Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Visanthe Shiancoe: Some Vikings 'hung it up' vs. Saints

By Rich Tandler

The Redskins’ season has not been one to remember. A lot has gone wrong and they have been what their 5-9 record says they are.

But one thing that the Redskins have not done is quit on the team. They have fought hard to the end in every game, no matter what the score.

The same can’t be said of another team having a bad season, at least according to one of their best players.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe of the Vikings, the Redskins’ opponent this Saturday, said that some players on his team “hung it up” while Minnesota was in the process of getting thumped 42-20 by the Saints.

Speaking on 1500ESPN radio in Minnesota, Shiancoe said that it was “very, very disappointing” see some of his teammates stop trying.

Although he wouldn’t name names, Shaincoe said that he would address the individuals who packed it in.

"No doubt," he said. "You have to somehow influence that. And I will do that. Ain't no games around here. We're grown men around here. ... Can't see nobody slacking off, especially when you give all your effort. That's not right, and that's not going to be accepted."

So from the last game we have Antrel Rolle busting on unnamed teammates for malingering with injuries and on the next opponent we have a player saying that some players, also unspecified, were dogging it.

It’s not as though the Redskins have been turmoil free this year, thanks primarily to Fred Davis and Trent Williams. But if they do have grievances with each other, they are handling them behind closed doors and not in front of the media or radio microphones. 

 

Live blog: Redskins vs. Bucs

Hello and welcome to the Real Redskins live blog for tonight's game between the Redskins and Buccaneers.

I'll be commenting on what is going on during the game. Hit refresh frequently to get the latest updates.

This also is about what you think. Either hit the comments section below or hit Twitter and ask or comment to @Rich_Tandler. We'll bring the best comments and tweets into the blog here and discuss them.

Fourth quarter

1:07--Clemens with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Donte Stallworth who made a nice, juggling catch for the score. The Redskins went for two but Clemens threw an interception and committed a personal foul. The Redskins kicked off from their 20 holding a 29-24 lead. The Bucs will go from their own 45 after the kickoff.

Brandyn Thompson made some good plays and he played like a rookie at other times. Byron Westbrook has been solid but he probably has reached the peak of his potential. If I am picking, I take the kid but again 

2:07--After the Bucs score a touchdown against some sloppy Redskins defense, Bucs coach Raheem Morris becomes a very popular guy in the press box and other spectators by going for two. They make it and now hold a 24-23 lead.

Markus White recorded a sack and he has the scoop and nice return after the QB fumble. It is going to be hard for him to make it given the play of Jackson noted below but he gave it a good shot. He will probably land on the practice squad and the two could battle it out again next year.

9:11--Matt Gutierrez can't muster anything after the turnover and Gano boots another field goal--I have him 10 for 10 during the preseason--to make it 23-13.

11:05--Scratch that "has not played" for Keiland Williams. He just recovered a muffed punt to give the Redskins the ball in Bucs territory at the 24. He has yet to play on offense. 

Niles Paul started the game and played throughout the game. In the first half he had two receptions for 27 yards, including a 19-yard catch. He had some separation a few other times and did not have any drops or glaring errors. Donte Stallworth is a pro. He runs good routes and he knows how to catch the ball. The decision between him and Paul will come down to the potential of Paul against the experience of Stallworth. The movement is towards youth but that does not mean that it applies in every case. If I’m picking I take Paul but it would be hard to argue against Stalloworth. 

Third quarter

A couple of missed tackles turn a short pass into a 96-yard touchdown. Thaddeus Gibson had one of the misses. Ed Gant made the catch at around the 20 and outran everyone after they were unable to bring him down. It is now 20-13 Redskins at the end of the third quarter.

Keiland Williams has not played as far as I have noticed. That probably is a very good sign for him. Mike Sellers started at fullback and he had a nice block on Royster’s touchdown run. It is still hard to see where he fits in but he certainly did not play his way off of the roster tonight.

The Bucs score on a 49-yard field goal to make it 17-6. While keeping you updated on what’s going on, let’s take a look at how some of the players on the bubble I discussed in today’s CSN article have been faring and whether they have helped or hurt their chances.

Second quarter

Summary—As has been noted, Beck has had an uneven night at best. He went 10 of 21 for 108 yards and an interception. A few nice throws, a few bad throws, and a few bad decisions. He may still get the starting job but if he does it will be based on what he did before tonight.

