Be prepared to be picked last in the division

[PA Skins Girl]

Dont be surprised if every analyst out there picks us last in the division this year.
The perception will be, we lost two starters on defense and our receiving crew was downgraded. We were a 6-10 team last year and the analysts will say we downgraded. They will say the Giants and Dallas took a step forward, Philly stayed the same, and the Skins took a step backward.
I'm just saying this now, because I'm sure there will be a lot of rants over the offseason when the sportswriters start making their predictions.

[Jimreaper007]

Dont be surprised if every analyst out there picks us last in the division this year.
The perception will be, we lost two starters on defense and our receiving crew was downgraded. We were a 6-10 team last year and the analysts will say we downgraded. They will say the Giants and Dallas took a step forward, Philly stayed the same, and the Skins took a step backward.
I'm just saying this now, because I'm sure there will be a lot of rants over the offseason when the sportswriters start making their predictions.


Those same analysts said that San Diego was beyond bad and that Marty and the GM would be the first fired. I hope they do pick us last as it only places pressure on the teams above us to perform.

Dallas is in trouble. They are selling their souls to get better and we all know how that turns out.

Philly will be solid again, but if they go into anotrher season as strictly a passing team they will lose again and probably before the superbowl because Carolina will more than likely win the NFC (if they stay healthy).

NY Giants - Insert Joke here

[smoak]

I agree PSG. The only thing that gets my blood boiling is when the media is unecessarily negative and rips Gibbs for things that aren't his fault. Whatever clown does the Fox radio morning show claims to be a disgruntled Skins fan but rips the team fiercly. I'd strangle him if I could.

We'll see. I like what we've done, but I can definitely see a lot of people picking us last.

[BIGSEF3]

Dont be surprised if every analyst out there picks us last in the division this year.
The perception will be, we lost two starters on defense and our receiving crew was downgraded. We were a 6-10 team last year and the analysts will say we downgraded. They will say the Giants and Dallas took a step forward, Philly stayed the same, and the Skins took a step backward.
I'm just saying this now, because I'm sure there will be a lot of rants over the offseason when the sportswriters start making their predictions.

If analysts say that, are they really being so far fetched? based soley on the facts of what teams will improve the most, the redskins SHOULD be ranked last in the division.

we have absolutely no evidence to show we have the ability to beat the cowboys, giants, and eagles this year. heck, we were 1-5 in the division last year. the other teams have taken steps forward, heck the giants stole our top defensive tackler, and we have taken steps backward.

we have definately upgraded at center, but we cant really say we have upgraded that much at receiver, at this point, based solely on statistics.

Any sportswriter who picks us NOT to be last, is taking a gamble. every year, fans think thier team will end up going to the superbowl. and every year, 31 teams fans get disapointed. we, as fans, always have unreasonable expectations. i would guess over 90 percent of us thought we would be ALOT better last year than we were.

If we do win the division, it will be b/c we ARE like the chargers of last year. they did so well, in large part b/c drew brees played like he never had before. if we make the playoffs, even as a wildcard, it will be b/c "no-names" like wilds and marshall (replacing smoot and pierce), step up and perform on a level no one expected. and ramsey will have to have a career season. so will portis.

the odds ARE stacked against us. if sportswriters count us out, they are making an intelligent, calculated, guess.

[smoak]

we have absolutely no evidence to show we have the ability to beat the cowboys, giants, and eagles this year. heck, we were 1-5 in the division last year. the other teams have taken steps forward, heck the giants stole our top defensive tackler, and we have taken steps backward.


I'm not disagreeing with you BIGSEF, but sometimes you have to look past the simple additiona and subtraction of players to decide which teams improve. marty is a good coach who rallied a team NOBODY thought could make the playoff. Nobody thought the Jets would be that good. Every year teams come from nowhere and in football I think the right coach is much more important that the right player. In baseball, bball, and hockey I think it is more about the player, but in football... 11 men on the field and the leadership is what brings them together. I trust our leadership and I feel something growing in our beloved team. I hope it continues.

faith n.
1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance:

[tommahawk]

I wouldn't mind being picked last if it means we'll be playing on Sunday afternoon. I hate being in all those Sunday/Monday night games. Football is a Sunday afternoon game. I like it best that way.

