One week after allowing the Giants a narrow escape, the 3-4 Redskins face another AFC North nemesis in the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Redskins haven't beaten the Steelers this century. Hog Heaven suspects that no NFC Beast team will win 10 games this season after ruining each other and then playing the defenses of the AFC North. The Eagles won ugly against the Steelers and lost narrowly to the Ravens who narrowly beat the Cowboys. Neither the Steelers nor Ravens defense looked like the power houses we are used to seeing. Could Washington pull this off?  The Redskins defense is patterned after the Steelers 3-4.

Hog Heaven turned to Bam, our Bloguin colleagues who covers the Steelers for Blitzburgh Blog, to preview the game.    

Q. If this game were in Washington, it might have been played in a tropical stormageddon. What's the weather forecast in Pittsburgh?

48F and rainy. Heard it might be pretty windy too, which would be a shame given the excellent QB matchup that we have. It looks like it will be a miserable day but nothing too out of the ordinary for Pittsburgh in late October.

Q. Sports writers are billing the game as RGIII vs. Big Ben. I have a clear picture of what the Redskins would be like without Griffin. How would the Steelers do without Ben Roethlisberger?

The Steelers would be in a world of hurt without Big Ben. The Steelers identify is entirely wrapped up in Roethlisberger's ability to throw the ball and the team has really struggled to run the football with authority and consistency for a couple of years. I grew up watching Neil O'Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Kordell Stewart, etc and Roethlisberger is leaps and bounds ahead of all of them. He is the lynchpin of the whole franchise.

Q. How worried are you about Washington's two-headed running game known as Robert Griffin III, Rookie of the Month of September, and Alfred Morris, Rookie of Week 7?

The Steelers defensive line has really struggled to stop the run during much of 2012 so I'm pretty concerned. Historically, nobody has been able to run against the Steelers and this is really the first season where that has been a concern. Chris Johnson and BenJarvus Green-Ellis have had success in recent weeks. The absence of Troy Polamalu has really hurt the Steelers ability to stop the run as well. He's a safety but is like having an extra linebacker because he's at the line of scrimmage so often.

Steelers coach Mike Tomllin has ruled out S Troy Polamalu (calf) and T Marcus Gilbert (ankle) for Sunday's game against the Redskins.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 23, 2012

Q. I love that player known as Antonio Brown. Great name! Give me two players Redskins fans have not heard of who might affect this contest?

It is pretty hard for a Steelers player to fly under the radar given the team's success in recent years, but here are a couple of names for you: Emmanuel Sanders and Chris Rainey. Sanders is the team's third WR behind two big names in Mike Wallace and Brown. He had just as good of a rookie year as Brown did in 2010, but was banged up last year. He has big play potential and Roethlisberger trusts him. Rainey is a lightning fast rookie RB who is going to see a lot of time this weekend with injuries to Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman. Rainey is going to get most of his touches on third down and in the return game.

Q. How should the Redskins offense attack the Steelers defense?

Run the ball right at them and attack the defense with short passes. The best way to conquer the Steelers defense is to neutralize their pass rush and complicated blitzing schemes. If RGIII is taking 5 or 7-step drops consistently and trying to diagnose Pittsburgh's defense scheme with James Harrison bearing down on him, it could be a long day for Redskins fans. However, the Steelers don't play aggressive coverage on the outside and teams can dink and dunk right down the field if they are patient and keep throwing underneath routes.

Morris Named NFL Week 7 Rookie Of Week: For the fourth time in seven weeks, fans have selected a Redskin as the ... redsk.in/RSbHn7

— Redskins (@Redskins) October 26, 2012

 Q. How should the Redskins defense stop the Steelers offense?

The Steelers obvious weakness on the offensive side is the offensive line, but Roethlisberger is able to somewhat neutralize that because he is so elusive and hard to bring down in the pocket. He will cough the ball up sometimes, though, and forcing him into mistakes is the best way to stop the offense. The Steelers have been killer on third down this year so that's something to watch as well. Forcing Pittsburgh into a lot of third and longs would go a long way to earning the Skins a win on the road.

Q. Your game prediction and score?

I think the game is going to be high scoring and very entertaining, but at the end of the day I still like Pittsburgh's defense better than Washington's. I think they can make a couple more stops. The Steelers have only lost one game at home since the 2011 season and their defense is especially stiff at Heinz Field. Steelers 31, Redskins 24.

For excellent Steelers coverage, check out the writers at Blitzburgh Blog.

