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Well I predicted 5 wins. Every year, I have us penciled in for 10-12 wins and more often that not, I'm sorely disappointed. So this year, I'm going to think the worst so I don't get disappointed in another bad season. If they turn in a playoff run season, I'll be surprisingly pleased.

But here's why I'm not too high on this season.

1. QB situation. Campbell was decent last year, but he's still very very green and unproven. His mobility is also a concern for me. I like the kid, but I'm not very comfortable with him as a starter on a team that has aspirations for big things in Gibbs last year. As for our backups if Campbell sucks, well, let's just move on...

2. OLine: Overrated as it is, they are starting to get old and injury prone.

3. DLine: The Redskins of yore won games by dominating the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The team did absolutely nothing to improve a line that couldn't rush the passer or stop the run last season. Fine, our LBs and secondary is good, but not addressing this over the offseason will come back to haunt them.

4. The division. I have us losing all six games. I think that all 3 teams are far superior to the Skins. The rest of the schedule doesn't look very easy either.

5. FedEx Field. I've ranted about this apocalypse in the past and won't spend more time doing it now, but let's just say, that home field advantage isn't what is used to be.

6. Gibbs. I don't know. Nothing he's done in his second act will EVER diminish what he did in first act. Like MJ, those memories won't be tainted IMO. But I think his days as an elite head football coach are over. The layoff was too just long for him and the game changed too much.

The reason I'm optimistic is because we were three wins out of the playoffs last year with a roster that was filled with major injuries.

The NFC hasn't gotten better and might as well suck just like last year. The things I'm optimistic about:

1. Our defense is too good to suck this year. I see Philip Daniels as a weakness. Thats it.

2. Second season in Al Saunders offense. Players are more comfortable and we finally have a QB whos not only athletic but smart. If our defense can perform like it has in the past under Gregg Williams, a mediocre offense can carry us to the playoffs. I expect our offense to be more than just mediocre. Cooley, Portis, Betts, Moss is better than what most teams can wish for. Our offense line while overrated, is still better than most in the NFC.

3. I still believe in Gibbs.

jmrosenth wrote:Well I predicted 5 wins. Every year, I have us penciled in for 10-12 wins and more often that not, I'm sorely disappointed. So this year, I'm going to think the worst so I don't get disappointed in another bad season. If they turn in a playoff run season, I'll be surprisingly pleased.

But here's why I'm not too high on this season.

1. QB situation. Campbell was decent last year, but he's still very very green and unproven. His mobility is also a concern for me. I like the kid, but I'm not very comfortable with him as a starter on a team that has aspirations for big things in Gibbs last year. As for our backups if Campbell sucks, well, let's just move on...

This is what happens when we have a young quarterback, you just don't know what the team has with him. However, I think JC is in a good situation because the team isn't asking him to win games, rather manage them and minimize the mistakes. This team is built on the run, mix in a little play action pass and a few screens here and there, and that's basically what Campbell has to do in order to be a successful quarterback. To expect anything more out of a guy who has started a handful of games is ridiculous.

2. OLine: Overrated as it is, they are starting to get old and injury prone.

Overrated by whom? This is the thing that irks me. Redskins fans are seemingly the only people who think our offensive line is in shambles. I guess the saying "you don't know what you had until you miss them" rings true in this instance. Chris Samuels is one of the best left tackles in the game, period. He's been universally praised by teammates, other football players in the league (you know, the ones who play the game), coaches and the media. Randy Thomas and Pete Kendall form one of the best GUARD tandems in the league, bar none. Yeah, Kendall is 34 years old, then again, we didn't sign him to a 5 year contract, and $15 million in bonus money. We signed him for 2 years, which gives us enough time to figure out his eventual replacement. Casey Rabach is serviceable at center, and Jon Jansen I figure will have a bounce back year. Plain and simple, we have one of the best offensive lines in football. Why you, or Lyrical or anyone else for that matter don't see that is beyond me. It's a joy to watch these guys maul over the opposing defenders when we're running the football. I recommend you pay close attention to the line if that's your concern. They are far from overrated.

3. DLine: The Redskins of yore won games by dominating the lines of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The team did absolutely nothing to improve a line that couldn't rush the passer or stop the run last season. Fine, our LBs and secondary is good, but not addressing this over the offseason will come back to haunt them.