[Vonslydog]

I might agree with analysts picking the skins last, as of today, based on the off season so far. But that means exactly squat. Many picked us first or second last year, and we see how that turned out. There is absolutely no way to tell how good a team is until you see them play. And we won't be seeing that for a few months. So I'll hold off on my picks until at least the preseason.

[Patrick]

Dont be surprised if every analyst out there picks us last in the division this year.
The perception will be, we lost two starters on defense and our receiving crew was downgraded. We were a 6-10 team last year and the analysts will say we downgraded. They will say the Giants and Dallas took a step forward, Philly stayed the same, and the Skins took a step backward.
I'm just saying this now, because I'm sure there will be a lot of rants over the offseason when the sportswriters start making their predictions.

Yep, you've probably nailed it ............ but to me, I could care a less what these media/football mental midgets think.
The bottom-line for me: They are the REDSKINS and I'll stand by them and root for them regardless of the outcome.

[Spence]

Fine with me if the Redskins are picked last in the division. Last I checked, predictions don't actually count in the standings.

[BIGSEF3]

I'm not disagreeing with you BIGSEF, but sometimes you have to look past the simple additiona and subtraction of players to decide which teams improve. marty is a good coach who rallied a team NOBODY thought could make the playoff. Nobody thought the Jets would be that good. Every year teams come from nowhere and in football I think the right coach is much more important that the right player. In baseball, bball, and hockey I think it is more about the player, but in football... 11 men on the field and the leadership is what brings them together. I trust our leadership and I feel something growing in our beloved team. I hope it continues.


i DO look past the addition and subtraction of players. i DO think we will be in the playoffs, but i think it will be very hard to win the NFC-East b/c of those damned eagles. my whole point was that we can't expect a hopefully UNBIASED third-party reporter to share our views.

There are a million variables that come into play (after the 2004 superbowl, who could have thought the panthers would struggle as much as they did. no one. injuries screwed them over) but sports analysts can only really look at what players did last year, what additions and subtractions were made, and make an educated guess as to what will happen this year.

The eagles and patriots werer in the superbowl last year. neither team shows ANY sign of being worse this year than they were last. any sportscaster who didnt pick those teams to win in their division would be crazy.

I wasnt trying to be discouraging. i have faith we will go very far this year. i just dont want us all getting overly upset when we arent favored to win the division.

I'm a redskins fan. I'm perfectly comfortable being the underdog. hell, that makes the regular season all the more exciting.

[smoak]

The big thing for me is that we absolutely must stay healthy. Losing Jansen last season was a devastating blow and I see a couple positions where a season ending injury could have the same effect.

[BIGSEF3]

yah, i dont want any of our starting offensive line playing extensively in the preseason

[Edskins_RVA]

I agree that the O-line will be key. If we can keep them healthy, we'll have a much better chance of succeeding. One or two injuries that cause our starters to lose time could be very damaging. Unless the young guys are ready to step up for Buges...

The sports media always find a way to bash the Skins. I wouldn't put too much stock in what they say..

Keep this in mind.. If we only could have scored 20+ pts. per game last year, we would have been 12-4..

[Keino]

Fine with me if the Redskins are picked last in the division. Last I checked, predictions don't actually count in the standings.

DING!!!

If I recall correctly many of these same "analysts" had us going 10-6 last year and competing for the division crown.
They play the games for a reason.

[MoeRedskins]

Let them pick us last if they like. Although we lost pieces to our defense last year, we still compete with the NFC East this year. The giants haven't proven to me that they have gotten much better. Pierce will not help them win 10 games alone. Eagles will remain competitive, but if the skins perform like they did last year against them, we will win at least one. And we are beating the girls this year, at least once. I could care less who they have on offense, if this team can't pony up some heart and put it to the girls like they did to us last year then we deserve to be in last place. But, since the draft hasn't occured yet and free agency isn't over just yet, I'll wait to see what these "analsyt" say we finish.

