The Redskins Blog

Grossman Sees Offensive Progress

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The key that unlocks playoff berths in the NFL is for a team to win on their home turf.

It’s no secret that it’s harder to win games on the road, but somehow in 2010, the Redskins won twice as many road games (four) as home games (two).

In only two opportunities in 2011, the Redskins have already matched their home-wins mark from a season ago, and quarterback Rex Grossman feels good about where the team stands.

“Being 2-0 feels good, and we feel like we’re headed in the right direction,” he said after the game.  ”Those are the types of situations that build momentum and confidence as a team.”

For the second consecutive week, the team has trailed by at least a touchdown, but there’s a certain unflappable quality to the team so far.

“Nervous?  I dunno about nervous,” he said about the deficit.  ”You are only concentrating on just finishing drives.  We didn’t capitalize on some of our drives, but we did when it counted.”

And when the clock struck zero, the Burgundy and Gold had the advantage.

Check out Grossman’s full video below: Read more »

Redskins Appreciate Hispanic Heritage

In conjunction with the NFL’s Hispanic Heritage Month, the Redskins celebrated the diversity of their fan base yesterday with several pregame and in-game tributes:

1. Before the game, the team played the Spanish version of the Redskins fight song, “Viva Los Redskins!“

2. The Junior Redskins Cheerleaders performed a Hispanic-themed routine during the halftime show.

3. Also on the field, Guillermo Enrique Lopez received the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, recognizing the contributions he made in the community. Lopez has been on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Bobby Mitchell Hall of Fame Golf Classic Committee that has raised over $7 million for LLS since the tournament’s inception.

After the game, players had some good perspectives on the contributions of the Hispanic community to the NFL.

Running back Tim Hightower: Read more »

ESPN Glitch: Redskins Lose Yesterday

A common cliche in the football dialect, is: “That’s why you play all 60 minutes.”

But in the parallel universe of ESPN.com’s NFL Scoreboard page, (which I used to watch for live stats during the game) play ceased after 45 minutes, and the page refused to update through much of the fourth quarter.

Therefore,  the game went final, and the Cardinals won the game 14-10, improving to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 on the road.  Sadly, the Redskins fell to 1-1, and 1-1 at home:

Whoops.

Now in ESPN.com’s defense, they eventually spotted the gaffe and corrected it.

Everyone makes mistakes, but I’ll choose this version of reality over ESPN’s.

Shanahan Rolls Dice On Fourth Down

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In the each of the first two games of the season, the Redskins have been faced with a critical fourth down while trailing in the game.

Against the Giants, it was a fourth-and-five on the Giants 37-yard line, at the end of the first half.  Head coach Mike Shanahan put his faith in the offense to convert, and was rewarded with a 10-yard pass to Santana Moss for a first down.  The drive ended with a game-tying touchdown run by Tim Hightower.

Against the Cardinals, yesterday, it was a fourth-and-three on the Cardinals 18-yard line, trailing by eight in the fourth quarter.  Forgoing a chip shot field goal, Shanahan once again left his offense on the field, and was rewarded with a wide open Moss in the endzone for a touchdown.

No guts, no glory.  Two weeks in a row, two fourth down conversions, and Shanahan described it was an easy decision. Read more »

Players Aren’t Interested In Days Off

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While the Redskins may have declined Victory Monday last week, the team earned it this week, and has an extra day as they prepare for Dallas.  In the interest of keeping players fresh and focused, the team isn’t holding organized activities today, but that doesn’t mean that players aren’t coming in to workout and improve after yesterday’s close victory.

Receiver Donte Stallworth earned his first active game as a Redskin, and caught two passes for 16 yards.  No day off for him:

At work finishing up treatment, then workout. After that review the game film & make corrections from my play. Then on to the Cowboys #HTTR—
Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) September 19, 2011

Read more »

Arizona Cardinals In The Rear-View Mirror

If you play your Cards right, you always come out on top.

Following the 22-21 victory on Sunday, the Redskins can now chalk up their eighth consecutive win against the Cardinals, a streak that began on Christmas Eve, 2000, and stretches for over a decade.

How much has changed since then?  Check out the line-up card from the last time the Cardinals beat the Redskins (Nov. 5, 2000):

Read more »