Biggest Concerns for the 2007 Redskins

[nickditchey]

The following are my biggest concerns for the team in '08:

1) Defensive line. The most obvious. If we can stay healthy, especially Griffin because he's the biggest impact player when he's healthy, maybe we can hold teams to under 100 yds rushing this year. Carter was getting more comfortable as the year wore on and I honestly think he'll approach 10 sacks this year with a healthy griffin.

2) Jason Campbell. The guy is never going to have a quick release or scramble for 40 yards, but he is a quarterback who was born to move the sticks. He can pick up 7 yards on a 3rd and 6 at will and throws one of the prettiest balls in the league. He's got to imrpove his completion percentage and get a better grasp of the offense in order for Saunders to really open it up.

3) The linebackers. Yes, even Marcus Washington. He played like crap last year, and I know he had a bum hip and he didn't get much protection from the d line, but he's got to step it up. Fletcher has a proven track record but he's old and who knows how much tread he still has on those tires. And lastly Rocky is going to start at the weakside but I'm not sure he is ready. I think the team made a great move in firing Dale Lindsay because that guy couldn't teach a fish to swim. Hopefully Olividatti can get him ready for the start of the season.

4) Our Safeties. I'm not an Archuletta fan, but regardless of his limitations, I think last year proved that it's not easy to just pair any safety with Sean Taylor. Hopefully Prioleau will be 100% and Landry and Taylor begin to gel at minicamp this week. If this expirement works out, there's no limit to what kind of havoc these two could reak. Never in the history of the NFL has a team had this much talent at the safety position.

5) That the following players return to full strength from injuries: Clinton Portis (when healthy, he's our mvp, no question about it. the offensive line loves blocking for him and he gives defenses fits. the cowboys game last year was a perfect example. he barely played but the one time he got the ball with a little space on the outside he was gone). Marcus Washington (the emotional leader of the defense. has the best energy of any redskin i've ever seen when he's healthy). Santana Moss. Pierson P.

Bold Predictions

1) Carlos Rogers will catch half of the ints he dropped last year and make a serious push for the pro bowl.

2) Brandon Lloyd gets bigger, shuts up and just starts to play. Campbell contributes to a much improved season for him as he catches 60 passes and 6 touchdowns. 70% of his catches will go for first downs.

3) Clinton runs for 1200 yds and 13tds while Ladell Betts reaches 800yds on the ground.

4) Laron Landry knocks out either Manning, McNabb or Romo sits to pee on one of his safety blitzes. Nobody times it better and he knows how to finish a hit. Ask any Bama QB the past 4 years.

Those are my two cents.

Any thoughts?

[Tulane Skins Fan]

2007 or 2008?

[#98QBKiller]

Any thoughts?

I love your "Bold Predictions." That got me pumped up about the season. Good stuff.

[grhqofb5]

My biggest concern is offensive line depth. Last year we were pretty fortunate to have our starters in general good health. Does anyone else see this as a problem?

[Siven]

actually, seriously, if healthy, i could see clinton going for 1800 yards and 15 + td

[nickditchey]

I definitely think that Portis is capable of 1800 yards, I'm just not sure that's what the coaching staff wants. That was the reason we resigned Betts to such a large contract. In a perfect scenario we'd run the ball 30 times a game and Portis would get 20 carries while Betts would get 10.

Watch Larry Johnson this year and see what happens when you give a RB the ball 400 times a year. Remember that #31 who wore purple and played about an hour north of FedEx field.

[Koolblue13]

I think Portis returns to his 1,500 yard average form. I like the depth at O line. I am excited about our DB's and think the LB corps should do very well. I like Rogers a whole lot and hope he makes a push for the pro bowl. JC and the D line are my only concerns. I think and hope Lloyd steps up.

[Koolblue13]

I definitely think that Portis is capable of 1800 yards, I'm just not sure that's what the coaching staff wants. That was the reason we resigned Betts to such a large contract. In a perfect scenario we'd run the ball 30 times a game and Portis would get 20 carries while Betts would get 10.

