Is it Time to Ramp Up Expectations in Nations Capital

As a banged up Washington Redskins football team uses this bye week to get some much needed rest, its fan base and even the team itself are experiencing a glimmer of hope in the direction things are going. After the break however, they will prepare for their most daunting task of the 2015 season… the New England Patriots in New England.

When the schedules were released this past late spring, fans circled this game as a must-see-TV type of event.

Can the Redskins and Head Coach Jay Gruden concoct a game plan to match wits with legendary coach of the Patriots Bill Belichick? Will Gruden’s game plan produce points and keep the team within striking distance of the Super Bowl Champions? Will defensive coordinator Joe Barry devise a scheme that will baffle New England and aggressively go after New England’s sure-Hall-of-Fame-quarterback Tom Brady?

A lot about the 2015 Washington Redskins will be answered next weekend in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

The Redskins have been a pleasant surprise so far even though their 3-4 record seems like nothing to write home about. They have actually had the lead going into halftime in five out of their seven games. Unfortunately, they have then gone on to lose those contests in the second half. 
Of the seven opponents the team has faced, only two — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-4) and the Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) — had losing records entering last nights game between New England and Miami. These were two games that the Burgundy and Gold won in spectacular fashion, both coming down to game-winning throws by recently-named NFC Offensive Player of the Week, quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Of the other five teams against which Washington has squared off, they all had 500 percent records or better. The Atlanta Falcons, who sport a 6-1 record, were taken to the brink in overtime before prevailing at their home stadium and getting the win anyway. 

Both New York teams — the Giants and the Jets — have four wins apiece and were played tough despite a myriad of turnovers and costly mistakes by the Redskins. These were games that an average football team will never overcome when committing back-breaking errors like Washington did.

The Miami Dolphins (3-4) after last nights defeat to the Patriots, and St Louis Rams (3-3) are starting to play like teams that both came into their 2015 campaign with making the playoffs a realistic goal. That still could happen as both have recently had a Renaissance of sorts.

This leads to the question: who are the 2015 Washington Redskins at the bye week?

Are they the team that seems to rise to the occasion when they have all but been written off? Or, is this team a group that will always fall short when expectations are placed on them?

Make no mistake; there will be no room for error against a Patriots team that is playing with a chip on their collective shoulders. They will not say this but it is apparent that they want to rub the noses of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and league officials in the dirt for the whole Deflategate affair.

The Redskins are the Patriots next obstacle after their recent Thursday night win against the Miami Dolphins.

Since New England won that AFC East division game, Washington will be faced with a task that seems almost unfair. They must slay an undefeated monster and do it in the monster’s cave. And it’s an angry monster at that.

Stranger things have happened in sports however. 

For the Redskins to have a shot they will have to be healthy. This has been an issue going back to training camp.

The injuries that have ravaged this team are the same type that most teams have. And they are what most will say are simply ‘part of the game.’ For Washington however, these injuries have been to key contributors and they have altered the way the Redskins run their schemes.

Several of the significant components — receiver DeSean Jackson, cornerback Chris Culliver and center Kory Lichtensteiger — should be back on the field after missing several weeks of action. Jackson (and his big-play-ability) has surely been missed this entire season.

With all of the injuries, scrutiny and pressure that Gruden has been under; he actually has done a remarkable job not losing his football team. The players have responded by winning close games and engineering an historic comeback from a franchise-record 24 point deficit to beat the Bucs last week.

These are signs that they are playing for each other at the moment.  The locker room has been one filled with players who are not looking to find the quickest exit but actually have football and personal conversations with media members. There seems to be a bond developing within the parameters at Redskins Park.

Come next Sunday they will need that same bond and mind-set against the New England Patriots. That is, if they want to do the unthinkable and knock off ‘the monster…’ on its home turf.