Redskins at Buccaneers

Record : 2-2

I had not had a chance to blog for the past week or so, mainly due to car troubles, so I'll play a little catch-up today, and also get to Sunday's game.  So let's get this started.

The Redskins lost to the Cincinnati Bengals at home, which was the Redskins and RGIII's first home game.  They lost by the final score of 38-31, falling to 1-2 for the year.  The theme continued for the 3rd straight week, as the Defense gave up huge plays to the Bengals, including the opening trick passing play by one Bengals WR, Mohamed Sanu, to another WR, A.J. Green, for a one play TD pass going for 73 yards.  Although the Defense did make some plays, overall they gave up huge passing plays, giving Andy Dalton a 328 yards passing with 3 TD's to 1 INT day, completing 19 out of 27 attempts.  Although A.J. Green is a somewhat big name in the WR ranks, the Bengals Offense was not known for big plays, but against the Redskins, they played big.  On a positive note for the Redskins Defense, they forced a fumble by BenJarvus Green-Ellis, the Bengals RB who had previously carried the ball 480 times without a fumble.  In fact, this was his first fumble in his NFL career, which started in 2008.

The Redskins Offense did not have a great game, with RG3 completing 21 out of 34 passes for 221 yards and only 1 TD.  He did, however, rush for 85 yards on 12 attempts, with a very nice TD run in the Redzone.  Having said that, he got destroyed by the Bengals Defense, getting his 24 times, including 6 sacks, and one of the hardest hits he has received this year in an option play.  There were reports that he had received a concussion test after one of the drives, but he was not hurt.  Alfred Morris had an average day, rushing 17 times for 78 yards and 1 TD, since he had to share carries with RG3.  When the QB rushes for more yards than your RB, it usually does not end well.

There were a number of questionable calls by Mike Shanahan in the game, including challenging a Redskins punt which was called a touchback on the field.  In my opinion, they wasted a timeout there, and with having burned the other two timeouts earlier, that left them with none at the end of the game, where they were trying to go for a game winning drive.

Overall an average performance by the Offense, and a (what has become the norm) poor performance by the Defense.

Now onto Sunday's game against the Buccaneers.

The Redskins were able to win the game by the final score of 24-22, and reaching a .500 record at 2-2.  They won the game with a Billy Cundiff FG from 41 yards.  But Cundiff is not the hero of the game, in my opinion.  Previously he had missed 3 FG's, which placed the Redskins in the situation of trying for a game winning FG.  If he had made those 3, then it would have been a different story at the end.

The Redskins cut Graham Gano in preseason because he had missed 10 FG last year.  As I had mentioned before, 5 of those were blocked, and 2 were from over 50 yards.  Last year, he had made 4 out of 6 FG's from beyond 50 yards.  So this year, the Redskins brought in Billy Cundiff to remedy the accuracy of the Kicker.  What does Cundiff do?  Well, as mentioned above, he missed 3 FG's.  One from 41, one from 57, and one from 31.  Now the one from 57 yards is not entirely on him, it is on the coaching staff, mainly Mike Shanahan.  Cundiff's career long FG was 56 yards, back in 2005.  Since then, and including this year before the Bucs game, he was 1 out of 10 tries from beyond 50, with the only made FG being from 51 yards.  He had missed one from 50+ this year already, so I have no idea why in the world would Shanahn think that Cundiff could make a 57 yard FG.  That is beyond idiotic, and if I didn't know any better, I would start to think that Shanahan had not clue what is going on.  But that is another topic all together.  Back to Cundiff and his two other misses.  The other two were on him, and reminded me of last year's game against the Patriots where he missed a last minute FG from close range, which would have given the Ravens the win.  So all those people, including the Redskins coaching staff, that didn't want Gano to be the kicker this year, are most likely regretting that fact, as he had a very strong leg.

Now onto the second bad thing about the game, and it should not come as a surprise, the Redskins Defensive unit.  For most of the game they had actually been playing well, keeping the Bucs out of the endzone, and making plays.  But towards the end of the game, their now true colors came through once again.  The Redskins were leading 21-6 at the end of the half, which is a very solid lead.  But by the end of the 4th quarter, they were behind 22-21, after giving up a number of deep passing plays to Vincent Jackson.  The they keep the Bucs to only 80 yards rushing in total, but they gave up 299 yards in the air, with Jackson finishing the day with 100 yards on 6 receptions, and Mike Williams with 115 yards on 4 receptions.  Those are not good stats.

