When Rex Grossman declared in the preseason that he expected his Redskins to finish the 2011 season atop the NFC East, he was laughed at. Grossman, who hadn't even been named the starting quarterback yet, and the Redskins were coming off two straight losing seasons in what was considered a strong division. But lo and behold, five weeks into the season, the Redskins are sitting atop the division at 3-1, all by themselves.
"What I was saying is that I feel like we have a chance to win the East," Grossman said on a conference call with Philadelphia reporters. "We're a good team. (The comment) kind of got into a life of its own. You know how things can snowball into a bold prediction. I just wanted to get the point across that everyone's got confidence in this team and we think we're going to have a great year."
After all the "dream team" nonsense, the Eagles know plenty about an innocuous comment running out of control. But to Grossman's credit, his team has backed up their talk on the field thus far. Yet, there's still a sense of skepticism regarding the Redskins ability to stand their ground as division leaders.
"It takes a while to get respect, especially when you come off a 6-10 season," Grossman said. "If teams take us lightly, it's only to our advantage."
Mired in a four-game losing streak, the Eagles certainly can't afford to take anyone likely with their season on the line come Sunday afternoon. On the flip side, the Redskins won't be taking the 1-4 Eagles lightly, especially after seeing what the team is capable of first-hand when the Eagles most recently stepped onto FedEx Field and exploded for 59 points on Monday Night Football.
"We've mentioned that as a team and coaching staff. It's still in the back of everyone's minds," Grossman said. "We're still as a team and an organization embarrassed about that game, for a lot of different reasons.
"They're so talented offensively and defensively that I feel like they're going to get it together. A lot of the games they lost, they probably should have won, so I view them as a team that is one of the best in the league."
For his part, Grossman has done a solid, if unspectacular, job leading the way for the Redskins. After winning the starting job from John Beck in the preseason, Grossman has thrown for 989 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions for a 78.7 quarterback rating. He knows that one of the keys to success this Sunday will be protecting the ball against an Eagles defense that has only forced five turnovers thus far.
"I think the teams that they've faced have done a good job of taking care of the football," he said. The Eagles "definitely get a great pass rush. I'm just a little surprised about their record, but talent-wise and as a team, they're one of the best. Sometimes it takes quarterbacks to throw you the ball to get a pick. They're doing a good job in pass coverage and we're going to have to be at our best to win."