[Skins4life]

WE will most Definitely be picked last. I know we lost 2 key players, but didnt we lose more than 2 last year due to injuries?? The offense will be better - not sure how it could get worse. NOt to beat up Brunnell, but I think with Ramsey getting the nod from camp #1, will really help him. I think he will work his A$$ off in the offseason.

As far as the others in the NFC east. Only time will tell. We have Gibbs and GW and that will be the deciding factor.

[chad101]

The schedule from a "off-season" glance I think makes the Skins a Wild Card partcipant in the play-offs.

Obvious things can change, but I see the Skins in the play-offs.

[lrking75]

I guess were gonna suck on Madden 2006..lol

[PennSkinsFan]

Beuing projected last is better than be projected first on paper

[TheGreek1973]

Dont be surprised if every analyst out there picks us last in the division this year.
The perception will be, we lost two starters on defense and our receiving crew was downgraded. We were a 6-10 team last year and the analysts will say we downgraded. They will say the Giants and Dallas took a step forward, Philly stayed the same, and the Skins took a step backward.
I'm just saying this now, because I'm sure there will be a lot of rants over the offseason when the sportswriters start making their predictions.
----
It’s simple. If the starters we have now stay healthy not only we have a winning record next year we may win the NFC east and make it to the big game. Why such a bold statement?

Lets see. Our defense.

We get Arrington, Bowen, Daniels back and Sean Taylor is no longer a rookie. I say it’s a huge upgrade from the way we finished against the best offense in the NFC which we beat. The big question mark is Springs going to healthy for the entire year. If yes then Harris/Wilds can cover the other corner. If not then we are in trouble. We missed Springs those two game he didn’t play a lot more than we missed Smoot last year. Oh and all these players will be under the same system again which hasn't happened here for the last 6 years. I say we are going to be a top 5 D if we don't get key people hurt.

Offense. Getting Jansen and upgrading our Center position is huge IMO. Add to that Ramsey (huge improvement over Brunell) and Portis under the same system and Cooley no longer a rookie what do you have? An offense that will be able to produce in the running game and the TE/H passing game and protect the QB much better than last year. Now the question is our WRs. Well Jacobs will need to step it up, but if you look at it we have three burners that will stretch the field. All we need is to improve pass protection (and that should happen) and no way one of those burners doesn’t get open down field. Don't know about you but having two guys that average over 18 yards a catch kind of makes me feel good about our WR position right now because it say PLAY MAKERS. All in all I just can't see how we can be worse than last year and if our D stays the same and we improve a little in offense we get the 4 additional points a game that would have made us 12-4 this year. So to answer you questions let the sports writers say what they want. What the hell do they know anyway.

[danny's stogie]

I don't agree that the Giants are going to be improved. I don't like the McKenzie signing, Barber is a year older, their defense even with the addition of Pierce is pretty bad, and most importantly, 5 of their 6 wins last year were with Kurt Warner playing QB. Eli looked worse than any rookie first round QB since Ryan Leaf and unless he makes a huge improvement the Giants are going to be 4-12.

The Cowboys have a huge challenge ahead of them trying to switch to the 3-4 defense. It could be a big success like in san diego or a flop like the Texans. Their ability to handle the transition will determine their success.

The point is that the only team in the NFC East without any huge question marks is Philly. Other than that the division is up for grabs.

[redwolf1218]

i dont mind that at all. i think it's good to be the underdog. guys will have a chip on their shoulder all year.

[IowaSkinsFan]

Dont be surprised if every analyst out there picks us last in the division this year.

I won't and it won't hurt my feelings when we are. It will give the entire team motivation.

[NamVet4]

Let the so-called sports gurus make their predictions; they are like ***CBS*** - everyone has one and all you get out of it in the end is flushed down the toilet!

[nicefellow31]

To be honest, I could care less where we are picked to finish in the division. It means nothing.