The Redskins Offense had a very good day, which it needed to.  RG3 threw for 323 yards, completing 26 out of 35 passes.  He did not find the endzone with his arm, but he was able to do so with his legs, rushing for 43 yards and a TD.  He did have a fumble at the 1 yard line, but luckily, Pierre Garcon, who had returned to the lineup after being out two weeks, was able to jump on the ball for a TD.  Alfred Morris had another great day, rushing 21 times for 113 yards and one TD.  This against a Buccaneers Defense that had come to the game giving up only an average of 47 yards rushing per game.  It appears as though the Redskins have a solid rushing game, and an improving passing game, and are able to make plays and score TD's in the Redzone, something they have not been able to do for many years.

Next week the Atlanta Falcons come to town, and they bring with them a 4-0 record and an average of 365 total yards per game, and a league 3rd best 31 points per game.  That Offense is led my Matt Ryan, who has passed for 1162 yards, with 11 TD's and only 2 INT's.  He will be passing to Roddy White, who has 3 TD's with an average of 15.3 yards per catch, and Julio Jones, also with 3 TD's and 13.7 yards per catch.  If the Redskins secondary does not step up their game big time, they are going to have major problems covering these two big, fast and very talented receivers.

Redskins at Rams results

The Washington Redskins have gone from Superbowl champions to the worst team in the NFL in the spam of two games.....at least in the eyes of the fans.  After beating the Saints in New Orleans, the Redskins lost to the Rams in St. Louis in a very close game, by the score of 31-28.  What most fans will remember of the game, unfortunately, is the unsportsmanlike play by Josh Morgan, when he threw the ball at Cortland Finnegan after being tackled short of the first down mark.  But before getting into that, and the other negatives about the game, let me first look at the positives.

The best thing about the game for Redskins fans was RG3.  He was able to impress by with abilities once again.  He had a long bomb to Leonard Hankerson for a TD that was a thing of beauty.  RG3 threw the ball 68 yards, and it landed right in Hankerson's hands.  Hankerson did not have to slow down, or speed up, or change directions, or stretch out for the catch.  He was running at full speed, and simply opened his arms and the ball landed perfectly.  However, he did almost drop the pass, but was able to keep a hold of it and take it a few yards to the endzone.  RG3's arm strength was well known, but he showed that he is damn accurate with the long balls as well.  He also had another deep pass to Aldrick Robinson, but the 2nd year WR was not able to make the play as the ball bounced off his shoulderpads.

RG3 also showed off his rushing abilities, carrying the ball 11 times for a total of 82 yards and 2 TD's.  It appeared that he was able to run fairly easily when they had QB sneak play called.  On one of the TD's, he was able to split two would-be-tacklers very quickly and smoothly, and make it to the endzone.  The only concern is that over the length of the season, if he continues to rush as many times, his body will not be able to handle it, or that he will leave himself open for a very nasty hit.  I'm hoping that day won't come, as the Redskins need RG3 to be healthy for a very long time.

The rest of the offense played well also.  Alfred Morris had another good rushing game, going 89 yards on 16 carries, but he was not able to find the endzone.  The great thing about Morris is that whenever he is hit, he has so much momentum, that he almost always falls forward another yard or two.  And he is a rookie, so if he is also able to stay healthy, the Redskins have a fine RB leading the rushing game.

The WR core played ok, as they were able to make catches, but they were not that good at yards after the catch, mainly due to the fact that Pierre Garcon did not play in this game.  He is their number one WR, and the main person for YAC yards.  He should be back next week, and should be able to contribute once again.

The Offensive line also played well, allowing only one sack on RG3, but he was rushed a number of times.  This unit is doing a pretty good job, but the last two weeks they have not been fully tested, because both of their opponents had D-line issues.  With more time playing together, the unit can protect RG3 pretty well.

Now onto the negatives.  In regards to refs, I will just say that they have been horrendous in the entire league.  Even though they were horrible, making extremely back calls and multiple no calls, they were doing it to both sides, for the most part.  However, the real refs know about player reputations, and who to watch out for, which in this case would be Cortland Finnegan, the CB of the Rams, and the entire Rams team, because of their head coach Jeff Fisher.  Fisher, when he was with the Titans, had a team that in his tenure led the league in most personal fouls, with 163.  The 2nd highest teams were the Giants and Cardinals, with only 137.  In those 10 years, the Titans committed 67 unnecessary roughness penalties, 46 roughing the passer, 18 unsportsmanlike conducts, and 32 in other variations of personal fouls.  This team was also the same team that had the famous head stomp by Albert Haynsworth.  Cortland Finnegan was also with the Titans, before coming to the Rams.  In 2010, he was fined $5000 for throwing Giants WR to the ground by his helmet, then $10,000 for unnecessary roughness when he hit a Broncos' lineman who had lost his helmet, and then ejected from a game against the Texans and fined $25,000 for getting into a fist fight with Andre Johnson.  Finnegan is a very good CB, but he is considered one of the dirtiest players in all of sports.

