Did referees' blunder cost Redskins chance at comeback?

The Washington Redskins were trying to drive down the field to get a win against the New York Giants late in the fourth quarter Sunday. But an unusual blunder made by the officiating crew might have put the kibosh on any Redskins chances to win the game.

On second and five from the Washington 41 yard line, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III threw a short pass to Pierre Garcon who fought for the first down. It looked like he was short and should’ve been ruled a third and one. They could’ve even brought the chains out to measure it. Instead, they signaled it was first down and moved the chains. They even changed the down box to a first down.

Thinking it was first down, the Redskins then threw a pass deep down the middle of the field to tight end Fred Davis for an incompletion. The referees then called the next play fourth and one, when the Redskins and head coach Mike Shanahan thought it was second down.

According to NBC play-by-play commentator Al Michaels after the game, Shanahan asked for a measurement from the sideline official who told him he didn’t need one because it was first down. Had they known it was third and one offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan likely would have called a different play. 

There were no playoff implications at stake but as Michaels' colleague Cris Collinsworth said moments after the Giants defeated the Redskins, "This is professional football, this is not supposed to happen."

"They really screwed this thing up," Michaels said at the time.

"You can't do that," Collinsworth added.

"Well, he just did," Michaels said, adding, "We saw it -- it was short of the first down, the chain gang moved to the first-down position, and then [Jeff] Triplette comes in after the play and says they didn't get the first down. I don't blame Mike (Shanahan) for being crazy about it."

"You can't do that!" Collinsworth interrupted. "You don't run that play if know what the down is -- you can't go back like that!"

"Absolutely," Michaels agreed. "(The officials) shouldn't have let the play go off before measuring."

When close like that, coach knows he needs to get his signal from R who always indicates down. Down box is never official
— Football Zebras.com (@footballzebras) December 2, 2013

The irony is that Triplette, considered one of the worst referees in any sport by many fans, was actually signally third down on the play in question (you can see him, in the Redskins' backfield, doing just that in the .GIF above). Why his crew completely ignored him is another matter entirely.

As for why Triplette didn't stop the clock when he saw the chains moving for a first down, well, maybe this explanation helps:

Triplette cannot -- CANNOT -- stop the clock in this case, b/c WAS gets free timeout. Triplette signaled 3rd down twice in the hurry-up
— Football Zebras.com (@footballzebras) December 2, 2013

RG3 gets kicked in the cojones by 49ers' Aldon Smith (GIFs)

To say Robert Griffin III was having a rough time Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers might be an real understatement — and that was before this play. While attempting to get off a pass as the defense closed in around him, RG3 took a kick to his nether regions from 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith during the third quarter.

And the Redskins quarterback went on to call signals as a soprano for the rest of the game.

Here's more of the poor guy's agony.

Redskins fan gets likeness of RG3 shaved onto head (PHOTO)

A Redskins fan is so enamored of Robert Griffin III he had a likeness of the quarterback shaved into the back of his head. Last year's NFL darling has led the 'Skins to a disappointing 1-3 start in 2013, so I guess you could call the RG3 haircut this year's version of a "Fade."

Too soon?

Anyway, if you're stoked about getting this RG3 hairstyle you'll need to head out of D.C. because the intricate haircut was done by Illinois-based barber Jesus Cruz, who seems to have a thing for highly-detailed cuts. You can checkout other haircuts done by Cruz on his Instagram page. And some are pretty awesome.

One suggestion though. Get it without the granny glasses. 

Victor Cruz calls Redskins 'team to beat' in NFC

If any NFL team is familiar with the landscape of the NFC playoff scenario this year, it's the New York Giants.

The defending Super Bowl champions, played four of the conference's six playoff teams this season.  Throw in a couple of AFC playoff teams and that's a pretty brutal schedule and first-hand knowledge of the playoff picture.

Victor Cruz has weighed in with his own pick of which NFC team will make some noise during the playoffs and, albeit a little begrudged, likes the Washington Redskins chances this postseason.

The pick comes with a grain of salt for the All-Pro receiver.

