For those of you who made it past the title before running to the comments section to call me an idiot, I thank you. 

At first blush, you may think from the headline that I’m down on the Redskins’ running back prospects for the 2012 season. 

In fact, it’s quite the opposite. 

I’m like Daniel Snyder on the eve of free agency in the early 2000s: giddy with excitement minus the ability to write multiple blank checks.

Starting out the 2011 season, it was clear that Tim Hightower was the ‘Skins No. 1 back. He had the experience and all-around ability at the position that the team was looking for. Many people thought Ryan Torain was going to challenge Hightower, but the health issues that have plagued him throughout his NFL tenure would cause Torain to get off to a very slow start last year. Eventually each player’s season would be completely undermined by injuries. 

While two doors were closed last season, two more opened up. For Roy Helu Jr. and Evan Royster, there was no time last season to sit back and learn the game from afar. Each player was thrust into significant playing time. Helu Jr. made his way from third on the depth chart to starter by November, and Royster went from practice squad to backup following Tashard Choice’s release.

Injuries are certainly never a good thing. But in this situation, Hightower’s absence afforded the Redskins the ability to confirm that the two picks the spent last March were well worth it. Coming into their sophomore campaigns, Helu Jr. and Royster both proved that they are quality backs capable of starting in the NFL. 

Now that Tim Hightower has re-signed with Washington, the team finds itself with an overabundance of talent. The RB corp in DC is among the best, if not the best, group in the NFC East. That’s not to say that any one of DC’s running backs are independently better than LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray or Ahmad Bradshaw. But the corps as a whole could be the best in the division. 

We’re still months away from training camp, but Mike Shanahan finds himself in a great position. All three backs are capable of starting, getting 20-plus carries a game and providing Robert Griffin III with a receiving option out of the backfield. 

Plenty of people are vigorously debating now who should be the starter going into Week 1. To that end I’d say they don’t need a starter. The team doesn’t need to declare a workhouse back because it has the talent to truly have a running back by committee (RBBC). 

Many teams take the RBBC approach when they lack talent in their running game or if they don’t rely heavily on the run game. The Redskins, however, have a group of backs who can function like an All-Star bullpen in baseball. Each back can be called into the game to highlight his strengths in a given situation without overworking or becoming overly dependent on one back.

Hightower is great in the passing game, whether it’s receiving or pass blocking. Helu Jr. has a great bounce outside and excels at the one-cut. Royster can navigate the rugged terrain between the tackles and can get the necessary yards when it’s third and short. 

My one request of the Shanahans heading into training camp and the regular season is to cater the offense to each back’s strengths. Highlight all three of them and they will flourish in the roles. 

The team ended the 2011 season without a 1,000-yard rusher, and I would look for that to happen again this year. However, I anticipate the team cracking the top-10 in rushing with three backs either approaching or passing 600 yards for the year and a quarterback with world-class speed.

The Washington Redskins will begin the 2012 season without an official starting running back, and that’s fine by me. 

For more by Scott and his cohorts, check out The Recap.

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It appears that running back Tim Hightower will be rejoining the Washington Redskins this season.

Though they are unconfirmed reports at this time, Hightower did tweet out a picture of himself in a Redskins hat with the line “I’m baaaaaaaack,” and Rotoworld.com published a report saying the running back has re-signed with the team. The terms of the deal are not available at this point.

Hightower will rejoin the Redskins’ backfield that also features second-year back Roy Helu. Hightower was off to a good start in his first year with Redskins last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In the five games he played, Hightower recorded 84 rushing attempts, 321 yards and one touchdown. He also brought in 10 catches and a receiving touchdown. 

One of Hightower’s biggest contributions to the Redskins is his pass-protection ability. On third downs, Hightower is a reliable blocker who doubles as a receiving threat. This combination has proven effective throughout Hightower’s career, as linebackers must respect his blocking and catching ability.

The Redskins’ backfield now becomes crowded as Hightower will join Roy Helu, Evan Royster and sixth-round pick Alfred Morris. It is unlikely that the Redskins will keep four running backs on the 53-man roster, which leaves either Morris or Royster to be relegated to the practice squad.The other possibility would involve Morris switching to fullback so that Washington could keep the remaining three running backs.

At this point, it appears to be an open competition for the starting job in Washington. Hightower will need to perform well as Roy Helu appears to be the early favorite for the starting role. In either case, Hightower is a worthwhile signing and brings stability and leadership to the running back position. 

ANALYSIS/OPINION

A review of the best and worst performances by the Washington Redskins’ offense and some observations after re-watching the TV broadcast of their 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots.