Watch Larry Johnson this year and see what happens when you give a RB the ball 400 times a year. Remember that #31 who wore purple and played about an hour north of FedEx field.

If Portis is 100%, he better get more than 20 carries a game. The guy is one of the best in the league. When Priest was healthy, he still hammered the ball until it got rediculous, then in came LJ or Blaylock.

[grhqofb5]

What do we have for depth?

[Koolblue13]

What do we have for depth?

Wade might be one of the better back up tackles in the league. I assume Pucillo will start. We have Tucker who can play any interior possition. Some young guys who could emerge as well. Lefotu, Whitley and Whitticker. Albright could even play if we needed to. I'm not very worried about who plays inside of Samuels and Raybach. Thomas is blocking his way to the HOF as is Samuels. Jansen is solid and will play through anything he needs to. We have one of the best O lines in the game and some young guys who might excel. I don't find it to be an area of concern.

[GroundNPound]

My biggest concern is offensive line depth. Last year we were pretty fortunate to have our starters in general good health. Does anyone else see this as a problem?

Actually it could turn into a problem quickly. But you could say the same of any line. There aren't many lines in the league as good as ours, and we are bound to have injuries. One here or there is fine. But as I said, just like any line, if we have more than one starer go down in a game it will be felt and it won't feel good.

[pointyfootball]

My biggest concern is offensive line depth. Last year we were pretty fortunate to have our starters in general good health. Does anyone else see this as a problem?

As an outsider, I see that as a big concern for the skins, especially with a new starter being inserted. Jansen has had injury issues lately and if he goes down, Wade slides over there, but who plays guard then?

[pointyfootball]

actually, seriously, if healthy, i could see clinton going for 1800 yards and 15 + td

Seriously?

Assuming an excellent ypc average of 4.5, that's 400 carries. No way. AND, his body can't take that kind of beating anymore. 1100 yards would be a great season for Portis, with another 3-500 from Betts.

[pointyfootball]

Thomas is blocking his way to the HOF as is Samuels.

I agree that Thomas is good, but HOF? Same with Samuels.

[HEavyJumbo85]

Wade might be one of the better back up tackles in the league. I assume Pucillo will start. We have Tucker who can play any interior possition. Some young guys who could emerge as well. Lefotu, Whitley and Whitticker. Albright could even play if we needed to. I'm not very worried about who plays inside of Samuels and Raybach. Thomas is blocking his way to the HOF as is Samuels. Jansen is solid and will play through anything he needs to. We have one of the best O lines in the game and some young guys who might excel. I don't find it to be an area of concern.

I'm sorry but, What?

[bigswanny]

I think the biggest worry there is for any year would be the staying healthy. I think that our OL has enough depth to survive a couple of injuries actually better this year than in the past. I guess one of my biggest worries will be who will step up to be our #2 receiver.

[kramdizzle]

As an outsider, I see that as a big concern for the skins, especially with a new starter being inserted. Jansen has had injury issues lately and if he goes down, Wade slides over there, but who plays guard then?

from what i understant gurad is the easiest position to play on the line. Heck we are all talking about Wade, a tackle, moving over to the guard spot and being better than Dock so im really not that worried about teh guard spot, unless its thomas. I said it was the easiest position to play on the line but replaceing a very good guard (Thomas if he gets hurt) isnt that easy.

[dfbovey]

As an outsider, I see that as a big concern for the skins, especially with a new starter being inserted. Jansen has had injury issues lately and if he goes down, Wade slides over there, but who plays guard then?

Pucillo or possibly Fabini.

My #1 worry is our old and injury prone defensive line on defense and Campbell's progress at the QB position. With the upgrades that were made in the offseason, our season now hinges on how these two areas pan out.

If the line can at least do it's part to stop the run I can live with it.

And from what's been reported, Campbell is working his ass off and making good progress.

Any concerns after that... I'd have to say the status of Marcus Washington and Springs could sabotage any progress we made in aquiring players. Losing either one of those guys to either injury (in both cases) or cap considerations (in Springs case) would really hurt.

