Here is our NFL power poll roundup for Week 7.  The Roundup includes 28 different power polls.  The ranking is for your Washington Redskins.  We also provide the change in each poll from the previous week.  As expected, most power polls showed an increase for Washington after a 38-26 beatdown of the then 4-1 Vikings.  As expected, much praise for RGIII in these rankings.  The Redskins move to .500 at 3-3. 

The average mean Redskins ranking for Week 7 is 15.61.  The average week 7 mean increase from last week is +4.32. 

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What a great season the Washington Nationals produced in 2012.  Yeah, we still hurt.  Yeah, we are still raw.  We are just a few strikes away from advancing to the National League Championship when all collapsed.  We still feel it. 

However, we do not lose sight on what a great season the Nats had.  They finished with the best record in Major League Baseball.  They finished with the best record in Washington DC pro baseball history. They clinched their first post-season play for a DC baseball teams since 1933.  They won the National League East division title for the first time ever.  Truly, as inspiring season.  This team is super young,  built to last. and are not battle hardened.  We only see good things ahead.  

Time for our season ending awards.  All three DCPSR owners share your awards.  Tom Blaz will give some analysis, Tom Threlkeld provides his picks, and I provide picks and comments where it feels right.  Here we go  . . .

Washington Nationals MVP:  1B Adam LaRoche

The Vote:  Blaz:  Ian Desmond, Threlkeld:  Adam LaRoche, Me:  Adam LaRoche

Blaz's Comment:  

We saw signs in 2011 and Desmond joined the list of elite Major League Baseball shortstops in 2012. Desmond committed only 15 errors this season, amazing for such a difficult position that receives so many chances, night in and night out. Desmond delivered in a big way at the plate and on the base paths and carried the team for a stretch midseason.

My Comment:  I just can't overlook a guy that put up 33 home runs and 100 RBI. 

Washington Nationals Offensive Player of the Year:  1B Adam LaRoche

After finishing runner up in the Harrison twins sweepstakes early this month, Maryland has landed the elite point guard they have been seeking. Roddy Peters, a local star at Suitland High, pledged his commitment to the Terrapins this morning.

Peters chose the Terrapins over elite powers UCLA, Kansas and Georgetown to name a few. The 6'4" 180 pound guard is among the ESPN 100 and is considered a scoring point by some, a combo guard by others.

Maryland coach Mark Turgeon is hoping that landing Peters will open a pipeline into local AAU power D.C. Assault. Amazingly, Peters becomes the first Assault star to pledge to College Park in the 18 year history of the program.

Peters joins power forward Damonte Dodd as current members of the Maryland 2013 recruiting class. The Terps 2012 class is the school's best in years, but is heavily loaded with front court players. With the loss of star guard Terrell Stoglin, the ACC's leading scorer last season and Sam Cassell Jr. failing to qualify, Maryland desperately needed  a point guard (or two) in the '13 class.

Several weeks ago, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, twin 5-star guards from Houston, opted to play their college ball at Kentucky, after giving a long look at Maryland.

Was there ever any doubt in your mind? Any doubt that Andray Blatche would find his game as soon as the Wiz cut him loose? Not only did Washington cut him loose, they wrote him a check for $23 million bucks to go away.

With all that in mind, it probably comes as no surprise that 'Dray scored 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds leading the Nets past the Wizards 98-88 in the first game at the beautiful, new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Martell Webster led the Wiz with 18 points as they played without Nene, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, John Wall and Chris Singleton.

The game was marred by a shoving match between Nets guard Deron Williams and Wizards point A.J. Price. Price was hit with a flagrant foul in the games closing seconds and both were docked with technical fouls.

The Wizards trek north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Tennessee Titans 26, Pittsburgh Steelers 23

Steelers- RB Rashard Mendenhall suffered an injury, but looks like he'll be ready to go in WK 7.  That means you should only be picking up RB Baron Batch in deeper leagues in which you have Mendenhall.

Titans- WR Kendall Wright continues to impress (6 receptions for 71 yards).  Fellow wideout Kenny Britt finally made a fantasy impact.  However, I wouldn't be comfortable starting Britt on a weekly basis yet.  Wait for him to string together a game or two before getting him in your lineup.

Atlanta Falcons 23, Oakland Raiders 20

Raiders- RB Darren McFadden has been an every other week player.  WK 6 was a good week which means WK 7 should be a bad week, if the trend continues.  Look for McFadden to break this trend this week.  

