How long will it take for the Redskins to get back 'on top'?
Well, if on top means contending for a title then I think looking back to the Johnson years in Dallas can be instructive.
Johnson went 1-15, 7-9 and then 11-5 before breaking through in 1992.
He inherited a team that finished 3-13 which needed to find a quarterback and had to rebuild the lines. He also inherited a high draft pick WR in Michael Irvin who had been injured his first couple of seasons in the NFL.
Sound familiar?
Johnson had a phenomenal draft record from 1989-92 which vaulted Dallas forward from the picks off the Walker trade.
The Redskins don'( have those extra picks but we now have veteran free agency which allows teams to target improvement in specific areas more quickly.
Based on that and the fact this team has some talent already here, I would think the 1-15 year would be correlated to the Zorn year at 4-12, where Davis, Orakpo, Thomas and others started to emerge from the carnage.
I think 7-9 in 2010 is very likely, followed by a better year in 2011 where the wildcard may be in the offing.
But as with Dallas I don't see this team truly contending until 2011.
This is based on the view that Shanahan will draft a quarterback abd develop him over that period.
If the Redskins trade for a veteran the team may be better sooner, but the question will then be what the upside will be with a player another team believed was dispensible?
Posted via BGO Mobile Device
Well, if on top means contending for a title then I think looking back to the Johnson years in Dallas can be instructive.
Johnson went 1-15, 7-9 and then 11-5 before breaking through in 1992.
He inherited a team that finished 3-13 which needed to find a quarterback and had to rebuild the lines. He also inherited a high draft pick WR in Michael Irvin who had been injured his first couple of seasons in the NFL.
Sound familiar?
Johnson had a phenomenal draft record from 1989-92 which vaulted Dallas forward from the picks off the Walker trade.
The Redskins don'( have those extra picks but we now have veteran free agency which allows teams to target improvement in specific areas more quickly.
Based on that and the fact this team has some talent already here, I would think the 1-15 year would be correlated to the Zorn year at 4-12, where Davis, Orakpo, Thomas and others started to emerge from the carnage.
I think 7-9 in 2010 is very likely, followed by a better year in 2011 where the wildcard may be in the offing.
But as with Dallas I don't see this team truly contending until 2011.
This is based on the view that Shanahan will draft a quarterback abd develop him over that period.
If the Redskins trade for a veteran the team may be better sooner, but the question will then be what the upside will be with a player another team believed was dispensible?
Posted via BGO Mobile Device