Upcoming Washington/New York Monday Night Football Has a Surprisingly Good Chance of Determining the Divsion

Washington is at 5-6 with a lot of problems, so I would be hard-pressed to call them a good, division-winning, or playoff-deserving caliber of team. That said, they might have a shot at at least two of those distinctions this year due to the relatively weak performance of NFC East teams combined with remaining schedules, particularly the amount of intra-divisional match-ups left on the Redskins' schedule.

Outside of the division, we have Ravens and Browns left. If we go 1-1 in those games, which seems likely, we're looking at 6-7 with 1 game against each other NFC East team left. Though they aren't guaranteed by any means, one has to think we have a good shot at sweeping the Eagles, who are in full-on self-destruct mode, and the Cowboys, than whom we looked much better on Thanksgiving. That puts us at 8-7 with the Giants game left. Obviously the Giants are the favorite, but with an NFC East game and how we looked against them last time, it is by no means assured, and beating them would likely result in both teams ending the year with 9-7 records and Washington having the tie-breaker over New York. How absurd would that be?

Giants (7-4) have a pretty tough road remaining, with the games other than ours being New Orleans, who is starting to look pretty dangerous, the 1-loss Falcons, the 2-loss Ravens, and a divisional game against the Eagles. If they go 2-2 against the Falcons, Ravens, Saints, and Eagles, they're sitting at 9-6 with our MNF game being the remainder.

Obviously that's a lot of if's and assumptions, but nothing outlandish. This MNF game could really matter. A Giants win borderline clinches them the division, while a Washington victory makes things very interesting in the NFC East from here on out.

In addition to that, Washington oddly enough holds a lot of key head-to-head tiebreakers owing to victories over Tampa Bay, Seattle, Minnesota, New Orleans, and Dallas, which comprise all the present 6-5 teams in the NFC as well as the 5-6 Cowboys. As such, if we manage to perform well from here on out but don't win the division, our taking a wild-card playoff spot is still very feasible.

Quick hits, FA update

I would like at some point to make a long, well-written post regarding the salary cap penalty issue facing the Redskins and Cowboys, and how patently illegal it is, so perhaps I'll get around to that shortly. I also want to do an updated draft discussion, looking at players whom I think would well fit the Redskins' needs (even if, functionally, it's looking only at the 3rd round and beyond).

But, here are a few updates for now:

-Compensatory picks were announced. The Redskins were not awarded any. Big winners were Green Bay and Oakland (whose highest two picks, I believe, will both be compensatory, oddly enough).

-Finally a little trickle of refreshing new news in the dry, barren wasteland that is updates on London Fletcher's status. Nothing concrete, but it has been said that the team still wants him (and vice versa) and that talks are underway and/or have resumed. Hurrah.

-More and more speculation about RG3 potentially being the guy to take over Luck. As much as I am impressed and becoming more and more enamored with Griffin, and as much as I respect the opinion of NFL Films' Greg Cosell (who is among the analysts that, after detailed film study of both Griffin and Luck, believes that Griffin is a more talented, natural passer, and will be a stud in the NFL), I'm not ready to go that far. Great though Young Griff is, Andrew Luck is Andrew Luck, and has done nothing to be less impressive. I think some of it may be valid, but some of it is the media trying to build something up as exciting. While Irsay and the Colts are indeed likely doing their due diligence in considering both players, I would still be shocked if it weren't Luck at #1, and, love Griffin though I do, think that is how it should be.


It is encouraging and refreshing, though, how nearly-unanimously all sources and experts seem to agree that both are stellar prospects who are as close to can't-miss as possible. I don't remember the last time a quarterback coming out was pretty much free of concerns or question marks about how he actually plays, but both of these guys really are. All Luck is dealing with is the idea of "well, I guess he could have a stronger arm..." and Griffin's concerns all center around the fact that he played lesser competition in Baylor's conference and offense, and showed a huge improvement in his last season. Valid concerns, maybe, but I've heard nothing but good about his arm strength, accuracy, footwork, discipline, leadership, intelligence, work ethic, athleticism, and everything else. That is almost-unheard-of-rare.

-Last, just going to update the status of free agents. Most of the remaining contenders from the last update of my last post are still free, but because it had become cluttered, here's a fresh little look: