1. I recall a time not too long ago when I felt that we all needed to get and stay excited about a team led by our defense. Prior to last year, our defense had enjoyed a handful of very successful years. The first campaign under Jim Haslett's command saw a ridiculous fall from grace for a once proud unit (as proud as you can be without making many playoff appearances.) After the performance of this defense after four games in 2011, I am back to that sentiment. Perfect? No. Good enough to win games? It would appear so. (I know it was just the Rams, so save that one...we can only play the games on our schedule.)
2. You would expect that our team could handle the winless Rams. Therein lies the success of this young team. Living up to expectations has been where the Redskins have failed time and time again. Since the preseason, this squad has exceeded my expectations at almost every turn.
3. You could find yourself so pleasantly surprised at the 3-1 record going into the bye that you would consider awarding an "A" to this team. I think I may already be guilty of easy grading. There are some real issues to iron out before we kick off the second quarter of this season against the Eagles. Unforced errors keep this team out of "A" range in my opinion.
4. We are legit at running back right now. I am trying to think back to a time when we had three guys who were pretty much all good enough to start. Byner, Riggs and Ervins come to mind. Parker, Johnson and Portis do not.
5. Will someone please tell Austin Pettis that it's okay to fair catch the ball? He is like the EXACT opposite of Antwan Randle-El.
6. Who would you rate as our best offensive lineman so far this season? Is anyone leaning toward Chris Chester or Kory Lichtensteiger? I feel like the interior of our line has been a real strength so far in our success. Then again, Trent Williams is going up against Pro Bowl caliber pass rushers every week it seems.