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What a humiliating loss.  It isn't just because the Redskins were defeated at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.  It had more to do with the soundness of the beat down.  There was plenty of blame to go around.  You can easily look to the Washington receiving crop that dropped an amazing double digit number of passes.  It was pathetic.  However, the defensive effort was poor.  The Redskins drop to 3-5 and search for answers that have yet to be answered. 

In a loss like this, for the first time this season, we refuse to award any Thumbs Up.  No one deserved it.  But, after that performance, there are four things that were clear from this game.  Here they are . . .

1.  Defensive Coaching:  Sure the Washington Redskins are battered.  Many teams are.  Good coaches find players to compensate or at least tweak the system to find a happy medium.  Pittsburgh's offense scored on each of the first four possessions.  The defense really had no response.  Were they playing it safe after being stung last week by the late TD pass to Victor Cruz that sent the Giants over the Redskins?  Otherwise, then we just have to assume the personnel on the defense just plain stinks.  Who do you blame?  Mike Shanahan is in overall charge.  He is the decision maker along with GM Bruce Allen.  Do you blame Jim Haslett for not having a stronger voice for better talent?  Either way, Jim Haslett has no answers.  The Redskins have been torched by opposing pass offenses all year.  It is hard to fathom that a defense can falter from 11th ranked last year to the pathetic state of the defense this season.  The Redskins have now allowed 2,514 passing yards through 8 games.  Folks, that is the second most in NFL history.  It is an ongoing problem and Haslett has no answers.  Perhaps it is time for a change at defensive coordinator.  Time to move on.  The deeper question for the offseason is whether Mike Shanahan deserves to return.  Can you say the Redskins mental and physical mistakes are improving?  I think not.  The Redskins are slipping further and further into the NFC East cellar that has become all too common for this football franchise.  That is on Mike Shanahan.   

2.  Special Teams:  You will get a thumbs down here anytime you allow a blocked extra point.  There are no excuses for it.  The problem in Washington is that these types of miscues have become all too common on special teams.  When problem arise in blocking on special teams, it is the job of the special team a coach to fix it.  Danny Smith hasn't.  These type of miscues wreak of incompetence.  Luckily for the Redskins, there was a block in the back on Niles Paul or the Danny Smith led special teams would have allowed a punt return for a touchdown.  The once solid special teams unit continues a downward spiral.  That is on Danny Smith.  Perhaps Smith has been too comfy in Washington for too long.           

3.  Wide Receivers:  Redskins receivers dropped so many passes that by late in third quarter, it as becoming nothing more than comical.  When a wide receiver like Pierre Garcon goes down to injury, it provides an outlet for another receiver to step up and make a name.  That is not happening in Washington.  You have to feel bad for Robert Griffin III.  He did not deserve the performance his receivers gave him today.  Yes, Garcon is hurt.  Yes, Fred Davis is too.  But folks, that had nothing to do with what you witnessed today.  Robert Griffin III delivered most of the 10 dropped passes right where the ball should have been.  The receivers just failed to make the plays.  My problem is --- these guys are professional football players.  They are paid to make at the least the easy grabs.  That is what RGIII provided.  When you suffer significant injuries at receivers, offense can sputter with backup receivers failing to get open.  That was not the case today.  RGIII delivered the catchable passes.  Additionally, how long will the Redskins continue to throw any trust to Leonard Hankerson?  For every terrific catch he makes, you get three dead on drops.  Today, his easy drop cost the Redskins a touchdown.  I just don't see what others see in Hankerson.  The receiving unit should feel ashamed of their performance today and apologize to their teammates.  It was an awful effort.  

4.  CB DeAngelo Hall:  How lame.  Getting ejected for taking the helmet off and yelling at the referees is a sure sign of arrogance and stupidity.  Hall acts like he is an elite corner, when in reality, he plain stinks.  He has steadily regressed into nothing more than a defensive liability.  His ejection is nothing less than a smack of embarrassment on the whole team.  If I were Mike Shanahan, I would be releasing Hall right on the way home.  Play Richard Crawford instead.  Not like you will get any worse play than what Hall is providing.  I am so over DHall in DC. 

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IT WAS OVER WHEN... About 30 minutes after the Redskins' team plane landed in Pittsburgh. The Redskins were basically never in this game. The Steelers scored on every drive of the first half, apart from the last drive, which ended in a punt Pittsburgh downed at the one yard line. Washington's defense could not stop Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and his stable of super-fast wideouts. Pittsburgh understood that the best way to get up on Washington is to throw and throw and throw, trusting Washington's poor secondary and non-existent pass rush to make things easier. It worked. Kudos to the Steelers for watching past Redskins games from this season and learning a thing or two from it. But, to be consistent with past weeks, I'll pick Pittsburgh's last touchdown drive, a 10-play, 74-yard thing of beauty that ended with Roethlisberger tossing a 1-yard TD pass to Will Johnson. That made the score 27-9 with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, ending any chance the Redskins had to come back. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING... It was all about the passing game today -- and Washington's inability to do anything to stop the one Pittsburgh brought. Roethlisberger's statline was sterling -- 24 of 33 for 222 yards and 3 TD. No turnovers. 

