The Washington Redskins First Quarter Review

(Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

We have made it through the first quarter of the NFL regular season, and there's quite a bit to analyze when it comes to the Washington Redskins. Little of what we've seen has been positive, much has been disappointing.

Some of the stats are misleading. The 'Skins are fourth against the pass, but they haven't been nearly that good. And they have yet to play a good QB after Eli Manning dissected them in Week One.

The offense is ranked 15th in total offense, with 325.2 yards per game, and yet when it comes to scoring points they rank 27th, with just 14 points per game.

The defense only gives up 16.8 first downs per game (only eight teams are better). However, they have surrendered first downs on 43 percent of all third down conversions (eighth worst in the NFL).

The 'Skins are also losing the time of possession battle. They allow opposing offenses to control the ball for an average of about 32 minutes per game.

The time of possession battle is a big one for the Redskins. Their offense needs the ball a ton in order to generate scoring. Without establishing a rhythm, most offenses sputter. This one is non-existent.

Two things kill momentum and rhythm more than anything else. Turnovers, and not possessing the ball. The 'Skins have struggled in both areas. They have turned the ball over seven times through four games, and Jason Campbell has fumbled the ball a total of seven times (two lost).

So to improve their fortunes, the 'Skins have to make the following adjustments:

1. Get The Defense Off The Field

The defense isn't playing up to par. They aren't aggressive enough, and they don't play with much swagger. They show a lack of discipline in zone coverage, and haven't controlled the line of scrimmage consistently.

Look no further than their 22nd ranked run defense. They have given up 512 yards at 4.3 yards per clip, well above last year's average YPC. For those of you keeping score at home that's 128 rushing yards per game.

That kind of run defense isn't going to allow you to control the football. The front seven has some work to do.

2. Protect The Ball And QB

Jason Campbell is in a shaky state right now. The coaching staff has little confidence in him, and every mistake just makes the playcalling that much more conservative.

Campbell hasn't been great with the ball in his hand this season. His seven fumbles are an NFL high, and in 2007 he had the same problem (eight fumbles lost).

Even if the 'Skins can recover the fumbles, the play is still wasted, and yards are still lost. That's unacceptable, considering the offense has enough moving the chains from ten yards away.

Part of that is due the offensive line. The line is beat up, and several players are new to the starting lineup. This leads to some issues in protection as the line has given up eight sacks on Campbell.

Still, the line isn't as bad as last year, and I see this line as a group of overachievers thus far. So the emphasis is really on Campbell to protect the ball.

If the 'Skins continue to turn the ball over, you can say goodbye to any shot at winning the time of possession battle, let alone getting into a rhythm. Things are just too uneven, and that leaves little margin for error.

3. Create Sacks And Turnovers

Coming into the year, many thought our offense was bad, but no one criticized the defense. Little did we know the 'Skins defense wasn't going to live up the hype.

Fortunately, defensive coordinator Greg Blache has 12 more games to pull it together. He has a lot of work to do.

For starters, the defense is ranked 12th (and that's only due to the inflated pass defense ranking). That might seem ok, but the defense made upgrades after finishing fourth last year. So it isn't so good.

Now I'd settle for a Top-15 defense if it meant we were flying around, creating turnovers, and generating a consistent pass rush. We aren't.

This little stat says it all. Just 7.38 percent of opposing team's pass plays end in a sack or INT. That's 20th best in the league. That's not what Dan Snyder was hoping for when he inked Deangelo Hall and Albert Haynesworth.

So that's what the 'Skins need to improve. Trust me there's more (like scoring in the red zone, establishing the run, fixing up playcalling, and scoring in general), but we've been over it quite a bit.

What about the positives you ask? Well there's a young nucleus forming on defense.

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