London Fletcher, DeAngelo Hall: People You Can't Blame for Washington Woes

There are a lot of people you can blame for the sorry display that is Washington pro football. You can easily start with Daniel Snyder, which is the popular starting position for most critics. Then you work your way down to the inexperience of Jim Zorn, and then to players like Albert “Get Down or Lay Down” Haynesworth, Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, and the entire offensive line.

But there are two players that you can’t blame for this debacle, and not surprisingly, they can be found on defense.

London Fletcher—Leads the NFL in tackles (59), is consistently in position to make the right plays on the interior.

DeAngelo Hall—Whether you like what he says or how he tackles, he’s tied for second in the league with three interceptions; all of Washington’s INTs on the season, by the way. And has anyone else noticed that when he gets a pick, it usually shifts the momentum in the game to Washington’s favor on offense?

Fletcher and Hall are the two biggest reasons why the Washington defense is ranked fifth in the NFL. You can break down plenty of other deficiencies, and chide the kind of opponents they’ve played over the last five weeks, but Washington doesn’t allow many points and gives the offense a chance on a regular basis.

Problem is, they haven’t figured out the Ravens’ formula of 10 years ago to stack up on field goal conversions to stay in games.