Washington Redskins 2005 Preview By: Scott Baxter

Home Stadium - [formerly known as Jack Kent Cooke Stadium], Landover, MD. 
NFL Titles - 5 - 3 Super Bowl wins in five appearances, two-Strike Shortened Year Super Bowl wins,  2 more NFL Championships: 1937, 1942.

2004 record: 6-10 2004 season: In his second stint as head coach of the Washington Redskins, Joe Gibbs was supposed to restore the success the Skins achieved during the 80s and very early 90s. However, his famed offense never showed up as they ranked next to last in almost every offensive category in the NFL (only the woeful Bears were worse). The surprising part was that the Skins defense ranked 3rd overall in the NFL, helped by the addition of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, and Pro-Bowl linebacker Marcus Washington and FA signees Shawn Springs and Cornelius Griffin. However, the defense was wasted on a horrible, horrible offense that scored 20 or more points only three times in 2004 (30 points once) and scored only 24 touchdowns, which was next to last in the NFL behind the Chicago Bears.

Biggest Gains: Casey Rabach - C (FA-Ravens), Santana Moss - WR (trade-Jets), David Patten (FA-Patriots), Tony Dixon - S (FA-Cowboys), Carlos Rodgers - DB (draft), Jason Campbell - QB (draft)

Biggest Losses: Fred Smoot - DB (FA-Vikings), Antonio Pierce - MLB (FA-Giants), Lavernaues Coles - WR (trade-Jets), Rod Gardner - WR (trade-Panthers)

Positions: Quarterback: Patrick Ramsey (starter), Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell Verdict: Biggest weakness (among other weaknesses) on the Skins. The Skins will employ a shotgun formation, something never used by Joe Gibbs in the past. 

Patrick Ramsey - Been hit on more times than a hot chick in a singles bar, holds the ball too long, questionable touch and his psyche is questionable due to the many benchings and trade rumors about him. However, he has the best arm on the team, and could be serviceable as a starter.

Mark Brunell - No arm at all. As the joke goes, he can throw it 30 yards on one bounce. Last year, he completed under 50% of his passes, and had a woeful 5 yard average per attempt, easily the worst in the NFL. Doesn't have the mobility anymore like he had in his earlier days with Jacksonville. Is an OK backup due to his starting experience, but with his contract signed last year (7 years $43 mil., and trading a 3rd round pick for him), he was a colossal failure as a starter.

Jason Campbell - In a surprising move by the Skins, and a sign that the organization has a extreme lack of trust in Ramsey, they traded 3 picks including a 2006 1st round pick in order to move up in this years' draft to get Jason Campbell from Auburn University. Supposedly, Campbell has poise in the pocket from early reports, but I don't understand this move at all because Gibbs will only be coaching the next couple of years. To me, it was a wasted pick.

Running Backs: Clinton Portis - Rushed for 1315 yards, but he only averaged 3.8 yards a carry and scored 6 TDs. Clearly, his type of rushing style did not fit with the slow developing counter-trap offense. He was either feast or famine in terms of rushing. He would either rush for 150 yards or more, or rush for 50 or less yards, nothing in between, plus he fumbled 5 times, a career high (before this season he carried over 200 times w/out a fumble) Look for another 350 carry season like last year, when he led the NFL in rushing attempts. Ladell Betts is a decent backup. Good speed, decent size (5'11", 220lbs.), and above average hands out of the backfield.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: Santana Moss, David Patten, and Taylor Jacobs (bust), Kevin (1 yard short) Dyson, or Darneiran McCants

Skins traded receiver Laveranues Coles (90 catches) and Rod Gardner, the top two receivers last year. Coles was shipped to the NY Jets for speedy Santana Moss, and Gardner was recently traded to the Panthers for a low round pick (a move that the Skins will come to regret in my opinion). The offense is looking for more speed out of the WR position, and Moss and FA signee David Patten (ex-Arena baller from the Patriots) provide that. However, they are about 5'7" each, and the Skins only have one receiver over 6'1" (and that is woefully inconsistent McCants). Another questionable move by the organization by going small for speed.  

However, '04 rookie Chris Cooley (a surprisingly wise move up to the 3rd round) was impressive as an H-back/TE for the Skins. He caught 31 passes and a team leading 6 receiving TDs. Cooley, out of Utah, was defintely a favorite red zone target throughout the year. Look for those numbers to improve to about 50 catches and 6-8 TDs this year. TEs Robert Royal and Brian Kozlowski are primarily blocking tight ends.

Offensive line - committed the most false starts in the NFL in 2004.

Right tackle: Jon Jansen - suffered Achilles tendon injury on the first play in the '04 preseason. BIG, BIG loss. The right tackle position was an eyesore, and the best one was Ray Brown, who is 43 years old. Jansen, when healthy, is a Pro-Bowl caliber tackle, and their best lineman.

Guard: Derrick Dockery and Randy Thomas - Thomas signed a big FA deal from the Jets 2 years ago when the Skins signed every Jet except Joe Namath, Mark Gastineau, and Freeman McNeil. Thomas has been OK at best. Dockery, a 2nd year man from Texas, could be very good. Has a mean streak and is 6'6", 340lbs.

Center: Casey Rabach - Rabach was signed from the Ravens after the '04 season. He was the best center available in FA class, and is (and shockingly) the Skins biggest FA signing. An improvement over Cory Raymer (but then Corey Feldman could have been an improvement as well.)

Left tackle: Chris Samuels - Restructured his deal with the Skins so he wouldn't be a salary cap casualty. Never has become the dominant offensive lineman he was projected to be when drafted by the Skins. More of a pass protector than a run blocker, he has never really recovered since his ankle injury in a 2002 preseason game.  

