Redskins vs. Giants: What Experts Are Saying About Washington
With nothing to lose and next to nothing to gain, it is hard to see the Washington Redskins making things interesting against the 4-9 New York Giants. Neither team is showing signs of success, which makes all of the media buzz leading up to the game distinctly negative.
Experts are overlooking the game itself and focusing on the circus that is the Redskins franchise.
What can be said about the Redskins that hasn't already been said? They have no idea what they're doing with the quarterbacks, no clue how to improve their defense and have shown no signs of improving their increasingly terrible offensive line.
While it is difficult to say this game isn't important, since it matters in some regard, there is very little that can make the Giants vs. Redskins an exhilarating matchup.
Here's what experts are saying about Washington this week.
Giants Have Young Talent to Buoy Their Confidence Against the Redskins
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In his weekly back-and-forth with the opposing team's beat writer, ESPN's John Keim gets Dan Graziano's opinions on the state of the Giants going into the game against the Redskins by asking, "Why has Odell Beckham Jr. turned it on so much lately? He's also not the only Giants' rookie doing well lately. What do you think of this class overall?"
Beckham, even without the impressive one-handed grab that took the Internet by storm a few weeks ago, has been great for the Giants. His presence has made the absence of Victor Cruz bearable, though it hasn't done anything to make Eli Manning any more consistent.
Graziano lists fellow rookies Devon Kennard, Andre Williams and Weston Richburg have all had an impact on the Giants this season.
Kennard has four sacks on the season at linebacker, Williams broke out for 131 yards and a touchdown last week, and Richburg has started all but one game at center.
What does it mean for the Redskins? It means they're well behind their division rivals when it comes to developing talent.
For this game, Kennard and Williams present the biggest issues. Kennard will find plenty of room to get to the quarterback against the thin and generally horrendous offensive line. Williams will find plenty of room to run on Washington's roller coaster of a defensive front.
Jason La Canfora Sees No Reason to Care About This Game
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The Redskins haven't played in a marquee game since their upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys six weeks ago. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora bluntly states that nothing about their game against the New York Giants make it worth watching.
"This game stinks. I can't really tell you otherwise. Neither team is going anywhere and there isn't any reason why you couldn't find any number of more palatable options on your television."
It really speaks to the state of the franchise when even a division rivalry can't stir up a smattering of interest. The Redskins are 3-10, having lost five in a row, going on the road to face the Giants, who pummeled them 45-14 in Week 4.
Nothing is going right for the Redskins, and the Giants aren't much better.
New York is only slightly better at 4-9, having lost seven of their past eight games, including an upset at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Neither team has anything to gain other than personal pride, and even that may be minimal given that they're both well out of playoff contention and may be on the verge of coaching changes.
Yes, even Jay Gruden, who is in just his first year with the Redskins, could be on the hot seat.
Dan Steinberg Discusses London Fletcher's Scathing Remarks About Jim Haslett
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London Fletcher may be one of the best linebackers in NFL history, but he dropped the class act when he appeared on CBS Sports Network's That Other Pregame Show. Dan Steinberg reports on the harsh criticism Fletcher had for his former defensive coach.
"He’s clueless as a defensive coordinator. He lacks attention to detail. He lacks feel on how to call a game. Some of the calls he used to call when I was playing were head-scratching."
There is no question that Jim Haslett has done a poor job with the Redskins defense. Regardless of injuries in the secondary, or a lack of competent safeties, he has done nothing to warrant keeping his job.
The bigger story here is Fletcher ripping into Haslett, going on to say he would change Haslett's calls because they were dumb or that Haslett has done nothing but make excuses for his unit's failures.
Fletcher may be a legend in the sport, and he made his mark during his stretch with the Redskins, but this public airing of dirty laundry is uncharacteristic.
Whether or not all of Fletcher's comments are accurate remains to be seen, but Haslett has not earned job security for next season. Washington's defense has been inconsistent because his play-calling and game-planning have been inconsistent.
It ultimately falls to the players on the field to execute everything, but there is very little they can do if Haslett isn't putting them in position to be successful.
