After trading up and giving up a lot for Robert Griffin III, it’s no real secret that the Washington Redskins have some seriously high hopes for the Heisman Trophy winner.

They have a franchise quarterback in mind. They have touchdown passes in mind. They have winning football games in mind.

But how realistic is it for Griffin to do all this?

I mean, the kid’s only a rookie. Heck, he’s not even drafted yet.

The expectations for RG3 are just as high as they are for Andrew Luck—if not higher, considering what the Redskins gave up for the Baylor quarterback. And for all those expectations, RG3 should not be expected to drag the Washington Redskins out of misery and into the playoffs in his first season in the NFL.

Let me rephrase that: Griffin will not take the Redskins to the playoffs this year.

Washington will look to do what the Cincinnati Bengals did with Andy Dalton last year as he led them to the playoffs—surround him with a tough defense and let him make big plays. But for all the skills and brilliance of Dalton, it wasn’t he who led the Bengals to the playoffs.

It was the Cincinnati defense.

The Bengals ranked seventh last year in total defense—allowing just 316.2 yards and 20.2 points per game as well as 37 touchdowns for the season.

It was this defense that won them football games and took them to the playoffs, not their 20th-ranked offense led by Andy Dalton.

He made good throws at the right time, but at the end of the day, it was the Bengals defense that ultimately led them in to the playoffs.

The Redskins will look to RG3 as the NFL Playoff Messiah when in reality, then need to be looking at him achieving that in three to five years’ time.

Give the defense a chance to grow and get better, then expect the Heisman Trophy winner to lead you into the playoffs.

Give Griffin a few years in the National Football League before expecting the playoffs—he’s bound to experience growing pains right now, simply because the rest of the Washington Redskins aren’t good enough to win football games.

They’re not good enough to compete in a division where no other side finished with a losing record.

Not yet, anyway.

RG3 is going to experience some growing pains in the NFL.

It doesn’t mean that he wasn’t worth trading up for, and it certainly doesn’t mean that he won’t do it at some point in the future.

What it does mean is that he’s more like Cam Newton than Andy Dalton.

Personally brilliant, but the star in a struggling team.

Winner of the Rookie of the Year award, but owner of a 6-10 record.

Cam Newton didn’t lead the Carolina Panthers to the playoffs, and that didn’t mean that he wasn’t one of the most exciting and brilliant prospects in several years.

The same goes for Robert Griffin III.

He will be brilliant. He will be spectacular. He will win football games. He will bring playoff hopes back to the Washington Redskins organization.

He might just have some growing pains along the way, though.

