Yahoo: 2016 NFL Preview: Will a tougher schedule upend the Redskins?

[TheGreek1973]

What's interesting to me is how the sports analysts are completely writing off the improvements that the Redskins have made, as well.  You would think that we are going into the season with the exact same roster as last year.  They ignore the signing of Josh Norman (I almost forgot about it too, given that we hardly hear about it in the media) and the impact that Junior Galette is sure to make on our pass rush abilities.  Add to that, we are getting Duke Ihenacho back *and God-willing he is able to make it beyond the first game* Our defense should be vastly improved.  If not, I'm not at all upset with getting rid of Joe Barry because that's just way too much talent to not see a significant leap forward.  

 

I believe strength of schedule has something to do with it, but the media should not pretend we had the easiest schedule in the league last year and we still came out 9-7.

This

 

Every time you hear the taking heads say the cowboys will win the NFC East is because romoSUCKS is going to be back Dez will be healthy, and Zeke is a lock for ROY behind that line.  When talking about us, they didn't beat a winning team last year, Cousins is a question mark, no running game.  Rinse, repeat, continue.

 

That my friends is the level of sport reporting we are listening and watching.  No one is good enough for example to dive deep and look at the additions to the two rosters and where they improved or regressed.  For example

 

How much better are truly the boys with romoSUCKS back and Zeke compared to the Redskins getting a Norman and Galette and Cousins having a full off-season as a starter?  Shouldn't these guys factor in the fact that our D and especially our secondary was devastated by injuries last year and if all equal without guessing for injuries (because if we are betting men I say romoSUCKS doesn't' play 16 games) the Redskins jump at least in top 20 Ds?  What affect will it have on the boys losing 2 starting DLs for the first 4 games and their starting LB for 10?  Remember they didnt' do much in the draft to improve their D.

 

No one is even mentioning that we had the most accurate QB in the league last year, I mean all else equal if KC and romoSUCKS play up to their best seasons how is that Dallas D going to stop KC, compared to our D stopping romoSUCKS?

 

And this strength of schedule we all know that some teams that are weak one year are strength the next.  I mean I am sure at the start of 2015 with all the issues we had at QB and injuries to our D almost every team penciled us as a W and we ended up winning the division.

 

We have the same opponents as the boys except 2  They have SF and TB, we have Arizona and Panthers.   Every other opponent is the same and if you want to get into it think about this.

 

We play Pittsburgh, Viking and Green Bay at home while they have them on the road.  We play the Bengals in London, while they have them in Cincinnati.  The tough part of our schedule is really the time we play some games with short rest periods not the games themselves.  Our schedule ranks much harder because we play arizona and the panthers who were by far the best teams in the NFC last year and their last year records move the difficulty scale much further than the boys.  Bottom line however its just two games.

 

So how much more difficulty it would be for the boys to beat SF at SF compared to us playing Carolina at home?  Last year the Giants should have beaten Carolina in NY, they messed up as usual.  Anyway I say that is a probably L for us while its a probably W for them.  However while the Arizona game is a probable L for us you can't tell me TB is not at least a challenge for the Boys.  Hell I think TB is going to be the surprise of the NFC this year and they have a good chance to beat the boys at home.  So with this logic is a swing of one game for us against them.  In other words lets say we finish one game down to start the season to them, you mean to tell me that makes them so much more the favorite than us?

 

Again this is the kind of analysis people that get paid to report should be doing, not repeating the same old BS over and over again following the herd and showing zero original thinking.  Personally I love going under the radar but just wonder how do these dummies get these jobs?

[pjfootballer]

Players we get back from injuries that kept them out for the year or long periods of time, that they fail to mention, but beat that drum with the Cowboys:

Lichtensteiger

Luovaou

Paul

Paulson

Spaight

Ihenacho

D. Jackson

Gallette

[CBass1724]

Le'Veon Bell more than likely will be missing the first game of the season against us due to his suspension.  Makes that game look much easier now.

[Renegade7]

"Lack of a signature win."

 

Um, biggest comeback in franchise history maybe?

 

/Thread

 

Good points being made here about SOS only really effecting two games on any schedule being made, given everyone else in our division is pretty much going to still have to play the same teams and each other.  It may matter if our goal is too sneak in as a wild card, but the only reason we aren't in consistently in the conversation for repeating as division champs is because so much of the media would rather see Dallas or New York.

