Early W/L offseason predictions (any team)...

[MTK]

The Cardinals have been everyone's sexy pick for years now. I'll believe it when I see it.

[XXVI]

I am going to be the pioneer. I give the Skins' 8-8. Here's why.

Kelly, and Thomas are going to be the missing pieces to the offense. I expect Thomas to be more like Roy Williams. I do not see Kelly making a big impact this year, however I do see him catching some passes in the redzone. Davis is a no-brainer. If he can grasp the offense with Cooley, that's going to be our most important attack.

QB- Jason Campbell/Colt Brennan
RB- Clinton Portis
FB- Mike Sellers/Chris Cooley
H-Back/TE- Chris Cooley
TE/WR- Fred Davis
WR#1- Santana Moss
WR#2- Devin Thomas
WR#3- Antwaan Randle El


Ok, how many all pro's are there?

4. Three potential 1's rounders?


I know it's going to take a very long time for Zorn's system to take hold, but if he stays true to his word about keeping the running game the same, then I'll place 6 wins on the running game alone. Plus our D is the same as last year basically, we just need Justin Tryon to develop fast, and hope Carlos can at least play some nickel.

[sandtrapjack]

Originally Posted by Miller101

I don't care about Springs and Landry training on their own. Some people think its a big deal, but I don't care! What I do care about is Rogers health! He was our 9th overall pick just a year after we got Sean. Blowing out his knee as bad as he did.............I can't buy into the fact that he'll be back in September. Heck, he might not even make it back to where he was before his injury. And if he can't come back healthy then we would have lost two top 10 picks in the last 4 years and its hard for any team to overcome that.

Shoooot what am I saying? We'll be alright. After all Landry and Springs kicked the crap out of you all and every other team we played against during the last month of the season!

And I got to know.............did Pacman Jones really work out at Deon Sanders summer camp for kids? I heard that he did on the Radio. Is it true?

Since Adam Jones was not permitted at the facilities, he was with Deion Sanders and a handful of other pro players at SMU doing his off season workouts. It was not a kids camp, but a program hosted and sponsored by Sanders for college and pro players. Not unlike when other players in the league "work out on their own" instead of doing that at the team facilities.

But he is back at Valley Ranch now (fingers crossed and prayers spoken).

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by XXVI

I am going to be the pioneer. I give the Skins' 8-8. Here's why.

Kelly, and Thomas are going to be the missing pieces to the offense. I expect Thomas to be more like Roy Williams. I do not see Kelly making a big impact this year, however I do see him catching some passes in the redzone. Davis is a no-brainer. If he can grasp the offense with Cooley, that's going to be our most important attack.

QB- Jason Campbell/Colt Brennan
RB- Clinton Portis
FB- Mike Sellers/Chris Cooley
H-Back/TE- Chris Cooley
TE/WR- Fred Davis
WR#1- Santana Moss
WR#2- Devin Thomas
WR#3- Antwaan Randle El


Ok, how many all pro's are there?

4. Three potential 1's rounders?


I know it's going to take a very long time for Zorn's system to take hold, but if he stays true to his word about keeping the running game the same, then I'll place 6 wins on the running game alone. Plus our D is the same as last year basically, we just need Justin Tryon to develop fast, and hope Carlos can at least play some nickel.

So are you saying that a .500 season is acceptable and should be considered a positive thing at the end of this season? Not very optimistic are you? I would be disappointed with anything less than 10 wins. Is it realistic to think that way? Maybe not, but I do not believe that anyone sits back and says "You know, I want my team to only lose 8 times this year." Personally, I want us to try and win them all and hopefully we make the playoffs. No playoffs = disappointment, regardless of the situation.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Both Miami and Atlanta could rely heavily on their running games this year -- and be quite successful at it.

Remember with the Cards: 8 wins last year -- without their best defensive player for two thirds of the season. Unless you feel they were lucky to get 8, a two win improvement almost seems expected right now.

i think their schedule was easy last year and they'll have a much harder time vs the nfc east this year.

and on the skins, a completely new offense, a bunch of new players (though mainly as depth) and a new head coach means that winning 10 games will be a bit harder this year.

but, our schedule only has two sure losses (well, nothing's 100%, but seattle and pittsburg have very good rosters right now) and the rest seem pretty winnable. I'm not concerned with STL, NO, ARI, SF, DET, or BAL. CLE or CIN could go either way, but i do think we can win those at least 6/10 times.

so even with the new parts, i'll guess 9-7 +/- 1 (though i think we could cap at 11). the problem is if we can't even split in the NFC east, which is crazy competitive, but i'd tend to think we can.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by That Guy

i think their schedule was easy last year and they'll have a much harder time vs the nfc east this year.