Brandon Banks is in. All he had to do is show that his knee is well enough to allow him to be effective returning kicks. A 95-yarder clinches it for him. The close-to-the-edge loss of the ball at the end will give the coaches something talk about. If Banks is smart, eh won’t ever come close to doing something like that again.

Defensively, Rob Jackson has appeared after being virtually invisible all preseason. A sack and strip, a couple of pressures, and some nice tackles may have pushed him off of the bubble. Markus White has played well but Jackson’s experience is showing.

DeJon Gomes has had a strong first half as well.

1:02—Beck remains inconsistent, throwing a nice pass to Logan Paulsen to convert a third down and then throwing an interception in the end zone while under pressure. I still think he will be the starter for the opener but he’s not making his case very well against the Bucs’ backup defenders.

3:57—The Bucs are now 0 for 6 on third down after a Golston sack. Beck gets at least one more chance to try to put a scoring drive together. 

A very kind comment from Susan:

I've been a Redskins fan for more than 40 years, and I want to thank CSN for the great coverage of our team. I send a shout out to Brian Mitchell and Joe Theismann, two of my all time favorite Redskins! Best of luck tonight to Mike Sellers, Brandon Banks, and Anthony Armstrong. I hope they all have a great game and make the team this year!!

11:00—The Redskins were knocking on the door after another takeaway. Jackson got into the QB Jonathan Crompton’s face, forcing a high throw and Josh Wilson made a nice leaping pick. The immediate reaction on Twitter was the Carlos Rogers would never have made that catch. After moving to a first and goal at the nine, the short drive stalled and Gano booted a 29-yard field goal to take a 17-0 lead.

12:15—I’m not sure if Brandon Banks ever was on the bubble for making the roster but he may just came off of it with a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown. He came very close to losing the score when he let go of the ball just after—or maybe just before—it crossed the goal line. Replay was inconclusive and Gano’s conversion made the score 14-0. 

First quarter

My apoligies, Rudy Carpenter has been the Bucs' QB, not Josh Johnson. Need better binoculars.

1:27—The competitors Jackson and White get it done again. Jackson gets a nbig hit on a blindside sack of Josh Johnson and White scoops the ball up and rolls down to the two. Three plays later Evan Royster squeezes into the end zone for the TD and the Redskins have a touchdown. Gano’s conversion makes it 7-0 with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.

4:00—We’re seeing why Evan Royster is headed for the practice squad. He just doesn’t quite have the pop through the line that the better backs have. All he is doing is stretching the play out and then cutting up when there is no hole there. No patience or waiting for blocks. Royster is playing behind the starting line and they are blocking the Bucs’ backup defense. 

8:21—Beck hit on a couple of nice passes on that drive starting at the two including a nice one over the middle to Armstrong where he had a pass rusher at his feet. The drive dies near midfield and Sav Rocca punts to inside the Tampa Bay 10.

Question from Luqman Sh-Hersi:

How come Grossman is not playing in this game? We want to see a real qb battle?

Rex played in the opener while Beck sat with an injury, this gives them equal time. Plus is against a Tampa Bay defense that has zero starters playing so it’s not exactly a stern test. 

13:10—Two of the players who are battling for an outside linebacker spot made nice plays on the Bucs’ possession after the fumble. First Rob Jackson reacted well and made a nice play on quick pass to the outside. Then Markus White pressured Josh Johnson on a rollout to force an incompletion. The Redskins stop the Bucs for a loss of one on fourth and goal with safety Anderson Russell finishing off the play. Redskins will take over at their own two. 

14:35—Not a good start for Evan Royster as he fumbles on his first carry and the Bucs recover. The Bucs are in business at the Redskins 29. 

Pregame

7:20—Just went down to the field for a few minutes. Noted that Darrel Young, the presumed starting fullback, was not wearing pads along with the others reported earlier. It’s a beautiful night for a ballgame, temps in the high 70’s and a nice breeze blowing. Too bad not too many folks are here to watch it. Stands maybe 10 percent full 10 minutes before kickoff. They usually fill up right before the start of the game but it’s hard to see how it could end up being half full.

6:50--According to Bucs reporter Rick Stroud's Twitter feed, John Beck will start at quarterback for the Redskins and Rex Grossman will sit this one out. Grossman is currently in uniform and warming up so we will see. 

