Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Interesting read.

I think he might be on to something.

[url=http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Am0.sgBhWmfsKP7qZCDkIN5DubYF?slug=cr-nextyearscards031109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns]Texans, Redskins poised to be the next Cardinals - NFL - Yahoo! Sports[/url]

Discuss

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Here is what he wrote about the Skins in case the link doesn't come up.

3. The Washington Redskins

Offense: The league’s fifth-worst scoring unit in 2008 could stand to see some major improvement from top to bottom. About the only area that isn’t of concern is the running-back spot, but even Clinton Portis could stand to see some of his carries given to a productive backup. By far, starting quarterback Jason Campbell is the lead concern. After a solid beginning, he languished as last season wore on and didn’t show the leap in development expected. The 38 sacks surrendered by the offensive line and the lack of a reliable No. 2 receiver didn’t help. But a lot of those woes can be solved by better – and quicker – decisions from Campbell. This will be his third year as a full-time starter and, as history has shown, should be the watershed moment in which he makes the step into maturity as a passer. Ultimately, this falls on head coach Jim Zorn. He works as closely with Campbell as anyone, and having a second offseason of tutelage has to yield more consistent and lasting results.

Defense: A boatload of cash was invested in two players in free agency: defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Haynesworth has a lot to live up to, but if he can come even close to duplicating what he did the past two seasons in Tennessee, it will make Washington’s front seven exponentially better. Hall, on the other hand, has yet to show he can play well after getting big money. He certainly didn’t last season in Oakland, but Washington blessed him with a second chance anyway. If he can play like a No. 1 cornerback, the secondary should be amongst the league’s best. If he can’t, it will be an inconsistent unit. Losing the potential of a healthy Jason Taylor hurts, too, because there isn’t a lot of pop in the pass-rushing department without him. That means seasonlong double-teaming for Haynesworth.

Work to be done: A significant pass-rushing presence is likely going to have to come from the draft, since there just isn’t anyone left in free agency. And no, the talk of adding Renaldo Wynn or bringing back Phillip Daniels isn’t going to scare anyone. That means likely addressing the need with the No. 13 overall pick, which could produce Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo, Penn State’s Aaron Maybin or Florida State’s Everette Brown. Two of those three players will likely be available when Washington is on the clock. But don’t be shocked if the Redskins go for a young offensive tackle if one is still available. Bringing Pete Kendall back would help the depth on the offensive line. And finally, developing one (or better yet, both) of last season’s second-round wideouts – Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly – into a reliable No. 2 would be a big step forward.

Bottom line: Zorn must get some development out of two parts of his offense. Campbell’s growth is the top priority, and then getting one of the young guys to take the lead as a pass-catching complement to Santana Moss. Defensively, a pass rusher has to be found to balance out and protect the Haynesworth investment, and the coaching staff has to hope Hall stays hungry in spite of his new deal.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

I see no reason why not but I'm sure there are 30 other teams out there that feel the same.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Chiefs are really, really far from contending (I know that's what we said about the Falcons last year, but the Chiefs are twice as bad as the Falcons were before their breakout year), so I wouldn't have them anywhere on my list, but that's a very solid first four he's got.

Robinson is a good writer. I could take issue with some of the thinks he put in the Skins write-up, but he's a national writer who understands the big picture. It's not so important that he understand why Campbell's stat line looks like a different player in the second half of the year.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Skins will not be the Cards of '09, just for the simple fact we will be retaining most of the same units that we fielded for '08. Haynesworth is a definite plus for the D, but how arre we going to be at the LB spot. Can Rogers step up his level of play to that of the old Springs consistently? What the hell about our O line? Also, how can you fail with Kurt Warner throwing to Boldin and Fitzgerald, two barn burners. WE don't have barn burners on our team. Moss can be, but not often enough as he is oft injured anymore. Also you need to remember what division the Cards played in, the weakest division in the NFL, while we play in the toughest. On top of that you have the JC drama. I think if he was going to be a great QB in the NFL, we would have seen some shades of it, no matter the system, etc. I am not talking about throwing mechanics either. He really doesn't show any leadership on the field, like he wants to make it his team.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

What exactly does it mean to be next year's Cardinals? Have one of the game's best passing game, worst running game, and a mediocre defense in a bad/mediocre division go 9-7? Looking to the Cardinals of 2008 as a source of inspiration is like asking a lottery winner for financial advice. Yes, they made it to the Super Bowl and good for them, clearly the system ain't perfect.

Damn, what a hater!

