USA Today: Redskins among 4 teams that won't make the Playoffs in 2016

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I still don't see how the Giants, Eagles, or Redskins could take offense to being 1.5 games behind Dallas. I don't think the Cowboys are anything special, but they have the best QB in the division (durability aside) to go with a very good OL. No matter what, that counts for something. 

 

Also, if you look at it a little more subjectively they had a chance to win so many games last year despite getting virtually NOTHING from the QB position. That's not that easy to do without a pretty decent all-around team. 

 

I think the Cowboys are being underrated here, assuming romoSUCKS can play 12 or more games. I would probably rank the most likely finish next year as: 

 

Dallas

Washington

New York

Philly

 

But, as the case seems to be lately, I think it will be a jumbled mess for much of the season. 

[Reaper Skins]

I think the Giants are gonna be the team to beat in all honesty. OBJ and Cruz is a QB's wet dream. All they need is a halfway decent running game and they'll be the team to beat in the division. This would be true even without the favorable calls they get.

Don't sleep on big blue they have an annoying habit of magically exceeding expectations every year.

[skins island connection]

I think the Giants are gonna be the team to beat in all honesty. OBJ and Cruz is a QB's wet dream. All they need is a halfway decent running game and they'll be the team to beat in the division. This would be true even without the favorable calls they get.

Don't sleep on big blue they have an annoying habit of magically exceeding expectations every year.

 

I agree. Cruz and OBJ are a secondary's nightmare. The only way to defend that is a defense which can either get to the QB quickly or a defense which can have some good secondary players. This is the team's biggest weakness. We desperately need some quality players back there who can compete with these bigger faster WRs and TEs. I just pray we don't rely on offense to get us places; we need a good defense to at least slow down these types of players.

[hail2skins]

I think the Giants are gonna be the team to beat in all honesty. OBJ and Cruz is a QB's wet dream. All they need is a halfway decent running game and they'll be the team to beat in the division. This would be true even without the favorable calls they get.

Don't sleep on big blue they have an annoying habit of magically exceeding expectations every year.

I'd say four straight seasons of no playoffs (three straight sub-500) for NY isn't exactly exceeding expectations.

 

But I agree that Eli is a decent QB and the wide receiver weapons makes the offense dangerous. However, their defense is horrible. Its tough to see the Giants totally sucking in the 4-5 win range, but their recent track record doesn't give me confidence in their ability to make the postseason. But we still have the draft and free agency to see what happens from a personnel standpoint.

[Reaper Skins]

I'd say four straight seasons of no playoffs (three straight sub-500) for NY isn't exactly exceeding expectations.

Should have phrased it better. They seem to always play up to competition regardless of their record. Despite their bad record this year, they were one of the biggest challenges for the Panthers, the Patriots, etc. Lopsided team and bad defense and they were still trading punches with the big boys week in and week out. They only need a few missing pieces to be our biggest competition.

At least for me, I worry way more about playing the Giants then I do Dallas in recent years. I hate Dallas more, but see the Giants as the bigger threat in the division.

Oh, and **** Mara. Even Coughlin agrees with me there.

[NoCalMike]

I don't think a ton separates 8-8 from 10-6.  A 1 game swing for a variety of factors likely puts this team in or out of the playoffs in 2016. While it certainly is disappointing to see pretty much all the media thinking the swing will go in the negative away, I don't think the idea of the team being worse by a game is all that unrealistic.

[MisterPinstripe]

Should have phrased it better. They seem to always play up to competition regardless of their record. Despite their bad record this year, they were one of the biggest challenges for the Panthers, the Patriots, etc. Lopsided team and bad defense and they were still trading punches with the big boys week in and week out. They only need a few missing pieces to be our biggest competition.

At least for me, I worry way more about playing the Giants then I do Dallas in recent years. I hate Dallas more, but see the Giants as the bigger threat in the division.

Oh, and **** Mara. Even Coughlin agrees with me there. images.jpg

Keep in mind that Coughlin is gone.Do we think that Ben McAdoo can coach a team like Coughlin?

[LD0506]

Personally I don't worry what the other three in the div do, Scot has another quality draft and this team shows up and we can hang with anyone.

 

Preston's second year + Junior returning + rook D player(?) = improved rush, better D stats overall, that alone makes a big difference.

 

How about not shuffling 2nd/3rd string in all season on the O line? Starter stability worked for the ground game until injuries took their toll. I have faith in Callahan's ability to field a quality line, guys come back healthy, young'uns get coached up and maybe some talent added in the draft and all of a sudden you got somethin' goin'.

