Time to take the next Step: Skins vs kitty cats Pre-game thread

A good team? Already? Damn, that was fast. I was just expecting them to be better than the last 2 years while showing signs that McCloughan has them trending in the right direction. I'll still settle for that right now and will postpone expectations of blowing out good Defenses for at least a few years.

Because isn't that what the good teams do? The Pats hang 50 on everyone, right? Just like the Bengals, Packers, Panthers, Cardinals, etc.

Or maybe the good teams, like the Skins aspire to be one day, win ugly 10-6 games sometimes and don't ALWAYS put up huge Offensive stats, especially when they run into good Defenses.

If the Skins win 6-7 games this year, they've exceeded most people's expectations and optimism will be high going into next season.

Maybe you ought to get your eyes checked, or go practice some reading comprehension.

I'm pretty sure I never said that "good" teams hang 50 on everyone, let alone that I expected the Skins to do that consistently or put up huge offensive stats against good defenses. I simply said they took care of business against a historically bad defense, that the biggest story was holding that offense to 14 points, and "good" teams win the games they are supposed to. Whether that is 47-14 or 10-6...doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, I never actually said the Skins are a "good" team (although I do believe they are "good").

I do agree that if they win 6-7 games this year that they will have exceeded most people's expectations...and I do expect them to exceed most people's expectations.

For the record, my optimism is high, although I am also still skeptical.

It's been proven, no ints and we don't lose, if kirk can play solid and have no TOS we have a chance. They don't really have a scary offense besides cam newton, their wrs don't alarm me at all.
I agree. Kirk (w/help of solid playcalling from Jay) can play solid and not turn the ball over we have a chance.

Hand in hand with the Kirk is running the ball well and as someone else mentioned that means getting to the second level and not letting Luke run around free. Which is gonna take a very tight gameplan from the staff because mono-e-mone their DL is better on the interior then our OL.

I disagree about their offense, its plenty good. 3rd in PPG, 4th in rushing based on raw counting stats on Football Outsiders thier 10th overall, 3rd in rushing and 14th with Olsen and just a bunch of guys at WRs. Cam is alot like Rothlisbeger in the sense that even when you get pressure on Cam it doesn't turn into a sack as often as with other QBs because he's not going down easy. Their offense is kinda the anti-'passing league', so its not a high volume passing offense. But when they do pass they're taking chunks at a time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/redskins-revamped-offensive-line-skews-young-plays-with-a-lot-of-power/2015/11/18/addc89c4-8e43-11e5-ae1f-af46b7df8483_story.html

Morgan Moses...just a wow season imo. This guy was been super impressive...I see Trent, Schreff, and Moses as the long term anchors along the oline.

I look at Carolina and wonder how they haven't lost. They have no wr's, their defense is good but not dominant. They have old ass Charles Tillman starting, as well as Allen who can be run on. Biggest concern is can we stop them from running.

I think if we limit the turnovers this game can be won. I think we're going to have to get Jackson more involved and hit a couple bit plays. Big game for KC obviously...

I'm already pumped for this game. Imagine... we have a meaningful game in Nov.

Thanks! For some reason, we seem to put together some very ugly wins, yet consistently they are wins. A lot of it has to do with the fact that, if and when we get ahead, we focus on running out the clock more than running up the score. So it seems to always come down to one of the last drives.

I'm sorry. I'm one of those goofy fans that know a bunch about my team but I know little of your strengths and weaknesses. If I were game planning against the Panthers, I'd say the same that most of you have said here: Try to contain Cam and do whatever you can to stop Olsen. You are right about our receivers. It's almost like we have an endless supply of #2 or maybe even #3 receivers. Weird thing is, someone different keeps showing up just enough. I've almost gotten the impression that we are better off this way because it's so hard to figure out who the star will be on this day.

We have the makings of a spectacular D, but oddly enough, we've let other teams move better than expected, but our offense has done better than expected without our top receiver so it's worked out.

I have to say I thought Cam was going to be a huge bust coming out. Dude is a pure stud. Don't care what his stats look like or his completion %, none of that matters with Cam. He just gets the job done and should be mentioned for MVP.

The Panthers Defense should give us a ton of problems. They should be able to take away the run and Reed .. which leaves us with needing to rely upon jackson, garcon and crowder to win 1 on 1 battles with the secondary. Reed had 3 catches last week w Browner on him.

10th total yds/gm
6th pts/gm
8th lowest 3rd down conversion
11th pass yds/gm
14th run yds/gm
6th in total sacks at 26 (they havent had their bye yet so any total nos. are slightly inflated when compared to a team like us that has had their bye - we are ranked 26th in sacks w 15)
NFL Stats: by Team Category (http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?archive=false&conference=null&role=OPP&offensiveStatisticCategory=null&defensiveStatisticCategory=SACKS&season=2015&seasonType=REG&tabSeq=2&qualified=false&Submit=Go)

Apparently the Panthers LB corps are the best in coverage and not allowing teams to get outside and turn the corner.

"The Carolina Panthers are loaded with talent at the linebacker position, that's never been the question. With studs in Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, as well as a rookie playmaker in Shaq Thompson, the Panthers probably have the best LB unit in the NFL.

While Kuechly and Davis are known for doing many things incredibly well, Pro Football Focus recently posted their top five LBs in coverage. Take a wild guess at which two players ranked in the top three?"

Carolina Panthers have two of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL | FOX Sports (http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/carolina-panthers-luke-kuechly-thomas-davis-083115)

The also have arguably the best cornerback in the league this year in Josh Norman.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/22/what-makes-josh-norman-top-nfl-cornerback/

Their schedule hasn't been the toughest...Jacksonville, Houston, Titans, Bucs.

Their schedule hasn't been the toughest...Jacksonville, Houston, Titans, Bucs.

thanks, I had heard that but havent looked into it yet. That and they dont really put together long drives, they have great ST (i could see ginn taking one back).

They should be able to run at will on us, stop our run and cover Reed =

https://kawaiikanae.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/zowspvr.png

don't set up the Cousins apologist like last time against the Pats..."what do you expect, its Carolina. We werent gonna win"

Not buying it against the Panthers...not one bit. Carolina is def beatable...

Their schedule hasn't been the toughest...Jacksonville, Houston, Titans, Bucs.

And the rest of the schedule has been Colts, Saints, Packers, Eagles and the Seahawks at their place.