Why are the Redskins jinxed?

[Bill B]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

The injuries are way outta control.

Looks like Campbell is done for the season. Wake me up when this nightmare is over.

Matty - I was considering creating a thread about the injuries and there cause but I will just put my two cents in this thread. My theory on the high amount of injuries is due to how the team has been constructed (building through free agents over the draft). I would think most people would agree that as we age we become more prone to injuries and that this is especially prevalant with NFL players that go through a high amount of wear and tear. The average lifespan of an NFL player is somwhere between 3-4 years as the extreme hits players sustain on a weekly basis leads to a shorter life in the nfl and as players get older they are more likely to get injuries and take longer to recover. Now some positions are more prone to injuries than others (a DB or a running back is more likely to get injuried than a kicker) but I feel as a player gets older his ability to take punishment and recover from the constant hits goes down.

As many of you know the Redskins philosphy of building through free agents and supplementing through the draft puts them at a higher risk because a lot of our front line starters are older. Look at some of the players that got injuried and were acquired through free agency who are on the older side of their careers - Marcus Washington, Fred Smoot, Shawn Springs, Randy Thomas.

I know that a lot of injuries are the result of bad luck and happen regardless of how old a player is. I do also feel that as players get older and have constant wear and tear they become more prone to injuries - especially repeat injuries. This is just another reason the Skins should change their philopshy of building through free agency and the draft second. Plus I think this year is a stark reminder that depth is so important. If the team used more of their cap space on reserves instead of on front line players (which can be done if you spend less on big name free agents and build through the draft) than a team's ability to overcome the injury factor improves.