Leaving the Redskins game at the end of the third quarter was a good strategy Sunday for any fan. Who could bear to watch another John Beck screen pass to Roy Helu? Sonny Jurgensen sure couldn’t. In the fourth quarter, the Redskins radio voice pleaded for a downfield pass. When Washington finally scored its first touchdown in eight quarters, Jurgensen led a joyous rendition of a parade march — not sure, maybe “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
With 14 catches Sunday in the Redskins’ unsightly 19-11 loss the 49ers, Helu set a Redskins single-game record, more than Hall of Famers Bobby Mitchell, Charley Taylor or Art Monk. Helu’s mark will stand as an anomaly and a reminder of how bad things got during the Beck/Grossman Era, which may last only one season.
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Throwing this many times to Helu might have been a good strategy … last week against Buffalo. That was when the Redskins set another record when Beck was sacked 10 times. Washington yielded only one sack Sunday. If this is progress, it’s scary to think what the Redskins’ brain trust has in store for next week in Miami.
Talk about getting on one thing. According to ESPN, Beck threw 66 percent of his passes (31 of 47) within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Seventeen of those went to Helu, three more than any NFL running back had been targeted in a game in four seasons. This coming on an afternoon in which Redskins backs rushed only 11 times?
Excuse me, but when did Roy Helu become Don Hudson? Or do Mike and Kyle Shanahan just like hearing the PA announcer say “Hel-luuuu”?
Sure, the Redskins’ offense is banged up. But how easy is it to defend a team that rushes 15 times and throws 47 passes, most of them short? When posed the question postgame, Mike Shanahan cut off a reporter.
“It’s a zone defensive team. What you have to do is consistently throw the short passes,” Shanahan said. “They weren’t going to give us a chance to get the big play throughout the game.”
If that’s all the Shanahans can come up with, the Redskins can expect to see plenty of zone the rest of the way.
– Kevin Dunleavy
