‘Hawks_Saints_2011_Playoff-98’
courtesy of ‘KellBailey’

Every week I look at the offensive stats expecting the Redskins to be worse. The Redskins offense is still one of the least productive offenses in the NFL ranking 27th in points per game and 23rd in yards a game. The Redskins have one of the worst offenses in the NFL, but every week I watch them constantly go three and out and turn the ball over and it is hard to believe they aren’t the worst offense in the NFL. They are certainly one of the worst offenses I have ever seen. I wonder who could possibly be worse than this Redskins team. The Seattle Seahawks rank worse than the Redskins in yards per game averaging 298.5 compared to the Redskins 313.0, and rank directly above the Redskins in points per game averaging 16.8 compared to the Redskins 16.0. This is a match-up between two of the worst offensive teams in the NFL.

After years of being set at quarterback with Matt Hasslebeck as the franchise quarterback the Seahawks moved on to Tavaris Jackson. With Jackson now hurt the Seahawks are deciding between Josh Portis and Charlie Whitehurst to lead their offense on Sunday against the Redskins. The transition has not been an easy one for the Seahawks as they now feature a bottom ten pass offense. They have also allowed 34 sacks which ties them with Miami for the second worst in the NFL.

If the Redskins have done anything well this year it is to get to the quarterback. The Redskins have sacked the opposing quarterback 31 times this season and rank tied for second with the Vikings and Giants behind only the Ravens in the NFL. The Redskins pass rush has helped them to have one of the better pass defenses in the NFL. The Redskins rank tenth in this regard allowing 215 yards a game. Given time a good quarterback can pick apart the Redskins secondary and if DeAngelo Hall were in charge he would cut himself. That might be a bit of an overreaction as Hall is a decent corner back but at this point in his career shouldn’t be trying to defend the Steve Smiths and Dez Bryants of the world.

Defensively the Seahawks are slightly worse than the Redskins against the pass allowing 233 yards a game and 8th best against the run allowing an even 100 yards a game. The Redskins haven’t been able to establish the running game at all in recent weeks. Roy Helu has looked good at times, but then in a crucial situation he fails to find a hole or the offensive line fails to create one. Good running teams are teams that don’t give up on the run when they are only getting one or two yards a carry early in the game. They keep leaning on the defensive line until they tire them out and are able to get larger chunks of yardage.

The run can work off of the pass in the same way the pass can work off of the run. Force defensive linemen to have to chase around a running back on a screen or a receiver on a pass to the flat and that will tire them out as well. The sad fact might not be that the Redskins coaches fail to grasp simple concepts that even the fans know, but that the players just aren’t good enough to execute. The Redskins offense is void of talent at nearly all positions. Still somehow they are not the worst.

This week the Redskins face a team with an offense just as bad as theirs. This could be one of the lower scoring games in the NFL this season or as it often works in these cases one of the highest.

David Huzzard

David Huzzard was born at Fairfax Hospital in 1981 and has spent his entire life in the Washington, D.C. area. He has been a fan of all the area sports teams either since he was born or since they arrived here. He is also very pleased that his hometown is a burger town.