Murphy’s Law sums up last-place Redskins

By Connor Byrne  |   Tuesday, November 21, 2006  |  Comments( 2 )

Washington Redskins
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After losing 20-17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday, the formerly highly touted Washington Redskins fell to 3-7 and likely watched their slim playoff hopes go out the window. Considering the Skins were supposed to be a Super Bowl-caliber team entering the season, theirs has been one of the most disappointing team years in the NFL.

Frankly, from the beginning of the preseason, everything has gone awry for the Redskins, currently sitting in last place in the competitive NFC East. It all began in the team's first exhibition game back in early August, a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Of course, Skins fans remember that as the evening star running back Clinton Portis dislocated his shoulder. Portis has been dealing with various injuries ever since and is now out for the season because of foot and ankle issues.

Beyond Portis, there's the tale of ancient quarterback Mark Brunell. Following 2005, when he found the Fountain of Youth in leading Washington to an improbable playoff run, expectations were high for the 36-year-old. However, Brunell failed to grasp new coordinator Al Saunders' complex offense, jumping out to a less-than-average 3-6 start. He was benched prior to this past weekend's loss in Tampa, leaving '05 first-round pick Jason Campbell as the new starter. Silver lining of the day: Campbell fared well in his pro debut, completing 19-of-34 passes for 196 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.

Then there's the coaching staff. Head coach Joe Gibbs, one of the league's best on a weekly basis, outsmarted himself by courting Saunders to run the offense. Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl champion in D.C., elected to hand the offensive reins to Saunders, even though the Hall of Famer has been calling the plays in Washington throughout his lengthy, incredibly successful career there. As evidenced by the Skins' 20th-rated offense, it just wasn't prudent to bring in Saunders, whose 700-page playbook has been too much for Washington's players to grasp since his hiring in the offseason.

The above three elements of the Redskins have been quite disappointing, but perhaps not more than their once-dominant defense. The chief of the group, $8 million assistant coach Gregg Williams, has led it to an astoundingly bad 30th overall ranking. The high-profile, high-money signings of pass-rushing end Andre Carter (two sacks) and overrated safety Adam Archuleta (one sack, zero interceptions) haven't paid off in the least. Considering the two combine for total salaries of $60 million over 12 years, there's simply no excuse for their ineptitude.

As the famous Murphy's Law states, "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." That slogan couldn't possibly be truer when it comes to the 2006 version of the ultra-disappointing Redskins. It'll be a long last six weeks of the regular season and offseason in Landover, Md.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

Get more on the Washington Redskins at RealFootball365.com.
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