All posts in football

01Jan

how the redskins defense saved the season

In blog, football by b murf / January 1, 2013 / No Comments

Well, the 2012 NFL season has come to a conclusion and yet, the Washington Redskins still live to play another day.

Thanks to a remarkable seven-game winning streak, the Redskins claimed their first NFC East division title since ’99 and will now host just the second playoff game in FedEx Field’s miserable history this Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks come to town.

While most of the world is quick to praise the immensely-talented tandem of quarterback Robert Griffin III and running back Alfred Morris, it would be foolish to assume this magical run has come solely because of those two rookies. Which is why Grantland’s Bill Barnwell wrote a column this week suggesting Washington’s improved defense is the biggest reason the team made it to the postseason.

Washington’s improvement, meanwhile, owes more to its defense than you might expect. It’s a leap I wrote about earlier in this run, but the numbers bear out that the Redskins’ defense has had more to do with their big playoff run than has the offense. During their 3-6 start, the Washington offense averaged 25.1 points per game, a figure that improved to an even 30 during the 7-0 finish. That’s a 4.9-point difference. Meanwhile, the Washington defense went from allowing 27.6 points per game during the rough seas of September and October to an even 20.0 points per game after Election Day, a difference of 7.6 points. Plenty of those points came in garbage time against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, too, so that figure even understates the genuine improvement this unit has made over the final seven weeks of the year.

How did they get better? Well, the obvious indicators don’t show any notable changes. Washington forced 16 turnovers through nine games, an average of 1.8 per contest and a figure that rose slightly to 2.1 turnovers per game over their final seven contests. That’s not it. They’ve been bad on third down on both sides of the divide, allowing opposing offenses to convert 43.8 percent of the time during the 3-6 run (which was seventh-worst in the league), a figure that’s up to 45.6 percent after their bye week. Their dismal first-down pass defense allowed 8.8 yards per pass attempt during the first nine weeks of the year, a figure only topped by the Saints and Chiefs. Their more recent run has seen them allow a more respectable 6.8 yards per throw. Their sack rate has also improved from 3.8 percent to 6.0 percent. The steps above that are positive all help a little bit, but not enough to single-handedly change the Redskins, who seem to be getting better out of sheer will.

With that in mind, I talked to nose tackle Barry Cofield to try and gain some perspective from the vocal leader on just what has changed on his side of the ball to allow defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and friends to save a once-sinking ship.

31Dec

photos from the sidelines: week 17

In blog, football, photos by b murf / December 31, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Redskins did the unthinkable Sunday evening — they not only rose to the challenge of playing against their hated rival on a national stage with a playoff birth of the line, but they managed to exceed expectations in the way they handled the Dallas Cowboys.

Their 28-18 victory was a blast from the past, as the Redskins ran up and down the field en route to their first NFC East title in 13 years.

“It’s safe to say, I’m the happiest guy in the room,” said Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. “I was 9 years old in 1999. So I stand before you at 22, and the Redskins are the NFC East champions. To me, talking to Alfred after the game, it’s the first time the Redskins have been champs since ’99 and we came in and we did it in one year. The sky’s the limit for this team.”

Alfred, of course, is Redskins running back Alfred Morris, who rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the biggest game of his young career. He too, was in elementary school the last time Washington was good enough to win a division title — which is seriously depressing when you stop and think about it.

But this isn’t a time to linger on the sad days. This is a time to celebrate the improbable journey this year’s Washington Redskins have taken us all on. Thanks to a magical seven-game winning streak, Washington will now host a home playoff game for just the second time in FedEx Field history.

So with that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. After all, there’s something truly enjoyable about watching the Dallas Cowboys fall flat on their collective faces on a national stage.

31Dec

redskins-cowboys playlist

In blog, football, playlist by b murf / December 31, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta” by Geto Boys

Coming into their final game of the regular season, the Washington Redskins had a chance to back their way into the playoffs. Had the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings both lost, the burgundy and gold would have been a lock for the postseason regardless of the outcome of their rivalry game with the Dallas Cowboys.

So naturally, both the Bears and VIkings won their games, and the Redskins had just one option left if they wanted to continue their magical run — beat Dallas.

Faced with a “win and you’re in” situation, the Redskins looked every bit like a powerhouse — punishing the Cowboys 28-18 with a heavy dose of the NFL’s best ground game and leaving no doubt that they belong in the playoffs, thanks to a seven-game winning streak.

“I’m really proud of our football team,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “For them to fight for seven weeks to put themselves in this position just says a lot about who they are and what level they’ve played at for about seven weeks. That we accomplished our first goal is really a tribute to the character of the guys in that locker room.”

Each of the last two seasons, the Redskins were in last place in the NFC East. That’s because head coach Mike Shanahan and company went just 11-21.

