I Think We All Know A Good Football Team When We See One...

[RedskinsInFebruary]

the secondary is the least important part of any team.  You can win a superbowl without a good secondary.  

I think our corners are very good.  It's specifically our safeties that were the problem last year, and seem to be shaping up to be another weakness this year.

 

Btw, why are some guys listed as "DB's" instead of specifically corners or safeties? 

[TheTotalPackage]

It is still preseason. I wish we would stfu with all the premature optimism and wait until we start winning some games before crowning ourselves as the 1 to 3 seed and the team to beat. I've been in the situation far too often when we look good in the preseason, start to toot our horns and brag about the damage we were gonna do only to have our hearts ripped out with another abysmal season...and you immediately think of all the bad karmayou caused when you got ****y. I'm all for hoping we have a winning season or beyond, but please...lets pump the brakes and see how the season plays out.

[Hardcore Zornography]

This isn't the same franchise as all the years you speak of, Total. We turned a corner last season. For real, this time. We have continuity, leadership, coaching staff of whom are not puppets like past regimes.

 

It's OK to be optimistic, for once. I am tired of being afraid to have high expectations for this team. I think since Shanahan's "evaluate for next year" presser, we have been on a completely different planet. We ARE allowed to not only hope for, but to expect big things from these guys now.

 

Dog days are over.

[skins214428hail]

And this iteration of the Washington Redskins is a good football team. I know it's preseason. I know we have a lot of youngsters. But we are beating every level of every depth chart of every team we have faced thus far.

 

I don't care if none of the teams were jaugernaughts last season. We have had brain farts and stupid penalty after stupid penalty, and we are still beating the brakes off the teams we have played this preseason.

 

The guys seem to be a big family. They love helping each other out and pushing one another. We don't have any cancer in the locker room (RG3 "vs" Shanny is not cancer or a distraction).

 

If health holds up, we are going to be a 1-3 seed in the playoffs this year. I have never been more pumped up for a season than now, nor have I been as pleased with an overall preseason performance as the one we have shown this season. Don't give me any "Remember Osaka" junk either. This is nothing like that preseason. We have players, coaches,  and budding stars on this squad.

 

Who else feels like this start is not a mirage, and we are the "REAL DEAL"??

Dont jump to conclusions. Remember Spurrier? HE WAS GOING TO TAKE THE LEAUGE BY STORM. Team looked unstopable in the pre season

[TheTotalPackage]

Save that until we start making the playoffs consistently. We have not made the playoffs in back to back years in over 23 years.

[Hardcore Zornography]

Dont jump to conclusions. Remember Spurrier? HE WAS GOING TO TAKE THE LEAUGE BY STORM. Team looked unstopable in the pre season

 

Besides the fact you used the exact argument I asked people not to...

 

Spurrier opened up his entire playbook that preseason. Was in way over his head. We hadn't had a taste of success in a decade before he arrived, and we blindly jumped at the opportunity to be excited.

 

But, ok, if you honestly want to compare this entire group to Spurrier's entire group, then you just don't WANT to succeed at this point. That's on you.

[Momma There Goes That Man]

26th & 3rd

5th & 4th

29th & 7th

17th & 8th

 

Those are the passing rankings and turnover differential for the last 4 Super Bowl Champions.

 

While I am concerned about the secondary as most of you are, I just won't use that as a reason to not compete for the Super Bowl. 

 

I call this my Saints theory. That defense sucked, but when they needed to make a play, they always made it.

Let's just hope we make the playoffs and see if we can catch fire from there. 

Great post and this is pretty much how I feel. In todays NFL you are going to give up passing yards but you need timely turnovers to offset that which I think we can get. You can be a SB contender with a bad secondary as we saw last year. Put this years pass rush on last years team and we would have been pretty beast despite the horrid safety play.

[Mr. Sinister]

Dont jump to conclusions. Remember Spurrier? HE WAS GOING TO TAKE THE LEAUGE BY STORM. Team looked unstopable in the pre season

 

You mean Spurrier who was a complete unknown, in his first year coaching, emptying his entire playbook in the preseason? That Spurrier? Tha's not a good comparison. This team is in the 4th year with coaches and systems intact. There is a fairly large sample size, with these players, against great teams, and their performance this preseason (with a vanilla playbook), along with vastly improved overall team depth that people can put stock in. Not hopes and dreams.

