Sporting News Football '08: Redskins (Magazine)

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

And Beemen, I consider Thomas, Kelly, and Davis to be significant upgrades. Regarding your certainty that the two former will not exceed 50 catches this season, if that happens they will have been big fat busts, since they will be used immediately and will get plenty of opportunities. While that's possible, I don't think its unreasonable to expect one to make a serious impact his first year, thus my choice of the word significant. If I'm wrong about that, as you seem convinced I will be, then I will probably also be wrong about the Skins being a playoff team next season. If I'm right I am going to laugh at you, not invite you to my playoff party, and then email you pictures showing how fun it was afterwards

Last year's offensive line situation was unusual, and was in many ways a perfect storm. I should say I think its also unlikely they will be equally or more injured this season; if they are we will probably be in trouble.

Just out of curiousity Beemen are you going on the record as picking them to finish last this season like the author of the article in question?

I have no idea what they'll do this year. I go back and forth, wondering what 2008 will hold, but more often than not, I tend to think that they probably won't do as well as 9-7. 4-12 might be a little extreme, but after the dream season of 2005, did anyone expect a 6-10 season from a Joe Gibbs-led team when everyone (including me) thought they had it all figured out? Chalk it up to complete inexperience with head coaching -- we'd be delirious to think that Zorn will step right in without any growing pains and instantaneously hit on all cylinders right off the bat.

Also consider that, (and this is the root of our disagreement) there were really no improvements to the receiving group whatsoever. I know you count Kelly, Thomas, and Davis. Sorry, I just don't see it. Not yet anyway. Moss, Cooley, and Randle El have amounted to an average passing threat when you look at year-end statistics -- they just can't seem to break out of the middle of the pack. But don't expect the coaches to be convinced of that to the extent that they'll toss out Randle El and hand it all over to Thomas or Kelly. Everyone around the league still lives with the completely irrational notion that Randle El really is an elite wideout.

Then there's the defense. We have durability concerns with Smoot, Springs, and Rogers coming off that knee surgery. No upgrades at the pass rush other than more dumpster diving through the Vikings' trash with Erasmus James. Despite an obvious decline with Marcus Washington, a hobbling Rocky McIntosh, and an aging London Fletcher, the linebackers seem solid, but they might also be teetering on the edge. Other than run-stopping, we just don't have a solid checkmark anywhere on D.

I guess I just don't think it's impossible for this team to finish way below expectations regardless of the previous season's results. We saw it with Ritchie Petitbon in 1993, another guy with no head coaching experience. They finished 4-12 then. I certainly hope they don't finish that way, but I suppose I'm just not blind to the possibility of everything blowing up in Zorn's face in his first season the way others apparently are.