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Washington Spank Houston With Solid Defensive Effort

It would have been easy to let their foot off the gas after their huge win over the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. Instead, the Washington Commanders doubled down and earned a decisive 23-10 victory over a Houston Texans team that never really even got into the game. The Commanders’ victory put them at 6-5 and above .500, for the first time since winning their season opener.

Taylor Heinicke earned himself another new pair of shoes. This time a red, white and blue pair.

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Mistakes Prove Costly in Redskins’ Season Opener

Were it not for a couple of critical mistakes at critical times for the Washington Redskins on Sunday, they might have endured a better fate than the 17-6 loss that they suffered to the Houston Texans. But as someone really old and wise that I know used to say, “If ifs were skiffs, we’d all be at sea.” Vital fumbles in the Red Zone on a handoff from Robert Griffin III to Alfred Morris, and a Niles Paul drop, proved to be wasted opportunities that Washington simply could not overcome.

“Inexcusable to have turnovers in the Red Zone,” said coach Jay Gruden in the post-game press conference. Gruden was obviously disappointed to see his first game as an NFL head coach, end in a loss. He’s absolutely right though. Paul especially should have to sew a football to his hand for the week to learn the importance of holding on to it. But hey coach, it’s inexcusable to not utilize a running attack that was gashing the Texans all day long too, so I understand your chagrin. Just saying.

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Another Washington Redskins Season Is Upon Us

With more than thirty Redskins seasons under my belt, I am still always surprised at my level of anticipation in the week immediately preceding opening day. In the world before the internet – that did exist as hard as it may be for some of you to fathom – opening day for this Canadian lad, meant little more than sitting on the edge of a seat, anxiously awaiting the first glimpse at all the shiny new toys that you read about in the Street & Smith the month before. That’s if I had the good grace that the game was on television, which was more of an exception, than the norm anyway.

With the internet, came access. Slowly but surely those dark days between the last game and the next first game got shorter and shorter. Tapping into the Redskins matrix myself in 2002 with this site, meant not only getting more plugged in, but ultimately more plugged in than I could have ever really imagined. And that “offseason” got shorter and shorter. In the early days it was just draft coverage. Then it moved to draft and combine coverage, and expanded further still into player analysis of all draft eligibles, and the list went on and on and on. Eventually it reached the point where there just wasn’t an offseason.

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Redskins Preparing for Free Agency

Entering free agency with an abundance of cap space gives the Redskins lots of options to fill plenty of needs, even after re-signing cornerback DeAngelo Hall, defensive tackle Chris Baker, safety Jose Gumbs and franchising linebacker Brian Orakpo.

The Redskins dropped off dramatically after a division title in 2012. Following a 10-6 season they returned back to the NFC East basement in 2013 with a 3-13 record and no first-round pick to show for it.

That, coupled with their $36 million cap penalty for 2012 and 2013, makes this free agency period more important than normal.

Washington was tied with the Chicago Bears in 2013 for allowing the second most points points per game (29.9), which means the defense, specifically the secondary, will be a high priority in this free agent class.

So who might the Redskins target to improve their roster? Let’s take a look at who the team reportedly has their sights set on based on reports from local Redskins beat writers.

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Redskins Continue to Expand Coaching Search

By Jake Russell

With two interviews already in the books and two more occurring this weekend, the Redskins continue to cast their net far and wide for a potential head coach, gathering information from an extensive range of candidates.

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Interview with Texans running back Ben Tate

This summer, I’ve been given the opportunity to write a piece for What’s Up? Annapolis Magazine to profile local athletes from Anne Arundel County (my home county) and Maryland’s Eastern Shore who have made it to the professional level.

I’ve been trying to kick it into second gear and actually talk to some of these players.

Fortunately, some have been receptive, including Houston Texans running back Ben Tate, who grew up on the Eastern Shore.

I had the chance to talk to him on Thursday. Most of the conversation centered around his time growing up in Salisbury and going to school in Berlin, Md. and how it helped him get to where he’s at now.

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Leftovers – Week 6

Andre

In this week’s edition of Leftovers, Andre Carter talks about returning to a 3-point stance, preparing for Peyton Manning, the physical play of the defense and the parity of the NFL so far this year.

To read this week’s edition of THN Weekly, click here: THN Weekly with Andre Carter – Week 6

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Leftovers – Week 3

Andre

In this week’s edition of Leftovers, Andre Carter talks about the running game, Albert Haynesworth’s deactivation against the Texans and about the passing of Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley.

To read this weeks edition of THN Weekly, click here: THN Weekly with Andre Carter – Week 3

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