We begin our 2012 DC Pro Sports Year in Review with a look at the Story of the Year, the Team of the Year and the Sportsman of the Year. Don't forget to check out Part 2 of our 2012 DC Pro Sports Year in Review, which focuses on Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year and Decision of the Year. Look for future articles with more year in review awards coming up soon...

STORY OF THE YEAR -- Washington Nationals break DC's 79-year baseball playoffs drought

Rob Carr - Getty

TEAM OF THE YEAR -- Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals were expected to improve on their 2011 record of 80-81 and third place in the National League East. But how many could have predicted the Nats would win 98 games -- tops in the Major Leagues -- and score 137 more runs than they allowed? The great Nationals team arrived a year early and it was fun to watch a young team sprinkled with a few veterans run rings around the baseball world for much of the year. From Bryce Harper's Rookie of the Year campaign, to Adam LaRoche's career year to Ian Desmond becoming a star shortstop to the best starting rotation in baseball, so many things went right for the Nats this year. Perhaps more impressive, though, was the way this young team overcame the things that went wrong, such as long injuries to Michael Morse, Jayson Werth, Drew Storen and Ian Desmond -- not to mention Stephen Strasburg's innings limit. [More on that later.] Orchestrating all the magic was Manager Davey Johnson, who did the best work of his career, so far, in the 69th year of his life. Putting all the pieces together was GM Mike Rizzo, who built this young team from the bottom up and watched it all come together a year ahead of time. 

The 2012 season ended with a vicious punch to the gut for Nats fans as the team blew a six run lead in game five of the NLDS and lost in the wee small hours of the morning of October 13, but this young team was built to last for years. Expect the Nats to come back roaring in the final year of Davey Johnson's baseball career, determined to send the old man off with a World Series championship. 

AP PHOTO/PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR -- Robert Griffin III

This young man has taken the football world by storm since he being selected by the Washington Redskins with the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Redskins gave up four high draft picks over three years to move up from the sixth pick to the second pick -- a steep price, indeed -- but have to feel great about this investment in their future. Griffin became the first quarterback born in the 1990s to start an NFL game on September 9, 2012, when he led a newly-potent Redskins offense to put up 40 points on the New Orleans Saints in their own building. Griffin won Rookie of the Week honors for that performance, as well as Offensive Player of the Week, the first time a rookie QB had won that award in his first game. Griffin went on to win the award again after a week 4 win over Tampa Bay and was named Rookie of the Month for September. [He won the award again in November.]

Griffin faced his first big setback when a hit from Sean Weatherspoon of the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter of a game in Atlanta gave the young QB a concussion. He missed the rest of the game, but came back for the next one, a home matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, and led the Redskins to victory with a 76-yard scramble for a touchdown. The win ended Washington's inglorious 8-game home losing streak and Griffin won Rookie of the Week honors for the third time in 2012. 

The Redskins went into a tailspin, losing three straight games and falling to 3-6 as they headed into the bye. With most of Washington figuring the season was basically over, Griffin assured his teammates the team would recover and contend for the playoffs. His teammates responded by making Griffin a co-captain on November 14 as the Redskins prepared for a home game against division rival Philadelphia, also 3-6. 

Griffin made good on his prediction and promotion by completing 14 of 15 passes for 200 yards and 4 TD, as well as rushing for 84 yards against the Eagles. His passer rating for the game was a perfect 158.3. It was the first time a rookie had ever passed for 200 yards, 4 TD and rushed for at least 75 yards in an NFL game and Griffin became the youngest player in NFL history to post a perfect passer rating. He was awarded the Offensive Player of the Week for a second time and won Rookie of the Week honors for the fourth time. 

Griffin suffered a knee injury late in the fourth quarter of Washington's 31-28 overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens and missed the next week's game in Cleveland, which the Redskins won with fellow rookie Kirk Cousins behind center. However, Griffin returned in week 16, wearing a special restrictive and protective brace over his injured knee against the Eagles. Clearly unable to run as he normally would, Griffin became a pocket passer, posted a passer rating over 100, threw two TD passes and led Washington to its 9th win of the season. The Redskins had won six straight games since Griffin assured his teammates they would turn their season around.

Griffin was named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad on December 26, the only non-specialist rookie to win that honor in the entire league. It was the first time a rookie QB had been named to the original Pro Bowl rosters since Dan Marino in 1983. 

