
DISCUSS THE REDSKINS IN OUR FAN FORUM
Head Coach Mike Shanahan says QB Robert Griffin III's knee is 100% healthy, but the bulky knee brace is hindering his movement. However, it seems like the knee brace will still be on RG3's knee on Sunday afternoon.
TB Alfred Morris has come a long way in a short time from that small Florida college that lost 11 of 12 games last year. I'll say he has: He just won NFC Offensive Player of the Week and NFC Rookie of the Month for December.
RG3 finished the season with a passer rating of 102.4. That's the highest in NFL history for a rookie quarterback. [Second highest in NFL history now belongs to Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.] He finished third in passer rating overall, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning. Griffin tossed only 5 interceptions all season, giving him a ratio of 1.3 percent of passes intercepted. That's also an NFL record fora rookie, shattering the previous rookie mark of 1.98 for Charlie Batch.
DB Cedric Griffin is back on the practice field after serving his four-game suspension for banned PED usage. ILB London Fletcher and LG Kory Lichtensteiger [both have ankle injuries] are watching the practice.
The Seattle Seahawsk come to town on Sunday as one of the hottest teams in the NFL to play one of the hottest teams in the NFL. On paper, the Seahawks certainly look like the better team, but they have not won a road playoff game in 29 years. That's eight straight losses.
Meanwhile, the Redskins have lost only one home playoff game since 1970. That loss came against the Bears after the 1984 season and it ended Washington's two-year reign as champs of the NFC.
By the way, the Redskins-Seahawks playoff game at FedEx Field is sold out. The Redskins are 3-point dogs at home.
Redskins CB Josh Wilson was a rookie with the Seattle Seahawks the last time these two teams faced each other in the playoffs. That game was close until it blew up in the second half when Redskins QB Todd Collins threw two pick-sixes and the Seahawks advanced to the next round. Wilson reminisces about that game.
Rich Tandler has a rundown of the Redskins-Seahawks history.http://www.csnwashington.com/football-washington-redskins/talk/best-and-worst-redskins-seahawks-series.
Tandler also looks at the big issues this week for the Skins -- the health of Kory Lichtensteiger, RG3's knee, whether or not Cedric Griffin will be activated for the game and if the Skins come out angry because they're under-dogs at home.
John Keim considers what the Redskins face this week as they prepare for the Seahawks. Big issue again: Will RG3 finally be right? And can the Skins score on that great Seahawks defense and slow down that red-hot Seahawks offense?
The Redskins are considering extending Mike Shanahan's contract. I don't really understand that. Shanny's got two more years remaining on his contract. Generally, if you want to retain a coach you extend the contract when he has one year left. If Shanny is to be extended, it should be done after the 2013 season. In other words, a year from now.
Meanwhile, Shanny's defensive coordinator, Jim Haslett, could draw some head coaching interest. I doubt he goes anywhere, though.
OLB Rob Jackson intercepted a Tony Romo pass late in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's Redskins home win over the Cowboys, a great play that sealed the win for Washington. It's not the first big play he's made this year, as teammate Josh Wilson has noticed.
The Redskins turned their season around for a variety of reasons. And Jackson is far from the only defensive player to have made an impact. But his penchant for big plays has impacted games. Jackson's hands aren't a huge surprise; he played tight end at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, a big reason he has four interceptions this year.
"We joked with Orakpo that I'm not sure he catches those balls that Rob's been able to catch this year," Wilson said. "The catches he's made have been amazing. He definitely was a hidden gem and has made a name for himself. That's how careers are made in this league. ... Now he's made a name for himself to where he's going to have an extended career because of this year."
Here is the NFL Draft order for 2013, picks 1-20. You will notice the Redskins are nowhere on that list. That's good news because it means the Redskins did well enough to qualify for the playoffs and, therefore, their draft pick for 2013 is not yet determined. It's bad news for the St. Louis Rams, who will receive that first round pick, as part of the deal for Robert Griffin III. I think it is safe to say that pick is not going to be as high as the Rams and their fans hoped it would be.