After reviewing the film of the Redskins-Cowboys week 12 game several times, I hand out the following class grades to the Redskins offense. 

HEAD OF THE CLASS

C Will Montgomery. Although RG3, Alfred Morris and Pierre Garcon got all the attention, steady Will Montgomery was the best player on the Redskins offense in week 12. Montgomery has been quietly fantastic all season, until the 31-6 win over Philadelphia, where he had easily the weakest game of  his season. He bouned back nicely, though, on Thanksgiving Day, with his best game of the season. Montgomery consistently got the better of Dallas defensive linemen and got to the second level, dominating linebackers like Bruce Carter, Ernie Sims. With all the attention understandably being lavished on the man who gets the ball from Montgomery on every play, the center has been largely overlooked, but he is having one of the great seasons ever by a Redskins center. Just months after re-signing Montgomery with a sizable pay raise, Redskins management must be satisified that for once they have spent their money wisely. 

A-STUDENTS

Robert Griffin III. Another splendid performance by RG3, coming off a truly great performance the week before. Griffin took only three shots down the field and while one of the resulted in an overthrow interception, the other two were touchdown passes. He threw 4 TD on the day. Griffin continued to work the short and intermediate passing game beautifully, with 17 of his 28 passes being thrown ten yards or less from the line of scrimmage. Although he didn't run a lot in this game, the threat of his running was powerful, as evidenced on the 68-yard TD pass to Aldrick Robinson, in which the receiver was wide open because Cowboys safety Danny McCray was frozen by the zone read option fake at the start of the play. On Washington's final drive of the game, RG3 calmly led his team down the field, repeatedly converting third downs, until PK Kai Forbath could kick the clinching field goal. Another brilliant performance from the young star. 

Alfred Morris. He struggled to get enough touches during the 3-game losing streak and the Eagles effectively bottled him up most of that game, but Morris broke through against the Cowboys, gaining 113 yards and 1 TD on 24 carries. He ran hard, as usual, and made some great cutbacks, while really pressing his runs. This wasn't necessarily Morris at his best, but it was pretty close. He continues to make little impact in the passing game, though his blocking has improved since the beginning of the year. 

WR Pierre Garcon. He was only in on 29 plays and ran only 22 routes, but on those routes he caught 5 passes for 93 yards, including an absolutely jaw-dropping 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown. He also blocked very well, but that's nothing new. 

WR Santana Moss. Only on the field about half the time and ran only 23 routes, but caught the ball four of the five times it was thrown to him for 42 yards and a 1 TD. All of his catches were either first downs or touchdowns and he was often the man RG3 looked for in critical third down situations. 

FB Darrel Young. He hasn't had a bad game all season and Thanksgiving Day was his best performance to date. Run blocking was very solid, both for Morris and on screen passes. He may be the second best fullback in the NFC this year. 

PASS

WR Josh Morgan, TE Niles Paul, Aldrick Robinson. Morgan caught 5 of the 6 passes thrown to him, but gained less than 50 yards. He continues to be the consummate tough guy, running through walls for the offense. Paul caught a TD pass on a wide open play fake on third and inches to provide the winning margin. This was one of Paul's best performances of 2012. Robinson caught a 68-yard TD pass when a brilliant play fake by RG3 got him wide open. Otherwise, Robinson did little, getting in on only 10 plays. 

MUST DO BETTER

RG Chris Chester, WR Leonard Hankerson. Hankerson was only thrown at once, catching the ball for 12 yards. He needs to get open more often, though his blocking is solid. Chris Chester was average, as he usually is. 

FAIL

LT Trent Williams. I was shocked at Williams' poor performance against Dallas, but was not surprised to learn that it happened because he sustained a deep thigh bruise on the third play from scrimmage and played through it the rest of the game. Williams has been good or great all season and this was his first down game. He got schooled on running and passing plays, sometimes by backup linemen. He didn't allow a sack, but did allow four QB hurries and had a rare penalty called against him. 

