Redskins/Giants Opening Day Predictions

Not as bad as Plaxico's penalty. :)

lol.

From Clayton's First & 10 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/preview09/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&page=1stand10/09week1) article this week :)

3. Washington Redskins at New York Giants: If you are looking for a playoff sleeper, don't look past the Redskins. The schedule breaks right for them because it's the easiest in the NFC East. They play six winnable games against the Buccaneers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Lions and Rams. If they can do anything positive in division play, they could be a playoff team. The defense, which was good last season, is better with the additions of Albert Haynesworth and Brian Orakpo. Quarterback Jason Campbell looks better now that Redskins coach Jim Zorn is letting him go downfield more.

Meanwhile, Giants coach Tom Coughlin seems a little worried. He has one of the best offensive lines in football, but it has aged a little. The defensive line is just now starting to get healthy, but it hasn't had a chance to come together during the preseason. Sunday will be a big test.

A lot of the national media is trying to use past tendencies to pinhole the Redskins as a 6-8 win team. Specifically, they're drawing similarities between past failures and our actions this year where similarities do not exist.

There are cold, hard, statistics to support the fact that the Redskins might actually just be a 6-8 win team. But even those numbers don't support the notion that the Redskins CANNOT compete in this division with their current team. They simply suggest that the smart money would be on the Giants, and that the other three teams in the division have a 10-20% chance to win it each. Which is fine. Even the Patriots have about a 20% chance of finishing behind someone in the AFC East this year. The things that will actually determine who wins the division are largely out of our players' control anyway.

But the media is taking the above evidence, and presenting it in a way that suggets that there's no way the Redskins can outlast all three teams in the division. That's a limb and it's a completely unsupported limb.

At some point this year, maybe next Monday, maybe seven weeks down the road, it WILL look like the Redskins are the favorites in the NFC East. Same deal for the Eagles and the Giants. Perhaps the Cowboys as well. The reason the percentages come out the way they have is that for the Redskins to win the NFC East, things will need to keep going in their favor for the next three months. That's not likely, but it's certainly possible.

Long story short, there's no evidence that backs a prediction that the Redskins are a non-competitive team in the NFC East.

this is exactly why I cringe whenever I hear someone (except a few) talking about the Skins. Its as if they completely disregard any improvement and instead focus on what happened last year or so on, or the Danny factor.

This comment from Jason Reid is so true:

Despite the addition of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and the impressive showing by rookie defensive end/strong-side linebacker Brian Orakpo, the Redskins will not be able to produce as they hope to defensively if Rogers is not right physically. Although DeAngelo Hall has the big contract and moved into the No. 1 corner slot Shawn Springs previously held, the reality is that Hall gives up a lot of big plays and has throughout his career.

Hall also is going to make a lot of big plays, and the Redskins re-signed him, in part, because of his knack for getting interceptions. Rogers has dropped many would-be interceptions throughout his career, but no corner in the NFC East was better in coverage than Rogers for a long stretch last season.

"I'll be ready, and I think we can be good, real good, as a secondary," Rogers said. "I'm just ready to get going."

I hope Rogers earns a big fat contract this year.

I hope Rogers earns a big fat contract this year.I worry to no end about the kind of team that looks at it's *three* first day draft picks from 2005-2006 and says to itself, "you know who has really earned a new contract...Rocky McIntosh!"

I hope Rogers earns a big fat contract this year.

He's going to have to go out and play 16 games. Plus play at the level he did the first half of last year. The fact that he's already hurt concerns me.

A lot of the national media is trying to use past tendencies to pinhole the Redskins as a 6-8 win team. Specifically, they're drawing similarities between past failures and our actions this year where similarities do not exist.

There are cold, hard, statistics to support the fact that the Redskins might actually just be a 6-8 win team. But even those numbers don't support the notion that the Redskins CANNOT compete in this division with their current team. They simply suggest that the smart money would be on the Giants, and that the other three teams in the division have a 10-20% chance to win it each. Which is fine. Even the Patriots have about a 20% chance of finishing behind someone in the AFC East this year. The things that will actually determine who wins the division are largely out of our players' control anyway.

But the media is taking the above evidence, and presenting it in a way that suggets that there's no way the Redskins can outlast all three teams in the division. That's a limb and it's a completely unsupported limb.

At some point this year, maybe next Monday, maybe seven weeks down the road, it WILL look like the Redskins are the favorites in the NFC East. Same deal for the Eagles and the Giants. Perhaps the Cowboys as well. The reason the percentages come out the way they have is that for the Redskins to win the NFC East, things will need to keep going in their favor for the next three months. That's not likely, but it's certainly possible.

Long story short, there's no evidence that backs a prediction that the Redskins are a non-competitive team in the NFC East.

I saw John Clayton on ESPN and he said the Skins were his sleeper team. He said with their easy schedule its not out of the realm of possibility that the Skins could win 11.

I saw John Clayton on ESPN and he said the Skins were his sleeper team. He said with their easy schedule its not out of the realm of possibility that the Skins could win 11.

Clayton's one of our biggest advocates here...I hope to meet him some day and thank him

He's going to have to go out and play 16 games. Plus play at the level he did the first half of last year. The fact that he's already hurt concerns me.

Yeah if he can play like he did the first half of last season we're golden. Hopefully his lack of playing time this preseason was just a precaution and the rest helped him completely heal. We need him to play well.