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All right, I'm gonna try something new, I'm excited. I've been thinking about this post, discarding topics, refining others. And I might even throw in some research too!
Woot, baby!
(I'm trying out some new phraseology to endear me to my 13 year old daughter. Nothing so far has worked, unless the goal is an eye-roll or look of intense mortification. I feel good about this one)
So what do we know after one quarter of our 2010 Washington Redskins season?
Uh... Schultz?!?!?
Let's paint with a broader brush. Ignoring the AFC for now, while acknowledging the AFC is a MUCH better conference, let's look at the NFC. NFCW is terrible. Going out on a limb and gonna say that 7-9 will win that division, and it could be... wait for it... the Rams. That would take a little of the sting out of losing to them, wouldn't it? Bradford looks like a pro already, and the Rams are going to be a damn good football team for quite a while. Seahawks are going to continue to struggle on the road, 9ers are pretty much finished at 0-4, and the Cards just got plastered by the Chargers. And as someone that watched some of that game, I can tell you the game wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.
NFCN is solid. Minn is bi-polar, though I think they finish the season at .500. Lions are better than people think, very feisty. If Stafford can ever stay healthy... watch out. Chicago? Awful O-line. Not going far. Green Bay? Is it just me or do we worship Aaron Rodgers a little too much? He holds the ball too long, in my opinion. He has unbelievable WRs that make him look good. Don't get me wrong, he is very, very good, particularly at putting up great stats. But I'm not sure I trust him to win a big game.
NFCS is ummm, weird? Saints look like they haven't realized they're not in the preseason anymore. The Falcons week 1 loss to Pitt doesn't look so bad now, but they nearly lost to San Fran Sunday. I think they may be the best team in the NFC, but still have lots of questions. Bucs are feisty, but overmatched. Carolina is just overmatched. Which reminds me: why is it that John Fox is considered the hottest coaching free agent this coming offseason? Seems to me like they are perpetually 8-8, bubbling up over that once every 3-4 years, but hovering right at mediocrity aside from that. Not sure what the infatuation with him is.
That brings us to the NFCE. Dallas is overrated at 1-2. Philly is a much worse team with Kold instead of Vick, and NY is schizo.
What does all this tell us?
I know nothing.
And neither do you. It's wide open, folks. Let's list the best teams in the NFC:
1) Atlanta
2) ummm... New Orleans, maybe?
3) Green Bay, perhaps?
4) I got nothing. You?
In the NFC, the Redskins are middle of the pack (#8) in Total Offensive Yards (328/game), Passing Yards/Game (#7 230 yards/game), Rushing Yards/Game (#7 98 yards/game), and Scoring (#8 18.2 PPG).
Defensively, ouch. Bottom of the pile in Total Yards (#16 406 yards/game), Passing Defense (#16 305 Yards/Game), and Interceptions (#13 3 total).
However, if you add in Recovered Fumbles with the Ints (why NFL.com doesn't have a turnovers stat is beyond me), we move up to #10. And we are ranked at a very solid #7 with 8 total sacks. These two stats tell me defensive improvement is on the horizon. Sacks eventually will equal turnovers. How many of you have dreams of Rak coming around the corner, doing the Tomahawk chop on some poor unsuspecting QB's arm and recovering the fumble. I know I'm not the only one.
I have been as critical of our defense as anyone. More critical even. And with Green Bay and Indy coming up, the stats may slip more the next couple of weeks. But I think as the season goes along, we will see Rak get held more (sigh), and our defense improve. I'm not saying we're going from first to worst in defense, but I do think we can get to the middle of the pack by the end of the year.
And the offense? Middle of the pack? Who isn't happy with that? New coach. New scheme. New QB. 3/5 New O-line (with Dockery on the bench). And we are middle of the NFC? Terrific! We've shown flashes of being an amazing, explosive offense. I'm waiting for our running game to really pick it up and compliment the passing game, to the point where we can trust the running attack to finish a team.
And between you and me, I think Portis, when he gets back from injury, which may not be for a couple of weeks, will be our third down back. I know, you're shocked, SHOCKED! (I will collect my winnings on the way out) with this stunning revelation. I think Torain may be the answer for us this year. He is powerful, but fast, and I think if we give him 18-22 touches a game, we get more consistency than we do from Portis. Bring CPort in on 3rd down when he gets better, and voila`, we have a running game!
What I'm saying folks, is that none of us know nothing. The NFC is wide open, there are no guarantees at all.
