One of the criticisms of the Washington Redskins by NFL analysts is that their receiving corp doesn’t scare anybody.
That’s not true. I think it is safe to say that they scare Redskins fans.
Their performance last week in a 13-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys does little to allay those fears.
Tight end Chris Cooley and wide receiver Santana Moss combined for 12 catches out of quarterback Donovan McNabb’s 15 completions. We’ve seen that act before, with Jim Zorn and before him during the second tenure of Joe Gibbs.
Two receivers are great when you are playing six-man football in Nebraska. But they use 11 on each side in the NFL, so you better make use of the other players who at least have a chance of catching a pass — especially if you want to put up enough points to compete with Sunday’s high-powered offensive opponent, the Houston Texans — who come to FedEx Field having scored 34 points in an impressive win over the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts.
Against the Cowboys, only three other Redskins caught passes — Anthony Armstrong, running back Clinton Portis and fullback Mike Sellers — three catches for a total of 15 yards.
The Redskins are the oldest team in the NFL, with an average age of 27.7. Contributing heavily to that number is receiver Joey Galloway, who at the age of 38 is closer to qualifying for his AARP card than the age of his rookie season in the league.
Washington’s receiving corp has youth, though — just apparently not of age to get on the field.
Tight end Fred Davis, 24, saw some action last week, but not of the pass catching variety. And wide receiver Devin Thomas, 23, excelled as a kick returner, but was a spectator when it came to the offensive game plan. Thomas told reporters Friday he didn’t expect any change from his role last week. Davis and Thomas are two of the three receivers picked in the second round of the 2008 draft, the third one being Malcolm Kelly.
So much for McNabb’s “Hell Week,” the special workouts he had for his receivers in Phoenix in July. Kelly went and injured his hamstring. Thomas was there and can’t crack a spare parts receiving rotation. Cooley stayed away and was McNabb’s favorite receiver in game one.
Coach Mike Shanahan said Thomas “helped himself” with his two kickoff returns for 76 yards. But why Thomas is having such a hard time getting into the offensive game plan remains one of the great mysteries of this team.
That mystery needs to be solved, though, and this week. Thomas and Davis both need to be part of the attack if putting points on the board is still the objective of the offense.
How ironic that for all the hoopla surrounding the new coach, quarterback and regime, the real success of this 2010 season may still ride on the ability of former general manager Vinny Cerrato, the architect of that 2008 draft, to select talent.
As if Redskins fans didn’t have enough to be scared of.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
