Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Young among four starers out of practice.

By Rich Tandler

Redskins fullback Darrel Young was among four Redskins starters who did not practice on Wednesday due to injuries.

Young suffered a concussion during Sunday’s game in Seattle. Doctors must clear him before he can return to practice.

Also out were defensive end Stephen Bowen (knee), safety LaRon Landry (groin), and linebacker London Fletcher (ankle).

Landry has missed some practices over the last couple of weeks with a recurrence of the Achilles injury that has been an issue for over a year. But according to Mike Shanahan he was out today due to a groin injury he sustained in the Seattle game.

Brian Orakpo (ankle) was among those who were limited in practice. Also limited were Jammal Brown (hip) and WR Niles Paul (turf toe). 

 

Redskins have bad luck on fumbles

By Rich Tandler

The Redskins did not force a fumble for only the second time this year in Sunday’s game against Seattle. The other time was in the fifth game of the season against the Eagles.

However, it’s not like opponents’ fumbles have been of much help to the Redskins this year. The other team has put the ball on the ground 21 times this year. The Redskins have recovered six of those fumbles.

Generally speaking the fumbling team has a slight advantage when it comes to recovering fumbles. For example, those that happen in the offensive backfield, like the one last Sunday when Mike Sellers knocked the ball out of Grossman’s hand, usually will occur with a lot more offensive players around the ball than defensive players.

The Redskins have fumbled 17 times and have recovered 10 of them. That’s about a 59 percent recovery rate, right around the NFL average.

Washington’s opponents have recovered 15 of their 21 fumbles, a 71 percent recovery rate. The Redskins work on recovering fumbles just as much as any other team. The difference is basically bad luck.

Normally, such things even out over the course of the season. But the Redskins are running out of time for Lady Luck to take a run in their favor.

 

Thompson was a wanted man

By Rich Tandler

This week Redskins cornerback Brandyn Thompson was signed to the active roster from the practice squad for the third time this year. It is unlikely that he will be returning to the practice squad again this year.

Thompson is a wanted man.

Mike Shanahan revealed today that another team made an offer sign Thompson.

“We had a chance to lose Brandyn or bring him up on our squad and we wanted him on our football team,” said Shanahan. “We didn’t want to lose him.”

Under NFL rules it is perfectly legal to sign players from other teams’ practice squads. The only stipulation is that the player must stay on the signing team’s 53-man roster for at least three weeks.

The Redskins drafted Thompson in the seventh round out of Boise State. He made the roster coming out of training camp and has spent the year going between the active roster and the practice squad. He has been active for six of the Redskins’ 11 games and he played in two of them.

 

Helu enjoyed is own highlight

By Rich Tandler

Running back Roy Helu’s 28-yard touchdown run in Seattle on Sunday, when he hurdled over cornerback Roy Lewis, was still a topic of conversation in the locker room today. Helu said that he had jumped over a player “a couple of times” while he was at Nebraska. The rookie said that he wasn’t really thinking about

“I looked at the chains for the third down on my left, got the pitch and he [Lewis] was around where I thought the first down was so I just had to get it,” he said.

The players had a light day on Monday and were off on Tuesday so Helu found something to do to fill the time.

“I did watch it again,” the always-humble Helu said. “Yeah, I admit that. I didn’t have much to do the last couple of days so I watched it again.”

 

Hall is the NFC Defensive Player of the Week

By Rich Tandler

It doesn’t take long to go from the outhouse to the penthouse in the NFL.

After the game against Dallas two weeks ago DeAngelo Hall said that the team cut him because he had played so poorly. He turned things around in a hurry last Sunday against Seattle.

He had a career-high seven passes defensed and seven tackles. He also sealed the game with a late interception with the Redskins up by six points.

That performance earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

“Not a bad week’s work,” Hall said of him getting the award in a win that broke a six-game losing streak for the Redskins.

He said that he was surprised when he was told of the award. “Didn’t realize I had seven pass breakups.”

Although he was pleased with the effort after his showing against the Cowboys, he thought that it could have been much better. Although he did get that game-clinching pick he couldn’t hold on to a couple of passes he had in his hands.

“Definitely dropped a couple of gifts,” Hall said

This was second time Hall has was the award. Last year he won it with a four-interception performance in Chicago.

 

Talking Points: Rex and Rex speak

By Rich Tandler

Here is what we’ll be talking about at Redskins Park on Wednesday:

--Rex Grossman steps up to the podium at about 11. We’ll see what he had to say about what probably was his best game as a Redskin. In particular, we want to find out about his comfort level with this offense with this team.

--In the locker room, it will be about breaking the losing streak and if it is more about celebrating or about being relieved. Also we’ll see what they have to say about what they can accomplish the rest of the year. Is finishing at least .500 important? Matching or beating last year’s win total of six?

--There are a couple of injury concerns to get sorted out. Mike Shanahan said on Monday that starting fullback Darrel Young sustained a concussion in the Seattle game so he will have to take the baseline tests and be cleared in order to practice. Stephen Bowen (pictured) has a third-degree tear of the PCL in his left knee. That sounds bad but Shanahan said that it’s possible to play without a PCL so we will see. Other than that, things seem to be in pretty good shape on the injury front as we head into December.

--This afternoon we’ll have our teleconference with Jets coach Rex Ryan. That should be entertaining.

 

Report: Thompson back on active roster

By Rich Tandler

According to multiple media reports, the Redskins have again signed rookie cornerback Brandyn Thompson from the practice squad to their active roster.

The team has released cornerback D. J. Johnson, who signed with the Redskins on November 8. Johnson was inactive for all three games he was on the roster.

Thompson was a seventh-round pick of the Redskins out of Boise State. This is the third time he has been resigned to the roster from the practice squad. Thompson has appeared in two games this year and has been on the roster a total of six games. 

