(courtesy photo)

You might have heard that the Washington Redskins were in the news today, what with the resignation of Vinny Cerrato and the immediate hiring of Bruce Allen as the team’s new executive vice president and general manager.

Well, in addition to the normal herd of local media members, there were a few special individuals in attendance at his press conference. Long-time Redskins trainer Bubba Tyer was in the house and seeing him caused Allen to stop in his tracks during his introductory comments just to recognize good old Bubba.

The other individual who earned a ’shout out’ during Allen’s comments was Mike Lombardi, who is seemingly everywhere these days. You may recognize the name from his work on the NFL Network, the National Football Post or Inside the NFL.

Well, the reason Lombardi was acknowledged during the press conference was because he used to work for Allen. With that in mind, we decided to chat up Lombardi to get any possible insight into the newest addition to the Washington Redskins family.

As an added bonus, we were joined by Matt Terl, the Redskins’ fantastic in-house blogger. Here’s what Lombardi had to say to us about your new general manager.

Redskins Blog: “I want to start by asking you: you’ve worked with Bruce Allen.”

Mike Lombardi: “Yeah.”

RB: “What are some of his strengths? What does he bring to the Redskins?”

ML: “He brings an element of the ability to communicate to the fanbase. The ability to give confidence to the people in the building. And his leadership is such that he’s able to take a lot of the information in and disseminate it around. And certainly working with the coaches and the head coach, I think he can reach a good decision.”

RB: “What do you think are the most important traits for a good general manager?”

ML: “Well, I think there’s all different styles of general managers. I think certainly there are some that are just focused specifically on football and make football decisions, and then there are some strictly that focus on other aspects. But I think that Bruce, bein’ the son of a coach, he understands the game, he sees the big picture of the game, and I think he understand that the head coach has to be involved in a lot of the decisions. So I think it’ll be more of a democratic base than a dictatorship.”

Homer McFanboy: “Are there certain tendencies of a Bruce Allen team? If you look at the teams that he’s put together, are there things that stand out?”

ML: “Obviously the coach has a lot of say in what he runs. Y’know, Bruce doesn’t bring the offense or the defense to the team. It just becomes a situation where the coach — say, with Jon [Gruden], it was a West Coast Offense — and Bruce has great respect for coaches, and he values their opinions and he values their input.”

RB: “How much of a jump does this three weeks really give him?”

ML: “Any time you can come into a job where you can kinda get your feet on the ground and get yourself organized and then try to make decisions before having to actually move into your desk has a lot of benefits. And I think the timing in the NFL this year is gonna be critical, because there’s ultimately a lot of decisions that have to be made, and a lot of teams are gonna make those same decisions.”

HM: “You have the perspective of an outsider. From where you’re looking, how do you judge this move for the Redskins, to bring in Bruce Allen?”

ML: “Obviously they had to do something. I mean, they had to help their fanbase. They had to send a message to their fanbase, to the alumni, the Redskins players, and I think this is a great move to do that. The players all, you know, from the era of Bruce, he’s familiar with every player. He has relationships with them, he’s very well liked by all the players. So therefore, it’s very comfortable for them to bring him back. So that answers the alumni, the fans certainly recognize Bruce: his brother’s a former Senator in the state of Virginia, so … you know, there’s a comfortablity with him. And then the heritage of the name, so I think that this is a great move for them.

“And then Bruce comes with a winning background, so those are things that just kinda echo into the whole program and I think it’s the first step.

“I mean, they had to do something this year to kinda help themselves politically, PR-wise, and ultimately get back to the win column.”

RB: “You’ve been a critic of Jason Campbell at points over the year. I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask you what you think of him at this point.”

ML: “Oh, I think he’s done a much better job. I think ultimately, I think the last three weeks — wow, the last five weeks — he’s played really well. He’s played better. And I think he’s certainly shown signs that he’s really developin’ and finding his rhythm a little bit, and being able to throw the ball in much better timing. And I think ultimately, not having to — you know, everybody thinks the running game is critical to make the quarterback successful, [but] I think that the burden of not having to feed the running game, and having ultimately a lot of different players at the running back position and not having to get so many touches to one player has made it alive and the offense more vibrant.”

HM: “Let’s say you were the guy sitting up there answering the questions today. What pieces would you be comfortable building off of that are already in place?”