Griffin has become the toast of the town and one of the biggest sports stars in North America. Children sing songs about him during the holidays and companies fall over each other seeking an endorsement deal with RG3. Griffin earned more money than any NFL rookie in history before throwing a single pass due to his endorsement deals.

Look for future 2012 Year in Review articles coming soon...

Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan came to Washington under a very dark cloud.  The franchise had produced just 5 winning seasons since their 14-2 1991 Superbowl season.  They have gone through 20 quarterbacks and 6 head coaches to that point, seven if you include the brief stint of Terry Robiskie. 

In 1999, a young, smart, but egotistical businessman, Daniel Snyder, purchased the franchise after the death of late owner Jack Kente Cook. Snyder embraced a philosophy of active ownership and heavy involvement in roster building.  Vinny Cerrato, along with Snyder, inflicted heavy damage on the franchise, spending big free agent dollars and draft picks for over aged prima donnas that produced little on the football field.   Not only were there serious salary cap implications from awful contracts but the Redskins traded away draft picks, leaving the franchise drained of young talent. 

To emphasize the point just take a look at Cerrato's last few draft classes.  Cerrato's last draft class was 2009.  The Redskins had 6 draft selections.  Only one remains, first rounder Brian Orakpo.  Cerrato's 2008 draft class yielded ten draft selections, only two remain, TE Fred Davis  and LB Rob Jackson.  Cerrato took two wide receivers within the first three picks. Both were complete busts.  Neither Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly are even in the NFL today.  Thomas had one good collegiate season and Kelly had massive knee issues throughout his collegiate career.  That did not stop Cerrato from targeting both receivers.  Although former Redskin S LaRon Landry was selected to the Pro Bowl yesterday, he is no longer a Redskin.  None of the five 2007 draft picks remains on the Redskins.  Finally, in 2006, the Redskins had 6 selections.  Only Kedric Golston, a reserve defensive lineman, remains on the roster.  From 2006 to 2009, the Redskins selected 27 players, of which only 4 remain a part of the franchise.  That is an absolute recipe for franchise failure.  

That is what Mike Shanahan faced when he took over the front office and sidelines on January 5, 2010.  I still remember that day.  One thing that Shanahan and new GM Bruce Allen preached was patience.  Everyone knew it was going to take several season to undo the damage done by years of incompetency in the front office.  Snyder knew it too.  That is why he backed away as an active roster building owner and turned the keys over to Shanahan.

There had been expressions of frustration from Redskins fans during Shanahan's first two seasons.  He produced nothing out of the normal for the Redskins fan base, a 6-10 and 5-11 seasons.  Redskins fans were sick of the Redskin normal  Still, Shanahan preached patience.  After admittedly making a mistake in trading for former Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, Shanahan knew the only way to turn around a morbid franchise was to establish a franchise quarterback.  Might even buy him time as well.

Multiple sources are reporting that Washington Redskins rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin III, has been named to the NFC Pro Bowl.  Reportedly, Griffin will be the only rookie in the Pro Bowl.  Special teams guru Lorenzo Alexander ill join RGIII in Hawaii.  Alexander led the NFL in special teams tackles.

In his rookie year, Griffin has helped revitalize a mediocre Redskins franchise, playing a crucial role in the resurgent Redskins.  Griffin has helped lead the Redskins from a 3-6 bye week record to a 9-6 record that has them on the verge of an NFC East Championship, if they beat Dallas Sunday night.

In his first season, griffin has thrown for 3100 yards while gaining 752 yards on the ground.  He has shattered numerous franchise records as well as NFL rookie records.  He has thrown 20 TD passes to just 5 interceptions.  Griffin is second overall in the NFL with a 104.1 passer rating.  Impressively, he leads the NFL in 8.2 yards per pass attempt.  He s fifth overall in completion percentage with 66.2%.

LT Trent Williams will also join RGIII.  Williams protects Griffin's blindside and is a former first round pick.

MLB London Fletcher and rookie running back Alfred Morris were named alternates.

Where: FedEx Field, Landover, Md.