Falcons- It was a highly disappointing week for the high octane Falcons.  WR Roddy White was the only Falcon who put up good numbers (6 receptions for 72 yards and a score).  Don't worry about your Falcons, they'll get back on track after their bye week.

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The Washington Nationals top prospects are competing in the Arizona Fall League, fall baseball for MLB's top prospects.  The Nationals prospects are playing for the Salt Lake City Rafters, who currently sit in first place at 4-2.  OF Brain Goodwin and 3B Matthew Skole have been on absolute fire in the AFL in the first 6 games.  Goodwin has 6 hits, 4 of which are for extra bases.  

Here are the updated stats for the Nats prospects:

3B Matthew Skole:  Skole has played in 3 of the 6 games and has collected 7 hits in 12 plate apperances for a battign aversage of .583.  Skole has 2 doubles and a home run.  He has a perfect 1.000 slugging percentage and a .667 on base percentage.  Skole has scored 1 run and drive in 5 runs. 

OF Brian Goodwin:  Goodwin has played in 4 of the 6 games.  He has 6 hits in 17 plate appearances, batting .353.  He has 2 doubles and 2 home runs.  He has scored 5 runs and driven in 2.  Goodwin has a slugging percentage of .824 and an on base percentage of .421. 

3B Anthony Rendon:  Rendon has appeared in 4 games and is 4 for 14 with a .286 batting average.  He has two doubles and two runs scored.  He has a slugging percentage of .357 and an on base percentage of .444. 

IF Jason Martinson:  Martinson is 0 for 7 in 2 games. 

P Paul Demny: Demny has pitched in two games and has not allowed a run in 3.2 innings.  He has yielded 2 hits and 4 walks.

P Ryan Perry: Started one game and allowed 4 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs in 3 innings.  He recorded 3 strikeouts. 

P Aaron Barrett:  Barrett has appeared in two games out of the bullpen and has not allowed a run in two innings.  He has allowed 4 hits and recorded 1 strike out. 

DISCUSS THE REDSKINS IN OUR FAN FORUM

INJURY UPDATE: Read it here.

How is RG3 doing compared to the other rookie QBs who started an NFL game last week? Find out in our popular weekly feature, Tracking the Rookie Quarterbacks.

Redskins Xtra Points: The latest injury news, Dan Graziano's thoughts on how the Skins are building the team, how the Redskins scored 14 points in 11 seconds, updates on RG3's history-making performances, and why DeAngelo Hall and Adrian Peterson are feuding. Get it all in Redskins Xtra Points.

Who played well for the Redskins this past week and who did not? Find out in the Redskins Report Card, week 6.

How is the 2012 Redskins rookie class doing? Read our new weekly feature Rookie Report and get the answer to that question. 

In NFC East news, the Philadelphia Eagles fired Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo this morning. A former Redskins defensive back takes over the job.

The Redskins play the NY Giants this week, Washington's first division game seven weeks into the season. Mike Shanahan likes that:

“The one thing I always say is I don’t even worry about when you play different teams, but I’d say it’s always an advantage if you’re going to play within your division if it’s little bit later than earlier, especially with rookie players,” Shanahan said. “I think it is a big benefit for us with Robert and a kid like [running back] Alfred [Morris]. He’d rather play a little bit later than earlier.”

Rick Snider writes that RG3 is about to face real brutality -- his introduction to the NFC East.

Rich Tandler points out that RG3 is going to be leading the Redskins against some fantastic quarterbacks in the weeks to come, starting this week: 

Make no mistake about it, Griffin will not be the better QB on the field for most of the Redskins’ last 10 games, at least not in terms of accomplishments. They face Eli Manning (2 rings), Mike Vick (4 Pro Bowls), and Tony Romo (3 Pro Bowls) twice each. RG3 also will play on the same field with Ben Roethlisberger (2 rings), Cam Newton (shattered rookie QB records), and Joe Flacco (has won 70 percent of his starts). Of the remaining quarterbacks on the Redskins’ slate only Cleveland rookie Brandon Weeden could be considered to be inferior to Griffin.

John Keim notes the Redskins defense, for all its many faults, is creating turnovers: 

When it comes to the Redskins and turnovers, they're doing a good job of being in the right spot. They're also doing a good job of forcing the action. And it's why they're tied for fourth in turnovers forced and tied for third in turnover differential. The Redskins' defense has enough issues to cause concern. But they've forced turnovers, scored four defensive touchdowns and created numerous opportunities for the offense. The Redskins already have scored 49 points off turnovers this season, which is six more than in 2011.