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(c) 2012, The Washington Post
Mike Shanahan will close his 28th season as a coach in the NFL on Sunday, when his Washington Redskins play what is essentially a meaningless game in Philadelphia. And though he has seen almost everything in pro football — he has been hired and fired, made and missed the playoffs, won and lost the Super Bowl — he has never faced the circumstances he does now. Whatever happens against the Eagles, Shanahan will have back-to-back losing campaigns for the first time in his 17 full seasons as a head coach.
For the Redskins, who haven’t had consecutive winning seasons since 1991-92, such is life. But for the man who was hired to overhaul the entire organization, this is new.
“I couldn’t have handled it earlier in my career,” Shanahan said Friday, not long after the Redskins practiced for the final time this season. “You don’t know the big picture. You’re just trying to survive. Unless you’ve been with different programs or organizations that have been down or have been up, you can’t really relate to where you’re at now. I can relate to this.”
Shanahan opened his Redskins tenure by going 6-10 in 2010. Win Sunday, and he only matches that record. Lose, and he has his worst record as a head coach. Jim Zorn, whose tenure running the Redskins was mocked from near and far, won 12 games in his two seasons with Washington. The Redskins must win Sunday for Shanahan to match that.
Yet ask Shanahan to take stock as he winds down the second of two difficult seasons, and he is unwavering.
“I feel very good about this football team and the direction we’re headed,” he said, “because we’ve got the right people.”
Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, the Redskins will finish in last place in the NFC East for the fourth consecutive year. Yet Shanahan can sit behind his desk — tape of a practice session frozen on a television screen over one shoulder, the Redskins’ entire depth chart on the wall he faces — and emphatically restate his belief that the franchise he oversees will win, and soon. He does so, he said, because he can draw on all those experiences, good and bad. What others see? How others evaluate his team? It doesn’t matter to him.
“He doesn’t let perception become reality,” said his son Kyle, the Redskins’ offensive coordinator. “He knows what he’s doing. All of us know what we’re doing, but the difference with him is, he’s so strong in his personality and he’s had so much success his whole career, he’s seen it all. He knows when things are done right, when things are done wrong. And he knows we’re doing it right.”
There are, Mike Shanahan believes, several aspects to “doing it right,” many of which occur far from the practice field. For the past several weeks, he has begun many mornings by watching a half-hour of film on college quarterbacks, a different one each day, maybe 70 or 80 plays. The Redskins clearly are searching for a quarterback to eventually replace current starter Rex Grossman. And Shanahan will have the most significant role in selecting that player, be it through free agency or the college draft, this year or the next or the year after that.
“The key is you have to keep the right people coming in through the draft, through free agency,” Shanahan said. “You can’t make a lot of bad decisions. You’re going to make some, but if you do, admit it was a bad decision and move on.”
That, essentially, is what has happened at quarterback in Shanahan’s two seasons in Washington. In 2010, he traded for Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb, wasn’t pleased with the results, then traded him away after one season. He started Grossman when the 2011 season opened, benched him during a four-interception outing against the Eagles in October, and inserted John Beck. Beck led one touchdown drive and moved the ball in that fourth quarter despite playing without left tackle Trent Williams, left guard Kory Lichtensteiger and tight end Chris Cooley, all of whom were injured earlier in the game.
Beck started the next three games — a decent performance at Carolina, a disastrous one against Buffalo in which he took 10 sacks, and a jittery follow-up against San Francisco when he got rid of the ball too quickly. All three were losses. Offensive players, quietly and not, expressed a preference for Grossman. A week later, Shanahan turned back to him. Entering Sunday’s game, Grossman is tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions.
“You make 1/8the decisions3/8 based on what you see,” Shanahan said. “If John didn’t play the way he did for that quarter 1/8against Philadelphia3/8 — the drives, all that — then we wouldn’t have gone to him. . . . You want to do the best thing for your organization. Does John have a chance to be that No. 1 guy? We felt like we had a good feel for what Rex was and what he was doing. But losing those three starters, are you better off with a quarterback that’s a little more mobile? We didn’t know that.”
The episode raised questions about Shanahan’s acumen as a talent evaluator, in no small part because he said, in a moment of bravado, that he would stake his reputation on Grossman and Beck. But even as the Redskins continue their search for stability and stardom at quarterback, Shanahan believes the structure for evaluating who will be next, at any position, is in place.
Scott Campbell, the director of player personnel, oversees the college scouting process. Morocco Brown, the director of pro personnel, is heavily involved in evaluating potential free agents. Every position coach will have input on potential draftees and free agents. Shanahan said he does not feel the need to bring in another personnel man.
“The thing that people think is that I’m sitting here doing all the evaluating,” he said. “My main thing is I get everybody involved. That’s how you eliminate mistakes.”
Beginning with last year’s draft and free agency, Shanahan believes the Redskins have limited theirs. Coaches believe the shift from a 4-3 defensive alignment to a 3-4 has gone well because they correctly evaluated free agent acquisitions Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen and first-round draft pick Ryan Kerrigan. They also believe second-round pick Jarvis Jenkins, a defensive lineman who missed the entire season with a knee injury, will have a big impact in 2012, further strengthening a front seven that has helped the Redskins move from 31st in total defense a year ago to 13th this season.
“You’re changing not just one guy; you’re changing all 11 guys,” defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said. “You’re really starting it over from square one last year. And we made great progress, but we got to keep working at it. We got to keep getting better at it.”
That, Shanahan believes, will happen, and soon. He can tick off the plays from 2011 that still knock around in his mind: a third-and-21 conversion that allowed Dallas to turn a win into a loss, a missed field goal in overtime of the second Dallas game, an offensive pass interference call that negated a game-tying touchdown against New England, five losses by one touchdown or less, Those plays build his case that his last-place Redskins aren’t terribly far from first.
“You win those games, we’re playing for something right now,” Shanahan said. “You’ve got to keep things in perspective.”

By Daniel Shiferaw

– Redskins Editor

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Dec 26, 2011 – LANDOVER, Md. – Early in the third quarter of Saturday’s game, Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback Joe Webb showed the Washington Redskins defense that he possessed the one asset that’s proven to be their kryptonite all season long.

Much like Michael Vick and Cam Newton before him, Webb was able to navigate his way around Redskins defenders using his legs, breaking tackles and using his shiftiness to make others miss in the open field on his way to a nine-yard touchdown run.

It was a score that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, as Webb accounted for scores on three straight drives in the second half, helping to lift the Vikings to a 33-26 victory over Washington.

The athletic backup for the Vikings once again highlighted one of Washington’s biggest weaknesses on defense: stopping mobile quarterbacks. Signal callers that can hurt you both with their arms and legs are supposed to pose a challenge to any defense. But for whatever reason, the Redskins have had an even tougher time solving them this season.

This season, three of the top five yardage totals allowed have come against the Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers, all of whom have mobile quarterbacks on their rosters. Minnesota and Carolina each put up 33 points against Washington, accounting for two of the four times this season they’ve yielded 30 points or more.

“It’s tough,” said nose tackle Barry Cofield. “It provides a different dynamic with the quarterback carrying the ball. In those situations, you may give up a play or two, but you can’t give up the big play. You got to make tackles when you get the opportunity.”

The problem for the Redskins is that when given the opportunity to make those plays, they’ve floundered. Much like Panthers did in Week 7 with Newton, the Vikings ran the option with Webb in the game, keeping the Redskins defense on its heels.

“I thought [Joe] Webb came in and did some things well with the football,” Mike Shanahan said of Minnesota’s altered attack. “[They ran] the counter options and keeping the ball alive, which wasn’t what they had been doing [with Ponder in the game]. He made some big time plays, made some big time throws and kept us off balance.”

“[The option]‘s something we didn’t prepare for during the week,” linebacker Brian Orakpo added. “Usually when we know what we’re going to face during the week, we prepare for it. [Webb] came in and started optioning the ball, running stuff with the quarterback naked [bootleg].”

Webb’s appearance came after the Redskins knocked out Vikings starter Christian Ponder, as he left with concussion like symptoms. With star running back Adrian Peterson already out of the game due to a knee injury, Ponder’s absence looked to be a boon to the Redskins defense.

But that was far from the case. It was clear the moment Webb came into the game that the Redskins defense was was not ready. Every time they thought he’d throw, he would take off for a big run. Each time they thought they had him contained in the pocket, he’d unload a pass downfield to an open receiver.

