Couple of things to point out.

[Art]

If the Redskins sign Kearse any corner of note and draft Taylor, for the most part, the money spent on the offense and defense is very equal. On offense you have Samuels, Thomas, Jansen, Coles, Portis, Brunell and perhaps Kleinsasser with fairly substantial deals.

On defense you'd have Kearse, Arrington, Trotter, corner of note, a likely defensive tackle and presumably Taylor with fairly substantial contracts. Now, assuming the offseason plan is in place that should correct some fundamental flaws we have on defense that includes several of the names we've heard thrown around, the fact is, while we're all drooling over the prospects of our offense, when it's all over, the defense might have similar talent and balance and potential.

One more thing to consider is it is possible should Ramsey beat Brunell out that the Redskins won't have a single starter over the age of 28. We have no idea what will ultimately happen yet so we should reserve judgement until then whether it be positive or negative. But things are lining up to present this team with a legitimate chance to be as complete a team as we could hope.

We may fall short of that. We'll see. But that remains possible.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I agree...I think we're shaping ourselves up pretty well if we get what we're expecting.

The key will be the way the FO handles injuries and expirations of contracts.

For example, if Trotter goes down will we have faith in Mitchell or go out and spend a huge signing bonus on some FA LB...that's where I'm concerned. However, I am more confident than ever that Gibbs and his staff will create more depth by coaching these backups well.

[Sweet Sassy Molassy]

I agree Art, we're definitely setting ourselves up for the future. This year may not be the big one for us, but if we can keep this nucleus of guys together for more than 1 year, we'll be dangerous on both sides of the ball. Now, we just have to shape up Special Teams.

[Skeletor The Invincible]

I'm coming around to drafting a defensive lineman early in this years draft.

Why? because I think our safeties are O.K. while I do not think that our defensive line is O.K by any stretch of the imagination. If we get Kearse, fine. But we still need a defensive tackle. Badly. Tommie Harris might work there.

[freakofthesouth]

If what Art has cited falls into place w/ offseason acquisitions, including Kearse, a cheaper Champ, added DL depth, Taylor (!), and ol' Kleiny...this will be a well-rounded, well-thought-out offseason.

I keep thinking of Snyder as a sortof' spoiled little kid, who always got what he wanted. His offseason spending habits have been energetic and far-reaching, but they have never come to bear any fruit. This year, I look at Gibbs as Snyder's father-figure, giving him some direction in his starry-eyed acquisitions. Gibbs is so good at utilizing the talents of eveyone around him, he has pointed Snyder in particular directions, 'wound him up', in a sense, and let him fly around the offseason market, w/ the seed planted in his head of what Gibbs holds valuable and true:

Depth at crucial positions, character, and balance.

So, it's much more exciting this year to have these moves and signings conducted w/ a mastermind behind it all. As the FA period and draft progress, I predict a very precise string of acquisitions that keep in mind all of JOe's ideals, while entertaining Dany's spending fix.

One more point to add to my pointless post....(!)...each player here will learn from example what true leadership is; it will start w/ the born leader, Joe Gibbs (something Spurrier, unfortunately, never was), trasnfer down to his assistants, including Bugel, Williams, and the like; and soon thereafter, certain players will start to step-up and lead...i.e. Brunell, and Portis- maybe even Lavar. That will be infectious, until everyone down to the practice squad is competing and battling intensely.

I'm pretty friggin' excited!

[SkinsThug]

As long as we are in top five in stopping the run I don't care who comes in, who goes, or how much money is spent.

[Neophyte]

Actually, I think the better off seasons started last year. Snyder, the FO and the coaches made good moves for the most part last year before camp. The only moves I can say were not great was the trade for Trung, the signing of Johnson to back up Ramsey and release of Big Daddy. Of course, I thought the trade for Trung was a good move at the time. The only other move I questioned was letting Gardner get away and that was not completely our fault.

However, the moves that got us Coles, Thomas, Morton, Hall, Bowen and Fiore were great. Drafting Dockery was a good move and I think drafting Taylor was good although only time will tell due to his early injury.

The point is, the Danny showed some maturity last year that we had not seen before. Hopefully, he will build on that this year and, with the influence of Gibbs, even improve over it.