I LIKED THAT... Pretty much nothing. RG3 looked accurate for most of the day and I counted only two genuinely poorly-thrown passes by the young quarterback. Unfortunately, his receivers decided they had better things to do than catch passes... The offensive line looked pretty good today, surrendering only one sack -- and that one was on TB Evan Royster, who forgot to block on a third down passing play -- and 78 rushing yards on 15 carries by runners not named RG3. That's a 5.2 yards per carry average. 

I DID NOT LIKE THAT... Everything else. The secondary never covered anyone all day. The front seven never even made Roethlisberger sweat. The receivers dropped 10 passes and WR Leonard Hankerson [who had the first drop of the day] also never looked up as a perfect pass sailed right past his face mask. The 10 drops were the most by any NFL team this year and WR Santana Moss, who caught a TD pass, dropped four passes, basically embarrassing himself most of the day... CB DeAngelo Hall embarrassed himself more than anyone. He never covered anyone all day and then had a complete meltdown in garbage time of the fourth quarter, pulling his helmet off [personal foul] and verbally abusing an official with profanity [personal foul]. Hall was correctly ejected and will be correctly assessed a fine by the NFL. He may also be suspended and I would have no problem with that either. [And it's not like Washington's pass defense would suffer from his absence.] Hall is actually a captain. Think about that. A man who got two penalties on one play last year -- one of them a personal foul -- did the same thing again this year. And he's a captain of this team. If the Redskins are not embarrassed by that, they should be. Hall is the personification of everyhing wrong with the Redskins for years -- he's a mediocre player who thinks he is a star because Dan Snyder is stupid enough to pay him like one. Remember, the Redskins got a $36 million salary cap fine from the NFL [$18 million this year and the same again next year] so they could sign DL Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall. Think about that. Very few North American pro sports franchises have ever been so poorly run as this one. 

AND IT ALL MEANS... The Redskins are 3-5 -- again. And last in the NFC East -- again. Their defense is awful, the receivers think they have better things to do than catch footballs and defensive captain DeAngelo Hall has demosntrated once again what a complete pinhead he is. Once again we saw rookie RG3 completely let down by his veteran teammates. Right now, the Redskins are a team with a super-talented quarterback, a good running back and a pretty good offensive line. The defense is a mess, while the special teams allowed another blocked kick and got off a 12-yard punt. It's not so much that the Redskins lost to the Steelers in Pittsburgh -- many teams better than the Redskins have done that. The problem is the Redskins were never competitive in this game and parts of the team seem to be getting worse -- much worse -- as the season goes on. It's hard to imagine a 3-5 team having a must-win game, but Washington needs to win at home this coming Sunday against the 1-6 Carolina Panthers or this once-promising season will spin out of control. I'm not talking about making the playoffs because I don't think that was ever a reasonable expectation. I'm talking about finishing this season well and convincing a long-suffering fan base that there is more to this team than one smart, hard-working and ridiculously-talented rookie quarterback. 

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WHO: Washington Redskins [3-4] @ Pittsburgh Steelers [3-3]
WHAT: Week 8 of the 2012 regular season 
WHEN: Sunday, October 28 at 1 PM
WHERE: Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WHY: It's football and football is great.
TV: FOX
RADIO: WDVE 102.5 FM in Pittsburgh, and ESPN 980 AM in D.C.
LIVESTREAM: DirecTV Sunday Ticket
INJURY LIST: See here

SPREAD: Pittsburgh -4 via OddsShark.com

FEARLESS FORECAST: The Steelers will look awful today. 

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to look awful against the Washington Redskins today. 

Not necessarily in their performance or on the scoreboard [though one can hope!], but when it comes to their uniforms, the Steelers plan to commit a war crime against good taste this afternoon in Pittsburgh. The Steelers will be wearing their throwback uniforms today, which look like this. [Small children please avert your eyes.]

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REDSKINS 

Out: WR Pierre Garcon (foot), S Brandon Meriweather (knee) 

Questionable: LB London Fletcher (hamstring, head) 

Probable: CB Cedric Griffin (hamstring), CB David Jones (achilles tendon), P Sav Rocca (right knee), CB Josh Wilson (shoulder), DE Doug Worthington (calf), RB Darrel Young (hamstring) 

STEELERS 
 
Out: T Marcus Gilbert (ankle), LB Brandon Johnson (hamstring), RB Rashard Mendenhall (achilles tendon), S Troy Polamalu (calf) 

Questionable: RB Isaac Redman (ankle) 

Probable: S Will Allen (ankle), LB Chris Carter (hamstring), RB Jonathan Dwyer (not injury-related), C Maurkice Pouncey (knee), LB Adrian Robinson (concussion), K Shaun Suisham (left ankle), LB Jason Worilds (illness)

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Well, like the title reads, Washington Redskins tailback Alfred Morris won NFL Rookie of the Week honors for week seven. Morris ran for 122 yards on 20 carries against the defending Super Bowl champiion New York Giants last Sunday in a 27-23 Redskins loss. 

