I don't have many criticisms with this 2011 Redskins team, but one stat that I believe has hamstrung us signigicantly is Yards After the Catch. Sidenote, am I the only one that cringes when people say "YAC!!" over and over? Moving along, it's clear the Skins leave a ton of yards on the field (dating back to Portis' falling down routine). Whether it's Armstrong catching a long bomb then running out of bounds, Moss or Gaffney falling down to protect their reception, or Grossman not hitting guys in strides, the Redskins flat out suck in this category. For sure there have been times we have kicked a Field Goal for a play that should have been six.
I get we don't have WRs that can break tackles or a QB that can hit WRs in stride, so I pulled up the YAC stats for the NFL to take a closer look. Wes Welker leads the NFL with 288 yards after the catch to give you an idea of the high range. The first Redskin to appear on the list is Fred Davis tied for 52nd with 92 yards.
| Name | Receptions | YAC |
| Fred Davis | 16 | 92 |
| Santana Moss | 21 | 83 |
| Tim Hightower | 10 | 79 |
| Roy Helu | 5 | 66 |
| Jabar Gaffney | 17 | 43 |
| Chris Cooley | 7 | 36 |
| Donte Stallworth | 2 | 16 |
| Anthony Armstrong | 4 | 6 |
Some things that stand out:
- Santana is averaging just under 4 yards after the catch. He goes across the middle a lot, but that is a really low number for that many receptions. A healthy Santana I'd still take.
- Jabar Gaffney also averaging a very low 2.5 YAC. We need better production from our 2 WRs.
- 18 of the spots above Fred Davis are Running Backs. Roy Helu is averaging over 12 yards a reception. Get him in the field. Hopefully the coaches were giving Helu a crash course in pass pro over the BYE. This guy is probably our best player with the ball. Kudos to Hightower as well.
- It can be said protecting the ball and going down after a catch is how a team prevents turnovers. Rex Grossman is the only current Redskins to have fumbled, so there's that.
This week against Philly will be a good chance to bump up those numbers. Practically all of the Bill's pass plays were under 10 yards last week, and since that's what our offense is anyway, let's see our RBs and TEs at work.