Bleed Burgundy

Redskins Week 17 Preview: at San Diego Chargers

Check out our preview of this weekend's snooze-fest against the Chargers over at Fan Huddle by clicking here.

Dallas 17, Redskins 0

In the spirit of Christmas, good will towards men, peace on earth and candy canes, I’m going to keep this one mercifully short.

The Redskins have simply gone into the tank; there’s nothing more to it.

Last week we had the team with no heart; the players simply seemed to be going through the motions.

With the Dallas rivalry on the line this week, you got the sense that they were playing hard, but they simply had no brains. Most of the players seemed to be mentally checked out; running hard but not really paying attention to much of anything.

Makes you wonder if next week against San Diego if we’ll see the team with no courage. Lions, tigers and Chargers, oh my!

On another note details have emerged as to how the Redskins have managed to comply with the Rooney Rule with regards to both of their top spots in the organization, interviewing defensive backs coach Jerry Gray for the head coaching job and Pro Personnel Director Morocco Brown for the general manager spot.

Gray was recently passed over for the head coaching position at the University of Memphis. He has never really sniffed an NFL head coaching job, but is a reasonably qualified candidate given his years of experience as a defensive coordinator in Buffalo and elsewhere as a position coach.

It was something of a surprise that Gray had been passed over for the team’s defensive coordinator spot after the departure of Gregg Williams, as Gray was Williams’ DC in Buffalo.

Brown has held his position in Washington for the last couple of years and was in the second seat in pro personnel with Chicago before that. Somewhat ironically (to me, anyway) is that Brown and I got our NFL start in the same season, as interns with the Redskins in 2000.

Under since departed Vinny Cerrato, Brown was the third-ranking member of the team’s personnel department. He was considered a rising star with the Bears before he re-joined the Redskins and was credited with the NFL discovery of WR Rashied Davis, who had been a member of the Arena Football League’s San Jose SaberCats.

Moving on to the rumor mill, ProFootballTalk.com reports that the team already has a contract in place with Mike Shanahan and that already has been signed. According to PTF’s source, “He has already agreed to everything. Heck, he even picked out the G.M.”

If you’ll recall, those of us here at Bleed Burgundy (meaning, me) predicted this eventuality after the Allen hire brought the Shanahan rumors to light.

Will current head coach Jim Zorn be allowed to coach next week’s final game, or will he simply be replaced to get Shanahan off the market a week early?

No matter what, though, we, like those over at PFT, fully expect Zorn to be dismissed before the team’s plane leaves the pacific time zone after next week’s game in San Diego.

Redskins Week 16 Preview: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Check out our preview of the Redskins-Cowboys game this week over at Fan Huddle by clicking here.

Worst Trick Play in NFL History

New York Giants 45, Redskins 12

Is patheti-sad a word?

That’s the only way to describe the Redskins performance on Monday night.

The defense was awful; Blache had no feel at all for the Giants offense. He blitzed, they screened. He held back, they completed the underneath pass. He brought up his corners, they went over the top.

Though they weren’t the worst Redskins unit on the field: Washington’s offensive line was just that: offensive. They couldn’t have blocked a 90 year old woman with a walker tonight. Jason Campbell was on his back more often than he was upright (though he showed remarkable resiliency coming back into a game when his head coach told him to stay out of it).

Washington simply quit tonight.

The ESPN crew had it right. Though the Redskins had been playing hard the last few weeks, these guys are paid millions to play hard. They SHOULD play hard, no matter what the circumstances. Those of us in the media have been guilty of praising these guys, who are now 4-10, of playing hard, just to find something positive.

Redskins: you are paid to win, simple as that, not play hard, though you couldn’t even deliver on that tonight.

The WORST Non-Call in NFL History

You have got to be kidding me.

First off, I never thought I'd be so happy to see a fight in a football game. At least we knew the Redskins were getting fired up about SOMETHING, though their passion was going in the wrong direction.

But the Giants Brandon Jacobs threw Redskins DeAngelo Hall to the ground by his facemask, then threw the first punch at Hall, setting off a melee.

Somehow only Redskins Albert Haynesworth, who came in much later, got a penalty and no one got ejected.

I'm too lazy (and pissed) to look up who is officiating this game, but guys, don't quit your day jobs. Get a seeing-eye dog while you're at it; you might miss a bus, or a semi truck or an aircraft carrier or something passing by.

Okay; anger vented. Back to the debacle.

Redskins on Monday Night Football; Time to Change the Channel?

New York Giants 24, Redskins 0. Still more than four minutes to go in the FIRST HALF.

Giants have scored on all of their possessions, while the Redskins have run nine plays for -2 overall yards.

There any reruns of House on tonight?

Mike Shanahan and the Redskins: Has Daniel Snyder Learned Anything?

Those of us here at Bleed Burgundy (well, you know...me...) decided to address the rumors abounding regarding Mike Shanahan's impending hire at the Washington Redskins.

Check it out by clicking here.

Redskins Cerrato Resigns, Bruce Allen named General Manager

W O W.

The Redskins had perhaps the biggest front office shake-up in the Decade of Dan today, with de facto general manager Vinny Cerrato resigning in favor of actual general manager Bruce Allen.

Check out our reaction over at Bleacher Report by clicking here.

Redskins Week 15 Preview: vs. New York Giants

Our weekly Redskins game preview is up over at Fan Huddle; check it out by clicking here.