Season Recap - 2010 Washington Redskins

Final Record: 6-10

Finished: 4^th Place in the NFC East

2011 Draft Position: 10^th

Preseason Ranking:   29
Preseason Letter of Misfortune:

The Redskins. Old friends of the Dallas Cowboys. If my ideal season ends with the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl and the Eagles finishing 2-14, guess where they get those two victories? That’s right, over The Hogs or, more recently, The Piglets. As for Washington, well, you’d go 0-16 if I had my way.

Talk about a franchise in near total disarray. You trade with one of your bitter division rivals for their superstar quarterback during the offseason, hire a new coach with a proven Super Bowl track record (at least when Elway was on the field), and the most news about your team during training camp is that one of your disgruntled, underachieving defensive lineman can’t pass a conditioning test. And this was the story of the NFL until a little known quarterback in Mississippi allegedly sent a text message neither confirming nor denying his decision that he may or may not not think about returning to play another season.

For years you have been the doormats of the NFC East and I have loved it. I see little changing this year. Yes, you have a new quarterback, but how much does McNabb have in the tank when the running game in Washington has struggled with injuries of late and the receiving corps is half what he was used to in Philadelphia. Yes, you have a new coach with Super Bowl championships on his resume, but you’ve had that before over the last decade and how’d those seasons turn out for you?

As long as your owner continues to take such a pro-active role, you will continue to struggle. Jerry Jones has created his share of problems in Dallas over the years, but at least the team he has built is talented enough to overcome his meddling. Dan Snyder is a few years and a leisure suit away from becoming the Al Davis of the east coast. And that, my friends, would be a downward slide truly worth celebrating.

Week 1: Defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 13-7

Ranked – 14

The defense looks good, but the offense is still struggling to find its identity. Defeating Dallas on opening night just might be the catalyst this team needs to no longer have to answer questions about Albert Haynesworth.

Week 2: Lost to Houston Texans, 30-27

Ranked – 23

Washington, you have nothing to regret about Sunday's loss to the Texans except for having yakked up a 17-point lead with just over one quarter left to play. Shanahan has shown these Redskins not to be the pushovers of recent years, but it's still too early to tell if he can return them to their former glory.

Week 3: Lost at St. Louis Rams, 30-16

Ranked – 23

You'd think losing to the Rams would warrant a drop in the rankings, but with so many bad teams playing woeful football, I can't help but let Washington just sit here at #23 and think about what they have done.

Week 4: Defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-12

Ranked – 20

The NFC East is all topsy-turvy now thanks to McNabb's pleasant, though statistically underwhelming, homecoming. The Redskins haven't reclaimed their glory of yesteryear, but they can no longer be counted among the dregs of the league, either.

Week 5: Defeated the Green Bay Packers, 16-13

Ranked – 14

The Redskins win ugly again and move into a first-place tie in the NFC East. McNabb looks old, but the defense is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Week 6: Lost to Indianapolis Colts, 27-24

Ranked – 15

The Redskins lose ground just a bit, but show they will be in every game they play after staying strong against the Indianapolis Colts for four quarters.

Week 7: Defeated the Chicago Bears, 17-14

Ranked – 16

The Redskins are above .500 for the first time in years and have a solid chance to improve to 5-3 when they travel to Detroit this week

Week 8: Lost at Detroit Lions, 37-25

Ranked – 23

It's one thing for a diva wide receiver to call out McNabb for being winded at the end of a game. It's quite another for a head coach to do the same.      

Week 9: BYE WEEK

Ranked – 19

Teetering on the brink, next week's game against Philadelphia could propel the Redskins two steps forward in the division race or send them into a nasty tailspin the likes of which only Dallas could appreciate. 

Week 10: Lost to Philadelphia Eagles, 59-28

Ranked – 25

Looks like Dan Snyder should have spent $80 million on defense instead of a beat-down quarterback whose tank is nearly running on empty.

Week 11: Defeated the Tennessee Titans, 19-16

Ranked – 16

I have no idea if this team is really good and underachieving or really bad and overachieving, so I'll just rank them here at 16 and let them decide. Shanahan will clear things up for us once we've completed our wind sprints and are back in shape enough to successfully run a two-minute drill without incident.

Week 12: Lost to Minnesota Vikings, 17-13

Ranked – 24

No running game, no passing game and a distinct inability to beat the struggling Vikings at home. Nope. Nothing wrong here.

Week 13: Lost at New York Giants, 31-7

Ranked - 26 (ROCKY WEEK!)

Coach Shanahan: You know what you are?

           

Albert Haynesworth: No, what?

           

Coach Shanahan: A tomato.

           

Albert Haynesworth: A tomato?

Coach Shanahan: Yeah, and I'm running a football team here, not a goddamn soup kitchen!

Week 14: Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 17-16

Ranked – 27

The season continues to fall apart for the Redskins. Following the horrible PAT hold at the close of the game against Tampa, Washington cut their punter-holder Hunter Smith. Whoops, the football slipped!

Week 15: Lost at Dallas Cowboys, 33-30

Ranked – 24

Rex Grossman, he's our man? He did help Chicago get to a Super Bowl a few years ago. Maybe the Redskins are on to something.

Week 16: Defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-17

Ranked – 15

Could Rex Grossman actually be the answer?

Week 17: Lost to New York Giants, 17-14

Final Rank - 24

Tomorrow, the 2010 Houston Texans…