8 More games what do you think?

During Gibbs 1.0 we averaged 6-2 in the remaining eight games. Gibbs 2.0 has gone 3-5, 5-3 & 2-6.

I think if there's improvement in the passing game, then we could go 10-6. The fact that we still don't know which team is going to show up week to week does cause me some concern.

Truth be told, there ain't a single one of us that can make a convincing argument one way or another about the rest of the season. It's what makes the Skins so damn frustrating. The good and the bad scenario seem equally likely.

The Good: Portis really is back and our rushing attack just gets more and more lethal as Thomas returns and takes the o-line to the next level; JC moves further up the learning curve, his accuracy improves in the short, medium and long attempts, and his sense of and reaction to pressure both improve; M. Washington gets back to 100% and the defense rallies back to elite status w/o any injuries (especially to S. Springs).

In this scenario we go 11-5, splitting the Dallas games and losing another in a WTF 2nd half.

The Bad: Portis ain't back and even w/ Thomas' return our ground game is inconsistent; JC doesn't improve any further for the rest of the season; Washington never gets back to 100% and Springs goes down.

In this scenario we could literally end the season 6-10. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Now that we officially have eight games under our belts, I think it's okay to peek ahead to the rest of the schedule and begin, well, a little playoff chatter.

Couple of things worth mentioning: First of all, thank God the NFL 'aint a beauty peagant, because the Redskins would lose in the category of style points every week, which is probably the most frustrating thing about this team right now. We are no doubt the ugly duckling of the NFL. That being said, this team has no reason to hold its head down one bit. Fact is, they've been competitive in all but one game this year - one.

Next week sets up, until now, arguably the biggest game of the year for the Redskins which could have playoff implications. If we can somehow keep the ball out of McNabb's hands long enough, and give Portis the ball at least 25 times, this game could easily be a 14 point win over Philly. Somehow I think the words, "six and three" will do wonders for this team's psyche.

The NFC North is the wild card in all of this. One would think only one team makes the playoffs from this division. The Packers are in front now, but the Lions are breathing right down their necks, and Adrian Peter...I mean the Vikings are hovering. So you never know what could happen there. But since we've played both the Lions and the Packers, as a Skins fan I'm hoping the Packers take the division, with the head to head tie-breaker going to us over the Lions. Hopefully by the time we travel to Minnesota to face Peterson, someone will have figured out how to slow that young man down. Somehow I doubt it though.

Of course all this talk of playoff and tie breakers is a bit premature, but we have to start thinking playoffs for the rest of way. Let's just hope Portis can grind out a few more 100 yd performances until big Randy Thomas returns. Talk about confidence booster, if we're still in the hunt when Thomas returns, the Skins could all of a sudden be a dangerous team.

Signing off,
12M

Everybody is saying that we suck because we barely beat the jets! It's true that our offense don't look that good, but, we have to consider that the jets lost a lot of close games this season and that they were playing with a new QB, who looked pretty good by the way. Then, we definitely saw some improvement on the running game and I think this is a big plus for the upcoming weeks.

i cant believe the speed of A.P. and when we get to Minnesota, everyone and their moms better be up in the box. cause Brook Bollinger shouldn't even be in the league. let alone starting. anyone have any idea when Randy Thomas can start practicing? he should will help. because it looks like coach Gibbs is going to ball control, and hoping the d can win some games for us

This is at best a 9-7 team. Not very good but not terrible either. They might get a playoff spot if some breaks go their way but right now I'm not holding my breath.

The Skins go 4-4 down the stretch.

The rest of the season if very important now:

Eagles.......(3-5) - Must win for Skins.....6-3 (NFC-E)
Cowgirls.....(7-1) - Likely Loss for Skins...6-4 (NFC-E)
Bucs..........(5-4) - Must win for Skins.....7-4 (NFC)
Bills...........(4-4) - Must win for Skins.....8-4 (AFC)
Bears.........(3-5) - Must win for Skins.....9-4 (NFC)
Giants........(6-2) - Must win for Skins....10-4 (NFC-E)
Vikings.......(3-5) - Must win for Skins....11-4 (NFC)
Cowgirls.....(7-1) - Must win for Skins.....12-4 (NFC-E)

The Cowgirls have to get by the Packers, Giants and Skins. Hope for 3 loses there that would tie us 12-4

Hope that Detroit and NE beat the Giants. Then it is our job to make sure we beat the Giants to give them an 11-5 record.

Of course, any given Sunday!!!

I'm a one game at a time guy, but I can digress with the best of them.

Philly will be a handful this weekend, but if Portis can handle another 36 carries, and the defense contains Brian Wesbrook and gives up nothing deep to Curtis and Brown, should be a win. (1-0)

Dallas at home will be extremely tough. Tony Romo is playing lights out aside from the Buffalo game, and their defense is ranked 8th in the league (5th against the run). (1-1)

Tampa has been revitalized by Garcia and Galloway. Their running game is suspect, and I don't see them beating Springs, Smoot, Landry and Taylor through the air. Time to take one back from these guys. (2-1)

Buffalo at home. Must win at this point. Need to beat the teams we should and hang with the teams we shouldn't. Containing Lynch is key to a victory here. The only thing that worries me is the short week after this and looking ahead towards other opponents... (3-1)

Chicago at home on a short week. A team that has lost its identity. Injuries to their defense have staggered them, however they've beaten some good teams (Kansas City, Green Bay). However, their offense is still suspect even without Grossman f'ing up. (4-1)

At the Giants. Depends on which Giants team shows up. Between now and then, they play Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago and Philly. The momentum train will either be at high speeds, or will have crashed after possibly losing 3 straight to Dallas, Detroit and AP. However, we struggle in the Meadowlands...don't expect anything less (4-2)

At the Homerdome against AP. Play 8 in the box, and make the Vikings beat you through the air. 30th ranked pass offense in the league will struggle all day against our secondary. (5-2)

Home against Dallas. They should have the NFC East wrapped up, and will be looking forward to home field for at least their first playoff game. At the same time, the Skins will be fighting for a higher wild card spot and for home field for their opening playoff game... (6-2)

At best, the Skins finish the year 6-2. At worst, 4-4. Key games are Philly, Tampa and Minnesota, as these can go either way. However, in order for this to come true, the Skins must not endure any more key injuries, and they have to play smash mouth football as they did against the Jets.

I'm one of the ones saying 9-7 or 10-6 at best. What is REALLY interesting me is that Vikings game.

Are the Redskins capable of stopping AP, playing in Min? I mean they're only 3-5 and their defense is nothing to write home about, but if they don't have anything, they do have him. Even with a losing record, AP just walks all over defenses.

Think we can stick it to em and keep them in check? I think our run D is very good. So I think it should be possible.

You might want to check that on the Vikings defense, they are the #2 defense versus the run only surrendering 70 yards per game on ground, and forcing 7 fumbles on rush defense.

For Washington to win at Minnesota, Campbell is going to have to throw throw throw....the Minnesaota secondary is putrid, ranking near the bottom in pass defense.

If the coaches commit to running the ball at Minnesota, it could be a long afternoon for the Redskins.

I think 10-6 is realistic. This team plays up or down to the level of competition (except for the Patriot game). There are going to be a lot of close game. The Skins will come away with a few ugly victories. 10-6 should be good enough for a wildcard playoff berth. I don't see them going far in the playoffs.