The Washington Redskins are 0-2 early in a season that had promised much more. To make things worse, statistics show that only 12 percent of NFL teams that begin this way make the playoffs. It’s not so much that it’s impossible for a team with two losses to make up a lot of ground and go on to win eight or 10 more games… it’s the way the Redskins lost their two that has people channeling Chicken Little in the DMV and beyond.
Now they must face a hot New York Giants division opponent in a stadium where they don’t do very well.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins isn’t playing the way he was when he led the team to the NFC East division title in 2015. The defense hasn’t developed to become as effective as was thought might happen with the arrival of CB Josh Norman (although he has played well enough to justify his large payday). And while WR/return specialist Jamison Crowder had a good day against the Dallas Cowboys, special teams still has issues.
Head coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay are under the gun for being too transparent (Gruden – he called out his QB to a FOX national reporter) and for the play-calling (McVay). And GM Scot McCloughan is under fire for the first time for not addressing the need along the defensive line to the satisfaction of fans.
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry has been criticized for the way he’s used his secondary — or not used them in the case of leaving Bashaud Breeland to cover the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown — and rather than remembering how well he dealt with all of the defensive injuries last year; the emphasis among fans is his connection to the Detroit Lions’ terrible defense the years he was DC there.
As will happen when teams lose consecutively and/or badly, reports have come out about players grumbling about each other or losing confidence.
The good news is that it may not be as bad as many think. It looks bad, to be sure. It is not so much the fact that Washington lost to the Steelers and Cowboys. It’s the way they lost. Had the defense been more competitive or Cousins more poised, the losses would not feel so bad.
The fact that the Steelers are probably going to go on to play deep in the playoffs and possibly even to the Super Bowl must be considered however. Brown is quite possibly one of the best — if not THE best — wideout in the league and QB Ben Roethlisberger needs no description.
Many of the problems of the Cowboys loss are fixable.
Cousins has brought himself out of funks before and he can do it again.
McVay can rely more on the run — especially in short down-and-distance near the goal line. And he can use the correct RB for any given game situation.
Gruden can be more careful of what he says in the heat of the moment (he did say later that he had faith that Cousins would get it together).
The problems on the defensive line are a different story. There are not a lot of desirable free agents out there to help the team stop the run and/or get off the field on third-down; both huge issues.
But at only two games in, the defensive coaches and players may still be working out their best chemistry in rotations. As well, execution can most certainly be stepped up.
Perhaps one of the players will call a team meeting. However it is accomplished, the Washington Redskins need to circle the wagons as they have done before and do it with great conviction. The Giants are waiting for them and the schedule gets tough very quickly.