What single factor is key for the Skins this year?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Ade Jimoh Fan Club

#1 factor is the QB. JC has shown flashes of being good, but so did Patrick Ramsey. If JC makes believers out of us, the Redskins will have a great season. But in order to do that, we need to think that he's going to have that last second scoring drive no problem (a la Manning) vs. "JC, please don't screw up, please, please!" I have no confidence in him as a "STAR" player yet - nor has he given anyone a reason to feel confident in him.

#2 OL. This has a direct impact on how #1 above turns out.

Coaching at the high school level and maybe college is important, because the players need to be coached what to do. At the pro level, they all know what to do and when to do it, so coaching has little to no impact on the game. Don't fool yourselves. I think Easterbrook from TMQB stated that coaching may have an impact on game if you have one of the top 3-4 or bottom 3-4 coaches. All the coaches in between are not going to really impact the outcome of the game. I was initially pissed about the Zorn hire until I read this article - but it makes sense. Now I just hope that Zorn helps JC come along -cause that is truly where he could make a difference.

I'd have to disagree, and Easterbrook is a moron.

Coaching has a huge affect on the game. Coaches can overcomplicate schemes, they can put players out of position (Archuleta), they can clash with each other on philosophy (Saunders vs Gibbs & Bugel), they can inspire a team (Gibbs' December record), etcetera. Most of all, coaching comes into play when a new system is being put into place. When you're running a new system, how you perform in year one is all about the ability of the coach to teach and translate the playbook message onto the field.