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536131]What exactly does it mean to be next year's Cardinals? Have one of the game's best passing game, worst running game, and a mediocre defense in a bad/mediocre division go 9-7? Looking to the Cardinals of 2008 as a source of inspiration is like asking a lottery winner for financial advice. Yes, they made it to the Super Bowl and good for them, clearly the system ain't perfect.

Damn, what a hater![/quote]

I kinda had the same thought

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=SkinsFanSince91;536109]Bottom line: Zorn must get some development out of two parts of his offense. Campbell’s growth is the top priority, and then getting one of the young guys to take the lead as a pass-catching complement to Santana Moss. [B]Defensively, a pass rusher has to be found to balance out and protect the Haynesworth investment[/B], and the coaching staff has to hope Hall stays hungry in spite of his new deal.[/quote]


This is a good point. The redskins personnel folks may need to think about this to (maybe even to save their own ass).

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Isn't this the beauty of the NFL? Ever team has things that need to fall into place. The Skins have solved some of last year's woes, but have found some new concerns. Last year's wideouts MUST produce...and Campbell too. Its that simple. The D will keep them in games. But occasionally, the O needs to win it.
Zorn has to be the play caler he was supposed to be. Was that a myth or was he held back by pass protection?

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

While I want to see it all come together on the field (I've been fooled by the off season championship trophy before) but in our division us and the Giants improved but I'd argue the Cowboys and Eagles not only got worse but SIGNIFICANTLY worse. One game separated us from them last season and our additions and their subtractions should be worth at least one game.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=mcludka;536156]Isn't this the beauty of the NFL? Ever team has things that need to fall into place. The Skins have solved some of last year's woes, but have found some new concerns. Last year's wideouts MUST produce...and Campbell too. Its that simple. The D will keep them in games. But occasionally, the O needs to win it.
Zorn has to be the play caler he was supposed to be. Was that a myth or was he held back by pass protection?[/quote]

It's funny you mention about things falling into place. For the Cards the team was good enough to win a terrible NFC West, yet their defense stepped it up during the postseason and compliment their potent pass offense, which allowed them to go deep into the playoffs.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536131]What exactly does it mean to be next year's Cardinals? Have one of the game's best passing game, worst running game, and a mediocre defense in a bad/mediocre division go 9-7? Looking to the Cardinals of 2008 as a source of inspiration is like asking a lottery winner for financial advice. Yes, they made it to the Super Bowl and good for them, clearly the system ain't perfect.

Damn, what a hater![/quote]

my thoughts really. The Cards are crap. They are the poster child for a weak conference where a team can put together a few half decent weeks and squeak by. They'll be worse than 9-7 this year and my money says they don't even get close to the playoffs. We're talking about the Cardinals here. The ARIZONA CARDINALS.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

I just want Paintrain's sig to become true & I'll be happy

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=FRPLG;536181]my thoughts really. The Cards are crap. They are the poster child for a weak conference where a team can put together a few half decent weeks and squeak by. They'll be worse than 9-7 this year and my money says they don't even get close to the playoffs. We're talking about the Cardinals here. The ARIZONA CARDINALS.[/quote]Well, the Cards were the very best team in the NFL playoffs this year. The Steelers [I]earned [/I]their easy road by having a complete and impressive regular season. But by January, the Cardinals were every bit as good as the 2007 Giants were in the playoffs.

And I guess the point is less a direct comparison, and more a general look at which non-playoff team can make the super bowl in 2009.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536131]What exactly does it mean to be next year's Cardinals? Have one of the game's best passing game, worst running game, and a mediocre defense in a bad/mediocre division go 9-7? Looking to the Cardinals of 2008 as a source of inspiration is like asking a lottery winner for financial advice. Yes, they made it to the Super Bowl and good for them, clearly the system ain't perfect.

Damn, what a hater![/quote]

I hear ya, but who cares how they got there, they made the most of it when they had to. We may say that we had some playoffs in the past 10 years, but they've pretty much been scraping by as well.

The Giants in the previous superbowl were a wild card team

It ain't where ya from, it's where ya at ;)

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

The guy who wrote this is far from having his pulse on the Washington Redskins. He is a way outsider. In fact I question his football intelligence too.

[quote] But a lot of those woes can be solved by better – and quicker – decisions from Campbell.[/quote]

Campbell might make better decisions without defenders in is face on his hitch step during a 3 step drop.

[quote]Losing the potential of a healthy Jason Taylor hurts, too, because there isn’t a lot of pop in the pass-rushing department without him. That means seasonlong double-teaming for Haynesworth.[/quote]

JT didn't do squat last year due mostly to injuries and even without him we have Carter who is a pretty good pass rusher. Carter had to take on double teams all season. The problem was at DT enough said.

