DISCUSS THE REDSKINS IN OUR FAN FORUM

Eagles QB Michael Vick, who was knocked out of last Sunday's loss to the Cowboys with a concussion is very unlikely to play against the Redskins this Sunday. Rookie QB Nick Foles, a third round draft pick, gets about as welcome an introduction to the NFL as you can get -- Washington's 30th-ranked pass defense. 

Injured WR Pierre Garcon returned to practice yesterday, but he doesn't talk like somoene who is close to playing a professional football game. In fact, he sounds like someone who is preparing to never be quite the player he could have been,due to this injury. Looks like the Skins need to look for another #1 receiver in the offseason. Another wideout, Santana Moss, has apparently recovered from a concussion suffered in the Panthers game and practiced normally yesterday. Expect him to play on Sunday.

The Redskins are a little more hopeful about SS Brandon Meriweather, who hasn't played a down for the Redskins this season. Looks like the knee injury he suffered in the preseason and then aggravated during a pregame warmup collision with WR Aldrick Robinson, has healed enough that it is very possible Meriweather could play against the Eagles on Sunday. 

Perpetually-injured RT Jammal Brown is stil on the PUP list, but he practiced a bit yesterday. Tyler Polumbus, who has started in place of Brown this year, has been up and down, but more down than up last Sunday, that's for sure. I wouldn't count on Jammal Brown for anything on the football field -- ever. He's still recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his hip and his hips have given him nothing but trouble since 2009. I'd be shocked if he is ever to substantially contribute to an NFL team ever again. 

The Redskins will play two games four days apart, when they take on the Eagles on Sunday and then travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day. Washington's coaching staff spent the bye week preparing for that Thanksgiving Day game. 

John Keim lists his studs and duds for the Panthers game and looks at Washington's failures in the red zone. Keim also lists his studs and duds on defense for the Panthers game. It's ugly reading. 

The Redskins are on a pace to rush for 2632 yards this season, which would break the team record set back in 1983, when Washington had the most prolific offense in the NFL history. [Until 1999.] Rich Tandler has some other fun numbers for you to read. 

Apparently, Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has impressed people enough with Washington's 7th-ranked offense that he's likely to get head coaching offers in the offseason. Good for him. Could the Eagles hire him to replace Andy Reid? Could we see Shanny v. Shanny next year in the NFC East?

Keith McMillan writes that with all the problems the 3-6 Eagles have, from an injured QB to a 5-game losing streak, the Redskins should be licking their chops as they prepare to play Philly this Sunday. Considering the Redskins are also 3-6, have their own three game losing streak, have looked terrible in the last two games and consistently drop passes and commit stupid penalties, I'm sure the Eagles are licking their chops as they prepare to play the Redskins. 

WR Pierre Garcon returned to the practice field for the first time in six weeks today.  He was joined by S Brandon Meriweather, who is still waiting to make his season debut, and LT Jammal Brown. 

Although Garcon practiced, he admitted he is still playing with some pain, but desperately wants to play and avoid what would be season ending surgery.  Garcon has missed 6 of the Redskin 9 games, but was really only effective in the season opener, in which he caught 4 passes for 109 yards, including his first catch that went 88 yards for a TD.  It was also that pass that injured Garcon's toe. 

The prognosis from Garcon himself is not too inspiring.

“I might have to deal with it the rest of my life. It’s a pain every time walking, running, cutting. It’s a pain all the time,” Garcon said.

 It’s also possibly that Garcon could be shut down for the season and undergo surgery if he does not improve. He said he hopes that isn’t the case.

 “I never really want to get surgery unless it’s a must, but if I have a chance to play without surgery, I’ll definitely do that,” Garcon said. “The surgery’s not guaranteed to fix it, so that’s weighing my options. I’ve never had surgery.”

Although practicing, Garcon is not a sure bet for this weeks game with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Talk about bad luck with free agent signings. 

As for Meriweather, he missed the first four weeks with a knee injury.  Set to make his season debut in Week 5, Meriweather collided in pre-game warm ups with WR Aldrick Robinson, reinjuring his knee.  The Redskins are hopeful that Meriwweather will make his season debut this week.  He would be a welcome dose of talent in a secondary that has been victimized weekly.   Meriweather confirmed that his knee felt good after practice today. 

OT Jammal Brown would also be a welcome addition back to the starting lineup.  Brown as a long term hip injury that forced him to have surgery earlier in the season.  He was replaced by Tyler Polumbus, who has struggled the past three weeks.  The same question that surrounded Brown in the pre-season surrounds him presently.  Is he healthy enough to be effective?  Brown is on the physically unable to perform list and will not be back this week against the Eagles.  Brown will not be eligible until November 27. 

Further injury updated will come on Wednesday. 

Congratulations to Washington Nationals rookie phenom, Bryce Harper.  He has been named the National League Rookie of the Year.

Harper started the first month in the Nationals minor league system, but was recalled to Washington on April 28, 2002.  Harper was significant fuel to the Nationals offense, helping to surge the Nationals to their first ever National League East Division Championship, first ever playoff berth, and best ever record in franchise history. 

in 139 games and 533 plate appearances, Harper batted .270 with 26 doubles, 9 triples, and 22 home runs.  The 19 year-old scored 88 runs while driving in 59 runs. 

