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Back by popular demand (do the voices in my head make me popular?)...
1. Brandon Banks returns four kicks for TDs and establishes himself as the new "Devin Hester" in the NFL. The bad news is that he also gets playing time as a WR, and can't make plays. But the return TDs more than make up for it.
2. By week 5, the OLine is rating out in the top third of the league. That would put them bordering on the top 10, which sounds about right to me. Shanny has been tinkering with the Line for 3 off seasons now, and should be close to having things the way he wants them.
3. Either Sleepy or Dopey gets suspended for weed. Again. You choose which one, I'm depressed.
4. That vein in Mike Shanahan's forehead finally pops. Over/Under is week 6.
5. Josh Wilson establishes himself as a legit number one CB, capable of limiting the opposition's number one WR to pedestrian numbers. It's coming, just watch. He has the swagger and the talent. Speaking of the secondary...
6. The secondary isn't as bad as you think. Though DeAngelo will still make you throw things from time to time.
7. Jarvis Jenkins recovers from his injury and looks dominant. But not until next year. I have a feeling he will be solid and contribute some this year, but may disappoint the multitude of fans that want him to anchor our DLine.
8. Alfred Morris leads the team in rushing. I know, I know, trying to divine Shanahan's running back preference is as dumb as opening an all you can eat buffet next to the Eagles' training camp, but I'm gonna give it a shot anyway. Helu just seems to have trouble with some nagging injuries, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he will not be with the team this time next year unless he can contribute consistently. Morris flashed the cut back potential Shanny loves in the preseason; unless he struggles in the first couple of games, he's our guy.
9. Perry Riley ends the season with more tackles than London. Heresey, I know. It's not that I think London shows his age, it's that I think Riley is that good.
10. The Skins finish with 10 or more wins. Everyone is comparing Griff with Cam Newton, because I'm guessing, they are both mobile QBs. However, they aren't built the same. Newton is a LBer masquerading as a QB. Dude is a tank who runs over people. Griff is a LOT lighter than Newton, but may be faster. He isn't going to routinely break 50 yard rushes, I don't think. A few times a game he may get to the outside, or break something, but I doubt we are going to see that as much as people believe. What if the better comparison is Matt Ryan? Ryan came to Atlanta after they had been QB'd for a year by Joey Harrington (Falcons fans are now curled up in the fetal position in a corner muttering to themselves). Can you imagine how painful that must have been?
Thinking about last year now, aren't you? Remembering those painful Rex INTs?
Thing is, the Falcons were decimated in 2007 (the year before Matt Ryan arrived) by the Mike Vick dog-fighting suspension, then the gutless Bobby Petrino leaving 3/4 of the way into the season. They bottomed out at 4-12 after finishing 7-9 the year before with Vick.
The Falcons had some good players around Ryan when he got there. Their crappy season that landed them a top three pick was because of horrible quarterbacking play and unfortunate circumstances, not necessarily because they were such an awful team.
This is the part of the post where I tell you I'm a homer. Hello, Captain Obvious. Still, I think the Skins have more talent surrounding Griff this year than the Panthers had surrounding Newton last year. A lot more, actually. I think the ONLY question mark on the offense is the line, and I have a feeling the line will be surprising some folks this year. The step up from Grossman to Griff is difficult to quantify. But it's big. Already. With Griff as a rookie. Really big. How many games did Rex directly cost us last year with poor decisions, untimely turnovers, etc? More than a couple if memory serves.
I think Griff can duplicate Matt Ryan's start, largely because the team around him is good. Not only good, but waiting. Waiting for a leader, waiting for someone to make them all better. The players knew last year what they had with Rex. Do you imagine it would be easy to drag yourself into a game knowing there was a good chance one player, the most important position on the field no less, would do something to screw it up?
I suspect most players will be anticipating gameday this year. And for good reason.
1. Brandon Banks returns four kicks for TDs and establishes himself as the new "Devin Hester" in the NFL. The bad news is that he also gets playing time as a WR, and can't make plays. But the return TDs more than make up for it.
2. By week 5, the OLine is rating out in the top third of the league. That would put them bordering on the top 10, which sounds about right to me. Shanny has been tinkering with the Line for 3 off seasons now, and should be close to having things the way he wants them.
3. Either Sleepy or Dopey gets suspended for weed. Again. You choose which one, I'm depressed.
4. That vein in Mike Shanahan's forehead finally pops. Over/Under is week 6.
5. Josh Wilson establishes himself as a legit number one CB, capable of limiting the opposition's number one WR to pedestrian numbers. It's coming, just watch. He has the swagger and the talent. Speaking of the secondary...
6. The secondary isn't as bad as you think. Though DeAngelo will still make you throw things from time to time.
7. Jarvis Jenkins recovers from his injury and looks dominant. But not until next year. I have a feeling he will be solid and contribute some this year, but may disappoint the multitude of fans that want him to anchor our DLine.
8. Alfred Morris leads the team in rushing. I know, I know, trying to divine Shanahan's running back preference is as dumb as opening an all you can eat buffet next to the Eagles' training camp, but I'm gonna give it a shot anyway. Helu just seems to have trouble with some nagging injuries, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he will not be with the team this time next year unless he can contribute consistently. Morris flashed the cut back potential Shanny loves in the preseason; unless he struggles in the first couple of games, he's our guy.
9. Perry Riley ends the season with more tackles than London. Heresey, I know. It's not that I think London shows his age, it's that I think Riley is that good.
10. The Skins finish with 10 or more wins. Everyone is comparing Griff with Cam Newton, because I'm guessing, they are both mobile QBs. However, they aren't built the same. Newton is a LBer masquerading as a QB. Dude is a tank who runs over people. Griff is a LOT lighter than Newton, but may be faster. He isn't going to routinely break 50 yard rushes, I don't think. A few times a game he may get to the outside, or break something, but I doubt we are going to see that as much as people believe. What if the better comparison is Matt Ryan? Ryan came to Atlanta after they had been QB'd for a year by Joey Harrington (Falcons fans are now curled up in the fetal position in a corner muttering to themselves). Can you imagine how painful that must have been?
Thinking about last year now, aren't you? Remembering those painful Rex INTs?
Thing is, the Falcons were decimated in 2007 (the year before Matt Ryan arrived) by the Mike Vick dog-fighting suspension, then the gutless Bobby Petrino leaving 3/4 of the way into the season. They bottomed out at 4-12 after finishing 7-9 the year before with Vick.
The Falcons had some good players around Ryan when he got there. Their crappy season that landed them a top three pick was because of horrible quarterbacking play and unfortunate circumstances, not necessarily because they were such an awful team.
This is the part of the post where I tell you I'm a homer. Hello, Captain Obvious. Still, I think the Skins have more talent surrounding Griff this year than the Panthers had surrounding Newton last year. A lot more, actually. I think the ONLY question mark on the offense is the line, and I have a feeling the line will be surprising some folks this year. The step up from Grossman to Griff is difficult to quantify. But it's big. Already. With Griff as a rookie. Really big. How many games did Rex directly cost us last year with poor decisions, untimely turnovers, etc? More than a couple if memory serves.
I think Griff can duplicate Matt Ryan's start, largely because the team around him is good. Not only good, but waiting. Waiting for a leader, waiting for someone to make them all better. The players knew last year what they had with Rex. Do you imagine it would be easy to drag yourself into a game knowing there was a good chance one player, the most important position on the field no less, would do something to screw it up?
I suspect most players will be anticipating gameday this year. And for good reason.