 

People are well within reason to feel optimistic. If that bothers other people, then that's on them. It's not like people in here said we're going 19-0 and blowing everyone off the scoreboard. I think we pretty much all know that it takes very little to derail a season. That goes for all teams.

[Hardcore Zornography]

You mean Spurrier who was a complete unknown, in his first year coaching, emptying his entire playbook in the preseason? That Spurrier? Tha's not a good comparison. This team is in the 4th year with coaches and systems intact. There is a fairly large sample size, with these players, against great teams, and their performance this preseason (with a vanilla playbook), along with vastly improved overall team depth that people can put stock in. Not hopes and dreams.

 

People are well within reason to feel optimistic. If that bothers other people, then that's on them. It's not like people in here said we're going 19-0 and blowing everyone off the scoreboard. I think we pretty much all know that it takes very little to derail a season. That goes for all teams.

Church!! You literally said everything I was too lazy to type. Thanks guy.

[TSO]

*Edit* This seemed as good a place to say this too. I can't believe Shanahan said yesterday anything but a SB victory is failure. Yes, you want to aim for the top. But keep that within your own four walls. Talk about heaping pressure on everyone before we've even begun. Low key Coach. Low key. And Garcon saying we have the best O in football is just giving opposing D's free motivation. 

 

Seems it's not just the fans getting carried away with themselves.

Uhm, Shanahan says that every year. He's constantly said that only one team is happy at the end of the season, anything else is a failure.

Why is it different this time? Because the media jumped on it?

[skins214428hail]

Church!! You literally said everything I was too lazy to type. Thanks guy.

 

You mean Spurrier who was a complete unknown, in his first year coaching, emptying his entire playbook in the preseason? That Spurrier? Tha's not a good comparison. This team is in the 4th year with coaches and systems intact. There is a fairly large sample size, with these players, against great teams, and their performance this preseason (with a vanilla playbook), along with vastly improved overall team depth that people can put stock in. Not hopes and dreams.

 

People are well within reason to feel optimistic. If that bothers other people, then that's on them. It's not like people in here said we're going 19-0 and blowing everyone off the scoreboard. I think we pretty much all know that it takes very little to derail a season. That goes for all teams.

I want this team to succeed. I have not missed a game since 1987. In 1991 I thought the skins would be horrible. In 03 i was thinking championship. .http://www.footballdb.com/teams/nfl/washington-redskins/results/1991 By the way I was at the game tonight.Team looked terrific!!!!

[skinny21]

The D front is still a big question mark for me. Hell, scrap that. The whole defense in various facets.

It's one thing looking great against a horrid Steelers line and a not much better Bills one in exhibition games. It's another when the real action starts. Cofield looks stronger, but it remains to be seen what he's like when we get serious. Jenkins doesn't look to of improved at all, aside from his 4 game 'sabbatical' at the start of the year. Bowen's solid, but the main three as a whole get little to no push. (Again, not putting any stock on exhibition games.). And although I like the potential of Nield and Baker, it's still both a big step up for them and for some bizarre reason Haslett just doesn't rotate the D-line. And we're down Carriker. As much as the back ends a mess, if we get no push up front which we don't you could have DG and 21 back there and they'd struggle. The starting LB's are solid, But if, God forbid, Fletch goes down ..... And the back end is as big a mess as ever. Potential filled for the future. But messy in the here and now. And then there's Haslett .....

I don't know how anyone not getting carried away with pre-season can have confidence or not be concerned right across the D.

Hail.

*Edit* This seemed as good a place to say this too. I can't believe Shanahan said yesterday anything but a SB victory is failure. Yes, you want to aim for the top. But keep that within your own four walls. Talk about heaping pressure on everyone before we've even begun. Low key Coach. Low key. And Garcon saying we have the best O in football is just giving opposing D's free motivation.

Seems it's not just the fans getting carried away with themselves.

GHH - gotta remember the D played so well down the stretch last year. Add to that -

The returning guys: Orakpo, Meriweather, Minnifield, Nield

The additions: B. Jenkins, Tapp, Barnett, Rambo, Amerson (Merling?, Pashos?)