“It was kinda overwhelming,” Orakpo admitted, “and we just couldn’t adjust that quickly.”

“He’s a mobile quarterback, definitely,” said rookie linebacker Ryan Kerrigan. “We just didn’t play well. We didn’t execute. We had guys out of our gaps, and that’s why they hit the big plays.”

It’s pretty clear if the Redskins defense is to take that next step, they must be able to have an answer for the league’s dual-threat quarterbacks. Their wins this season have come against the likes of Eli Manning (twice), Kevin Kolb and Sam Bradford. Those aren’t exactly guys that scare you with their legs.

“If you’re gonna have an athlete back there in certain schemes, they’re going to make some plays,” Cofield explained. “So when you have an opportunity to make a play, you can’t falter, and that’s what we did.”

Cofield and the rest of the defense will get their chance to atone for Saturday’s poor performance, as they’ll go against an Eagles team that totaled 422 yards against them in Week 6.

And it’ll be Vick — perhaps the king of all mobile NFL quarterbacks — that they’ll have to do it against.

For more Redskins coverage, please visit Hogs Haven, SB Nation’s Redskins blog. For the perspective from the other side, please check out SB Nation Minnesota and Daily Norseman, SB Nation’s Vikings blog.

Read More: Michael Vick (QB – PHI), Kevin Kolb (QB – ARI), Barry Cofield (NT – WAS), Eli Manning (QB – NYG), Brian Orakpo (LB – WAS), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Joe Webb (QB – MIN), Christian Ponder (QB – MIN), Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers

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ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—When Willie Smith became the only undrafted rookie to
make the Washington Redskins’ opening day roster, he celebrated by spiffing up
his 2000 all-white Crown Victoria.

“I noticed that he had got his windows tinted and he had gotten rims on
it,” running back Roy Helu said, “so I just joked around and said how he’s
changed ever since he’s made it big-time.”

Helu has kept it up all season, making up stories about Smith getting
accessories like subwoofers and satellite radio. When Helu told the story to
reporters this week, Smith was beside himself.

“Oh, come on, Roy,” Smith bellowed across the locker room Wednesday. “You
told them I got big-time? Got tinted windows?”

The truth is that Smith only got the rims—the car’s windows were already
tinted—and that Helu does the shtick because he says Smith is actually the
opposite of flashy. Besides, a newbie at the fringe of the roster doesn’t need
to be spending big on his car.

For most of the season, there wasn’t much reason to tell such stories about
Smith—that is, until Trent Williams was suspended two weeks ago for the rest
of the year for violating the NFL’s substance policy. Now the left tackle from
East Carolina is protecting Rex Grossman’s blindside, having made his NFL debut
against the New England Patriots before getting his first start in Sunday in a
victory over the New York Giants.

That means he’s already faced two monster pass-rushers, Andre Carter and
Jason Pierre-Paul. Now he has an assignment that looks even more daunting: On
Saturday, the Redskins host the Minnesota Vikings and Jared Allen, who needs 5
1/2 sacks over his last two games to break the NFL single-season record.

It has mismatch written all over it.

“I’m going to have to go out there and just be tight on everything and
fundamentally sound, just to even have a chance to block this guy,” Smith said,
“because he’s just that good.”

At least from a big-picture view, the results from Smith’s first two games
are surprisingly good. The Redskins scored 27 against the Patriots and 23
against the Giants, their best two-game points output since September. Smith is
playing next to another rookie—left guard Maurice Smith, who took over after
Kory Lichtensteiger’s injury—while Tyler Polumbus has been subbing for injured
right tackle Jammal Brown.

All those changes have forced offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to become
more creative with formations and play designs to overcome the inevitable
shortcomings. Smith might be 1-0 as a starter, but even his teammates
acknowledge he has a ways to go.

“He knows he’s going to have to get better,” right guard Chris Chester
said, “and he is getting better, in my opinion. And I think he’s doing a great
job for us—all things considered.”

Smith said he’s working on his fundamentals, learning to better use his
hands and feet to get maximum leverage and finish off blocks. Like many rookies
before him, he’s finding the game is tougher than he thought it would be during
all those weeks he watched from the sideline.

“You see the guys out there,” Smith said, “and you’re like, `Man I can do
this. I can do what he’s doing.’ But then when you get out there, you see how
hard it really is, and you see how hard you’ve got to go out there and
practice.”

Meanwhile, Smith’s sudden burst of fame is drawing even more grief from
Helu, who took notice of the reporters crowding around the lineman’s locker.

“Look at Willie Smith!” Helu called out. “Getting the shine over there.”

Notes: Shanahan said suspended players Williams and TE Fred Davis will begin
conditioning workouts at Redskins Park this week, but will not take part in
meetings. The team had to wait for a ruling from the NFL to find out whether the
players would be allowed at the facility under the new collective bargaining
agreement. … Brown (groin), Helu (toe, knee), TE Mike Sellers (elbow) and LB
London Fletcher (ankle) were limited at practice Wednesday.

———

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

It may seem strange to suggest pursuing a tight end on draft day when the Redskins already have Fred Davis on the roster.

But many teams choose to draft to areas of strength. Many teams are also choosing to rely on two playmakers at the tight-end position.

Both the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots have given an extra dimension to their respective units by having two tight ends who are legitimate weapons.

Selecting Stanford’s Coby Fleener would give the Redskins arguably the draft’s most complete player at his position.