[bobandweave]

Okay so I didn't care for this article it seems to me that this author mentioned college football but so what? Those schedules are made years out. NFL schedules are not. And not winning a game against a winning team last year doesn't mean we won't win one this year. To me that's a stupid point.

 

Now he does have a point. The issue about our schedule is valid. I have been saying it all off season, if we can get through this schedule and are in the playoff discussion come December then we will be battle tested and not only make the playoffs but  likely go far this year. Our biggest issue to me is either our RB situation or the schedule, issue 1A vs 1B to me.

 

The schedule is terrible. You can't deny that, the NFL did us no favors and screwed us. If you want to see how bad the schedule actually is then check this out

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/24509/washington-redskins-face-brutal-seven-game-stretch

 

Read that if you haven't because it's bad. But you know what? Pressure makes diamonds

 

Brutal stretch: It’s hard to remember a stretch that in April looks as daunting as the one the Redskins face starting in late October, when they play Cincinnati in London, and stretching into mid-December. Of the seven games Washington will play during this stretch, five are against teams that made the playoffs and were a combined 61-19 last season with four division titles. And the other two games are against divisional opponents on the road, including one against the team that could be the preseason NFC East favorite (Dallas). Topping this stretch off is a Monday night game against Carolina followed by a Saturday game at Chicago. Did I mention the three consecutive road games for the first time since 2002? Spare me the conspiracy theories, but we can all agree the schedule-makers did the Redskins no favors in the second half of the season. At least they play two straight home games to open the season for the third time in five years.

[bobandweave]

Le'Veon Bell more than likely will be missing the first game of the season against us due to his suspension.  Makes that game look much easier now.

 

Deangelo Williams even at 33 years old is no slouch. He can do everything Bell can do. They won't miss a beat there and is less of a loss to them that Marvatius Bryant will be. Plus I doubt that he is suspended since he didn't fail the test and is appealing. Watch the NFL let him off since they are playing us week one lol

[Cooleyfan1993]

for those that are saying the nfl screwed us by having us on a MNF game in December against panthers then @ Chicago the following Saturday: I checked the eagles/giants schedules for that very same weekend, and the eagles play @ Ravens sunday December 18th, and the giants are @ lions. then they have to face eachother that Thursday night. they're as equally screwed as us that week.

[goskins10]

for those that are saying the nfl screwed us by having us on a MNF game in December against panthers then @ Chicago the following Saturday: I checked the eagles/giants schedules for that very same weekend, and the eagles play @ Ravens sunday December 18th, and the giants are @ lions. then they have to face eachother that Thursday night. they're as equally screwed as us that week.

 

 

It's not exactly equal. It's equal for the eagles and giants because they have the same short week at the same time. We however will be playing a team that has had one more day of preparation and rest. So we are at a disadvantage against the team we are playing,

[Cooleyfan1993]

It's not exactly equal. It's equal for the eagles and giants because they have the same short week at the same time. We however will be playing a team that has had one more day of preparation and rest. So we are at a disadvantage against the team we are playing,

I meant equal as in, we have 4 days between games just like the Eagles and giants. We're going to beat the bears no matter what, so them having more prep and rest doesn't really matter

[Renegade7]

Deangelo Williams even at 33 years old is no slouch. He can do everything Bell can do. They won't miss a beat there and is less of a loss to them that Marvatius Bryant will be. Plus I doubt that he is suspended since he didn't fail the test and is appealing. Watch the NFL let him off since they are playing us week one lol

 

I respect your attempt to stay modest, but Deangelo Williams is no Le' Veon Bell.  Suspended or not, Bell is still coming off a knee injury late in the season, but that dude is a monster when healthy.

[BleedBNG]

OK, I'm looking at the schedule again and I just realized that it may not be as tough as I thought it was. If we can beat the Steelers in the opener, then we could probably finish with a 9-7 or 10-6. I'm including that each of our division teams beats us once (which is usually the case even when we are good), and losses to Ravens (they'll want payback), Packers, Cardinals, and if it were one more... Bengals or Vikings (but not both). They say ours is the 4th toughest schedule and I welcome that. How would you know if your improving with a schedule like last years (25th)? This is probably the best scenario for us in the playoffs this year (assuming we get it at 8-8 or 9-7) than worrying about being upended as division champs. 

