My redskins are great!...."if"

[MWAI]

Every prediction every year is based on assumptions. Most "EXPERTS" agree that Peyton Manning leads his team to the playoff every year. Mark Schlereth used to say that the Colts with Peyton Manning were a 12-4 team but IF they lost him, they would be a 4-12 team. That turned out to be pretty accurate.

Well the Redskins are NFC EAST champs and there are a lot of IF's about this team. IF everybody is healthy, and IF everybody plays to their potential, then they could be 12-4 in the regular season and get to the Superbowl as well. IF...only 2 letters but its a big word.

IF RG3 is healthy and improves his passing stats while still running for 500-600 yards, then the Redskins will probably be a BadAss team again.

IF RG3 is not ready, but Kirk Cousins starts the season and IF he can complete 68 percent of his passes again and if he can perform like he did in the Cleveland game, then the Skins are still okay IF....

IF Pierre Garcon is healthy for the full season and not affected adversely by that odd injury and IF he doesn't miss SIX games again, then the Redskins will have a serious offensive weapon.

IF Fred Davis is healthy and can start 16 games for the first time in his career and IF Fred is determined to be a 1000 yard receiver, then the Redskins will benefit in a big way.

IF Josh Morgan is healthy and has recovered fully from his hand and foot surgeries..it'll help.

IF Brandon Merriweather has recovered from his injuries and is ready to start 16 games the Skins defense will benefit in a BIG way.

IF Brian Orakpo is finally healthy for the first time in 2 years and IF he is pissed off and motivated that he is being overlooked by all the "experts" as one of the top 10 pass rushers....then look out.

IF Adam Carriker can get healthy and return to his 5 sack season from 2 years ago, then the Skins pass rush will benefit in a BIG way.

IF Leonard Hankerson is completely healthy and ready for his first full off season and healthy training camp and IF he can finally live up to his potential and be consistent...then the Redskins have one of the best receivers in the NFL.

IF Jarvis Jenkins is completely recovered from his injury 2 years ago and ready to become a dominant force for the defense instead of "just a guy"...then it'll be tough to run on the Redskins.

IF London Fletcher is healed from his 3 surgeries and can continue to perform and stay healthy during a full season, the Defense benefits beyond words.

IF Chris Thompson is completely healed from his surgery and can be the electric 3rd down big play back that we lacked last season, defensive coordinators will have nightmares preparing.

IF Brandon Jenkins is healthy and recovered from his odd foot disorder and IF he is the ferocious speed rusher that he was in his junior year in college, the the Redskins will have a major pass rush threat.

That's all that needs to happen for the Redskins to be a ferocious Superbowl contender. Just a few areas of concern that can be fixed with the 2 letter word: IF:logo:

[elkabong82]

Every team has IFs, even the best of them. The best teams can make up for a couple of bad turns, like we did last season despite injuries.

[No_Pressure]

You could do this with every team, even the reigning superbowl champs...hell...especially the reigning champs. Clearly what is illustrated here is just how difficult it is to have all of the pieces fall in place perfectly to make a run. The thing is, some of these ifs are much larger than others, or more probable than others and many "ifs" of other teams. For example, the Eagles become contenders IF Chip Kelly adapts his offense properly to the NFL, IF Barkley pans out, IF McCoy can stay healthy and put his concussion problems in the past, IF MeSean Jackson can get his ass in gear, IF their secondary isn't totally putrid, IF their linebackers aren't horrendous, IF their defensive line can get some sort of pressure, IF their offensive line doesn't resemble a set of turnstyles. We have specific IFs that could not come true and we still do great. If Fred Davis can't stay healthy and put up the same sort of stats he was on pace to have, then I think we'll be just fine. If Brian Orakpo can't stay healthy I don't think the playoff hopes are dashed. If our rookie 5th...6th(?) round running back isn't healthy, I believe we'll still be pretty damn good on 3rd down. IF RG3 doesn't come back 100% and regresses...well that's our biggest IF right now, isn't it?

