Do you agree with this assessment of the Skins?

I agree with this assessment. Especially the assessment that imagine what Gibbs can do with this talent considering what Parcells did last year with a much less talented team

Do I agree with the assessment? For the most part, yes.

I'm not ready yet to call Sean Taylor a "great" safety. He hasn't even put on pads yet in the NFL. Might that wait until he's played about 10 games before we rush into that description? I would agree that Sean Taylor brings some outstanding credentials to the defensive backfield from a premiere college football program. But, I'll wait on "great" for just a while if I may.

They have an offensive line that damned well better be improved or their two reliable QBs and their premiere running back are going to underachieve. and they better improve by a lot - particularly on pass blocking.

The defensive line got better in the offseason just by getting rid of a few of the gassers that were on the DL last year. If they put a pair of cigar store Indians in at DT this year, they would not be much worse. They signed two "second-tier" free agents to play there but that is a big emprovement over what was there last year. Is it good enough? We'll know about December 1st.

Oh, by the way, Mark Maske is not a columnist; he is a beat reporter. There is a BIG difference. And I don't know that he becomes more knowledgeable or more objective or more insightful just because he says something nice about the team he is coverning or the owner of that team. Having said that, I think Mark Maske is knowledgable about the NFL and is not one of the local press toadies who is in the Skins' hip pocket.

I agree, somewhat. The offense will probably better. They finally have a running back, and Bugel will help the OL.

I'm still not sold on the defense. Coach Williams will help, as will Taylor, but I still see it as a question mark.

I agree with the assessment of the team, but I don't think Maske is "mainstream press". He's a Skins homer. He may have hated Spurrier but, if you felt like the team you loved was being screwed by the coaching, wouldn't you bash the coach too?

Bottom line- Let's see what things look like when the scores count. If (I mean when) Gibbs starts winning quickly, the mainstream press will fall in love with him all over again - You'll be surprised how many of them start trying to say "I believed all along".

I agree with the assessment with the following exceptions: Smoot is young and might still emerge as a #1 CB, perhaps this season. And as for Parcells making the playoffs in similar circumstances, I'd say the NFC East was a lot weaker last season, thus diminishing his accomplishment just a bit.

On paper I believe this is the best team the Redskins have had in over a decade. We don't know exactly how the pieces are going to mesh yet but you have to like all the upgrades the team has made, especially the change of coaches. With the new players, the new systems, the new coaches, the team might struggle at first but I'm betting they finish strong. If the Skins were in another division, I'd like our odds of a wild card at least. But the old NFC East is back and it's probably going to be a dogfight ... I don't think we should underestimate any team in our division. At a minimum, the upcoming season will be competitive and fun to watch ... and there's a small but realistic chance we'll get to the Super Bowl every season from now until Gibbs retires.

Well said, SC. Everyone assumes the offensive line play will improve. Apparently, all they need to do is call more running plays and the line will be instantly better. I certainly hope it's that easy. We'll see.

I'm as psyched about Sean Taylor as everyone else, but some people were pretty high on Mike Rumph too. Now certainly, Taylor is touted as a much higher prospect than Rumph was. But again, we'll see.

The other aspect I'm mildly concerned about is what dropoff we'll see in pass coverage with Shawn Springs. And Fred Smoot, while a charismatic, dependable and gutsy player, will still have his fair share of passes completed against him.

Maske is correct to point out the defeciencies at D-line, but I still feel many of us are glossing it over and hoping for the best -- which is exactly what we did last year. Phillip Daniels and Cornelius Griffin are improvements to our D-line the same way Republicans are improvements over Democrats. It just isn't much different if you ask me. And there are those who say that our LB's are better -- so that means the pass rush will be just fine! .... Right?

We'll see.

I'm still optimistic, like I am every offseason, but the defensive line could prove to be more of an Achilles Heel than many people expect.

Griffin if properly motivated could be a really nice pickup. He killed us in a game two years ago, had something like 10 tackles and 3 sacks and he was in the backfield all day. He could be a force. Or he could be a disappointment as he's been thus far in his young career. We'll see.

I think there's a June 1 cut out there waiting for us on the DL.

I assume we will get atleast one more player from free agency, they really want to build the team as much as they can this year. With Moore being cut, possibly Wynn if we get another linemen, mabye Fiore if he retires...We should be able to free up some money.

I think the offense is pretty much set for next year. All we need to do is figure out the backups at running back, and the depth chart at receiver. I think our dline is goign to get more pressure no matter what this year, even if we had the same players, jsut because of the motivation and new revived team spirit.

Beemnseven:

After watching Mike Rumph get burned over and over again in one game, I gave him the nickname Mike Rumph "Roast". I haven't seen any reason to change it yet. Didn't the Niners trade up to get Rumph because they projected him as a "shut-down corner"?

That's why I am perfectly willing to be very optimistic about Sean Taylor becoming a premiere safety in the NFL, but I'm going to wait before I call him "great".

I agree with the assessment with the following exceptions: Smoot is young and might still emerge as a #1 CB, perhaps this season. And as for Parcells making the playoffs in similar circumstances, I'd say the NFC East was a lot weaker last season, thus diminishing his accomplishment just a bit.

On paper I believe this is the best team the Redskins have had in over a decade. We don't know exactly how the pieces are going to mesh yet but you have to like all the upgrades the team has made, especially the change of coaches. With the new players, the new systems, the new coaches, the team might struggle at first but I'm betting they finish strong. If the Skins were in another division, I'd like our odds of a wild card at least. But the old NFC East is back and it's probably going to be a dogfight ... I don't think we should underestimate any team in our division. At a minimum, the upcoming season will be competitive and fun to watch ... and there's a small but realistic chance we'll get to the Super Bowl every season from now until Gibbs retires.

Wow, Ghost! Very deep, and very true. All of that from a guy who isn't all there! (Play on your name) LOL!

And, I agree!