Eagles vs. Redskins: What Experts Are Saying About Washington
At this point in the season, sporting a 3-11 record and preparing to face the playoff hopeful Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Redskins are a bit of an afterthought in regard to the rest of the NFL. They have the draft and next season to look forward to.
The only hope this week is that Redskins vs. Eagles is as exciting as the 37-34 meeting earlier this week that favored Philly.
With the Eagles coming off a loss to the Dallas Cowboys, they're going to be itching to take their frustration out on someone. That someone happens to be the Redskins this week, as they limp away from their sixth straight loss.
Here's what experts are saying about the Redskins heading into this week's matchup.
Todd McShay Has the Redskins Making a Terrible Pick in the Draft
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The Redskins should be looking toward the future. They have a lot of problems to deal with, and talent is a substantial part of it.
ESPN.com's Todd McShay, draft specialist that he is, has the 'Skins taking a pass-rusher with the fifth pick in the draft, according to John Keim: "The Redskins need a lot of help on defense, and in particular could use a legit pass-rusher with Brian Orakpo unable to stay healthy and Trent Murphy currently starting opposite Ryan Kerrigan."
McShay couldn't be further off-base with his initial analysis. While the Redskins do need a lot of help on defense, their biggest hole isn't at linebacker, inside or out.
All season long, it has been the secondary that has been beaten repeatedly. Ryan Clark is several steps too slow to start at free safety. Brandon Meriweather is a coverage and tackling liability. David Amerson has regressed in his first full season as a starter.
However horrible the defense is, though, McShay ignores the need for at least three new starters on the offensive line.
The 2015 draft boasts prospects like Iowa's Brandon Scherff and Notre Dame's Ronnie Stanley. Why would the Redskins waste a pick on what is a luxury position given the talent they have in Murphy and Kerrigan?
Why would they ignore the opportunity to either instantly improve their safety situation or take a huge step in revamping their horrendous offensive line?
Fox Sports Emphasizes Washington's Porous Offensive Line as a Key to the Game
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The Associated Press offered up (via Fox Sports) its preview of this week's action and made note of a key concern facing Robert Griffin III and the Redskins offense. "Washington's leaky offensive line has given up the league's second-most sacks with 53. That certainly doesn't bode well heading into a matchup with the Eagles, who rank second with 47 behind Connor Barwin's 14.5."
Redskins quarterbacks have endured 26 of those 53 sacks since the bye week, which is an average of 5.2 sacks per game.
Kirk Cousins made it through the first game without taking a single sack, but everything has changed for the Redskins since then, and very little has been for the better.
Griffin gets the start this week after he took seven sacks last week, and the Eagles defense has to be salivating at the opportunity to crush him and anyone else who touches the ball. Philly has 15 sacks in its last five games, but it could go on a tear against Washington this week.
Expect pressure early and often, and expect it to have Griffin on the run quite a bit if Jay Gruden and Sean McVay don't provide extra protection or balance the play-calling to keep the quarterback from dropping back 30-plus times.
Michael Phillips Explores Washington's Need for Intensity on Defense
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There was a commercial back in the day for NFL Fever 2003, where Peyton Manning famously spoke, "Your defense is offensive" as a means of trash-talking his opponents online.
Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch discussed the effort the Redskins are making to change their terrible defensive ways against the visiting Eagles: "Haslett’s challenge is to bring his other players up to the level of Breeland and Kerrigan for the final weeks."
Phillips highlighted the two brightest spots on the Redskins defense this season: rookie cornerback Bashaud Breeland and outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.
Breeland came out of nowhere to fill in for the injured DeAngelo Hall and has, at times, looked spectacular as a shutdown corner. Kerrigan has 12.5 sacks on the season, and his relentlessness has paid off on the stat sheet.
Problem is, Breeland and Kerrigan are just two guys on the defense. The other nine players on the field at any given time, with some notable exceptions, are not getting it done.
The front line has been inconsistent. The secondary has been terrible, and coordinator Jim Haslett has failed to put his players in position to be successful.
The Redskins may have the 10th-best defense in the NFL based on yards, but they're giving up the sixth-most points (26.4).