6:45—There was some heavy construction equipment moving into Redskins Park this week. We suspected that it was to start constuciton on an indoor practice facility. The Redskins confirmed this today in a press release. They said that the facility will be open later in the fall. Per Bruce Allen in the press release:

“Our new state-of-the-art facility will help our team prepare for games and will allow the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation to hold special events. Although we embrace playing all of our games outdoors, our new facility will ensure that our game preparation will not be disrupted due to inclement weather.”

6:35—Comment by Jerry:

Just saw Hightower nailing a 40 yard field goal?

Yeah, that is probably all of the football-related action he will see tonight. It looks like he will have the night off along with most of the starting defense, Santana Moss, Fred Davis, even rookie Roy Helu. It looks like the starting offensive line will be in as long as Beck and Grossman are. 

6:20—Word is that the last of the busses carrying the Bucs just pulled in to FedEx Field. Traffic in DC—go figure. It is going to disrupt their pregame routine but I’m sure that they will get over it given the nature of the game. 

6:00—It’s an hour and a half before kickoff and we have just a few Redskins in shorts and T-shirts warming up. Too early to tell if Beck or Grossman is looking sharper in pre- pregame warmups but we’re here to cover every minute of it.

 

A Redskins preseason finale worth watching?

Most of the time I would rather watch a Bridezillas marathon than watch a team’s fourth preseason game. Usually the second stringers start the game and the bench is emptied early. The second half often features a guy who will be driving a beer truck next week defending one who will be hoping to land a bartending job back home.

Tonight’s game between the Redskins and Bucs, however, should be more interesting than usual, at least from the home team’s standpoint.

While every starting position but one has been settled, that one exception is under the microscope tonight. No separation has developed between John Beck and Rex Grossman and the starting quarterback job could go to whoever performs better tonight.

Although Mike Shanahan was as tight-lipped as usual about who will start and who will play how much, look for both quarterbacks to get a series or two with the most of the other offensive starters in the lineup and for each to get another turn with the backups.

As for the rest of the game, there are about 17 players who are on the bubble and a good performance could get them one of the 53 coveted roster spots while even just a few mistakes could have them joining the ranks of the unemployed. In addition, there are maybe a dozen other players who could play their way into contention for a job either on the roster or on the practice squad.

I’ll be covering it all tonight from FedEx Field. Join in the Real Redskins live blog right here starting at about 5:30. You can leave your comments here on the blog or you can hit me with your thoughts and questions @Rich_Tandler. Feel free to ask or comment on Twitter at any time; I’ll be on the road to FedEx this afternoon but I’ll be happy to reply when I have a chance.

 

Cofield embraces new roles

A year ago, the Redskins had a defensive lineman who was very particular about where he played. Albert Haynesworth was asked to play nose tackle and he didn’t want to do that. He was moved to defensive end but he only wanted to play there in passing situations. During the offseason, this prompted defensive coordinator Jim Haslett to say, “He doesn’t want to do anything!”

Albert, of course, is gone now and the Redskins have a new attitude in place. Barry Cofield, a defensive tackle with the Giants signed to play nose tackle in Washington, may have to learn another role. With rookie defensive end Jarvis Jenkins out for the season with a knee injury, Cofield is likely to be asked to play defensive end in passing situations.

“That’s probably going to be the case,” he said. “I might be an end. It’s going to be a rotation, a fluid situation.”

Cofield doesn’t mind if learning the additional position takes some extra time.

“We’re pros, that’s just what we have to do,” he said. “If it takes some extra work then that’s what it takes. If you have to go home and take your playbook with you, like I’ve done on the past, or if you have to take a DVD home and watch some tape, that’s what our coaches expect and that’s what we expect of ourselves.”

Cofield certainly expects his teammates to have the same attitude. “We’re all interchangeable parts,” he said. “No one is bottled into any particular role. We all try to learn everything.”

As far as learning his primary position at nose tackle, Cofield says “I’m further along than I thought I might have been.”

He believes that his readiness level is at a seven on a scale of one to ten. That’s good but there is more work to do.

“I’m going to watch a lot more tape,” he said. “It’s going to take some extra study. I feel like I’m moving at a good clip. Each day is a little bit better and I feel like by the time the Giants roll into town I’ll be pretty much where I want to be.”

Ah, the Giants. Cofield is looking forward to going against the team he played for during his first five years in the NFL.

“It’s great that the Giants are Week 1 for many reasons,” he said. “I’m definitely excited about that game.

“I’m going to be going off of adrenaline and hopefully after the first play or so I’ll be able to settle down.”

