MonkFan8 Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Well, this season didn't pan out the way most of us thought it would. However, in my eyes there were a select few things that we as fans should be thankful for going into the 2007 season. Feel free to post your thoughts or other things that we can be optomistic about. 5) Ladell Betts: Say what you want, Betts earned his 5 year extension. I expect him to give CP a run for his money for the starting position next season, but ultimately, having both in the backfield will be a huge benifit. 5 straight 100 yard rushing games, and great hands out of the backfield. I feel the fumble issue will be fixed next season and we'll really see what a healthy offense can do. 4) How did Ladell get all those yards you ask? The play of our offensive line. Yeah, they're getting older, but would you have guessed it? The most encouraging thing to me is that all-pro Chris Sameuls may not have even played the best of the bunch. And c'mon, how could you not love our center playing with a broken hand? Additionally, we only let up 19 total sacks this season, 4th best in the NFL. The best way to help out our young QB is too keep the pressure off him, and they perfected it. The 5th best rushing offense without CP gives me reason to feel good about next season. 3) There's not much to look at on the defensive end. Injuries and mistakes took a toll on even our best defensive players. However, to me, the second half of the season I watched a bust turn into a beast. Andre Carter gives me reason to be hopeful that this seasons poor performance was an aberration. 4 sacks in the last 5 games provides a glimpse of things to come. 2) Is it possible that the best play of any Redskins team was on special teams? Swarming play by role players Mike Sellers and James Thrash held opponents to few big returns. With the 5th best return average in the league on kickoffs, the Skins allowed no kickoffs or punts to be returned for touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Rock Cartwright did his best to provide the offense good field position while recieving the ball 64 times for 1541 yards (2nd most in the league). While ARE didn't have a great season returning punts, he didn't make any mistakes, which is a great attribute in a punt returner. I'm looking for him to have more than 1 return TD next season. Most importantly perhaps was the play of Derrick Frost and Sean Suisham. Coming into the season, the kicking and punting game were huge question marks. In 5 games with the Skins, Suisham proved to be reliable. Making 8 of his 9 field goals, his only miss coming from over 50 yards. His deep kickoffs were a welcome sight, too. Despite not having gaudy numbers, Frost became more reliable as the season progressed. Combined with good coverage, Frost limited his shanks and punted well. 1) Not surprisingly, the most encouraging thing to me was the play of our quarterback, Jason Campbell. The stats may not show it, but I firmly believe we've found our QB of the future. From his beautifully thrown deep ball, to his poise and mobility in the pocket, Campbell's first season was a success. With the entire offseason to build a rapport with our explosive recieving core, I truely believe we'll see a cohesive unit next season lead by #17. Anyway, those are just a few of the good things I thought came from this disappointing season. Feel free to add any more you can think of! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins4eva Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Well, I admire your optimism. Ladell is good, but not great. And, he has a huge fumbling problem. Not good. Andre Carter is a pass rusher, but he is too small at the point of attack to be effective against the run and it killed us all season. We need a new d-line and linebackers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinFaninOKC Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Good post.....BUT...... I would like to see our kickoff returns go way down. Several playoff teams are in the bottom half of the league in this category. Kickoff return stats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmorina69 Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 JC, yesterday he did everything he could to win that game, he played his guts out, hes not scared to take a hit. hes been great. Betts shows what he can do. AC and Fox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Good post, and I agree totally. The problem is when Carter is the only positive you can think of on defense, in means we are in deep doodoo there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uno Mas Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Great post, its nice to read something positive every once in a while. I agree with just about everything, although I am not completely sold on Campbell yet. Andre Carter was a pleasant surprise the last half of the season. Agreed, he's one dementional right now but I believe as he gets more comfortable he'll improve in that category as well. That being said, I think its extremely important that we pick up Branch in the draft. He's a big body that can stop the run and collapse the pocket in passing situations, which will give our ends more opportunites at sacks and give our corners a chance at more big plays. I prefer Branch because he's nasty, but also because I dont believe we need a great corner, just a couple good corners, which should be available in free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWB Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Good points form all. Except Betts has to learn how to hang onto the ball. He fumbled in tight spots in crucial games this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzSkinsFan63 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 A top 5 defense is what the Skins need in 2007! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vi Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Nice post. I love to see optimism still alive for this team, and I think it is well founded. We do have some huge problems to work out, but we also have a lot to look forward to. Hail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandies Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 The Betts/Portis issue is interesting. I actually prefer Betts because of salary considerations. I think if we can get rid of Portis's salary, and sign a good FA, (CB, DL, MLB) or maybe two of such, for Portis's salary I am happy with Betts in the role. Remember, 2 years ago Rocky did not do too bad when he had to fill in. Then with our draft pick shore up DL, and next year not trade away picks and draft heavily offensive line and DL, I think our team will be strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottb Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 # 1 good thing: In simple terms it appears as though the offense has been fixed. I am very pleased about the potential of the offense next season without any "upgrades". Another year of experience with the playmakers within the system bodes well for next in the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.