Fleener has thrived in a pro-style offense, so he would arrive in the NFL with a competent knowledge of top-level pass patterns.

The 6’6″, 245-pounder is also an exceptional blocker, a characteristic not shared by Davis. Fleener would beef up and improve the Redskins’ blocking schemes.

As a receiver, he is intelligent and sure-handed. Like Davis, Fleener also offers the ability to stretch the field. He has tallied an impressive 20.3 yards per reception average and hauled in 10 scoring passes.

Fleener would take the pressure off Davis and prevent coverage schemes from focusing too much on him. Whoever starts under center for Washington in 2012 would certainly be grateful for the presence of a weapon as dependable as Fleener.

Much of the blame for the Redskins disaster season has been leveled at offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and a good portion of it can be justified.

It has been a swift fall from grace for a promising young assistant, once lauded around the league for his efforts in designing and guiding an explosive Houston Texans offense. His play calling and sideline manner have come under particularly close scrutiny.

The biggest bone of contention regarding Kyle Shanahan is the lack of balance in his play calling. Washington’s pass-run ratio has been frighteningly one-sided at times during the 2011 season.

Even though the Redskins entered the campaign with a plethora of options at running back and a questionable quarterback situation, Kyle Shanahan has frequently skewed his plan, calling heavily in favour of the pass.

This has meant a greater frequency of Rex Grossman and John Beck throws, and that has led to an increased number of turnovers.

It almost defies belief that without a reliable presence under center and with capable weapons in the backfield, Shanahan has not simply adapted his play-calling to fit a scheme which relies on the ground game.

The issue becomes even more frustrating given the problems in pass protection experienced by the Redskins offensive line.

Washington’s front five has struggled mightily to keep the team’s quarterbacks clean, hardly the kind of foundation upon which to build a heavy passing attack.

For all of their problems repelling pressure, the Redskins line has actually done a respectable job at times, blocking for the run.The left side of the line in particular, has shown promise in this area.

When this potential is combined with the play of explosive rookie Roy Helu, then the lowly ranking of Washington’s rush offense can only be attributed to Shanahan’s baffling refusal to emphasize such an obvious strength.

The young coordinator has also displayed an infuriating tendency to move away too quickly from what is working.

In the running game, this usually means gradually reducing the number of carries quarter by quarter. Backs are hardly given the opportunity to establish true rhythm.

But the problem also overlaps into the passing game. Too often, talented playmakers like tight end Fred Davis have simply not seen enough passes come their way.

This is odd given the fact that designing plays to maximize the potential of a tight end in the offense, is perhaps Shanahan’s biggest strength.

By frequently taking his offense out of its comfort zone, Shanahan has increased the potential for crucial mistakes.

While this author certainly believes that the defense is not above criticism for the Redskins’ failures this season, the lion’s share of the guilt belongs to the offense and its youthful coordinator.

Two games in particular highlight the unit’s follies. Road trips to the Carolina Panthers and the Buffalo Bills, were lost thanks to the inability of the offense to expose two vulnerable defenses.

As with the defense, there are playmakers on the Redskins offense. But like the defense, they have either been underused, as in the case of Davis, or given a proper chance too late, as in the case of Helu.

The Redskins offense has shown promise at times this season. But like the defense, the unit has struggled for consistency at critical times.

Kyle Shanahan’s inability or unwillingness to adapt his schemes to suit the personnel at his disposal embodies the central problem of the Shanahan era in D.C.

Read More: Santana Moss (WR – WAS), London Fletcher (LB – WAS), Jammal Brown (OT – WAS), Sean Locklear (G – WAS), Keyaron Fox (LB – WAS), LaRon Landry (SS – WAS), Josh Wilson (DB – WAS), Trent Williams (OT – WAS), DeJon Gomes (DB – WAS), Niles Paul (WR – WAS), Maurice Hurt (G – WAS), Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks

The Washington Redskins’ Thursday Injury Report for their Thanksgiving weekend game against the Seattle Seahawks delivered mostly good news. Not one player who wasn’t already ruled out for Sunday missed practice entirely, and while several players, including linebacker London Fletcher, were limited, wide receiver Santana Moss practiced in full and will likely be back in the lineup for the first time since getting injured in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers.

The major changes from Wednesday are that Fletcher and wide receiver Niles Paul were limited after missing practice entirely on Wednesday. Several other players were limited in practice, with varying degrees of concern. Here is a full list of players who practiced on Thursday.

Limited: OL Jammal Brown (groin), LB London Fletcher (ankle), S DeJon Gomes (knee), OL Maurice Hurt (knee), OL Sean Locklear (ankle), WR Niles Paul (toe), WR Donte’ Stallworth (foot), OL Trent Williams (knee), CB Josh Wilson (hamstring).

Full practice: LB Keyaron Fox (Infection), S LaRon Landry (Achilles), WR Santana Moss (hand).

For more on the Redskins, please visit Hogs Haven, SB Nation’s Redskins blog. For more on the Seahawks, please visit SB Nation Seattle and Field Gulls, SB Nation’s Seahawks blog. For coverage of Sunday’s Redskins/Seahawks matchup, please visit this StoryStream.

“I like Helu. He’s doing some great things,” Shanahan said. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on him too early. He’s not ready for that. But he’s gaining experience, and I like what I see.”