GAME BALLS

RB ROY HELU: The Redskins will enter the offseason in three weeks with a long list of needs on offense. That’s obvious. After his third straight 100-yard game, an important question is whether Helu has changed coach Mike Shanahan’s thinking about the magnitude of the need at running back. Would Shanahan be content to go with Helu as a featured back and devote the Redskins’ resources to acquiring a top quarterback prospect, improving the line and getting a receiver or two?

Shanahan had success in Denver with different backs. However, coaches and former players distinguish between Terrell Davis’ ability and others’ (Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson). When Gary and Anderson ran for 1,200 and 1,500 yards, respectively, Davis would have had at least 500 more, they say, because of his ability to diagnose cutback lanes, his feel for creating them himself, his patience and his speed. Helu is closer to the Gary/Anderson/others category than Davis or Houston’s Arian Foster. Is Shanahan OK with that considering how many other needs he has on offense?

One can’t help but wonder what Helu could do behind a better offensive line. The blocking for him was wildly inconsistent against New England, but he still had 126 yards. He made defenders miss with his quick feet and speed, and he gained 51 yards after contact on 27 carries. CBS analyst Dan Dierdorf during the broadcast emphasized Helu’s impressive lateral quickness, and it’s worth mentioning again. There were times when he had to cut two or more yards behind the line of scrimmage because the blocking broke down in front of him, but Helu adjusted with his feet, kept his shoulders squared to the line of scrimmage and didn’t lose speed or power. 

His speed to the edge and around the corner resulted in several big runs. There were times when he had to bow his path around a tackle that had been pushed back, but he still made it work. Helu whiffed on a blitz pickup on the Redskins’ first play from scrimmage, but he was better after that. Overall, it was another promising game for the rookie. Regardless of how Shanahan and the organization evaluate the running back position entering the offseason, Helu has established himself as a contributor.

WR DONTÉ STALLWORTH: It’s a bit baffling that the Redskins released Stallworth last month considering the big plays he’s made for them since returning. On Sunday, he helped the Redskins match their season-high of 50 percent third-down efficiency (7-of-14) by converting three of them. A big part of being a reliable third-down option is running quality routes against defenses expecting the pass. Stallworth did that.

On his 51-yard catch on third-and-9 in the first quarter, he released inside CB Devin McCourty to get in position for the deep ball. Later in that drive, Stallworth converted third-and-7 using a whip route on which he put McCourty on his back by selling his route to the right flat and pivoting quickly back to the inside. On third-and-9 on the Redskins’ last drive, Stallworth ran a crisp ‘in’ cut, holding McCourty at the top of the break so he could separate to the inside. Those are little things that result in impactful plays.

WR JABAR GAFFNEY: Gaffney seems to have a knack for finding holes in zone coverage. There were plays on which he got wide open simply by taking what the soft New England coverage gave him. He also benefited from some of the play-action passes on which the linebackers lost depth by biting on the run fake.

On Gaffney’s touchdown catch, the Redskins took advantage of a blown coverage and a successful play-action fake. When S James Ihedigbo came up to stop the run, Gaffney ran away from CB Devin McCourty by selling the post and then breaking back out to the corner. The Redskins sent only three receivers out on that play against seven defenders in coverage, but they won because of play-action. That’s what a successful running game and quality play design will do for an offense.

GASSERS

LG MAURICE HURT: It’s pretty much a broken record at this point with Hurt. He’s in there out of necessity. The Redskins have to hope he gets leaner in the offseason, which should improve his strength and quickness in case he’s needed again in a backup role. He was inconsistent finishing his blocks. He can be slow getting off the first assignment in a combination block and late redirecting to a linebacker. On the first play of the game, an inside linebacker blitzed past him untouched when Hurt blocked down, and QB Rex Grossman took a hit. Hurt also was penalized twice for holding.

It wasn’t all bad, though. He cut down DL Kyle Love on the backside of RB Roy Helu’s 16-yard run around the right side in the first quarter. On Helu’s 26-yard run around the left end later in the quarter, he sustained his block against LB Dane Fletcher long enough for Helu to turn the corner two steps ahead of Fletcher.

LT WILLIE SMITH: Smith secured his place on this list by giving up the sack-fumble-touchdown on his third NFL play. For his regular-season debut, though, he wasn’t too bad.

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Rookie running back Roy Helu has galvanized the Washington Redskins‘ running attack over the past three games. He has rushed for at least 100 yards in each since coach Mike Shanahan appointed him the team’s featured back.

That success has carried over to the passing game, too. Opponents are respecting the threat Helu poses, and that has unlocked Washington’s play-action passes.