LG Kory Lichtensteiger. He hasn't been very good this year, particularly in the run game, and has three games where he was downright bad. That was certainly the case against the Cowboys. He was consistently beaten in the run game, allowing penetration that spoiled otherwise promising plays. He also allowed a QB hit and a QB hurry

TE Logan Paulsen. He's been an average tight end this year, which is better than could have been expected from an undrafted free agent in his third season forced into a starting role by a season-ending injury to Fred Davis. Paulsen had his worst game against the Cowboys, giving up a sack and repeatedly getting blown up in the run game and failing to get to the second level. 

---

This was the Redskins Report Card, Offense for Week 12. Look for similar articles upcoming on the defense and special teams in week 12. 

Cyber Monday is the 'largest' discount online retail day of the holiday season, compared with Black Friday for in store sales.  Economic reports out yesterday indicated a 30% increase in Cyber Monday sales from a year earlier for some retailers. 

According to Fanatics.com, Redskins QB Robert Griffin III was the top Jersey to be sold on Cyber Monday. 

Fanatics.com, a top seller of officially licensed sports apparel, reported that Luck’s jersey ranked eighth among all professional athletes in cyber Monday sales—ahead of such stars as New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

Luck’s popularity grew steadily this season, with his jersey No. 6 in sales among all NFL players, league officials said.

A few interesting names were ahead of Luck on the Fanatics.com top 10 list for cyber Monday. No. 1 was Robert Griffin III’s Washington Redskins jersey and No. 2 was Peyton Manning’s No. 18 Denver Broncos jersey.

So, RGIII is ahead in our Rookie QB Tracking and in jersey sales.  It pays to be No. 2 sometimes. 

Former Redskins great linebacker and head coach Jack Pardee is very, very sick with cancer. 

Redskins rookies Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris are up for awards this week. Go vote for them. UPDATE: It looks like RG3 lost Player of the Week honors to Pathers QB Cam Newton. For the second straight week the honor goes to the QB facing the Eagles defense. 

Surprise, surprise -- the Redskins did not activate perenially-injured RT Jammal Brown by the 4 PM deadline yesterday, which means he will miss the entire season. Anyone who did not see this coming a long time ago is named Mike Shanahan. Brown still has 3 more years on the ridiculous 5-year $27 million contract the Redskins threw at him prior to the 2011 season. 

LT Trent Williams is "optimistic" about playing against the Giants on Monday night. That's good because after seeing what the Giants defensive line did to the Packers last Sunday night, I'm fairly positive they will annihilate the Redskins if Williams isn't healthy enough to play well when the teams face each other again. Williams is easily the team's best offensive lineman and trying to hold up against the NFL's best defensive line will be impossible without him. 

Jon Gruden of ESPN and Monday Night Football just said this on his parent network: 

"This is an electrifying QB. I’ve never seen speed at the QB position like I’m seeing."

He was talking about RG3.

Speaking of RG3, John Keim wonders how the Giants will handle facing him again.

They learned a thing or two about being disciplined. How will that impact their game plan or their rush? They intercepted Griffin once, caused him to fumble and sacked him three times. But he also posted a 108.9 passer rating and hurt them with both his arm and legs. Also, the reality is the Redskins have been adjusting their offense all season. Doing it again is nothing new.

Keim lists his studs and duds on offense for the Cowboys game and also includes a ton of interesting stuff about how the Cowboys did not react well to Washington's offense. 

RG3, Alfred Morris, Will Montgomery, Trent Williams, Barry Cofield, Perry Riley all made ESPN blogger Nick Graziano's weekly All NFC East team. 

DeJon Gomes was benched for sucking back in week 4, but the season-ending injury to SS  Brandon Meriweather means Gomes gets another shot at the starting job. I thought he played better against the Cowboys, so we'll see if he can do enough to earn the playing time rather than it being handed to him by the injuries and incompetence of others. 