Image: August 11, 2011, Larry French/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com.
Image: Steelers throwback jerseys to be worn for Redskins game. 

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"You play ... to win ... the game." ~ Herm Edwards

Read between the lines of Redskins-Giants game recaps, and you come to this – Robert Griffin III looked good in the loss to the Super Bowl Champs. That's "RGIII looked good," not the Redskins. The world expects the Redskins to finish fourth in the Beast. To change that perception, the Redskins had to beat the Giants. The point of playing the game is to beat division opponents, not to make RGIII look good.

Coach Edwards told us that already. I presume our heroes heard the same from Coach Mike Shanahan. Otherwise, the Giants game was just a pretty loss that made the Giants look good.

As players, coaches, and fans, lets not be satisfied with wasting chances to win that RGIII gives us. I have no idea how the Redskins will do against the Steelers, but expect that Griffin will lead a late fourth-quarter charge downfield for the win. Don't waste the opportunity, fellas. Hog Heaven has had its fill of moral victories. 

Ugly wins are always better than pretty losses. ~ Me

— Anthony Brown (@SkinsHogHeaven) October 23, 2012

Real life is intruding again, so we are taking the easy out on the Steelers game by pointing to what other people say.

CBSSports.com – Redskins-Steelers preview

"After nearly helping the Washington Redskins knock off the defending a Super Bowl champion, Robert Griffin III's next challenge is against one of the NFL's stingiest defenses."

See what I mean? Robert Griffin III nearly beat the Giants and he alone might beat a team nobody expects the Redskins to beat. because, you know, they haven't won in Pittsburgh since '91. I'm not knocking Griffin the Great. I'm still giddy as a schoolgirl that he's a Redskin. (Yeah, I said that word.) The Redskins team has to step up to Griffin's performance.

WaPOST The Insider – Five areas to monitor ahead of Sunday's game

"2.) Fletcher’s health – Inside linebacker London Fletcher missed a significant portion of the second half of Sunday’s game after suffering a hamstring injury. That left a big void –

"5.) Planning for Pittsburgh – When it comes to yardage, the Steelers own one of the stingiest defense in the league.... Which offense will [the Redskins] attack the Steelers with: the option-heavy attack seen last week, or the more traditional scheme with which they also have shown they have an ability to succeed?"

Mike Jones, The Post's Redskins beat writer, is still the authoritative voice on the team.

Bleacher Report – Redskins Progress Report Heading  into Week 8

"The Washington Redskins have such a promising future right now that it's almost easy to accept that 2012 might not be their year. After all, the 'Skins have dropped four of their seven games despite having led or been tied in the fourth quarter of each of them."

I'm no fan of Bleacher Report who parlay over-the-top headlines to free content into something Google sees as authoritative. The rage is at Google for letting it's search engine be easily fooled. Bleacher Report is rushing to upgrade writing talent for true validity before Google catches on.. Greg Gagnon is one of the better football writers. Greg covers the NFC East for B/R, and he contributes to the This Given Sunday blog. (Disclosure: So do I.) I read Greg's work and so should you. Take a peek at This Given Sunday sometimes, too.

Greg takes a glass half-empty and half-full approach in this B/R story. That's Washington in a nutshell.    

Lindy's Sports Washington Redskins (3-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3)

"PREDICTION: Steelers 22-17

"KEYS TO THE GAME: The Redskins would do their injury-ravaged defense a solid favor by getting off to a quick start – easy to say, but Washington has failed to score an opening-drive touchdown all season."

This gives you all the blah-blah about the two teams that Hog Heaven might have offered, given time to do so. They look at how Niles Paul's role may change with Chris Cooley's return.

Hog Heaven made its thoughts plain earlier this week. Paul has until the BYE to step up, or we should see more of Capt. Chaos. Cooley tried to negotiate a case of his beer into his contract, just what Riggins might have done. Sounds like my kind of guy, and why Redskins fans love them both.

The Washington Times  – Redskins and Steelers are familiar with each other's 3-4 defense

"Pittsburgh's illustrious 3-4 defense serves as the model for Washington's one-gap version of the 3-4. Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator from 1997-99. His predecessor in Pittsburgh, Dick LeBeau, returned to the Steelers in 2004 and has been their defensive coordinator ever since.

"Haslett brought many of Pittsburgh's concepts to the Redskins when he and coach Mike Shanahan overhauled the scheme in 2010."