As far as further discussion goes, I don't think hypothetical questions give us anything to think about other than "mmm, yes, wouldn't that be [iNSERT GOOD/BAD HERE]" but I still think we're better off than most.

[MWAI]

Every team has IFs, even the best of them. The best teams can make up for a couple of bad turns, like we did last season despite injuries.

True enough my friend. I just thought I would point out that we have a lot more of them. We have SEVEN starters coming back from SURGERY and INJURY. "Every" team does not have that and I'm certain that most Redskins fans are not really aware of the large amount of starters coming back from injury.

What I have layed out is MUCH different than just saying IF THE EAGLES BECOME CONTENDERS. I have been very specific about some real concerns and not about pie in the sky rabid fan hopes...which is all the Eagles fans have. My IF's are about past performance returning...not about general things like IF THE EAGLES BECOME CONTENDERS. Read it again..and then Look a little deeper.

[No_Pressure]

True enough my friend. I just thought I would point out that we have a lot more of them. We have SEVEN starters coming back from SURGERY and INJURY. "Every" team does not have that and I'm certain that most Redskins fans are not really aware of the large amount of starters coming back from injury.

They're coming back from them, but many of those same starters weren't really here during our playoff run, and there is a varying degree of severity and risk surrounding their surgeries and recovery.

Davis wasn't there in our playoff run.

Orakpo wasn't either.

Carriker wasn't.

Meriweather wasn't

RG3, Garcon are of course important, and RG3's recovery is critical, on a previous injury, and a notoriously long injury to recover from. This is all something to be concerned over, but we shouldn't spend the off-season worrying about things we cannot control. If he doesn't come back, will we have a chance with Cousins is the question. I honestly think yes, but I base that on absolutely nothing.

[MWAI]

They're coming back from them, but many of those same starters weren't really here during our playoff run, and there is a varying degree of severity and risk surrounding their surgeries and recovery.

Davis wasn't there in our playoff run.

Orakpo wasn't either.

Carriker wasn't.

Meriweather wasn't

RG3, Garcon are of course important, and RG3's recovery is critical, on a previous injury, and a notoriously long injury to recover from. This is all something to be concerned over, but we shouldn't spend the off-season worrying about things we cannot control. If he doesn't come back, will we have a chance with Cousins is the question. I honestly think yes, but I base that on absolutely nothing.

While I can appreciate you wanting to be "right"...you are wrong. You are "wrong" because you once again have missed the entire point. I agree that with some luck and duct tape, Garcon could miss 6 games again, Carriker could be out again, etc and the Skins could wobble into the playoffs. But my post is not about WOBBLING into the playoffs. Go back and read it several more times and I believe you will find that the main theme of this is becoming a BADASS team and SUPERBOWL team. A lot of IF's have to occur for the Skins to go to the Superbowl and it has to be more than RG3 getting healthy. In fact that wasn't even the main one.....because Kirk Cousins is a very good quarterback. The defensive if's are probably more important at this point because our offense is darn solid. I just pointed out that 7 starters are coming back from injury.....and you seem to completely dismiss that fact. Perhaps that is the difference between homers and those who actually analyze a little deeper. Homers usually say "doesn't matter cause we rule" Well....injuries and surgeries and malcontents and contract disputes and home field and weather and field conditions and STUFF does matter. It just takes a bit of analyzing and separating yourself from the HOMER feelings and entering REAL-VILLE. Not calling you a homer, just pointing out the difference in the way some folks view information or predictions.

[2STaylor1]

i thought it was an interesting read.... while we dont need all those ifs to be worked out, if we can get a couple of them we could do some damage.

[Bacon]

IF those scenarios the OP listed do not come to fruition and IF the team starts out as poorly as last year, I will see some value in this thread. Until then, you're tempering expectations a little early.

[MumboSauce]

I just want a healthy RG3, keep building around that factor/variable. Httr!

[elkabong82]

Again, every team, even the great ones, have IFs, and you can play the IF game with all of them.

