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24Sep

redskins-bengals playlist

(photos by Brian Murphy)

1. “Guilty Pleasure” by Gone For Days

It’s hard to describe just how excited fans of the Washington Redskins were in the hours leading up to the home debut of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III.

The parking lots at the stadium were buzzing with anticipation as giddy burgundy and gold-clad fans counted down the minutes until the doors opened and they were able to see their franchise quarterback take the field for the first regular season game at FedEx Field.

The stadium was electric when Griffin’s name was called during pre-game introductions and the new face of the franchise took the field. It was as if 20 years of pitiful quarterback play in our nation’s capital was forgotten in an instant.

For the first time in a long, long time, the Redskins truly have an elite talent — someone opposing teams losing sleep over.

It’s only been three games, but Griffin continues to show he can move the chains with ease with his arm or his feet. His supporting cast is still very much a work in progress, but that hasn’t stopped RGIII from putting points on the board on a regular basis.

Through three games, Washington’s offense is averaging 33 points and 404 yards per game — which is a stark contrast to just last season when Rex Grossman and John Beck were prominently involved.

Even when the Redskins find themselves down by 17, as they were during the second quarter against Cincinnati, this offense is still potent enough to mount a comeback in no time.

With 3:13 left in the first half, Bengals running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give his team a 24-7 lead.

And yet, the Redskins tied the game 24-24 with 3:26 left in the third quarter, thanks to Griffin’s three-yard touchdown pass to receiver Santana Moss.

Even if Washington’s comeback bid ultimately fell short, as they dropped to 1-2 on the year after losing to the Bengals 38-31, Griffin has given ‘Skins fans plenty of reason for excitement.

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17Sep

redskins-rams playlist

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Blood Pressure” by Mute Math

Nothing good comes from playing the St. Louis Rams.

For starters, they’ve been the worst team in football (by a lot) since 2007. If a team like the Washington Redskins defeats them, it’s not particularly newsworthy because the Rams are a doormat. It’s simply considered taking care of business.

But if a team like the Redskins loses to St. Louis, well … that’s just downright embarrassing. I know, because I’ve seen it happen far too often over the last few years.

Even though the Rams have gone just 13-64 against the rest of the NFL since ’07, they’re inexplicably 3-2 against Washington. Their 31-28 victory over the Redskins will not be remembered for anything special they did.

No, the lasting image from this contest will be receiver Joshua Morgan losing his cool at the worst-possible time, drawing a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing a football at an opponent that essentially ensured the home team won the game.

Even though everyone knows Redskins kicker Billy Cundiff shouldn’t be allowed to attempt field goals of 50 yards or more, Morgan’s foolish penalty forced head coach Mike Shanahan to send his kicker out to try a 63-yarder in hopes of forcing overtime.

Of course, Cundiff missed it badly and the Redskins once again squandered away the chance to build some momentum after a rare quality win.

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10Sep

redskins-saints playlist

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “So What” by Miles Davis

The New Orleans Saints went undefeated at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in 2011. Heading into their season-opening match-up with the Washington Redskins, they were 13-1 in their last 14 home games (including the playoffs). When the local fanbase is fired up, that dome is quite possibly the loudest in the entire NFL.

And yet, none of that mattered as the underdog Redskins silenced the Saints 40-32.

Even though the Saints came into the game with an interim coach in place of their suspended interim coach (who is eventually going to fill in for their suspended head coach), every so-called expert and talking head confidently predicted the Saints would easily handle Washington.

Even though New Orleans went into the game without their middle linebacker — the quarterback of the defense — who had his yearlong suspension overturned just days before the game but wasn’t healthy enough to suit up, no one thought the Redskins had much of a chance.

And yet, the Redskins showed up for the game anyway.

“None of y’all gave us a chance,” Redskins linebacker London Fletcher barked at the media as he came off the field after his team’s thrilling victory.

If ever there was a game to bust out the “it’s us against the world” mindset, it was this one. In his pre-game speech, head coach Mike Shanahan smartly told his players it was 46 players versus the entire city of New Orleans. Clearly they bought in.

And if there was ever a time to sneak up on the Saints at home, this was it. Think about how dramatically this game would have been if the Redskins were without the services of their head coach (Shanahan) and middle linebacker (Fletcher).*

*On second thought, lets not and say we did.

