When the Washington Redskins were clicking on all cylinders in 2011, they were one team that was hard to stop. It is unbelievable that the Burgundy and Gold were able to dominate the New York Giants in the fashion that they did in both games this past season but the Redskins ended up 5-11 and are sitting at home and now here are the New York Giants as the NFC East Champions getting ready to play in the divisional round against the Green Bay Packers with some handicappers believing that the G-Men have a solid chance of going all the way.

One of the few bright and consistent stars of the 2011 season for Washington was its’ defensive line. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was always quick to mention how good his defensive line was, one that was anchored by Barry Cofield and seen good play all season from Adam Carriker, Stephen Bowen, and the DE/OLB hybrids in rookie sensation Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. There was consistent play that came from the reserves and while the team struggled with the 3-4 defensive scheme during the 2010 season, the team vastly improved to 14th overall in the NFC in 2011 and that ranking certainly could have been higher but was hampered due to the lackluster play by the defensive backfield.

2012 certainly looks to be a good year for the defensive line of the Redskins. All indications at this point are showing that Jim Haslett will be back next season as the defensive coordinator. This will mean another year in the Haslett system and if the team is able to keep the same players, the team will be very solid on defense. Another thing that Skins’ fans have to remember is that 2011 second round pick Jarvis Jenkins from Clemson got hurt and missed the entire season with an ACL injury after looking very good in the early preseason. Rookie Chris Nield from West Virginia also had a good season playing backup to Cofield and if fans remember he was able to get two sacks in that first game of the season against the Giants and was always key on several goal line stands and fourth and short situations during the course of the year.

As long as the core of the contributing players are around for 2012, the Washington Redskins’ defensive line looks to be one of the best in the NFC and possibly the entire league. While there were some skeptics to Jim Haslett and his 3-4 defensive scheme, the defensive line could go a long way next season in showing fans of the BNG and fans of football general that the Redskins are serious about getting back to the glory days of yesteryear.

Chad Morgan is an NFL team writer for The Penalty Flag.  He can be contacted at CMorgan@thepenaltyflagblog.com.

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