Shockingly, Redskins Were Not in the Top 3 Worst Offensive Lines in 2009

It's pretty safe to say the Redskins offensive line was...well, offensive. The only thing that kept me from laughing was watching JC struggle to get up after every hit.

ProFootballFocus.com released their 2009 ratings, and the Redskins ranked an impressive 28th:

No. 28 -- Washington Redskins Two players on the Redskins' offense accounted for a third of the total pressure (even including unassigned pressure) -- if nothing else, it gives a strong indication of what they need to do to improve. Right tackle Stephon Heyer and left tackle Levi Jones had seasons to forget, which will almost certainly lead to Washington pursuing upgrades on both ends of the line. Chris Samuels was not playing anywhere near his best when he was injured early in Week 5, but even this subpar performance was significantly better than what followed. Initially, the Redskins tried moving Heyer across to the left side but this was disastrous, as in those three games he surrendered four sacks, four hits and four pressures. A replacement was signed in Levi Jones (with Heyer moving back to the right side) but unfortunately, watching him play made you wonder how he had ever been well regarded in Cincinnati before his more recent fall from grace. The pure numbers (six sacks, 14 hits and 18 hurries) may not sound stupendously bad but when you remember he only played half a season, the real horror of his play is put in more realistic terms.

When you add to this the fact that Mike Williams (who took over from Heyer when he moved across) also bombed outside and everybody's favorite line of ultimate defense, Portis, only stayed in to block 38 times due to injury (he was as outstanding, as always, nevertheless), the problems were exacerbated. The Redskins didn't find the kind of upgrade on the offensive line in free agency that makes you feel they have sufficiently addressed these problems so like many, we think it couldn't hurt for the 'Skins to get some significant help in the upcoming draft.

I think it's a pretty safe argument that Oakland was indeed the worst. Andre Carter and Orakpo lit up the Raiders' OLine for 8 sacks destroying both of Bruce Gradkowski's knees. The write-up on Levi I thought was harsh, but indeed he did struggle, which is evident in the Redskins obvious decision to not lock him up early. Levi did face Pro-Bowl DE after Pro-Bowl DE each week, but these stats question his ability to be a backup.

With only 10 days until the NFL draft, the Redskins OLine is still horrific as it was when Cerrato anointed it "playoff-caliber."

Bengals, Jets, Fins, Pats and Colts rank out the top five. That usually happens when one drafts linemen.