"It's tough for me to say this because we play in the same division as them, but I think Washington is having a good year," Cruz told WFAN Radio Wednesday.  "They're having a year similar to us last year where they're kicking up at the right time. They're playing some good football.  Typically the team that is playing the best towards the end of the year is the team that is going to potentially win it all."

The No. 4-seeded Redskins (10-6) won their final seven games to overtake the Giants and win the NFC East title — including a Week 13 victory over Big Blue in Washington.  Cruz was unconvinced about the Redskins' potential leading up to that game and thought they were "still a few pieces away" from being a playoff contender.

The 'Skins seven-game roll has changed Cruz's opinion of his rivals even as they face another streaking team, the Seattle Seahawks (11-5), in a Wild Card game this weekend.

"I think they have a tough task in front of them with Seattle," said Cruz.  "But I think they're the team to beat for sure.

"They've got the upper hand right now," Cruz added.  "They're all on the same page, they're all buying in, RG3 is playing great football right now.  I think they got the advantage right now."

With that out of the way, Cruz can get back to his contract talks with the Giants.

Osi praises Brees despite teammate Rolle's lecture

The other day Antrel Rolle went on a mini-rant scolding his New York Giants teammates for gushing over opponent Robert Griffin III before the team played the Washington Redskins.

Yesterday, despite Rolle's call for his team to get "back to being nasty," Osi Umenyiora was downright complimentary towards Drew Brees — the quarterback the Giants will face this Sunday.

Drew Brees "is one of the best quarterbacks in the league," the Giants defensive end wasn't afraid to say out loud — whether or not Rolle liked it or not.

It may not exactly be the pregame "hugs and kisses" that Rolle believed was showered on RG3, but it didn't sound like the "nasty attitude" he was hoping for either.

Rolle jumped all over his teammates after the Giants critical 17-16 loss to the Redskins and was under the impression that the Giants had lost their edge by being nice to Griffin III before the NFC East showdown.

Umenyiora, on the other hand, doesn't any correlation between praising a player before the game and what takes place on the field.

"There's definitely no carryover for that," said Unenyiora.  "I think a lot of times you like to build somebody up only to tear them down.  You don't want to give anyone bulletin board material.  You don't want to say, 'Oh, these guys suck' and he comes out and throws for 13 touchdowns on you.  So if anything you want to err on the side of caution and say how good he is and then go out there and knock his head off."

Asked what he thought about Rolle giving notice that the Giants "need to start giving more credit after the game as opposed to before the game," Umenyiora was diplomatic.

"That's Antel's opinion," said Umenyiora.  "But at the end of the day, if a guy's a good player I'm going to call him a good player, period."

Rolle might have only been trying to compel his team to introduce rookies like RG3 to the rough and tumble NFC East, and not be the division's version of the Welcome Wagon.

Brees is another case.  The New Orleans Saints quarterback in an NFL veteran with a Super Bowl ring.  He has earned the respect of defenses around the league.

"We're playing Drew Brees," said Umenyiora.  He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league.  I'm going to say he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

"If anybody has a problem with that, I guess they can take it up with me in private."

Robert Griffin III: President Obama would play ball 'with' me, not 'against' me

Robert Griffin III cracked up The Tonight Show with Jay Leno audience after telling the host that he has met President Barack Obama and challenged him to a game of basketball.

"I have met him, I have not been to the White House since he's been there," said RG3. "I heard he's a huge basketball fan, and I challenged him to a game of basketball.  But he told me he wouldn't play me."

"He's not afraid or anything."

The new Washington Redskins quarterback paused and laughed,  "I did not say that."

Griffin continued, "[Obama] said that he would play with me. We can play on the same team, maybe take on you [Leno] and whoever else you want to bring... not against me."

RG3 sure knows how to work a crowd and he went on to talk about how he proposed to his girlfriend Rebecca Liddicoat after Baylor clinched its first bowl appearance in 16 years.

"I didn't do it on the field like the big cliche," he said.  "So I actually did it after the game, brought her to our indoor facility."

He gave a pair of his signature Adidas socks to Leno and House star Hugh Laurie to whom he turned and cracked," Mr. Hugh, I don't know if you like socks, but you can cut these up and make a tie out of them."

