Riggo's Rag
FanSided

Redskins Reality Check: Realistic predictions for the team in Week 5 vs. Saints

By Tim Payne

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints is tackled by DeAngelo Hall #23 of the Washington Redskins during the first half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 19: Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints is tackled by DeAngelo Hall #23 of the Washington Redskins during the first half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 04: Josh Norman #24 of the Washington Redskins kneels on the field during the fourth quarter of a game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Redskins 31-23. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – DECEMBER 04: Josh Norman #24 of the Washington Redskins kneels on the field during the fourth quarter of a game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 4, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Redskins 31-23. (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images) /

2. Reality is, Josh Norman has looked vulnerable this season and now he’s dealing with a hamstring issue.

I’m not ready to pronounce Josh Norman “done” or “bad”, but I think it’s fair to say he hasn’t been a shutdown corner this season (or last, really). Is he still better than a lot of corners in the league? Yes. Is he still a valuable part of this team? Yes. But is a week like this against an offense like this an opportune time for Norman to lead the way with his best performance of the season? You better believe it.

With the accuracy of Drew Brees, it’s unrealistic to expect any corner to shut down pretty much any quality receiver against the Saints, but we should expect from Norman that he can hold his own and manage to put together a quality start against the Saints. We should rightfully be upset if Josh is burned for another long TD without also managing a positive game-changing play.

Prediction: Josh will play but will be a bit less than 100 -percent with that hamstring injury, and we’ll see more of the same from him. Decent-to-solid cornerback play, but nothing close to the level of quality the team hoped for when they signed him to that blockbuster deal.

Norman is a proud and smart player, and he knows he didn’t play great against Green Bay. So, he won’t give up anything back-breaking, but he also won’t make any spectacular plays.

Home/Commanders News