The disease has hit me again

Some of you won't be able to believe this, but I too have become somewhat optimistic about this upcoming season.

Maybe it's because enough time has elapsed since that dreadful Giants game at the end of last season; because many people, including me to an extent, are starting to forget that ass-whipping and believe that we might not be as bad along the front four as conventional wisdom says.

Of course that can all change in an instant when the first preseason game rolls around and we start getting gouged up the middle.

But yeah, I've got a mild form of the 'disease' too.

I'm in denial of the disease.

I'll have family members continually come up to me and ask "Do you really think the Redskins are going to do anything this year?".

I'm always like... "oh man... you just wait, I can't wait...oh man... We're going to be solid.. (I then list off every reason why we're going to be solid).

They always reply to me "Oh, yeah, you say that every year".

"But no, this ones different. I'm telling you, you just watch, oh boy, you just watch"...

And then we go 5-11... and the cycle repeats itself.

I'm in denial of the disease.

I'll have family members continually come up to me and ask "Do you really think the Redskins are going to do anything this year?".

I'm always like... "oh man... you just wait, I can't wait...oh man... We're going to be solid.. (I then list off every reason why we're going to be solid).

They always reply to me "Oh, yeah, you say that every year".

"But no, this ones different. I'm telling you, you just watch, oh boy, you just watch"...

And then we go 5-11... and the cycle repeats itself.

I hear you Rob.......but this year I really, Really, REALLY, mean it!

I like that we are once again under everyone's radar (a la 2005). NFL Live is in the midst of their "8 divisions in 8 days" segment. They did they NFC East yesterday, and the only mention they made about the Skins at all was the fact that we are 9-21 against our division since 2003 (which almost made me puke).

Everyone thinks we'll stink, and we didn't have the ridiculous $offseason$ that normally surrounds our team with a media frenzy. And you know what, that's fine with me. Last year we were on everyone's top 5 list of superbowl contenders and we won a whopping 5 lousy games. I am so excited for this season. A lot of that is because I move back to DC in a month, but I think this team has so much potential. Sure the jury is out on the D-line, but we addressed every other need we had, Portis and Betts healthy together, stability at QB... Man, bring on Miami!!

Just wait until HESS returns in a few months when the Redskins can do no wrong and are on their way to the SB.. ;-)

Some of you won't be able to believe this, but I too have become somewhat optimistic about this upcoming season.

Maybe it's because enough time has elapsed since that dreadful Giants game at the end of last season; because many people, including me to an extent, are starting to forget that ass-whipping and believe that we might not be as bad along the front four as conventional wisdom says.

Of course that can all change in an instant when the first preseason game rolls around and we start getting gouged up the middle.

But yeah, I've got a mild form of the 'disease' too.



Wouldn't it be nice if our defense could consistently play the way they did the first series of the first pre-season game against the Bengals? That initial effort was enough to cure any disease.

The NFL is a league where teams that were terrible the year before suddenly can break out and make a deep playoff run (see New Orleans Saints).

Anything is possible, and the fan in me can't help but be optimistic. But I try to remember what I saw with my own eyes during the season. After all the free agency talk and all the draft talk, it's easy to forget what we saw with our own eyes at the end of last season.

To me, our hopes basically boil down to two people: Gregg Williams and Jason Campbell. GW needs to scheme something up for our personnel. And our offense is only going as far as JC takes us. I don't have the fever, or the disease, but I do have hope.

Some of you won't be able to believe this, but I too have become somewhat optimistic about this upcoming season.

Maybe it's because enough time has elapsed since that dreadful Giants game at the end of last season; because many people, including me to an extent, are starting to forget that ass-whipping and believe that we might not be as bad along the front four as conventional wisdom says.

Of course that can all change in an instant when the first preseason game rolls around and we start getting gouged up the middle.

But yeah, I've got a mild form of the 'disease' too.

I am not optimistic about our defense because of that game against NY. I mean Tiki just ran wild. Wasn't it like 235 yards??? You just don't see that in the NFL very often. Plus we made Travis Henry and Cadilac Williams look like Barry Sanders. Watching 65 year old Bob Whitfield maul Andre Carter does not make me optimistic about anything. Every team we face is going to run at the right side of our defense. AC is not strong enough at the point of attack and can't hold his ground. He should only be playing on passing downs. I am optimistic that we will tackle better. That's a correctable problem.

The bottom line is we can sit here and hope things get better. But the reality is it's going to take some time to rebuild the defense becasue of the lack of draft picks. We are simply going to have to outscore people in 07. 7-9 wins is what I'm expecting.

The NFL is a league where teams that were terrible the year before suddenly can break out and make a deep playoff run (see New Orleans Saints).

Anything is possible, and the fan in me can't help but be optimistic. But I try to remember what I saw with my own eyes during the season. After all the free agency talk and all the draft talk, it's easy to forget what we saw with our own eyes at the end of last season.

To me, our hopes basically boil down to two people: Gregg Williams and Jason Campbell. GW needs to scheme something up for our personnel. And our offense is only going as far as JC takes us. I don't have the fever, or the disease, but I do have hope.

I see your point but a HUGE part of why NO turned it around was Drew Brees. Can JC play to that level in his 1st year starting? Probably not. Plus they got back Deuce from injury and drafted Colston and Bush. Plus NO does have some high draft picks that have played well on their D-line. I sure would like to have Wil Smith and Charles Grant on our D-line. Plus they got Hollis Thomas from Philly. And I'll say this. Sean Payton is a really good coach. I love his aggessive play calling! The GM of NO ( Micky Loomis) did one hell of a job putting that team back together cause after Katrina that thing was a complete mess.

Some of you won't be able to believe this, but I too have become somewhat optimistic about this upcoming season.


You're right Beems! I don't believe you! lol j/k :laughing-