The Saints were whistled for 12 penalties. They turned the ball over three times. At one point during the game, they forced Washington to punt … but had 12 men on the field.

While the locals were fixated on the replacement referees, they probably would have been better served turning their attention to the uncharacteristically sloppy performance by the Saints’ coaching staff and players. But hey, maybe it’s easier to blame the refs rather than admit your favorite football team might be in trouble.

That being said, the last time the Saints gave up 40 points in a home game prior to Washington’s impressive 40-32 win was Sept. 28, 2003. So yeah … keep on ignoring the problem and blaming the officiating. Good luck with that.

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27Aug

redskins-colts playlist

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Showdown” by Electric Light Orchestra

It’s safe to say that the Washington Redskins’ home opener was one of the most highly-anticipated preseason games in recent history. Not only was it a chance for ‘Skins fans to see quarterback Robert Griffin III in person for the first time, but the opposing team just so happened to have a highly-touted rookie quarterback of their own.

How rare was this exhibition match-up? Very.

In fact, Griffin and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck became the first rookie quarterback duo selected with the top two picks to face off in a preseason game since 1999, when Cleveland’s Tim Couch and Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb faced each other.

And neither quarterback disappointed.

Griffin completed 11 of 17 passes (64.7 percent) for 74 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a quarterback rating of 93.8. Luck completed 14 of 23 for 151 yards with a touchdown, with a QB rating of 94.7. Both players looked very comfortable calling the shots for their respective teams and, best of all, neither looked like a rookie out there.

RGIII led the offense on touchdown drives of 66 and 80 yards on the team’s only two drives of the second quarter and recorded five first downs on each drive. On third downs, which have been an issue for the Redskins in recent years, the Heisman Trophy winner managed to find ways to keep the chains moving and, unlike Luck, Griffin was able to spread the ball around to more than just one or two targets, which helped Washington secure the 30-17 win over Indianapolis.

Because he won’t play in the fourth preseason game, Griffin heads into the regular season having completed 20 of 31 passes (64.5 percent) for 193 passing yards, with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a QB rating of 103.3. Needless to say, his coach is happy with how he performed during his three exhibition games.

“I thought Robert did a good job,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “I think he keeps on getting better and better and more comfortable with the system, what we’re trying to do. That goes with the experience that most quarterbacks need to get better in the National Football League.”

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20Aug

redskins-bears playlist

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Wake Up Call” by Maroon 5

Forget the final score. Sure, it’s nice that the Washington Redskins were able to make their preseason game against the Chicago Bears competitive before ultimately falling to the home team, 33-31.

But at the end of the day, no one should give a damn whether or not the Redskins remained undefeated during the exhibition portion of their schedule. When it comes to preseason games, teams just want to a.) stay healthy and 2.) get young players playing time against someone other than their teammates. That’s it.

Honestly, ‘Skins fans should be thankful those are the two areas of focus during this time of year because Washington’s starters were thoroughly outplayed by Chicago’s during the relevant portion of this contest.

From their first play on offense, the Bears imposed their will against the Redskins — scoring on three of their first four possessions while racking up 262 yards in the first half.

And things weren’t any better on the other side of the ball either, as rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III was essentially running for his life behind a patchwork offensive line that struggled to protect the face of the franchise in this one.

RGIII looked great in his debut, but that’s probably because Buffalo never laid a hand on him during his limited action. Well, things were much different the second time around as Griffin, who completed five of eight passes for 49 yards, was sacked three times and pressured throughout the night.

Washington’s first six drives resulted in four fumbles, a fumble and a field goal. The score was 20-10 at the half and 30-10 after three quarters, which should give head coach Mike Shanahan and friends plenty to work on between now and the start of the regular season.

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10Aug

redskins-bills playlist

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Do You Remember” by Jack Johnson

It’s only fitting that Washington’s 2012 season begins against the Buffalo Bills. After all, the ’11 campaign effectively ended when the Redskins were embarrassed by the Bills 23-0 north of the border.

Although Washington still had two months left of football remaining on the schedule, that humiliating blowout showed just how far the burgundy and gold had to go in their ongoing quest towards respectability.

