Washington Redskins 2009 Preview

They say football is a game of inches, and that cliche really rang true for the Washington Redskins in 2008.

While it's hard to blame their entire season on a single event, it's hard not to wonder what the season would have been like had the Redskins not taken a game off midway through the season.

Under the direction of new coach Jim Zorn, the Redskins were flying high to start the season. Sure they had lost a tough NFC East opening night game against the then defending World Champion Giants, but following that loss the Skins went on a 4-game winning streak, highlighted by back to back come from behind victories against hated rivals Dallas and Philadelphia, leaving Washington at a 4-1 record and having all the looks of a surprise team.

Then a contest against a downright awful St. Louis team at home, loomed on the horizon. The Rams had just fired their coach Scott Linehan and through the first five games of the season looked miserable.

Entering the contest against 4-1 Washington, the Rams had lost their first four games by an average score of 37-10. They looked like they had already quit on the season. And no one would have guessed that the Rams could walk into FedEx Field and come out without another blowout defeat, much less winning straight up.

But they did just that. And the rest of the season would unfold, almost as though it were drawn up that way, in that one fateful loss on a nice October afternoon would prevent them from possibly clinching the sixth and final playoff spot over their division rivals Philadelphia.

Entering the bye week the Redskins were 6-3 on the season. They would go on to lose five of their last seven contests, in large part because of injuries that began to plague star running back Clinton Portis.

Portis was the catalyst of the new Jim Zorn attack, rushing for over 100 yards in five consecutive games before the Pittsburgh Steelers would leave him battered and bruised and never quite the same player the rest of the way.

Following the loss to Pittsburgh, Portis would only eclipse 100 yards one more time the rest of the season, and the rest of the offense would quickly unravel with the Redskins playoff chances.

In 2008, the Redskins defense played outstanding and kept its sluggish offense in many games down the stretch. As a unit the Skins only allowed 18 points a game and had the 4th best total defense in the league.

Their offense on the other hand, while ranking 8th overall rushing the ball, could not put the ball in the end zone. They would only score 16 points a contest, good for 28th in all of football.

The discrepancy in their offense and defense, and a terrible loss to St. Louis would be the ultimate deathblow to the Redskins and their 2008 season.

DT Albert Haynesworth (Tennessee)
P Hunter Smith (Indianapolis)
G Derrick Dockery (Buffalo)
RB Anthony Alridge (Denver)
WR Roydell Williams (Tennessee)
LB Robert Thomas (Oakland)
G Jeremy Bridges (Carolina)
RB Marcus Mason (New York Jets)
T Mike Williams (N/A)

None

DE Jason Taylor (Miami)
CB Shawn Springs (New England)
DE Demetric Evans (San Francisco)
DT Ryan Boschetti (Oakland)
T Jon Jansen (Detroit)
P Ryan Plackemeier (Cincinnati)
P Dirk Johnson (Pittsburgh)

1-13. Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
3-80. Kevin Barnes, CB, Maryland
5-158. Cody Glenn, OLB, Nebraska
6-186. Robert Henson, OLB, TCU
7-221. Eddie Williams, TE, Idaho
7-243. Marko Mitchell, WR, Nevada

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