The Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys all had to fear that the Washington Redskins and Robert Griffin III would soon dominate the NFC East. But the Eagles and their other rivals may be breathing easier now, since the Redskins proved how they really aren’t ready for bigger things on Jan. 6, in more ways than one.
The obvious reason to doubt the Redskins’ future is that Robert Griffin III got injured again in their 24-14 wild card loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The more troubling questions are over whether Mike Shanahan should have taken Griffin out much earlier, and whether he should have ever played at all after his initial injury on Dec. 9.
A USA TODAY report on Jan. 6 alleged that team doctor James Andrews never got to examine Griffin right after he first hurt his knee, which goes against Shanahan’s claims. Andrews even allegedly said he was “scared to death” that Griffin was playing at all, and those fears were certainly realized last night.
Shanahan and his staff must face the fire for how they endangered Griffin and Washington a whole. If Andrews’ allegations are true, the only responsible thing to do is fire Shanahan, since he would no longer be trustworthy enough to handle Griffin. However, Redskins’ owner Daniel Snyder has rarely made good decisions during his tenure, except for trading to get Griffin in the first place.
Snyder can’t even be trusted to take care of the grass at FedEx Field, which was chopped up and may have aided in Griffin’s latest injury. He has overspent on countless failed free agents for years, but not spending enough on a playing surface is more inexcusable, especially with someone like Griffin playing on it.
Another black mark against the Redskins came after the game, when offensive lineman Trent Williams punched Seahawks’ cornerback Richard Sherman at midfield. During the week, Sherman claimed that the Redskins receivers didn’t worry him, and they didn’t give him much reason to worry during the game.
When the going got tough for Washington, it proved to be lacking before, during and after the game. The bad old Redskins of the last 20 years were supposed to be dead and gone, but this team clearly hasn’t gotten completely competent over night. As such, the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys shouldn’t hand over the NFC East to the Redskins quite yet.
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