Not only was the team’s backup plan — quarterback John Beck — not a viable option, but the fact that the humbling loss came at the hands of such a mediocre opponent* only reenforced just how bad the Redskins truly were.

*After defeating the Redskins, Buffalo went on to lose seven of their final eight games of 2011.

The good news is, since last we saw these two teams, the Redskins have undergone a pretty serious facelift. No longer are local fans subjected to the Rex Grossman-John Beck “pupu platter” — not after the franchise traded away a bevy of high draft picks for the right to select Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.

In his preseason debut, RGIII did everything asked of him in limited action. Griffin, who was in the game for roughly 14 plays, completed four of six passes for 70 yards with a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Pierre Garcon.

While the first two series of the night for Washington weren’t great and Griffin was credited with a fumble on a botched handoff attempt with running back Evan Royster, the Baylor standout completed his final three passes for 58 yards and put points on the board against Buffalo — something the Redskins obviously couldn’t do last season.

“It was fun to get out there and run around, suit up in the Redskins gear for the first time officially,” he said. “It’s something I don’t want to forget.”

While it wasn’t perfect, the first preseason game was good enough for Griffin.

“It felt extremely good to come out [and play],” Griffin said. “Coach did a good job calling plays, got me in rhythm and helped get the offense in rhythm on that third drive. And that’s what it’s all about. You don’t always have to go out and try to put together the best scheme to the one play to the one route that’s going to be wide open. Sometimes you have got to go out and out-execute the team.”

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02Jan

redskins-eagles playlist

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Communication Breakdown” by Led Zeppelin

This game, and the 2011 season in general, can be summed up by one sequence of plays that ended the first half.

The Washington Redskins had the ball on the 4-yard line with 26 seconds remaining in the first half when quarterback Rex Grossman dropped back and threw a pass in the corner of the endzone to receiver Santana Moss.

As Moss made a play on the ball, a Philadelphia Eagles defender essentially mugged him, but no penalty was called. Clearly frustrated, Moss made a costly mistake by taking off his helmet while voicing his opinion of the non-call.

That earned him a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for taking his helmet off on the field of play and pushed Washington back to the 19-yard line. Two plays later, Grossman connected with receiver Jabar Gaffney for an eight-yard gain. The only problem? He was tackled in the middle of the field on the 7-yard line and the Redskins had no timeouts remaining.

The call from the sidelines was to send the field goal unit out in hopes of picking up three points on a chip shot attempt before the clock expired. The only problem? When long snapper Nick Sundberg and friends ran onto the field, the offensive players were screaming out “Spike the ball!” and center Will Montgomery was lined up in the middle of the line with his hand of the football.

Because no one had any clue what anyone else involved was doing, the Redskins missed out on easy points and went into halftime trying to figure out what went wrong.

2. “Bad Habit” by The Offspring

Even when things went well for the Redskins, the team did its best to ruin the moment. Like, for example, when running back Roy Helu caught a pass underneath from Grossman and raced down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown less than five minutes into the second half.

The touchdown was huge because it cut the Philadelphia lead to 10-7, but any momentum Washington would have gained from the eight-play, 80-yard drive was nullified by the unnecessary celebration by wide out Donte Stallworth. For reasons that remain unclear, Stallworth ran up to Helu in the endzone, dropped to a knee and began dusting off Helu’s shoes.*

*I was standing on the sidelines for both of these plays and they elicited two very different reactions. The non-call on Moss had the entire Redskins sideline fuming. Head coach Mike Shanahan stormed over to the nearest official and yelled “Are you watching the game?”

On the same play, punter Sav Rocca, who was standing next to me, yelled “Crikey!” which was amazingly awesome. But when Stallworth was whistled for his penalty, Shanahan was screaming into his headset “We know we can’t clean off his @#$%ing shoes!” while staring daggers into Stallworth a few feet away. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased.

That resulted in a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, which gave the Eagles better field position on their next drive. Philadelphia marched down the field on a 13-play, 72-yard drive that resulted in a field goal and never looked back — scoring touchdowns on three of their final four possessions in the 34-10 blowout.

And it all started to fall apart thanks to Moss, an 11-year pro, and Stallworth, who has nine years of NFL experience. That’s a combined 20 years between the two veterans, and yet, they both made mind-numbingly stupid decisions that cost their team.

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