By Rich Tandler
With the knowledge that things in the NFL can change in a heartbeat and that a doormat can get hot and become a contender and vice versa, let’s look at the Redskins remaining games and see where they will be favored and where they are likely to be underdogs.
The designations are not necessarily projections of the Las Vegas line; those are skewed as they are designed to get people to bet equal amounts of money on both teams, not predict the winner.
Favored
@Carolina (Wk. 7, Oct. 23)—Yes, Cam Newton is playing well and the Panthers have a pretty good offensive line but you have to think that the Redskins will be able to get to him and rattle him into some turnovers.
49ers (Wk. 9, Nov. 6) They are tough defensively and they posted an impressive road win in Philadelphia last Sunday. But they can’t protect Alex Smith and the Redskins’ pass rush should ensure that the Niners won’t be able to score enough to win.
@Miami (Wk. 10, Nov. 13)—The Dolphins are imploding. They have some good players but they are dealing with a lot of injuries including one to starting quarterback Chad Henne.
Cowboys (Wk. 11, Nov. 20)—A reminder here that we are talking about who actually has a better chance of winning the game, not the Vegas line. The Redskins are at least as good as Dallas and they have the home field this time.
@Seahawks (Wk. 23, Nov. 27)—Their stadium is now called CenturyLink Field but by any name it’s a loud venue. But noise can’t overcome the Seahawks’ deficiency at quarterback and lack of talent at other positions.
Vikings (Wk. 16, Dec. 24)—The men in purple will look like something that Santa brought as a gift after the Redskins go through the Jets-Patriots-Giants gauntlet. Chances are that Donovan McNabb will have been benched long before this game and Christian Ponder will be taking the snaps.
Tossup
Eagles (Wk. 6, Oct. 16)—This is a good team that is playing poorly right now. Whether they win or lose at Buffalo on Sunday, they will be desperate and dangerous when the come into FedEx Field after the Redskins’ bye.
Jets (Wk. 13, Dec. 4)—We’re working on the assumption here that Rex Ryan will have his team playing like the one that has gone to back to back AFC title games and not the one we saw against the Ravens last Sunday night.
Underdogs
vs. Bills (Toronto, Wk. 9, Oct. 10)—The Bills are not a mirage at 3-1 even though they did lose to the Bengals. They can put ups some points in a hurry.
Patriots (Wk. 14, Dec. 11)—It’s hard to picture Rex Grossman outscoring Tom Brady even though Brady will be up against the better defense on the field.
@Giants (Wk. 15, Dec. 18)—The Redskins have had a tough time winning in whatever Jersey stadium the Giants have been playing in. Even though the Redskins are improved and broke their losing streak against New York in the season opener a sweep of the Giants would be a tall order.
@Eagles (Wk. 17, 1/1/2012)—Who knows what either team will be playing for by this time? Will one or the other either have playoff seeding locked up prior to kickoff? Or will one or both be hopelessly out of contention? Assuming the stakes are somewhat equal, the Eagles get at least the home-field advantage edge.
Check out Tandler's thoughts on Grossman: http://www.csnwashington.com/10/07/11/Point-Counterpoint-MVPs-at-the-bye/landing.html?blockID=573716&feedID=6458
Spoken like a real Redskins fan, Rich.
Love it!
Posted by: Belly Kilmer | Friday, October 07, 2011 at 03:50 PM
Regarding the Giants, we won the most recent game and played them very tough in the final game last season, losing by three.
The Redskins had the momentum at the end of that week 17 game, and on the final drive Grossman delivered a strike to Austin for a big chunk of yardage. Austin let the ball bounce right off his numbers for an incompletion, killing the drive and the Redskins' chances.
Posted by: Belly Kilmer | Friday, October 07, 2011 at 04:03 PM