NFC East Preview: Washington Redskins

While the Eagles and Giants are trying to make a push for the NFC East title, along with the Cowboys, for the Redskins, the goal needs to be to get better, and avoiding finishing in the cellar yet again. Could this be Joe Gibbs’ last season, or will there be enough positives to keep owner Daniel Snyder’s checkbook in his pocket?

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

2006 record: 5-11, last in NFC East
Key Offseason Losses: LB Lamar Marshall (cut), K John Hall (cut)
Key Offseason Additions: S LaRon Landry (6th overall pick - LSU), LB London Fletcher (from Buffalo), LB Randall Godfrey

QUICK TAKE

The Redskins did finish 5-11 last season, but that could very easily have been 11-5. Washington lost six games by six points or less, including four by three points or less.

But, in the end, there are reasons a losing team is a losing team, and there were plenty, most of which center around the inability to stop most of their opponents on offense. If you can’t make stops on defense, you can’t expect to come out on top in the tight games.

Can they shore up their defensive weaknesses and give themselves a chance to be respectable? Or, will injuries, inconsistency, and ineptitude continue to stand in their way?

OFFENSE

At QB, Jason Campbell is now the guy, and will look to build off of what he did in seven starts at the end of 2006. After riding the pine for a season and a half, Joe Gibbs finally put him in the starting lineup in November, and even though the Redskins went 2-5 with him as the starter, he had pretty respectable totals, throwing for nearly 1,300 yards, 10 touchdowns, and six interceptions. His two main targets will be receiver Santana Moss and tight end Chris Cooley, who was signed to a huge contract extension following last season. Brandon Lloyd and Antwaan Randle El will need to make significant contributions in the passing game as well.

Clinton Portis was well on his way to his fifth straight 1,000+ yard season when he was injured midway through the the year, and missed the last eight games. In his place, Ladell Betts came up big, running for 1,154 yards. Portis enters the season with injury questions lingering, but having a reliable #2 in Betts helps take some of the pressure off of Campbell to have to do too much with his arm.

Ideally, Joe Gibbs would like to be able to rely on the running game, with a healthy Portis and Betts, and have Campbell somewhere between 25-30 attempts per game. This isn’t to say that Campbell isn’t capable of putting the ball up 40 times, but him having to do that will usually mean Washington is having to battle from behind.

DEFENSE

After finishing among the league’s best defenses in Gibbs’ first two seasons back at the helm, the Redskins were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last seaosn, ranking 27th in points, and 29th in yards.

The pass defense was absolutely atrocious, getting burned for 30 touchdowns, while picking off only six passes, both of which were last in the league. The run defense wasn’t much better either, as they allowed teams to rush for an average of 137 yards per game.

So, improvement is a definite must. To bolster the secondary, the ‘Skins picked up Landry with their first pick. Landry was the top secondary prospect on the board, and had an excellent career at LSU, making 315 tackles and 12 interceptions. He’s also a big hitter as well, giving the ‘Skins two ferocious hitters at safety, along with Sean Taylor. Speaking of Taylor, he’s goin to have to step up the consistency this season, because he got burned one too many times last season. If those two can play to the level that their talents warrant, that’ll make the secondary a heck of a lot better instantly.

The addition of Fletcher to the front seven will be a great benefit. Fletcher has been one of the league’s top tacklers for the last several seasons, and will be counted on to be all over the place. Second-year linebacker Rocky McIntosh is taking over where Warrick Holdman struggled last season, and his improvement will be key to the Redskins’ ability to prevent ball carriers from getting too many big gains. With Marcus Washington out for the first couple of weeks after a dislocated elbow in the preseason, former Cowboy Randall Godfrey is going to fill in until Washington’s elbow fully heals.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Former Cowboys kicker Shaun Suisham, who kicked for both Dallas and Washington last season, is now the full-time placekicker for the Redskins. He made 8 of 9 kicks (9 of 11 with both teams) for Washington, and made all 12 of his extra points (14 for 14 combined). Derrick Frost handles the punting duties, and averaged nearly 43 yards per kick last season.

Rock Cartwright was the team’s primary kick returner in 2006, and returned one kickoff for a touchdown. Randle El is one of the top return men in the league, and will look to add to his career total of six return touchdowns (one kickoff, five punt).

OUTLOOK

Even if the ‘Skins improvement, it’s going to be a tough task to finish any better than third in the division. The defense is going to have make some big strides, because while the offense is more than capable of putting up points, they’re not really the kind of team that’s suited for shootouts or big comebacks.

If only Joe Gibbs’ success as a race team owner could translate to success on the football field. Maybe Tony Stewart needs to strap on some pads and try his luck on the gridiron. But, a healthy Portis and an improving Campbell can drive the Redskins to Victory Lane a few times, provided there aren’t any unexpected mechanical breakdowns or spotter errors. Oops, wrong blog…

Anyway, If the Redskins finish below .500 again, it’ll be time to revive the debate on whether or not it’s time for Gibbs to retire from coaching for good. There’s hope, but if the ‘Skins want to bring some smiles to the folks in FedEx Field, they’re going to need to do better than 1-5 in division games, and at least post a .500 or better record at home (they were 3-5 at home in ‘06).