Washington Redskins: Why Kyle Shanahan Is to Blame for Disaster Season

Much of the blame for the Redskins disaster season has been leveled at offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and a good portion of it can be justified.

It has been a swift fall from grace for a promising young assistant, once lauded around the league for his efforts in designing and guiding an explosive Houston Texans offense. His play calling and sideline manner have come under particularly close scrutiny.

The biggest bone of contention regarding Kyle Shanahan is the lack of balance in his play calling. Washington's pass-run ratio has been frighteningly one-sided at times during the 2011 season.

Even though the Redskins entered the campaign with a plethora of options at running back and a questionable quarterback situation, Kyle Shanahan has frequently skewed his plan, calling heavily in favour of the pass.

This has meant a greater frequency of Rex Grossman and John Beck throws, and that has led to an increased number of turnovers.

It almost defies belief that without a reliable presence under center and with capable weapons in the backfield, Shanahan has not simply adapted his play-calling to fit a scheme which relies on the ground game.

The issue becomes even more frustrating given the problems in pass protection experienced by the Redskins offensive line.

Washington's front five has struggled mightily to keep the team's quarterbacks clean, hardly the kind of foundation upon which to build a heavy passing attack.

For all of their problems repelling pressure, the Redskins line has actually done a respectable job at times, blocking for the run.The left side of the line in particular, has shown promise in this area.

When this potential is combined with the play of explosive rookie Roy Helu, then the lowly ranking of Washington's rush offense can only be attributed to Shanahan's baffling refusal to emphasize such an obvious strength.

The young coordinator has also displayed an infuriating tendency to move away too quickly from what is working.

In the running game, this usually means gradually reducing the number of carries quarter by quarter. Backs are hardly given the opportunity to establish true rhythm.

But the problem also overlaps into the passing game. Too often, talented playmakers like tight end Fred Davis have simply not seen enough passes come their way.

This is odd given the fact that designing plays to maximize the potential of a tight end in the offense, is perhaps Shanahan's biggest strength.

By frequently taking his offense out of its comfort zone, Shanahan has increased the potential for crucial mistakes.

While this author certainly believes that the defense is not above criticism for the Redskins' failures this season, the lion's share of the guilt belongs to the offense and its youthful coordinator.

Two games in particular highlight the unit's follies. Road trips to the Carolina Panthers and the Buffalo Bills, were lost thanks to the inability of the offense to expose two vulnerable defenses.

As with the defense, there are playmakers on the Redskins offense. But like the defense, they have either been underused, as in the case of Davis, or given a proper chance too late, as in the case of Helu.

The Redskins offense has shown promise at times this season. But like the defense, the unit has struggled for consistency at critical times.

Kyle Shanahan's inability or unwillingness to adapt his schemes to suit the personnel at his disposal embodies the central problem of the Shanahan era in D.C.