“We’ve talked about that from Day 1 – through preseason and our first four regular-season games – when the running game is going, the play-action game always improves,” Shanahan said. “It better improve, because that’s where your big plays usually come. We’ve come up with a few more big plays in play-action and a little bit more consistency. Hopefully, we can continue to do that.”

Since Helu became the full-time starter against Seattle on Nov. 27, the Redskins have posted their two best yards-per-pass averages of the season.

Quarterback Rex Grossman averaged 8.5 yards per attempt against Seattle and 8.4 against New England last Sunday. The previous high was 6.8.

Against Seattle, the Redskins effectively ran play-action on quarterback keepers to misdirect the linebackers and safeties. There was less of that against New England, but fake handoffs still were effective in drawing the linebackers forward and opening up space for receivers in the secondary.

On Jabar Gaffney’s 9-yard touchdown, for example, a fake handoff fooled a safety on Gaffney’s side of the field. That left Gaffney alone against cornerback Devin McCourty, who he easily ran away from in the end zone.

Grossman has noticed a difference between how defenses are reacting to play fakes in the past three weeks compared to earlier this season.

“Scheme-wise, when teams are really relying on their linebackers to be aggressive and have safeties come down and help, those type of play-actions work a lot better,” he said. “Obviously, when you’re running the football, I don’t care what type of scheme you have, it’s going to make the linebackers come up even more and safeties and all types of things so you can get the ball over their heads into the second level. It’s a lot easier.”

Giants‘ ground game down

The New York Giants, this Sunday’s opponent, rank last in the NFL in rushing yards and yards per carry.

“Really?” linebacker London Fletcher said. “I didn’t even realize that. You think about the Giants, obviously you typically think about them being a run-first football team.”

The Giants average only 85.8 rushing yards per game and 3.32 yards per carry. It’s easy to understand why Fletcher was surprised. New York has ranked in the top seven in the NFL in yards per carry in six of coach Tom Coughlin’s seven seasons.

One reason is that leading rusher Ahmad Bradshaw missed four games with a broken foot, and running back Brandon Jacobs sat out two other games with a knee injury.

Their rushing attack has improved, however, since Bradshaw came back two games ago. The Giants have rushed for at least 100 yards in each game.

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© Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

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.

ANALYSIS/OPINION

If the Washington Redskins played every game with the emotion they displayed Sunday against the New England Patriots, their season might have turned out differently. Not differently enough to put them in the playoffs, perhaps, but differently enough to cut down on the cries of despair from their fans as one defeat was piled atop another.

Jabar Gaffney was so excited to catch a touchdown pass against his former club that he did the FedEx Leap into the stands behind the end zone. Granted, he got a little too much lift and landed in the seats instead of on the ledge, but these things can happen when you’re going toe to toe with one of the NFL’s elite.

As the day went on, other Redskins released their Inner Child — showed, as Rex Grossman put it, that “it’s fun to go out there and play football.” Whether it was hurling themselves into the crowd after scores, twirling the ball on the ground after first downs or otherwise celebrating big plays, the Redskins didn’t hold anything back.

“We were pumped up,” Gaffney said. “Had a good team coming in here, a chance to show we could play with the best.”

For 60 minutes, the last-place Redskins did play with the best, too. Indeed, with 1:09 left, they thought they had tied New England 34-34 on a 5-yard TD throw from Grossman to Santana Moss. Alas, Moss was called for pushing off, and Grossman’s next pass went off Moss‘ hands and into those of Jerod Mayo, the Patriots‘ Pro Bowl linebacker. Thus did one of the most entertaining Sundays in many moons at FedEx Field end in a 34-27 loss.

But back to our original “if.” Where has this fight, this feistiness been all season? The Redskins, after all, had no business being in this game in the fourth quarter. They were already without Fred Davis and Trent Williams because of suspensions and assorted others (e.g. LaRon Landry) because of injuries; then Jammal Brown, one of their few semihealthy offensive linemen, further complicated matters when he tweaked his groin in warm-ups and couldn’t play.

It figured to be a long day, especially after New England took a quick 7-0 lead on a defensive touchdown (set up by old friend Andre Carter’s sack/forced fumble). There just didn’t seem to be any way the offense-challenged Redskins could keep up with the high-scoring Pats, who put up 30 points against just about everybody.

But no one likes to be embarrassed, and surely that was in the back of the Redskins‘ minds as they geared up for New England. The Patriots, during their near-perfect 2007 season, had whomped them 52-7, and they were quite capable of whomping them just as badly this season. Tom Brady, last I checked, is still Tom Brady, Wes Welker is still Wes Welker … and Rob Gronkowski is like no tight end you’ve ever seen.