Torain has started the Redskins’ past two games and three of the four since Tim Hightower went down with a season-ending knee injury. Torain’s rushing numbers from those four games: 40 yards on 24 carries. In Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys, Torain had only four yards on five carries and spent most of the second half on the sideline. Torain has totaled 71 yards in the past six games, considerably less than Helu’s 122.

Despite splitting carries and playing largely on passing downs, Helu has led the Redskins in rushing in each of the past three games. On Sunday, he had 35 yards on eight carries. He ran for 41 yards each of the previous two weeks.

Helu said Monday that coaches haven’t given him any hint about whether he might join the starting lineup soon.

“That’s something we keep in-house,” he said. “We talk amongst each other. The obvious thing is throughout the practice week, coach selects who he thinks is going to be the best person to win the game and start the game.”

While apparently that has been Torain the past couple of weeks, coaches haven’t been reluctant to turn to Helu as each game progresses. He’s the better blocker and better pass-catcher. He also may be the better runner.

Among NFL running backs with at least 50 carries this season, only seven are averaging more than Helu’s 4.9 yards per carry. Helu’s average is ahead some of the game’s top runners — Steven Jackson, Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Arian Foster, among them — though they are every-down backs. Maurice Jones-Drew, for example has four times the number of carries of Helu.

The Redskins’ struggles in the running game are hardly a secret. Only two running backs have rushed for touchdowns this year, fewer than on 30 other teams. Since Hightower tore his anterior cruciate ligament Oct. 23 at Carolina, coaches have regularly rotated the running backs. In Sunday’s overtime loss to Dallas, Torain started the game, but Helu and Tashard Choice also saw plenty of action. Shanahan says taking a look at each running back helps coaches determine who should receive the bulk of the carries down the stretch.

“When you start to get a feel on who steps up, then you give somebody a little bit more reps,” Shanahan said. “And that’s what we’ve done with Helu. He’s got more reps than the rest of the backs. If he keeps on proving that he’s the guy, then he’s going to get more and more.”

Though Helu had only eight carries on Sunday, he was on the field for 38 of the Redskins’ 62 offensive snaps. As the Redskins were trying to tie the game late in the fourth, Helu was the main option in the backfield. They again turned to him in the overtime period.

“I guess the biggest thing I’ve been learning is it’s better to finish the game than to start it,” Helu said.

Shanahan won’t tip his hand about which running back might start this Sunday when the Redskins travel to Seattle. But each of the past two weeks, coaches have replaced a veteran in the lineup with a younger player. Linebacker Perry Rileyreceived his first career start two weeks ago at Miami, and rookie safety DeJon Gomesmade his first career start against Dallas.

While Shanahan doesn’t want to rush Helu along, he also knows he can’t wait forever for Torain to show he deserves such a prominent role. Since rushing for 135 yards at St. Louis on Oct. 2, Torain is averaging a dismal 1.6 yards per carry.

“The way he played against the Rams, he was off the charts,” Shanahan said. “You’re looking for that to come back. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.

“That’s part of the evaluation process, especially when we’re struggling in the running game,’ he continued. “To find that spark — who’s going to be that guy who possesses that spark to help us a little bit?”

Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said that he was pleased with quarterback Rex Grossman’s play on Sunday in his return to the starting lineup, and that he didn’t blame either of the team’s interceptions on the passer.

Grossman on Sunday — after four games on the bench — came in and completed 21 of 32 passes for 215 yards two interceptions and was sacked three times.

But Washington’s offense moved up and down the ball at a better rate with Grossman at quarterback thanks largely to the nine-year veteran’s experience and aggressive nature. But he couldn’t get his team into the end zone, and twice had drives snuffed out by interceptions.

But Shanahan still spoke highly of Grossman’s play.

“I thought he did a good job moving the ball. I know we’re disappointed we didn’t get into the end zone, but I thought he did a good job out there,” Shanahan said. “He did a good job getting completions. Made some good decisions.

“I know he had two picks, but both of the throws he had, it was the right throw,” Shanahan continued. “It’s unfortunate what happened, but I didn’t think the two picks were his fault. But he did a good job of getting rid of the ball and making the right reads.”

On the first interception, Grossman was throwing to a spot, but wide receiver Leonard Hankerson slipped on the rout, and Vontae Davis picked off the pass.

On the second interception, with Washington at the 10-yard line while trailing 13-9 early in the fourth quarter, Grossman tried to force a pass into a congested area to Hankerson, but Karlos Dansby, the linebacker covering Jabar Gaffney, stepped in front of the pass.

“It was definitely a bust on the play,” Shanahan said. “There was some bad distribution with somebody making an off-scheduled deal, putting two guys in the same area. . . . It was definitely a right throw and the timing of the play and making the right read.”

Like their offensive coordinator, Redskins players have confidence in Grossman because his aggressive style gives them better opportunities to make plays.

“He’s going to take chances to throw it up there and give you the chance to go up and get it,” tight end Fred Davis said of Grossman. “And whenever you have that opportunity, it’s a good thing.”

Shanahan described Grossman’s ability to stand in the pocket and make throws as “fearless” and said “that’s one of Rex’s best attributes.”

But he said that’s not the only reason why the Redskins went back to him as their quarterback.

“It wasn’t one reason in particular, but Rex has a lot more experience than [Beck]. He’s played in a lot of games,” Shanahan said. “John did a fairly good job in that Philly game, taking us down, and in that Carolina game. But then with injuries going, we felt like John out there, didn’t have the experience to get through those tough times. So we felt more comfortable with Rex and felt he gave us the best chance to win.”

