Checking In With The Redskins
By Staff
The Giants are undefeated, the Redskins beat the Cowboys, and the Eagles are sitting at the bottom of the NFC East. The division is far from being sorted out to see which three teams from the Beast will get into the playoffs, but for now the Redskins are in second behind the G-Men. Here is a quick look at the Redskins and where they’re at with David Wagner from Riggo’s Rag.
NK: After four weeks of play, are you satisfied as to where the Redskins stand?
DW: Darn right I’m satisfied. Second place in the division (with the tie breaker going to us), and a team that has improved every week. Coach Jim Zorn wasn’t prepared to go into the Meadowlands in primetime the day the Giants got their rings, but I’m not sure how many coaches could have been. He showed in Dallas that he learns quickly by coaching a great game in a hostile environment. The best part is after the game against the Eagles this week, we finally play a string of games against teams we are supposed to beat– St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit. We could conceivably be 6-2 or 7-1 when October is over.
NK: Who has been the MVP of the Redskins so far and who has been the biggest surprise?
DW: The MVP is probably Jim Zorn. Most new coaches could not have recovered so quickly from such a poor start. But if you need a player, Jason Campbell is the offensive MVP. He’s making all the throws and has learned to hang in and make some tough throws under pressure. He is still a bit slow with some decisions, but his speed will pick up when he has more than 4 games in the offense under his belt. The Dallas win is the first time I can remember that he won a big game on the road. Those kinds of things do wonders for a young QB’s confidence. On defense, the player that really makes us tick is Shawn Springs. He covers the #1 receiver on the other team and allows for the pass rush to develop while Jason Taylor hopefully get healthy. Springs was noticably absent during the Giants game and we paid for it. And again, when he went out in the second half against Dallas, the Cowboys almost snuck back in there.
NK: How do you see the rest of the season playing out for the Redskins?
DW: As I said, after the Eagles game, we get a breather with St. Louis, Cleveland, and Detroit, all games we should win. We will probably go into the bye week 6-3 or 7-2 depending on Pittsburgh and Philly. The key to the season is how we play at home against our NFC foes. I see us winning 7 or 8 of our 10 non-divisions games. If we go 3-3 in the division, we’re a playoff lock If we go 2-4 or worse, we’re probably on the outside looking in. The two wild cards are definitely coming from our division so it is imperative that we get a tie breaker against the Eagles since they are the team most likely to implode.
Thanks again to David and make sure to check out his blog, Riggo’s Rag.