The Sports Guru

Projected Record

9-7, 2nd Place NFC East

Projected Schedule W/L
Minnesota                  (W)
@Dallas                     (L)
@Houston                  (W)
Jacksonville               (W)
@NY Giants                (L)
Tennessee                 (W)
@Indianapolis            (L)
Dallas                       (W)
@Philadelphia            (L)
@Tampa Bay             (L)
Carolina                    (W)
Atlanta                      (L)
Philadelphia              (W)
@New Orleans           (L)
@St. Louis                 (W)
NY Giants                  (W)

Year 3 in the return of Joe Gibss in Washington begins in the midst of huge expectations.  After a slow start in 2005 that had “experts” wondering if the game had passed him by, the Redksins won their final 5 games to finish 10-6, and went on to beat Tampa Bay in the playoffs.  It was the plyoff win that has everyone excited going into 2006 and with ownership pumping millions of dollars in Free Agent acquisitions the ‘Skins are expected to win now.  They are a good team, but a tough division will make a good record hard to come by.  When it’s all said and done the Gibbs will get this team back to the playoffs, but there are too many questions to think they will be able to match last season’s success, let alone go after a Super Bowl.

Team Strengths – Gibbs is a Hall of Fame coach, so his ability is unquestioned.  He has put together a staff that rivals any team in any sport.  Greg Williams returns as the Defensive Coordinator, and probably has the inside track on the job when Gibb’s decides to head back to NASCAR.  To help with the offense, Gibbs hired Al Saunders, architect for the Kansas City Chiefs attack the last 5 seasons.  Saunders’ creative schemes should improve the Redskins attack, especially in the Red Zone.  Clinton Portis is one of the best backs in football and will be looked to produce 2000+ all-purpose yards.  The Redskins were active in the Free Agent market, snagging versatile Antwan Randel El on offense, and Safety Adam Archuleta.  Both will be improvements over the players they are replacing.  Randel El will be used very similarly to the way the Steelers were able to use him, all over the field, even at QB.  Santana Moss had a breakout season in 2005, and will look to cement his status as one of the games’ greats.

Team Weaknesses - The quarterback position is one area to be concerned about if you are a Redskins fan.  Mark Brunell is now 35, and doesn’t have the arm or legs that once made him a dangerous field general.  Brunell did have a decent season in ‘05, but there were times the Redskins won in spite of Brunell.  That won’t cut it in the NFC East.  Behind Brunell is Jason Campbell, who the Redskins love but is unproven, making any injury to Brunell catastrophic.  On defense, there are some playmakers, but gone are the like of LaVar Arrington.  Arrington never seemed to mesh with Gibbs and Williams, but he still made big plays when on the field and the Redskins will need to find someone to make those plays.  The defensive backfield is also suspect, with stalwart Shaun Springs out with an injury.

Best Case Scenario – Brunell can stay effective and the Randel El Factor isn’t a rersult of the Steeler’s system.  Santana Moss plays up to his 2005 production and Clinton Portis maintains his production.  Al Saunders’ offensive systems will spruce up a system that seemed to become old and predictable last season.  The Redskins have the ability to win their first 6 games, before a matchup in Indianapolis.   A good start can get a team on a roll that lasts the whole season, and it is doubly important for a team that is expected to win.  No one knows how long Gibbs is going to remain, so winning hi his 4th Title would be a great way for Gibbs to exit the NFL stage.

Worst Case Scenario – If Brunell’s production falls off the table it could be a tough year for Washington.  They are relying on Brunell to make smart plays and hit the big one the one or two times the opportunity presents itself.  If he falters or is injured, the Skin’s will need to get Campbell up and running in a hurry.  Injuries to their star players are already starting to pop up, with Shaun Springs and Clinto Portis already out for the rest of the pre-season.  A bad season could lead to Gibbs deciding to return to racing after the season, leading to some uncertainty heading into ‘06.  

My Opinion - The Redskins are built to win right now.  There is no 5 year plan when you are dealing with a head coach that could call it quits at any time.  There is going to come a time when all these signings come back to haunt the Redskins in terms of the salary cap.  There is alot of pressure, and expectations are high.  The Redskins just aren’t good enough to make a serious run.  At 9-7, I think they’ll sneak into playoffs as the 6th seed, but will be one and done.  What will be interesting to see is what Gibbs will do.  No matter what, anythingless than a Super Bowl will probably be a disappointment to owner Daniel Snyder, whose patience has been known to wear thin quickly.  Unfortunitely for Snyder he just doesn’t have the horses to make a run to a Championship.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 16th, 2006 at 10:31 am and is filed under Broncos/NFL, 2006 NFL Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.