The Redskins are 2-2, but It's Still Too Early to Consider Them Playoff Material

The Buccaneers came into Washington DC on Sunday, looking for their first win of the 2009 NFL season. And they damn near got it.

Tampa Bay dominated the first half en route to a 10-0 lead while the Redskins offense sat back and waited for the boo birds to come out. By halftime they were in full swing.

The ‘Skins managed to silence the boos with 16 points in the third quarter, and held on to win 16-13. However, it was anything but sweet.

The Redskins performance was uneven once again. And considering they were playing another terrible football team, it’s beginning to look like the offense might never take off.

The running game averaged under four yards a carry again (3.6) while the average yards per play wasn’t much better (4.6). Turnovers also caused problems in the first half as Jason Campbell fumbled once to go along with a pair of INTs. He threw another in the second half as well.

Turnovers aren’t one of the usual issues as the ‘Skins take a very conservative approach in the passing game, but so far this season the Redskins have turned the ball over seven times (two fumbles and five INTs). For a team that struggles with scoring, the ‘Skins can’t afford many games like yesterday’s.

Some good news was the emergence of the defense. After sleepwalking through the first three weeks, they came to play albeit against an anemic Buccaneers offense.

The defense got off the field consistently on third downs. The Bucs converted on just 2-13 third down attempts and managed just 12 first downs.

No-namer Josh Johnson was kept in check as he threw for just 106 yards on the day. Giving up 106 yards through the air sounds good, but when you’re giving up 106 yards passing to Josh Johnson, it’s tough to tell if it means much.

The run defense again was lacking. The Bucs amassed 129 yards rushing with a 4.2 yard average. That needs to stop.

What puzzles me is that the Redskins have returned most of their defensive line along with the Albert Haynesworth upgrade and yet this is the worst they have been against the run in the past decade save for 2006. How does that work?

Further adding to the pitfalls of signing high priced free agents was the play of draft picks Jeremy Jarmon and Brian Orakpo. The two rookies made key plays yesterday. Jarmon forced a fumble on the Bucs final drive to seal the game while Orakpo notched a sack in his second straight game.

When will the front office learn that building through the draft is the correct method in building a winning franchise? You get players right out of college and are able to teach them how to play in the NFL. They don’t come with any preconceived notions. They learn how to play Redskins Football before they go anywhere else. Jarmon and Orakpo are both a testament to the importance of the draft.

Another key player was Reed Doughty who came in for Chris Horton at starting strong safety. I was surprised by the move, but I believe it was largely due to his gaffe in coverage last week against the Lions. Doughty is stronger against the pass and Horton is still valuable as a reserve. Expect to see both rotate in on defense.

Elsewhere, Santana Moss made his annual big play. Now it’s time for him to hibernate for the next month or so. He was the only WR to catch a pass yesterday. His 6-5 counterpart, Malcolm Kelly, has just six catches for 65 yards on the season.

Kelly has such size, but it all goes to waste due to his inability to get any separation from defensive backs. He doesn’t seem to realize his potential with all that size. The guy could be a redzone nightmare if he put his mind to it and discovered his tools.

Chris Cooley remains the only consistent threat on offense this year. With Portis struggling to kick it in gear, Cooley is the go-to-guy for Campbell. Jim Zorn needs remember to utilize Cooley in the redzone where Cooley has been finding the seam thus far.

Zorn desperately wants to see improvement and you can tell he is trying to shake things up, but his fear of turnovers really limits how aggressive he can be. Sure, the ‘Skins won, but the offense only showed up for a quarter of play. That won’t win you games against most teams. Especially with a suddenly porous defense.

The schedule has a few more freebies coming up, but once the ‘Skins plunge into the thick of November, tune-up time is over. It’s now or never for this team that has so far been one, big bust.