31-year old QB Rex Grossman is playing better as of late.  In three of his last four games, the “good Rex Grossman” has shown up.  In his last four games, Grossman has completed 89 of 151 passes (58.9%) for 1,079 yards with 6 TD passes and 5 INTs.  He has now played in 10 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 202 of 348 passes (58%) for 2,426 yards with 12 TD passes and 16 INTs (71.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 19 times for 12 yards (0.6 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  The Redskins will likely look to replace Grossman as the starting QB in 2012, but he will have no problem finding a new gig if the Skins let him go.

22-year old rookie RB Roy Helu has been really solid lately for the Redskins as he is taking over as the #1 RB.  In his last two games, Helu has carried the ball 46 times for 208 yards (4.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 11 passes for 96 yards (8.7 avg) in his last two games.  Helu has now played in 12 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has carried the ball 97 times for 456 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 42 passes for 309 yards (7.4 avg) so far this year.  Helu is just further proof that Mike Shanahan can make almost any RB a good one in his system.

25-year old TE Fred Davis has really stepped up this season with Chris Cooley on the shelf due to injury.  Davis has played in 11 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has caught 53 passes for 697 yards (13.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Redskins’ QBs have completed 53 of 75 passes (70.7%) thrown in Davis’ direction, and that is pretty amazing when you consider that Rex Grossman and John Beck are the guys throwing him the ball!  Davis has now played in 54 games in his first four years with the Redskins and he has caught 125 passes for 1,549 yards (12.4 avg) with 12 TD grabs.

25-year old OLB Brian Orakpo has really been playing well for the Redskins this year.  He has played in 9 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has 33 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  Orakpo has now played in 40 games in his first three years with the Redskins and he has 139 tackles, 25 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 6 passes defensed, 4 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  The Redskins need Orakpo to keep up the good work as he is leading the team in sacks so far this year.

Tim Hightower, Ryan Torain and Roy Helu are working well as a group for the Redskins so far this year.  The Redskins are averaging 109.8 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so far this year.  Tim Hightower has the most rushing yards for the Redskins so far this year with 233 of them on 67 carries (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Hightower missed last weekend’s game with a banged up shoulder, but he should be back in action against the Panthers this weekend.  Ryan Torain is a favorite of Mike Shanahan’s since their days together with the Broncos.  Torain has played in 2 games this year for the Redskins and he has carried the ball 29 times for 157 yards (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Rookie Roy Helu has made a good first impression for the Redskins so far this year.  He has played in five games for the Redskins so far this year and he has carried the ball 26 times for 132 yards (5.1 ypc).  Helu has also caught 7 passes for 66 yards (9.4 avg) so far in 2011.  The Redskins need this trio of RBs to keep up the good work because they need balance on offense to protect their QBs.

The Redskins are only running the ball 42.1% of the time so far this year, and you have to think that Mike Shanahan would like to get that % closer to 50/50.  25-year old Tim Hightower has been doing most of the work in the running game for the Redskins so far this year.  He has played in all 3 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has carried the ball 59 times for 209 yards (3.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 9 passes for 74 yards (8.2 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  22-year old rookie RB Roy Helu could push Hightower for touches soon.  Helu has played in all 3 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has carried the ball 16 times for 91 yards (5.7 ypc).  Helu has also caught 5 passes for 55 yards (11.0 avg) so far this year.  The Redskins hope that Hightower and Helu will give them a solid running game the rest of the season.

There appears to be a changing of the guard at TE for the Redskins.  25-year old Fred Davis appears to have taken over as the starting TE, leaving 29-year old Chris Cooley on the bench a lot.  Davis has played in both games for the Redskins this year and he has caught 11 passes for 191 yards (17.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 45 games in his first four years with the Redskins and he has caught 83 passes for 1,043 yards (12.6 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  Chris Cooley came into this season kind of gimpy with a bad knee and that could be the biggest reason why Davis has bumped him to the bench.  Cooley has played in both of the Redskins’ games so far this year and he has caught only 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg).  Cooley has now played in 105 games in his first 8 years with the Redskins and he has caught 422 passes for 4,659 yards (11.0 avg) with 33 TD grabs.

31-year old QB Rex Grossman really paid back head coach Mike Shanahan for his confidence in him last weekend against the Giants.  Grossman completed 21 of 34 passes (61.8%) for 305 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs  (110.5 QB Rating).  He has now played in 5 games in his two years with the Redskins and he has completed 95 of 167 passes (56.9%) for 1,189 yards with 9 TD passes and 4 INTs (87.1 QB Rating).  Grossman has led a team to the Super Bowl (Bears), so he knows how to win.

35-year old inside linebacker London Fletcher is showing no signs of slowing down as he is still a tackling machine.  Fletcher has played in 15 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has 127 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defensed, 1 interception, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.  Fletcher has now played in 207 games in his first 13 years in the NFL and he has 1,607 tackles, 32.5 sacks, 71 passes defensed, 15 forced fumbles and 16 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  I see no reason to think that London Fletcher won’t continue being a tackling machine in 2011.

When Clinton Portis was injured (serious groin injury) the Redskins needed someone to step up at running back.  So far, 24-year old Ryan Torain has been that guy.  He has played in 4 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has carried the ball 61 times for 256 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Torain has also caught 5 passes for 36 yards (7.2 avg) so far this year.  Redskins’ head coach Mike Shanahan drafted Torain in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft and he didn’t forget about him when he got to Washington.  So far, Torain has rewarded Shanahan for his faith in him.  The Redskins hope that Torain can handle the load in the running game until Portis is ready to return to action.