'Skins fans won't want to hear this, but Haslett's familiarity with the Pittsburgh system is why he should not be fired at the end of the season. Yes, the Redskins defense should perform better three years into Haslett's run. Bringing someone else in resets the clock to zero in transition time. Don't go there.

There is something off about the defense. Injuries at the safety position could be part if it certainly ... or, it might have something to do with the Jim Haslett-Raheem Morris dynamic. Stay tuned.  

Got something to say about the Washington Redskins? You can be a contributor to Hog Heaven. Give voice to your thoughts. Write me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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Washington's favorite tight end Chris Cooley passed his physical and rejoined the Redskins Monday. ESPN NFC East blogger Dan Graziano writes that Cooley can still help the team, although not as a starter.

If Chris Cooley were cut in July instead of September, he would have been voted as one of the 80 Greatest Redskins. I vote him the 81st.

— Anthony Brown (@SkinsHogHeaven) October 22, 2012

"Even if Cooley is the third tight end on the depth chart behind Paul and Paulsen, he's made it clear that he's fine staying in the background and helping them get better," writes Graziano. That's fine, because Paul is looking more like a TE project every game.

Transitioning to new positions in the NFL is hard, like converting to the West Coast Offense, or the 3-4 defensive alignment. If scheme changes for full units need three years to "take," I guess we can give Paul a full season to convert from wide receiver to tight end.

Paul doesn't seem to get open a lot. Learning to block the likes of Jason Pierre-Paul is a process. Paulson acquitted himself well after Fred Davis went down, but he's caught five of the nine balls thrown to him. That has to get better.

Paulson is the logical starter at tight end, but who should be No. 2? Even now, Cooley shows better hands than Paulson and Paul. Inserting him as No. 2 steals game reps from the player the team wants to develop. Solving this is why coaches are paid.

If I were coach, I would make this call during the BYE week. That gives Capt. Chaos time to get in true game shape and Paul time to show growth. If Paul does not step up, Cooley moves up the depth chart.    

The Washington Post says London Fletcher's status won't be known until Wednesday. Fletcher strained his hamstring in the Giants game. He was off the field when Eli Manning threw that 77-yard dagger to Victor Cruz. Cruz would not have been Fletcher's assignment, but I somehow believe that Fletch would have done something to cause Manning to miss that throw.

Cruz looks like a big teen-ager every time I see him in an interview. There is a danger in assigning character traits based on 15-second TV clips, but I like Cruz from what I see of him off the field. That's more than I can say about Dez Bryant. Just sayin.

The Redskins signed former RB Keiland Williams and released Ryan Grant, according to multiple Tweets from reliable tweeps.

Redskins cut Ryan Grant, re-sign Keiland Williams. After Cooley and Williams, can Darrell Green be far behind? wapo.st/Pog6BN

— The Insider (@Insider) October 23, 2012

Ryan Grant released after 4 weeks with Redskins. Had one carry for five yards. Made $176,500.

— Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) October 23, 2012

Mike Shanahan clarified that Pierre Garcon has inflammation in his toe, according to the same Post article that covered Fletcher's status. Reports circulated that Garcon tore a tendon. Whatever the injury, it's clear that Garcon is worse off than has been reported, and so are the Redskins until he takes the field with good speed.

Joe Gibbs had to explain himself to Redskins fans after reports that he gave a pep talk to the Cowboys before their game with the Panthers.

More Gibbs: "I want all the Redskins fans to know...I’m Redskins all the way and all I was doing was a chapel service." wapo.st/WG2t2l

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) October 23, 2012

Yeah, but Coach, the Cowboys WON. Don't do that again.

Two things bother me about the loss to the Giants. The first is how it is being reported.

According to headlines, the Giants beat RGIII. In the ultimate team sport, shouldn't that read as The Giants beat the Redskins with RGIII? Or, the Giants beat the Redskins in spite of RGIII's spectacularness. (Yeah, yeah, not a word)

That leads to the second. Robert Griffin III elevates the performance of everyone on the Redskins – offense, defense and coaches, too. Isn't it about time they returned the favor?

Much of the reporting and reaction about the game is how well the Redskins played against the world champs. THEY LOST THE EFFIN' GAME!

The loss to the Falcons is the last moral victory I accept. Lets allow that the Giants' defense had something to do with the slippery fingers of Washington's most reliable players. But, don't say the Redskins played well. They sucked. Four turnovers suck. Playing Victor Cruz shallow until the secondary felt the whoosh of his wind sucked.

