2006 Point & Laugh at the taterskins thread

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I just find it strange that you would start a thread "pointing and laughing" at the Washington taterskins when they're so obviously in great shape for another playoff berth next season.  If you're so knowledgable, hit me with some serious reasoning for that.

Firstly, we point and laugh, because we hate your team and most of your fans... like the DTC and the ES drones.  Also, we point and laugh, because there has been a lot of money spent in off-seasons, and this was the first year there has been any rewards whatsoever shown.

Secondly, I don't believe that the taterskins will be in the playoffs next year, for the following reasons:

1.  The Eagles will get healthy and be back in the mix.  The taterskins narrowly defeated Eagles teams twice this year that were decimiated by injury.  Also, the usually-restrained Eagles FO saw some glaring issues that they plan to correct in free agency for a change.
2.  The Giants had a lot of injuries at the end of the season and limped into the playoffs, but Tiki Barber is the best overall back in the division, and Eli's star is, unfortunately for all of us, on the rise.  They've retained Tim Lewis, and will continue to compete.
3.  The Cowboys have an emerging, improving defense, and should have a great running game.  I don't know how much longer Bledsoe will hold up, but I wouldn't count on the Skins sweeping them again.
4.  Brunell and Portis.  They couldn't hold up and get the job done in the playoffs.  Portis is overused and runs down as the season goes on, and Brunell is done.  Better hope Campbell is the truth, because the rest of the division isn't just going to lie down and let the Skins go 5-1 again.  Also, the Skins don't have a first-round pick.

[Schneed10]

Taylor, Rogers, Cooley aren't free agents.  There's been plenty of stinker draft picks mixed in, and Taylor and Rogers were top-10 picks, so they better be damn good.  Considering Taylor is a punk who will always be in and out of trouble and you don't know much about Rogers yet, I'd hold off on bragging too much.  I like Cooley, though.  Good player.

Springs is overpaid and always seems to be hurt when it counts.
Brunell has had half a good season in 2 years, and it wouldn't appear he's going to be BETTER next year.
The Skins would be better off with Bailey and the pick they gave up.  Bailey is still probably the best overall cornerback in the NFL.  Portis is a good player, but I still don't think he's the best fit for a Gibbs offense.

However,
The DL pickups you mentioned have proven very serviceable.  They get the job done, definitely.
Also, you didn't mention possibly the best deal under the Gibbs regime, which was unloading Coles and getting Moss.  That move turned out better than even the most homertastic Skins fans could have hoped.  That said... who's going to get him the ball next year?

You're right I mixed draft picks in there.  Jason Campbell is the move that will make or break Gibbs' second stint.  He's the QB of the future now and is totally unknown at this point.  I know a lot of Skins fans want to see him start this coming season to see what he can do now that he's had a year on the bench.  From what scouts say, he's got a lot of talent, but who knows how he'll handle game action.  I'd personally like to see Brunell keep the reins this season.

People can rag on Brunell all they want, but the facts are that he threw 23 TDs and only 11 INTs, had an 86 QB rating, and made some plays with his legs when he needed to.  The team was 11th in offensive yards, and 13th in points this season.  I see no reason why he'd play better than that this year, but I also don't see any reason why he'd be worse.  I mean unless you're assuming Brunell is going to get worse next season, I don't see why the Skins can't have another better-than-average offensive year.

And you know the defense will be there.  I just don't understand how anyone can think we'll be "fighting the cowboys for the cellar."

[Schneed10]

Firstly, we point and laugh, because we hate your team and most of your fans... like the DTC and the ES drones.  Also, we point and laugh, because there has been a lot of money spent in off-seasons, and this was the first year there has been any rewards whatsoever shown.

Secondly, I don't believe that the taterskins will be in the playoffs next year, for the following reasons:

1.  The Eagles will get healthy and be back in the mix.  The taterskins narrowly defeated Eagles teams twice this year that were decimiated by injury.  Also, the usually-restrained Eagles FO saw some glaring issues that they plan to correct in free agency for a change.
2.  The Giants had a lot of injuries at the end of the season and limped into the playoffs, but Tiki Barber is the best overall back in the division, and Eli's star is, unfortunately for all of us, on the rise.  They've retained Tim Lewis, and will continue to compete.
3.  The Cowboys have an emerging, improving defense, and should have a great running game.  I don't know how much longer Bledsoe will hold up, but I wouldn't count on the Skins sweeping them again.
4.  Brunell and Portis.  They couldn't hold up and get the job done in the playoffs.  Portis is overused and runs down as the season goes on, and Brunell is done.  Better hope Campbell is the truth, because the rest of the division isn't just going to lie down and let the Skins go 5-1 again.  Also, the Skins don't have a first-round pick.

1) I agree the Eagles will be good again.  A healthy McNabb is all you need to go, at bare minimum, 9-7.
2) I think the Giants are overrated.  Eli is improving but his season's stats were skewed by some very lucky performances in the beginning of the season.  I watched him throw several touchdown passes while falling backwards, barely sneaking them by the defenders.  He kept doing that and his luck caught up with him by the end of the season.  As long as Tiki is still there though, they'll be solid.
3) The Cowboys running game is nothing the Skins defense can't handle.
4) The biggest reason the offense didn't get it done in the playoffs was the injury to RG Randy Thomas.  He was by far the best offensive lineman, and when he went down, the Skins had to tear up a big part of their playbook.  He was capable of getting out on the edge and leading Portis on sweeps.

