2011 Washington Redskins Team Preview | NFL Predictions
Residents in the nation’s capital thought 2010 would be different for their NFL team; however it turned out to be more of the same.
2011 Washington Redskins Team Preview/Predictions
2010 Record: 6-10
ATS Record: 8-6-2
The Washington Redskins finished the 2010 campaign last in the NFC East for the third straight season. They won only two of their eight home games, their worst such mark since going 0-8 in a season when they went 3-13 in 1994. New head coach Mike Shanahan matched his worst full-season record in his 17 years as an NFL head man; his Denver Broncos went 6-10 in the 1999 season.
However bad they were, the Redskins failed not just because of on-field issues, but off-field problems as well: 2010 will most likely be remembered for Shanahan’s decisions to suspend defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth for the rest of the season with four games to play and – in another bombshell development – to bench Donovan McNabb with three games to go.
Shanahan’s bizarre in-game benching of McNabb (in favor of Rex Grossman) during a game against the Detroit Lions was hard to fathom not just because McNabb carried a sizeable contract, but also because it fractured the locker room and made it hard for the team to buy into what its coach was selling.
Luckily for Shanahan and the Redskin faithful, there will not be a need to make a similar season with McNabb this year – both McNabb and Haynesworth have departed. McNabb is in Minnesota trying to replace Brett Favre while Haynesworth is now in New England.
Last year’s plan didn’t work in any way shape or form. McNabb was a huge failure as the quarterback. The 4-3 defensive personnel didn’t exactly fit into Shanahan’s 3-4 mold. Shanahan also decided, one year later, that the best thing for the organization would be to bring in new players: Barry Cofield, Stephen Bowen, Josh Wilson, Chris Chester, Tim Hightower, and a slew of rookie receivers. John Beck and Rex Grossman, who were on the team last year, now find themselves competing to be this year’s starting signal caller. Change is very much the buzzword in the District of Columbia.
As one can readily assume, the Redskins really didn’t do very many things well last year. Despite all of the problems, McNabb did lead a top ten passing offense, but that’s measured in yards – which can be empty – and not points. Washington ranked eighth in total passing but the team’s quarterbacks finished with a QB rating of 77.99, only 21st in the NFL.
It’s really hard to find an area in which Washington was average last season (in other words, a little bit better than awful), and the only place where that seems to be the case was a somewhat resilient but hardly imposing defense. For every point they gave up on defense, the Redskins allowed opposing offenses 16.52 yards, which was 10th best in the NFL. The offense simply put Washington’s defense in too many difficult situations. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
On offense, the Skins also got some great play from their young running back, Ryan Torain. In eight starts Torain accumulated 867 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns. Torain is definitely one reason why some people think Washington will improve in 2011.
In terms of weaknesses, there are too many to list. On offense Washington converted on third down only 29 percent of the time, which ranked 31st in the NFL. The Skins also gave up 46 sacks, which placed them 28th, and threw 19 interceptions, which landed them in the bottom third of the league.
Washington’s defense might have been better than its offense, but it was hardly an elite group. The Redskins allowed opposing signal callers to pose a passer rating of 89.62, and they also allowed running backs to average 4.6 yards per carry. Washington only got to the opposing quarterback 29 times (25th in the league), and registered 14 interceptions (19th in the NFL).
2011 Redskins Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +10000
Conference Odds: +4050
NFC East Odds: +245
2011-2012 NFL Regular Season Wins: Under 6.5
2011 Redskins Predictions
Place they’ll finish in NFC East: 4th
Place they’ll finish in NFC Conference: 16th
Over/Under Wins Prediction: UNDER
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