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Tom Pedulla Tackles the Ongoing Quarterback Carousel
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Colt McCoy, Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins. It seems that, at any given moment, one of them could be named the starter. It doesn't seem to matter what the rest of the team is doing, what kind of momentum anyone has. Tom Pedulla of The New York Times wraps it all up in a tiny little package.
"When Gruden was asked if next season’s quarterback was in the locker room, he replied, 'That is still to be determined, there is no question.' With only three games left in another lost season, he almost surely has his answer."
For lack of a better word, Gruden is clueless about his current position as it relates to his quarterbacks.
The Redskins have an atrocious offensive line, which has had a negative effect on the play of their quarterbacks. McCoy and Cousins produced better under pressure, but it doesn't matter who is throwing the ball when the line is allowing 46 sacks with three games left to play.
McCoy suffered a neck injury near the end of the loss to the St. Louis Rams and is slated to be the starter pending medical clearance, according to ESPN.
At this point, McCoy can't even be considered the best option to start because he hasn't produced under pressure in recent weeks.
He had three touchdowns against Indianapolis while enduring six sacks, but he came back the next week with zero touchdowns and a pair of interceptions while taking six more sacks from the Rams defense.
To spare his health while also preventing the RGIII drama, it almost makes the most sense to start Cousins. He has become the forgotten man in the ongoing quarterback debacle.
Colt McCoy to Start Because He's Better Than Cousins and Griffin
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The quarterback carousel appears to have settled on Colt McCoy for the foreseeable future, even after he was knocked out of last week's game with a neck injury. While the move isn't particularly surprising, NFL.com's Dan Hanzus highlights Jay Gruden's interesting comments on the quarterback situation.
"Gruden added that Redskins coaches feel McCoy 'is in the lead' over Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins in terms of development this season."
For some reason, it feels an awful lot like favoritism for Gruden to put McCoy's development ahead of either Griffin or Cousins.
All three are new to Gruden's offense, but no one was expecting anything from McCoy. It was a shock to see him suiting up at all, let alone getting substantial playing time and three consecutive starts to boot.
Not that Griffin or Cousins have earned the right to start, but if anyone needs the extra game experience, it is those two. The Redskins banked their entire future on Griffin and now he's relegated to backup duties?
Sure, he may have played poorly and earned his benching, but there is nothing to be gained from exposing McCoy to further injury and nothing to be lost by letting Griffin go sink or swim for the rest of the season.
John Keim Reports on the Drama Between Bashaud Breeland and Andre Roberts
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Quarterback controversies, former players ripping current coaches and everything else aside, at least Andre Roberts and Bashaud Breeland have some fight left in them. ESPN's Redskins beat reporter John Keim provides some insight on the scuffle at Washington's practice facility.
"Washington Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland and receiver Andre Roberts exchanged punches during the individual portion of practice, adding yet another layer of drama to the team's season."
One simple word says it all: drama. The Redskins have created more than their fair share of it this season, and it doesn't seem to be ending any time soon.
On the one hand, it is good to see two guys scrapping at practice. It shows they care enough to get frustrated, whereas they could have simply phoned in their practice as well as the rest of the season.
On the other hand, where was this fire before the downward spiral? Roberts has been an afterthought on offense for most of this season, so his frustration should have boiled over well before his contact with Breeland.
Fights are going to happen regardless of the wins and losses, but something about this feels almost disheartening because it comes at a point in the season when it really doesn't matter. At any other point earlier this season, the fight could have been parlayed into a show of leadership.
Now, it just comes off as petty and selfish. Story of the decade for the Redskins.
Darrel Young Makes an Impact off of the Playing Field
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On the lighter and brighter side of news for the Redskins, fullback Darrel Young was named the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year. The Washington Post's Mike Jones spoke with Young about receiving the honor.
"But it’s a real honor, though. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have guys come back and speak to the community that I grew up in. So it’s fun to go out there on Tuesdays and be around guys like Alfred Morris, then I have a story to tell."
No matter what happens on the field, it is great to see players making an impact off of it.
A guy like Young, or any of the other players on the team, could have checked out weeks ago, but they still go out and connect with the community in spite of the negative buzz generated by the poor product on the field.
"I know football right now isn’t going the way I want it to go, record-wise, but I’m impacting lives.”
Having been selected by the Redskins puts him in consideration for the league-wide award given out in January.
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