[Cooleyfan1993]

^ why would the Ravens want revenge on us? They won the super bowl the last season we faced them and beat them. I'd say they got the better end of the deal.

[pjfootballer]

^ why would the Ravens want revenge on us? They won the super bowl the last season we faced them and beat them. I'd say they got the better end of the deal.

Agree. Both rosters will barely be the same after 4 years. Fans really over-exaggerate things nowadays.

[SkinsGuy]

Deangelo Williams even at 33 years old is no slouch. He can do everything Bell can do. They won't miss a beat there and is less of a loss to them that Marvatius Bryant will be. Plus I doubt that he is suspended since he didn't fail the test and is appealing. Watch the NFL let him off since they are playing us week one lol

 

It is still one less weapon for them to have on that Monday Night.

 

And, according to the CBA rules, a missed test counts the same as a failed one.

[BleedBNG]

^ why would the Ravens want revenge on us? They won the super bowl the last season we faced them and beat them. I'd say they got the better end of the deal.

 

I'm thinking of Harbaugh at halftime last year in preseason [ ]... 

[Cooleyfan1993]

I'm thinking of Harbaugh at halftime last year in preseason [ ]...

Ah man that was amazing! Weren't we down like 9-3 or 10-3 with a minute left before halftime, when harbaugh got all mad about something and had a screaming match with gruden? We got free yards cause of that and scored either a TD or field goal, then scored again coming out of halftime. We owned that 2nd half.

However, I don't think a preseason loss would be so important to harbaugh that he'd want to get revenge on us. Then again, he is a douche, so maybe.

[BleedBNG]

Ah man that was amazing! Weren't we down like 9-3 or 10-3 with a minute left before halftime, when harbaugh got all mad about something and had a screaming match with gruden? We got free yards cause of that and scored either a TD or field goal, then scored again coming out of halftime. We owned that 2nd half.

However, I don't think a preseason loss would be so important to harbaugh that he'd want to get revenge on us. Then again, he is a douche, so maybe.

 

It'll be our first win in Baltimore regular season so I hope we can win this one and have Harbaugh and the fans go         

[SkinsGuy]

It'll be our first win in Baltimore regular season so I hope we can win this one and have Harbaugh and the fans go         

 

Didn't the Redskins beat Baltimore in Baltimore the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000?

 

I think the score was 10-3.

 

Or was that in Washington?

[Cooleyfan1993]

Didn't the Redskins beat Baltimore in Baltimore the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000?

I think the score was 10-3.

Or was that in Washington?

Just googled it, that was at FedEx Field.

[HanburgerBum]

First place schedule is so overrated. It changes two games, compared to the rest of the division. That's it. 2 out of 16.

Yes, the panthers and cardinals are good teams. But let's not get carried away. If we get upended, that won't be the #1 reason

 

It is one thing to say teams good last year may not be good this year and vice versa.  But, I think it makes no sense to argue that the NFL 1st place schedule is overrated because it changes only two games.  The NFL regular season schedule is 16 games.  If we make a baseball analogy, 2 NFL games is roughly the equivalent of 20 MLB games. 

 

Let' take the Nats vs the Mets.  Let's say their schedules are the same except for 20 games.  And, for those 20 games, the Nats have to play the Cubs, SF, LAD while the Mets get to play Atlanta, Cincy, Philly.  Do you really think those 20 games will have no impact on the Nats or the Mets winning the division?

 

If you would go back and review recent NFL history, in almost every season the last playoff spot or two comes down to tiebreakers.  So, contrary to your assertion, 2 NFL games is a big deal.  In fact, one can argue that even 1 NFL game can be a big deal.

 

For those two games, Dallas gets SF and TB, while the Skins get Ariz and Carolina.  Admittedly, Dallas is no lock to beat the Niners and Bucs while the Skins are no automatic losers to the Cards and Panthers.  But, be honest, which team (Dallas or Skins) do you think will have a better record for those two games?

[HanburgerBum]

 This is where the coaching position becomes more involved in 'cheerleading' and motivation.  If players come out flat, going through the motions, expecting the 'other guy' to get the job done, then yes, this team may not see a .500 season. Gruden needs to get into their heads; make them hungry, make them WANT to go higher, farther, be better.