Good point right there, but I do think they will handle their division pretty easily.

Although the Rams could be a darkhorse. They haven't had a defense since 2001, but their last three first round picks have been Tye Hill, Adam Carriker, and Chris Long, and every one of those guys could be a defensive cornerstone.

If that defense becomes a top half defense, the Rams could certainly ruin the Cards' playoff chances.

I really like Arizona's defense this year, and I've liked their offense for quite some time now.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by That Guy

but, our schedule only has two sure losses (well, nothing's 100%, but seattle and pittsburg have very good rosters right now) and the rest seem pretty winnable. I'm not concerned with STL, NO, ARI, SF, DET, or BAL. CLE or CIN could go either way, but i do think we can win those at least 6/10 times.

Well, we have Pittsburgh at home this year, and though it would be foolish to take Campbell over Big Ben at this point, Pittsburgh's roster is lacking in the exact same places ours is: They are elderly on defense, and have little of a running game to back up their passing game. The difference, of course, being that we have an established running back, and they have a one two punch of fantasy back Willie Parker, and rookie will-be-stud-two-years-from-now Mendenhall. I'm taking the Skins in that game, at least right now.

Seattle of course, is always a tough road game, but that team isn't impressive to me. Sure, they jettisoned Alexander, but a combination of Julius Jones and TJ Duckett doesn't strike all that much fear into anyone in the running game, and we know that Hasselbeck had his career year in 2005 -- three years ago. I don't want to say that we have the advantage at QB, but Campbell IS improving, and Hasselbeck is hanging around the above average tier for the next few years, so we might have the advantage at QB in that game. Seattle's defense is much younger than ours, but they are definately in transition at a few positions, such as DE or Safety, and that might give us the advantage around the middle of the season.

The non-conference opponents we really have to be careful about: St. Louis, Arizona, Cincinnati, and to an extent, New Orleans. New Orleans has a crappy roster right now on paper, but I can't sleep on Drew Brees. Cincinnati is just a top offensive team from top to bottom, and they have two young corners and two young linebackers, so I can't count their defense out either. Still, I already know I'm picking the Skins over the Saints in the home opener, especially with 10 days to gameplan for it.

Anyway, the toughest part of the schedule is right at the beginning -- the first 5 games, so we will know right off the bat how good this team is going to be.

[XXVI]

Dude, why does everyone on this site feel like arguing with EVERYTHING I say? Let's ask Matty. Did my post make me look like I don't have high expectations? Even if it did a little, I'm not bashing in anyway. I just like to think we could at least put 6 wins on our running game. Is what I say so hard for people to understand? 10 wins? You're crazy though. If we win 10 games this year, I'll run through my neighborhood naked, praising your intelligence. There is no way, we will win 10 games. I love the Skins', and I'm sure they'll progress beyond a lot of peoples imaginations, but how are you going to put 10 wins on a new coach, a new offense, and three new wideouts that frankly need to be a full-time contributor in order to run it. Jason Campbell aside, we have a lot of developing to do, especially after Gibbs' system was in place for so long. You know how hard it is to un-learn certain tendencies someone has beat into your brain day in and day out for 4 years? 10 wins is a pipe dream. When was the last time we won 10 games? Exactally. Certainly not with a never-before-coached-ever head coach/qb coach, and definitely not the first year. Took Gibbs two years. Granted, he does have a great team, and not starting over like Joe did, but I still see it not-feesable. 9 games is the limit. I promise you.

Originally Posted by Angry

So are you saying that a .500 season is acceptable and should be considered a positive thing at the end of this season? Not very optimistic are you? I would be disappointed with anything less than 10 wins. Is it realistic to think that way? Maybe not, but I do not believe that anyone sits back and says "You know, I want my team to only lose 8 times this year." Personally, I want us to try and win them all and hopefully we make the playoffs. No playoffs = disappointment, regardless of the situation.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by XXVI