Washington Redskins running back
Tim Hightower , who had surgery to repair his torn left ACL, calls watching his team’s struggles frustrating. But he vowed to pour his energy into recovering and returning back better than before.

Hightower suffered the injury on Oct. 23 in Washington’s loss to Carolina but didn’t have the knee operated on until Nov. 8. Redskins senior orthopedic consultant Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery, and Hightower began rehab the following day.

Tim Hightower is helped from the field after his Oct. 23 knee injury. “Mentally, it’s still frustrating. But I think I’m in a lot better place than I was last week,” said Hightower, who at the time of his injury was Washington’s leading rusher, with 84 carries for 321 yards and a touchdown, along with eight receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown. “It was a long, long week. Playing sports for a long time, my respect level for guys that have had surgeries, have had injuries and come back at a higher level, my respect level goes up very much.

“Now I see an injury at the bottom of the screen and my heart goes out to them, because I know when it’s just you and that doctor, and they’re putting you under, you don’t know when you’re going to wake up,” Hightower continued. “You don’t have any control in your future, and it’s just kind of in God’s hands. But I’m in a better place now, and can actually start training and rehabbing and getting ready for next year.”

The recovery from reconstructive knee surgery generally takes around six to eight months, but Hightower said that he didn’t know how long doctors believe it will take for him to heal, because he isn’t concerned with their timelines.

“I don’t believe in timelines, man,” Hightower said with a grin. “You’re talking to the wrong guy. I’m going to give it all I have and I’m going to put as much emotion and passion into rehabbing my knee as I did playing football. I didn’t even ask for timelines because I don’t listen anyway.”

Hightower said helplessly watching the Redskins’ struggles has been nearly as torturous as the pain of his injury. Since the injury, Washington hasn’t been able to put together a consistent rushing attack, and now ranks 31st in the league in the ground game.

“That might’ve been one of the hardest things in a while,” said Hightower, who will be a free agent but wants to re-sign with Washington. “It’s been very hard. Just coming here, very excited to come here, feeling like I had a chance to revive my career and start something new with a program, and high expectations and then to not be able to – you kind of feel like you’re letting a team down. Kind of get everyone excited, ‘Hey, we’ve got a leader on this team. We’ve got a guy that can do some things.’ And all of a sudden it’s gone.”

The Washington Redskins have lost rookie wide receiver Leonard Hankerson for the remainder of the season after he suffered a subluxation of his right hip and a torn labrum in Sunday’s 20-9 loss to the Dolphins.

Defensive end Kedric Golston, meanwhile, will miss an indefinite amount of time with torn ligaments in his knee. Both injuries were announced Monday by Coach Mike Shanahan.

Late in Sunday’s game, Hankerson made a 9-yard catch and, as he was tackled, his hip popped out of joint and then popped back into the socket. Hankerson had to be helped off the field, and painfully hobbled around the locker room following the game.

The injury ended a career-best eight-catch, 106-yard performance for Hankerson, the first Redskins rookie wide receiver to top the 100-yard mark since Rod Gardner achieved the feat in October of 2001.

Shanahan said Hankerson, who was placed on injured reserve, will see a specialist and then determine whether surgery is necessary. The coach expected a recovery time of roughly four months.

“He played a great game,” Shanahan said of Hankerson, whom the team drafted in the third round of last April’s draft. “He’s got a big upside, as we saw yesterday. I like the way he handles himself, like the way he works. It was a setback for him. He was devastated when he found out, but he’ll work through it.”

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Hankerson rose quickly through the ranks of Washington’s receivers in the last four weeks. Inactive for the first five games of the season after a rocky preseason, he made his debut in Week 7 against Carolina, but didn’t record a catch. The next week, against Buffalo, Hankerson had a grab for 23 yards. Last week against San Francisco, Hankerson had four catches for 34 yards while making his first start. He started again against Miami and became the first Redskins wide receiver to top the 100-yard mark this season.

“Through the preseason, I saw a player who was pretty inconsistent. You’d see consistency in practice, but it didn’t carry over into games,” Shanahan said. “Then you saw a guy, who as he grew, he was becoming a pro player, a player who was a lot more serious. The way he practiced on a day-to-day basis, you could see a light went on, and you could see his competitiveness as he ran the scout team against our players, which gave him the opportunity to start and earn a position. And then you could see with the way he played yesterday, when he caught the football, he’d turn upfield, and how he reached up and caught some big-time balls. That’s what you’re looking for.”

Hankerson now joins running back Tim Hightower (torn ACL), left guard Kory Lichtensteiger (torn ACL), tight end Chris Cooley (knee), fellow rookie Jarvis Jenkins (torn ACL) and cornerback Phillip Buchanon (knee, neck) on the injured reserve list.

Golston was hurt in the third quarter of the loss to Miami. Shanahan said the exact extent of the sixth-year pro’s knee injury remains unknown.

“We believe it was a third degree MCL tear and partial tear of the ACL. Right now there’s a question mark of where he’s at,” Shanahan said.

Golston, a backup defensive end who re-signed with Washington this summer, had recorded 16 tackles and 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Shanahan also said “it’s a longshot” that right tackle Jammal Brown (groin) could play this week against Dallas. Brown suffered the injury in the loss to San Francisco and didn’t play against Miami.

The coach said he is hopeful that wide receiver Santana Moss (broken hand) can return to action two weeks from now at Seattle.