When: Sunday, Dec. 30 at 8:20 p.m. ET

Watch: NBC WRC4

Listen: Sportstalk 980, WTEM

Point Spread: Washington (-3)

The NFC East is at stake when the Redskins host the Cowboys on Sunday night at Fed Ex Field. Essentially, the playoffs begin with Dallas as the nation watches "Football Night in America" on NBC. Weather could be a factor, with the dreaded wintery mix expected. Pro Bowl quarterback Robert Griffin III is getting healthier by the day and should have less restrictions than he had Sunday in Philadelphia. The Washington offense is 484 yards away from setting a team record. Rookie running back Alfred Morris needs 104 yards on the ground to break the All-Time season record currently held by Clinton Portis. A win and the 'Skins host a team from the NFC West during wild-card weekend, a loss and the season may be over.

DISCUSS THIS IN OUR REDSKINS FAN FORUM!

NOTES

WINNER clinches NFC East…COWBOYS: QB TONY ROMO has franchise-record 4,685 pass yards & has only 4 4,000-yard seasons in team history. Aims for 3rd in row vs. Was. with 3+ TD passes… When RB DE MARCO MURRAY has 18+ att., Cowboys are 9-0. Has 992 rush yards (110.2 per game) in those 9…WR DEZ BRYANT had 9 catches for career-high 224 yards with 2 TDs last week. Has 46 catches for 808 yards (115.4 per game) & 10 TDs in past 7. Aims for 8th in row with TD. WR MILES AUSTIN had 10 catches for 146 yards in last game at Was. TE JASON WITTEN has 103 catches, most by TE in season in NFL history. Has 95 catches (7.9 per game) since Oct. 1, 2nd most in NFL. Since 2007, has 547 catches, most by NFL TE…CB BRANDON CARR has INT in 2 of past 3. LB DE MARCUS WARE has 37 sacks in past 34. Has 103 sacks since 2006, most in NFL. LB ANTHONY SPENCER has 6.5 sacks in past 6…REDSKINS: Rookie QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III completed 19 of 27 (70.4 pct.) for 304 yards with 4 TDs vs. 1 INT for 131.8 rating in last meeting. Is 2nd in NFL with 104.1 rating. Has 752 rush yards, most by rookie QB in NFL history. Is 1st QB ever with 4+ TD passes of 60+ yards & rush TD of 60+ yards in season…RB ALFRED MORRIS leads NFL rookies with 1,413 rush yards. Has rushed for 544 yards (108.8 per game) & 5 TDs in past 5. Rushed for 113 yards & TD in last meeting. Has 75+ rush yards in 13 of 15 (6 100s)…WR ALDRICK ROBINSON had 68-yard TD in last meeting. WR PIERRE GARCON had 59-yard TD in last game vs. Dal. WR SANTANA MOSS has 6 TDs in past 9. Has 3 TDs in past 3 vs. Dal…LB LONDON FLETCHER has INT in 4 of past 5. CB DE ANGELO HALL had INT in last meeting vs. Cowboys. Since entering NFL in 2011, LB RYAN KERRIGAN is only NFL player w/ 10+ sacks (16) & 2+ INT-TDs (2). Aims for 3rd in row vs. Dal. w/ sack.

CONTINUE READING FOR MORE ON COWBOYS-REDSKINS

All we want for Christmas is a healthy starting quarterback and a win over Dallas on Sunday.

Merry Christmas from DC Pro Sports Report to our readers and your families.  May it be a blessed one.

The Redskins goal remains simple, win and your in. A victory over Dallas on Sunday night at Fed Ex Field and Washington is the NFC East champ for the first time since 1999.

Washington could back into the playoffs as a wildcard if they lose on Sunday night, but would need the Vikings to lose to the Packers and the Bears to lose in Detroit.

It's likely that the winner of the Cowboys-Redskins game will be NFC East champ and the loser's season will end. This is definitely the case for Dallas, and will be for Washington as well, should Minnesota and/or Chicago win.

The NFC East champ will be the #4 seed and will host the #5 seed, likely Seattle. Just be thankful that this potential matchup would be at home!

As expected, the Cowboys-Redskins game has been flexed to Sunday Night Football in Week 17. Kickoff is set for 8:20pm.

The Green Bay-Minnesota game has been moved to the 4pm slot in the final week of the regular season. The winner of Dallas at Washington will take the NFC East and host a playoff game.