The guys still growing in the system: Baker, Kerrigan, Jenkins, Pugh, Compton, Gettis, LeRibeus etc.

The addition-by-subtraction guy: Madieu

and you see some decent potential for improvement and solid depth. We'll be lucky to be a top defense overall, but above average in pts/against and turnovers would go a long way for the team.

Honestly, my major concern for the team (outside of injury to certain key players) is the schedule. While you never know for sure how things will play out, it looks brutal.

On the bright side, I can only come up with 2-4 teams that I feel are likely more complete than us ATM - SF, SEA, DEN and maybe ATL/GB. Top to bottom though, I like us vs anyone.

On the bright, bright side... lots to like about the offense:

Improved WR corp - Morgan healthy and Robinson/Hank further developing

Improved TEs - Davis healthy and Reed (not to mention Paulson and Paul developing)

Improved QBs - though both with health concerns, I guaruntee they're more developed

Improved RBs - Morris developing, Helu giving us a better backup and a third down/home run threat

Improved o-line - cohesion/consistency, 3 second-year guys developing.

We have our share of question marks, (it's certainly not all roses) but also a great deal of (realistic) potential for improvement.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Uhm, Shanahan says that every year. He's constantly said that only one team is happy at the end of the season, anything else is a failure.

Why is it different this time? Because the media jumped on it?

 

First time I've heard him say that to such an audience TBH and in such terms about this team failing if we don't win it all after what happened last year.  

 

And call me old school, but I don't like it whomever or how often it's said. Low key and humble. Let your football do the talking on the field. 

 

Hail. 

[skins4eva]

Preseason prognosticating is for suckers. But, since I'm a sucker, I'll bite. Lets start with offense. There's a fluidity on offense right now that you rarely see, or at least, we as skins fans have rarely seen lately. Every play has potential, no down and distance insurmountable. It's explosive and unpredictable. The zone running we employ when mixed with the read option and RGIII is something to behold. Make no mistake gentlemen: there are 31 defenses out there scared to play our offense. Against weaker defensive opponents, I expect us to put up numbers that none of us have seen in years, maybe since the 91 season (there, I said it and it felt good).

On defense, we will probably be slightly above average. I think our line is good to pretty good and our LBs are very good with the exception of Perry Riley who in my mind is clearly the weakest link in the front seven. In the secondary, we will have to do the best with what we have and play opportunistically. Hopefully, our pass rush will cover up some of our weaknesses in the back. The giants have won a few recent Super Bowls that way.

We are well coached, and we have the best depth I've seen in a long, long time. We all know that injuries can end a season, but if we stay healthy at key positions (and I hope to God we will), we've got a real good shot this season. It's time to put the past behind us--we've suffered for a lot of years as skins fans. Last year was the catharsis of two decades of futility--this year we move forward with a realistic shot at trophy.

[Frediemac]

I haven't missed a game since 1970 and it all boils down to one simple thing...INJURIES. We will either suffer and struggle or not. HTTR!

[TheREALJBird]

It's certainly a testament to our level of depth across the board now. When Mike first took over, we had starters that would be 3rd stringers or possibly not even on this team. The turnaround in these few years even with a ridiculous and unfair cap penalty handcuffing us for two years has been nothing short of amazing. Excited for the future, HTTR!

[Dirt]

Correct.  This is a good football team.  I know that's weird for us, lol...but there are a lot of good teams in the league.  

 

Still, if there's anything to get caught up in the moment about, it's the offense for sure.  Again, it's weird for us, and it's almost like we barely noticed how dominant the offense was last year.  Garcon (wasn't it?) wasn't playing around when he said it could be one of the best offenses of all time.  Even in this thread, posters are saying we can more or less 'score at will', as if that's normal for some teams.  No, this offense is so good it's stupid.

[NoVaSkins21]

I feel good about this team.  The offense and defense, IMO, will be both be better because of the of the upgrades they've made through the draft and even the very little they could through free agency.  The only and most important issue is what everybody has been talking about since January: #10.  If he's on the field, they always have a chance and hopefully he's learned what's important for him to be successful as well as this franchise.  

[rdskn4eva]

Defense is still a work in progress, although I love the front seven.

 

Offensively, I cant remember the last time the Redskins have had this much talent on that side of the ball.