Morris now has 658 rushing yards, third in the NFL behind Adrian Peterson [who has played one more game] and Arian Foster [who has one more yard]. Morris is averaging 94 rushing yards per game, which puts him on a pace to rush for just over 1500 yards in his rookie season. Morris' 4.8 yards per carry is fifth in the NFL among rushers with at least 100 attempts. 

After leading for much of the game, the Wizards fall to the Spurs in San Antonio 100-85 in the preseason finale. A.J. Price and Jan Vesely scored 13 points apiece to lead Washington.

The Wizards played without big men Nene, Emeka Okafor and Kevin Seraphin, but are hoping to have them for the regular season opener on Tuesday night in Cleveland. Washington also played without John Wall and Trevor Ariza.

Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson led the Spurs with 16 points each.

The NCAA has denied immediate eligibility for Terps transfer Dez Wells. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon plans an appeal. Wells transferred from Xavier after getting kicked out of school due to sexual assault allegations that a grand jury declined to prosecute. The 6'5" sophomore averaged nearly ten points and five rebounds last season on his way to freshman of the year honors in the conference. NCAA regulations require a player sit out a season after transferring. Wells case is unique in that he is NCAA eligible, but no longer part of the Xavier program. Worst case scenario, Wells suits up next Fall with three years of eligibility remaining,

WASHINGTON REDSKINS (3-4) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (3-3)

When: October 28, 1 p.m. ET

Where: Heinz Field in Pittsburgh

TV: FOX5- WTTG

Radio: SportsTalk 980 AM- ESPN Radio

Point Spread: Steelers (-4)

The Redskins wrap up the first half of the 2012 regular season with a visit to Pittsburgh and a matchup with the Steelers at Heinz Field. Washington arrives with the league's top rushing attack, led by the dynamic rookie duo of quarterback Robert Griffin III and running back Alfred Morris. Sunday's meeting is the 77th between the two historic franchises. The two teams have combined to appear in 12 of the 46 Super Bowls played in NFL history.

REDSKINS: QB ROBERT GRIFFIN III leads NFL with 70.4 comp. pct. & ranks 3rd with 101.8 rating, best mark among rookies. Is 1st among NFL QBs with 468 rush yards & 6 TDs. His 6 rush TDs are 2nd most by any player…Rookie RB ALFRED MORRIS leads NFC & ranks 2nd in NFL with 658 rush yards. Had career-high 120 rush yards last week, 3rd 100+ yard rush game of past 4. Is 2nd in NFC with 5 rush TDs. Redskins are only team with 2 players (Griffin, Morris) with 5+ rush TDs each…WR SANTANA MOSShad season-high 2 TD catches last week & has 4 TDs in past 5 overall. WR PIERRE GARCON avg. 19.1 yards per catch. TE LOGAN PAULSENhad career highs in catches (4) & rec. yards (76) vs. NYG…LB RYAN KERRIGAN has sack in 3 of past 4 on road. Had 2 sacks & 2 FF in last road game vs. AFC. LB LONDON FLETCHER aims for 3rd meeting in row with 8+ tackles. LB ROB JACKSON had INT& half-sack last week. Is 1 of 3 NFL LBs with 2+ INTs (2) & INT-TD in 2012…STEELERS: Club is 15-6 (.714) vs. NFC under MIKE TOMLIN…Steelers aim for 9th straight win at home vs. NFC…Pit. has won past 3 at home vs. Redskins…Have NFL-best 53.8 pct. 3rd-down conversion rate…For career, QB BEN ROETHLISBERGERis 2-0 vs. Redskins. Roethlisberger is 14-1 (.933) at home vs. NFC…For career, RB RASHARD MENDENHALLaverages 5.1 yards per carry vs. NFC. RB JONATHAN DWYER had career-high 122 rush yards on 17 att. (7.2 avg.) last week…WR MIKE WALLACE has 9 TD rec. in 13 career games vs. NFC. WR ANTONIO BROWN had season-high 96 rec. yards in Week 7…TE HEATH MILLER has 5 TD rec. in ’12, tied for most among NFL TEs…LB LA MARR WOODLEY posted 1st INT of season last week. Had 2 sacks in only career game vs. Was. (11/3/08). LB JAMES HARRISON (59) needs 1.5 sacks to surpass KEITH WILLIS (59) & JOEY PORTER(60) for 2nd-most sacks in Pit. history…S RYAN CLARK spent 2 seasons (2004-05) w/ Redskins.

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