Redskins Show Some Improvement Against The Jets

The Washington Redskins were once again involved in a defensive battle against the New York Jets last Friday. Backup quarterback Rex Grossman look decent by throwing some nice long completions to Santana Moss and Joey Galloway. But the offense didn't get six points until the two minute mark in the 4th quarter when the Redskins scored their first touchdown in two weeks, leading them into a 16 to 11 victory over the Jets. However, nobody cares what happens in the 2nd half in the preseason, so I will briefly analyze what happen in the first half.

Grossman play well with the starters against a very good defense. He went  8 for 16 and throw for 111 yards. Other then his silly turnover at the end zone to cause a safety, Grossman looked calm and collective with the starting offense. This is a good sign for Redskins fans since Grossman will most likely see a lot of action under center because of the injury situation with Donovan Mcnabb. It will be a good thing to see Grossman start for a least 3 to 4 games, but it will be a major issue if he starts half the season.

The running game looked ineffective for most of the 1st half.  Running back Willie Parker only had 8 carries for 16 yards. Parker did face one of the NFL's best run defenses, but I just don't see him in the roster after this weekend. Parker, like other older running backs, isn't been ineffective for the last few years after his breakout season in 2005. Clinton Portis did had one carry, but he sprain his ankle. His injury doesn't appear to be serious. Larry Johnson improve this week with 9 carries for 42 yards and scored the only Redskins touchdown late in the 4th quarter.  The receivers didn't do much since the offense was inept early on, although Moss and Galloway had some nice long receptions down the middle of the field.

The defense had a mixed performance. The good news is that the Redskins defense played very well against an inept Jets offense and it appears that Albert Haynesworth and coach Mike Shanahan have forgiven each other after their latest dispute. Meanwhile, Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez didn't really had a passing game until he finally throw a touchdown pass early in the second half. Basically, coach Rex Ryan wasn't pleased with the performance on offense, and the starters stayed on the field until they put some points on the board. However, the Jets running game was the only positive from their mediocre offensive showing. LaDainian Tomlinson had 11 carries for 86 yards, including a big 43 yard run from the Jets 13 yard line. This a big issue for the Redskins. Their run defense hasn't played well in the last three games, and they better correct these errors before the season begins in two weeks. The last thing Redskins fans want to see their defense, which is bringing in a new 3-4 scheme, backfire on them performance wise. 

Next Game: @ Arizona
Thursday September 1st: 10PM
TV: NBC4 and CSN HD

The fourth and final preseason game is the most meaningless game of them all. We will see players either auditioning to keep their roster spot or finding another team. Expect most of the starters to play a series or two, and then the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th string players will be on the field to basically trying out to make the roster. The Redskins have to trim the roster into 53 players by Saturday. Also, since this game is useless for the starters, I won't recap this game and the next few posts will be on season predictions, Malcolm Kelly getting on IR, and the list of players getting released. Also, today is the 1st day of September, and every football fan knows what time of year we are headed into.

Part 2: The Battle For The Starting Running Back Slot

Over the next four days, skins take will have a early outlook on the top three concerned areas headed into the 2010 season. We are over a month away until training camp and three months until the season starts. So a lot can happen overtime. Part II will focus on the running back competition.

The Redskins had a limited presence at the running game last season because of a depleted offensive line and injuries to their starters and backups. Clinton Portis only average around 4 yards per carry and had only one 100 yard rushing game.

Portis suffered a season ending concussion in week 9 against Atlanta. This begin a series of injury problems at tailback. Two weeks later, backup Ladell Betts torn a ACL and MCL on his right knee that ended his season. The Redskins turn to other reserves such as Quinton Ganther and Marcus Mason.

Headed into 2010, Betts, Ganther, and Mason are not on the Redskins roster. Portis is only starting running back from last year and he is reuniting with Coach Mike Shanahan. Portis begin his career with the Denver Broncos when Shanahan was the head coach.

Anyway, Portis will be competing for his starting job with two other veteran backs. During the offseason, Shanahan acquired Larry Johnson from Kansas City and Willie Parker from Pittsburgh.

On paper, the Redskins appeared to have the best running back tandem in the NFL if it was 2005. But it's 2010. Both Johnson and Parker are no different then Portis. They are all at the tail end of their careers. The average age among them are 29. That the age when star running backs tend to decline from their peak years.

Therefore, it is hard to see any production from these backs this season unless Shanahan gets a undrafted running back from training camp, and shows promise early. Shanahan has a long history of getting undrafted backs and turning them into a 1,000 yard rusher. So expect the unexpected from Shanahan. The one thing he is very good at is getting a solid running back.

As for the three running backs, one of them will be cut after the preseason and so far, it appears to be Willie Parker because of his lack of speed in passing down situations. Portis is the early favorite to start again, and some experts believe that Johnson will have a breakout season, but we'll see what happens. Right now, age, lack of depth, and health are the current primary concern coming into camp.

What you think about these acquisitions? Will Clinton Portis and Larry Johnson stay healthy and have a breakout year? Or will some other undrafted running back surprise everyone?

Tomorrow, Part III focuses on the Defense and it plans on switching to the 3-4 scheme

The Redskins are still Clueless!!

Seriously, do the Redskins have any idea what is the point of the NFL Draft? Or what is team chemistry?? Because they are clueless in that department. The signing of former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Willie Parker still proves how the Redskins organization is stupid and continues its dumb practice of signing older washed up players.

The NFL Draft is the opportunity for teams to draft young players to develop them and set a foundation in the future. It is clear that the Redskins haven't done that in the last ten years and the trend is likely to continue even with the Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen tandem.

With Parker on the roster in addition to Larry Johnson and Clinton Portis, the Redskins top three running backs are the average age of 28. PATHETIC. These running backs had a combine 3.1 yards per carry last season, with most of them barely playing in 2009 due to injuries.

Now this could be a great signing if it was 2005 since each of these players were in the top 10 in rushing yards, but they old and they have not much left in the tank. I know Shanahan wants a open competition in every position, but come on, adding two washed up running backs isn't going to help their need on offense. But its a one year deal for Parker, and its clear that Portis starting job is not safe and one of those three backs will be cut after training camp.

Also, what the hell happened to the Offensive Line?? They only sign only one free agent linemen in Artis Hicks. Shanahan and Allen better address the O-Line in the draft otherwise its going to be a repeat of 2009.