1. Will the Redskins be somehow inspired with the Albert Haynesworth distraction over? If they play well, I don’t think there will be a connection. Remember, he was still a distraction for them this week. And I don’t sense that this was some great galvanizing force for the players. Heck, some guys on offense never seemed to care about him; they didn’t have to answer questions nor did he impact what they did. The coaches seemed more relieved, but they don’t play. Also, keep in mind that the Bucs like to run a lot, which means we could see a lot of the 3-4 base, which means Haynesworth might not have played much anyway.
2. Who will replace him? Just depends on the game situation. Anthony Bryant was the backup NT last week, but he does not do what Haynesworth does; Bryant is a base 3-4 guy only. The Redskins also could opt to just go more with their “4-3 look” in which they have two tackles and two linebackers serving as ends. Or they could use Jeremy Jarmon, who is athletic. He struggled earlier this season in this role, perhaps because his knee wasn’t still 100 percent. I still think he’ll need a strong offseason in the weight room to increase his lower-body strength. That was the knock on him coming out of college and last offseason forced him to rehab and not strengthen.
3. What is the impact of Ryan Torain’s return? If nothing else it gives the Redskins a big back who understands the system. He ran fine before getting hurt and he can give the Redskins a guy who consistently gets 3-4 yards a carry. That’s what they need. But I’d be surprised if he plays a substantial role. I’d like to see James Davis get more carries; he had a different rhythm last week than he did in his first one and I’d be curious to see if it improves after another round of practices.
4. Will LaRon Landry and Carlos Rogers play? Can’t see it. Not sure why I’d risk either one if they couldn’t even get through a full practice. Oh, and when the defensive coordinator says on Thursday that a decision with them regarding IR needs to be made Monday or Tuesday, then that qualifies as a bad sign. Landry is saying all the right things about wanting to come back, but know this: the team wasn’t happy when Landry was honest with TBD.com about the extent of his injury. So is Landry just saying things to keep teams guessing? Hmmm.
5. How will their absence impact the game? The Bucs do have a good receiver in Mike Williams; he missed some practice time this week but is listed as probable. Still, their offense is about running the ball with powerful LeGarrette Blound and limiting mistakes. If they want to play a physical game, then the Redskins will be without their most physical players in the secondary. Reed Doughty can play physical, but he’s not Landry. And that leads us to …
6. Who will replace Rogers? If he doesn’t play, then look for more of Kevin Barnes. Again, if the Bucs want to be physical, then Phillip Buchanon is not your guy at corner. He’s done well in coverage, but his tackling was suspect last week and that’s a big reason Barnes would play more. He’s considered to be more physical. Can’t say that he looked very good vs. New York and he, too, missed tackles. But let’s see how he’ll fare in a full game.
7. How good is Josh Freeman? The Bucs’ QB has solid numbers: 16 touchdowns, only six interceptions. He’s been supbar the past two weeks, with a completion percentage under 50. But that was going against Baltimore and Atlanta and not a weak defense such as Washington’s. He’s made good decisions with the ball. That will come in handy if the weather is as bad as feared (mid-40s and rain).
8. What is the impact of Tampa’s injuries? Should be pretty big. The Bucs have just one player starting along the line who was in that role when the season started (left tackle Donald Penn). Jeremy Zuttah was a starter, but was at guard and is now at center. They have two rookies starting at guards. If the Redskins front can’t take advantage of this group, then …
9. Where can they exploit Tampa’s defense? A couple spots. First, the Bucs have not done well vs. the run for most of the year and rank 26th overall. The problem? They have improved of late thanks in part to the play of its tackles, Gerald McCoy and Roy Miller. But they’re not a dominant defense vs. the run by any means and, for a change, the Redskins should be able to commit to the run all game. Tampa’s pass defense has been solid, but losing corner Aqib Talib will hurt the Bucs. He’s their top cover corner and second-year E.J. Biggers replaces him. I’d expect a lot of zone coverage from the Bucs.
10. How good is Gerald McCoy? Well, he only has three sacks, which is funny because he was supposed to be the better pass rusher between he and Ndamukong Suh. But McCoy is very effective; he moves around the line a lot and will draw double teams. The guards had best be wary.
11. Who will win? Tampa Bay is 7-0 vs. teams that currently have .500 records or worse; in other words, it beats the bad teams. The Redskins qualify in this category. And Tampa is playing to keep alive its playoff hopes. But the Bucs are coming off two straight tough losses, to Baltimore and Atlanta and they’re banged up and playing on the road and probably on a sloppy field. That’s a lot to overcome. If the Redskins are going to win another game this season, today is the day. Their running game will be good enough and if they avoid turnovers – unlike last week, obviously – they should be fine. Redskins 14, Bucs 10.