[quote]Work to be done: A significant pass-rushing presence is likely going to have to come from the draft, since there just isn’t anyone left in free agency. And no, the talk of adding Renaldo Wynn or bringing back Phillip Daniels isn’t going to scare anyone.[/quote]

Um no, we have a pass rushing RE we need a LE that is solid against the run. We have role players that can pass rush if need be. Philip Daniels is definitely an option there.

[quote]That means likely addressing the need with the No. 13 overall pick, which could produce Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo, Penn State’s Aaron Maybin or Florida State’s Everette Brown. Two of those three players will likely be available when Washington is on the clock. But don’t be shocked if the Redskins go for a young offensive tackle if one is still available. Bringing Pete Kendall back would help the depth on the offensive line.[/quote]

No again, I would be shocked if the FO drafts a DE instead of OT because Zorn has to protect his QB if he wants to get this offense going. The defense was solid and just needs to be tweaked. The offense needs a lot of work and it just makes more sense to add talent on the O-line.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536131]What exactly does it mean to be next year's Cardinals? Have one of the game's best passing game, worst running game, and a mediocre defense in a bad/mediocre division go 9-7? Looking to the Cardinals of 2008 as a source of inspiration is like asking a lottery winner for financial advice. Yes, they made it to the Super Bowl and good for them, clearly the system ain't perfect.

Damn, what a hater![/quote]

I doubt anyone in AZ cares if the Cards went 9-7, 7-9, or 16-0. All they care about is that they came within a couple of minutes of winning it all. Considering the Skins havent sniffed the Super Bowl in going on 20 years I cant imagine any Skins fan not wanting to replicate what the Cards did last year.

What I really think the author is saying is that the Skins are not a very good team but if a few things go right they could make the best of it and make a run. Thats what the Cards (who arent a very good team) did.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=irish;536192]I doubt anyone in AZ cares if the Cards went 9-7, 7-9, or 16-0. All they care about is that they came within a couple of minutes of winning it all. Considering the Skins havent sniffed the Super Bowl in going on 20 years I cant imagine any Skins fan not wanting to replicate what the Cards did last year.

What I really think the author is saying is that the Skins are not a very good team but if a few things go right they could make the best of it and make a run. Thats what the Cards (who arent a very good team) did.[/quote]

I would rather be next years Steelers. There is no consolation prize for second place.

It's just like the Emmy's and Grammy's. No one want's to be the guy that says "It was just an honor to be nominated." You would rather be the one making the speech.

I think that AL Davis said it best when the Raiders lost the Super Bowl one year when one of his players said "Well, at least we learned something". Al Davis replied "We didn't come here to learn nothing, we came here to win!".

In other words I could give a rats ass if we make it to the Super Bowl and lose next season; we might as well have missed the playoffs alltogether. It's like getting to the goal line and having to kick a field goal. Hell, you could have done the same thing from 35 yards away.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=Angry;536194]I would rather be next years Steelers. There is no consolation prize for second place.

It's just like the Emmy's and Grammy's. No one want's to be the guy that says "It was just an honor to be nominated." You would rather be the one making the speech.

I think that AL Davis said it best when the Raiders lost the Super Bowl one year when one of his players said "Well, at least we learned something". Al Davis replied "We didn't come here to learn nothing, we came here to win!".

In other words I could give a rats *** if we make it to the Super Bowl and lose next season; we might as well have missed the playoffs alltogether. It's like getting to the goal line and having to kick a field goal. Hell, you could have done the same thing from 35 yards away.[/quote]

I agree I would rather be the Steelers.

But to have a shot, as a fan, I would be loving every minute and every playoff game, and all the hype leading up to it. I miss the days when year in year out teams knew that they were going to have to get past the Skins. Any single game, including the SB, can go either way. But the thrill of getting there, of seeing our team stomp over some, scrape by others, and win on a luck call in still others. All leading to a final do or die, glory or runner up moment. That can't be overlooked or minimized.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Man, people really are jaded. God forbid someone writes something positive about the team, everyone pisses on it. But at the same time if someone writes something negative, everyone gets all ticked off. I don't get it.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

If only the Skins were in the NFC West..... Bla Bla... They could suck like the Cards and still go to playoffs....

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=Angry;536194]I would rather be next years Steelers. There is no consolation prize for second place.

It's just like the Emmy's and Grammy's. No one want's to be the guy that says "It was just an honor to be nominated." You would rather be the one making the speech.

