2011 Washington Redskins Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

The Washington Redskins had a difficult first season under new head coach Mike Shanahan, as the veteran coach butted heads with quarterback Donovan McNabb and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. The hope that with both players removed from the 2011 roster, Shanahan will have Washington competing at a much higher level than their 6-10 record of 2010. Washington is known for spending big money on free agents, but they have got rid of more big name than they have added this offseason. Here is a closer look at what the Redskins will send to the field on both sides of the ball, plus my prediction on where they will finish in the NFC East.

Offense:

With McNabb out of the picture, the first order of business is figuring out who is going to open the season as the starting quarterback. It looks like a two way battle between John Beck and Rex Grossman. The initial thought was that beck would take the job away from Grossman, but I actually think Rex is the better of the two and will end up leading this team in 2011. Either way it isn’t a position of strength and like an area the Redskins will address next offseason.

Washington had enough with running back Clinton Portis and will open the season with someone else as the starter for the first time since 2003. The leading candidate to take over is Ryan Torain, who rushed for 742 yards in eight starts in 2010. They went out and added Tim Hightower and used a couple of draft picks on Roy Helu Jr. and Evan Royster. I look for the running game to really pick up in the second year under Shanahan.

The Redskins were able to re-sign veteran wide out Santana Moss, who is coming off a career-high 93 catches in 2010. Moss will be joined by second-year wide out Anthony Armstrong, free agent pickup Jabar Gaffney, and rookie Leonard Hankerson. This unit has some nice potential, but their success hinders a lot on the play of Grossman/Beck. Washington also has one of the top tight ends in the NFL in Chris Cooley, who caught 77 passes for a career-high 849 yards last season.

As expected, Shanahan completely revamped the offensive line in his first season. The only starter from 2009 that made the team in 2010 was center Casey Rabach, but he was shown the door this offseason. They are looking for big improvements in second-year left tackle Trent Williams and are also expecting to see some big strides made by right tackle Jammal Brown, who is now a full year recovered from hip surgery. They added in free agent guard Chris Chester from Baltimore to start on the right side. Kory Lichtensteiger returns at left guard, and backup guard Will Montgomery is expected to move to center for Rabach.

Defense:

Haynesworth was a huge disappointment, as he just didn’t buy into the fact of playing the nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme. While the chemistry of the team is better off without him, I question if Anthony Bryant has the tools to hold down one of the most important positions on this side of the ball. They added in defensive end Stephen Bowen to play opposite of Adam Carriker, but Bryant is the key to this unit and the defense.

While there are some concerns with the defensive line, I really like the starting four the Redskins are expected to send out at linebacker. They were able to bring back inside linebacker Rocky McIntosh, who is coming off a career-high 155 tackles. McIntosh will once again play alongside veteran London Fletcher, who has went to back-to-back Pro Bowls. On the outside they have an emerging force in outside linebacker Brian Orakpo, who has 19.5 sacks in his first two seasons, and just added rookie Ryan Kerrigan to start opposite of him.

One big free agent the Redskins were able to add is safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, who reunites with defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. Atogwe should form a pretty solid duo at safety with hard-hitting strong safety LaRon Landry. Washington also made it a priority to bring back starting corner Carlos Rogers, who will team up with veterans DeAngelo Hall and Phillip Buchanon. With the expected pass rush from Orakpo and Kerrigan, this unit could end up having a big year in 2011.

Prediction: 4th NFC East, 3-13 Overall – The schedule just doesn’t set up well for the Redskins, as most of their winnable games outside of the division are on the road. I think the running game will make some big strides this season, but I just can’t see this team winning many games with how good the Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants look in the NFC East. I also have big concerns with their starting quarterback and defensive line. Things might be just bad enough that the Redskins will be sitting on top the draft board in 2012 for Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck.

Individual Team NFL Season Predictions

AFC
AFC West	AFC North	AFC South	AFC East
Kansas City Chiefs Predictions	Pittsburgh Steelers Predictions	Indianapolis Colts Predictions	New England Patriots Predictions
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Oakland Raiders Predictions	Cleveland Browns Predictions	Houston Texans Predictions	Miami Dolphins Predictions
Denver Broncos Predictions	Cincinnati Bengals Predictions	Tennessee Titans Predictions	Buffalo Bills Predictions
NFC
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Seattle Seahawks Predictions	Chicago Bears Predictions	Atlanta Falcons Predictions	Philadelphia Eagles Predictions
St. Louis Rams Predictions	Green Bay Packers Predictions	New Orleans Saints Predictions	New York Giants Predictions
San Francisco 49ers Predictions	Detroit Lions Predictions	Tampa Bay Bucs Predictions	Dallas Cowboys Predictions
Arizona Cardinals Predictions	Minnesota Vikings Predictions	Carolina Panthers Predictions	Washington Redskins Predictions

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