Special Teams, Poor Discipline Still Costing Washington Redskins Games

The Washington Redskins have shown plenty of promise on both offense and defense this season despite their 1-2 record. But that potential will count for naught until this team fixes familiar problems on special teams and a shameful lack of discipline.

Those two recurring frailties are still costing the Redskins games. They were decisive factors in the 34-37 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3.

The special teams debacle began on the game's second kickoff. Third-string Eagles running back Chris Polk returned the kick 102 yards for a touchdown.

That canceled out what had been a superbly crisp and efficient opening drive by the Kirk Cousins-led Washington offense, which culminated in a scoring pass to fullback Darrel Young.

Michael Perez/Associated Press

But Polk smashing the century barrier on one run was just part of a Philly return game that decimated the Redskins. He also ran a kick back 34 yards just before halftime to help position the Eagles to score a touchdown via a Nick Foles pass to brilliant rookie Jordan Matthews.

The freedom Polk was afforded returning kicks was the main reason Washington trailed 20-21 at halftime despite outgaining the Philly offense and dominating the clock.

In all, the Eagles piled up 180 yards in the return game (153 on kickoffs, 27 on punts). But that wasn't the only area in which the special teams let the Redskins down.

With the game tied at 27-27 and momentum shifting toward Washington, Kai Forbath bounced a 33-yard field-goal attempt off the upright. That miss from favorable range came after he had successfully converted attempts from 49 and 44 yards with no trouble at all.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press/Associated Press

It was a deflating moment for the team after Cousins and DeSean Jackson had connected on an 81-yard bomb to tie the score before the defense forced and recovered a Darren Sproles fumble.

The gaffe from Forbath was symptomatic of a diabolical effort from the special teams that seems to have become a way of life in Washington.

Try to think about the last time the Redskins actually fielded a capable special teams unit. If you are travelling, via the recesses of your mind, as far as back as two decades ago or more, you're probably getting warm.

However, it's fair to say that not many franchises in the NFL boast outstanding play in football's third phase. A unit boasting the three pillars of a dangerous returner, a clutch kicker and expert coverage is naturally going to be rare.

Most teams simply rely on solid play in this area. Coaches usually want a group that won't give away a game.

Sadly, that particular failing seems to be the exclusive habit of the Washington special teams. The collapse in Philadelphia was nothing new.

After all, this same group made a mess of a punt the Houston Texans blocked and returned for six in Week 1's 6-17 defeat. All that did was continue a theme that dominated last season's 3-13 campaign. It's a theme based on blocked kicks, feeble coverage and inconsistent kicking.

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But what stings most about this season's gaffes, aside from the fact that they're taking games away from the Redskins, is that they're being made by a unit that was supposed to be fixed after several positive offseason moves.

Head coach Jay Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen made a restoration project on special teams a focal point of their attempts to overhaul 2013's roster. Their efforts included hiring new coordinator Ben Kotwica, a coach plucked from the New York Jets, a team usually strong on special teams.

It is also difficult to remember an offseason in which so many new faces were added specifically for their expertise in football's third phase. Linebackers Adam Hayward, Darryl Sharpton and Akeem Jordan were signed during free agency based largely on their reputations in kick coverage.

Wide receiver Andre Roberts came over from the Arizona Cardinals with a solid history returning kicks. He's been given those chores in Washington, although his decision-making has been poor.

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On the opening kickoff in Philadelphia, Roberts came out from too deep in the end zone. He didn't even make the 20-yard line, where the team would've begun if he'd have wisely taken the touchback. Roberts spent the rest of the game fair-catching punts.

Away from free agency, even draft picks were targeted with one eye on what they might add to the special teams. Fourth-round pick cornerback Bashaud Breeland was expected to help out.

Meanwhile, a pair of seventh-round picks were used on tight end Ted Bolser and kicker Zach Hocker, purely with the goal of bolstering the special teams. It was perhaps an ominous sign of things to come when neither player made the final roster.

What's clear is that the refresh in both personnel and coaching has done nothing to improve this team's biggest weakness. Jason Reid of The Washington Post summed up the feeling:

Things have gotten so bad that it's frankly scary to contemplate what might come next. Reid's fellow Post writer Dan Steinberg has offered a few frightening possibilities:

"

Oh weird, a kickoff returned for a touchdown at a crucial moment. It’s actually not weird, you see, because Washington has regularly displayed stinking refuse fires on special teams about every other week for the past decade or so. There are so few disaster plays that Washington hasn’t explored on special teams. They really need an onside kick recovered but then fumbled and returned for a touchdown. Or maybe a fake punt intercepted and returned for a touchdown on a play with three laterals and an impromptu line dance at the 50-yard line. Something new.

"

What's really scary is that, given how badly this unit is playing, Steinberg's musings sound only half-sarcastic and not at all outside the realm of possibility.

Kotwica will likely feel he needs time to mesh his schemes and new personnel. The problem is that's just what previous coordinator Keith Burns, who now doesn't look so out of his depth, was saying last season.

Kotwica has to find a way to fix things, and he has to do it fast. Gruden must put pressure on his coaches to get results in this area.

While he's at it, the first-year head coach will want to improve the discipline of a crew not so much motley as downright degenerate. Washington is giving away penalties as though they come free in cereal boxes.

The Redskins were flagged 10 times in Philadelphia for a total of 131 yards. Add that to the seven for 71 yards incurred in Houston.

Now, any fan watching the NFL this season knows the officials probably wouldn't be able to look themselves in the mirror if they didn't throw at least a dozen flags a game.

However, that can't excuse Washington's chronic lack of professionalism. It spills over from procedure violations and technique fouls to outright irresponsible rage.

The latter erupted in Philadelphia when nose tackle Chris Baker inadvertently sparked a mass fight after obliterating quarterback Nick Foles on a supposed interception return:

The heavily populated fracas resulted in Baker being ejected from the game. Considering he was subbing for injured nose tackle Barry Cofield, Baker's exit further depleted a wafer-thin rotation.

For his part, Baker attempted to defend, not entirely without merit, his medieval hit on Foles, per Liz Clarke of The Washington Post.

"I was doing what I was taught, and that’s to go get a block," he said. "I did not look to see if it was the quarterback. All I saw was someone going towards the ball, and I got my head in front and lowered my shoulder, which is a legal football move."

Ultimately though, which side of that argument you land on is irrelevant. The cold reality is that the Redskins are drawing too many penalties.

At least Gruden appears to be aware of the problem, per ESPN 980:

Gruden's sentiment is the right one, but it belongs firmly in the better-late-than-never category. It's nice somebody's finally noticed how much poor discipline is costing this team.

Eliminating penalties and being solid on special teams are important qualities any rebuilding team needs for a quick turnaround. They help a squad that isn't as talented or coherent schematically as the league's main contenders not beat itself and give games away.

Right now, though, that's just what Washington is doing. How else could a team post 511 yards of offense and lose?

With the New York Giants next up this Thursday, Gruden and his staff haven't got much time to cure these fatal flaws. But as long as this team keeps acting like a losing one, that's just how it will stay.

All statistics via NFL.com.