Laron Landry will make our defensive line better. That's how big of an impact the kid will make on this team. The line is as healthy as it's ever been. The success of the defensive line will depend on how healthy and productive Griffin is, but we've got some depth here. Carter/Daniels/Wynn on the outside, Griffin/Montgomery and Golston (two kids I've been high on since last year) are coming into their own. If it doesn't work out, draft one next year. None of the defensive linemen in the draft have made any noise this preseason, in fact I've read Okoye may be a bust because he's not physically ready to play in the NFL yet (go figure, he's 19 years old).

4. The division. I have us losing all six games. I think that all 3 teams are far superior to the Skins. The rest of the schedule doesn't look very easy either.

Giants have a lot to prove, they have no running game, Eli's battling Tiki in the media, and Strahan hasn't shown up yet. At worse, we are the 3rd best team in the division. We'd probably need to win at least 4 division games to make some noise and our strength of schedule is like 16th in the league.

5. FedEx Field. I've ranted about this apocalypse in the past and won't spend more time doing it now, but let's just say, that home field advantage isn't what is used to be.

How this affects wins and losses is beyond me.

6. Gibbs. I don't know. Nothing he's done in his second act will EVER diminish what he did in first act. Like MJ, those memories won't be tainted IMO. But I think his days as an elite head football coach are over. The layoff was too just long for him and the game changed too much.

Gibbs' team this year will be just as good if not better than the 2005 team where we went to the playoffs and were probably an interception (thanks Carlos Rogers) away from being in the NFC Championship game.

jmrosenth wrote:2. OLine: Overrated as it is, they are starting to get old and injury prone.

This is my biggest concern. It does no good to have Campbell's arm and a healthy Moss if they can't give the plays time to develop. If this year is a bust, this will probably be the reason.

jmrosenth wrote:4. The division. I have us losing all six games. I think that all 3 teams are far superior to the Skins. The rest of the schedule doesn't look very easy either.

I have to disagree with this. I think the Skins can sweep the Giants and split with the Eagles/Cowboys. All of them have just as many questions as we do, if not more.

New York lost their best player on offense (Barber) and could be without their best player on defense if Strahan doesn't come back. Eli is a mediocre QB who doesn't appear to accept coaching, they don't have a viable starting RB IMO and their defense is average.

The Eagles don't know how long McNabb will stay healthy this year and even if he does he has little in the way of receiver help. They just cut the leader of their defense so that should have an effect on that side of the ball.

As for Dallas, I think everything rides on the shoulders of Tony Romo. Is he over his playoff debacle? Can he still be effective after teams now have film on him? How long before TO loses faith in Romo and starts calling for Brad Johnson?

Division games are never a cakewalk but I'm optimistic.

Sadly, I wanted to post this before Washington

After watching the Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys this past weekend I definitely overrated the NFC East. I still think those team are all better than the Skins, however, the margin isn't as large as I previously thought. I still think it'd be an upset if we didn't finish with a losing record in conference.

The schedule/conference is indeed nice. Not only do they have Tampa, Detroit, Arizona, and Minnesota on the schedule, they get to play the AFC East, the worst AFC division. btw, can we just forfeit that 10/28 game at New England?

Nothing I saw on Sunday is going to make me back down from the 5-11 prediction. The team's faults are still the team's faults and I didn't see anything to change my mind of any of them playing at home against a not-so-good Miami team that made a zillion mistakes. I will remain cautiously optimistic we don't get blown out on Monday night. I'm still keeping my expectations low for this team, although as BBJ eloquently alluded to, we may not need the team to be all that good to make the playoffs.

... our offense is ranked 6th in the league

... our defense is ranked 10th

How is the team still making the same faults? It was a low scoring game but that was expected. Miami is a terrific defensive teams. Having four scoring possesions on them is a sign of good things to come.

we're already 3 wins away....

ok, so I'll change my mindset to cautiously optimistic.

Yah I was going to say that 2 wins should change your mind a little. The Skins played well last night and showed that they have the possibility of playing even better.

even at 4-2, the reasons I listed as being pessimistic on the season I think are still extremely valid.