Top 10 reasons why the Skins will win 10 games this year

[HermosaBeach Skin Fan]

Some clairification:

10. ZERO Moves? Rabach, Holdman, Prioleau, Patten, Moss-did none of that happen?

How many pro bowls there? Maybe I didn't explain it well, but I don't mean signing free agents, I'm saying making attempts to improve significantly through free agency. And not stupid Deion Sanders moves trying to get an over the hill hall of famer.

9. Maybe, just maybe, Carlos Rogers will prove to be better than Smoot

He probably will. But why get rid of a good CB and draft a rookie? We're taking a chance there that more than likely will be a draw, and taking a starter and replacing him with a guy who has to learn the ropes. They should have kept Smoot, drafted Rogers as a replacement for Springs in a few years.

8. I'm anxious to see if Pierce is legit this year

Me too, but clearly he was a big part of a good defense from last year. Holdman could be a good substitue, but again, why get rid of a good character guy who is still young and can contribute for many years to come. Maybe I'm a little biased, but I like teams who reward their character guys with long term contracts. Why bring somebody new in, when you've got a guy who is willing to work his tail off for the Redskins?

7. But he's not starting, so what's your point?

Check this out, taken from Yahoo, relevant part below. Just not good for the team, is he? And you're right, he's not starting, but he's also getting paid a butt-load of money and not contributing. So he's hurting us by taking a roster spot, and a salary cap hit.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Mark Brunell, Washington Redskins
Everyone in the NFL assumes Brunell's career is in cobwebs, but don't be so sure. Yes, he was overwhelmingly ineffective last season. And yes, his arm looked tired at times. But there may not be a coach in the NFL more desperate to win games than Joe Gibbs. And as much as Gibbs wants to say Patrick Ramsey is his No. 1 quarterback, that's a statement that will be only as robust as the team's victory total.

As has been chronicled by every media outlet in the D.C. area, Ramsey is no sure thing. He has a fine arm, but he still makes bad decisions and seems erratic mentally. If he struggles early, this could be a situation like Harrington in Detroit, and Gibbs could move quickly to his alternatives. Even though the Redskins drafted Jason Campbell in the first round, they aren't going to win any more games with a rookie at the helm than they are with Ramsey. That, and the familiarity new quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave has with Brunell, should be enough to earn him one last shot if Ramsey struggles.

6. He will? As someone mentioned in another thread the notion that Moss is injury-prone is greatly exaggerated, like talk of Springs being injury prone

All I can go off of his his past. Springs will probably get hurt too. (let's hope not, though)

5. We'll see about that

yes, we will.

4. No real team chemistry? How do you figure?

If Ramsey's your guy, he's gotta be pissed off about the draft. You lost two key guys on Defense, you've got guys who won't call the coach. Things are far from peachy.

3. The only people saying it are the fans and the media. And if there were one,
sometimes that's a good thing. A little push from Campbell could be just what Ramsey needs

I've seen too many over the past several years. And they're never good. Ramsey just needs some real time under center, with a good line and some good play calling. I think he's got the talent, he just needs the opportunity.

2. Guilty until proven innocent I guess

Drunk driving, assault over ATVs? I really don't think the cops are just picking on him for no reason. He missed a few games last year...

1. You're right Joe Gibbs is notorious for his inability to adapt

He didn't convince me last year. There is no doubt that he is the biggest variable in the equation. Hopefully he'll figure it out and be willing to be flexible. But if he keeps on using this antiquated counter, blocking centric, let's send out one (bad) receiver and have everyone stay in with an immobile QB with a bad arm, we're going to have to hope we've got a great kicker, and a 0 PPG defense.

[Daseal]

To be honest, I'm starting to have a better feeling about this year. Although most of what we read is just team created propaganda to get us excited and ready to go to the super bowl, same as every year, we could certainly make it. I like the fact that Joe Gibbs had a full off-season with one season under his belt. He got to know MOST of his players, and he had time to look at a flawed system and make necessary changes. We also bring back nearly the same coaching staff (infact -- did we lose a single member above something like quality control?) I really like Blache at D coordinator. I don't think he gets a lot of the credit that he deserves.

Now, in order for us to be successfull some things need to be true:
1) The rumors about us catering the running game to Portis's strengths is very important. Not that we need to ignore the inside banging, but let's reverse the ratio of inside to outside/stretch type plays and I think we'll be fine.
2) The WRs still worry me. I don't think we "upgraded" at that position by any stretch. Everyone here, if they hate Coles or not, was defending him as a player before all this went down. All of a sudden he was useless last year. So either you don't tell yourself the truth during the season and you fake opinions on players, or you're bitter. Either way -- he showed up every week to play and played hard. While his speed wasn't quite what it used to be, in the two games I went to I watched Gardner and Coles and they would often get a few lengths ahead of a DB. Which in this league is pretty damn open. I think Jacobs could be big, Moss is kinda small to be a full-time #1, and Patten is a roleplayer. While I think the speed could certainly help, we lost any sort of physical traits our receiving corps once had. Another problem is our passing game was so weak last year, and this is the group Joe Gibbs knows least of all. Considering we have two guys, slated to start, who just joined the team.
3) As long as we start using the shotgun and creating a passing game. We need some sort of passing game. We're hearing it's coming, which I'm glad to hear. Most people think I want a Spurrier-esque system which isn't true. I love to watch the team revolve around Portis, but to help Portis out we gotta be able to pass. It's much harder to create/make a rhythm passing very rarely than passing fairly often, that's why I'd like to see an intermediate (7-14 yard passes) game flourish. With the speed at WR the YAC could be great and it backs the DBs off just enough. How many press-conferences did we hear "But we did go deep" when you could count the amount of deep balls on one hand? As long as we do it and don't pretend like we do.
4) I think the defense will be our question. I think some of the injuries last year were blessing in disguise. Especially Mr Matt Bowen. The man did a great job blitzing in Tampa Bay game. Problem is, he's a bigger hitter that seems to only be able to connect on other Redskins, he's a liability in coverage, and plays decently against the run. I'd rather have a multi-faceted player back there. I liked how Clark / Lott played. I think we're going to miss Smoot and Pierce some too. Regardless of what Pierce does in NY he was great for us here in the middle. Sometimes a system makes someone a star more than that person. I actually feel that's true a majority of the time. He may not do well in NY, just like Griffen didn't do much besides his rookie year. TAFKAS - while Rogers MAY be better than Smoot. I doubt it'll be this year, I doubt he'll assume the type of leadership role Smoot played, and I also doubt that we're going to be better THIS year for it. As long as LaVar plays his position and within the system (IE not leaving his side way open for the big gain going for the big play) then we'll be fine.

