Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Redskins have been less than stellar in their first two weeks, starting out by getting blown out in the first half before trying to come alive in the second half. The offense looks out of sync, and the defense has no energy about them. This was the case in both of their losses against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers.
Coming off of a torn ACL, quarterback Robert Griffin III has been a little shaky. He still looks a little gimpy on his knee, and he even looks hesitant to run outside of the pocket when plays break down, one of his greater strengths as a quarterback.
While his second halves have looked considerably better than his firsts, playing from behind makes the team one-dimensional and effectively takes the their strong running game, spearheaded by second-year man Alfred Morris, out of the playbook.
On the same token, their defense has given up 1,023 yards of offense in the first two weeks of the season. The Philadelphia Eagles put up 443 yards of total offense in their 33-27 win against the Redskins, with 263 of those being rushing yards. On the flip side, they gave up 580 yards against the Packers in their recent 38-20 loss.
Is it time to push the panic button in Washington?
After all, there is spreading speculation that Griffin returned too soon, what with the pressure to have him ready to play by the season opener. Unfortunately, not everyone may have an Adrian Peterson-type recovery from a knee injury like his. Griffin’s health should be priority No. 1 for the Redskins as he is the future and face of that franchise. Rushing him back from his knee injury too soon isn’t what Washington needed to do.
We always hear that part of coming back from this knee injury is as much a mental process as it is a physical one. Griffin still hasn’t settled down mentally over the state of his knee, which explains his reluctance to really take off more or use his mobility to buy second chances in the pocket.
The offense can still move the ball, but Griffin is still not in sync with his offense, and part of this may also stem from not getting as much work in the preseason because of his rehab. Griffin has yet to put together a complete game these first two weeks, and this team will only go as far as Griffin takes them.
So is it really time to be concerned in Washington? Not quite yet, but if they want to compete in the NFC East, they have to bounce back, and quickly, because there’s still a lot of football left to be played.
