Breaking down the season.

[Charm City Sports]

Well another year, and another disapointing loss with nothing to show for it.

Or is there???

We started out this year strong, winning when we were picked by everyone else to lose.

Then the wheels came off, and we started to lose games that we should have won. (If only games had three quarters)

People started to doubt Gibbs (and I sheeplishy admit I was one of those guys), and his ability to win at this level anymore.

Then the unthinkable.......The death of Sean taylor.

A week of heartach and pain that ended with a come from behind loss to the Bills.

Again people were calling for the head of Gibbs. Again I was leading the charge. Most were feeding of the hurt of Sean's death.

I had to take a step back and put myself in Joe Gibbs place.

NO one on that feild wanted to win more than Gibbs...No one.

Joe is a family man, and a Christian. He wanted it bad, but the emotion of the whole week was just to much to bear.

I think once the Skins were able to put their friend and brother to rest they were a more focused team. They played with only one goal.

We were a team destroyed by injury. And guys started to step up.

we did what is hard to do at any pro level. We won 4 straight.

Call it devine intervention, call it luck, call it what you will. I call it a bunch of proud guys playing as one.

So yesterday it came to halt, we lost. NO more talk about Sean guiding us, or that we had a destiny.

Another wasted year. Right?

I don't think so.

I think we have grown more in 5 weeks than some teams grow in 5 years. We were able to take a tragic event and turn it into something positive.

I think we will be a better team next year. Gibbs has shown why he is in the hall, Williams has shown why he is regaured as one of the best in the business.

But most of all we finally have a core group of guys that have shown that they care more about just siging in DC to get that large paycheck that we have been known for, for so very long. They have showed that they really care about this team, and the fans.

I think that each and everyone of them should hold their head up high. We were out of the playoffs, and they gave us one more week to cheer.

I salute this team, and the fans that helped give them the strenth to do what the did. Without us, they would have failed.

We as fans showed that we are a family as well. Any other team in the league can call themselves the 12th man.

We went out and showed it.

Next year I have no doubt that we will be a better tighter, team.

And I look forward to cheering the team that I love so much next year.

Sean's legacy has just begun. We will never forget what he acomplished in life and in death.

So in ending, thank you Redskins, and thank you Redskin nation for being the best fans in the NFL.
__________________

[por-tiz2skins]

Well another year, and another disapointing loss with nothing to show for it.

Or is there???

We started out this year strong, winning when we were picked by everyone else to lose.

Then the wheels came off, and we started to lose games that we should have won. (If only games had three quarters)

People started to doubt Gibbs (and I sheeplishy admit I was one of those guys), and his ability to win at this level anymore.

Then the unthinkable.......The death of Sean taylor.

A week of heartach and pain that ended with a come from behind loss to the Bills.

Again people were calling for the head of Gibbs. Again I was leading the charge. Most were feeding of the hurt of Sean's death.

I had to take a step back and put myself in Joe Gibbs place.

NO one on that feild wanted to win more than Gibbs...No one.

Joe is a family man, and a Christian. He wanted it bad, but the emotion of the whole week was just to much to bear.

I think once the Skins were able to put their friend and brother to rest they were a more focused team. They played with only one goal.

We were a team destroyed by injury. And guys started to step up.

we did what is hard to do at any pro level. We won 4 straight.

Call it devine intervention, call it luck, call it what you will. I call it a bunch of proud guys playing as one.

So yesterday it came to halt, we lost. NO more talk about Sean guiding us, or that we had a destiny.

Another wasted year. Right?

I don't think so.

I think we have grown more in 5 weeks than some teams grow in 5 years. We were able to take a tragic event and turn it into something positive.

I think we will be a better team next year. Gibbs has shown why he is in the hall, Williams has shown why he is regaured as one of the best in the business.

But most of all we finally have a core group of guys that have shown that they care more about just siging in DC to get that large paycheck that we have been known for, for so very long. They have showed that they really care about this team, and the fans.

I think that each and everyone of them should hold their head up high. We were out of the playoffs, and they gave us one more week to cheer.

I salute this team, and the fans that helped give them the strenth to do what the did. Without us, they would have failed.

We as fans showed that we are a family as well. Any other team in the league can call themselves the 12th man.

We went out and showed it.

Next year I have no doubt that we will be a better tighter, team.

And I look forward to cheering the team that I love so much next year.

Sean's legacy has just begun. We will never forget what he acomplished in life and in death.