 

We're not that far from being good or better, but there isn't any one element, we need to see improvement in several places, and IMO that's easier than depending on one single upgrade somewhere to tip the scales.

[Darth Tater]

Unless you weren't paying attention to 1998, 1999 was no surprise. We had finished the last half of 1998 going 5-3 with two of those losses being very close. We really only had our tails kicked by the teams that were really good. At the end of the season, we were obviously the second best team in the division and the best team was on its way down. In 2000, we had a few critical injuries we could not overcome, regression at QB to expected levels and even then were only a couple of mistakes away from the playoffs.

2004 was another season were we were much better than our record. Of our 10 losses, none were really all that certain until the middle of Q4 and 8 were really undecided until late in the quarter. Although our back 8 saw us with the same record as our front 8, we were definitely looking better. In 2005, we went on a big win streak at the end. 2006 saw a combo of critical injuries and stupid FO decisions and a QB regressing to expectations. Interestingly, we lost the close ones like we did in 2004 but at times looked solid even in our losses.

2007 saw another regular season streak, had a big emotional component (still would have rather had Sean, of course and we'd probably have gone further in the playoffs). 2008, new coach, still a bad FO and aging players.

In 2011, we beat the eventual SB champions twice and played the eventual SB loser down to the wire. We were obviously a franchise QB away from winning the division. In 2012, we appeared to have that QB and a little more but the defense regressed. We had to go on a 7 game streak to get to the playoffs even then (OK, we could have lost either to the Ravens of Cleveland and still won the division). The next year, we suffered some critical injuries, continued bad FO decisions and the defense did not bounce back to 2011 levels while its only good aspect (creating turnovers) disappeared by the second half of the season.

In 2014, unlike 1998, 2004, 2011 and even to a lesser extent, 2006, we looked like we had gotten worse as the season progressed. 6 times we allowed more than 20 points and only scored more than 20 twice. We were even shutout once. Not only did we not have a franchise QB, the defense sucked and the head coach seemed indecisive and admitted he was no innovator or was not confident in his leadership skills. We changed our front office by hiring a guy who had a rep for rebuilding teams for the first time since the late 70s. We faced massive critical injuries in 2015. We did not need a massive streak to even sniff the playoffs.

While we may have gotten lucky by being the best of a bad bunch, we did face a lot of adversity in the injury department which we were able to overcome for the first time since the 1980s, now have a guy in the FO who seems to have what it takes to build a team, a coach that seems more confident in his position than before and a QB that may have franchise skills given the system he works with. Still not confident in the defense but that was a unit hit with some of the most devastating injuries and also had a new coach in place. Running game was improving at the end probably due to the fact that teams were getting a little more cautious of Kirk's arm and the backups we had playing were finally starting to figure it out.

[TheItalianStallion]

I've already pointed this out, but it bears repeating. Those 8-8 Cowboys teams had poor defenses and running games. The 2015 Cowboys had a very good pass D, pretty good overall D, and a top 10 rushing offense. If Lee and romoSUCKS both stay healthy (yes, both big ifs), and avoid any other major injuries, I think they win 10+ games.

[Stefanskins]

Do I think that kind of write up is unfair? Absolutely not. 

 

Unfair? No. Lazy? Yes.

[goskins10]

I've already pointed this out, but it bears repeating. Those 8-8 Cowboys teams had poor defenses and running games. The 2015 Cowboys had a very good pass D, pretty good overall D, and a top 10 rushing offense. If Lee and romoSUCKS both stay healthy (yes, both big ifs), and avoid any other major injuries, I think they win 10+ games.

 

At  least part of that is not true. Their D has been pretty much the same except for 1 yr, 2013.

 

2011- 14th

2012 - 17th

2013 - 26th

2014 - 14th

2015 - 17th 

 

In 2015 their pass D was 5th, however that's because they had no running D- 22nd! Pts/gm? They were 16th at 23.4. BTW we were 23.7/gm. So based on this you feel we had a pretty decent Def? I don't andI don't believe you do either.

 

They did have a much better run game in 2014 and again in 2015. However, after being #1 in 2014, they dropped to 2015. At least some of that was the romoSUCKS effect. But till, it's not like they were elite.

 

I have no problem with saying dallast has a good chance if all come back healthy. But to dismiss us so quickly, and mostly based on the projection that DJax and Reed will be injured, is just lazy as someone said above.