(c) 2011, The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — John Beck took over as starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins three weeks ago, but given his performance the last couple of games, is he on a shorter leash this week?
Possibly.
This week, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had Beck split first-team snaps with second-string quarterback Rex Grossman, who opened the season as the starter but was benched four games ago, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.
Grossman got the hook after throwing four interceptions in three quarters against the Philadelphia Eagles. In the first four games of the season, the Redskins’ offense averaged 19 points a game with Grossman at the helm. But the eighth-year pro had nine interceptions and a fumble to outweigh six touchdowns.
Beck came in for Grossman in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia and led Washington on two scoring drives, rushing for one touchdown and throwing for another, and did the same in his first start (a 33-20 loss to Carolina).
But in the next two games, the Redskins have mustered a total of 11 points with Beck at the helm.
Against Buffalo, Beck appeared indecisive and was sacked a record 10 times as Washington fell 23-0, the first shutout of Mike Shanahan’s coaching career. After the game, both Shanahans said Beck was responsible for some of those sacks by holding onto the ball too long.
Last week Beck got rid of the ball quickly, but 14 of his 30 completions went to running back Roy Helu on swing passes out of the backfield. None of Beck’s completions was for more than 17 yards. With his focus largely on getting rid of the ball quickly, Beck settled for those check-down passes and missed open receivers downfield several times.
Kyle Shanahan said that while he was pleased that Beck got rid of the ball more quickly, the quarterback needed to make better decisions and the offense needs to make more big plays.
Publicly, both Shanahans maintain that Beck, who until this year hadn’t played since 2007, can blossom into a franchise quarterback.
But privately, they know he must produce some wins soon.
Washington has lost four straight games. No team coached by Mike Shanahan has ever dropped five straight contests.
Grossman struggles to take care of the football, but he has a better feel for the system, and he has a strong rapport with tight end Fred Davis and receiver Jabar Gaffney, the team’s leading pass catchers.
Shanahan began giving Grossman more first-team snaps in practice last season before making the decision to bench Donovan McNabb for the final three games of the season.
The move to give Grossman first team snaps also could be intended to put more pressure on Beck. Mike Shanahan likes to create competition in practice to spark improvement.
— — —
The Washington Redskins have listed two of their injured starters, free safety O.J. Atogwe and right tackle Jammal Brown, as questionable for Sunday’s road game against the Miami Dolphins.
After sitting out Wednesday and Thursday practice sessions, both players took some snaps in a limited capacity Friday, coach Mike Shanahan said.
Atogwe has been hampered by knee and toe injuries, while Brown is suffering from a pulled groin.
RB Tashard Choice (hamstring) also was listed as questionable on the injury report.
Ruled out for Sunday’s game are linebacker Keyaron Fox (skin infection in his knee), wide receiver Santana Moss (broken hand) and receiver Niles Paul (turf toe).
For the Dolphins, cornerback Nolan Carroll (hamstring) is listed as questionable and cornerback Vontae Davis (hamstring) and receiver Clyde Gates (groin) are expected to play.
— — —
As the Redskins begin the second half of the season, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s unit remains very much a work in progress. Shanahan still is experimenting with tailoring the system to the strengths of quarterback John Beck.
Although the offense has managed only 31 points in the three games that Beck has started, Shanahan described himself as happy with the improvements he sees in the fifth-year pro, who hadn’t played since his rookie year.
“When quarterbacks don’t play a lot, you know they’re going to miss some stuff,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been happy with John. He has learned from his mistakes, stuff he’s struggled with each week. He’s done a good job of eliminating those the next week. Yeah, there definitely are some times that he missed some reads in the game. I think he’ll get better with that.”
As Beck becomes more comfortable with executing the system in game conditions, Shanahan’s trust and understanding of the quarterback has followed suit.
“I’m learning about him a lot,” Shanahan said. “I thought he played his best when he came in versus Philly. I thought he played his best at Carolina. I thought it was his worst at Buffalo and I thought he played better versus San Francisco than he did at Buffalo, but still not good enough.
“He’s been a little different in each game. There’s been some growing pains. But I think he can get better. He’s shown he can improve in areas, and I know John is a tough guy. The physicality of the game doesn’t bother him. He’ll hang in there. He can throw it, too. I know he’s smart enough to read the defenses. I think just give him some time and allow him to develop and I expect him to get better each week.”
— — —
Sunday at Sun Life Stadium, the Cook brothers will stand on opposite sidelines. Erik Cook is a reserve center for the Redskins, and his older brother, Ryan, is a reserve offensive lineman for the Dolphins.
“It’s definitely pretty cool I get to go against my brother,” Erik said.
The brothers attended Cibola High, in Albuquerque, N.M., and each starred at the University of New Mexico. Because Ryan is four years older than Erik, they never faced each other until they became pros. Last year, Ryan was with the Minnesota Vikings and Erik was a rookie in Washington.
The two brothers expect their family to fly in to watch as the backyard rivalry moves to an NFL stadium.
“He was strictly a one-sport guy. He always liked football and I was always doing other stuff. So I’d claim I was better than him at everything,” Erik Cook said, “and I think I still am.”

John Beck took over as starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins three weeks ago, but given his performance the last couple of games, is he on a shorter leash this week?

Possibly.

This week, Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had Beck split first-team snaps with second-string quarterback Rex Grossman, who opened the season as the starter but was benched four games ago, according to three people with knowledge of the situation

Grossman got the hook after throwing four interceptions in three quarters against the Philadelphia Eagles. In the first four games of the season, the Redskins’ offense averaged 19 points a game with Grossman at the helm. But the eighth-year pro had nine interceptions and a fumble to outweigh six touchdowns.

