Boswell's accurate appraisal

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I think you overrate the Redskins. That's common, of course.

Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El do not make an elite receiving tandem. Moss had the one great year for us, and he's still an extremely dangerous weapon, but as was the case as a Jet he is inconsistent due to nagging hamstring and groin injuries. He is by no means durable. Randle-El is just beginning to develop, but he has never posted more than 800 yards in a season. Our WRs are average.

To call Jason Campbell special at this stage is giving him way too much credit. Peyton, Brady, and Palmer are special. Campbell has been inaccurate on deep throws all season, he throws a low liner on deep passes. He's a very promising QB, but I can think of about 10 QBs in the league right now who would have performed better than Campbell if they were on our team.

So much of our offensive ineptitude this year stems from the offensive line's injuries. Our running game would look tons better if we just had Randy Thomas, let alone Jon Jansen. You did say it; WHEN HEALTHY our line is really good. But it's not healthy, not even close. It's nothing more than average right now.

Boswell is right on the money. The Skins have done nothing this year to make me think they're anything better than an average NFL team. They're at a fork in the road right now. They've been traveling down the road of mediocrity so far, and now they're in position to choose one of two paths: overcome injuries, establish an identity, and take the road to the playoffs, or choose the road that leads home for January. Who the hell knows what to expect - but one thing's for sure, the results of this second half could be a defining moment in Gibbs' career. Can he turn an average team into a serious playoff contender, peaking at the right time? Or will his guys fold up like lawnchairs? If he can still coach as well as we all think, we'll have a December to remember yet again.

Great post, the ending is very revealing & brings up a point:

Talent & ability is not just measured in the players, but also the coaches. We have the highest paid staff w/a hall of fame coach. That has a lot to do w/fan expectations & I hope has a lot to do w/why we're 5-3. I think you can say we have a very "talented" coaching staff.

I'd say our player talent is above avg. for the starters when all are healthy, but not high above avg. Overall, we are avg. because of poor depth in several areas. So I agree w/Bos for the most part.

Every year there are a few teams that over achieve. You're right in that if Gibbs can get these guys to play in Dec. the way the old Gibbs' teams did, we'll be right in the mix.