All posts in photos

(photos by Brian Murphy)

In a matter of hours, the Washington Redskins will officially kick of the 2013 campaign when they face the Tennessee Titans in their preseason opener. Like every other ‘Skins fans out there, I too am exciting to see what this season has in store for the burgundy and gold and it’s a safe bet most of the day will be spent staring at the clock, wishing it was time for kickoff.

To help pass the time, I’ve decided to take a quick look back at the roller coaster ride that was Washington’s ’12 season. The highly-anticipated debut of Robert Griffin III. The improbable emergence of Alfred Morris. The horrendous start, followed by the amazing second-half surge.

And best of all, I was on the sidelines for all 21 games — from the preseason opener in Buffalo to the heartbreaking postseason defeat at the hands of Seattle — it was easy the most compelling season I’ve been around the Redskins for since I began covering the team back in 2005. So without further delay, here is one final look back at the beginning of a new era of Washington Redskins football.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

One year ago, the Washington Redskins held a rookie camp that represented the debut of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Robert Griffin III.

Considering how many decades it had been since the Redskins had anything that remotely resembled a franchise quarterback on the roster, the entire D.C. metro area was eager to see RGIII don the burgundy and gold for the first time.

Needless to say, things are much more subdued in 2013.

With no first-round pick this season, Washington simply aimed to add depth to the roster during the ’13 NFL Draft. Those seven draft picks, as well as 12 undrafted free agents and 48 players in town on a tryout basis participated in the team’s three-day rookie camp.

Consider the Redskins are the reigning NFC East champions, roster spots are going to be hard to come by for the majority of these hopefuls.

It’s an introduction to our system, both offensively and defensively,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “We don’t work on special teams in this camp, but we will in our OTAs. But they get a feel for what we’re trying to do. We get a chance to take a look at them, what type of athletes they are, what type of quickness and speed. And that was very impressive to see our draft choices out there and to see their size and their quickness and their speed and things we were hoping for. Their ball skills were very evident out there over the last few days. So it was a good practice.”

For those who are interested, I was out at Redskins Park covering the rookie camp. Click here for the full gallery of photos from the 2013 rookie camp.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Redskins have qualified for the postseason three times since I began covering the team and while each of those three seasons was different, they all unfortunately ended the same — with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

The 2005 Redskins were just happy to be there, after barely squeaking by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the opening round and the ’07 Redskins were emotionally spent after needing to play perfect football the final month of the season just to make it in on the last day of the regular season. This year’s squad though, was young and hungry and — best of all — playing at home in front of a sellout crowd.

Sadly, injuries to too many key players — including quarterback Robert Griffin III — proved to be too much to overcome and Washington’s magical run ended in bittersweet fashion. Sure, this was a 3-6 team that improbably came out of the bye week like a bat out of hell while winning seven-straight games, but the journey’s ending was all too familiar.

Before you close the book on the 2012 Redskins though, please take a moment to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week.

(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.

(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.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

I have a confession to make — I’m a Cleveland Browns sympathizer.

I would never consider myself a fan of the Browns, but seeing them routinely finish as one of the NFL’s worst teams year in and year out has gotten me to the point where I’d like to see them turn things around.*

*And let’s be honest, it’s pretty easy for ‘Skins fans to root against Baltimore and Pittsburgh anyway, so pulling for a Browns turnaround season isn’t all that unreasonable.

Plus, a couple of my good friends happen to be diehard Browns fans, so seeing them actually enjoy an NFL season would be a nice change of pace.

Back before I started spending all of my Sundays on the sidelines covering the Washington Redskins, I used to take an annual trip with my buddies to Cleveland to see the Browns in action. And here’s the kicker — they were 4-0 in games I attended in Cleveland (before this weekend). They beat Joe Gibbs and friends back in ’04, the Baltimore Ravens in ’05, the New York Jets in ’06 and the Seattle Seahawks in ’07.

Basically, if the Redskins lost this weekend, it would have been my fault. Thankfully, it didn’t come to that.

Backup quarterback Kirk Cousins started off shaky and then settled into a groove and the Redskins cruised to an impressive 38-21 victory for their fifth-straight win.

The Redskins are currently sitting atop the NFC East division with two games remaining on the schedule, so please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. Lord knows this doesn’t happen very often.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

At some point, we’re all going to have to stop and admit that there just might be something special about the 2012 Washington Redskins.

Of course, that didn’t appear to be the case as this team limped into the bye week with a 3-6 record thanks in large part to a three-game losing streak.

Now though, the Redskins appear fully capable of beating anyone and everyone — even when they’re not playing their best football.

The Baltimore Ravens are a perennial playoff team that, year in and year out, rank among the league’s elite thanks to a well-rounded squad that tends to excel in all three phases of the game.

The Washington Redskins, for far too long, have been a fragile snowflake of a franchise that is seemingly incapable of handling any adversity whatsoever. And yet, for one day at least, none of that mattered as the Redskins found a way to win on a day when their franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III wasn’t at his best.

Not only did RGIII struggle in the face of a solid Baltimore pass rush, but he was then forced out of action after spraining his right knee. In years past, this would have been more than enough to doom Washington.

But Griffin’s teammates stepped up in a large way on Sunday and now the Redskins are riding high on a four-game winning streak and have a wining record in December for the first time in far too long.

With that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. The players put together a monumental effort to defeat a talented Ravens squad, so it’s the least you can do.