Beck came in for Grossman in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia and led Washington on two scoring drives – rushing for one touchdown and throwing for another – and did the same in his first start (a 33-20 loss to Carolina).

But in the next two games, the Redskins have mustered a total of 11 points with Beck at the helm.

Against Buffalo, Beck appeared indecisive and was sacked a record 10 times as Washington fell 23-0, the first shutout of Mike Shanahan’s coaching career. After the game, both Shanahans said Beck was responsible for some of those sacks by holding onto the ball too long.

Last week Beck got rid of the ball quickly, but 14 of his 30 completions went to running back Roy Helu on swing passes out of the backfield. None of Beck’s completions was for more than 17 yards. With his focus largely on getting rid of the ball quickly, Beck settled for those check-down passes and missed open receivers downfield several times.

Kyle Shanahan said that while he was pleased that Beck got rid of the ball more quickly, the quarterback needed to make better decisions and the offense needs to make more big plays.

Publicly, both Shanahans maintain that Beck – who until this year hadn’t played since 2007 – can blossom into a franchise quarterback.

But privately, they know he must produce some wins soon.

Washington has lost four straight games. No team coached by Mike Shanahan has ever dropped five straight contests.

Grossman struggles to take care of the football, but he has a better feel for the system, and he has a strong rapport with tight end Fred Davis and receiver Jabar Gaffney, the team’s leading pass-catchers.

Shanahan began giving Grossman more first-team snaps in practice last season before making the decision to bench Donovan McNabb for the final three games of the season.

The move to give Grossman first team snaps also could be intended to put more pressure on Beck. Mike Shanahan likes to create competition in practice to spark improvement.

As the Washington Redskins begin the second half of the season, Kyle Shanahan’s unit very much remains a work in progress, and the offensive coordinator admittedly still is experimenting with how to best tailor the system to the strengths of quarterback John Beck.

Although the offense has managed only a total of 31 points in the three games that Beck has started, Shanahan described himself as happy with the improvements he sees in the fifth-year pro, who hadn’t played since his rookie year.

Beck at times has held onto the ball too long, which has led to sacks and other missed opportunities. At other times, he has settled for check-down passes too quickly, which cost his team a chance to strike on downfield plays. But Shanahan chalks those miscues up to growing pains.

“When quarterbacks don’t play a lot, you know they’re going to miss some stuff,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been happy with John. He has learned from his mistakes – stuff he’s struggled with each week. He’s done a good job of eliminating those the next week. Yeah, there definitely are some times that he missed some reads in the game. I think he’ll get better with that.”

Four weeks ago, Beck looked sharp as he took Rex Grossman’s place for the fourth quarter of Washington’s loss to Philadelphia and led his team on a scoring drive. He had an overall solid game the following week against Carolina – throwing for a touchdown and rushing for another – but then looked tentative and struggled mightily the next game against Buffalo. Last week against the 49ers, Beck made a concerted effort to try to move his offense by using short, quick passes, and was sacked only once, which Shanahan said indicates improvement, although points remain hard to come by.

As Beck becomes more comfortable with executing the system in game conditions, Shanahan’s trust and understanding of the quarterback gradually improves as well.

“I’m learning about him a lot,” Shanahan said. “I thought he played his best when he came in versus Philly. I thought he played his best at Carolina. I thought it was his worst at Buffalo and I thought he played better versus San Francisco than he did at Buffalo, but still not good enough. He’s been a little different in each game. There’s been some growing pains. But I think he can get better. He’s shown he can improve in areas, and I know John is a tough guy. The physicality of the game doesn’t bother him. He’ll hang in there. He can throw it, too. I know he’s smart enough to read the defenses. I think just give him some time and allow him to develop and I expect him to get better each week.”

But a degree of experimentation remains as Shanahan still hasn’t figured out a way to completely tailor the offense to Beck.

“I can’t just say that in a total absolute,” the play-caller said. “Each game has been totally different. He’s done one thing in one game really good and the next game he’s struggled in that area. So I’m still trying to figure out exactly who he is and I think he is, too. It takes time with a quarterback. They’ve got to find their niche.”

Shanahan hopes that Beck can begin delivering with some big plays – an element that the offense has lacked since Grossman was benched. Against Buffalo, Beck overthrew receivers on deep routes. And last week he rarely looked deep because the 49ers played a soft zone defense, which kept the safeties farther downfield so the Redskins would have to settle for passes underneath. Shanahan said San Francisco forced Washington to attempt to methodically move its way down the field because the offense was missing go-to pass-catchers like Santana Moss and Chris Cooley, and also was lacking a consistent rushing attack.

“Unless you can make some unbelievable plays [with check-down passes], you want to throw touchdowns every play and you hope that they can get aggressive enough that there can be some holes in the defense and attack them,” said Shanahan, whose offense last Sunday had only one play for longer than 16 yards (and that was a 17-yard gain that came after Roy Helu caught a batted ball and ran with it). “When they’re playing soft, you’ve got to be able to hit the backs. Not just the backs, but underneath routes to try to pull people up to open up holes deep.

“It’s really important,” Shanahan said of producing some big plays. “It’s been something that I’ve always believed in and something that I feel like I’ve always gotten. We haven’t been getting them the last few weeks. [We’ve] struggled to get it a lot all year. It really helps out your offense and it takes the pressure off. It’s tough to get 12-play drives together. When you can get a big play, it really changes the game.”