Five receivers—T.Y. Hilton, Jeremy Maclin, Mike Evans, Anquan Boldin and Odell Beckham Jr.—have combined to catch 41 passes for 705 yards and eight touchdowns against the Redskins this season.
Maclin comes to town this week; he had eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting.
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John Keim Breaks Down RGIII's Latest Opportunity to Be the Starting Quarterback
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The worldwide leader in Redskins news, ESPN.com's John Keim, broke down Washington's position against the Eagles with their own beat writer, Phil Sheridan.
He elucidated Griffin's return to the starting role and how he has improved from earlier appearances this season.
"Griffin seems to be in a better place mentally these days. He looked more relaxed during practice last week, more himself. I don't care what his issues are—it has to be difficult maintaining your own confidence if you keep hearing the head coach has no confidence in your game.
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How can you really sum up or predict RGIII's performance this season? He looked off at times early this season, especially against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he then looked much sharper last week against the New York Giants.
Take his roller-coaster season, add in his injury and the constant questioning from the media, the coach and perhaps his teammates, and it is a wonder that he hasn't gone insane, much less managed to play football.
Griffin didn't look spectacular against the Giants, but he looked better than he has at any point this season. He started 6-of-6 for 75 yards and a touchdown and showed some fire on the rushing touchdown that ended up being overturned to close out the first half.
Philadelphia's defense will look to halt any and all momentum Griffin may have coming out of his successful start. Connor Barwin has 14.5 sacks this season already, and the offensive line of the Redskins is likely to give him a couple more.
Griffin's day will depend heavily on the level of protection he gets from his line.
Mike Mayock Takes Aim at the Redskins' Quarterback Situation
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Another draftnik, NFL Network's Mike Mayock, discussed Washington's quarterback situation and did not have too many kind words for any of the three currently on the Redskins roster, particularly Robert Griffin III.
Mayock, per The Washington Post's Scott Allen: "The big picture is that he’s got arm strength, he’s got athletic ability, he’s a smart guy. But his pocket awareness is poor, and until he learns to throw from within the pocket, I don’t think he’s a starting NFL quarterback.”
It is difficult to argue with the logic Mayock uses because Griffin's biggest difficulties have been reading a defense and establishing a presence in the pocket.
What Mayock ignores is one of the biggest issues the Redskins have to deal with: the offensive line.
With four out of five starters showing a complete inability to perform in their roles—pass blocking in particular—how can Griffin hope to develop a pocket presence?
Without a pocket there's no way Griffin can make the subtle moves, step up or slide away from pressure. The pressure is all around him, and he has the athleticism to get away from it.
In seven games, he has endured 28 sacks. When you consider that he didn't play the lion's share of two of those games, it means he's taken most of the 28 sacks in five games.
I'm not saying Griffin is without blame, but the offensive line has been overlooked as the primary culprit for all of Washington's quarterback woes. The offensive line isn't the sexy position, though. The high-profile quarterback position draws all the attention—and thus the brunt of the blame in the media.
Jason La Canfora Highlights Washington's Plummeting Rushing Attack
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Once again, we get CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora's take on this week's game, though the Redskins haven't seen their games rise above the rank slider in recent memory: "Not enough being made of Washington's running game dropping to 20th in the NFL. Sure, some of it has to do with trailing so many games so quickly, but a lack of fight and intent seems to have plenty to do with it as well."
La Canfora brought to light an issue that has been largely ignored with all of the defensive woes and quarterback changes.
The offensive line has failed to open holes for Alfred Morris, which has led to a drop in his yardage, which has led to a decline in run plays called, which has made the Redskins one-dimensional and so on and so forth.
What better evidence is there than last week's numbers for Morris?
Morris got nine carries in the first half, one of which was nullified by a penalty that netted the offense five yards and a first down. So he had eight official carries for 48 yards in the first half.
He had just five carries for one yard in the second half. It is appalling to think that Jay Gruden and Sean McVay would call the game this way, regardless of the scoreboard.
There is a difference between trying to keep pace with the opponent and abandoning the run, which is what happened against the Giants.
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