Allgemeines » Following his prime-time benching and criticism

LANDOVER Landon Collins Jersey , Md. (AP) — Following his prime-time benching and criticism from a former teammate, Josh Norman wanted to shut off his phone because the noise was getting so loud.Then, he silenced it all.Norman bounced back from one of the worst games of his career by intercepting Cam Newton and forcing a fumble in the Washington Redskins‘ 23-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.Longtime Redskins safety DeAngelo Hall said Norman had gone “Hollywood,” speculation swirled about his value to the Redskins and the flashy cornerback was on the defensive even when he wasn’t on the field.“It was like I was playing cornerback against everybody,” said Norman, who had two game-altering plays and four tackles to put an embarrassing showing at New Orleans behind him. “I played within the defense and played within myself.”Defensive teammates mobbed Norman after each of his forced turnovers. After a defensive unit dinner earlier in the week, Norman led the way for a group that made a crucial stop at its 16-yard line to hold on for the victory.“He came out and performed as he should,” safety D.J. Swearinger said. “We needed that from him. He needed that for himself. And we needed to see that as a group.”Norman ended his 19-game interception drought by catching a jump ball thrown by Newton on a third-and-long play early in the second quarter, his first pick since Dec. 24, 2016. Norman also popped the ball out of Panthers rookie receiver D.J. Moore’s hands in a showcase performance against the team that abruptly cut ties with him after his All-Pro 2015 season.“It’s fitting that we break that little streak against them,” a smiling Norman said. “I guess we got a flair for the dramatic somehow.”Newton threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 27 of 40 passing and rushed for 43 yards in a turnover-marred loss. He engineered a late drive that got the Panthers into the red zone before stalling out.Carolina (3-2) was long before that doomed by turnovers, including Moore’s on a punt return that set up Alex Smith’s 22-yard TD pass to Vernon Davis.“We kind of dug ourselves in a hole early Jordan Reed Jersey ,” Newton said. “We still found a way to put ourselves in a winning position, but we didn’t. We’ll get better from it.”Adrian Peterson rushed for 97 yards on 17 carries and Smith connected on touchdown passes to Davis and Paul Richardson for the Redskins (3-2), who looked like an entirely different team than the one that got stomped 43-19 by New Orleans on Monday night — when coach Jay Gruden benched Norman in the second half.BIG-GUY CATCHESOffensive linemen saved their quarterbacks with some heads-up, sure-handed plays.When the ball popped out of Newton’s hands late in the first quarter, Panthers left guard Greg Van Roten caught it and made up some ground — but got only a 7-yard loss as credit for his efforts.Redskins left tackle Trent Williams caught the ball when Smith fumbled early in the fourth and rushed for 8 yards to help set up a field goal by Dustin Hopkins.“When I caught it, I just tried to go north and get a couple yards,” Williams said. “Definitely didn’t want to fumble it.”KICK OUT OF ITAfter hitting a 63-yard winner last week, Carolina’s Graham Gano missed his first kick of any kind this season when he was wide left on the extra-point attempt following Newton’s TD pass to Devin Funchess. Gano, who played for the Redskins from 2009-11, entered 7 of 7 on field goals and 11 of 11 on extra points.Hopkins connected on a 56-yard field goal that made it 20-6, the longest of his NFL career.INJURIESPanthers: DT Kyle Love was slow to get up after being injured midway through the fourth quarter. … TE Greg Olsen returned after missing three games with a broken right foot. … WR Damiere Byrd was out with an ankle injury, forcing Moore into return duties.Redskins: RG Brandon Scherff tweaked his knee on a fourth-down play in the third quarter Derrius Guice Jersey , but returned on the next drive. … RB Chris Thompson missed the game with rib and knee injuries, while WR Jamison Crowder sat out with an ankle injury.UP NEXTPanthers: Visit the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.Redskins: Host the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. This season hasn’t gone exactly as planned for the Redskins. Hell, I’m not even going to try and sugar-coat it any longer - the team is a steaming pile of garbage, led by the worst front office executive in the NFL...Bruce Allen!But, as the season nears its end, there are a few things Redskins fans can look forward to before the new league year begins in March. Black Monday:Black Monday is the name given to the day after the NFL’s regular season ends, where coaching and front office firings are prevalent.The Redskins could be VERY active on Black Monday - and the days following. There is a lot of smoke surrounding some members of the staff; even head coach Jay Gruden. And, as usual, there is smoke surrounding Team President Bruce Allen - although I wouldn’t hold my breath on this one. If Gruden were to get relieved of his duties come Black Monday, it would be WISE for the team to hire a true General Manager before they began a new coaching search.Even if Gruden is retained for another season, we very well may see Manusky and Callahan fired come Monday or shortly there after. Hiring a GM:This team needs a leader on the FOOTBALL side of things to run the daily operations. As I mentioned above, if Gruden is fired at season’s end Jonathan Allen Jersey , it would be wise to have a General Manager in place to conduct the coaching search. It’s possible that GM candidates have already been vetted by the organization, and maybe a a promotion from within is on the horizon. Guys like Doug Williams and Kyle Smith are names that keep popping up. Another name to watch is Louis Riddick. The current ESPN analyst was with the Redskins before in a scouting/personnel role, and it’s been hinted on social media that the team may be seeing a familiar face return soon. Could this face be Riddick?Will the Redskins look elsewhere to fill the GM position that has been vacant since Scot McCloughan was fired?Re-working the Front Office:Aside from the possibility of hiring a real GM, there could be some re-working of the front office structure.If our dreams come true, Bruce Allen would be sent packing. That may not happen, but Allen being “re-assigned” to a non-football role is a possibility. There is no secret that Dan Synder is enamored with Senior Vice President of Football Operations Eric Schaffer, and a promotion may be long overdue for the well-respective executive. There could also be some movement if the team decides to promote a General Manager from within, or back-fill Shaffer’s role if he were to be elevated. Coaching Search:Coaches will be fired - make no mistake about that. Who they will be is still a mystery. The search for new coaches will be of great interest to Redskins fans. If Gruden is fired, the search for his replacement will keep fans occupied and debating for weeks. More interesting to me will be who is chosen to run the defense, and what type of system they will bring in. I see no way Greg Manusky can be retained as Defensive Coordinator after his unit’s mid-season collapse, and fights with players about how he calls games. What are you looking forward to when the season ends for the Redskins this Sunday afternoon?