC. The Redskins brought in former Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather to start over the top next to Madieu Williams. Clearly the Redskins weakness is its secondary as Williams has bounced to his 3 team and after a strong start to his career in New England, Meriweather became a headache and his play on the field wasn’t worth the issue. If the secondary can prevent a lot of big plays and let the OLBs get to the QB, this defense could be in for a major bump in the rankings.

Questions:

1. Is RG3 going to be the savior for the Redskins that Cam Newton appears to be for Carolina or will he falter like Mike Vick has done in his career?
2. Is the offensive line going to be able to protect RG3 long enough or will he be running for his life?
3. Will the defense take the next step in their development and cement themselves as a Top-10 unit?
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[aceinthehouse]

If RG3 can stay 1)healthy
Limit his turnovers 2)(INT's & fumbles)
& 3)Maintain his poise, pocket presence & confidence?

The Redskins will be a 2012 Playoff team.

I have no doubt about that...
But all 3 will be hard to accomplish, as a rookie.
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[vikingsrule]

[goldfishwars]

[footy_29]

[turtle28]

Great job man, I wouldn't change a thing
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mike23md
Days until:Days until: OTAs 2; Minicamp 25; Training camp 69; Eagles @ Redskins 115 RIP SSF

[turtle28]

[onejayhawk]

I cannot decide if RG III is going to make a big splash or struggle through his rookie season. I hope he does make the splash, since he is an incredibly nice guy and casual about all the fame. My wife demos at Walmsrt. RG III came up to the cart, dressing Baylor work outs. Since he is 6'2", he's fairly tall in an average crowd. See asked him if he played basketball for Baylor. He smiled and said, "Yeh, I play basketball." He would probably be a god PG.

The Redskin team is a work in progress. Shanahan has not had a chance to install his famous ZBS, plus there is no Tom Nalen to build it around. The WR will not scare anyone, and the RB are even less impressive. That being said, Whoe heard of Rod Smith before he showed up in Denver? Shanahan has a reputation of being a RB genius, but it applies to his WR too. I expect it will take a year to sort out.

Defensively they are better, which is good. Shanahan has been known to neglect that side ofthe ball a bit. Overall, I think 8-8 is the upside.

J
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[THESKINSFAN21]

Great write up. I appreciate the time put into it as a Redskins fan. Our secondary is no more questionable last year while our front 7 is better and,our depth is there. Trent will become elite this season imo but we still need a RT. I think Garcon becomes RG3s go to WR amd sees his first 1000 yard season.
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mike23md on the sig

[DawgX]

Watch out for Roy Helu this season. I didn't think much of him coming out of Nebraska but I was quite impressed with him last season. If Washington's offensive line improves and the passing game takes some pressure off of Helu, then I could see him being very productive this season and beyond.
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Cleveland Browns Forum Hall of Fame Inductee



Kiltman on the great sig!

[1BackInBlackFan]

For me the game has passed Shanahan by. It doesn't help that he has had nothing at QB in Washington but Shanahan hasn't done anything for years. I don't see Snyder being much more patient with him if there isn't a marked improvement this year.
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The cool high-flying Troy sig courtesy of Lysar529. Great work!

[footy_29]

It's going to take a couple of weeks for the running game to get going because of LG Kory Lichtensteiger's late return, and because the two primary ball carriers (Royster and Helu) are recovering from nagging off-season/pre-season injuries.

I wouldn't say the Redskins front seven is a top 5 unit, but they are a pretty darn good group. If Rak and Kerrigan perform as well as they expect, maybe then they will be considered a top 5 unit.

The problem with the Redskins is the same problem as the Seahawks in that they have a lot of young talent and therefore there is a lot of projection.

I like to believe that RGIII can be an X factor at the position early on because of Mike and Kyle Shanahan. If you can move the ball with Sexy Rexy, Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth...I think you can get it done with RGIII, Pierre Garcon, Josh Morgan and Santana Moss. It is not always that simple, however I expect RGIII's deep ability to gain respect, in addition to the respect Shanahan's running game has, and open up everything else.
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Blknite01's masterpiece

[DawgX]

[onejayhawk]

[vikingsrule]