So in ending, thank you Redskins, and thank you Redskin nation for being the best fans in the NFL.
__________________

Its ok,im happy now we lost to that peice of crap low life team.But next year well pay them back with our chosen QB,to lead us to the superbowl in the future.But we can very well win the superbowl next year since now we have our round picks and are getting younger and stronger.

[VetSkinsFan]

I've waited a few days since I was incredibly let down and would have been as irrational as 1/2 the posts in this thread.

1. Moss performance---- I wouldn't say that Moss should be cut in the least. Factor one is that he's been hurt the majority of the year. That wll DIRECTLY affect his numbers. You can't slam Moss when ey is JC's favorite target. Slam JC for that. Yes, he's dropped some balls. I think that Moss is good, but he's not elite. he's no Randy Moss, T.O., or Art Monk. We have no elite receivers, period. Moss is still a great asset to the team.

2. QBs of 07-------------- I think that we saw what we saw. JC is still developing and hopefully we have a future with him. This should be his make or break year. If he doesn't improve, we'll have an Eli situation on our hands, and we don't want that. TC is just what TC is, a back-up. He showed that in the fourth quarter. TWO INTS??!?? Granted, the first lies on Moss for the most part. The second, though, was insane. I can't even say that was a busted route, there wasn't anyone there to say is was busted. JC in 08, either put up or pack your bags.....

3. Skins Defense --------- Awesome job for the most part. They can't help, thruughout the year, if the offense doesn't keep 'em off of the field. Landry has the potential to at least lace up ST's shoes, will he fill them is yet to be seen. Prilieau (sp) should be gone. He's crap for man to man. He's decent in the zone, we cna do better. I didn't think the CBs played as well as the should have vs Seattle.

4. Skins Offense ---------- Hard to judge the O-line due to so many injuries. It is aging and we need to start thinking of tomorrow. Heyer is a good start. Keep in mind, this year (since week two injuries) we have had TWO starting lineman from last year. I think the O-line takes a lot longer to gel than most people realize. There's an instinctual reaction everyone has, and if you don't play together, then you won't know what your partner's doing; which I think shows in the month of Dec.

5. Special Teams ---------- ARE SHOULD NOT BE RETURNING PUNTS. He should be on Dancing with the Stars. Hold on to Rock unless he gets a big head. He's good, but keep in mind, ST is a TEAM effort, and he's not Devin Hester.



Overall, I think we're in good shape. We have some age that needs to be addressed, but we SHOULD be able to have our team in tact. The O-line should be addressed and well as a LB Rocky's had too many knee problems in his short career and I'm worried about his durability. If we use Mix and he pans out, I think we've got ourselves a new wideout. He's certainly performing on ST. We need ot look for a back-up as both of our back-ups are going ot be 36+ this year. Isn't that some kind of record?

[Mursilis]

Looking ahead to next year, it's hard to shake the memory of the 2005 season (which also ended in Seattle), and what happened in 2006, a season which began with so much promise (remember all that Super Bowl talk? Even I was believing) and instead was an embarrassing collapse. It's hard to know what next season will bring - a team building on the success of this past season, or another collapse. Really can't wait to find out though.

[PulpExposure]

Looking ahead to next year, it's hard to shake the memory of the 2005 season (which also ended in Seattle), and what happened in 2006, a season which began with so much promise (remember all that Super Bowl talk? Even I was believing) and instead was an embarrassing collapse. It's hard to know what next season will bring - a team building on the success of this past season, or another collapse. Really can't wait to find out though.

I think the 2006 collapse was on the defense (it fell...hard). Barring another similar collapse, I expect us to be competitive next year.

[Redskin in Canada]

Next year I have no doubt that we will be a better tighter, team.

While I tend to agree in general. We still have to put much better people in the starting OL and DL. We need depth there.

Gibbs teams win and lose according to the outcomes of the battles in the trenches and we lost both on offense and defense this weekend. Seattle had better DL and OL than we did and we had to work desperately around those flaws.

It is possible but remarkably difficult to control the ball and the clock in a power offense without the players in the trenches that can support a Joe Gibbs type of game.

Collins had virtually no protection in several plays. Clinton did not have any holes to run. We had no pressure on Hasselbeck from the front four. It is impossible to win in the NFL without good lines.

The most important parts of the game between Steelers and Jags took place in the trenches. New York won those two battles and won the game too. Jeff Garcia looked horrible BECAUSE his OL was not a great match against the G-men. I could go on and on but it comes to the lines. PERIOD.

We are set at most other positions. Or to put it differently: The most URGENT needs are at the OL and DL.

[BnGhog]

Looking ahead to next year.

