Washington Redskins Week 5 postgame Reality Checks

No. 2 – Reality is, Josh Norman has looked vulnerable this season and now he’s dealing with a hamstring issue.

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

Prediction: Norman 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 in 2016. He’s 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.

Reality Check: It might be time to pronounce Josh Norman “done”. He drew a penalty to extend the first Saints’ drive, he got beat several times, and he participated in several of the defensive miscommunications that lead to huge plays for the Saints.

I’m not sure what Norman is contributing if he isn’t communicating and diagnosing effectively. He has never been physically dominant or athletically impressive in his Redskins career. Usually, he has managed to out-think his opponents. In back-to-back weeks, however, he’s looked lost in coverage. This is a bad sign for a guy who can’t make up for mental mistakes.

Here’s what DeAngelo Hall had to say about Norman after the game, per Dan Steinberg: “There comes a point where you just gotta play football. Josh is, I think, in love with being a celebrity right now and not necessarily being a football player. Josh needs to refocus, get back on the grind, get back to the basics technique-wise and really work.”

Ouch.