[Larry]

I agree, but we looked like barnstormers during Spurrier's reign one preseason. So I'm not holding my breath yet.

Under Spurrier, we WON ALL OF OUR GAMES in preseason. But we didn't look like barnstormers.

Rather, when we were playing 1st string vs 1st string, we'd go down b two touchdowns. But we'd play our starters through three quarters, and eventually, our starters, playing against the other team's 3rd string, would erase the deficit.

Obviously, that's not what we're doing, this year.

This year, our starting QB has not even set foot on the field. Our NUMBER TWO QB didn't play, today. Our starting RB has had like 15 carries, total, through 3 games.

On defense, has our starting front 7 played a single snap, with all 7 of them on the field at the same time?

This year, were having pretty good results (except for, I suspect, leading the league in bonehead penalties) playing guys who won't make the cut, against the other team's starters. Our starters have stayed off the field so much that people (pundits and fans) are expressing concerns that they need the experience.

----------

I'm not crowning this team Super Bowl champions, yet. But what we ARE doing, is pretty much the opposite of what those Spurrier teams did.

[Commander PK]

I have no problem with people preaching cautious optimism, because this is afterall only the pre-season, but any comparisons of this current incarnation of the Redskins to the Spurrier era is a joke.  

 

This is a different time, and a different team, built a completely different way.  What is more encouraging than the wins is the manner in which we are getting them, and the depth and play of the team from top to bottom.  While far from perfect, there is no reason to believe at this point that the 2013 Washington Redskins will be anything less than a contender.

 

Yesterday's win and Osaka have nothing in common other than they were both big wins.     

[Diehard Otis]

Great thread Hardcore Zornography!  I'm bullish on the Skins too (then again, I always am).  In fact, I get the feeling that this year could really be special.  Of course there are some warts on the roster, and the schedule is tough, and we don't know if/when certain guys will get hurt & all of that....but this team is starting to look not just good, but DANGEROUS.  In my homerish mind, I can see the team becoming a legitimate contender this year.  Feel free to disagree, but frankly, I only see two bad matchups for us in the entire NFC.  

 

Bad Matchups

Atlanta - it is hard to beat a quality dome team in their house, but that's not it.  That high-powered passing attack could prove troublesome.  I definitely think we could beat them, but that passing attack poses a bad matchup for us.

 

Green Bay - (see Atlanta, except on nat. grass) These guys can be beat, but Rodgers scares me.  Nonetheless, their passing attack could pose a bad matchup

 

Toss Up

San Francisco - In my opinion, they have the most talented roster top-to-bottom in the NFL.  That in itself poses a problem, but they don't scare me.  They can be beaten.

 

Seattle - Personally, I find them to be a little overrated.  If we get em at FedEx again, we take em!  Up there.....man, I dunno.

 

 

After these four, no one else is that big a deal (the Any Given Sunday thing goes without saying).  Minnesota, New Orleans, Chicago, Carolina; which one of those teams really scares you???  And as for our Division, Philly is the great unknown, but New York is a favorable matchup.  And The Rival -- please!  We may split with them, but their organization is a mess these days & I DON'T CARE how much ESPN hypes them up. 

 

I got us Winning the East.  Washington has a young, hungry team that has experienced success & is ready for big things.  Gentlemen, we now have an Oh Sh*t! team [translation: the team on the schedule that makes you say OH SH*T!!!  We gotta play THEM!!??]

[TheGreek1973]

You can't help but feel strong about this team after last night's performance.  You start putting things together like people took paycuts to be on this team, they all seem excited, they pull for each other.  

 

For me this year it will come down to injuries.  Can RGIII come back from his knee at a level he was when we played Dallas in Dallas last year?  Can Rak finally show he is what we all know he can be without any setback?  Is the Morris we saw last year a one hit wonder or the real deal?  If the answer is yes to the questions and we have any luck with the injury bug, we can compete at a very high level.  
 

[Skinsfan1311]

As always, I'm cautiously optimistic.   That being said, I think that we're a pretty good team.

[Hailskins94]

Say what you want about it being preseason, but the fact of the matter is this team has now won 10 of its last 11 games. There is no doubt the Shanahans have this team playing some excellent football. They don't have superstars at every position but they are so well coached and take care of their assignments. This is a true "team".