Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover

While it was a good stretch for us and a stat that people often refer to, if u really look at our 6-2 start last year you realize a couple of things....
Yes, you do. I don't care who you play, an average of 155 YPG rushing over 8 games is impressive. Also consider against the Eagles - 203, Cowboys - 161. Campbell's average per game QB rating was 99.58.

Not sure how the STL game was the OL's fault. JC was 18-26 for 208 and the Skins racked up 181 on the ground. Is it the OL's fault that Cooley fumbled? How do you blame the "OL" for a freak bone-head play by Kendall? You don't win too many games when you put the ball on the ground 4 times and lose 3 of them.

Certainly, our offensive line has turned out many great, clutch performances over the years but i guess my main point is that they have lacked consistency and reliability over the past few years. This has hurt us down the stretch in becoming a perennial playoff contender. I think as a group they are aging and their play will begin to drop off quickly. Their best days are definitely behind them...I agree age/injury is catching up to the OL as a whole. Hopefully Dock, Bridges, Williams, Heyer, Rinehart turn out to be healthy & productive this year. We need a new C ASAP. R. Thomas probably has one good full year left in the tank. Samuels hopefully 2-3. Unfortunately the draft hasn't been kind for us on the OL front, but we have restocked our WR corp and Orakpo was a must at # 13 this year. Let's have a bit of optimism, at least until our first regular season game.

I wouldn't. I'd say when healthy they can be top ten in the NFL. The exact same line from 2008 (with an upgraded LG) was considered elite in the first half. Led the league in rushing and provided JC with excellent protection.

Imo the OL was decent in pass protection good at run blocking during the 1st half.

I don't think at any point we had the type of OL that could line up and dominate.
A great OL imo should be able to run against 7/8 man fronts, like the Giants. We cannot.
Imo our passing game and running game complement each other.
Neither is good enough on their own to hang your hat on.

Not sure how the STL game was the OL's fault. JC was 18-26 for 208 and the Skins racked up 181 on the ground. Is it the OL's fault that Cooley fumbled? How do you blame the "OL" for a freak bone-head play by Kendall? You don't win too many games when you put the ball on the ground 4 times and lose 3 of them.

Let's not forget that the defense, maybe worn out from being on the field all day due to the 4 turnovers, couldn't hang onto the lead. Bulger had all day to throw and hit Avery in single coverage to set-up the winning field goal. Also not the offensive line's fault.

If JC can become a consistent play every week we will scare alot of teams... I believe he will and we will shine!!!!

Let's not forget that the defense, maybe worn out from being on the field all day due to the 4 turnovers, couldn't hang onto the lead. Bulger had all day to throw and hit Avery in single coverage to set-up the winning field goal. Also not the offensive line's fault.

This single play, the shock of it, and amount of time Bulger had, probably single handedly ensured AH was coming here this year. It was unbelievable to watch such a devastating loss after JC and the offense had gotten it together and put a good 4th qtr in the books.

note - the only small forgiveness to that game in the season was Dallas' loss to them shortly thereafter :) I hate Dallas.

Hmmm... The Post has a blog called "Redskins Insider" and now the Times is using the same tag. Wonder how this will play out.

Good article. Pretty obvious at this point, but well put.

My big question is this: can the D actually WIN us some games outright this year? Not just holding opponents down statistically, but really winning games by scoring or setting up very short fields? We've spent a lot of cash on the D. If they can put some points/TOs up, the offense may not need to explode into WC paradise.

Agreed about the o-line worries. I almost feel like we shouldn't play Samuels at all in the preseason. Save him for when it counts!

We'll now be known as Warpath Redskins Insider

i agree that when healthy the line can be an elite unit ....

it is one of, if not THE key to our offenses performance this year

Agreed about the o-line worries. I almost feel like we shouldn't play Samuels at all in the preseason. Save him for when it counts!

That would be pretty good idea, however it might hinges the rebonding with Doc..