Needing some warm bodies in their backfield, the Giants signed former Redskins TB Ryan Torain just days before the teams meet on Monday Night Football. 

Dan Hellie of NBC4 interviews RG3:

Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III and rookie TB Alfred Morris are both nominated for Rookie of the Week honors for their performances in a week 12 Thanksgiving Day triumph in Dallas. RG3 went 20-28 for 311 yards and 4 TD, becoming the first rookie in NFL history to throw for four TD in back-to-back games. Go HERE to vote for them. 

Griffin is also nominated for NFL Player of the Week. You can vote for him here. Finally, Griffin is also nominated for Moment of the Week for leading the Redskins to victory over the Cowboys. Vote for him here.

Former Washington Redskins head coach Jack Pardee confirmed today that he has terminal gall bladder cancer. He was told by his doctors he has approximately seven months to live.

Pardee, a five time All Pro Linebacker, coached the Redskins from 1978 to 1980 and was replaced by Joe Gibbs, after finishing the 1980 season 6-10.  In three seasons with the Redskins, Pardee posted a 24-24 record and finished third in the NFC East each season.

We hope for a miracle for Coach Pardee and send our thoughts and prayers to the Coach and his family.

DISCUSS THE REDSKINS IN OUR FAN FORUM

Former Redskins safety Sean Taylor died five years ago today. DC Pro Sports Report takes a quick look back. The Washington Post has more.

How does Robert Griffin III compare to the other rookie passers in the NFL? Find out by reading our ongoing series Tracking the Rookie Quarterbacks: Week 12. 

LT Trent Williams has been fantastic this year, as good or better than any left tackle in the NFC. His roughest game was on Thanksgiving against the Cowboys and now we know why -- he suffered a deep thigh bruise on the third play from scrimmage and says he played the remainder of the game at about 60% effectiveness. He practiced yesterday, but during the part observed by the media. Williams is hoping to be available for the Monday Night Football game against the Giants and, considering what we saw the Giants pass rush do to the Packers, he will need to be ready to go. Fortunately, he's had more time to rest and get healthy. 

ILB London Fletcher missed practice yesterday with his sprained ankle, but Mike Shanahan seems pretty confident Fletcher will play against the Giants. 

In "news" that should surprise no one, RT Jammal Brown missed practice again and it appears he is headed for injured reserve. The dude is done.  I know Mike Shanahan hates admitting a mistake, but trading for Brown was an embarrassing blunder and it is time to cut the cord with that mistake. 

Rick Snider writes that the Redskins have real playoff possibilities, but that's all they are right now, possibilities. Basically, the Redskins must defeat the Giants on Monday night and if they cannot wins seven games in a row [they've got the first two already] to finish 10-6, they'll need some help at 9-7. Fortunately, they've already helped themselves a bit. 

Even if Washington beats New York, the Giants (7-4) would remain in control of the division with four games remaining. But New York has a tough schedule ahead: New Orleans, Atlanta and Baltimore before finishing with Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Washington faces Baltimore, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Dallas.

It's conceivable that Washington can catch New York at 9-7, but 10 victories would require the Redskins to win their last five games. The team is looking better, but that's too much to expect from a group that lost to Carolina (2-8) and St. Louis (4-6-1) already this season.

 

Still, it's fun to think about playoff possibilities for the first time since 2007.

 

If the Redskins reach the postseason, they likely will benefit from wild-card tiebreakers. Head-to-head is the first, and Washington beat Tampa Bay (6-5), Minnesota (6-5), New Orleans (5-6) and Dallas (5-6). Seattle (6-5) may have both its starting cornerbacks suspended four games for performance-enhancing drugs, and that would weaken the Seahawks' chances.

The Redskins are indeed paying attention to the emerging and changing playoff picture. 

"Our team is well aware of where we stand," Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said.

 

"I don't think I've played a meaningful December game in a long time," said Redskins linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, who has been with the team since 2006.

