Washington's d

[Guest]

geez with trotter,armstead, and arrinting thats like the fearsome threesome, some people think armstead is slowing down, I don;t know I just think strahan had a monster year and when that happens, someones stats fall.  With those 3 and baily and smoot at the db's I think we might have, dare I say, and 11 game winner on our hands as long as spurriers magic o does the deed.  What does everyone else think?

 

--Rob

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

Rob, I'm going to say the same thing about the Redskins that I've said about the franchise for the entire Snyder regime:

 

For every step forward, the team must take one back.

 

The addition of Trotter is OUTSTANDING (and fell into their laps pretty much).  They have maybe the best linebacking trio in the NFC right now and the press corners to let the LBs run wild without having to play a lot of zone.  Gee, with a couple of good draft picks to fill in those holes in the offensive and  defensive line, maybe the Redskins could hit double digits in wins.

 

And then they had this stinker of a draft.

 

EIGHT and EIGHT.  The Redskins better pray to the god of skinny punks that the NFL expands its playoff system or else they'll never see the playoffs.

 

LUNATIC

"Let's see, we have need at starting quarterback, guard, defensive tackle, and wide receiver.  So, with our first two picks, let's take a quarterback that won't be good enough to start for us and a running back.  That makes sense." -- Dan Snyder (possibly paraphrased)

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

You mention all the great Defensive players the Skins have, but you never mentioned once the Defensive Genius of a Coach that Marvin Lewis is.  

 

They really didnt need a good draft, although Im starting to worry a bit about the QB situation.

[Guest]

blah, I think weurfel will shine under spurrier

 

--Rob

[Guest phoenixrising]

I'm curious to see how well Spurrier's Fun n' Gun offense works in the NFL.  He could afford to throw the ball 70% of the time in college and win.  I'm not too sure about the personnel he has in his offense - they performed at Florida but haven't shown much since entering the NFL.  However, the Fun n' Gun usually put Spurrier's recievers and quarterbacks in positions where they could be very successful.  It will be interesting to watch.

[Guest DrTom]

Their defense is shaping up to be a good one.  Fortunately, they have an excellent defensive coach in Marvin Lewis.  The scheme that was so successful for the Ravens will work for Washington... but not as well as it did in Baltimore.

 

The problem is, Spurrier's offense won't do a whole lot.  Brian Billick finally went to a ball-control scheme in Baltimore, and the clock control helped keep the defense fresh.  The Skins won't have that luxury.  I don't see Spurrier abandoning the "Fun 'n Gun," despite the fact that it won't be very successful.  This will force the defense to be on the field more often than they might like, and depress what could be some very good statistics.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

In football, you have to consider how a player will fit into a team's scheme. A good player on one team is not neccesarily a good player on another team. Also, you have to look at how the players function as a a whole and not look at the sum of their stats .

[Guest thevertex]

Armstead is out of gas. A lot of people underrate the Giants, so I easily see Redskins as last in the East. They have major holes on D-line, O-line, QB, and serious questions at WR if all those Flordia receivers don't suddenly play like they're back in College again.

[Guest El Hijo Del Lunatic]

I've got some questions about the Fun 'n' Gun too; I've seen a lot of tape on Spurrier's offense and the one thing that strikes me the most is that it could get eaten up by press coverage.  From what I see, the offense is built around creating confusion, throwing a bunch of receivers in the same spot and making zone coverages decide who to pick up.  You couldn't run man coverage because their receivers were so fast.  However, I don't see why a team like the Eagles (for example) can't play press on those guys.  You put a body on these recievers, it takes them out of their route.  Spurrier's defense for press coverage was always "throw the ball deep", but the receivers he has aren't going to get the kind of separation that they could in college.  

 

Plus, they're a running team.  Kurt Schottenheimer tried to make them a passing team last year, which led to five straight losses to open the season.  You can't tell me they've upgraded their offense that much personnel-wise since then.

 

As far as the defense, yes, they're going to be very good.  That linebacker corps is scary, and their corners are going to be playing a lot of man, which will suit Smoot and Bailey just fine.  I don't know if Armstead's got a whole lot left in him, but he'll be playing the weakside in Washington, so he's not going to be asked to do as much as Arrington and Trotter will.  The problem is they don't have any DTs.  It's going to be up to Trotter to stuff the run up the gut.  If they can do that with success, they'll be in every game, but Trotter's going to need help at some point.

 

The Redskins did not choose to draft a guard or a defensive tackle, their biggest needs.  They added ANOTHER short wide receiver with big-time speed that has questionable hands; he should fit RIGHT in with Green and Anthony.  They also added another quarterback that shouldn't be a starter in this league this year, bringing that total to four (soon to be five now that the Bears cut Shane Matthews).  The only pick they made that I really like is Andre Lott.  Ladell Betts is a waste pick - there's no need there and he's overrated anyway because he can catch the football.

 

All that adds up to EIGHT and EIGHT.  For the third straight year.  Oh, and they'll lose to Dallas on Thanksgiving (and I'll CURSE and CURSE ...)

 

But the Giants are OVERrated.  Their secondary isn't as good as everyone thinks it is (i.e. Jason Sehorn is WAAAY overrated) and their offense, though improved, is still smoke, mirrors, and Tiki Barber.

 

LUNATIC

Oh, and I'm calling it now:  the Redskins will trade up to select Rex Grossman over Byron Leftwich next year.

[Guest DrTom]

That's a pretty accurate capsule of the 'Skins, Lunatic.  They ARE a running team at heart, and I wonder if Spurrier is capable of realizing that.  Billick finally had to cast aside his notion of living up to his "offensive genius" reputation (like it takes a lot of brainpower to say, "Throw long to Moss once per possession.  Oh, looky, TD!  What a sharp tack I am!"), and Spurrier's reputation goes back even longer.  They can pound Stephen Davis at opposing defenses for about 1300 yards and some good possession numbers, which will keep their defense fresh.  If the Fun 'n Gun sputters, though, 8-8 might be optimistic.

 

Florida had a lot of fast receivers in college, but the mismatches they created against 20 year-old DB's won't be there against the seasoned pros.  I think Spurrier will have to make some fundamental changes to his offensive scheme to give it a hope of succeeding, but like most coaches, he's probably surrounded himself with yes-men who won't tell him that.  

 

I think their offense will have problems, and weaken the defense as a result.  I'm calling 7-9 right now.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

I never understood all of the gloating going on after Spurrier was named head coach of the Redskins. Maybe people got visions of the St Louis Rams and thought Spurrier would do the same thing. Sucess at the college level doesn't mean a whole lot in the NFL. You can get away with a lot more in the college game.

[Guest Human Fly]

D-Line is still a question mark. Linebacking core one of the top 5 in the NFL question, maybe the best. Great corners as well. If QB can come around this could be a tough team. IF QB falls apart though, and D-Line sucks then they will lose a lot of close games.