…The players need to stop talking about all the talent they have on the roster. They’d almost be better off believing they had none and carried that boulder-sized chip on their shoulders into games. There almost seems to be a belief that they’ll turn it around because they are so talented. Nonsense. When the Redskins were losing five straight, and looking horrible, under Marty Schottenheimer, he kept saying the only way to get out of this is to keep working hard. They eventually did. But shelve the talent talk. It’s gotten old.
…The problem on the right side of the Redskins’ line was not Chad Rinehart. Making his first start, he initially struggled and was beaten a couple times or shoved back. But in the final three quarters he held his own, getting to the linebackers enough to open holes. But right tackle Stephon Heyer has not improved. Players beat him around the edge and when he tries to punch them, they almost never get budged off their path.
…The Redskins need to run a bootleg at the goal-line once in a while. It would prevent defenses from selling out on the predictable runs to the left. On Washington’s first possession, when the ball was snapped every defender but one ran to the Redskins’ left side with abandon. One defensive back stayed on the backside, which means a bootleg pass to the tight end would have worked. The left side is not getting enough push to rely on them as much as they do.
…The lack of development by receivers Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas and tight end Fred Davis has hurt this offense big-time. Maybe they’re improving, but it’s not enough. Consider that Chicago’s fifth-round rookie Johnny Knox already has nine catches and two touchdowns. The Redskins trio has combined for nine catches and no scores. In fact, none of them have caught a touchdown pass in the NFL.
