You Heard It Here First: Washington Redskins Can Win 2012 NFC East Title

In 2011, the NFC East appeared to be a total mess. The division winning New York Giants may have won the Super Bowl but they did so with a 9-7 regular season record.

Despite the Giants championship win, the NFC East division title is up for grabs. My pick to step up – the Washington Redskins. Looking at the team as a whole, it needs some work. In this week’s You Heard It Here First, I’m going to take a close look at the Redskins roster and point out what Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen need to do to make the Redskins a winning team.

Let’s start with the most obvious spot – quarterback. Under Rex Grossman and John Beck in 2011, the quarterback play in Washington was some of the worst in the league. When studying the games the Redskins lost in 2011, at least half can be directly attributed to the poor play of the quarterback. I’ll be frank here – if the Washington Redskins had a competent quarterback in 2011, they could conceivably have won another 3-4 games games which would have resulted in the team going at least 8-8.  The team’s number one priority must be at quarterback to be competitive.

Looking at the offensive playmakers, the Skins are better here than most people think. At running back the problem is that they have three good running backs who all do the same job. None of the running backs is a true downhill runner with the explosive speed to make defenders miss. All three – Hightower, Royster and Helu – are more suited to playing as a #2 back with a focus on passing downs. The addition of a downhill runner in free agency or the draft should be a priority but gaining an elite player here isn’t necessary.

At receiver, there are question marks. The problem here is that the quarterback play has been so bad that the talent the Redskins have isn’t so obvious. For example, many say the Redskins require a burner to make the runs for the deep ball. Not true – they have second year Leonard Hankerson who is fully capable of this and has made great strides. His route running requires refinement but he has all the tools. They also have a very competent slot runner in Santana Moss and while he is aging they also have a good replacement in the wings in Niles Paul.

The real problem at this position is the X receiver. Jabar Gaffney is the guy here but he has clearly lost a bit. Vincent Jackson would be a perfect free agent pickup here but failing that a player like Reuben Randle in the second round of the draft would be a good bet.

At tight end, no problems here. Fred Davis is one of the most talented players at this position in the NFL and Chris Cooley still has plenty left as well and is a great veteran presence.

The offensive line is still a big issue. Mike Shanahan’s installation of the zone blocking scheme is taking alot of time to get working although we saw signs early in 2012 that it was finally coming together before Kory Lichtensteiger went down. He was the lynch-pin of the line and when he went out the Skins season never really recovered. There is still a big need for another guard and also for a right tackle as Jamaal Brown has deteriorated faster than anyone thought he would.

The biggest strength on this team in the defensive seven. Jarvis Jenkins was one of the steals of the 2011 NFL Draft when the Redskins got him in the second round. Coupled at defensive end with former Ram Adam Carriker – who must be a top priority to be re-signed in free agency – and with former Giant Barry Cofield in between, this will be a line to be feared. The Skins have great depth here too as former Cowboy Stephen Bowen provides great cover at defensive end and seventh round pick Chris Neild is the future of the nose tackle position for the team.

In Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan, the Redskins have one of the best outside linebacker combos in the NFL and the future is bright there as both players are very young and yet to enter their prime. On the inside, London Fletcher led the NFL in tackles in 2011 and is expected to be re-signed this offseason. Rocky Mcintosh looks like he’s on the way out but Perry Riley showed glimpses of great talent in 2011. Getting another inside linebacker could be a priority soon.

In the defensive backfield we find the biggest issue on this defense – cornerback. DeAngelo Hall has had something of a comeback in the past couple of years but he’s not an elite corner by any means. On the other side, Josh Wilson is a perfectly competent #2 corner who is well liked within the organisation but at best he’s a good fill-in player worthy of his starting spot until something better comes along.

Safety should be this team’s biggest strength. Oshiomogho Atogwe was signed to the team in 2011 and it was expected the Redskins would have the strongest safety combo in the league with LaRon Landry being the best young strong safety out there. A year on and Landry will be lucky to be re-signed for money he wants after he refused to take the advice of Redskins medical staff following an injury that sidelined him for all of 2011. Due to Landry’s absence, Atogwe was forced to play strong safety when he is more naturally suited to free safety and this had a torrid effect on the secondary as a whole.

The Redskins biggest problem aside from quarterback is special teams. Graham Gano cannot be blamed for all the missed and blocked field goals in 2011 as his blockers did him no favors. He may end up being a sacrificial lamb though. Brandon Banks may be a speedy returner but again the special teams blocking prevents him from showing his full potential and he may be another player sacrificed. The lone high point here is australian punter Sav Rocca who was one of the best punters in the NFL in 2011 and prevented the Redskins from looking worse than they really were.

On a whole, this team isn’t as bad as many fans believe. Watch the Redskins closely in the next couple of months. If they make the right moves they can be contenders. The Washington Redskins could win the NFC East. If it happens I won’t be surprised and now neither will you – because You Heard It Here First.

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