[bigyim]

Well, we don't have to worry about new people learning the system & having team chemistry like last year...the projected starters who are new this year, with the exception of Landry, all have previous expreience with us. Wade & Rocky may have a few adjustments, but they've played with us last year. Landry has a lot to learn, but e've got Prioleau to fall back on if he's not learning it fast enough--although, with Williams' recent comments, that doesn't sound like it will be a problem.

Health/injuries seem like the biggest worry, to me...while we have better depth than last year (esp. within the def. back 7), a crucial injury or 2 could derail us. But, then again, that same song could be sung among any of the franchises in the NFL.

[SkinsManNJ]

My main concern is will the coaches work together instead of acting like 5yr olds. If they do that we will see better comunication between the players which we lacked a lot of last year.

Second concern would be serious injuries along the O-line and D-line. If we can avoid most of those injuries then my concern is pretty much gone.

I'm not really to concerned about the LB's or the secondary they seem to have enough depth and solid starters.

[smalex41]

The following are my biggest concerns for the team in '08:

1) Defensive line. The most obvious. If we can stay healthy, especially Griffin because he's the biggest impact player when he's healthy, maybe we can hold teams to under 100 yds rushing this year. Carter was getting more comfortable as the year wore on and I honestly think he'll approach 10 sacks this year with a healthy griffin.

2) Jason Campbell. The guy is never going to have a quick release or scramble for 40 yards, but he is a quarterback who was born to move the sticks. He can pick up 7 yards on a 3rd and 6 at will and throws one of the prettiest balls in the league. He's got to imrpove his completion percentage and get a better grasp of the offense in order for Saunders to really open it up.

3) The linebackers. Yes, even Marcus Washington. He played like crap last year, and I know he had a bum hip and he didn't get much protection from the d line, but he's got to step it up. Fletcher has a proven track record but he's old and who knows how much tread he still has on those tires. And lastly Rocky is going to start at the weakside but I'm not sure he is ready. I think the team made a great move in firing Dale Lindsay because that guy couldn't teach a fish to swim. Hopefully Olividatti can get him ready for the start of the season.

4) Our Safeties. I'm not an Archuletta fan, but regardless of his limitations, I think last year proved that it's not easy to just pair any safety with Sean Taylor. Hopefully Prioleau will be 100% and Landry and Taylor begin to gel at minicamp this week. If this expirement works out, there's no limit to what kind of havoc these two could reak. Never in the history of the NFL has a team had this much talent at the safety position.

5) That the following players return to full strength from injuries: Clinton Portis (when healthy, he's our mvp, no question about it. the offensive line loves blocking for him and he gives defenses fits. the cowboys game last year was a perfect example. he barely played but the one time he got the ball with a little space on the outside he was gone). Marcus Washington (the emotional leader of the defense. has the best energy of any redskin i've ever seen when he's healthy). Santana Moss. Pierson P.

Bold Predictions

1) Carlos Rogers will catch half of the ints he dropped last year and make a serious push for the pro bowl.

2) Brandon Lloyd gets bigger, shuts up and just starts to play. Campbell contributes to a much improved season for him as he catches 60 passes and 6 touchdowns. 70% of his catches will go for first downs.

3) Clinton runs for 1200 yds and 13tds while Ladell Betts reaches 800yds on the ground.

4) Laron Landry knocks out either Manning, McNabb or Romo sits to pee on one of his safety blitzes. Nobody times it better and he knows how to finish a hit. Ask any Bama QB the past 4 years.

Those are my two cents.

Any thoughts?

I think that you made a good assessment, however i'm definitely hoping that Lloyd will pan out as you've predicted.and that Portis' knee proves to be a non-issue.

[Gator Bait]

The following are my biggest concerns for the team in '08:

1) Defensive line. The most obvious. If we can stay healthy, especially Griffin because he's the biggest impact player when he's healthy, maybe we can hold teams to under 100 yds rushing this year. Carter was getting more comfortable as the year wore on and I honestly think he'll approach 10 sacks this year with a healthy griffin.