Now though, the Redskins are the division’s lone postseason representative. They beat their biggest rival on a national stage to improve to 5-1 against the NFC East and to go 10-6 on the year.

And best of all, because Washington was able to go from “worst to first” for the first time in franchise history, the Redskins will finally get another chance to play football in January while the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles are forced to buy a ticket if they want to get anywhere near the playoffs.

24Dec

happy holidays fellow homers

In blog, football by b murf / December 24, 2012 / 1 Comment

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Lets be honest — if you’re a fan of the Washington Redskins, then you have plenty of reason to give thanks during this holiday season.

For starters your favorite football franchise matters again for the first time since Vietnam.*

*Okay, maybe they’ve won an important game or two since then, but you get my point. It’s been a while.

After two seasons of lackluster play and disappointment, the Mike Shanahan era finally has proven to have an enjoyable moment or two. Oh, and did I mention there’s a rookie quarterback in town who has played a pretty significant role in all of this as well? So while you’ve all already gotten your present early this year, here’s hoping the holiday season still treats you all well.

Sure, in years past ‘Skins fans have had little choice but to drown their sorrows away in a tall glass of eggnog, but thankfully, that’s not needed this year. Either way, I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a merry Christmas.

And if you don’t do the whole Christmas thing, that’s cool too. Enjoy your Chinese food and we’ll catch up with everyone in a day or two.

23Dec

redskins-eagles playlist

In blog, football, playlist by b murf / December 23, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Dancing With The Dead” by 10 Years

For the briefest of moments, it absolutely appeared the Washington Redskins were going to do their best to ruin the holidays.

That’s because, for the briefest of moments, it appeared that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had completed a third-down pass to receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was wide open in the right corner of the end zone.

Fortunately for the burgundy and gold, the rookie quarterback didn’t get enough on the pass and the ball skipped just short of his intended target — giving the Redskins another chance to close out the game.

Had the Eagles completed that play, more than a few Redskins players believed there was no doubt Philadelphia would have gone for a two-point conversion rather than attempted an extra point and played for overtime.

“We knew they would,” said middle linebacker Perry Riley. “They had nothing to lose and they were trying to mess up our season. Why not go for two? We didn’t want to let it get to that point. We didn’t want to let them score because who knows if they would have gotten it or not?”

In the end though, Foles missed on that golden opportunity and three plays later was whistled for an illegal forward pass to end the game, thanks to pressure by Redskins defensive end Stephen Bowen.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the defense — which finished the game with a season-high five sacks and also created two turnovers — found a way to do just enough to lead the Redskins to a nerve-wracking 27-20 victory over the Eagles.

23Dec

photos from the sidelines: week 16

In blog, football, photos by b murf / December 23, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

There was a point in time earlier this season when fans of the Washington Redskins were forced to cringe and avert their eyes whenever the defense took the field.

Thanks to a paper-thin secondary and a nonexistent pass rush, Washington’s defense struggled to do much of anything right during the first half of the 2012 season and the Redskins looked dead in the water at 3-6. But then a funny thing happened.

The team used the bye week to regroup and refocus on both sides of the ball and now, the defense isn’t so terrible anymore. During the team’s current six-game winning streak, Washington has continually found a way to make mid-game adjustment and has actually started to pressure opposing quarterbacks from time to time.

Against Philadelphia, the Redskins defense had a field day — sacking rookie quarterback Nick Foles a season-high five times while also creating two turnovers. Sure, they still went out of their way to make the ending much more dramatic than it needed to be, but the defense found a way to close out the game and keep the playoff hopes alive.

That alone is enough to make the holidays happy in our nation’s capital, so with that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week.

21Dec

washington redskins’ five biggest surprises of 2012

In blog, football by b murf / December 21, 2012 / 2 Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

5. Pierre Garcon, receiver – Sure, Garcon was the closest thing to a big-name free agent the Washington Redskins acquired last offseason — landing a five-year, $42.5 million deal to come to our nation’s capital, but the second act of his career didn’t exactly start off as planned.

Garcon announced his arrival with a stunning 88-yard catch and run against the New Orleans Saints in the season opener, and then was basically a non-factor for the next two months thanks to a lingering toe injury. Things looked so bleak for a while there that more than a few folks were advocating shutting him down and placing him on the injured reserve list.

Thankfully, the Redskins coaching staff is more than happy to ignore the so-called experts and Garcon was able to get his groove back just in time to help the burgundy and gold make an improbable playoff run down the stretch.

In the last four games, Garcon has begun to show that he’s fully capable of being the number one receiver by hauling in 23 catches for 340 yards and three touchdowns. If the fifth-year pro was able to sustain that level of production over the course of an entire season, he’d have 92 catches for 1,360 yards and 12 touchdowns.

That’s called getting it done.