Why does the Washington Redskins’ victory feel tainted? The 17-10 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday was a game the Redskins would have lost in recent seasons. Last year’s leading rusher delivered the wow factor in his 2011 debut. The defense could have earned its first shutout since 1991.
Too bad St. Louis stinks. It felt like Washington beat a junior college team.
Sure, the Redskins are happy with a 3-1 start that nearly was 4-0. The bye week won’t feature a quarterback controversy. Ryan Torain’s 135 yards after he missed the first three games raise hope of a playoff berth.
But beating St. Louis revealed nothing about whether Washington truly is worthy of the postseason. That might have to wait until the Redskins return Oct. 16 vs. Philadelphia. The Rams dropped five passes and blew three throws in the end zone. St. Louis could have stolen the game after some questionable late playcalling by Washington. But that’s why the Rams are 0-4.
After one month, the Redskins clearly have a good defense and a mediocre offense. That’s still an improvement over last season. And Washington remains atop the NFC East while Philadelphia’s “Dream Team” is 1-3. Eagles coach Andy Reid has never made the playoffs after a 1-3 start.
A 9-7 mark might win the NFC East. But is Washington good enough to start beating teams without major flaws? St. Louis might be the NFL’s worst team, the New York Giants were depleted by injuries and Arizona simply put on a lackluster performance.
Washington now knows it has a deep running game after Torain’s return. The receiver corps is so deep that tight ends Fred Davis and Chris Cooley have become blockers. The zone blocking scheme is improving.
But is quarterback Rex Grossman really good enough? He threw a critical interception with 5:29 remaining that any decent opponent would have turned into a touchdown to tie the game. Grossman finished 15-for-29 for 149 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a 48.5 rating. Just like last year, Grossman seems to get worse every week. A change to John Beck wouldn’t be a quick fix, so the Redskins will continue to go with Grossman, but it’s not an inspiring situation.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is equally suspect. The Redskins should have been running the ball instead of passing during the drive on which Grossman threw his second pick. After St. Louis closed to 17-10, Washington had first-and-10 on its 20 with 5:32 left. The running game was effective. It was time to grind the clock. Instead, Grossman threw into the middle of the field. Passing made no sense.
Shanahan’s playcalling has been streaky since he arrived last season. He often calls too many passing plays despite Mike Shanahan’s reputation as a run-first coach. Facing a terrible run defense, Washington’s 40 carries to 24 passes sounds like the right ratio, but it felt like it wasn’t at times.
The Redskins have opportunities in coming weeks to build up some wins before a tough December schedule. That is, if beating St. Louis wasn’t a mirage. For now, though, that’s unclear.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