Hog Heaven expects more of every Redskins coach and player except the quarterback, because we just cannot ask more of Robert Griffin the Great than he has done. We cannot waste that performance either.   

Looking good while losing has become old. Winning is a team accomplishment. Time to report – and think – about it that way.

Image: December 18, 2010, Ronald Martinez/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com.

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Let me first get off my chest - who's idiotic idea was it to line up Josh Wilson on the line of scrimmage against Victor Cruz with less than 2 minutes less in the game and the game on the line?  As soon as I saw that formation and Mr. Magoo (Mr. Madeiu) fumbling around the backfield I knew the game was all over even before the snap.  


Now onto the main issue.  The Redskins starting lineup is starting to look like it has served time in Iraq.  What is it with all of these injuries?

LaRon Laundry said several weeks ago that the Redskin's medical staff is the worst he's seen and the coaches aren't much better when it comes to injuries.  Given he is running around playing for the Jets without surgery (that the Redskins insisted upon), he may be onto something.

For anyone that has torn a pectoral or a rotator cuff, you know there is NO chance that part of the body will ever be the same again.  It certainly takes a long time to get 98%.  Enter Brian Orakpo and his pec tear the last week of last season.  Many people were commenting "this is a more serious injury than the Redskins are treating as when the preseason started."  Linebackers commented that Rak just wasn't the same in training camp.  What do the coaches do?  Throw him into preseason games!  Idiotic at best, Rak is out, and if he returns to the game next year and thinks he can straight-arm tackle again, his career is over.

Consider Pierre Garcon.  Shanahan said it was a matter of dealing with pain.  Now after shoving him back into games way too early, he is out for an undisclosed period and needs just to rest.  Didn't he need to just rest when he first got the injury?  Apparently, the injury has compounded to a tendon or the original diagnosis was completely incorrect.  Again, Redskins medical management and overall coaching staff gets an "F" on how Garcon has been managed.

Chase Minnifield - once they saw he looked good enough to play they should have sat him out of training camp - insisted he wear a brace - something.  Every other team in the NFL passed on him because his knee injury was so serious.  What do the Redskins do?  Torch his knee again in training camp.

Next for literal Achilles heels (losing Laundry on this issue as well), is Roy Helu and Fred Davis.  Does anybody warm up before a game over there?  Don't they rub pounds of Tiger Balm on their Achilles tendons, feet, knees and ankles before a game?   With billions of $ at stake, you would think the NFL has perfected some kind of stretching warm-up regimen.

On the plus side for the Redskins on this issue is the offensive line.  They gave Kory Lichtensteiger lots of time to heal and kept him out of the preseason.  It seems to have worked.

Injuries in football are inevitable.  Patience, proper treatment, and proper prevention are coaching and staffing issues.  Let's start with a simple suggestion - season ending injuries mean NO preseason play the next season PERIOD.   Secondly, when Haslett starts packing his boxes after this season, let the medical and training staff go with him.

Editor's Note: Some good thoughts raised here. I vaguely recall that Mike Shanahan swapped out the medical and training staff when he arrived in 2010. Even then, there were whispers about the group.

The NFL fined the Redskins $20,000 for the description and reporting of Robert Griffin III's mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) in the Atlanta game. Washington handled the injury itself properly, but if words betray thought, perhaps something about the Redskins thinking about injury needs to be "shaken up."

Image Sources:
Former Redskins safety LaRon Landry, August 17, 2012 - Source: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com.
Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon, September 29, 2012 - Source: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images North America via zimbio.com.

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Redskins fan's kids celebrate RGIII touchdown pass, only to be crushed a few moments later by a defensive lapse. Still they believe. 

Video provided by Owen West. 

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Me when Eli cancelled RG3:tout.com/m/d0wola?ref=t…

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 21, 2012

I am still sick about what Eli did to RG3.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 21, 2012

Sign of depression – when you resort to quoting Skip Bayless. 

Skip Bayless video from here.

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We opened this story with Denny Green's famous rant because it's perfect for the Washington Redskins' 27-23 loss to the New York Giants. We let 'em off the hook. I'm P'O'd about it.

Moral victories were acceptable for the first four games. They are not acceptable now, especially when the team let their win literally slip through their hands.

Check it out. The Redskins committed two interceptions and lost one fumble in their two games against the Giants last year. Three turnovers, two wins over the Giants, and we had Rex Grossman at quarterback.

