Reason for Optimism?

[Schneed10]

Al Saunders in his 2nd year at each stop:

2002 Kansas City Chiefs:
Rushing Yards: 3rd in NFL
Passing Yards: 12th
Total Yards: 5th
Total Points: 1st

2000 St. Louis Rams:
Rushing Yards: 1st
Passing Yards: 3rd
Total Yards: 1st
Total Points: 1st

1990 Kansas City Chiefs:
Rushing Yards: 10th
Passing Yards: 10th
Total Yards: 8th
Total Points: 6th

Saunders remains upbeat about offense - Sports - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

[Schneed10]

Reasons why I'm a little optimistic right now:

1) A full offseason, and a full year of Campbell as THE guy.
2) A healthy Portis/Betts two-headed monster (Gibbs said Portis is coming back with an I'll show you attitude).
3) On offense, resigning Dockery is an issue, but aside from that, there's continuity.
4) I doubt GW will allow his defense to stay at the bottom of the NFL. They've got nowhere to go but up.

Am I optimistic for a Super Bowl? No. But I'm optimistic for the playoffs. We've still got major questions (D-line, secondary, etc.). But we rediscovered our identity in the second half of last season. We also discovered a QB that can give us hope.

In the end, Jason Campbell is the guy that gives me hope.

[MTK]

Let's face it, next season will all come down to the continued development of Campbell, and the revival of the defense. If those two things go as planned we'll have a shot at a good season.

[Daseal]

Reason why I'm not optimistic: The last 10 years.

[GoSkins!]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Reason why I'm not optimistic: The last 10 years.

Except the year before last?

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by GoSkins!

Except the year before last?

except 99 and 05 pretty much the last 10 years

[GoSkins!]

Reasons I'm optimistic:

Defense:
Williams doesn't field bad defenses two years in a row.
Since 2000, he has had the #1 (Titans), #21, #15, #2 (Buffalo), #3, #9 and #31 (Washington).

This makes last year look anomalous. I would think the chances of him being bottom 10 next year is about the same as being top 10.

Offense:
It's not just that Saunders does good in his second year, it's that he has Gibbs working with him. Whoever doesn't realize this is a benefit is to young to remember Gibbs first stint. The guy is a football genius. There may not be a more capable person out there to help Saunders tweek his offense.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by GoSkins!

Reasons I'm optimistic:

Defense:
Williams doesn't field bad defenses two years in a row.
Since 2000, he has had the #1 (Titans), #21, #15, #2 (Buffalo), #3, #9 and #31 (Washington).

This makes last year look anomalous. I would think the chances of him being bottom 10 next year is about the same as being top 10.

Offense:
It's not just that Saunders does good in his second year, it's that he has Gibbs working with him. Whoever doesn't realize this is a benefit is to young to remember Gibbs first stint. The guy is a football genius. There may not be a more capable person out there to help Saunders tweek his offense.

i think our offense if jason campbell can play as good as phillip rivers did this past year with a full off season as him being the number one guy and brandon lloyd playing like his contract states we will be in the top 5 in offense

[dmek25]

how does schneed and the word optimistic get in the same sentence together? i think most peoples outlook on the 2007-2008 redskins will be vastly different then how the team actually ends up. i look forward to a playoff run. I'm not ready to write off coach Gibbs just yet

[skinsfan69]

Saunders likes to score quickly. Fast break offense. One thing he has to realize that for our team to win we are probably going to have to keep our defense off the field as much as possible. So Al keep that in mind and everything should be ok. The offense will be better. It's the defense I'm worried about.

[CHIEF CHUCKING MY SPEAR]

it cant get any worst than last year hopefully. At least the starting QB is a upgrade over last year.

[JWsleep]

Well, Campbell has given me hope since he began to play. And I agree about Saunders and his offense getting better over time. We know it's complex, etc.

The big issue, IMO, is do we have enough options to really improve our D. Seems like we've had a fair number of bandaid fixes for key positions, with the attitude being that we can turn anyone into a good player with this system. My hope is that GW and Co. get over that and recognize the need for talent, and for fitting the system to the talent, not vice versa. Don't know if that's sunk in fully with GW, who is famously pretty stubborn. He's going to get some good players out of this offseason, but will he use them to the best advantage?

[skins009]

The reason why everybody should be opptimistic is for the running game. The last 6 games was really impressive when you consider the fact that everyteam we played had 8 in the box. If that can carry over to next year we'll be in better shape.

[81forHOF]

Not only am I feeling optimistic but I have already put my money where my mouth is.

When the playoffs started I bet $100 on the Colts to when the Super Bowl at 8 to 1. The day after the SB I collected $700 and let $100 ride on the Skins winning it all next year at 50 to 1!

I know it is a long shot but looking at the odds I thought that they had more of a shot than anyone else receiving those kind of payouts. Here's hoping for a really happy February of 2008! Wish me luck!

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by dmek25

how does schneed and the word optimistic get in the same sentence together? i think most peoples outlook on the 2007-2008 redskins will be vastly different then how the team actually ends up. i look forward to a playoff run. I'm not ready to write off coach Gibbs just yet

LOL.

I find it interesting that I have gained a reputation for being pessimistic around here. In my daily life I tend to be optimistic.

In this case, I'm just trying to be realistic.

The NFL is a world of overreaction. A team goes 12-4 and suddenly people are talking Super Bowl next year, and like a playoff berth is already a cinch. And when a team goes 5-11, people start writing that team off like they've got no chance. This is the NFL, the line between winning and losing is very small. Turnarounds happen all the time.

Last year, we started the season with a QB who wouldn't threaten the deep part of the field (either because he couldn't, or because he wouldn't, or because the coaches wouldn't let him). Now we have a more mobile QB who will threaten deep.

And as has already been said, I view our defensive season in 2006 as an anomaly. I think we'll rebound. How much we rebound is the question. Our fortunes largely ride on Campbell, a QB that is making me feel good about saying that.