Here is what you need to know on this Tuesday, October 16, five days before the Redskins open up division play against the Giants in New Jersey.
Division play finally gets rolling
The Redskins finally get their division schedule going on Sunday. If you’re thinking that the seventh game is awfully late for the intradivision opener, you’re right.
The current four-team NFC East was formed in 2002 when the Arizona Cardinals left to join the NFC West. Since then, the latest the Redskins’ first division game has come is in the fourth game of the season. That happened in 2003.
Mike Shanahan was asked if odd schedule setup mattered, the said that ht kid of liked it. “The one thing I always say is I don’t even worry about when you play different teams, but I’d say it’s always an advantage if you’re going to play within your division if it’s little bit later than earlier, especially with rookie players,” Shanahan said. “I think it is a big benefit for us with Robert and a kid like [running back] Alfred [Morris]. He’d rather play a little bit later than earlier.”
Well, Griffin and Morris and the rest of the team had better be ready for the division because it is coming at them fast and furious. Four of the next six games are within the division and by time that stretch is over on Dec. 3 the Redskins will have a pretty good idea of where they stand.
An adapting defense
The Redskins are not play great defense now but they are playing more effective defense. They aren’t shutting teams down but they are preventing big plays and making some big plays of their own.
On of the things that they are doing is substituting more liberally, rotating players to keep them fresh and to put them in situations where they can succeed.
Against the Saints in the season opener, 86 snaps were taken by players who didn’t start the game. There were 72 defensive plays in that game so substitutes played 11 percent of the snaps.
Last Sunday against the Vikings, non-starters played 178 snaps on the 84 defensive plays. That comes to 19 percent of the available snaps.
Among the players who were subbed in were CB David Jones, who had seven tackles, S Jordan Pugh, who had two tackles and a pass defensed, and Lorenzo Alexander, who registered 1.5 sacks, 4 quarterback hits, and a fumble recovery.
Today’s schedule
Day off, no availability
In case you missed it
RG3 will get his chances against the best.
The players are happy that Griffin is making the right decisions.
Days until: Redskins @ Giants 5; Redskins @ Steelers 12; RG3 vs. Cam @ FedEx Field 19; Thanksgiving @ Cowboys 37
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