Although a major negative in the game, it was nothing the Redskins could do anything about, other than to hold their composure, which they did for the most part.  What the Redskins had problems with, to start, was surprisingly the Defense.  For years now the Redskins had relied on the D to keep them in games, in hopes of being able to get lucky and score enough to win games.  It appears that this season the roles have been reversed.  The Offense is able to score points, but the D is not able to stop the other teams.  They gave up 32 points to the Saints, which can be chalked off to the fact that they are a formidable offense, and this week they gave up 31 to the Rams.  Now the Rams do have a good QB in Sam Bradford, and a very good RB in Steven Jackson, but Jackson was sidelined after the 1st quarter, and a rookie RB was killing the Redskins defense.  Sam Bradford was also able to easily find receivers open throughout the game, mainly Danny Amendola, who racked up a total of 15 catches for 160 yards and 1 TD.  It appeared that the Redskins could not cover any of the Rams' WR's, specially Amendola, until the end of the game, when they finally cut back on the zone scheme defense.  For the day, Bradford was 26 of 35 passing, for 310 yards, and 3 TD's, with only one INT.  On top of that, the Redskins gave up 151 yards on the ground.  The Rams were also about to convert 7 out of 12 3rd downs, which means the Defense was not able to get off the field and give the Offense a chance to score points.

The Redskins also gave up a blocked punt, for the 2nd time in as many games.  Although the reason for the blocked punt was given as one of the linemen releasing too early, this is not looking good for the special teams.  This on top of the fact that Brandon Banks fumbled another return.  He is not being used in the passing game, and his sole purpose is to return kicks, for which he isn't doing a great job, and he is having major problems hanging on to the ball.  If this continues, they will need to find a different solution.

Besides the Redskins defensive coaches not being able to adjust fast enough to what the Rams were doing, another major bad point in the game was the head coach, Mike Shanahan.  There were two calls make by Shanahan, which in my and many other's minds were completely wrong and dumb.  His first was at the end of the first half, when the Rams were going for a long FG.  Mike called a timeout right before the ball was snapped, a "move" that he has been credited with creating.  The idea behind this is to get into the mind of the kicker and make him miss on the second attempt.  This move has only worked a very, and I mean very small number of times, and this was not one of them.  The Rams actually missed the kick on the 1st attempt, but since Shanahan called a timeout, the kick did not count and they were able to retake it, which he nailed.  That gave the Rams 3 points which they should not have had.  The second dumb move came at the end of the game, and this one I have a major issue with.  The Redskins were pushed back to 4th and 15, because of Josh Morgan's mistake, and well out of FG range.  Their kicker, Billy Cundiff, has been in the league since 2002.  His career long successful FG kick is 56 yards, which he kicked in 2005.  That is also the last time he made a FG longer than 55 yards.  Since then, he is 1 for 10 in kicks over 50 yards, and in his career, he is only 5-20.  From those stats, anyone can see that he is NOT a long distance kicker.  If I, and many other fans, know these stats, then I sure hope that the coaches know it as well.  Which is why I am baffled at the fact that they brought him out to try a 62 yard FG!!!  Just to add to that point, the NFL record for the longest FG is 63 yards...  So that means that the coaching staff, mainly Mike Shanahan, since he makes the calls, thought that a guy who hadn't made a FG of more than 56 yards in his career, and who had missed 9 out of 10 FG of over 50 yards, would somehow be able to make a 62 yard FG, with a Offensive line that has had issues protecting FG attempts, and the game on the line.  This instead of having RG3, who was having a very good day against the Rams defense, specially when he ran the ball, trying to give the Redskins a first down.  If that is not the worst decision in the game, I am not sure what is.

I am hoping the Defense can get it together this week, as they have a pretty good Offensive team coming to town, because if they cannot, then it will be a very long day, and a very high scoring game.