[goskins10]

In '99 we went from 6-10 the previous season to 10-6, before falling back to 8-8 in '00. 

 

In '05 we went from 6-10 the previous season to 10-6 before falling back to 5-11 in '06. 

 

In '07 went went from 5-11 the previous season to 9-7 before falling back to 8-8 in '08. 

 

In '12 we went from 5-11 the previous season to 10-6 before falling to 3-13 in '13.. 

 

In all four of our playoff runs over the past 23 years, we've gone from garbage to playoffs to garbage and the core reasons have typically been rather similar: no franchise QB, lack of quality depth, and legit starters at multiple key positions usually involving the secondary, and/or one or both lines, plus bounce back seasons from the powers in the division.

 

Edit

 

None of that means a thing. I could care less what we did in 2005/6 or before. It's a BS write up dismissing us out of hand 2 days after the season is over. Should dallast be a strong contender if dummo is healthy? Sure, but why us dismiss so quickly? **** them! We should both be considered.

 

I am not impatient for us to improve. Not sure how you got that. We have a long way to go. What I would like is for them to at least wait for the SB to wear off before beginning the yearly assault on this team.

[ThE B MaN]

Definitely a bs post. We are not the same team that we were when we were flip flopping from year to year. I think we all can see that we are really building something special now, and our drafts are drastically improving under Scotty. As long as Cap'n Kirk plays well again and we don't get decimated by injury, I suspect we will be a contender for the division title once again.

[xxprodigyxx]

Thread title is a bit misleading.  For anyone that does not cover this division regularly, I think it's reasonable for people to think this.  No one has has repeated winning the division in a while and our division hasn't been strong enough to produce a wild card berth.

[goskins10]

Thread title is a bit misleading.  For anyone that does not cover this division regularly, I think it's reasonable for people to think this.  No one has has repeated winning the division in a while and our division hasn't been strong enough to produce a wild card berth.

 

How is it misleading? USA Today posted an article that they believe the Redskins are least likely to repeat. I happen to strongly disagree. I can see us not being the odds on favorite for the reasons you stated. But to say we are least likely to repeat is a stretch.

 

What could have been done to make the title less misleading to you?

[RedBeast]

Embrace the hatred.

[Ron78]

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/02/4-nfl-teams-that-wont-make-the-playoffs-again-next-season#

 

"Washington rolled into the playoffs after its offense finally got healthy in the second half. The returns of DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed took pressure off Kirk Cousins, and the 27-year-old settled into his role as a distributor nicely. Everything went right for Washington in the second half, but Jackson and Reed are injury prone players so it’s not like the team can expect them to play a full 16-game schedule next season."

 

 

Well it took all of a few days before we started getting trolled about next year. USA Today has announced us a 1 of the 4 teams that won't make the playoffs next year. They cite Jackson and Reed health issues, the return of a healthy romoSUCKS and dez and anoint the cowpukes the early favorites for the division. They talk about Cousins contract but don't really talk about his play accept to call him a distributor what ever that means. They also mention the tougher schedule. They finish with a shot at Dan Snyder wondering aloud "General manager Scot Mccloughan worked wonders in his first go-around in the nation’s capital, but you never know when Daniel Snyder will intervene." Really? Let it go already!

 

No doubt we will have a tougher schedule. Reed injuries are a probably a fair concern. Maybe even Jackson. However (and I freely admit I could be really wrong) I think he learned something from how last season went. It was probably the first time he saw how going into his 30's he can't rely on his athleticism. Provided we keep him I expect him to have a different focus.

 

We certainly have some huge holes - no running game, little experience in the secondary, an underperforming Dline to name a few. I could see us actually getting better as a team and missing the playoffs. But one of the teams least likely to make it again?

 

I see 8 winnable games (sweep philly, split with dallast and giants, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, and the Ravens). If we make some major improvements we could easily win 2 more making us 10-6. I would take our chances to make the POs with that record. Of course we could also end up 6-10 or worse if we back-slide. I may be too optimistic, but I just don't see that kind of backslide.

 

What are your thoughts - understanding this is well before any moves have been made or the new season has even started. It might be interesting to see how the predictions work out when the season happens. Besides, it's the offseason. What else do we have to do?

USA Today is a left-leaning paper, and the author probably dislikes the team name.  Why doesn't he acknowledge that Tony romoSUCKS is also injury prone and likes to throw picks?  Sounds bias to me.