ML: “My philosophy has always been that the game’s won with the offensive and defensive lines. I think that ultimately you’ve gotta have a great quarterback, and then the next place you go is offensive and defensive line. And I think that the Redskins going into the season, in spite of Vinny Cerrato proclaiming it as a playoff team, the offensive line was below caliber. They had too many injuries, too many guys that really were on the edge in terms of being able to be durable. And I think that you have to repair that before you can really compete. To win on the road in the NFL, you have to be really good in the offensive line.”

RB: “In your experience, do you think that’s something that Bruce Allen would also realize?”

ML: “I think he would. Having been with him at Oakland, we always had good offensive lines. And if you’re gonna play in the NFC East, you’ve gotta have a really good line, because the defensive lines are fairly significant to block. So you gotta match up to the competition, and you’ve gotta be able to beat the people that you’re playing.”

(photo by Brian Murphy)

In what can only be considered a stunning turn of events, Vinny Cerrato has stepped down as the executive vice-president of football operations for the Washington Redskins effective immediately.

Cerrato has served in this role for the last two years, and previously served in five different roles, beginning in 1999.

In a statement, Cerrato said he has had numerous conversations with team owner Daniel Snyder over the last few weeks regarding the next steps for the club.

“We agreed that the franchise needs someone different in this position,” said Cerrato.  “I’m thankful to Dan Snyder and other members of his ownership team for the opportunities I’ve been given over the years.

“Of course, I am disappointed with this year’s results, but I strongly believe that with outstanding draft picks and encouraging performance by our younger players, we have laid a strong foundation for the franchise,”  Cerrato said.

Regardless of the reason, Redskins fans nearly across the board will view this as a sign of hope. That’s because Cerrato is almost universally viewed as a “yes man” for Snyder – someone who is perceived to enable a meddlesome billionaire’s desires to build the NFL equivalent of a fantasy football team.

Many coaches and players have come and gone over the last decade of mediocrity, but the one constant at Redskins Park has been Cerrato. And while model franchises like the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens have won Super Bowls by building through the draft and adding smart free-agent signings to round out their respective rosters, Cerrato and the Redskins have been content to win the offseason by overpaying in free agency and trading away draft picks for big-name players who typically fail to live up to expectations.

Why rebuild the oldest offensive line in football when you can use draft picks on Jason Taylor? Why waste a high draft pick on an interior lineman when you can add three pass catchers with your trio of second round picks?

This mindset is what drove Redskins fans crazy and triggered a near revolution earlier this season. And here’s the funny thing, had Cerrato not left, we’re hearing it would have been more of the same this offseason.

Even though Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas are seemingly incapable of staying healthy for any length of time, we heard from a very reliable source that if Cerrato was still calling the shots, the team was planning on using their first round pick in the upcoming NFL draft on a quarterback and their second-rounder on a running back.

The simple notion that a rookie quarterback and running back would be set up for failure if they had to play behind this same patchwork offensive line apparently never crossed Vinny’s mind. He sees a guy like Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen or Texas QB Colt McCoy running high-powered offenses in college and immediately envisions them replicating the success in burgundy and gold. Logic and offensive line be damned.

Our stance on Cerrato has been slightly different than other ‘Skins fans. We look at young guys like Devin Thomas, Fred Davis, Malcolm Kelly, Brian Orakpo, Chris Horton, Justin Tryon and see talented players who become solid contributors once they’re given the opportunity. Cerrato might not be focusing on every need the team has, but the players he does ultimately select do have value.

We thought that if Snyder refused to get rid of Cerrato, who is a personal friend of the owner, then maybe the next best thing would be to bring in someone to work over Vinny. Let him continue to evaluate talent, but let someone else have final say on which names to write on the draft card.

All that is moot now because Cerrato is gone and, as we first said on Twitter earlier today, the Redskins have apparently turned their attention to Bruce Allen.

Those familiar with Allen, who served as general manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and as a senior executive with the Oakland Raiders from 1996 to 2003, say he’s very good with number crunching and the salary cap, but that he’s never been considered a great talent evaluator.

“Bruce Allen is the personification of an NFL winner,” Snyder said in a statement. “Our fans know his heritage; we know his abilities. He is the right person to lead our club.”

Obviously, Allen was excited. But that’s probably because he just got paid big money to take over this ‘fixer-upper.’