Redskins at Rams

Redskins at Rams

Sunday September 16, 2012

4:05PM EST

The Washington Redskins are 1-0, and going to St. Louis to face the Rams, who are 0-1.  The Redskins and Rams have played 8 times since 2000, mainly due to the fact that they have been at the bottom of their own Divions.  Most of the games have been close between the two clubs, the Redskins having won 5 out of the 8 meetings between the two teams.  For some reason, no matter how well the Redskins are playing leading up to this game, they find a way to play very badly.  Could it be that the Rams have a great Defense?  Doubt it, or else they would not be as bad as they have been.  I think it is mainly due to the fact that the Redskins have played down to their opponents' level recently.  Regardless of the reason, this meeting could possibly result in the same thing, at least that is what most people fear.

The Rams are coming off a loss to the Detroit Lions, 27-23, with a poor showing on the Offensive side.  They were only able to get 14 first down, and racked up only 250 total yards on Offense, 77 of which were rushing.  Their stud running back, Steven Jackson, was only able to get 53 yards on 21 carries, and did not find the end-zone, in fact none of the RB's got to the end zone.  Sam Bradford did not have a great outting either, although not as bad as the RB's.  He was able to connect on 17 out of 25 passes, for 198 yards and 1 TD with 0 INT's.  He was sacked 4 times, which is mainly due to the fact that the Rams are having some injury issues on the Offensive line.  Although not much stock can be placed in only one week of Football, these stats due favor the Redskins, who had a pretty good day against a very potent Saints Offense last week.  The Defensive front 7 of the Redskins should have a good day against this offense, and should find Bradford on a couple of occasions.  They should also be able to limit Jackson's yards, since from the looks of it, the Rams are committing to the run this year, and the Redskins have been good at stopping the run.

The Rams did not do a great job on Defense, but they were able to contain Megatron, Calvin Johnson, keeping him from finding the endzone.  But he was able to grab 6 passes for 111 yards, with a 51 yard completion on one of the catches.  However, they were able to make Matthew Stafford's day a tough one, picking him off 3 times.  Stafford finished the night completing 32 of 48 passes, for 355 yards and 1 TD, along with those 3 INT's, one of which was returned for a TD by the Rams' newest CB, Cortland Finnegan.  The Rams' Defense was in bend-don't-break mode, giving up a total of 429 yards to the Offense of the Lions, with Kevin Smith rushing for 62 yards and one TD on 13 attemps.  The Rams are having some issues on the Defensive line, which was only able to get to Stafford one time for a sack.  This does not bode well for the Rams, if the Redskins are able to continue on the Offensive onslaught they started in New Orleans.  If the offensive line for the Redskins can protect RG3 as well as they did against the Saints, and if RG3 is as accurate as he was last week, then they should have a very good day against the Rams Defense.

As mentioned, this type of game is considered a trap game, a game that the Redskins have historically played as bad as their opponents.  But if we are to learn anything from week 1, this Redskins team is nothing like those of the past 15-20 years.  The Offense looks like a real Offense, with a real QB at the helm, and real WR's that can catch the ball and run with it.  The RB position looks solid, after the performance Alfred Morris had.  The Defense held their own against a powerful Saints Offense, but that has been the norm for the past number of years.  The Redskins can easily win this game, if they do not beat themselves by making stupid mistakes and if they do not underestimate the Rams, which want to make up for the loss agaisnt the Lions last week.

Redskins at Saints Result

So the game was played, and it did not go anything like most people had thought it would go.  As I had mentioned in my previous posts, it was a close game, and in fact it came down to the last play of the game with 2 seconds left on the clock, but I had no idea it would have played out like it did.  So let us get to it and go over what all happened.

As the picture at the top shows, the Redskins were able to beat the Saints, in New Orleans, by the final score of 40 to 32.  Yes, the Redskins actually scored 40 points!  The last time they did this was in 2005!  On top of that, all 40 points were scored by the Offense and special teams.  The Redskins were able to score 10 points in each of the quarters, which is insane if you are a Redskins fan.  The Offense looked amazing, and the Defense was able to make plays when it needed to the most.

Robert Griffin III finished the day with completing 19 of 26 passes, resulting in 320 yards and 2 TD's.  He did not throw a single interception, although one should have been intercepted, the CB lost the ball when he hit the ground.  He also ran the ball 10 times, both by design and scrambling, for a total of 42 yards.  Some of the run plays were by design, as mentioned, but some were the result of RG3 getting away from the Defensive rush and making a play instead of being sacked.  In fact, he was only sacked only once, and that was when he was tripped and had fallen down.  According to stats, RG3 was rushed only 8 times out 31 drop backs, which shows that the Offensive line stepped up huge and protected RG3 very well, and also that RG3 got rid of the ball very quickly, which will go a long way in keeping him healthy and injury free.