A bit more on turnovers from Zac Boyer: 

Washington has intercepted eight passes and recovered six of its opponents’ fumbles this season while only throwing four interceptions and fumbling the ball away once.

DISCUSS THE REDSKINS IN OUR FAN FORUM

QB Robert Griffin III -- He's already the best player on the team and the center of the entire franchise. Overcame an early interception to throw a TD pass to Darrel Young and run for 2 TD, including the spectacular 76-yard game-clincher. He keeps getting better. 

TB Alfred Morris -- Averaged only 2.9 yards per carry against Vikings, but the blocking was terrible for him. Still scored a TD. 

CB Richard Crawford -- Playing a lot more, mostly in the slot, due to injury to Cedric Griffin. QBs throwing at him have a 133.7 passer rating.

LB Keenan Robinson -- Not playing from scrimmage and has zero special teams tackles. 

PK Kai Forbath -- Hit a 50-yard FG and had 4 touchbacks on 7 kickoffs. Still needs more distance on kickoffs. 

QB Kirk Cousins, OG Adam Gettis, OG Josh LiRibeus -- DNP-CD. 

SUMMARY: Nothing but good news from RG3 and Morris is still playing well. Forbath had a good debut, but the team is getting little else from its rookie class. RG3 makes this a great rookie class, so far, all by himself. 

Accordin to reports on Twitter, the Philadelphia Eagles have fired Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo and elevated former Washington Redskins safety Todd Bowles to the coordinator job. 

Castillo got the defensive coordinator job last year, raising eyebrows around the league because he was a former offensive line coach. Castillo came in for a ton of criticism last year while the Philadelphia defense and it's "wide 9" scheme receiving much of the blame for the team's 8-8 record. 

After Sunday's overtime home loss to the Detroit Lions, Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid said he anticipated no changes being made. Obviously, that situation has now changed. Reid knows his job in Philadelphia will end if the Eagles don't make a playoff run this season and he's decided Castillo and his defense is hurting more than helping. Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugoh has been openly critical of the defense and I wonder if a player revolt was going on, promping Reid to make this change as the Eagles head into their bye week. 

DISCUSS THE REDSKINS IN OUR FAN FORUM

OFFENSE: Grade A

QB: A -- RG3 needs to handle the blitz better, but he's a game-changer with his arm or legs. This young man is the franchise. 

RB: B -- A tough game for Alfred Morris, but he got little blocking & did score a TD. FB Darrel Young caught a TD pass. 

WR: C -- Mediocre day for wideouts. Santana Moss played well, Dez Briscoe dropped a pass. Josh Morgan great block on RG3 TD run. 

OL: B -- Repeatedly allowed penetration in the running game, but kept RG3's jersey clean. Special kuds to Trent Williams at LT.

DEFENSE: Grade C

DL: Started slowly, but recovered a bit. Stephen Bowen was the standout with .5 sack and 3 tackles for loss.

LB: Ryan Kerrigan had only 2 pressures on 44 pass rushes, not good. Lorenzo Alexander made up for it with 1.5 sacks, 1 FF. 

DB: Madieu Williams' pick six was huge & he gave up only 19 yards on 3 catches. DeAngelo Hall struggled to cover Percy Harvin. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: Grade B

COVERAGE: Struggled to contain Harvin on KR, but Niles Paul had a huge hit on Marcus Sherel on punt coverage.

KICKING: New PK Kai Forbath hit a 50-yard FG, but needs more distance on kickoffs. Sav Rocca had a shank & needs more consistency. 

RETURNS: Brandon Banks never got a chance on kickoffs and did nothing on punts.

COACHING: Grade B

The Shanahans continue to use RG3 very well and I credit them for not being intimidated by the media chorus teling them to treat their immensely talented rookie quarterback like a China doll and turn him into Dan Marino. The play-action game worked great as the coaches keep giving the opposition lots of looks, such as Brandon Banks in a full house backfield. Offense got too conservative late in the fourth quarter, but RG3 bailed his coaches out. 

Working with three starters out, Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett juggled personnel effectively and credit him for using Lorenzo Alexander at OLB instead of Chris Wilson. The defense gave up a lot of points and yards again, but much of it was in garbage time. The key to the win, apart from RG3, was the four great red zone stands the defense made, holding the Vikings to 12 points intead of 28.

GAME BALLS

Robert Griffin on offense, Lorenzo Alexander on defense and Kai Forbath on special teams.