Today, the normally sure handed Redskins had four, 1-2-3-FOUR, turnovers in one game.

I give this team high marks for playing as well as they do with available talent that does not yet match the Beast. There is no shame in losing to the Super Bowl Giants in their home stadium, but a rookie interception and three lost fumbles are stupid. And they came from the most unexpected sources.    

Robert Griffin III, Alfred Morris, Josh Wilson and Santana Moss, of all people, fumbled. Moss' fumbled was the dagger that killed Washington's slim comeback hopes. It came after an 11-yard gain to the Redskins 43 with about 30 seconds to go. The Giants recovered and that wrapped the game. 

I heard an audible exhale from the New Meadowlands at that point.

Sad, because the Redskins should have won this game. Control time of possession 32:43? Check. Rush for 248 yards and gain 480 yards? Check. Go score for score on the defending champs? Check. Exciting sports entertainment? Check.

Washington did everything it should have done to win, and everything it must not do –gift turnovers and penalties – to lose.  Hog Heaven won't flog the team further. The players will kick themselves all week over this.

Six Observations

Lets call the man Robert Griffin the Great. RGIII doesn't just make the offense look better. He makes the coaching staff look better. Mike Shanahan would not have had the guts to call two fourth-down plays in the same drive with Grossman, John Beck or even Kirk Cousins under center.     

Fans will call for DC Jim Haslett's head again. Coaching isn't the whole story here. Washington's problem with the secondary began with LaRon Landry's slow recovery from assorted leg injuries. Both Landry replacements, Jackson and Meriweather, have been out. CB Cedric Griffin made his first appearance this season. CB David Jones was inactive. Washington is playing little-known Jordan Pugh at safety. Haslett is making do with smoke and mirrors.

His role in how it got that way is a discussion worth having, but it's an off-season discussion not for now. Now is when you focus on getting it done with who you have. Firing the DC mid-season, even making him look over his shoulder, hurts the effort because it hurts the team sense of "we're all in this together." 

Slingin' Sammy Baugh played both ways. I betcha RGIII could play both ways. One of my tweeps suggested that as we watched Josh Wilson and Madieu Williams trail Victor Cruz on the killer 77-yard TD reception.

@skinshogheaven put @rgiii back there. Nobody outruns him.

— Keith B Parsons (@therealkparsons) October 21, 2012

Just sayin'.

The Redskins have been in every game this year at the 4:00 mark. They are so much better than they were last year. They just have to learn to finish. Starting tomorrow, refuse to lose.

40 men who refuse to lose can't be beat. ~ George Allen, or somebody.    

Prayers sent up for my tight end Fred Davis for a full and speedy recovery.

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 22, 2012

Fred Davis is lost for the season. Logan Paulson, not Niles Paul, is next man up. Davis ruptured his Achilles tendon and is lost for the season. Davis was the 'Skins' leading receiver coming into the Giants game. Hog Heaven readers know my feelings about this. It ain't good. That is no knock on Davis or Chris Cooley. There is just something wrong with your passing game if a tight end is the leading receiver.

What's wrong here is that Washington is much too coy about what's ailing the official, No. 1, bought and paid for wide out. A story on usatoday.com says Garcon tore a foot tendon and will be out a few more weeks. 

The NFL fined the Redskins $20,000 for misspeaking of RGIII's concussion in the Atlanta game. If the league is going to be picky about what the team said vs. what they did about a player then, I wonder why they are not looking at what the team is saying or not about Garcon. At this point, no one believes he will play until he actually catches a ball in a live game.

@skinshogheaven Might as well just fill us in the week he comes back. Until then, we can just expect him in street clothes.

— Shae Cronin (@BetBigDC) October 19, 2012

Now will the Redskins call Chris Cooley? My Magic 8 Ball says "Outlook good." My Magic 8 Ball said the Redskins would win today "Without a doubt." 

UPDATE: THE REDSKINS RESIGN COOLEY SAYS WASHINGTON POST.

Let me be clear that it's Logan, not Paul, who should move up. It's difficult to execute a change of position in the NFL. I'm prepared to give Paul all season to do it. Paul hasn't shown me good enough hands to be a receiving tight end, however. That's odd since he came to the league as a wide out. Paul missed on a pass to him at the Giants' two yard line. Griffin never cam back to him.

I believe that was the play Fred Davis Achilles' exploded.    

AP recap on ESPN.com – Manning's TD pass to Victor Cruz rescues Giants from Redskins.

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