 

When we look at it, any opponent we face HAS to give respect to this team and what they accomplished last year.  And they will. their biggest focus will be on Reed and bottling him up. that's where Gruden should come out with designed plays that appear to get Reed the ball, but end up using him as a decoy.

If this team comes out laxed, going through the motions, then yes they will get a **** slap of reality. There's no room for ****iness on this team; there's a goal, a place they want to be come February, and I think this team wants to be better. The first 4 weeks will tell a lot about this team and how they have progressed/regressed. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose. May as well be us winning, right?

 

I don't think motivation will be a problem for the Skins.  This is a team that is filled with hungry players who feel the media and the rest of the NFL still disrespect them.  If Gruden can't get a team like this fired up every week, then he isn't much of a head coach.

 

Your point that Gruden should have plays using Reed as a decoy is a good one.  No doubt Reed will be doubled more than most TEs in the League.  Crowder could be the beneficiary of that and come up huge this season.

[HanburgerBum]

OK, I'm looking at the schedule again and I just realized that it may not be as tough as I thought it was. If we can beat the Steelers in the opener, then we could probably finish with a 9-7 or 10-6. I'm including that each of our division teams beats us once (which is usually the case even when we are good), and losses to Ravens (they'll want payback), Packers, Cardinals, and if it were one more... Bengals or Vikings (but not both). They say ours is the 4th toughest schedule and I welcome that. How would you know if your improving with a schedule like last years (25th)? This is probably the best scenario for us in the playoffs this year (assuming we get it at 8-8 or 9-7) than worrying about being upended as division champs. 

 

I think the Skins getting into the playoffs with 8-8 or 9-7 will be very unlikely this season.  A lot of things will have to go right for that to happen.  2015 turned out to be one of those years where a confluence of events met to allow the Skins to capture the division with 9 wins.  Dallas lost their two brightest offensive stars (romoSUCKS and Bryant) for much of the season.  The Giants literally gave away at least 3 games.  The Eagles were playing for a coach who appeared not to understand that when his offense uses the rapid-pace no huddle format, his defense will be on the field longer than any defense in the League.  It was no accident the Philly defense collapsed late in games and late in the season.  It is unlikely that any of those things will happen again in 2016, much less all three.  Moreover, it will be Dallas, not the Redskins, with the last-place scheduled this time.  So, I just can't visualize anything less than 10 wins as having a shot at the playoffs.

Players we get back from injuries that kept them out for the year or long periods of time, that they fail to mention, but beat that drum with the Cowboys:

Lichtensteiger

Luovaou

Paul

Paulson

Spaight

Ihenacho

D. Jackson

Gallette

 

Please don't think that I am a Cowboys fan.  But, losing these guys on injury isn't the same as losing romoSUCKS and Bryant.  Where would the Skins be if they are without Cousins and Reed for much of the season?

[Warhead36]

"Last place schedule" is literally a difference of two games. Good lord can people stop spewing that non sense?

[goskins10]

 

edit..

 

 

Please don't think that I am a Cowboys fan.  But, losing these guys on injury isn't the same as losing romoSUCKS and Bryant.  Where would the Skins be if they are without Cousins and Reed for much of the season?

 

We were the 2nd most injured team in the NFL and forth in starter games lost due to injury at 188 -more than 10 injured players a game! So yes, losing all those guys is a much bigger deal than losing room and dez. More importantly, if they were truly the SB contender they were supposed to be, losing room and dez should not have caused them to go from 12-4 to 4-12. That just shows a very weak team.

[Cooleyfan1993]

We were the 2nd most injured team in the NFL and forth in starter games lost due to injury at 188 -more than 10 injured players a game! So yes, losing all those guys is a much bigger deal than losing room and dez. More importantly, if they were truly the SB contender they were supposed to be, losing room and dez should not have caused them to go from 12-4 to 4-12. That just shows a very weak team.

I don't think it's too far fetched for a super bowl contender with romoSUCKS and Dez to suck without them. Especially when that super bowl contending team has to start BRANDON FREAKIN WEEDEN. That's enough to take a 12-4 team and bring it back to crappy. It just means they're a super bowl contender ONLY if their starting QB is playing. Take New England for example: there's no doubt they're a super bowl contender year in and year out. If Brady gets hurt and misses the whole season, not even they would get to the super bowl, no matter how great they are.