Rich Campbell points out that the Redskins win when they force turnovers and lose when they do not. That's because their defense gives up so many yards and points that basically the only way it can contribute to a victory is by creating turnovers. 

The Redskins have signed a replacement for ILB Keenan Robinson, who was placed on injured reserve after he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Thanksgiving Day victory over the Cowboys. 

The Redskins on Monday signed inside linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy to take the roster spot of Keenan Robinson, who was placed on injured reserve with a torn right pectoral muscle.

Muckelroy spent parts of three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the fourth round (131st overall) out of Texas in 2010.

 

"We liked him in the draft, and we were glad he was out there," coach Mike Shanahan said Monday afternoon. "When you lose a player and you get a guy like him to come into your system, you feel pretty fortunate."

 

Muckelroy has played in 19 games. He missed all of 2011 with a ruptured Achilles tendon. He was Cincinnati's second-leading tackler during the 2012 preseason.

 

His 12 special teams tackles in 2010 ranked second on the team. Robinson played on the kickoff coverage and return units, so that's where Muckelroy could best impact the Redskins.

I grew up in Bethesda, MD, a few minutes from Landon School and I still walk my dogs there from time to time. Former Redskins guard Tre Johnson is there a bit more often since he's teaching the boys there. Check out the story.

Giants DL Justin Tuck still isn't happy about having to face Redskins QB Robert Griffin III at least twice a year. Via Rich Tandler: 

After the Giants edged the Redskins last month, Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said, “I’m pretty mad at the football gods for putting him in the NFC East.” The former All-Pro, of course, was speaking of Robert Griffin III.

Five weeks later Tuck has not changed his tune. As the Giants get ready to play the Redskins on Monday night, he indicated that he still rues the day the Redskins pulled off the big trade with the Rams to get the draft rights to RG3.

"Until I exit stage right, it seems like he’s going to be a fixture in my dreams and nightmares,” Tuck said on Monday.

Mike Shanahan does not seem too pleased with the decisionmaking of RS Brandon Banks, who fielded a punt inside his own end zone against the Cowboys, pinning the Skins deep in their own territory. However, Shanny and the coaches love Banks' speed and quickness and won't give up on him easily. 

TE Chris Cooley does not have a catch this season and it is fair to say this is not what he was hoping for when he returned to the Redskins after Fred Davis was lost for the season to injury. 

RG3 got a "championship belt" from WWE fan and injured Redskins DE Adam Carriker for his performance against the Eagles. The presentation ran on TV during a WWE telecast. Check it out. 

Anyone else see PK Graham Gano kicking for the Carolina Panthers last night? He missed an extra point so I guess some things never change. 

Five years ago today, Redskins Nation mourned the loss of S Sean Taylor.  Taylor was well on his way to be the most dominating Safety in the game.  Troubled by inner city problems, Taylor got off to a rough start.  However, through assistance from players like Santana Moss and Clinton Portis, Taylor was able to break away from his past, straighten out his life, and focused on playing football and raising his young family. 

On November 26, 2007, Taylor was shot and killed by intruders that broke into his Miami home, 8 days after another robbery at his home. Taylor was in Miami with his fiancee and baby daughter recovering from a knee injury.  When awoken in the middle of the night by intruders, Taylor was shot in the upper leg, rupturing his femoral artery.  Taylor remained comatose for nearly 24 hours before succumbing to death.  His death sent shock waves though the NFL and crushed the Redskins fan base. 

As difficult as it is for Redskins fans to mourn the loss of Taylor today, it is even more difficult for the Taylor family and the Redskins to fathom that five years later, the identified gunman has yet to stand trial.  Five persons were arrested.  None have sat for trial yet.  How is it possible that Jerry Sandusky could have been put away for life in six months time from his despicable, horrific acts  at Penn State University, but a murder of a well known, popular sports figure, remains elusive.  Mind boggling. 