 

Third and 19 not a good spot for Redskins--until Seattle

By Ryan O’Halloran

When Anthony Armstrong corralled Rex Grossman’s 50-yard pass Sunday in Seattle, it represented several things:

* The go-ahead touchdown in a 23-17 win that broke a six-game losing streak.

* The Redskins’ longest offensive play of the year. 

* Armstrong’s career-long touchdown catch.

* And the longest third-down conversion of the season.

The play came on third-and-19. How rare was the conversion (much less the touchdown)? The Redskins are 7-of-35 – 20 percent – on third-down situations in which they needed 10 or more yards.

A look at the Successful Seven:

1. Week 1 vs. Giants. Third-and-11 from the Redskins’ 30, Grossman threw 28 yards deep middle to Fred Davis. Drive result: Punt.

2. Week 2 vs. Arizona: Third-and-10 from the Redskins’ 27. Grossman threw 20 yards to Jabar Gaffney. Drive result: TD.

3. Week 6 vs. Philadelphia: Third-and-15 from the Eagles’ 49. On John Beck’s first drive of the year, he threw 23 yards to Santana Moss. Drive result: Punt.

4. Week 7 at Carolina: Third-and-10 from the Panthers’ 20. Down 30-13, Beck threw 11 yards to Niles Paul. Drive result: TD.

5. Week 10 at Miami. Third-and-10 from the Dolphins’ 32. Trailing 10-9, Grossman threw 22 yards to Leonard Hankerson. Drive result: INT (on next play).

6. Week 11 vs. Dallas. Third-and 12 from the Redskins’ 20. Grossman threw 22 yards to Gaffney. Drive result: Punt.

7. Week 12 at Seattle: Third-and-19 from the 50. Grossman stepped up in the pocket after both Trent Williams and Jammal Brown allowed outside pressure and threw into the end zone, where Armstrong caught the touchdown pass.

Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@comcastsportsnet.com

 

Talking Points: Playing Rex's boys

By Rich Tandler

Here is what we will be talking about around Redskins Park this week:

--The emergence of Roy Helu—The kid got his chance to carry the load and he came through with 162 yards of total offense including 108 on the ground. His hurdle of a hapless Seahawk is not only one of the season’s few offensive highlights but it’s a sign that Helu could be something special. We’ll get the players’ impressions of him as well as Kyle Shanahan’s assessment.

--Finishing strong—The fact that the Redskins have won a single game after a six-game losing streak and are still on the fringe of playoff contention is more a sign of the weakness of the NFC than it is an indication of the strength of the Skins. Still, they do have a mathematical chance of getting into the postseason. More realistically, however, they could achieve such goals as not finishing with a losing record (would require a 4-1 finish) or improving on last years total of six wins (3-2 finish). We’ll ask around about how important these landmarks are to the players and what they think about still having an outside shot at the playoffs.

--Facing the Jets—Rex Ryan talks big but the Jets haven’t quite lived up to the coach’s billing as of yet. They get a lot of national media attention but in reality they are just a game better than the Redskins. Their vaunted defense is comparable with the Redskins’ less-heralded D in most statistical categories. Does it bother the Redskins that the Jets get all of the attention? Or are they just as happy to toil in relative anonymity? Also, the Redskins talked to Ryan about becoming their defensive coordinator in 2008, we’ll see what he has to say about that process.

 

Rex's up and down (and up) day

By Rich Tandler

Nobody is ever going to accuse Rex Grossman of being consistent. We got an extreme example of just how streaky he can be on Sunday in Seattle. Rex had started and finished the game well but he was pathetic in between.

Here is a look at his yo-yo kind of day:

First quarter: 12-13, 138 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 136.5 rating—Grossman went eight for nine in the Redskins’ opening drive to lead his team to its first opening-drive touchdown in almost a full calendar year. Fred Davis was the big target on that drive with three catches for 53 yards (he did incur a 15-yard penalty for taunting after one receptions but the yardage still counts) including the two-yard touchdown pass to finish the drive. Grossman was four for four on the second drive but a chop block penalty kept them from scoring.

Second quarter: 4-6, 37 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 43.8 rating—Things started to go downhill on the Redskins’ second offensive play of the quarter. On second and nine at his own 23, Grossman tried to throw it to Jabar Gaffney, who had cornerback Brandon Browner in is hip pocket. Perhaps Gaffney could have fought for the ball a little harder but he really didn’t seem to be in much of a position to do so. Browner picked off the pass at the 36, returned it to the 20, and Tavaris Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Marshawn Lynch on the next play. Grossman completed four of five on the ensuing drive. One pass that didn’t count went to Gaffney in the end zone but the TD was nullified because the receiver stepped out of bounds before coming back in to make the catch. The Redskins came up empty again when a field goal attempt was blocked.

Third quarter: 3-7, 30 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 16.1 rating—Grossman’s long interception when he tried to hit Santana Moss in triple coverage would have served as a good punt. But it happened on first down from good field position at the Washington 41. The Redskins did not get out of their own territory the entire quarter.

Fourth quarter: 7-9, 109 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 154.2 rating—Rex got going after the Redskins fell behind 17-7 with 12:45 left to play. After the kickoff, four straight completions got the Redskins from their own 30 to the Seattle 28. From there, Roy Helu made his jaw-dropping touchdown run to make it 17-14. After a Seattle three and out, a Grossman pass to Mike Sellers gained 15 yards into Seattle territory. A few plays later, Grossman uncorked a deep heave that gave Anthony Armstrong a chance to make a play. Armstrong did and the Redskins took the lead. Grossman threw just one more pass, a screen to Helu that gained just two yards.