After a promising 6-2 start to the season, the Redskins mercifully end their season with a dismal loss to the San Francisco 49ers to end the season going 2-6 in the second half. The game itself displayed the same issues which has plagued this team the entire season.
On the offensive side of the ball, this team continued to show two issues - the lack of daring in play-calling or execution and general complacency in its play.
How do the Redskins expect to open up the run game for Portis when it fails to take consistent shots downfield? Is it the West Coast offense or is it Campbell's unwillingness to test the deep ball? Whatever the cause, it needs to be addressed. Too many times in this game was the play called a predictable run play, draw play or a screen to Cooley. While these plays can be the bread and butter of your offense, without anything else teams are able to key on these items when they see them the second and third time around. San Francisco was able to do just that and was able to shut down the Redskins offense for most of the second half. Just like the second half of the season has gone for the Redskins, other teams now know what Zorn likes to call and have figured out what's about to happen on the field - such as the infamous 2 yards short of the first down marker route running on passing plays.
The above issue is either compounded or a result of the general complacency of this Redskins offense. When the Redskins had the lead today at 17-7, they seemed to give the vibe that they felt the game was already won. As a result the offense didn't make the plays it needed to continue to expand the lead. Granted, the Portis fumble didn't help, but I'll get to the defense in a bit here. The Redskins in general throughout this season have always given the vibe that it can come back at anytime in a game, especially when it plays weaker teams - the Rams and the Bengals are good examples. As I've written before, this team needs to realize it's not as good as it believes it is and they need to learn to ALWAYS be closing. Be like the Patriots and always look to score. This needs to be standard operating procedure especially for a team which isn't as talented as someone like the Pats. This complacency allowed the 49ers to get back in the game and win.
The defensive side of the ball could be characterized by its continued inability to put real pressure on the opposing QB as well as its continued inability to get the big stop when needed, specifically in the case when the other side only needs a field goal or run time off the clock.
San Francisco has a mediocre QB in Shaun Hill and the lack of pressure on him allowed the 49ers to make the plays they needed in order to win the game. With any QB, if you give him enough time, he will find the open man. Heck, this is on what two of the Redskins' championships were built - protecting the QB so that he can find the open man downfield. This defense once again allowed a QB to look like a pro-bowler against them because he had the time he needed, especially in the clutch.
Once again point one leads to point two here, where the Redskins defense shows the inability to make the big stop when needed, and once again at the end of the game. A common theme, especially in the second half of the season was the inability to stop the other team when the game was on the line. When the other team needs a TD like the Eagles, the stop will probably be made (especially when the clock is on your side), but time and time again other teams were able to continually run down the clock or make enough yardage to get in field goal range. Does the Rams game ring a bell? Today was no different. This team may have a top ten defense statistically, but that doesn't mean squat when it can't make the plays when it counts, and this defense consistently hasn't made those plays all season.
Redskins' fans can only hope these issues are addressed in the off-season, both by a change in personal (in the right areas) as well as attitude, but that's an article for another time.
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