So the Redskins brought their A game — or what’s left of their A game, after all these casualties — and, miraculously, matched New England score for score. The biggest shock was seeing Grossman and Co. gain chunks of yardage, something they haven’t done all year. In their second series, Grossman lobbed a 51-yard bomb to Donte Stallworth to set up a Graham Gano field goal. Not long afterward, Brandon Banks connected with Moss on an end-around pass for a 49-yard TD that put the home team ahead 17-14.

A trick play. Imagine that. It was the first pass, in fact, since Mike Shanahan took over as coach that wasn’t thrown by a quarterback. Yup, the Redskins came at the Patriots with everything they had, spiritually and strategically. And lo and behold, it enabled them to hang with a club that’s in the running for the first seed in the AFC.

It helped, of course, that they caught Brady on one of those rare afternoons when he actually looks mortal — at times. Brady’s numbers were still terrific (22 of 37 for 357 yards and three touchdowns), but he was off target more than usual and was intercepted in the end zone by Josh Wilson in the late going when he had a chance to put the game away. (Though, in his defense, the pass was well within the reach of receiver Tiquan Underwood, who was outbattled for the ball).

Then there’s the New England secondary — nothing special to begin with — which, because of injuries, has been forced to use wideouts (Matthew Slater and Julian Edelman) to cover opposing receivers. Gaffney, Stallworth and Moss were running free all day, as Washington (293) just missed becoming the ninth team this season to throw for 300 yards against the Patriots.

Incredibly, it was there for the taking for the Redskins. Shanahan said he was even considering going for the two-point conversion — and the win — if Moss‘ touchdown hadn’t been called back. The coach and his players were leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of victory.

Hallelujah. But why couldn’t the first 12 games have been like that? Why did it take utter desperation — and a visit from Bill Belichick’s wrecking crew — for the Redskins to play the way they should have been playing all along?

© Copyright 2011 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

The New England Patriots condemned the Washington Redskins to a fourth straight losing season as the visitors walked away with a 34-27 victory at FedEx Field Sunday afternoon.

The Redskins (4-9) thought they had tied the game with 1:15 remaining in regulation, but Rex Grossman’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss was wiped out by an offensive pass interference call against Moss. Two plays later, another Grossman pass deflected off the hands of Moss and was intercepted by Jerod Mayo to seal Washington’s defeat.

It was a wild end to a wild game that featured 894 total yards of offense and 47 first down, as well as six combined passing touchdowns from Tom Brady, Grossman, and Brandon Banks.

The winning score came with four-and-a-half minutes left to play in the third quarter as Brady found Wes Welker with a 24-yard pass to break a 27-27 tie. Brady had a chance to seal the win long before Mayo’s interception as the Patriots drove to the Washington 4-yard line in the fourth quarter, but his pass was intercepted in the back of the end zone by Josh Wilson with 6:30 to play.

The scoring started on Washington’s second possession, as quarterback Rex Grossman was sacked and fumbled the ball in the end zone after Zoltan Mesko’s punt had pinned Washington back at its own 4-yard line. Vince Wilfork recovered the ball in the end zone to give New England (10-3) a 7-0 lead.

Washington cut their deficit to 7-3 with a 24-yard Graham Gano field goal on the ensuing possession, but Tom Brady needed only two plays to move the Patriots 60 yards in response.

First, Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 49-yard catch-and-run that brought the ball to the Washington 11. Then, Brady found Gronkowski again from 11 yards out to make the score 14-3.

However, the Redskins were quick to respond. First, Grossman found Jabar Gaffney with a 9-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 84-yard drive that was kept alive by a defensive pass interference penalty called on Devin McCourty on a third-down-and-18 play. 

After the Patriots went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, the Redskins took a 17-14 lead on the first play of the second quarter with the help of some trickery. After Grossman handed the ball off to Roy Helu on a run to the right, the running back gave the ball to Brandon Banks, who ran back to the left sideline before rearing back and throwing a 49-yard touchdown strike to Moss.

The rest of the half saw an exchange of field goals, as Stephen Gostkowski tied the game at 17-17 from 23 yards away. The Redskins answered with a 25-yard Graham Gano field goal to re-take the lead before Gostkowski tied the game at the first-half gun with a 24-yard three-pointer.

The Redskins’ last field goal drive was kept alive by a controversial roughing-the-passer call that wiped out a potential McCourty interception. Brady was the beneficiary of a similarly marginal call against London Fletcher on New England’s last scoring drive of the half.

New England took the second-half kickoff and drove 80 yards in seven plays. Brady hooked up with Gronkowski for the second time on the day, this time from 37 yards away to make the score 27-20.