I'd say we need to draft someone like Patrick Kearney. And either we need to get Mix up to speed to be our #2, or if he's not the guy, then we need to draft someone.

We have to figure our our O-line issues. Are our starters going be back and as good as they were before? Do we have good enough backups?


As far as the Game plans go. I think we make great strides on both sides of the ball. I think GWs has really found something. From playing preven early in the season, to Changing that, to trying to bring pressure, to playing Landry way deep. They really limited the big plays. And he found a way later in the season to prevent big plays without playing prevent defense.

Our Offense have made huge strides IMO from 05. I think we are getting more and more explosive. With a tall WR and good depth for next year, we be OK on offense.

[SkinsJock]

Some good posts here - IMO

Next year I have no doubt that we will be a better tighter, team.

While I tend to agree in general. We still have to put much better people in the starting OL and DL. We need depth there.

..... I could go on and on but it comes to the lines.

We are set at most other positions. Or to put it differently: The most URGENT needs are at the OL and DL.

In retrospect this team finished very well and played with a lot of desire call it what you will - we were a team.

I have always maintained that while I thought we would be a good team this year - from game 1 I was concerned about how we played together - I understand that we had injuries but we did not play as well together at the begining of the season in my opinion as we did at the end - I know we were 5-3 but we were lucky to win the first game and we would have won the games against both the Giants and Packers if we had played them with the same intensity and desire as when we finished the season - and that was with Sean

So, in my opinion - I think we are a good team that only played well for some of the games - we need to play with the same intensity that we finished the 2007 season with, this next year

I would also echo what RiC is saying but will go one step further - it is all very well to draft a "Kerney" but he will not be "effective" for a few years - we need a DE that can play at that level now - yes we need very good offensive and defensive lines but in the case of the offense we just need solid depth to replace the players that will need replacing soon but on the defensive side we are going to need to get a FA defensive end because we cannot wait for the drafted players to be as effective as a Kerney is.

We also need a big receiver - Moss and our guys are fine but we need a Monk type, tough, big guy to complement these guys - probably impossible to replicate

The only other very important area to address is in the defensive backfield. This again IMO has to be a FA - we can draft the youth for the future - we need a starter.

I look for us to be in the playoffs again and hopefully if we continue to play as we played at the end of the season we will be playing at least 1 game at home!.

[Gnome]

It's never too early for an 08 wish list!

First - great, great end to the season (not the playoff loss) but the last month was inspirational and as a fan who was deeply affected by the loss of Sean it meant the world to me that they came together and made the post season. Amazing.

Now - the Wish List.

1) Big reciever with speed and skill that can challenge Moss for the number one spot and move ARE to the 3rd slot.

2) Youth movement on o-line to match movement on d-line (montgomery & golston)

3) Someone to rush the freakin' passer all game long, every game.

4) Re-sign Springs, Griffin, and Collins.

5) Don't under any circumstances sign any big name free agents UNLESS they are proven winners who will fit the Skins personality and system.

6) An early, healthy return of Campbell (a lock as starter IMO) Randy, Carlos, and Rocky.

7) Gibbs back in the saddle with Al and Greg calling the shots on O and D - NO COACHING CHANGES.

A great draft.

Okay. That's pretty predictable. But hey, the season just ended. We've got months and months to ponder all of this. Hail to our Redskins!

[CanesSkins26]

It's never too early for an 08 wish list!

First - great, great end to the season (not the playoff loss) but the last month was inspirational and as a fan who was deeply affected by the loss of Sean it meant the world to me that they came together and made the post season. Amazing.

Now - the Wish List.

1) Big reciever with speed and skill that can challenge Moss for the number one spot and move ARE to the 3rd slot.

2) Youth movement on o-line to match movement on d-line (montgomery & golston)

3) Someone to rush the freakin' passer all game long, every game.

4) Re-sign Springs, Griffin, and Collins.

5) Don't under any circumstances sign any big name free agents UNLESS they are proven winners who will fit the Skins personality and system.

6) An early, healthy return of Campbell (a lock as starter IMO) Randy, Carlos, and Rocky.

7) Gibbs back in the saddle with Al and Greg calling the shots on O and D - NO COACHING CHANGES.

A great draft.

Okay. That's pretty predictable. But hey, the season just ended. We've got months and months to ponder all of this. Hail to our Redskins!

I agree with your list but #6 is wishful thinking, at least with regard to Carlos and Rocky. Those injuries take around 18 months to heel and it usually isn't until the second season back from that injury that a player is back up to 100%.