So why not the Redskins?
Woot, baby!
(I'm trying out some new phraseology to endear me to my 13 year old daughter. Nothing so far has worked, unless the goal is an eye-roll or look of intense mortification. I feel good about this one)
So what do we know after one quarter of our 2010 Washington Redskins season?
Uh... Schultz?!?!?
Let's paint with a broader brush. Ignoring the AFC for now, while acknowledging the AFC is a MUCH better conference, let's look at the NFC. NFCW is terrible. Going out on a limb and gonna say that 7-9 will win that division, and it could be... wait for it... the Rams. That would take a little of the sting out of losing to them, wouldn't it? Bradford looks like a pro already, and the Rams are going to be a damn good football team for quite a while. Seahawks are going to continue to struggle on the road, 9ers are pretty much finished at 0-4, and the Cards just got plastered by the Chargers. And as someone that watched some of that game, I can tell you the game wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.
NFCN is solid. Minn is bi-polar, though I think they finish the season at .500. Lions are better than people think, very feisty. If Stafford can ever stay healthy... watch out. Chicago? Awful O-line. Not going far. Green Bay? Is it just me or do we worship Aaron Rodgers a little too much? He holds the ball too long, in my opinion. He has unbelievable WRs that make him look good. Don't get me wrong, he is very, very good, particularly at putting up great stats. But I'm not sure I trust him to win a big game.
NFCS is ummm, weird? Saints look like they haven't realized they're not in the preseason anymore. The Falcons week 1 loss to Pitt doesn't look so bad now, but they nearly lost to San Fran Sunday. I think they may be the best team in the NFC, but still have lots of questions. Bucs are feisty, but overmatched. Carolina is just overmatched. Which reminds me: why is it that John Fox is considered the hottest coaching free agent this coming offseason? Seems to me like they are perpetually 8-8, bubbling up over that once every 3-4 years, but hovering right at mediocrity aside from that. Not sure what the infatuation with him is.
That brings us to the NFCE. Dallas is overrated at 1-2. Philly is a much worse team with Kold instead of Vick, and NY is schizo.
What does all this tell us?
I know nothing.
And neither do you. It's wide open, folks. Let's list the best teams in the NFC:
1) Atlanta
2) ummm... New Orleans, maybe?
3) Green Bay, perhaps?
4) I got nothing. You?
In the NFC, the Redskins are middle of the pack (#8) in Total Offensive Yards (328/game), Passing Yards/Game (#7 230 yards/game), Rushing Yards/Game (#7 98 yards/game), and Scoring (#8 18.2 PPG).
Defensively, ouch. Bottom of the pile in Total Yards (#16 406 yards/game), Passing Defense (#16 305 Yards/Game), and Interceptions (#13 3 total).
However, if you add in Recovered Fumbles with the Ints (why NFL.com doesn't have a turnovers stat is beyond me), we move up to #10. And we are ranked at a very solid #7 with 8 total sacks. These two stats tell me defensive improvement is on the horizon. Sacks eventually will equal turnovers. How many of you have dreams of Rak coming around the corner, doing the Tomahawk chop on some poor unsuspecting QB's arm and recovering the fumble. I know I'm not the only one.
I have been as critical of our defense as anyone. More critical even. And with Green Bay and Indy coming up, the stats may slip more the next couple of weeks. But I think as the season goes along, we will see Rak get held more (sigh), and our defense improve. I'm not saying we're going from first to worst in defense, but I do think we can get to the middle of the pack by the end of the year.
And the offense? Middle of the pack? Who isn't happy with that? New coach. New scheme. New QB. 3/5 New O-line (with Dockery on the bench). And we are middle of the NFC? Terrific! We've shown flashes of being an amazing, explosive offense. I'm waiting for our running game to really pick it up and compliment the passing game, to the point where we can trust the running attack to finish a team.
And between you and me, I think Portis, when he gets back from injury, which may not be for a couple of weeks, will be our third down back. I know, you're shocked, SHOCKED! (I will collect my winnings on the way out) with this stunning revelation. I think Torain may be the answer for us this year. He is powerful, but fast, and I think if we give him 18-22 touches a game, we get more consistency than we do from Portis. Bring CPort in on 3rd down when he gets better, and voila`, we have a running game!
What I'm saying folks, is that none of us know nothing. The NFC is wide open, there are no guarantees at all.
So why not the Redskins?