The Redskins Blog

‘Top 100 Players of 2013′: London Fletcher

Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher, 37, appeared in his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl this year, making him the first Redskins player since tackle Chris Samuels to earn four consecutive Pro Bowl berths (2005-08).

The defensive captain and NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for December, finished the season with a team-high 188 tackles (112 solo) and posted a career-high five interceptions while pushing his consecutive games played streak to 240.

Earlier in the offseason, the 15-year veteran announced that he would return for another year in the burgundy and gold and good thing because he ranks #86 on the list of “Top 100 Players of 2013″!

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New Test Measures How Players Learn

As the 333 players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine start to trickle into Indy, all 32 teams are flocking to Lucas Oil Stadium to assess the talented class. They hoped to receive enough insight on the field that they will have thoroughly scouted all prospects before landing their next prized draft selection this April at the 2013 NFL Draft.

While the Combine evaluates talent through vigorous physical examinations such as the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, and the three-cone drill, one test has often been brought into the spotlight that has nothing to do with playing ability.

The Wonderlic Test.

The Wonderlic was originally brought into the fold to investigate how prospects function under a controlled, pressure-packed 12 minute examination and how it translates to the football field. However, in recent years, the intelligence test has become heavily scrutinized by fans and league officials alike.

While the Wonderlic will still be administered to the 2013 Scouting Combine class, the league is introducing a new aptitude test: the Player Assessment Tool (PAT).

The Player Assessment Tool will measure prospects based on their strengths, aptitudes, and learning styles.

Now before you say “Hey that sounds like the same thing as the Wonderlic!” find out how the test differs from the much-maligned examination:

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Morris: ‘I Never Met The Rookie Wall’

Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris said he didn’t even know what a rookie wall was until he was asked about it by a couple of reporters this season.

In this case, ignorance was bliss, as the running back turned in one of the best rookie rushing campaigns in NFL history, with 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Rookie wall? What rookie wall?

Morris this past week was a guest on the NFL Network’s “Around The League,” and talked about his season, as well as a few other topics — including today’s NFC Wild Card round playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks at FedExField.

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‘Playbook:’ London Fletcher’s Impact

(AP photo)

The Washington Redskins’ offense has been consistently effective throughout the entire 2012 season, but in order for the team to become a playoff contender, it needed the same consistency from its defense.

Riddled by injuries to three starters early in the season, the Washington defense struggled through the first half of the season. But as the unit and its coaches got more comfortable with its personnel and assignments, the second half of the season was a different story.

Not coincidentally, the overall product on the field improved dramatically. The Redskins (10-6), 2012 NFC East champions, today play host to the first playoff game at FedExField since 1999 winners of seven straight.

The unquestioned leader of the Redskins’ defense is captain and middle linebacker London Fletcher. Fletcher — who last week was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month — has had a dominating second half of the season in 2012, despite a nagging ankle injury that has kept him out of several practices in the weeks leading up to the games. This season, Fletcher has 74 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions in the second half — an all-around performance that gives head coach Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett much to be proud of heading into today’s NFC Wild Card round playoff game vs. the Seattle Seahawks (11-5).

Fletcher recently joined the set of the NFL Network’s “Playbook,” and talked with analyst Matt Millen about what it takes to play the linebacker position. The full video of that appearance is below, but here’s some snippets of the conversation:

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NFL Films: The Origin Of A Rivalry

It started out, oddly enough, with a yet-to-be established NFL franchise and a fight song.

More than 50 years later, the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys continue to do battle twice a year as divisional foes and bitter rivals.

The series adds its next chapter tonight, when the Redskins play host to the Cowboys in a nationally-televised game that will determine the NFC East champion.

It’s perhaps the third most important game in the Redskins-Cowboys series history, right behind the 1972 and 1982 NFC Championship games, both of which resulted in Washington wins.

According to the NFL Films video above — which was originally presented in 1991′s “NFL’s Greatest Rivalries” — it all started in 1960, when the Cowboys were an NFL expansion franchise. The Redskins had been dominating the South airwaves, something that a franchise in Texas would threaten and something Washington owner George Preston Marshall wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

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‘Playbook:’ Redskins’ Coverage Vs. Dallas

How can the Redskins’ secondary improve this time around against the Dallas Cowboys?

The three-man crew at the NFL Network’s “Playbook” explored this very topic this week.

Though the crew of Brian Baldinger, Sterling Sharpe and former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb each felt the Redskins would come out victorious in their matchup tomorrow night vs. the Cowboys, they pointed to a few areas of improvement to focus on for the Redskins’ defense in the video above:

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Morris: ‘Waiver Wire Pickup Of The Year’

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

Alfred Morris has completely squashed any talks about “Shanahanigans.”

The term refers to head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan‘s use of multiple running backs compared to a single, premier back handling most of the team’s carries in recent seasons.

Instead, Morris has been the latter in 2012. He’s turned in the best rushing campaign ever by a Redskins rookie; and, with 104 yards Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, he’ll break Clinton Portis‘ Redskins single-season record for rushing yards in a season (1,516).

That performance — combined with his 10 touchdowns — has obviously made Morris one of the most popular fantasy players in the league.

For his efforts, Morris was recently voted as the NFL Network’s “NFL Fantasy Live Waiver Wire Pickup Of The Year,” beating out Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts III.

Morris made an appearance on this show this week to talk about the award (see below), but here’s a few snippets from his conversation:

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VIDEO: Play-Action Pass Burns Defenses

One of the key reasons why the Washington Redskins’ offense seemingly didn’t miss a beat last Sunday vs. the Cleveland Browns with rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins making his first-career start was its use of the play-action pass.

The Redskins feature the No. 1 rushing offense in the league, so Cousins and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan were able to use that to their advantage several times to get huge chunks of yards on various drives.

The NFL Network’s “Playbook” crew of Brian Baldinger, Sterling Sharpe and former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb broke this down in the above video.

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VIDEO: Redskins’ Gameplan Vs. Browns

(AP photo)

The Washington Redskins went into Cleveland last Sunday and defeated the Browns 38-21 with an offensive attack that seemingly didn’t miss a beat without starting quarterback Robert Griffin III, who was nursing a sprained LCL in his right knee.

So how’d they do it?

That’s what former NFL head coaches and NFL Network analysts Brian Billick and Dennis Green examined on a recent segment of “The Coaches Show,” in which they praise Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan for putting rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins in a position to succeed in his first-career start.

Said Billick:

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VIDEO: Post Routes Working For Redskins

Sometimes the simplest of strategies in football are the most successful.

Take the Washington Redskins’ receivers thriving with their post routes — one of the most basic routes in the game. The NFL Network’s “Playbook” crew of Brian Baldinger, Sterling Sharpe and former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb broke this down in the above video.

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