 

Tandler takes fan questions after Ravens game

Real Redskins live blog: Redskins at Ravens

Hello and welcome to the Real Redskins live bog for tonight's game between the Redskins and Ravens.

I'll be commenting on what is going on during the game. Hit refresh frequently to get the latest updates.

This also is about what you think. Either hit the comments section below or hit Twitter and ask or comment to @Rich_Tandler. We'll bring the best comments and tweets into the blog here and discuss them.

Question for comments or Twitter: Sonny Jurgensen said that the Redskins should start Grossman in Week 1. Agree? Disagree?

Fourth quarter

Summary—Certainly not the sharpest performance by the Redskins but they did manage to hang with a pretty good team with both squads had their starters in. Beck and Grossman were ragged and Beck threw an interception but they each throw for a touchdown and they averaged 8.8 yards per pass attempt.

Joe Flacco was very good at times, putting a touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans right on the money. He did throw the pick six to DeAngelo Hall on their first possession and that was ultimately the difference in the game until the Ravens scored with 22 seconds left.

Ray Rice averaged 5.5 yards a pop, gaining 72 yards on 13 carries in a little over a half of work. That might have spelled problems if Rice had 25 carries over four quarters.

As noted, Sav Rocca was money with a 41-yard average on six punts. 

6:00—It is getting a little bit sloppy here in the late going. Tyrod Taylor juked out of the pocket for a nice run into the red zone. But a sack by Shannon prevented a tying touchdown and Billy Cundiff booted a field goal that cuts the Redskins lead to 31-27. And the danger of the game going into overtime just about disappears.

10:21—Graham Gano has fought off whatever notion the Redskins may have had of seriously challenging him for the kicking job. He just booted a 48-yard field goal that would have been good from 55 or more. That doesn’t mean that he might not stumble at some point during the year but the job is his.

14:00—The Ravens drove to a field goal behind Tyrod Taylor to make it 28-24. It is now officially garbage time as Kellen Clemens is in the game. 

Third quarter

5:15—After throwing a deep pick on his first pass of the second half, Beck got things rolling. Terrence Austin was his prime target as Beck hit him with a couple of passes in stride. Roy Helu kicks in with a few solid runs, Leonard “Hands” Hankerson plucks one off of the ground for a nine-yard gain and the Redskins are in the red zone.

Flanker screen to Austin gets the TD as he weaves through traffic to cap a 97-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown catch. Beck was 5 for 6 for 75 yards and the TD.

9:23—It was the definitive hot knife through butter drive as the Ravens first-team offense drives 80 yards on the Redskins’ second-team defense. Twelve plays, 85 yards with Flacco to Boldin for 21 yards for the score. Game tied at 21.

Second quarter

Summary—The Redskins were playing well until a couple of penalties kept a Ravens drive alive. That allowed Baltimore to turn a 14-0 game into a 14-14 tie.

Both Redskins quarterbacks were spotty. Beck fired a 33-yard completion to Anthony Armstrong on his first pass, setting up the Redskins touchdown. That was his only completion in three attempts.

Grossman started off slowly before going six for eight for 80 yards on a late touchdown drive that put the Redskins up 21-14. He finished the half 8 of 15 for 114 yards.

The defense got some pressure on Flacco but he proved to be slippery at times. Kevin Barnes, Brian Orakpo, and Ryan Kerrigan got sacks. 

5:41—And the Ravens make the Redskins pay for their errors with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Lee Evans. Game is tied at 14.

7:07—The Redskins managed to stay penalty free for most of the first two games. Not only are they having laundry dropped on them tonight, the flags are coming at key times. After Rocca’s punt the Redskins had the Ravens backed up with third and six at the eight. Another neutral zone infraction and then a holding call got them out of the hole. A deep seam pass to the tight end has them in Redskins territory. 

10:19—Sav Rocca is a keeper. He just boomed a 63-yard punt that went out of bounds at the four. 

12:09—The Redskins make mistakes and the Ravens capitalize. On a third and 10, the Redskins are flagged for a neutral zone infraction and then they get a first down after a running into the kicker penalty. Flacco converts a third and long with a pass to Anquan Boldin down to the one and Rice punches it in two plays later. Hate to see dumb mistakes and third and long conversions but now is the time to see them.

First quarter

3:35—A lightning drive with Beck at the helm. After a 33-yard pass to Armstrong, the Redskins went with two tight ends on second and 10. Tim Hightower made a nice cutback and bolted 37 yards to the end zone.

