Patriots 34, Redskins 27
This loss was little “d” disappointing. When your team scores 27 points, there is always hope they can win the next game. The Redskins scoring this game is the closest they have come to the 28-point output against the Giants of the opening weekend. New York is Washington’s next opponent.
If Washington scored 27 points every game this season, they would be 9-3-1 on the season.
Rex Grossman said after the Cowboys game four weeks ago that he felt the Redskins turned a corner on scoring. The ‘Skins averaged 23 points per game since Grossman made that statement. They averaged 10 points per game in the four weeks before he made that statement.
Grossman made that statement the week after he regained the starter position, so he may see himself as the “corner.” Or, it may be that Coach Mike Shanahan resigned himself to working with imperfection—not that he has much choice.
Grossman had one of his better performances of the season. It was far from perfect, however. He fumbled twice; one was lost. He had a near clutch performance nearly to pull the Redskins to a tie. An on-target throw went through Santana Moss’ hands to be deflected to the Patriots for an interception. It’s rare to see Moss miss so badly and a fluke that a ball would go directly to an opponent. Still we watch Eli Manning lead the Giants to the lead in the closing minutes of the Cowboys game. We have yet to see that from Grossman.
Grossman and Shanahan should be too focused on upcoming games to pay attention to the low-level buzz about Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III (Baylor). Pro coaches are not impressed by Heismans or by blogger sentiment. They properly assess talent based on scouting reports, the NFL Combine and interviews with the player. We don’t know Shanahan’s thoughts about RG3, or that he would make the best use of him. Here’s what all the fan buzz about Griffin really means–we want better choices at quarterback than we were given this season.
Washington goes 0-4 against the AFC East. Both the Jets and the Pats scored 34 points against the Redskins. The win was the Patriots’ first ever in the Nation’s Capital.
Roy Helu carried the ball 27 times for 126 yards. I’ve been waiting for that since mid-season. Please keep it up so that Helu can have a breakout season in 2012. Evan Royster also saw action. The Redskins should have him the ball at least 10 times per game so that he can have a breakout season next year. These moves are all about preparing for next season.
Jabar Gaffney needs 39 yards and seven more passes to pass Fred Davis as the team’s leading receiver. The Redskins must win all three of their remaining games to finish with the 7-9 record Redskins Hog Heaven predicted for the season. When you score three touchdowns or more, it’s OK to think some of those games are winnable.
The NFL Network will re-air the Patriots at Redskins game this Tuesday (tomorrow), December 13.
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