November 25, 2013
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
Whatever is going on with the Redskins, it’s not good.
After last week’s loss, rumors and reports started to circulate about the state of the Redskins locker room. Reports surfaced that RGIII was insecure to the point that he asked coaches not to highlight his bad plays during film review–a request that was said to have been honored at Baylor, but denied by the Skins (Mike Shanahan denied these allegations, while Griffin called it character assassination). Then Santana Moss made a comment about a true leader taking responsibility for a loss, which many interpreted to be a slight at Griffin (Moss told reporters he never once mentioned Griffin by name).
Whether or not any of the rumors or reports are true, when the team took the field Monday night against the 49ers, it was obvious the negative attention had taken a toll. Griffin completed just 17 of 27 passes for 127 yards and no touchdowns, while the team as a whole had only 190 offensive yards on the night. The once mobile quarterback, who just last season won rookie of the year, was unable to avoid San Francisco’s pass rush and was sacked four times. 49er Colin Kaepernick meanwhile, broke out of his slump, throwing for 235 yards and three touchdowns to snap his team’s two-game losing streak.
After the 27-6 rout which dealt the Redskins their third straight loss, Griffin alluded to the negativity of the past week, but remained optimistic about overcoming it.
“We’ve got to conquer some of the demons that we have going on as an offense and just as team in general,” he said. “And I think we will–it takes all of us.”
With the loss, the Skins dropped to 3-8, firmly entrenched at the bottom of the NFC East. Next they will face the New York Giants, who at 4-7 are struggling to stay relevant in the division. A Washington win wouldn’t be enough to give them a shot at the playoffs, but it would help ease the tension. With all the negativity surrounding the Redskins in recent days, the statement Mike Shanahan made after last week’s loss to the Eagles rings truer than ever: “The only way to stop the madness is for us to win.”
Wizards
The Washington Wizards just can’t seem to catch a break.
After starting the season with three straight losses, the Wizards (5-8) seemed to have finally hit their stride in recent games, winning three of their last four, including a 98-89 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. But their good fortune may have just taken a break.
Washington’s shooting guard and lead-scorer Bradley Beal has a stress injury in his right leg and will be sidelined for at least two weeks before being re-evaluated. If it’s not healed by that time, it’s possible he could be out for even longer. Beal leads the team with 20.6 points per game, two points better than John Wall (18.6).
While the Wizards’ scoring will no doubt take a hit without Beal, they do have some new faces to look forward to. Georgetown star and first round draft pick Otto Porter Jr. has been practicing with the team for the first time since he was sidelined with a hip flexor injury at the start of training camp, as has Chris Singleton, who hasn’t played since September, due to a fracture in his left foot.
Injured shooting guard Trevor Ariza also returned to practice, and is set to start in Tuesday night’s game against the L.A. Lakers.
While Wizards owner Ted Leonis has not been shy about his desire–and impatience–for a winning team, he acknowledged on his blog Tuesday that in professional sports, the road to victory is never smooth, or the journey easy.
“This is the ebb and flow of pro sports, one step forward, one step back,” he wrote. “Injuries are sadly a part of the game…As noted, we will no longer talk about injuries as a part of our won and loss record. We must find ways to overcome all obstacles and keep on playing well as a team with the players on our active roster.”