Here's to you Sean!  Thank you for your blessed memories you provided Redskins Nation.  Here's to the great father you were in such a short span of time.  Here's to the great kid and son you were to your parents.  Here's to the great player and friend you were to your teammates.  Sean, you will not be and never have been forgotten.  Hopefully, some day, some day soon, closure will be provided by justice served. 

Below is our week 12 evaluation of all the rookie quarterbacks starting in the NFL this season. Below that is how we have evaluated all the rookie quarterbacks over the course of the 2012 season. We expand the list this week to account for new staters Nick Foles and Ryan Lindley. 

Week 12

Nick Foles is struggling early in his career. A third round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, Foles was forced into the ninth game of the season when Michael Vick was knocked out by the Cowboys, who gave the starter a concussion. Foles couldn't rally the team to beat the Cowboys and then got blown out by the Redskins in his first career start. He lost last night on Monday Night Football to the Panthers and 2011's Rookie of the Year Cam Newton. Foles completed a high percentage of his passes against Carolina, but he couldn't throw a TD, failed to convert in the red zone and had to lean on a strong running game from TB Bryce Brown, who was making his first career start. Foles had to play without Lesean McCoy and, for most of the game, Desean Jackson, and is playing behind a makeshift offensive line. Injuries and the rookie passer's teammates are not helping him out much. 

Robert Griffin III returned to his home state of Texas for Thanksgiving and feasted upon the Cowboys with four TD passes, over 300 passing yards and a passer rating of 132.6. Once again, RG3 was the reason the Redskins won and in the last two weeks he has been unstoppable, throwing 8 TD passes and only one turnover while turning around his team's fortunes and getting them back -- barely -- into the NFC playoff race. Cowboys owner declared himself "in awe" of RG3 and he isn't the only one. Griffin is the only rookie in NFL history of throw four TD passes in back-to-back games and his four Rookie of the Week honors is tops in the league. 

Ryan Lindley got shoved into the starting lineup after injuries Kevin Kolb and John Skelton and early indications are not promising. The Cardinals have lost seven in a row after winning their first four and it seems difficult to imagine them winning more than one game in their remaining five. The QB and offensive line positions are a huge problem for the Cardinals and Lindley does not seem to be the man to change that. He threw four interceptions to the Rams in a 31-17 loss last Sunday and it occurs to me that telling a brand new starting rookie QB to throw 52 passes against a good St. Louis defense was probably not a great idea. 

Andrew Luck was upstaged by fellow Colts rookie T.Y. Hilton, who returned a punt 75 yards for a TD, as Indy topped Buffalo 20-13. Luck was fine, completing just over 50% of his passes and tossing both one TD and a pick. He failed twice in the red zone, leading to short field goals by PK Adam Vinatieri and that's not good. However, I thought Luck, while not spectacular, clearly outplayed veteran BIlls QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who often seems like the dumbest Harvard graduate in many years. 

Ryan Tannehill won the battle of rookie quarterbacks past Sunday when his Dolphins rallied to beat Russell Wilson and the visiting Seattle Seahawks. Tannehill didn't outplay Wilson, but he did lead his team back from a 10-point deficit by scoring 17 fourth quarter points to win 24-21. Tannehill continues to be up and down this season, but he is proving he can play at a fairly high level and playing well against a stout Seahawks defense is nothing to sneeze at. After his loss to Andrew Luck and the Colts earlier this season, Tannehill is now 1-1 in rookie v. rookie games this season. 

Brandon Weeden suffered concussion in an ugly 20-14 win over hated division rivals, the Steelers, a team the Browns had not beaten since 2009. It is not yet clear if Weeden will play this coming week, but he was good enough to win this past week. Just barely, though and he didn't do much to earn it. The Steelers turned the ball over 8 times, literally handing the game to the Browns and Weeden didn't screw it up. The Browns are 3-3 after starting the season 0-5 and Weeden has helped bring some hope to the long-suffering football fans of Cleveland. 