I think that AL Davis said it best when the Raiders lost the Super Bowl one year when one of his players said "Well, at least we learned something". Al Davis replied "We didn't come here to learn nothing, we came here to win!".

In other words I could give a rats ass if we make it to the Super Bowl and lose next season; we might as well have missed the playoffs alltogether. It's like getting to the goal line and having to kick a field goal. Hell, you could have done the same thing from 35 yards away.[/quote]

Of course you want to be the Steelers, who doesnt want to win it all. The Skins are nowhere close to the Steelers but they are close to the Cards. I'd have loved to have had a party every week for the Skins playoff games and then a huge burgandy & gold Super Bowl bash would have been fantastic. Sure there would have been some disappointment in the end but it sure would have been a fun few weeks. Considering the Skins have been non-entities in the playoffs for quite some time I'll take what the Cards did last year instead of what the Skins did last year.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Sorry, I just can't bring myself to say that I hope the Skins have a mediocre team that happens to put together a good string of games at the right time thanks to the amazing receiving ability of one star player.

I do hope that the Skins play awesome in every game next year with a few acceptable losses to quality opponents. I guess I'm more of a spirit of competition guy rather than a "it don't matter how you get there as long as your there". That doesn't mean I won't be jacked up to watch them play in a Super Bowl if they were just as lucky as the Cards.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Cards proved it can happen to any team playing thier best ball at the right time of the year.

But they were a 9-7 division winning team (from a very weak division) in the regular season. And I really don't think 9-7 gets it done in the NFC East.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

The basic point of the article is to point out teams that could be sleepers and make a surprise run. It's not meant to be a literal comparison to the Cardinals that some people seem to be taking it as.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=irish;536216]Of course you want to be the Steelers, who doesnt want to win it all. The Skins are nowhere close to the Steelers but they are close to the Cards. I'd have loved to have had a party every week for the Skins playoff games and then a huge burgandy & gold Super Bowl bash would have been fantastic. Sure there would have been some disappointment in the end but it sure would have been a fun few weeks. Considering the Skins have been non-entities in the playoffs for quite some time I'll take what the Cards did last year instead of what the Skins did last year.[/quote]
NICELY DONE
It WOULD represent many achievments, and the feeling that the organization is going the right way (real or imagined)

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=FRPLG;536181]my thoughts really. The Cards are crap. They are the poster child for a weak conference where a team can put together a few half decent weeks and squeak by. They'll be worse than 9-7 this year and my money says they don't even get close to the playoffs. We're talking about the Cardinals here. The ARIZONA CARDINALS.[/quote]

So you're saying if the Skins make the Super Bowl next year after a late-season run (which we've done in recent years), you will complain and call the team crap for not winning early in the season?

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536221]Sorry, I just can't bring myself to say that I hope the Skins have a mediocre team that happens to put together a good string of games at the right time thanks to the amazing receiving ability of one star player.

I do hope that the Skins play awesome in every game next year with a few acceptable losses to quality opponents. I guess I'm more of a spirit of competition guy rather than a "it don't matter how you get there as long as your there". That doesn't mean I won't be jacked up to watch them play in a Super Bowl if they were just as lucky as the Cards.[/quote]

So you'd rather be NE last year instead of AZ?

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Yes. The Patriots are a good team.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536275]Yes. The Patriots are a good team.[/quote]

Not good enough to make the playoffs.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

Neither were the Cards but they did. Quite honestly, I'd rather be the 2007 Patriots over the 2007 Giants. For some crazy reason I like watching really good teams play great football week in and week out instead of the fixating on the one's hoisting a trophy over their head...unless the Skins are doing the hoisting then my fandom overrides any rational thought.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=irish;536276]Not good enough to make the playoffs.[/quote]
Yeah but to go 11-5 and NOT make the post season, one could say that is almost criminal.

Especially when a 9-7 team DOES make it and did pretty well too.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536131]What exactly does it mean to be next year's Cardinals? Have one of the game's best passing game, worst running game, and a mediocre defense in a bad/mediocre division go 9-7? Looking to the Cardinals of 2008 as a source of inspiration is like asking a lottery winner for financial advice. Yes, they made it to the Super Bowl and good for them, clearly the system ain't perfect.

Damn, what a hater![/quote]

You can say the Cards had maybe an easy season but they did have to win three playoff games which usually exposes teams that luck into the playoffs (see skins past couple of playoff runs). When it counted they started running the ball and playing tough on D and their stats back that up [url=http://www.nfl.com/stats/player]NFL Stats: Player[/url] I would not mind one bit if the skins did what they did last year. I do think it will take winning a few more games durn the season then the Cards.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=sandtrapjack;536298]Yeah but to go 11-5 and NOT make the post season, one could say that is almost criminal.