Harper is the second youngest player to win the award by one month, second only to former New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden.  Harper's .330 batting average and 7 home runs in the season's final month helped the Nationals fend off the Atlanta Braves for their first ever division championship and secure the best record in Major League Baseball. 

It was close.... but the Wizards fall to 0-5 with a 89-85 loss to the Pacers in Indianapolis.

Emeka Okafor and Bradley Beal led Washington with 17 points apiece, while A.J. Price continues to develop at the point, scoring a dozen points and dishing out a career high 14 assists.

"We're right there again," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. "Just kind of the little things in games like this.. We didn't close out the second quarter. I think it was 47-40 and we have to come with a lead. We give them the last shot when we should have taken the last shot. We shoot too soon and they come down and hit a 3. There's three more points that they shouldn't have."

The Wizards get a couple of days off, returning to action on Tuesday night in Charlotte against the Bobcats.

Plenty of anticipation in College Park for basketball this season and the Terps certainly didn't disappoint in their opener. Although they came up short by a 72-69 count, Maryland gave #3 Kentucky all it could handle.

Alex Len capped a huge night with a three point play with nine seconds left cutting the defending national champions lead to 70-69, but that was as close as they would get. The seven foot sophomore finished with 23 points and a dozen rebounds, both career highs.

A sellout crowd of nearly 18,000 packed the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with most cheering for the Terps and head coach Mark Turgeon.

"We weren't very good in the first half and I thought Kentucky was great," Turgeon said. "We weren't ready for the big stage but in the second half we executed better."

Maryland was ice cold shooting the ball in the first half, a frigid 13 of 44 from the floor. coming up empty on all eleven three point attempts. The Wildcats took advantage and held a 49-36 lead at intermission. The Terps shots started falling in the second half in a big way and Maryland owned Kentucky on the boards. The Terps outrebounded UK by a 54-38 margin, including 28-13 on the offensive end.

Maryland received a boost this week when transfer Dez Wells won an appeal with the NCAA, allowing the former Xavier star to play immediately, without having to sit out the season. Under normal circumstances, athletes must sit out a season when transferring among Division-1 schools. Wells had some legal troubles in Cincinnati, but they never found their way to court, making for a less than typical case. Wells was only 2-12 from the floor against UK, but his addition greatly increases the chances that the Terrapins will return to the NCAA tournament in March.

The Terps host Morehead State in their home opener on Monday night at the Comcast Center.

The Wizards are still seeking their first win of the 2012-'13 season, falling to Milwaukee, 101-91 at the Verizon Center.

Top draft pick Bradley Beal had his finest day as a pro, scoring 22 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Bucks from improving to 3-1 on the season.

Washington continues to play without injured stars John Wall and Nene, but Beal insists the club is not discouraged.

"That's one thing that we most definitely try to avoid," the No. 3 overall pick in the June draft said. "I mean, once we get that, we hang our heads low, then we come out sluggish, and then teams really start beating us. And then we just get into the `I don't care anymore' mode."

Trevor Ariza showed signs of life for the Wizards, scoring 15 points, while pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.

The Wizards with back to back games, on the road tonight against the Pacers in Indianapolis.

According to CBS Sports, the Washington Nationals have interest in free agent CF Michael Bourn.  That news is hardly surprising.  It seems for two solid off-seasons, the Nationals have been linked to Braves center fielder.

The Nationals have longed to get a speedy center fielder to secure the middle of the out field and hold the leadoff spot for a few season.  They made do this season by putting rookie stud Bryce Harper in center.  However, there is little doubt that Washington still covets a speedy center fielder so they can move Harper to right field. 

In Tim Dierkes Top 50 free agent list, he lists the Nationals as the favorite to land the Atlanta outfielder. 

3.  Michael Bourn - Nationals.  The speedy Bourn plays strong center field defense and gets on base just enough.  The free agent market generally rewards power, but these days Bourn's skillset is appreciated as well.  Bourn has long been speculated as the heir apparent to the Nationals' center field job, and the team's comfort with agent Scott Boras doesn't hurt.  Still, this match is far from a lock if we're talking Torii Hunter 2007 money.  I don't expect the Braves to re-sign Bourn, but the Phillies are another potential match.

The Nationals and Manager Davey Johnson are closing in on a new contract. General Manager Mike Rizzo says the new contract will be finished "soon".Rizzo is in California at MLB's General Manager meetings.The 69 year old Johnson who was under contract as a consultant through 2014, says he will be patient through negotiations. Selected as the National League's Manager of the Year by the Sporting News, Johnson led the Nationals to the National League East crown this season.

I was a guest on NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt on News Channel 8 this week to discuss the Redskins. Have a look...

Huge news for Maryland basketball as the NCAA has ruled that transfer guard Dez Wells can play immediately.

Wells first request for eligibility had been denied by the NCAA.

"We're excited for Dez, because at the end of the day, the NCAA made the right decision," said basketball coach Mark Turgeon, according to the university's website. "Our staff did an incredible job in putting this NCAA waiver appeal together on Dez's behalf. Dez has been a welcomed addition, a great teammate, and has made a seamless transition in getting acclimated to our campus.This has been a long process for him and his family, and we're grateful he can put it behind him and focus on being a student-athlete at the University of Maryland."

Wells was selected Freshman of the year in the A-10 at Xavier last season, averaging nearly ten points and five rebounds per game. The addition of Wells greatly strengthens Maryland on the perimeter and gives them ten scholarship players eligible for the 2012-'13 season.