Redskins Season Recap

The 2011-2012 NFL regular season is officially over. The playoff match ups are set, and 12 teams are now fighting for a trip to Indianapolis to play in the Super Bowl. One of those 12 teams is not the Washington Redskins. The Skins finished with an extremely disappointing 5-11 record, which included losses to the Vikings (3-13), getting shut out by the Bills (6-10), helping Miami to their second win of the season (6-10) and getting swept by both the Cowboys and the Eagles (both 8-8). The Redskins now begin their offseason watching a team they swept in the regular season, the Giants, playing on Wild Card Weekend.

With their 5-11 record, the Redskins hold the sixth overall pick in next year's draft. While the sting of a terrible 2011 still looms large, there is promise that this number six pick could turn into something special. The Colts locked up the number one overall pick with their loss in week 17, and the smart move for them would be to draft Stanford QB Andrew Luck. With the Colts and Luck out of the way, that leaves the rest of the draft board and the Rams, Vikings, Browns and Buccaneers between the Skins. Those four teams all have recently drafted quarterbacks, leaving Skins fans hoping they bypass Baylor QB and Heisman winner Robert Griffin III.

Sure, Rex Grossman didn't play the worst football of his career this year, but let's face it, it's time for some fresh faces. On the season, Grossman threw for 3151 yards, completed just under 58% of his passes, 16 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Grossman played in 13 games, and while he did notch all five of the Skins' wins this year, he threw an interception in 12 of those games. Twelve straight games, in fact, including a season high four in the first meeting with Philly this year.

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The signing of Tim Hightower was very promising at the beginning of the year. Coupled with how Ryan Torain had played last season, it looked like the Skins were finally going to get back to having a solid ground game. Hightower got hurt, Torain never really got going, what else is new? Thankfully, the two rookie running backs on the Redskins' roster decided they wanted a place to call home for a while. On just over 200 combined carries, Roy Helu and Evan Royster ran for 640 and 328 yards, respectively. Helu found the end zone twice on the ground and once on a long screen pass in the finale against the Eagles, though Royster failed to score in his rookie season. Royster did have the best single game totals in terms of rushing yards with 132 against the Vikings, but Helu takes the cake for most productive with his game against the 49ers. He ran for 41 yards, but he also caught 14 passes out of the backfield for 105 yards, the leading receiver by far in that game.

The Redskins, believe it or not, almost had the opportunity to have two 1,000 yard receivers this season. With Santana Moss missing a couple of games due to injury (he still managed nearly 600 yards in 12 games) and tight end Chris Cooley out for the year, the Skins needed someone else to step it up. Many expected Fred Davis to thrive in Cooley's absence, an he did, pulling in almost 60 catches for nearly 800 yards. Those numbers were also in just 12 games, as Davis was suspended for the final four games of the year. Washington's leading receiver this year was veteran wideout Jabar Gaffney. Had it not been for a sub-par season finale, Gaffney could have topped the 1,000 yard plateau for the first time in his career. He did set career bests in receptions (68) and yards (947), and tied his career high for touchdowns (5).

As is usually been the case the last couple years in Washington, the defense has been the shining light of this team. While this was no means the best defense the Skins have ever had, it wasn't the worst either. The Redskins ranked near the middle of the league in yards per game; 12th against the pass, 18th against the run and 13th overall. London Fletcher proved he still has it, totaling 166 tackles for the year, good for tops in the league. Brian Orakpo led the team with nine sacks, and his rookie counterpart on the other side, Ryan Kerrigan, had 7.5. Kerrigan's sack total ranked 3rd among rookies, behind Aldon Smith's 14 and Von Miller's 11.5. The Skins defense only forced 21 turnovers on the year; 13 interceptions and 8 fumbles. DeAngelo Hall and OJ Atogwe led the way with three interceptions each. Kerrigan, along with an interception of his own, forced a team-high four fumbles, and Rocky McIntosh recovered a team-high two.

All Redskins fans can do is sit and wait, and can only hope this offseason brings some kind of change. Whether through the draft (come on RG3!) or free agency, something needs to happen. It's time for the Skins to get out of the cellar. Hell, an 8-8 season would be welcomed at this point. Here's to next season! Hail to the Redskins!

By Matthew Dagen
ProFootball-fans.com Washington Redskins Correspondent