“This is an extraordinary opportunity with one of the world’s most successful sports franchises,” said Allen. “I love everything about this assignment; I know what it means to be dedicated to the Redskins. I can’t wait to get to work.”

With Allen now on board, obviously changes can be expected across the board.

Jon Gruden, who coached under Allen in Tampa Bay, will obviously be mentioned as a possible head coaching candidate, although his extension he signed last month basically makes it impossible to get out of his Monday Night Football contract with ESPN unless Snyder throws a ridiculous amount of cash their way.

Mike Shanahan was rumored to want more power than is afforded a typical head coach, so maybe that can work with him looking at players and Allen working on the numbers. Of course, Shanahan did draft Maurice Clarett, so maybe he’s not the best qualified talent evaluator either.

The bottom line is, for the first time in recent memory; fans of the Washington Redskins truly have reason for hope and optimism. Sure, you might want to proceed with “Cautious Optimism,” but we’ve now reached a point that many of us thought we’d never see – Cerrato is no longer in the equation. No more wasted draft picks. No more ill-advised free agent signings. No more ‘buddy-buddy’ routine with the owner.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. But the fact that it’s finally going to be a change from the norm, is a welcome reality.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Washington Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher is playing the best football of his career, according to defensive coordinator Greg Blache. This is noteworthy for two reasons: Fletcher is a 12-year veteran and Blache doesn’t speak with the media anymore. In addition to his current defensive coordinator, Fletcher also received support from Matt Bowen, a former teammate.

For a person who doesn’t speak with the media, Blache is actually in the news a bunch this week. He also took time to show some love to Redskins rookie Brian Orakpo. “I was not as big an Orakpo fan as Vinny [Cerrato] and our scouting department initially. Once we got him, though, I fell in love with him because of his maturity, because of his work ethic.” Also, after last week’s beatdown, Oakland Raiders fans can’t help but wonder what could have been if Orakpo ended up with the silver and black.

A few injured Redskins are also in the news this week. For starters, the ‘Skins were cleared of tampering charges in regards to defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Not sure if the folks in Tennessee are bitter about this news or what, but add another writer to the list of folks who are convinced Haynesworth has been a disappointment for the Redskins this season.

Running back Clinton Portis has been shelved for the year as he recovers from a concussion, and apparently, he’s missed the spotlight. Making up for lost time over the last month, Portis has been seemingly everywhere this week – handing out toys to needy children, adding his two cents on the Tiger Woods scandal and even contemplating whether or not he’s going to be back in D.C. next season.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

There’s a lot to like coming out of the Washington Redskins 34-13 domination of the Oakland Raiders this past weekend.

The offense continued to show progress across the board, with tight end Fred Davis and newly-promoted running back Quinton Ganther providing the bulk of the firepower.

The defense, led by a menacing pass rush, finally closed out an opponent after three weeks of failed fourth quarter efforts by sacking Raiders quarterbacks eight times on the day.

Special teams, minus one inept punt returner, stayed out of the way and did a more than adequate job – especially considering Graham Gano earned the kicking job one week prior.

And yet, with so many positives to choose from, we can’t help but turn our attention to something else. That’s because, for the life of us, we simply cannot get the image of defensive end Andre Carter attempting a scoop-and-score situation out of our head.

Here we are, days after the best win of the Jim Zorn era, and all we can see when we think back is Carter, at 6-4, 254 lbs., fumbling around on the ground in a “greased-pig” situation.

As a quick refresher, the Redskins were leading 31-13 with less than eight minutes to go in the game. The Raiders had the ball first-and-10 on the 20, and had no chance of driving 80 yards because JaMarcus Russell was their quarterback.

Redskins rookie defensive end/linebacker Brian Orakpo came flying in from Russell’s blind side and drilled the oversized quarterback from behind – causing the ball to fly out of his hand. Carter saw the loose football sitting on the turf just a few short feet away from the endzone and raced in to score the first touchdown of his nine-year career.

What happened next was the cause of much post-game locker room debate. The cliffnotes version goes something like this – Carter failed to reel in the loose ball and it was eventually recovered by Raiders offensive lineman Mario Henderson.

“I had the perfect view,” said defensive lineman Phillip Daniels. “I was on the sidelines and saw [Orakpo] fly around and strip the ball. I saw the ball laying there, with nobody around. No nothing. And then, I saw Dre come and I said, ‘This is an easy touchdown.’ And then I watched Dre pass the ball. I was like, ‘What the hell did he just do?’ We were just looking at each other on the sidelines, shaking our heads.”