Besides the stats, watching RG3 play, it brought home the point that finally, after many years of poor QB play, the Washington Redskins have a legitimate QB, a franchise QB, now and for the foreseeable future.  Granted, it is just one game, but the future is bright, if he can stay healthy and continue to grow.

Not all was good, however.  The Offense looked crisp and efficient, it looked professional and it looked as though it knew what it wanted to do, and knew how to do it exactly.  In short, it looked very much like the Saints Offense last year.  But the Defense had trouble with said prolific Offense.  Drew Brees was only sacked twice, and was able to throw for 339 yards and 3 TD's.  Yes he did also throw 2 INT's, but one of them came as a result of a Hailmary pass attempt at the end of the game.  Although his accuracy was low, only 24 out of 52 attempts, he was still able to almost tie the game at the end.  Although the Redskins won't be facing such an air attack on a weekly basis, they will have to deal with a much better rushing attack.  The Saints stopped trying to rush the ball and went straight to the air, but other teams will not.  In fact, the Redskins' next opponent is a very good rushing team.

But not all is doom and gloom.  The Defense was able to stand up and make plays when it needed to, like the last play of the game to stop Drew Brees.  Also, with a potent Offense which takes advantage of field position and scores, the Defense does not have to be as tough and strong as it used to be in the years past.  They can take more risks, knowing that the Offense can make up for their mistakes.

Does this win change my mind on how the rest of the season will go?  Very little.  I still believe the Redskins will finish the season with an 8-8 record.  However, I now believe that those 8 loses will be close games, and the Redskins will be there till the end of the game in all the 8 loses, and the 8 wins can potentially be blowouts.  So as a Redskins fan, I am very much looking forward to the rest of the season, and am excited to see this Offense, specially RG3, grow and develop into a power to contend with.

Post draft

Well, I have to say that I am very much relieved as to the Redskins' draft choices. I was very worried that they were going to move up and grab Sanchez. They did not, and actuall were able to hit 4 out of 5 need positions in the draft. I could have done without the WR they drafted at the end, but I guess they can't go without drafting a "sexy" position. Regardless, it appears that the players they selected are rather good, and should contribute to the team. Now all they need is to grab a couple of OL from the undrafted lot, and they should be good.

Needless to say, I, along with many other Redskins fans, are looking forward to the season. Not only did the Redskins draft needed positions, but they kept the main core of the Offense intact. A second season in the same offense, with the same players, is going to do wonders for the team. Just adding a few OL should make for a very solid Offense. The D got a boost as well, at the line, which they also needed, as they were the worst team in sacks and getting to the QB. Hopefully they will do a lot better, with the two new players added to the roster.

I'm praying that the rest of the offseason will go without any major news coming from Redskins Park, other than free agent/undrafted rookie signings for the OL. I think they have made a big enough splash this offseason to keep in par with what they do around this time, so Snyder should be happy with making headlines and hopefully won't be looking to make any more. With that being said, I for one will not be shocked to see something outrageous happening in the next couple of months.

Z

Redskins Draft situation

My favorite football team is the Washington Redskins. I have been following them since 1990, and have been a full fledged fan over the rough years since their Super Bowl run. Although I have been getting a lot of flack from friends for supporting the team, as they had been pretty bad lately, I'm still rooting for them and hoping for the best year in and year out. I have not agreed with many of their choices since Dan Snyder took over, and most of his decisions have turned out to hurt the team rather than help it. Which brings me to today, and this weekend's draft.

The Redskins have the number 13 pick in the draft, and are in real need of Offensive/Defensive linemen, and LB's. There are a few good choices for those positions, even at the 13th pick, and they would probably be good additions to the team. The good thing about picking a lineman or LB is that they don't have to be impact players in their first few seasons, they can take the time to learn the system and develope their talents. Other key positions, like WR, RB, and specially QB's are expected to make an impact in their second year, if not their first, specially if they were picked in the first round. Also, the price for linemen and linebackers is far less than QB's and WR's, so it won't be a huge cost if the player turns out to be a bust. So by those standards, the Reskins picking a lineman or linebacker would be a good decision, and even if it doesn't help the team, it won't hurt it that much.