The final play of the game. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

IT WAS OVER WHEN... Head referee Ed "Hercules" Hochuli announced to the crowd that Eagles QB Nick Foles committed intentional grounding with one second left on the clock. Trailing 27-20, the Eagles drove down to the Redskins' 5-yard line and with eight seconds left in regulation, Foles took the shotgun snap and went back to pass. Seeing no one open quickly, Foles drifted to his left, trying to buy time for his receivers, as DE Stephen Bowen closed in on him. Foles threw the ball to no one in particular as Bowen was dragging him to the ground. [See photo above.] Foles was out of the tackle box so the pass would not have been intentional grounding if the ball had landed at or beyond the line of scrimmage. However, the ball landed one yard in front of the line of scrimmage so the intentional grounding call was correct. A 10-second runoff is customary in these situations and since only one second remained on the clock, the game was over. Five yards away from having to face overtime on the road, the Redskins saved their season for one more week. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING... Rookie TB Alfred Morris rushed 22 times for 91 yards, giving him 1413 on the season, only the fifth time a Redskins running back has amassed 1400 rushing yards in a season and the first time a rookie has done it. The single-season franchise rushing record is 1516 yards by Clinton Portis back in 2005, so Morris needs 104 yards on Sunday against Dallas to take the record for himself... Morris has 10 touchdowns, the most by a Redskins rookie since Hall of Famer Charley Taylor... PK Kai Forbath hit two field goals today, from 45 and 42 yards, extending his streak to 17 straight made field goals to begin his NFL career, a new record. That includes field goals from distances of 50 yards, 49 yards, two from 48 yards and several more from 45 yards or longer... WR Santana Moss caught a beautiful 22-yard TD pass from Robert Griffin III today, giving Moss 8 TD receptions this season, his most since he caught 9 for the Skins back in 2005... The interception RG3 threw today was only his 5th of the season... Griffin has thrown 20 TD passes this season, after tossing two today... For the fifth straight game he has played, Griffin had a passer rating over 100. He has such games this season... Griffin has thrown for over 3000 yards this year, the first rookie quarterback to do that in franchise history. 

Ryan Kerrigan chases Nick Foles. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

I LIKED THAT... Clearly uncomfortable moving around too much in his knee brace, RG3 instead stood strong in the pocket, completing 16 of 24 passes for 2 TD, 1 INT and 198 yards for a passer rating of 102.4. By contrast, the healthy Nick Foles danced and fidgeted in the pocket whenever pressure got too close... the pass Griffin threw to Moss for a 22-yard TD was about as perfectly thrown as a pass can be... When Griffin did run -- and he only ran once -- he quickly got out of bounds after a five yard gain... NT Barry Cofield was tremendous, chasing down running backs from behind, tipping 3 passes and getting good penetration on his pass rushes... OLB Ryan Kerrigan got two sacks today, both because of incredible effort and fighting through blocks to get to Foles. One of those sacks resulted in a fumble turnover for the Redskins... the Redskins recorded a season-high 5 sacks, with Lorenzo Alexander, Madieu Williams and Perry Riley joining Kerrigan in getting to Nick Foles.

I DID NOT LIKE THAT... DB D.J. Johnson got beaten for a long TD pass for the second straight week. In Cleveland Johnson got caught peeking into the backfield and let a receiver get behind him for a 69-yard TD pass. Today, he tried to jam Jeremy Maclin at the line of scrimmage, missed and let Maclin get behind him for a 27-yard TD catch... the Redskins gave up 411 yards of offense to a 4-11 team playing with a backup rookie QB and missing star wideout DeSean Jackson... the Eagles had five drives of at least 60 yards... The Redskins offense mustered only one drive longer than 60 yards... 

AND IT ALL MEANS... The Redskins are 9-6, all alone atop the NFC East and can clinch their first division championship and a home playoff game for the first time since 1999. The Redskins hardly looked their best today, with the offense struggling to maintain long drives and the defense struggling to get stops at all, but they won a division road game and that is usually tough to do. It's going to be a long holiday week for Redskins fans as they wait for Sunday to return, when Washington will defend their home turf against their most hated rival, the Dallas Cowboys. Redskins fans have pined for years for big games in December. Well, it doesn't get any bigger than a home game against the Dallas Cowboys on the final week of the regular season, with the division championship hanging in the balance. Welcome to the big time, Redskins and their fans.