Daniels wasn’t alone in shaking his head.

“I’m disappointed in Andre,” said receiver Devin Thomas. “He really prides himself on his flexibility because he’s so big and muscular. I just knew he was going to get low and scoop that. I know he’s mad, he’s salty about it because he wanted a touchdown. He definitely should have had that one.”

Orakpo left little doubt when asked if he planned on giving Carter grief for not reeling in the would-be touchdown after the rookie caused the fumble on his fourth sack of the day.

“Oh yeah,” he said with a laugh. “I’m gonna lead it because he had an easy touchdown and I don’t think we have a defensive touchdown this whole year. He could have been the first, and he blew it.”

Do you think he just got too excited seeing that ball sitting there just waiting for him?

“I think he did,” Orakpo said. “He normally knows how to pick up a ball, but he got too excited. It was so easy that it made it harder.”

Because the play ultimately didn’t come back to haunt the team, most of the locker room was laughing the play off. Like Orakpo, they all seemed content to have a little fun at Carter’s expense.

“I think we just need to work on that more in practice,” Daniels said. “We need to do some more scoop and score. We ain’t worked on it in a while, but I’m pretty sure it’s coming this week because that was one of those ‘C’mon Man’ moments you’re going to see on Monday Night Football for sure.”

In the post-game locker room one player had already made up his mind on how to help Carter avoid future embarrassment, should the situation arise again down the road.

“I just know I have to buy him some stuffed animals for Christmas,” said linebacker Rocky McIntosh. “So he can have something to grab and be soft with. That’s what I’m going to do. Yeah man, he’s just too ripped. He was on a high already from getting a lot of sacks and he just got too excited. He just needs to think of it as him picking up his son.”

Carter watched us as we bounced around the locker room getting different perspectives on the play that could have been. He knew it was coming, and by the time we headed to his stall, he was already cracking up.

Rocky says he’s buying you a stuffed animal so you can learn to have softer hands. What say you?

(Laughs). “I know, I know,” he said. “I’ve got to kiss the baby, man. I’ve got to kiss the baby.”

So what happened?

“I got excited, man,” Carter said. “I was like a little kid thinking I was gonna get a touchdown. I was like, ‘I’m gonna score a touchdown!’ And then … awwwww. I guess it happens to the very few of us who have no hands. The good thing is we won, so I’ll take the win … but I really wanted that touchdown so bad.”

Carter is easily one of the most likable guys in the locker room. Regardless of whether the team wins or loses, he’s the first player to stand up and answer whatever questions the media has for him. While the fumble recovery for a touchdown got away from him, Carter still finished the game with seven tackles and two sacks.

For the season, Carter now has 11 sacks, which ties him with Orakpo for fourth in the league. He had a great game and has had a very solid season, and yet, we get the sneaking suspicion that, much like us, the only thought on his mind after Oakland is the scoop and score that got away.

[Update: Today is a good day because we've been able to track down the "C'mon Man!" segment featuring Mr. Carter. Here's the link. Skip ahead to the one-minute mark and enjoy the show.]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden

On a dreary, rain-soaked day in front of a half-empty stadium halfway across the country, the Washington Redskins finally lived up to expectations for the first time since Jim Zorn took over as head coach two seasons ago, beating down the Oakland Raiders 34-13.

The Redskins took on a tougher-than-you-might-think Raiders team that, although they only have four wins, they’ve beaten Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh this season. Also, it should be noted, that the ‘Skins have played down to the level of their opponent for much of the last two decades, which might explain how a doormat like the Raiders had beaten Washington in seven of their previous 10 match-ups coming into the game.

Despite playing without pretty much every “big-name” player on the roster, the Redskins put together a complete team effort in dismantling Oakland. The offense, led by quarterback Jason Campbell, started out each half by punting twice. On their other seven drives however, the ‘Skins offense put points on the board six times – scoring four touchdowns and two fieldgoals. The defense gave up 10 points in the first quarter, and then held the Raiders to a mere fieldgoal the rest of the game. And for the fourth-consecutive game, the Redskins went into a fourth quarter with the lead – this time up 17-13 heading into the final frame.