I see the division being tight this year.  And we face the AFC South and NFC South.  The Colts, Panthers, Falcons, Bucs, and Jags are common opponents for the NFC East.  So are the Titans, Texans, and Saints.  It's a tough road again for the NFC East, but not as bad as this past year when we played the AFC West.  I posted this as my prediction over at thewarpath, and I'll post it here too:

Skins 11-5
Eagles 11-5
Giants 10-6
Cowboys 7-9

I think your Birds bounce back.  But I see the Skins improving.  Just wait till we add a WR to pair with Moss.

[ice grillin you]

but the bottom line is Brunell is not a weakness of the team

he absolutely is a weakness....actually hes one of the few weaknesses...and hes only gonna get worse...im on record as saying the only thing stopping the skins afrom getting to the superbowl is a good qb

[rjs246]

Calling philly fans dumb, when you are trying to compare them to Skins fans is laughable beyond comprehension. There was at least one article that I read (and I'm fairly certain that there were two) written by WASHINGTON POST writers this year talking about the delusional nature of the taterskins fan base. How for the past eight years only Arizona and Cincy had worse records and yet every year the Washington fan base thinks they're on the verge of great things. They simply can't grasp how truly awful the franchise has been for the past decade.

You had one winning season. One. get a farging grip.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Welcome, Schneed.

We have good discussion here. But the hatred for the Skins runs deep. I always had the Cowboys as #1 until I stumbled upon ES. Those guys coupled with a few other reasons have vaulted Washington into extreme hate category. Its nothing personal.

By the way...

Any idea if Gibbs will be drafting and signing a few more dozen h-backs this year?

[ice grillin you]

not just the post but WTEM is regularly clowning their own fans


skins fans are delusional beyond belief and in general know very little about football...all you have to do is go to one game and youll see...they have a segment of good fans but to say overall they have a more knowledgable fan base than the birds is laughable

[Schneed10]

but the bottom line is Brunell is not a weakness of the team

he absolutely is a weakness....actually hes one of the few weaknesses...and hes only gonna get worse...im on record as saying the only thing stopping the skins afrom getting to the superbowl is a good qb

How can 23 TDs and 11 INTs be a weakness?  I just don't understand that.  He doesn't make amazing plays like McNabb or Brady, but he doesn't hurt you with turnovers.  And as we all know, turnovers are the key to winning NFL games.  He's serviceable.

Gibbs managed to win Super Bowls with Mark Rypien, who did NOTHING in the league after Gibbs left, and Doug Williams who at the time was a journeyman old vet who couldn't catch on in Tampa Bay.

I think Brunell is good enough.  The difference between the Skins now and the Skins of the 80s does not lie in the skill of the QB, it lies in the Posse.  There are not enough good WRs right now.  Some more playmaking ability at QB would surely go a long way.  But you can't call Brunell a "weakness" and expect me to buy that.

[rjs246]

Oh and your offensive and defensive lines are weak. Oh and you have no depth at ANY position. ONE injury to a key player and the Skins are farging toast. I've never seen a team with so little depth. Brunell is a joke. This was his last hurrah. Hope you enjoyed it.

[ice grillin you]

it wasnt even a last hurrah...yeah he had a couple good games where moss broke some long plays...but against good teams...espcially in the playoffs hes was beyond pathetic

[Schneed10]

not just the post but WTEM is regularly clowning their own fans


skins fans are delusional beyond belief and in general know very little about football...all you have to do is go to one game and youll see...they have a segment of good fans but to say overall they have a more knowledgable fan base than the birds is laughable

That venemous press coming from the Post is the result of a grudge with Dan Snyder.  The Post never has anything positive to say about the team because Snyder revoked the paper's season tickets and is making moves to position himself to provide news to the fans on his terms (using taterskins.com, buying 3 radio stations, etc).  Whether he's actually going to provide good coverage is another story, but the point remains that the Post just has their panties in a bunch over the whole thing.

We can argue over who's more knowledgable all we want, we're not going to get anywhere, it's a pointless argument because there's no substantive evidence to support either claim.

[rjs246]

Well, in the 15 years that I lived in northern Virginia and the 5 or 6 consecutive years that I went to Eagles/Skins games at FedEx I'd say I accumulated enough evidence to fill a farging landfill.

[phattymatty]

The Post never has anything positive to say about the team because Snyder revoked the paper's season tickets

haha.

[qwert246]

Calling philly fans dumb, when you are trying to compare them to Skins fans is laughable beyond comprehension.

Some of the stupidest things I have ever heard on Sports talk radio were from philly fans on WIP.  Hands down. 

And WTEM has Steve Czaben.  He just likes to stir the pot to get people calling in.  He implied that Gibbs was done early on in the season.  Then they made the playoffs.

[PhillyGirl]

Calling philly fans dumb, when you are trying to compare them to Skins fans is laughable beyond comprehension.

Some of the stupidest things I have ever heard on Sports talk radio were from philly fans on WIP.  Hands down. 

And WTEM has Steve Czaben.  He just likes to stir the pot to get people calling in.  He implied that Gibbs was done early on in the season.  Then they made the playoffs.

ES trumps the WIP idiots in the stupid category....sorry.

ES has some of the dumbest mother fargers on the planet posting there.