Russell Wilson is now 1-5 on the road as his Seahawks continue to prove they are a creature of their home field and little more. Wilson, however, is now playing well on the road, even in losing causes. He actually outplayed Tannehill in Miami but lost a heartbreaker and played well in a four point road loss to the Lions back in October. Wilson is getting better and better, with a passer rating well over 100 in each of his last three games. In fact, Wilson hasn't played poorly since a 13-6 Thursday night loss to the mighty 49ers back on October 18. He threw two more TD passes last Sunday, giving him 17 on the season, more than any other rookie QB. He's gone three straight games without an interception and has more than justified the confidence Head Coach Pete Carroll showed when he gave the football to his rookie passer. 

Weekly Winner: Robert Griffin III [Redskins]

2012 Season To Date

SEASON WINNER TO DATE: Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins

2. Russell Wilson [Seahawks]

3. Andrew Luck [Colts]

4. Ryan Tannehill [Dolphins]

5. Brandon Weeden [Browns]

6. Nick Foles [Eagles]

7. Ryan Lindley [Cardinals]

A weekly feature in which we update the performances of the locked-out Caps players.

Nicklas Bäckström: Hot barely comes close to describing just how good Swedish superstar Nicklas Bäckström has been over the past few weeks. United with Caps teammate Alex Ovechkin and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Leo Komarov, Bäckström appeared in three games this week, netting three goals, five assists, eight points, and +3. The Swede, who turned 25 this week, now has 12 points in five games since switching from #99 to #69, and is +7 with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in his 10-game KHL career.

Jason Chimera: Jason Chimera joined the Pirates of Chomutov of the Czech Extraliga last week, but has had a slow start to his European season. In five games, Chimera has just one goal, and is -3. Still, the Canadian, how played in Italy in 2004-05, should start producing again once he adjusts to the bigger rinks.

Joey Crabb: After a rocky start to his ECHL career with his hometown Alaska Aces, Joey Crabb has really turned it on in the last few weeks, and this week was no different. Though he only managed an even plus/minus rating in his three games, Crabb had two goals and three assists. That brings his season tally up to eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points through 17 games. His rating is +3.

Marcus Johansson: Much like Crabb, Marcus Johansson’s start did not necessarily go as planned, but is turning around. He may have been slow out of the blocks, but has been good in the past few weeks. Mojo appeared in two games this week, both wins, scoring two goals and two assists and going +3. Johansson, who has now appeared in six games for his league-leading BIK Karlskoga, has four goals, three assists, and -3 on the year.

Brooks Laich: Did not play after returning to the US for injury. Expected to return to action on Friday.

Michal Neuvirth: Michal Neuvirth’s Sparta Praha have enjoyed an incredible resurgence recently. After struggling all year and scraping the bottom of the Extraliga, the team has won five straight, including three this week. Neuvirth has played a big part, and this week posted a .955 save percentage with one shutout. On the year, Neuvirth’s stats stand at six wins (16 games), a 2.83 goals against average, and a .920 save percentage.

Alex Ovechkin: Bäckström may have been hot, but captain Alex Ovechkin sure hasn’t been bad himself. In three games, Ovi posted three goals and two assists for five points and was +3. Through 19 games, the Russian has nine goals and 12 assists and is +9.

Mathieu Perreault: Signed for HIFK of the Finnish SM-Liiga and will debut this week.

Wojtek Wolski: Polish KH Sanok currently participating in European Continental Cup.

Stanislav Galiev, Braden Holtby, Tomas Kundratek, Dmitry Orlov, and Mattias Sjögren will play for the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Karl Alzner, Jay Beagle, Troy Brouwer, John Carlson, John Erskine, Mike Green, Roman Hamrlik, Matt Hendricks, Jack Hillen, Mike Ribeiro, Jeff Schultz, and Joel Ward have yet to sign.

Tom Poti is injured.