The ubiquitous Griffin had Laurie and the audience rolling in the aisles.

RG3 passed his late night debut with flying colors, now we'll wait and see how he passes against NFL defenses.

RG3 shows off "Go Catch Your Dream" socks at Draft

It was no big secret that quarterback Robert Griffin III would be going to the Washington Redskins as the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft but it looks like RG3 is already wearing part of their uniform.

The Heisman Trophy winner is known as a man who loves his socks and tonight on the stage at Radio City Music Hall, Griffin showed off a nifty pair of hose with the phrase "Go Catch Your Dream" embroidered over striped Redskins colors— burgundy and gold.

Griffin attributed the words to Art Briles— his former head coach at Baylor— who not only said "Go Chase Your Dreams" but finish the job and "catch them."

It looks like RG3 is on his way to doing both.

Robert Griffin III: Giants pass rush doesn't scare me

Robert Griffin III has been the talk of New York this week as he makes his way around town before Thursday night's 2012 NFL Draft, but the future quarterback of the Washington Redskins might have picked his own words a little better last night.

The projected No. 2 pick says the prospect of facing the New York Giants ferocious pass rush of Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora does not scare him.

"I'm not going to play with fear," Griffin III said.  "I'm a talented guy and  I respect talent.  I respect Pierre-Paul, I respect Tuck, Umenyiora all of those guys, but I am not going to go out and play as if I'm scared they are going to sack me."

RG3, the headline player posed with former-NFL great Barry Sanders at EA sport's NCAA Football '13 Draft Party at Lavo nightclub on Tuesday.  He said he isn't going to change the way he approached the game in college.

"That's the one thing I've never done as a player," he said.  "Never play with fear, always play fearless but respect your opponent.  Those guys are so great, so use your strength against them."

The Heisman Trophy winner believes he can lead his team to victory without scoring a lot of points.

"From what I heard, you score 21 points in the league and you win 70 percent of your games," said the QB.  "I come from the Big 12, where if you score 56 points you might win a couple so I look forward to only having to score only 21 points and win, it's a great feeling."

The naivety of youth.  Hate to break this to you RG3, first, you have to score 21 points.

Griffin III attributes the evolution of quarterbacks— from pure drop-back passers to modern NFL signal callers who can play inside and outside the pocket— to some past and present Giants pass rushers.

"First and foremost, you have to blame guys like Mike Strahan, Reggie White, Justin Tuck for making quarterbacks more mobile," he said.  "The game always evolves, because defensive linemen are so mobile now, quarterbacks have to be able to move a little bit.  They don't have to be world-class speed guys but they have to be able to move."

It looks like RG3 is ready to work with Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and be embraced by the playoff-starved Hogs fans.

"The way I look at it, it shows that not only is a team aligned with its fan base, but also the team believes in you," Griffin III said.  "I love that, I wanted a team to fall in love with me and I can't be mad about that."

"It's not a knock on the Colts, but they never had a moment like that, it was always back and forth.  Washington made a decision and said, 'look, we want this guy,' I'm humbled by that."

Don't expect the same love from the Giants.

RG3 immortalized in bust made out of BBQ chicken

Yesterday, Robert Griffin III called himself the "face of a franchise"and today he is just that.  Only this face is made out of chicken.

The former Heisman Trophy winner and projected No. 2 pick in Thursday's 2012 NFL Draft unveiled a "life-size" bust of himself made out of bread and BBQ chicken at his introduction as Subway sandwich shops newest spokesperson.

More than 300 pieces of chicken were used to create the artistic representation of the football star— with a head the size of a defensive tackle— which the quarterback happily posed with at a mid-town Manhattan Subway shop.

It looked eerily more like the late pop singer Michael Jackson than the former-Baylor QB.

RG3 is making the rounds in New York while he prepares to be selected by the Washington Redskins at Thursday night's draft at Radio City Music Hall.

The sculpture was made by artist James Victor, stands about three feet tall and is made almost entirely out of chicken with shoulder pads of bread.

The Redskins are probably hoping there's not a trace of baloney or any other kind of "bust" in their real life pick.