However, if the rumors are true, and in these situations they tend to be, Dan Snyder has his eyes set on the QB out of USC, Mark Sanchez, and often enough, when Dan has his eyes set on someone, he gets them, i.e. Albert Haynesworth. The main problem here is that Sanchez will not be around until the 13th pick, so in order for the Redskins to get him, they will have to make a trade to move up the draft, most likely to the 4th spot, where Seattle is at, or the 8th, and trade of Jacksonville. Neither of those two will do an outright trade, and will want something else from the Redksins. The trouble is that they don't have much to offer, as they only have a few picks. But then again, they got into this position by trading their picks this year for players, so it won't be too much of a shock for them to trade some of their picks in later years to move up.

Another issue is that, well simply put, they already have QB's, and don't need another added to the mix. They currently have Jason Cambell, Todd Collins, and Colt Brennan, with Jason being the started, and Colt being drafted last year. It does not make sense to draft another QB, when you did so last year, and thought the guy was good enough to keep. And you really don't want to replace a veteran for a rookie, because that would make Jason your veteran, and he only has a couple of years under his belt. So the only situation that makes sense is if Sanchez would be Jason's replacement. Nothing against Sanchez, and many think that he is going to be a great QB, but I for one don't want him, and I know many of the other Redskins fans don't want him either. Yes, there is a chance that he can become the next Peyton Manning or John Elway, but then there is also the chance that he can be the next Heath Shuller or Tim Couch. If you already have a good QB, there is no reason why you should pay a lot to draft another one, as the chances for him being a bust are a lot higher than him being great. Jason himself was a first rounder, and although he is good, he isn't an elite QB, at least not yet.

Let us look at their situation as it stands. This will be the second year Jason is in the same offense, which he has not been in since he came out of Colledge. He showed last year that he can be a pretty good QB, and he does have an arm. Given another year with the same system and players only will improve his talents. The problem last year was the Offensive line, due to injuries Jason was not getting good enough protection to be an effective QB. The first part of the season, when they went 6-2, he was not sacked that much, and had a lot of time to make decisions on where to place the ball. Granted, their problems in the second half of the season cannot be placed only on the lack of protection Jason was getting, but that did play a big part in it. If he had the same protection in the second half that he receive in the first, the Redskins would not have finished the year 8-8, they would have been 10-6 at the very least. Give the guy some time, and he can make some spectacular throws, both mid range and long bombs. He is not that much of a mobile QB, so he does depend on the protection more than some of the others. But that is not unusual, specially for the Redskins. In their last Suber Bowl victory, their QB, Mark Rypen, was one of the least mobile QB's ever, and they were able to protect him enough for him to make deep bomb throws to the likes of Art Monk and Gary Clarck. So the notion of having a QB that needs protection is not new to the Redskins, and yet they seem to have some trouble with it.

But let us just assume that it is all Jason's fault, and he just isn't a good QB. So they go ahead and trade up, possibly trading Jason to either Seattle or Jacksonville, and draft Sanchez. So now you have a rookie QB, who only started 16 games in Colledge, and you putting him against defenses like that of Dallas and the Eagles, who are known for going after the QB and making it very difficult for him to read their D, and you are doing so with an O-line that is getting old, and gets injured a lot. What possibly do you think will happen? Sanchez is going to get hit, and get hit hard and often, which will most likely put a huge dent in his confidence, as has happened before, even here in Washington with Patrick Ramsey. So it would not be a good idea to put him in as a rookie, unless you bolster the O-line, which does not look to be happening, if the Redskins are going to use their picks for getting Sanchez. That means then you will have to start Collins, and let Sanchez get up to speed before putting him in. Although I do like Collins, I don't think he is a starting QB, so most likely the Redskins are not going to start the year strong, which only makes it worse once you put Sanchez in and he stumbles a bit. So to prevent that situation, they can keep Jason and trade either of the other two QB's or something else, and that might work. Well, it would have, except today I read that Jason has basically told the Redskins that if they draft a QB, he is going to demand a trade. So if they do draft Sanchez, they won't be keeping Jason, even for next year, and there goes the season.

Also, along the same line, this is really the first time that you are going into a 2nd season of an offensive scheme, with the majority of the players from the previous year. You would want to keep things as close to the same as possible, and drafted and placing a new QB into the mix completely shatters the notion of continuity, which an offense needs to be productive.

So it really does not make sense for the Redskins to draft Sanchez, or any other QB, but then again, when it comes to Dan Snyder, it does not have to make sense for it to happen, even if everyone knows it is a bad move.

Simply put, if Dan wants it, it will happen, regardless of anything else.

Z