In the battle of what may be the two most controlling owners in the NFL (outside of Jerry Jones, anyway), the Redskins travel across the country to take on the Oakland Raiders Sunday afternoon.

December is all about playoff teams and match-ups that can have an effect on January; this is one of those depressing games in which both teams have started to think about next year.

Washington is 3-9 and losers of three straight since they beat Oakland’s division mate Denver (who is now 8-4 and right in the midst of a playoff push). Their offensive line was bad to start the year, and then they lost arguably their two best in early weeks to make things even worse. To top it off, the team has also lost Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts and Chris Cooley for the season. Fullback Mike Sellers also will be sitting out this week, potentially along with defensive starers DeAngelo Hall and Albert Hayensworth.

Oakland hasn’t had much in the way of injury problems; in fact, their most publicized injury this season came when head coach Tom Cable broke an assistant’s jaw. The team ranks near the bottom of the league in virtually all meaningful statistical categories. Their former top overall choice QB JaMarcus Russell has been sent to the bench. Despite having a backfield most teams would kill for, only a single runner has gone over 100 yards one time this season.

Disrupting the Rhythm
While Washington has lost three straight, however, Oakland has beaten two potential playoff teams in three weeks. The difference seems to be new starting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who has thrown for nearly 700 yards in his first three starts, improving each week.

No matter how you cut it, though, Gradkowski is a younger, inexperienced quarterback on a team that can’t seem to get any meaningful ground game going. That means his opponents are allowing him to get into a good rhythm from the beginning and not doing much to disrupt it. Gradkowski also doesn’t have the greatest arm, many of his passes coming from short and intermediate routes.

This doesn’t bode well for the Redskins, whose defense always seems happy to give up yards in small chucks to avoid the one huge play.

With DeAngelo Hall likely out for this game, Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache needs to mix it up. Continue to bring the heat, but bring safety LaRon Landry up to within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Allow him and LB Rocky MacIntosh to cover short zones and the flats; make Gradkowski beat you deep and force him into quick throws. That’s how you beat the Raiders.

Travelin’ Blues
The Redskins are 0-6 on the road this season, and things don’t promise to get any better with their final two games both taking place on the west coast.

While traveling with an NFL team may seem glamorous, and flying on a chartered plane certainly is nice, these guys are still sitting in coach seats for several hours. Coupled with the time change, this leads to cramps, pulled muscles and dehydration.

It’s up to the team’s medical staff to combat these issues. Given how many pulled muscles and small injuries the team has had, combined with the 0fer record on the road, you start to wonder whether or not they’re doing their job.

Campbell
The one bright spot this season has been the maturation of Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell.

Indeed, since Sherm Lewis took over the play-calling, Campbell has averaged over 250 passing yards a game, while completing nearly two thirds of his passes. Against the New Orleans Saints, the team had its first 30 point outing since Joe Gibbs was head coach.

Campbell, who always looked poised in the pocket, is delivering quicker, crisper passes. Despite a terrible offensive line, or because of it, he’s finding ways to make plays with his feet and buy himself extra time in the pocket.

While Redskins de facto general manager Vinny Cerrato scouts Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen and the organization prepares to ignore the offensive line yet again and draft yet another quarterback to throw to the wolves, Campbell is certainly making his case to stay in the Nation’s Capital.

Or, at least, start somewhere else.

Overall
The Redskins rank better than Oakland in virtually all statistical categories, yet Oakland has the better record.

In a meaningless game, this game is going to be won by whoever wants it more. Oakland gets the edge due to home-field advantage and the Redskins’ long road trip and litany of injuries.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 12:19 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.