CSN: Point-Counterpoint: Point-Counterpoint: Are Redskins Up or Down at 2-2?

[Oldskool]

By Rich Tandler

Redskins Blogger

CSNwashington.com

After a quarter of the season, the Redskins are 2-2. Plenty of good things have happened but there is a lot not to like. That sounds like the perfect topic for this week’s edition of the wildly popular Point-Counterpoint.

Point—Let’s start with the NFC East. Since the NFL went to the current four-team division format, the Redskins have never started out 2-0 in the division before this year. Sure, that’s a pretty low bar and nothing to have a parade over or anything but progress is progress. And they a snagged a road division win in Philly on Sunday, a nice notch to have on your gun barrel as the season goes on. The two wins certainly don’t guarantee anything but they do have the Redskins in first place in the NFC East on tiebreakers and it’s better to be there than not. And if they can muster a split in the remaining four division games they will have a winning record in the NFC East for the first time since 2005.

Counterpoint—Sure, a win is a win but the Dallas and Philadelphia wins weren’t exactly dominant or even convincing. You could make the case that the Redskins don’t beat Dallas if the Cowboys’ brain trust doesn’t develop a joint case of brain lock a few seconds before halftime in the opener and run a play instead of taking a knee. And if Michael Vick plays more than a quarter of the game in Philly things could have turned out differently. It’s a lot easier to defend a 14-3 lead against Kevin “Dink ‘n’ Dunk” Kolb that it is against Vick, who makes you defend the whole field. As it was, they barely held on at the end in both games. If Alex Barron knew any blocking technique other than the half nelson and if Jason Avant hadn’t borrowed Carlos Rogers’ hands for that last play, the Redskins are staring at an ugly 0-4.

Point—Sure, division wins are important but there are only six of those during the season and there are 10 games outside of the NFC East. The Redskins are 0-2 in those “other” games. If the Redskins don’t pick up the pace against the rest of the NFL it won’t matter if they roll through their division. Each loss was miserable in its own way. They had a 17-point lead against Houston late in the third quarter and blew it. Apparently their plane to St. Louis was late because they didn’t show up for the first quarter and were in a 14-0 hole that they couldn’t climb out of. Who knows which team will show up against the Packers on Sunday? Washington made Sam Bradford, who had all of two NFL games under his belt at the time, look like a smooth, seasoned veteran. Aaron Rodgers already looks as good as Bret Favre did in his prime, wonder if he’ll hang nearly half a thousand yards against the Washington defense like Matt Schaub did.

Counterpoint—Hey, that Bradford kid isn’t bad and neither are the Rams. They have been in every game and they’re fourth in the league in points allowed per game. Steve Spagnuolo has them playing hard. That said, the Redskins still should not have lost to them but at the end of the year there is a good chance that the loss won’t look as bad as it might right now. Everyone knows that the Texans are a good team. They didn’t play like one against the Cowboys, but they will be right there with the rest of the AFC Super Bowl contenders when it’s all said and done.

For the rest of the article, see: http://www.csnwashington.com/10/05/10/Point-Counterpoint-Are-Redskins-Up-or-Do/landing.html?blockID=324949&feedID=272

[Old Bay]

See, I'm still not totally convinced about the 'Not For Long' thing. While there isn't as much time as there used to be to develop a team, it's impossible to switch constantly and win. You'd think that this team would be the ultimate case study on that.