Special teams: Ok, but went through about 2 or 3 kickers when John Hall went down with an injury. Swedish Import Kicker Ola Kimrin [formery Frankfurt & Cologne, NFLE ]was only reliable within 30 yards, and former 49er Jeff Chandler was reliable from inside 40 yards. Hall provides better kickoffs and is better at longer field goals. Tom Tupa was one of the best punters in the NFL (tied for the lead in the NFC in average), and was second in the NFL in total punts with 103 (behind the Bears punter Brad Maynard). However, that was a testament of how pathetic the Skins offense was in 2004. On returns, look for Moss to do some of the punt return work, and Betts to handle kickoffs. Chad Morton was a disappointment as a returner after signing a restricted FA deal from the Jets in 2003.

Defense: The strength of the Skins last year. 3rd in the NFL in total defense and 2nd against the run with average talent on the defensive line. Amazing, since Lavar Arrington was injured for most of last year. However, they only recovered 8 fumbles (tied for lowest in NFL) and only had 26 takeaways. That is 22nd in the NFL; too low for a top-3 defense.

D-Line - Did great against the run, but put little pressure on the qb in 2004. Look for the same again in 2005. Phillip Daniels is the best defensive end, but only had 3 sacks in '04 and was injured half the time. Joe Salave'a, Va. Beach native Brandon Noble did yeoman work against the run, and Cornelius Griffin had an awesome all-around year in 1st year with the Skins as a defensive tackle (70 tackles and 6 sacks). Another stellar season for Griffin will get him in the Pro-Bowl in 2005.

Linebacker - A reason why the defense did well in 2004. However, Antonio Pierce will be sorely missed after he signed with the Giants in the offseason. He provided 160 tackles, and was a coach on the field. Lemar Marshall, who filled in well for Lavar Arrington, will now play the middle. A questionable move since he only weighs 227 lbs. Arrington will provide highlight reel plays and hits because he is extremely talented and fast, but is over-aggressive, and lack of discipline gets out of position a lot of times. Marcus Washington was stellar FA signing for the Skins, providing 102 tackles, 5 sacks and just being around every play. Chris Clemons was a pleasant surprise as a third down rusher/hybrid edge LB by providing 6 sacks. Marshall's play in the middle will be a big key of how this defense will do in 2005. He must provide at or near the level of play that Pierce provided in the middle in 2004.

Secondary - Shawn Springs had a career year in 2004 with six sacks and five interceptions. Made everybody forget the loss of Champ Bailey. Gregg Williams used Springs a lot of times in corner blitzes because of his strength and size. Sean Taylor, when not in legal trouble, can provide a game changer as a safety. However, his immature act in the offseason has worn thin at times with Gibbs (Taylor did not return phone calls from Gibbs in the offseason), but his immense talent overrides his transgressions. 1st round draft pick Carlos Rodgers (a solid pick by the way) must perform well to offset the loss of Fred Smoot, who left for the Vikings in the offseason. Rodgers has been hampered with a bad foot, so veteran Walt (15 yard cushion) Harris will back up on the other corner slot. Harris will also be the nickel/dime DB. The great Darrell Green is with the Skins, but unfortunately he is the DBs coach. Matt Bowen and Tony Dixon are average safeties. Bowen provides big hits, but is not a great tackler, and Dixon can provide an extra blitzer for Williams' schemes.     

2005 outlook - The Skins HAVE to do well. If they have a way below .500 record this season, it will make the Campbell decision look even worse. Look for the Skins to use their defense as its backbone again and the offense to be run-oriented with some bombs thrown in to speedy receivers Moss and Patten. The Skins MUST score a lot more than 24 touchdowns in order to be considered a wild card contender. Another factor is the discipline and perception. The Skins were one of the most penalized teams in the NFL (most of them caused by the offensive line). Also Gibbs had trouble getting plays in time causing needless timeouts (cost them in the 1st Cowboys game). Some people feel that the game has passed Gibbs by with his play calling and the blocking schemes, and the fact he has had trouble adjusting to today's salary cap and expanding offenses. The first year will be considered an adjustment year. This year, he has no excuses.  

The first six games, the Skins have 3 winable games at home (Chicago, Seattle, San Fran), and 3 tough road games (Dallas -haven't won in Dallas since '95, when Heath Shuler was the starter, Denver and KC) with a bye week in between the first 6 games. The Skins could have a decent start if they can win one of those road games and a road game later at the Giants. Their schedule is not the hardest in the NFL.

However, this is a Dan Snyder owned team, which means undermining, chaos, favortism, and mediocrity. I just do not feel the positive buzz like the beginning of last year. The offense has not improved that much, and no matter what the defense does, the Skins are no more than a .500 at best due to their stagnant offense and their shaky play at quarterback. For the Skins to be successful, Patrick Ramsey must pull a Drew Brees-like season in order to keep his job and stay in the organization.

The thing against the Skins is that they play in a division that one of the teams, Dallas has beaten them every time except once since 1998, and the other, the Eagles, the Skins have not beaten them since 2001, and haven't won at home against the Eagles since 1999. Plus, they have been .500 against the Giants since 1998 That is 4-5 losses guaranteed since 1998! So, as long as they continue to flounder in their own division, they will have no margin for error against the other teams. Personally, that trade for Campbell was horrible.

Prediction: 7-9 , no playoffs for the Skins due to their continued lack of success in their own division." Scott

"Thanks Scott a amazing Redskins in depth 05 preview!" Myk