But unlike the previous three games that ended in defeat, this time around the Redskins stepped up their game on both sides of the ball and preserved the win. The offensive playcalling in the fourth quarter, for a change, didn’t go conservative. The players responded by adding 17 points. The defensive players got to do what they love most – put their hand in the dirt and rush the passer. The Raiders were simply no match for their aggressive and suffocating attack and wilted under the pressure. And the Redskins earned their first road win of 2009, even if it took them seven games to do it.

2. “Stay Wide Awake” by Eminem

Through the first 13 weeks, the Raiders had yet to allow a tight end to score a touchdown against them. In fact, this was a point of pride in Oakland that players and fans alike could hang their hat on. Well, that was before Fred Davis came to town. The second-year pro only had three catches on the day, but made the most of them – scoring two touchdowns and racking up 50 yards. After the game, Davis admitted he knew they hadn’t allowed a touchdown to a tight end in 2009. He also said that when a team goes man-to-man against the Redskins in the red zone, he feels he’s going to score any time the ball is thrown his way.

Davis wasn’t being cocky, he’s simply playing with confidence after taking over for an injured Chris Cooley halfway through the season. On the year, Davis now has 35 catches for 369 yards and a team-high five touchdowns, with the bulk of the production coming in the last seven games. Davis said after the game that this game felt like his good old days back at USC, where the offense marched up and down the field and put points on the board, and the defense took care of the rest. What’s clear is that Davis is now playing like a Mackey Award-winning tight end. He catches passes in traffic. He’s the go-to option in the red zone. He is nearly impossible to bring down with just one defender.

Davis’ production is helping the rest of the offense as well. In an up-and-down season, Campbell has quietly finished three of the last five games with a QB rating of over 100. In those three games, Davis has 12 catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns. You can basically pencil him in for four catches for 50 yards and a score. Once he gets going in the first half, opposing defenses have to alter their attack and focus more on Davis, which in turn frees up Devin Thomas, Santana Moss and the ground game to get involved. Davis basically jump starts the offense and then the rest of the offense comes along. And he’s doing it so well that the Redskins put up 30 points in back to back games for the first time since 2006. This from a guy who earned the nickname “Sleepy” because he overslept on his first day as a professional athlete.

3. “Run This Town” by Jay-Z

Speaking of the ground game, the Redskins came into this match-up with a virtual unknown as their starting running back. Quinton Ganther, who has been a member of the franchise for all of a month, was named the starter last week and responded with 93 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. In the first quarter, with Washington struggling to get going offensively, Ganther caught an innocent screen pass and showed what he’s capable of, making several defenders miss and picking up 42 yards with a burst of speed many ‘Skins fans didn’t know he had.

After the game, Ganther said this was a day he’ll never forget. That’s probably because the Richmond, California native scored the first two touchdowns of his career in front of roughly 250 friends and family members. A guy who was simply looking for a job a month ago was suddenly sealing a win with a pair of second half touchdowns in front of his loved ones on Sunday.

“Opportunities in this league are so hard to come by,” Ganther said after the game. “And when they do come, you have to be ready.”

So yeah, it’s safe to say this game was a dream come true for the 25-year-old.

4. “Candy” by Cameo

Enough about the offense.

The Raiders came into this game having won two of their last three games, thanks to switching to Bruce Gradkowski as their starter. It’s not like Gradkowski has been great since taking over for JaMarcus Russell. He’s simply been less shitty.

In the early stages of this contest, the Redskins and Raiders seemed fairly evenly matched. And then Gradkowski got hurt and Russell, the former number-one overall pick, was forced back into action. ‘Skins defenders smelled blood in the water and the onslaught was on. Safety LaRon Landry, who was targeted early and often by Gradkowski, stepped up his game with Russell (his former teammate at LSU) involved.

Landry finished with a forced fumble and an interception. Defensive end Andre Carter had two sacks, which is noteworthy because the guy only had four all last season. But the man of the hour was rookie Brian Orakpo, who tied the team record with four sacks on the day. After bringing down Gradkowski once, Orakpo switched to another level against Russell and seemingly spent the rest of the afternoon in the backfield.

Russell, who might be the biggest bust in NFL history, never had a chance. He was 10 of 16 passes for 74 yards and an interception, while being sacked six times for 52 yards.