Especially when a 9-7 team DOES make it and did pretty well too.[/quote]

Screw the Patriots.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=sandtrapjack;536298]Yeah but to go 11-5 and NOT make the post season, one could say that is almost criminal.

Especially when a 9-7 team DOES make it and did pretty well too.[/quote]

The point of the NFL season isnt to have a good record its to get into the playoffs, make a run, and win it all. Unually the good record and getting into the playoffs go together but last year they didnt for NE. AZ's record doesnt matter, they got into the playoffs and beat 3 teams that anyone would have said were better than AZ except that they couldnt beat AZ so AZ went all the way to the big game and almost won. Ask any NFL player who had a better season AZ or NE and they will tell you AZ because the point is to win it all and AZ had a chance to do it and NE didnt.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=724Skinsfan;536289]Neither were the Cards but they did. Quite honestly, I'd rather be the 2007 Patriots over the 2007 Giants. For some crazy reason I like watching really good teams play great football week in and week out instead of the fixating on the one's hoisting a trophy over their head...unless the Skins are doing the hoisting then my fandom overrides any rational thought.[/quote]

I'm kinda confused here, so as a fan you would have been happier with the Patriots 18-1 season vs. the Giants winning it all?

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=irish;536313]The point of the NFL season isnt to have a good record its to get into the playoffs, make a run, and win it all. Unually the good record and getting into the playoffs go together but last year they didnt for NE. AZ's record doesnt matter, they got into the playoffs and beat 3 teams that anyone would have said were better than AZ except that they couldnt beat AZ so AZ went all the way to the big game and almost won. Ask any NFL player who had a better season AZ or NE and they will tell you AZ because the point is to win it all and AZ had a chance to do it and NE didnt.[/quote]Given this logic, it follows that teams should be allowed to bargain to set their divisions each season. Since the point should just be to win it, why have set divisions? Wouldn't things be more interesting if we just shouted and lobbied until our division opponents are the Lions, the Broncos, and the Browns? C'mon, that'd be so great!

I didn't have anything to say about your first point because NE didn't deserve to make the playoffs this year. They had the same shitty schedule that the rest of their division had and their 11 wins were less quality than the Ravens or the Dolphins' 11 and the Colts' 12. Arizona probably didn't deserve to make the playoffs either, but their closest competition was 7-9 San Francisco. By the end of the (regular) year, SF was probably playing better football, but they were never really a threat to catch Arizona in that division. No one was really.

But whereas you deem that to be because of an inherent winning quality of the Cardinals, the rest of us just see their three division opponents picking in the top ten in this years draft.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

I see us being more of a great defense mediocre offense like the Bears or Ravens, Which wouldn't be a bad thing if it's closer to the Ravens..If our young players step up we'll be fine..

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

I don't quite get where this debate is going, but like matty said, the article is just an attempt to point out a couple of mediocre 08 teams that could make a signficant jump in 09.

I can see why he picked the skins, we had an impressive start & if a few key guys step up we could be a dangerous team. On the other hand, at the end of the year I really felt like this team was on its way down. Free agency has me confused, don't really have a feeling for how good this team is. There are still some major holes to fill.

Re: Skins and Texans poised to be next year's Cardinals?
 

[quote=GTripp0012;536324]Given this logic, it follows that teams should be allowed to bargain to set their divisions each season. Since the point should just be to win it, why have set divisions? Wouldn't things be more interesting if we just shouted and lobbied until our division opponents are the Lions, the Broncos, and the Browns? C'mon, that'd be so great!

I didn't have anything to say about your first point because NE didn't deserve to make the playoffs this year. They had the same shitty schedule that the rest of their division had and their 11 wins were less quality than the Ravens or the Dolphins' 11 and the Colts' 12. Arizona probably didn't deserve to make the playoffs either, but their closest competition was 7-9 San Francisco. By the end of the (regular) year, SF was probably playing better football, but they were never really a threat to catch Arizona in that division. No one was really.

But whereas you deem that to be because of an inherent winning quality of the Cardinals, the rest of us just see their three division opponents picking in the top ten in this years draft.[/quote]

I have no idea what you are talking about. Wins, quality wins, who cares. That garbage only matters in college football. In the pros a win is a win. I am only saying that records dont matter as long as you get into the playoffs anything can happen.