Hightower 37 run (Gano kick)
Redskins 14, Ravens 0
3:35 left in first quarter

8:30—Some max protection on third and 14 from the Ravens 45. The only players out on a route were Moss, Gaffney, and Armstrong. Gaffney was the only one who was beyond the first down sticks. 

10:30—Press box announcement was that Jenkins has a sprained knee and his return is questionable. It is kind of early to predict how much time he might miss.  

11:10—Jarvis Jenkins down on the field. They helped him up and he is limping off with some assistance. Too early to speculate what the issue might be. 

12:40—Pick six by DeAngelo Hall. I have no idea what Joe Flacco was looking at, Hall was right there. There was a little chippiness after the PAT but no flags.

Hall 52 interception return (Gano kick)
Redskins 7, Ravens 0
12:40 left in first quarter

Pregame

8:00—It looks like we are going to get underway on time here. The Ravens were just introduced and once the finish the fireworks in the end zone we should get rolling here. 

7:40—Byron Westbrook will get a shot tonight. He, not Kevin Barnes or Phillip Buchanon, will start at cornerback in place of the sidelined Josh Wilson. Jarvis Jenkins will start at end in place of Adam Carriker and Keyaron Fox takes Fletcher’s linebacker spot.

7:35--Comment from Dale:

 Best Qb play tonight becomes the starter against the Giants in my opinion. 

That would seem to be the logical conclusion. But logic has not always prevailed in this matter, so we will see.

7:30—We are wondering if this game is going to kick off on time. They cleared the field of players about 15 minutes ago after some lightning was seen in the vicinity and they are just coming back on. I don’t know if they will start the game with an abbreviated warmup period.

7:00—Per ESPN 980, the following players are inactive: Malcolm Kelly, Brandon Banks, Josh Wilson, LaRon Landry, Kareem Moore, Ryan Torain, Chris Cooley, London Fletcher, and Adam Carriker. None is a surprise scratch. 

6:55--Comment from Philly Skins Fan: 

A wise man once said, "If you've got two QBs, you've got none." I suspect we have none, but I don't like this whole "every two series" thing. Let them get into a groove.

Whlle I generally agree, it only preseason. 

6:25—I’ve never been to the stadium before. It’s pretty nice, a cut above FedEx Field in terms of looks, feel, and the setup in the press box. Of course, M&T Bank Stadium was built primarily with taxpayer and other public funds while FedEx was primarily built with Jack Kent Cooke’s money. They didn’t have to cut corners here (like the brick façade) while FedEx is more Spartan. 

6:00—The quarterback news is, well, head-scratching. According to Bruce Allen, Rex Grossman will start the game and the John Beck will come in after two series. After that, they will alternate every two series.

Most figured that Beck would start since the Redskins know what they have in Grossman. Beck could use more time under live fire. Before last week, Beck had not faced another team’s starters since the 2008 preseason.

Alternating is no big deal because, well, it’s preseason. It seems that Mike Shanahan wants to be able to sub for a some starters as the game goes on and he doesn’t want to bring in the second “starter” after, say, Santana Moss and Tim Hightower have taken off their shoulder pads for the night. 

 

 

 

Redskins-Ravens 'dress rehearsal' still a rehearsal

Regardless of the outcome of tonight's preseason game in Baltimore the recommendation here is keep on telling yourself the following:

It's only the preseason.

If they look good against the Ravens, it doesn't mean that a double-digit win season is certainly in the cards. If they go out in Baltimore and get whipped, it doesn't mean that it will be yet another long and disappointing season in D. C.

Even though this is the "dress reharsal" for the regular season, it still is a rehersal. There is some game planning, but not nearly to the extent we will see during the regular season. The predominant flavor of the schemes still will be vanilla.

Still, the Ravens will bring the heat to quarterbacks John Beck and Rex Grossman and the Redskins offensive line, which has received kudos for its play in the first two games, will be severly tested. 

Mike Shanahan probably wouldn't mind of the Redskins fell behind in this one. It would be useful to see if the offense can maintain its tempo and commitment to the run if they have to play catch up for a while.

In any case, we won't really have even a solid clue about what the Redskins have until they take on the Giants on Sept. 11. I know we hate to wait that long but that is the way it is.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't watch the game tonight. You know you're going to, especially if you live out of the DMV area since it is on ESPN.

While you're watching, get out the laptop and follow along right here. I'll be doing my live blog from the press box at M&T Bank Stadium with analysis and commentary that is too good to fit into 140-character bites. 