2) Jason Campbell. The guy is never going to have a quick release or scramble for 40 yards, but he is a quarterback who was born to move the sticks. He can pick up 7 yards on a 3rd and 6 at will and throws one of the prettiest balls in the league. He's got to imrpove his completion percentage and get a better grasp of the offense in order for Saunders to really open it up.

3) The linebackers. Yes, even Marcus Washington. He played like crap last year, and I know he had a bum hip and he didn't get much protection from the d line, but he's got to step it up. Fletcher has a proven track record but he's old and who knows how much tread he still has on those tires. And lastly Rocky is going to start at the weakside but I'm not sure he is ready. I think the team made a great move in firing Dale Lindsay because that guy couldn't teach a fish to swim. Hopefully Olividatti can get him ready for the start of the season.

4) Our Safeties. I'm not an Archuletta fan, but regardless of his limitations, I think last year proved that it's not easy to just pair any safety with Sean Taylor. Hopefully Prioleau will be 100% and Landry and Taylor begin to gel at minicamp this week. If this expirement works out, there's no limit to what kind of havoc these two could reak. Never in the history of the NFL has a team had this much talent at the safety position.

5) That the following players return to full strength from injuries: Clinton Portis (when healthy, he's our mvp, no question about it. the offensive line loves blocking for him and he gives defenses fits. the cowboys game last year was a perfect example. he barely played but the one time he got the ball with a little space on the outside he was gone). Marcus Washington (the emotional leader of the defense. has the best energy of any redskin i've ever seen when he's healthy). Santana Moss. Pierson P.

Bold Predictions

1) Carlos Rogers will catch half of the ints he dropped last year and make a serious push for the pro bowl.

2) Brandon Lloyd gets bigger, shuts up and just starts to play. Campbell contributes to a much improved season for him as he catches 60 passes and 6 touchdowns. 70% of his catches will go for first downs.

3) Clinton runs for 1200 yds and 13tds while Ladell Betts reaches 800yds on the ground.

4) Laron Landry knocks out either Manning, McNabb or Romo sits to pee on one of his safety blitzes. Nobody times it better and he knows how to finish a hit. Ask any Bama QB the past 4 years.

Those are my two cents.

Any thoughts?

I don't think Carlos Rogers will make a push for the pro bowl, probably will have more INTs than last year though

I don't think lloyd will catch 60 passes next year, but I can see him catching 6 TDs

You are right on track w/ the running backs, I actually think Portis will gain more than 1200, but no where close to 1800 like someone else said on here.

I don't think Landry will knock an QBs out this year, I can see him finishing the season with 4+ sacks though!

good post

[SkinsManNJ]

Yeah I hope CP's knee is a non issue and is just some minor thing that will go away shortly.

As for Lloyd him just bulking up sounds like he really wants to come out and prove something. Maybe he is finally growing up and going to let his play do the talking.

So here's to a good season from Lloyd and no distractions from him either.

[SkinsFanAnt]

My main concern is will the coaches work together instead of acting like 5yr olds. If they do that we will see better comunication between the players which we lacked a lot of last year.

Second concern would be serious injuries along the O-line and D-line. If we can avoid most of those injuries then my concern is pretty much gone.

I'm not really to concerned about the LB's or the secondary they seem to have enough depth and solid starters.

I've gotta agree with this guy. Last year's play calling from Saunders was atrocious. Gibbs needs to call the plays while Saunders informs Gibbs where to make adjustments. GW apparently learned his lesson about not being able to fit anyone into the system. Now if he can just pull enough strings so we can pick up Sam Adams for cheap....

[terpskins10]

I agree that Thomas is good, but HOF? Same with Samuels.

Samuels MIGHT make it if he consistently plays at a high level for another 5 years and makes 3 Pro Bowls in that span. Thomas? Has he even been named to one? I hate the Pro Bowl but it seems like an important measuring stick for HOF votes.