Dude, why does everyone on this site feel like arguing with EVERYTHING I say? Let's ask Matty. Did my post make me look like I don't have high expectations? Even if it did a little, I'm not bashing in anyway. I just like to think we could at least put 6 wins on our running game. Is what I say so hard for people to understand? 10 wins? You're crazy though. If we win 10 games this year, I'll run through my neighborhood naked, praising your intelligence. There is no way, we will win 10 games. I love the Skins', and I'm sure they'll progress beyond a lot of peoples imaginations, but how are you going to put 10 wins on a new coach, a new offense, and three new wideouts that frankly need to be a full-time contributor in order to run it. Jason Campbell aside, we have a lot of developing to do, especially after Gibbs' system was in place for so long. You know how hard it is to un-learn certain tendencies someone has beat into your brain day in and day out for 4 years? 10 wins is a pipe dream. When was the last time we won 10 games? Exactally. Certainly not with a never-before-coached-ever head coach/qb coach, and definitely not the first year. Took Gibbs two years. Granted, he does have a great team, and not starting over like Joe did, but I still see it not-feesable. 9 games is the limit. I promise you.

I don't think Angry was arguing with you, he simply disagreed and gave you his opinion.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by XXVI

Dude, why does everyone on this site feel like arguing with EVERYTHING I say? Let's ask Matty. Did my post make me look like I don't have high expectations? Even if it did a little, I'm not bashing in anyway. I just like to think we could at least put 6 wins on our running game. Is what I say so hard for people to understand? 10 wins? You're crazy though. If we win 10 games this year, I'll run through my neighborhood naked, praising your intelligence. There is no way, we will win 10 games. I love the Skins', and I'm sure they'll progress beyond a lot of peoples imaginations, but how are you going to put 10 wins on a new coach, a new offense, and three new wideouts that frankly need to be a full-time contributor in order to run it. Jason Campbell aside, we have a lot of developing to do, especially after Gibbs' system was in place for so long. You know how hard it is to un-learn certain tendencies someone has beat into your brain day in and day out for 4 years? 10 wins is a pipe dream. When was the last time we won 10 games? Exactally. Certainly not with a never-before-coached-ever head coach/qb coach, and definitely not the first year. Took Gibbs two years. Granted, he does have a great team, and not starting over like Joe did, but I still see it not-feesable. 9 games is the limit. I promise you.

3 years ago.

Anyway, you are on a discussion fourm that between fifty-75 people check daily, so when you post an opinion...chances are someone somewhere will disagree with you. It doesn't make you wrong...I don't think anyone is saying that--they just don't always agree.

Which is fine.

I agree that 8 wins is the most likely outcome of this season, but if we win three of our first five (tough task), its hard to see us not besting that.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by XXVI

Never say never. We should have learned that lesson by now

They won 9 games last year, so isn't 10 wins progress? Or are you talking about playoff progress? Like maybe a 9 win season but they play in the NFC Championship game?

[QUTOE]but how are you going to put 10 wins on a new coach, a new offense, and three new wideouts that frankly need to be a full-time contributor in order to run it.

Let's ask Sean Payton, for one.

Jason Campbell aside, we have a lot of developing to do, especially after Gibbs' system was in place for so long. You know how hard it is to un-learn certain tendencies someone has beat into your brain day in and day out for 4 years?

Arguably the biggest knock against Gibbs (some say it's what made him great in his first tenure) is that there was no consistent system. They went from some form of WCO with the shotgun led by Musgrave to essentially a power running game to Al Saunders' offense over the course of four years. Not to mention, Moss and Portis both have experience and success in the WCO from previous teams, and the rookies (Kelly, Davis, Thomas) don't have to learn certain tendencies because they are just rookies anyway.

[MTK]

Why is 10 wins so out of the question?

At this point there are so many unknowns I don't think anything can be ruled out. Let's see how this team looks in camp before we start throwing around rock solid predictions.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I think if Derek Anderson continues the way he did last year, I think the Browns take the next step.

[Miller101]

Originally Posted by XXVI

If we win 10 games this year, I'll run through my neighborhood naked, praising your intelligence.

Dude! Come about December or so you're gonna have to tell me which neighberhood! And don't worry! I'll be sure to bring my camera!


Seriously, Its not a entirely new system as you're making it out to be. As you might recall Buges is still with us and his running plays are staying with us as well. We'll still see those sweep plays that Portis is good at. Those plays........the name escapes me..........but its that play where one or both guards pull and clear a lane for Portis. And of course we'll still see 40/ 50 gut. If we don't loose two lineman again, we should be back in the top 5 running the ball this year.

As far as the passing game...............don't forget that the WCO was what Campbell was running when he lead his team to an undefeated season in the SEC. I really don't think it will take Campbell to long to get it all back.

Chill out dude! We're going to be alright!

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I think if Derek Anderson continues the way he did last year, I think the Browns take the next step.

not with that defense...