1. You're right Joe Gibbs is notorious for his inability to adapt

Strangely, this does worry me a small bit. Last year we didn't seem to adapt much, maybe he was feeling out the league, I don't know. Hopefully he'll get it back, but I didn't see many in-game adjustments.

3. The only people saying it are the fans and the media. And if there were one, sometimes that's a good thing. A little push from Campbell could be just what Ramsey needs

Who else ever says there's a QB controversey? normally not a coach, especially someone who handles things like Gibbs. He's too good of a guy to sell players like that out (unless they're last years WRs, in which case he burns them for the offenses mistakes.)

That said, I feel we'll have a better record this year than last, but I question if we actually have a more talented team this year.

[SmootSmack]

I think, as Matty has said, last year was a period of adjustment and adaptation for Gibbs to the new NFL but the simple fact that he brought in Musgrave and is implementing the shotgun and zone blocking should be a pretty clear sign that he's not adverse to change

Maybe it's just me, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what Patten can do. I think he, and the other Patriots receivers, don't get enough credit because it's all about Tom Brady there. But I really think that Patten is going to prove a lot of doubters wrong this year....Hands off! I'm taking Patten in the $$ League!

[HermosaBeach Skin Fan]

"Problem is, he's a bigger hitter that seems to only be able to connect on other Redskins"

--Great line!!!

I'm not sure that I understand though about your comment for the QB controversy. I don't think Gibbs is the one who can control that. I think, for the most part, he's got the biggest influence, but there was a QB controversy last year when Gibbs was sticking by Brunell, and everybody was calling for Ramsey. It is just a stress that a QB in the NFL really doesn't need.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

I think, as Matty has said, last year was a period of adjustment and adaptation for Gibbs to the new NFL but the simple fact that he brought in Musgrave and is implementing the shotgun and zone blocking should be a pretty clear sign that he's not adverse to change

Maybe it's just me, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what Patten can do. I think he, and the other Patriots receivers, don't get enough credit because it's all about Tom Brady there. But I really think that Patten is going to prove a lot of doubters wrong this year....Hands off! I'm taking Patten in the $$ League!

What I like about Patten is his attitude. He seems to be very aware that this is the opportunity he's been waiting for, to be a true go to guy. Let's hope he can take full advantage of it.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I give up

LOL

Matty, some people want to just crap on things for the sheer purpose of crapping on them.. It's a shame isn't it?

[wolfeskins]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

Maybe it's just me, but I'm really looking forward to seeing what Patten can do. I think he, and the other Patriots receivers, don't get enough credit because it's all about Tom Brady there. But I really think that Patten is going to prove a lot of doubters wrong this year....Hands off! I'm taking Patten in the $$ League!

i've said it before and i'll say it again, "don't be surprised if patten leads the team in receptions this year".
patten is a very underrated wr, he has great powers
and like uncle ben told peter parker.....with great powers comes great responsibilities.

[wolfeskins]

Originally Posted by HermosaBeach Skin Fan

I think it all comes down to Snyder. He expects too much. He wants to Win NOW!!! The Skins need to take the next few years to rebuild. Set themselves up for the future. This win now strategy won't work.

so ........you want the skins to rebuild, not overspend on big name free agents, like in past years ?

[TheMalcolmConnection]

That's why I've been shocked that the media said we had a bad offseason. We had an a-typical offseason, but not a bad one.

[wolfeskins]

[QUOTE=HermosaBeach Skin Fan]
How many pro bowls there? Maybe I didn't explain it well, but I don't mean signing free agents, I'm saying making attempts to improve significantly through free agency. [QUOTE]



so............your saying you want the skins to, instead of making conservative moves and building through the draft, do like they've been doing and keep trying to "win now" with big, splashy free agent signings ?

[wolfeskins]

which is it HERMOSOBEACHSKINSFAN ?
win now with free agent picks or take some time and build through the draft ?

[Gmanc711]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

That's why I've been shocked that the media said we had a bad offseason. We had an a-typical offseason, but not a bad one.

I think alot of the media is just looking at the "juicy" stories like the Taylor incodent, and the Arrington comments, the Coles situation. We had basically the offseason that the media has been telling us we should have had the past five years. Very low key, get some little signings in. Personally, this offseason was exactly what I wanted for the team itself(outside of the Coles situation). I'm getting very excited for the season.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I agree. Honestly, I CAN'T even wait for pre-season games. Just SOMETHING to see the Redskins playing.

[mooby]

i wasn't particularly happy about the way the offseason went, although i was happy we didn't go on a spending spree. i just hope that everything works out eventually, and after a huge pro bowl season earning defensive mvp lavar realizes he loves washington and wants to stay here forever.

[backrow]

Great list Matty! The win total might be somewhere between 8-10, however!