ASHBURN — The blueprint unfolded the way Mike Shanahan always hoped and hasn’t always seen. Not in Washington at least. There it was Sunday: a determined running game, play-action passes over linebackers scrambling back into coverage and a stout defense.
Recommended Stories
The Redskins followed that formula in their 23-10 win Sunday at the New York Giants. It’s what they want to be in the future. Time will answer whether they become that team. But for one day, they were.
“It starts with the running game,” Shanahan said. “Once the running game gets going, it sets up the play-action, and you control the tempo of the game. And then you’ve got to play great defense.”
Check, check and check. The Redskins did all those things vs. the Giants, offering a glimpse, perhaps, of their future. It helps that the running game continues to flourish. Though Roy Helu’s three-game streak of 100-yard games ended, the Redskins still rushed 40 times for 123 yards. The yards per carry weren’t impressive (3.1), but the amount of carries was. It helps that they led big late, but keep in mind that 22 of those carries occurred in the first half.
“You’re always hoping your football team is improving even though you might not have anything to play for except for pride,” Shanahan said. “We’ll get a chance to evaluate those guys on a day-to-day basis and, obviously with a couple of games left, see who gives us the best chance to win next year. So, yeah, it’s still important to evaluate those guys, and hopefully they play at a high level. I think some of that does carry over to the following year.”
| Notes |
| » Redskins coach Mike Shanahan tweaked the daily schedule two weeks ago, putting the practices right after the walkthrough. It’s enabled the players to leave the facility an hour or so earlier. “It’s a reward,” Shanahan said. “You’re trying to help them out and give them a chance to rest up.” Plus, he said, the walkthroughs, in which they go over plays, should go quicker at this point in the season since the players should have them down by now. |
| »Cornerback Josh Wilson suffered a head injury in Sunday’s win over the Giants and will be further tested Tuesday. Wilson was hit in the head late in the game; he was also hurt in the third quarter but returned. “He was a little woozy on the sideline,” Shanahan said. He also said that running back Roy Helu was hurting during the game with a toe and knee injury. “Just a little beat up,” Shanahan said. |
And it’s not as much the momentum from the wins that carries over but rather the improved play of those winning the games. Keep in mind that the offense has improved without numerous key players. They’ve scored 50 points combined the past two games, the best output by the offense in consecutive games this season.
That has occurred minus suspended left tackle Trent Williams and tight end Fred Davis. Their absence was supposed to weaken this offense further. Instead, it has forced the coaches to look at alternative ways to attack defenses. They have used more I-formation sets and fewer two tight end looks. They have involved receiver Donte Stallworth more in the passing game. They have run the same plays but with different looks, using, say, Niles Paul as a third receiver rather than using a second tight end.
Of the current offensive starters, it’s possible that only five or six open the season in the same spot next season. But Shanahan likes that players such as left tackle Willie Smith and left guard Maurice Hurt are getting valuable experience.
“The more you have guys play in game situations, the better off you’re going to be,” Shanahan said. “And what you want is playmakers. If you don’t have enough of those, then there’s not a chance to win the Super Bowl.”
Which, of course, is their ultimate goal. They have no shot this year of achieving that, and it’ll take a lot of work to become a postseason team in 2012. But winning games that others deem meaningless still matters to the current group.
“I thanked the guys for the way they played,” Redskins nose tackle Barry Cofield said. “I also told them it’s sad to think if we could have played this way more often where we would be.”