But once again, the Redskins came storming back as Grossman led them 72 yards in 10 plays. The drive was boosted by another unnecessary roughness penalty, this time against Wilfork, and Grossman found David Anderson in the flat for a six-yard touchdown pass to tie the game once again at 27-27.

Brady was not quite at his metronomic best, but still completed 22 of his 37 passes for 357 yards and three touchdowns as well as the interception. Grossman also have a very good account of himself, completing 19 of his 32 passes for 252 yards and two scores in addition to the game-ending pick.

Both offenses boasted 100-yard performers as well, as Helu gained 126 yards on 27 carries, while Gronkowski finished the afternoon with 160 yards on just six receptions.

BOSTON (CBS) – It’s another matchup against a lesser opponent, but the New England Patriots have to focus on playing a full 60-minutes Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

Washington has lost seven of their last eight, but still have the talent defensively to make the Patriots miserable. Head coach Mike Shanahan has always done well against Bill Belichick and the Patriots (owning a 5-3 record over Bill) and his defense’s seem to know how to disrupt Tom Brady. At least they did in Denver.

Life in Washington has been different for Shanahan, but the scheme remains the same. While the Patriots will have to worry about slowing the Skins down on defense, the concern with Washington’s offense will be about getting one individual the ball, and making sure he is the one to make a mistake with it.

Here are a few of the key matchups heading into Sunday’s tilt.

Another Great Pass-Rush

In what seems to be an ongoing trend, the Patriots will face another one of the NFL’s better pass-rushing teams on Sunday. Washington features a strong tandem of linebackers, including Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan who have combined for 12.5 sacks this season.

“They’re good, very good,” said quarterback Tom Brady. “They can rush, they’re good in coverage, too; I think that’s the thing that surprises a lot of people because they’re 260, 265-pound guys. I feel like every week, we’re talking about their pass rushers.”

“We’ve played quite a few good pass rushers this year. I think these two guys are right up there in terms of their ability to set the edge in the running game, to collapse a pocket, strip sack the quarterback,” added Brady. “Even if they’re not sacking the quarterback, they’re forcing the ball out quickly. They’re good players I think. They’re the key to the whole defense.”

Despite going up against some of the league’s best pass-rushers, New England has only allowed 21 sacks in the first 12 games.

Stopping the Redskins rush will not be easy though, and will be a full team effort. Shanahan, who Brady is 1-5 against in his career, likes to bring his linebackers up to the line of scrimmage to mask who is blitzing and who is dropping back into coverage. All the Patriots on the field, not just linemen, will have to be ready to do their job, whether it be blocking or getting open as fast as they can.

“The front line will do their job; we need to make sure we’re in the right place,” said receiver Deion Branch. “They do a great job at disguising a lot of different things. We have to be on point this week.”

Read: Vollmer Out, 12 Patriots Questionable

“They have great rushers, great outside linebackers. We have to be ready and block them,” said tight end Rob Gronkowski. “Whenever I’m in pass protection I have to do a good job there. Tom has to get the ball out quick so they only have a chance at getting to him.”

“When you play good pass rushers, you’ve got to understand that at some point, they’re going to be there. So you just don’t have all the time to sit around and make decisions, so you just try to get the ball out,” said Brady. “A lot of it comes down to coordinating the routes with the protection and then ultimately getting the ball out fast enough. If you know that these guys are really aggressive pass rushers, than you have to throw the ball quick. You have to screen them, you have to trap, you have to draw, you have to do all the things it really takes to keep them off-balance as well. But if you just let certain guys tee off, play from behind all day, it’s going to be a long, hard day.”

Watch: Gresh & Zo Whiteboard

Even if the Patriots contain Orakpo and Kerrigan, there are still other veterans that can hurt the Patriots on the defensive side. Defensive Ends Stephen Bowen and Adam Carriker are enjoying all the focus both Orakpo and Kerrigan draw, already setting new career highs with 4.5 and 5 sacks, respectively. There is also 14-year veteran linebacker Londan Fletcher patrolling the field, who leads Washington with 124 tackles.

“London’s a great football player; he’s played a lot,” Waters said of the 36-year-old Fletcher. “He’s all over the field. He hasn’t changed much and he hasn’t slowed down much. If you ask me how long that could play, he could probably play for a long time.”

If the Patriots can keep Brady standing, he will still have corner DeAngelo Hall to deal with. But as long as he gets a chance to throw the ball, New England should be fine.

Make Rex Grossman Throw

As bad as the Patriots secondary has been this season, their goal on defense Sunday should be to make quarterback Rex Grossman throw the ball.