We'll get things rolling at about 6:00 p.m. and go through the end of the game. 

See you then.

Grossman laments interception on "easy play"

Rex Grossman had a pretty good night playing in the second half of Friday’s preseason game against the Colts with one glaring exception. Early in the fourth quarter with the Redskins driving at the Indianapolis 29, Grossman threw a second-down pass right to Adrian Moten. The only challenge the former Maryland linebacker had in making the interception was overcoming his surprise that the ball was right at him.

Talking about the play today, Grossman was still obviously unhappy with himself over the play, which is the only turnover the Redskins have committed in their two preseason games.

“It’s just like a basic first play of high school football you learn,” he said. “I just went to the tight end first and my vision was blocked to that linebacker and he made a nice play and got a nice jump on it.”

Grossman is locked in a battle with John Beck for the starting quarterback job. Turnovers are never good but the timing of this one was particularly inauspicious for Grossman.

“I can’t have that; it wasn’t a very good play,” said Grossman. “That’s just one where you rarely make that mistake because it’s just such an easy play.”

The problem with the play was that it enhanced Grossman's image as aplayer who is prone to committing turnovers. We will see how costly it ends up being to his chances of being the starter.

 

Tandler's Take: Hightower both thunder and lightning

Here are a few of my observations on Friday’s preseason game.

--Even though the graphic, the announcers, and the official NFL gamebook said that Clint Oldenburg started at left guard, Kory Lichtensteiger was in his usual spot there. On Tim Hightower’s 58-yard run on the second play from scrimmage, Lichtensteiger made a couple of good blocks at the point of attack, helping to spring Hightower free.

--Hightower displayed lightning and thunder on that first series. He executed that 58-yard run to perfection, cutting back at exactly the right time to take advantage of the lane created by Lichtensteiger, Trent Williams, and company. A few plays later he powered his way into the end zone following a nice trap block by, you guessed it, Lichtensteiger.

--Perry Riley made the Colts pay for deciding to return a kickoff from nine yards deep in the end zone with a good play to stop the Colts returner at the 13.

--Brian Orakpo is on his way to becoming a complete linebacker. He showed good recognition on a flaker screen and eluded a blocker to make the stop after a short gain.

--Terrence Austin does not have Brandon Banks’ breakaway speed on returns. But Austin is the superior receiver. If Banks is healthy, might the Redskins decide to sacrifice some explosiveness in the return game in order to keep a better all around player? Austin is certainly getting his opportunity to make his case for a roster spot.

--Most of John Beck’s throws have been thoroughly dissected so I’ll just point out a couple of them. Both were short throws to backs that went to the receiver in stride, allowing for decent gains. The first one was to the right side to Hightower, who caught Beck’s pass about five yards behind the line and was able to get upfield for seven yards. The other one found Darrel Young while he was accelerating and that one went for 11 yards. These are some yards that have been left on the table recently.

 

Redskins red zone woes not the 'same old story'

The Redskins scored one touchdown in four possessions in the red zone against the Colts last night. This came on the heels getting one touchdown on five trips inside the Steelers 20 a week ago.

This had many fans on Twitter and elsewhere saying that the Redskins’ inability to score touchdowns from close in was “the same old story,” implying that it was the continuation of a pattern that has been around for a while.

It sounded good, but it’s not true. The Redskins actually have been fairly competent at turning red zone opportunities into touchdowns over the past two years.

In 2010, Mike Shanahan’s first year with the Redskins, the team scored touchdowns on 22 of 43 trips inside the other team’s 20. Their conversion percentage of 51.2 percent was just below the NFL average of 52.7 percent. That ranked a middling 19^th in the league.

The year before, under Jim Zorn, the team was even better in the red zone. They ranked in the top 10, as their red zone conversion rate of 56.5 percent was the seventh-best in the NFL.

It is almost certain that the Redskins will not stay stuck at their current conversion rate of 22.2 percent. The two worst red zone teams in the league last year, the Panthers and Rams, managed to punch it into the end zone on over 30 percent of their opportunities.

One other note—a quick glance suggests that there does not appear to be a strong correlation between having an efficient red zone game and winning. The Ravens, Bears, Saints, Jets, and Steelers all made the playoffs despite having a worse red zone conversion rate than the Redskins did last year. Perhaps piling up lots of red zone opportunities and keeping your opponents from moving deep into your territory are more important factors.