IF RG3 is healthy is obvious, same with any team with a star QB.

The 7 starters coming back from injury and/or surgery: RG3, Orakpo, Carriker, Garcon, Merriweather, Davis, Josh Morgan, as No Pressure pointed out a good chunk of them weren't part of the NFC East winning team anyways (4, more than half). Too bad the OP callously dismissed that and then tries to claim we "wobbled" into the playoffs (7 game win streak is not wobbling). In fact, the first IF is the only important one on that list. IF RG3 had been healthy, then we were already a Superbowl contender.

This team already proved last season that it has solid depth that can overcome many injuries. This is the true hallmark of a great team. We can contend without Davis, without Orakpo, without Carriker, without Merriweather, etc. because we have done so already, and we were able to do that because of solid depth.

Again though, for the Redskins to be contenders again, all they need is to continue their current system and have RG3 be healthy. Just like the Pats can compete without Gronk and will survive if Amendola gets injured again and will still compete without Welker, just like the Packers will compete without Jennings and the rash of injuries they endured last season, so too will the Redskins compete. The one area of concern with depth, the secondary, has been addressed. Will those rookies step up? There's your real IFs. A rookie 3rd RB and a rookie 5th round pass rush specialist are not the IFs I'd focus on, rather I'd focus my rookie player IFs on Amerson, Thomas, and Rambo.

[No_Pressure]

While I can appreciate you wanting to be "right"...you are wrong. You are "wrong" because you once again have missed the entire point. I agree that with some luck and duct tape, Garcon could miss 6 games again, Carriker could be out again, etc and the Skins could wobble into the playoffs. But my post is not about WOBBLING into the playoffs. Go back and read it several more times and I believe you will find that the main theme of this is becoming a BADASS team and SUPERBOWL team. A lot of IF's have to occur for the Skins to go to the Superbowl and it has to be more than RG3 getting healthy. In fact that wasn't even the main one.....because Kirk Cousins is a very good quarterback. The defensive if's are probably more important at this point because our offense is darn solid. I just pointed out that 7 starters are coming back from injury.....and you seem to completely dismiss that fact. Perhaps that is the difference between homers and those who actually analyze a little deeper. Homers usually say "doesn't matter cause we rule" Well....injuries and surgeries and malcontents and contract disputes and home field and weather and field conditions and STUFF does matter. It just takes a bit of analyzing and separating yourself from the HOMER feelings and entering REAL-VILLE. Not calling you a homer, just pointing out the difference in the way some folks view information or predictions.

Okay buddy, since you decided to go the scathing route, here is my response:

This thread is entirely meaningless. It only serves to remind us all of a bunch of hypothetical situations which may or may not occur and which warrant no deeper thought. While you may go "ooh" and "ahh" thinking about all the possibilities, you may want to view the possibilities as positive or negative, none of what you're thinking or anyone else is thinking has any importance at all because we don't know what will or won't happen. Every team has things which will sink them and every team has things which will allow them to be great. We didn't wobble into the playoffs either, we were a 1st half injury vs. the Seahawks away from advancing to the 2nd round after winning 7 straight games missing many of the key players you mentioned as being entirely critical to our success. While I never disagreed that they weren't important, and that some were more important than others I fail to see how anything in this thread constitutes "information" aside from the re-listing of possibilities which have been common knowledge to all Redskins fans for months now, and for which we all hope the utmost success and worry about their failure.

Go make a thread that adds something to these forums instead of turning entirely defensive when somebody posts something that you don't enjoy. Learn to make a response that doesn't include a bunch of capital letters, insinuate that the other poster is trying to be "right", and advise them to read your useless original post again while further implying that I said that Pierre Garcon could miss 6 games and we would be a great team, or that I've completely dismissed the fact that losing 7 starters hampers a football team. My point was that we can lose individual players but those are our biggest concerns. If we lose many of the guys we lost last season we still know that we can be a competitive team. Our "IF" situations are not as dire as many other teams even within our division. Perhaps it is you who needs to broaden his reading comprehension.