Washington Redskins: A New York State of Mind

It’s a common theory that the 4-6 Washington Redskins are, for all intents and purposes, playing for their season this weekend. The New York Giants are coming to town and, with their 5-5 record, are first in the NFC East Division, of which the Redskins are also a member. This is the second game between the two teams and, if Washington wins, it will be tied with the Giants for the lead. Because New York has already beaten the Redskins once this season, the latter needs to win this game if there is any chance at all for the rest of their season’s games to have meaning. In other words, they are going to have to go into this game with the intensity and focus to let nothing stop them.

The problem is that the team has been inconsistent enough this season that no one really knows what they will see on the field. Will it be the focused, turnover-causing machine that almost beat the then-undefeated Atlanta Falcons and took them into overtime? Or will it be the uptight, forgot-how-to-catch-or-tackle crew that traveled up to New England to play the undefeated world-champion Patriots?

This weekend’s game could go either way but it is winnable. And while the situation is a little better than earlier in the season, the Redskins do have some injury issues.

This week veteran cornerback Chris Culliver was placed on Reserve/Injured due to a fluke ACL/MCL tear sustained during practice while going after a ball and landing badly. Safety Trenton Robinson is out with a hamstring injury, rookie Deshazor Everett is dealing with a hamstring as well and he’s questionable. Middle linebacker Keenan Robinson is still dealing with that rotator cuff/shoulder thing and is questionable for Sunday. Finally, CB Bashaud Breeland missed practice Friday with some sort of bug and he is questionable for Sunday. This last item — Breeland — is especially disturbing because he is one of the most physical corners out there and someone with his tenacity is needed to battle Giants wide out Odell Beckham, Jr.

Guys like receiver-turned-defensive-back Quinton Dunbar, veteran CB Will Blackmon — who’s done an excellent job since coming to Washington — rookie Kyshoen Jarrett and DeAngelo Hall (whether he plays safety or CB) will all have to step up and play varied roles.

“We’ve got a couple of options,” Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden said at his post-practice session with the media yesterday. “We still have Blackmon too that can play corner. We have some versatility back there. If there is a saving grace with all the injuries that we’ve had, we’ve had to try to intermingle everybody in different spots, so they all have a pretty good general knowledge of nickel, corner, safety. So I think we’ll have it covered. Blackmon can play nickel and he can play corner. Kyshoen can play nickel and safety. D-Hall can play corner and safety. So we have all the spots filled, but you’d like to have better continuity with them being in one spot longer, but it what it is. Like I said, [defensive coordinator] Joe [Barry] and [defensive backs] Coach [Perry] Fewell will have those guys schooled up wherever they are.”

Offensively, there are still injury issues with Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams (knee). He was limited in practice this week and is probable (it would likely take wild horses to keep him out of the game). Running back Alfred Morris left last week’s game with a rib injury but returned to the field. He was a full go in practice all week and is probable for Sunday.

Center Josh LeRibeus was dealing with an ankle and a shoulder but practiced all week as well. There has been some concern over his snaps to quarterback Kirk Cousins since taking over center duties from veteran Kory Lichtensteiger but Gruden and the coaching staff feel he is the best candidate for the job right now. They did bring in veteran (and “true center”) Brian de la Puente a couple of weeks ago but they don’t yet feel like they need to turn the job over to him.

“Well, we’re going to stick with Josh.” Gruden said yesterday. “We just keep coaching him up, man and keep practicing. Josh is getting better just like everybody else every day and that’s all we can do. Obviously, if it continues, I think Brian feels a lot more comfortable in the offense. I have no problem sticking with Josh right now. Josh is battling some, you know, nagging injuries here and there, too, but he should be good to go. We have faith in Josh.”

This game is going to require a special effort by the Redskins to win. This is a time when physicality and pure “dog” has to be the mindset of every player wearing the Burgundy and Gold. While it’s difficult because it’s been talked about all week long on the radio, during locker room sessions and on television, the players need to find some sort of balance between understanding how important this game is and not worrying so much that they can’t just relax and play their game.

Back in December 2012, Washington was one game behind New York as well.

The going was a bit rough in the early part of the two teams’ second game of the season with the Giants out-gaining the Redskins 273 yards to 156 and owning the ball for 11 more minutes in the first half. But the Redskins defense also kept the Giants out of the end zone a few times despite the G-Men converting eight of 10 third downs. Washington rallied early in the fourth quarter to win that game 17-16 and its run to the playoffs and the eventual NFC East title continued.

We’ve seen this 2015 offense move the ball effectively. With receiver DeSean Jackson now healthy, the Redskins should throw the ball down the field and do it early. The Giants don’t have a great run game nor do they have a great run defense. Washington should exploit this. As well, letting a guy like Breeland use his physicality to defend Beckham would be advantageous rather than having him in zone so much as we have seen recently.

But that’s just me.

Washington has the talent to beat New York. The team has practiced this week with an obvious edge. Players have said the coaches did not hesitate to “keep it real” or “be honest” (we know what that means). That’s good.

It is absolutely possible for the Redskins to advance its playoff hopes this weekend… they just need to make up their mind to do it.