10. Clinton Portis is off to his best start as a member of the Washington Redskins. Portis, who prior to this season had sandwiched a pro bowl caliber 2005 with two sub par seasons, is running the football as well as he ever has bad knee and all. Have you seen the way this guy blocks? No one on this team, maybe in the NFL, wants to win more than this guy.
9. The right side of the offensive line has been opening holes in the running game for the aforementioned Portis. Portis is averaging 4.2 yards/carry to the aformentioned right side this year. Jason Fabini at guard and Todd Wade at tackle are doing an admirable job in relief of the injured Thomas and Jansen. At the beginning of the season, I predicted that this unit would be pretty average. With the right side of their line out, I’d say that I’m impress that this line is better than about half the league’s.
8. The passing offense is due to explode. Behind a shaky start by QB Jason Campbell, the Redskins offense has set three year lows in yards per drive (26.6), points per drive (1), touchdowns per drive (.143), punts per drive (.486), and interceptions per drive (.086) so far. The good news is that history suggests this is likely the low point for the offense this season. What does that mean? It means that in an upcoming week, the offense will probably look like it is firing on all cylinders. We happen to be playing Detroit off a week of rest, which leads me to the next point…
7. The Detroit pass defense. Santana Moss likely will not play this week. Trouble for the Redskins offense? Not exactly. According to Football Outsiders’ advanced metrics, the Lions have very drastic splits favoring the shutting down of No. 1 receivers and Tight Ends. That’s pretty much statistics jargon for the fact that the Lions have been awful at shutting down No. 2 receivers this season. Are the Lions really going into this week gameplaning against Antwaan Randle El? That’s really unlikely. Even if Moss doesn’t play, Randle El should enjoy the benefit of soft coverage all day as he continues his career year.
6. The Detroit run defense. How bad can a team that plays 8 in the box be? FO thinks 24th, giving them a slight edge over the laughingstock that is Cincinnati’s pass D. Run right, run right, run right some more. Portis, Betts, heck even let Rock Cartwright get in on the fun.
5. Rocky McIntosh and Anthony Montgomery against the run. Hey, remember all the highway 99 jokes from last year regarding Andre Carter’s ability to stop the run. Well, teams took that to heart running 34% of the time right at Carter. No success this year. Because instead of being surrounded by Warrick Holdman, Lemar Marshall and a rookie Kedric Golston, Carter now has McIntosh, London Fletcher, and Anthony Montgomery. Teams have been frusterated running to their left so many times, yet continue to do so because of Carter’s reputation. Next step, actually finding an end who can rush the passer.
4. Shaun Suisham is 6/7 in converting field goals attempts on the year and has been consistently kicking the ball inside the five yard line on kickoffs. It’s been a long time since the Redskins kicking game was this good.
3. The Detroit running game. It’s very bad. The Redskins will not need to play Landry in the box this week to stop the Lions rushing attack.
2. The bye week. See my October third article right here on Hog Heaven. The Redskins are going to be, with a good degree of certainty, the best team on the field. The Lions did not have adequate time to learn from the many mistakes they made against the Bears. The Redskins had plenty of time to correct all the errors they made against the Lions. How big of an advantage is this? Tune it at 1 PM EDT and find out.
1. The Redskins are the better team. In four games the Detroit Lions are 3-1. Here’s the catch: the Lions have given up seven more points than they have scored this season. The Redskins have scored four more points than they have given up. The Redskins are expected to improve on their start. Most people expect the Lions to decline. The stage is set for a dominating performance by the B & G.
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