Prepare for the Annual Nose Dive: Reality Has Set in

Yes, it's that time again. 

It's that time of the year when the leaves change, the days get shorter and the temperature begins to drop.  It's also the time of the year when the Redskins' season begins its annual decline into irrelevance. 

It appears that Mike Shannahan has milked all that he can out of this collection of players.  Reality has set in, and the warts have all come to the surface.  It's going to be another long, painful late fall/early winter for Redskin fans—another year of watching NFC East rivals jockey for playoff position.

There are still some positives, though.

I still like the overall direction of the franchise.  Building mostly through the draft is clearly the right way to go.  Also, I still believe that the defense is pretty good (last two weeks notwithstanding), and it is clearly better than last year.  The problem with the defensive is this: They're being asked (once again) to carry this team, and they simply aren't good enough to do so.

In the NFL of 2011, there's really only one team whose defense can carry a team week in and week out.  That team resides in Baltimore. 

Defenses need to be able to play downhill, and the Redskins' offense rarely gives them that opportunity.  Criticism of the run defense is fair.  It's been porous over the last two weeks, but those who point to the lack of turnovers generated need to remember that turnovers usually come when your offense has given you a lead.  Teams have to take more chances when they're playing from behind.

The main issue with the Washington Redskins is that (with the exception of Cleveland and Seattle) they have the least talented offensive roster in football.  I'm not going to criticize the team of Allen and Shannahan for the state of the quarterback position as many have.  Rex Grossman and John Beck are just stop-gap guys during a rebuilding process.  Take it for what it is.  I will, however, criticize them for not doing more to upgrade the offensive line.  The offensive line is made up, mostly, of guys nobody else wanted.

For what seems like the 20th year in a row, the Redskins have no offensive identity.  They're not good enough with their skill position players to be a dominant passing team.  When this is the case, teams need to be good enough along the offensive line to be able to run the ball consistently and control the clock.  This offensive line is simply not good enough. 

This is fundamental negligence. They should already have had a good O-line in place to put in front of that young franchise quarterback that they're going to draft and so desperately need.  Having to upgrade the offensive line again means that the new young quarterback will be a couple of steps slower in his development.

So, my advice is this, Redskin fans: Hang in there.  Better times are ahead, but they are coming at a glacial pace.