When Baron von Frankenstein re-created life in his monster, he didn’t do it in a leaky barn. He didn’t work inside a tent, unprotected by the elements. No, he worked inside a safe, secure castle because the Baron knew he needed such an environment to concentrate on and evaluate his experiment.
Baron von Shanahan, though, is trying to breathe life into the Washington Redskins from inside a cardboard box. He’s conducting his experiments without that safe, secure space.
In other words, Shanahan is trying to concentrate and evaluate without a solid offensive line.
There’s much fault to find following the Redskins’ 19-11 loss on Sunday to the San Francisco 49ers, which came on the heels of the 23-0 loss the week before to the Buffalo Bills.
But the major difference between the 3-1 Redskins and the 3-5 Redskins is the offensive line. The line is where it all starts in the NFL — particularly in the league’s pass-happy environment — and the Redskins’ is battered, bruised and broken midway through the season.
Consider this: The Redskins have lost four straight since starting left guard Kory Lichtensteiger went out early in the loss to the Eagles on Oct. 16 with season-ending torn knee ligaments.
Lichtensteiger had become a good offensive lineman in the Shan?ahan system, but we’re not talking about Russ Grimm here. Yet the loss of Lichtensteiger — along with Trent Williams’ two-game absence with an ankle sprain and Jammal Brown perhaps falling apart again, missing playing time Sunday with a strained groin — has turned the Redskins’ offense into a quivering pile of ugliness.
It is preventing Shanahan from concentrating and evaluating while trying to sew together the various body parts of the Redskins.
How can he determine how good a quarterback Rex Grossman can be or how bad a quarterback John Beck is under these conditions? How can he evaluate his young receivers or his running game when they are under siege?
Shanahan had to gather a lot of parts to rebuild this Redskins organization. In the offseason, he and general manager Bruce Allen concentrated on the defense — both in free agency with the signings of Barry Cofield, Stephen Bowen and others and in the draft with Ryan Kerrigan.
The defense certainly needed attention. But safety and security in the NFL starts on the offensive line, and building better depth should have been Baron von Shanahan’s top priority.
Without it, when the villagers come with pitchforks and torches — and they are coming — all that stands between the Baron and the mob is chicken wire.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
