The Redskins Blog

La Canfora: Griffin III-Luck Met The Hype

(AP photo)

CBS NFL Insider Jason La Canfora certainly knows the Washington Redskins organization, having covered the team for five seasons as the beat writer for the Washington Post.

La Canfora was at Saturday’s Washington Redskins-Indianapolis Colts preseason game — you know, the one in which rookie quarterbacks and top draft picks Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck squared off for the first time as professionals — and thought that although the Griffin III-Luck factor brought a lot of hype for one preseason game, the two young quarterbacks lived up to the buildup.

La Canfora was nice enough to spend a few minutes with the Redskins Blog after the game and talk about Griffin III-Luck, as well as the state of the Redskins moving forward. The complete audio of that interview is below, but here are a few snippets that I found interesting:

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WAS-IND: Fourth Quarter Conclusions

(AP photo)

The Washington Redskins continued to roll in the fourth quarter of today’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, and came away with a 30-17 win in front of 60,047 fans at the 2012 FedExField opener.

It was an impressive all-around effort by the Redskins, who got some grit and attitude from its first-, second- and third-teamers on offense, defense and special teams.

For the second straight week, a Redskins backup quarterback had a strong second-half preseason performance.

Last week it was rookie Kirk Cousins against the Chicago Bears — who nearly rallied the Redskins to victory after trailing by 20 points.

This week, it was veteran Rex Grossman, who ended his day against the Colts (1-2) completing all eight of his passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. He had a perfect 158.3 QB rating.

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WAS-IND: Third Quarter Thoughts

(AP photo)

As anticipated, a majority of the Redskins’ starters on offense and defense played into the second half for the first time this preseason in today’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

After an action-packed first half that featured the showdown between highly-touted rookie quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, the Redskins took over in the third quarter, which ended with the home team leading 23-7.

Also, say what you want about the hype of today’s game between Griffin III and Luck, but the star of the game has actually been Redskins rookie running back Alfred Morris, who eclipsed 100 yards rushing on the Redskins first drive of the third quarter.

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WAS-IND: Halftime From FedExField

(AP photo)

It didn’t take long for Robert Griffin III to try to get on top of today’s matchup with fellow rookie quarterback Andrew Luck.

Griffin III’s first pass of the game against the Indianapolis Colts was a bomb to wide receiver Pierre Garçon, who is playing his first game against his former team.

Though Garçon was open in single coverage, the pass was a tad overthrown, but it set the tone for the rest of this highly anticipated preseason game, which at halftime has a score of Redskins 14, Colts 7.

The first throw to Garçon was the first of several Griffin III-chucked deep pass attempts of the first half.

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Exclusive Video: Redskins Take The Field

It’s here, Redskins fans.

The Washington Redskins are taking on the Indianapolis Colts today in about 15 minutes at FedExField.

Simply put, the Redskins players are amped up for this matchup.

Here’s a video of the positional groups taking the field just minutes ago:

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The Redskins Are Ready For The Colts

It’s Week 3 of the preseason, but today’s game between the Washington Redskins and the Indianapolis Colts has mid-season hype.

The Colts bring their rookie quarterback, No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck. The Redskins counter with their own rookie quarterback, Heisman-winner and No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III.

Griffin III and several other Redskins tweeted in recent hours about getting pumped for this matchup. Are you ready?

Robert Griffin III:

Meetings done tonight. See you all at #FedExField tomorrow
#HTTR—
Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) August 25, 2012

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Instagram Gallery: Players Get A Stretch

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The Washington Redskins have taken the field to stretch on their own for today’s highly-anticipated preseason matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at FedExField.

A light drain is falling here in Maryland, as it has been off and on for most of the day. We’ll see if that becomes a factor in today’s game.

Check back for more exclusive pregame content from the Redskins Blog.

Behind Enemy Lines: Indy’s Bob Kravitz

(AP photos)

This week, the Redskins Blog is starting a new weekly segment we’re calling “Behind Enemy Lines,” where we talk with a reporter, columnist or blogger from the city of the team the Redskins are playing that week.

The idea is to get a feel of the opposing team and to get their perception of the Redskins.

We’re starting off on a very high note today as Indianapolis Star sports columnist Bob Kravitz was nice enough to give us a call and address everything from the Andrew Luck-vs.-Robert Griffin III hype for Saturday’s game, former Colts and current Redskins receiver Pierre Garçon, former Purdue star and current Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and where Kravitz sees the Redskins panning out in 2012 and beyond.

One of the best things about Kravitz — who I’ve been reading for years — is that he tells it like it is. His views aren’t always the popular ones, but they’re just that — his views. You can tell he’s a fan of sports; he’s not just a guy covering the game.

Here’s some snippets from today’s conversation with Kravitz. The complete audio interview is below:

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NFL Bracketology: Ranking Best Teams

AP Image

In a month known for its inherent madness, the rest of the world has invented brackets to determine what is the “Best ____ Ever.”

Count the NFL as no exception, as they attempt to determine the greatest teams of all time, focusing largely on the Super Bowl winners.

Of course, teams like the ’98 Vikings (previously the greatest statistical offense of all time) and the ’07 Patriots (currently the greatest statistical offense of all time) are also included on the list, for those of you who don’t value Lombardi’s.

The contest is set up as a bracket, and fans are asked to pair down the pool of 64 to 32, 16, eight, four, two, and the eventual winner.  The contest continues through the month of March.

You can vote for the first round right here, which happens to feature four of the greatest Redskins teams.  Here’s the rundown of those matchups: Read more »

Third Quarter Thoughts

The Redskins finally loosened their choke-hold on the Colts, allowing a field goal on defense and punting twice on offense.

Rex Grossman took over the reins at quarterback, and his best weapon was still Roy Helu.  After looking a little tentative running last week, Helu looks decisive and is focused on turning up-field.  He has 124 total yards from scrimmage through three quarters.

Once again, Sav Rocca hasn’t had an opportunity to show off his ability to “launch a real belter,” but he did hit his spots.  On his first punt of the game, he landed a 37-yard punt at the 11 yard line, followed by a 52-yarder to reverse fields.  He’s averaging 44.5 yards per punt, a good showing for the Aussie.

Chris Neild finished out the first half with an athletic play, making a tackle on running back Delone Carter in the open field.  He talked last week about feeling overwhelmed last week, but showed good awareness out there.  He has the luxury of learning from the linemen in front of him, and could develop into a solid run-stuffer.

The defense looks aggressive and seems to sniff out the play quickly.  No big plays yet, and a good job of flowing to the ball.