Opinion -- Redskins finding consistency

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on October 8, 2008 1:51 PM

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Our nation's economy is a train wreck and the upcoming Presidential election has given us as much to choose from as midday television. But, at least one thing in our nation's capitol is proving to be reliable -- the Washington Redskins.

Washington (4-1 overall) rallied from its largest deficit of the season on Sunday to defeat NFC East rival Philadelphia. It was the Redskins' fourth consecutive victory.

After looking like woeful cellar dwellers in a season-opening, 16-7 loss at the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, the Redskins appear to be legitimate playoff contenders. Washington pounded Dallas for 161 yards on the ground in a win at Texas Stadium two weeks ago. The Redskins followed that up on Sunday by roughing up a Philly defense that was allowing just 53.8 yards on the ground for 203 hard-earned yards.

Clinton Portis finished with 145 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Portis isn't the flashy, jump off your television type of back who drives TV ratings the way LaDainian Tomlinson, Reggie Bush or Adrian Peterson do.

Instead, Portis is incredibly consistent. He's second in the league in rushing yards (514) and his 4.5 yards per carry continuously puts his team in manageable third-down situations, which they've converted 40 percent of the time.

Fourth-year quarterback Jason Campbell has now thrown 175 passes without an interception this season, breaking the previous franchise record of 161 held by Hall of Famer Joe Theismann in 1983. Not only is Campbell the league's only starting quarterback who hasn't thrown an interception, but Washington's offense as a whole has yet to commit a turnover.

Defensively, Washington has been plagued by injuries and continues to answer the bell. The Redskins lost both starting corners Shawn Springs and Fred Smoot in their win at Dallas. Washington still managed to hold bruising Cowboys running back Marion Barber to just 26 yards on eight carries. Chris Horton's interception of Tony Romo led to a field goal that extended Washington's lead to 23-17.

On Sunday, the Redskins were without three defensive starters and still held the Eagles without a first down for nearly 30 minutes. Washington forced four straight three-and-outs.

Scheduling wise, Washington couldn't be in a better position. It's only October and the Redskins have already completed the road portion of their NFC East schedule. The Giants, Cowboys and Eagles will all make trips to FedEx Field before the season's end.

Washington will host woeful St. Louis and Cleveland in its next two games before visiting 0-4 Detroit. Winnable games against Seattle, Cincinnati and San Francisco; along with a Monday night home date with Pittsburgh and game at Baltimore remain on the schedule.

With Todd Collins filling in for an injured Campbell, the Redskins won four straight to close out the regular season at 9-7 a year ago before bowing out with a first-round playoff loss at Seattle. Washington could easily finish 11-5 or 12-4 this season and perhaps avoid a first-round road trip.

After a debacle in the season opener, first-year head coach Jim Zorn contemplated overhauling the West Coast offense he installed in the offseason. With all the talk of change swirling around our nation, Zorn and the Redskins deserve credit for believing in the system and staying the course.