Over the past 4 years, 30 teams have started the season 0-2. None of them made the playoffs. Before the season began, there was a lot of speculation about the Washington Redksins and how Robert Griffin III would perform. But the fans remained optimistic following on from their first division win since 1999.
But two weeks have passed now and the Washington team have sank to a disappointing 0-2 record. Whilst that may not be the end of the world for fans, something that could be a cause for concern is the fact that they have allowed over 1000 yards in just two games. Here are the five reasons in my opinion, why the Redskins are struggling this season.
The name RG-Knee has been floating around since a big loss against rivals Philadelphia, the Redskins Quarterback has not been playing to the same level as most fans and players alike expected him too. This is probably down to the fact that he is still recovering from his Knee Surgery and is at about 80%. When you have a rookie of the year at the helm and a man who should be as dangerous as Mike Vick when it comes to scrambling and accuracy, he needs time in the pocket to complete a few passes and build up the confidence.
Unfortunately that hasn't been the case and both the Packers and the Eagles were getting to Griffin too easily halting any chance of a big play. When Robert finally got the ball away, it was either incomplete or worse an interception. 33 incompletions and 3 interceptions over 2 games isn't exactly a statistic that fantasy football players will be drooling over.
Griffin has shown a trend over both games to improve in the second half but at this stage it's too little too late. He HAS to attack from the start and work out how to get the ball away quickly so he has less time to get hit and more importantly reduce the risk of getting injured.
There is no point in being able to score on every drive if you concede the very next one. And having only scored 23 points in the opening two games, that means that if the Redskins had any chance of winning it had to come from the defense. Again this hasn't happened and Washington look vulnerable at the line. They have allowed an enormous 1023 yards over just two games and are currently 32nd in the rankings on defense. Something HAS to change.
Arguably they have had two very difficult games against a hurry up college offense in Philly which subjected them to a first half from hell giving them 53 snaps in one half and then traveled to a ticked off Green Bay who lost against the 49ers in week one and desperately wanted to get that first win on the board. But the defense look like they are being coordinated by a 9 year old!
There is a lot of confusion between plays and when they finally get to the quarterback through the blitz, the very next play the give up massive yardage and the momentum goes. The defense are in an SOS situation and need one solid game to get their season back underway. But facing the Lions next week and more importantly facing Megatron Calvin Johnson himself is not going to be an easy task. DeSean Jackson made mince meat of the Line Backers, Corners and Safety's so what exactly is a man who had an amazing game against Minnesota going to do? He has unrelenting pace and the ability to shake off some big tackles. Another area where the Redksins are struggling.
Not all of the blame can be placed on the defensive line, if anything it's the men behind the line who need to be making the big tackles. But none of them are succeeding, two games in a row the tackles are being shrugged off like it's nothing. The main flaw that I have spotted is that when entering a tackle the heads are down. How are you supposed to make a tackle if you aren't looking at what you're hitting? If a player spins away and you're admiring how green the turf looks then the chances of bringing him down are close to nothing.
The bottom line is that the entire team needs to find their form and find it quick if they have any hope of making the playoffs this year. There is a small glimmer of hope and that is that all three of the other teams in the NFC East lost this weekend so they just need a single win to be back within contention as no team is running away with the division at this early stage on a 2-0. Against an impressive Lions Defense, RG III needs to show us what he can do, we have seen how amazing he can play throughout the 2012 season but if you live in the past then you will stay there. Griffin needs to focus on the games ahead and get himself in the best shape he can as he fights his way through recovery.
As for the defense, well they need to start completing tackles, collapsing the pocket quicker and more importantly make the right calls at the right time. If they lose another 500 yards against the Lions I fear this could be the beginning of a very long and difficult road for the Redksins. It's do or die this Sunday.
But two weeks have passed now and the Washington team have sank to a disappointing 0-2 record. Whilst that may not be the end of the world for fans, something that could be a cause for concern is the fact that they have allowed over 1000 yards in just two games. Here are the five reasons in my opinion, why the Redskins are struggling this season.
The name RG-Knee has been floating around since a big loss against rivals Philadelphia, the Redskins Quarterback has not been playing to the same level as most fans and players alike expected him too. This is probably down to the fact that he is still recovering from his Knee Surgery and is at about 80%. When you have a rookie of the year at the helm and a man who should be as dangerous as Mike Vick when it comes to scrambling and accuracy, he needs time in the pocket to complete a few passes and build up the confidence.Unfortunately that hasn't been the case and both the Packers and the Eagles were getting to Griffin too easily halting any chance of a big play. When Robert finally got the ball away, it was either incomplete or worse an interception. 33 incompletions and 3 interceptions over 2 games isn't exactly a statistic that fantasy football players will be drooling over.
Griffin has shown a trend over both games to improve in the second half but at this stage it's too little too late. He HAS to attack from the start and work out how to get the ball away quickly so he has less time to get hit and more importantly reduce the risk of getting injured.
There is no point in being able to score on every drive if you concede the very next one. And having only scored 23 points in the opening two games, that means that if the Redskins had any chance of winning it had to come from the defense. Again this hasn't happened and Washington look vulnerable at the line. They have allowed an enormous 1023 yards over just two games and are currently 32nd in the rankings on defense. Something HAS to change.
Arguably they have had two very difficult games against a hurry up college offense in Philly which subjected them to a first half from hell giving them 53 snaps in one half and then traveled to a ticked off Green Bay who lost against the 49ers in week one and desperately wanted to get that first win on the board. But the defense look like they are being coordinated by a 9 year old!
There is a lot of confusion between plays and when they finally get to the quarterback through the blitz, the very next play the give up massive yardage and the momentum goes. The defense are in an SOS situation and need one solid game to get their season back underway. But facing the Lions next week and more importantly facing Megatron Calvin Johnson himself is not going to be an easy task. DeSean Jackson made mince meat of the Line Backers, Corners and Safety's so what exactly is a man who had an amazing game against Minnesota going to do? He has unrelenting pace and the ability to shake off some big tackles. Another area where the Redksins are struggling.Not all of the blame can be placed on the defensive line, if anything it's the men behind the line who need to be making the big tackles. But none of them are succeeding, two games in a row the tackles are being shrugged off like it's nothing. The main flaw that I have spotted is that when entering a tackle the heads are down. How are you supposed to make a tackle if you aren't looking at what you're hitting? If a player spins away and you're admiring how green the turf looks then the chances of bringing him down are close to nothing.
The bottom line is that the entire team needs to find their form and find it quick if they have any hope of making the playoffs this year. There is a small glimmer of hope and that is that all three of the other teams in the NFC East lost this weekend so they just need a single win to be back within contention as no team is running away with the division at this early stage on a 2-0. Against an impressive Lions Defense, RG III needs to show us what he can do, we have seen how amazing he can play throughout the 2012 season but if you live in the past then you will stay there. Griffin needs to focus on the games ahead and get himself in the best shape he can as he fights his way through recovery.
As for the defense, well they need to start completing tackles, collapsing the pocket quicker and more importantly make the right calls at the right time. If they lose another 500 yards against the Lions I fear this could be the beginning of a very long and difficult road for the Redksins. It's do or die this Sunday.