In fact, the eight sacks by Washington was the most they’ve had in a game since 1990. The team record is 10. According to Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen, had JaMarcus Russell played the entire game, the Redskins would have had at least 15 sacks. Not to pile on, but one of the defensive players even referred to Russell as “The Statue of Liberty” because he’s so big, he’s basically incapable of evading any kind of pass rush.

With 11 sacks through 13 games, Orakpo is now tied with Carter for fourth place in the NFL. His four-sack effort against Oakland represented the best outing of his entire life. He told media members after the game that he’d never had four sacks in a game at any level, including high school and college. On a day without Albert Haynesworth in the lineup, Orakpo and Carter picked up six sacks.

Some might say they were stealing candy from a baby, but this came from a duo who supposedly cannot get to a quarterback without the $100-million defensive tackle taking up multiple blockers. Not bad for a rookie defensive end pretending to be a linebacker and a 30-something playing out of his natural position on passing downs.

5. “Add It Up” by Violent Femmes

With a bunch of nobodies, the Redskins continue to evolve into a legitimate franchise. Guys like Clinton Portis, Chris Samuels and Chris Cooley are out of action, and unheralded players such as Quinton Ganther, Levi Jones and Fred Davis step up. High-priced players like Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall are sidelined for multiple games, and whoever is next on the depth charts simply steps in and does their best. Jim Zorn gets stripped of playcalling duties, and a retiree shows this town what this offense is truly capable of. The question is – what happens next?

What happens when the stars are back in the lineup? Are the current guys performing at a higher level in place of the “name” players or because they’re not around? Has Jason Campbell shown he deserves to be brought back after a month of above average outings? Is it humanly possible for Jim Zorn to survive this disappointing season now that the team is actually competitive week in and week out? Or will the front office run the risk of blowing it all up and starting over because a “name” like Mike Shanahan is simply too big to resist?

No one is saying Zorn or Campbell or anyone else HAS to be brought back. After all, a four-win season is never acceptable. But the question that should be asked is – are the pieces finally coming into place for this team? And if you keep everything together, is this team capable of being a consistent winner? A month ago frustrated ‘Skins fans might have decked you for even dreaming such a silly scenario. Now, it’s a question worth considering as this team closes out the final three games.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Albert Haynesworth is one of the most polarizing players in the NFL. Either you love him or hate him. Or maybe, we should say hate on him. That’s what Alex Marvez is up to by including Fat Albert as one of the NFL’s biggest rip-offs.

On the flip side, we have Haynesworth’s peers, who continue to show the man nothing but respect. The massive defensive tackle was voted the league’s strongest player in a Sports Illustrated NFL Players Poll.

National Football Post writer Michael Lombardi asks the question – should the ‘Skins keep Jason Campbell? His answer: “Maybe the draft will yield a young star, but in the meantime, it will be hard to find a better quarterback available than Campbell.”

Former Redskins safety Matt Bowen, who also writes for NFP, focuses on another Redskins offensive player – asking if the team should bring back Clinton Portis after a concussion sidelined him for the rest of the 2009 season.

The Washington Redskins travel west this weekend to take on the Oakland Raiders, who have won seven of the last 10 matchups between the two franchises. Also, DeAngelo Hall is hoping he’ll be able to play this weekend against the Raiders (a.k.a. – the team who signed him to a seven-year, $70-million deal and cut him eight months later).

In a Super Bowl XVIII rematch, expect the Raiders to go to their running game early and often. The Redskins rank 24th against the run and 18 of the Raiders’ first 28 offensive plays against Pittsburgh were running plays.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

When it comes to the 2009 Washington Redskins, we’ve been operating under two truths – the offense stinks and the defense dominates.

During the first half of the season, when the Redskins faced four of the five worst teams in the league, the Washington offense was nearly nonexistent. Through the first six games, the Redskins averaged an anemic 13 points per game and were held without a touchdown against St. Louis and Kansas City (who are a combined 4-20).

Meanwhile, the Redskins still had a chance to wins these games because the defense was playing at such a high level. The Redskins’ defense, as usual, was ranked in the top 10 while allowing only 16 points per contest. As an added bonus, they also boasted the top-ranked passing defense.

But a funny thing has happened over the last three weeks – against playoff-caliber opponents in Dallas, Philadelphia and New Orleans, no less – the offense has started to come into its own, and now it’s the defense that is costing the team victories.

Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, who half the fanbase simply cannot wait to run out of town, has completed 76 of 116 passes for 854 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions and a QB rating of 87.3. He also ran for a touchdown against the Eagles.

With Campbell performing at a higher level, youngsters such as wide out Devin Thomas and tight end Fred Davis have also seen a spike in their production. Thomas has posted 14 catches for 179 and two touchdowns the last three weeks. Davis has 11 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a combined 25 catches for 299 yards and four scores over the last three weeks from two young players who “experts” had already rushed to label as busts.

Due to injuries to Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts, the Redskins have been forced to go running back by committee, so we’ll combine the production of Quinton Ganther and Rock Cartwright. Some quick math shows that the “Q-Rock” combo has 56 carries for 228 yards over the last three games, which is more than four yards per carry.

And most importantly, the offensive line, which was dreadful earlier this season seems to have finally found a rhythm. The run blocking has improved drastically, which is why lesser backs like Ganther and Cartwright have, at times, looked better than established guys like Portis and Betts. But the biggest surprise has been the team’s improved pass blocking. Over the last three games, Campbell has been sacked just twice. This from an offensive line that allowed Campbell to be sacked 28 times the first nine games.

So, over the last three weeks, the Redskins offense has scored an average of 20 points per game and racked up 1,082 total net yards (which equals 360 yards per game). That’s an improvement of a touchdown more per game and enough total yards to rank 10th, if they were able to maintain that pace over the course of the entire season.

It’s safe to say they’re getting it done these days.

If the defense resembled anything remotely close to a top 10 unit, the Redskins would be on a three-game winning streak, or at worst, 2-1 in their last three games. And yet, the Skins have lost three straight, by a combined seven points.

All three games share one maddening trait – with the game on the line, the Redskins defense simply could not get off the field.

Leading by six with roughly seven minutes left in Dallas, the Redskins defense allowed quarterback Tony Romo to heat up and drive down the field on a nine-play, 60-yard drive that took four minutes and 25 seconds. The Cowboys didn’t call a single running play on the drive and Romo lit up the Skins secondary, completing seven of eight passes for 66 yards (a false start call on the Cowboys explains the difference in yards).

One week later, the Redskins led the Eagles 24-16 with just under 12 minutes left in the game. Philadelphia took over at their own 10-yard line and promptly marched 90 yards in 10 plays to tie the game at 24-24. The Eagles got the ball back with 5:35 to play and put together a 10-play, 66-yard drive in under four minutes to steal the win.

In those two deciding drives, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb went five of eight for 115 yards and the Philly ground game picked up an additional 42 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

This past weekend was quite possibly the worst of the bunch. Yes, they were playing against the best offense in football against a Saints squad that scores 37 points per game. But to allow any opponent to drive 80 yards in 33 seconds in inexcusable. The fact that they did so in without any timeouts is downright embarrassing.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed four of five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown on the pivotal drive.

That means, with the game on the line, those three quarterbacks went a combined 16 of 21 for 261 yards and two touchdowns against a supposedly top-tier defense. Spin it any way you’d like and you still have to come to the same conclusion – the defense is nowhere near as good as their ninth-place ranking suggests.

The defensive line, which has been infinitely better at pressuring quarterbacks this season, cannot make a play in the clutch. Linebackers other than London Fletcher are nowhere to be found in the deciding moments and the secondary is flat-out failing to stop anyone.

Honestly, it’s so bad that we’re convinced if Carlos Rogers and LaRon Landry had us trapped in a dark alley, all we’d have to do is a double move and we’d get out of there free from harm. Both players are top 10 picks, and yet, neither seems to have any clue what to do if a receiver does more than one move on a route. Can someone at Redskins Park please chip in for the Sunday Ticket so these guys can watch what modern-day offenses are all about?

The moments in which either of these two guys actually makes a play are so few and far between that Landry, in particular, feels compelled to celebrate each time he does bring down an opposing player as if he’d just won the Super Bowl. It’s as if even he’s surprised he made the play.

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache would be wise to sit down his defense and go over the basics one more time. If you’re on the line, you simply have to do a better job of getting pressure in the backfield and if you’re in the secondary, there’s no excuse for letting your man get behind you in coverage. None of this is earth shattering. It’s Football 101.

But until these simple things start to happen, we might have to alter our two “truths.” Because these days, the Redskins’ offense is getting it done, while the defense continues to hold this team back.