Redskins Get Opener
The Washington Post just announced via Jason LaConfora’s blog that the Redskins will open the NFL season against the Giants in the Meadowlands on Sept. 4th. This is the second time in a just a few years that the Skins have opened the season with the special Thursday opener and both times against a New York team.
I’m personally excited that the league has seen fit to show off the Redskins team in both the Hall of Fame game and the season opener. It is clear that the franchise is starting to gain back the respect it lost in the early part of Dan’s tenure.
There is little else to say this early, except for the fun of it, I’m going to make two predictions. First, Redskins 31, Giants 17. Second, the league always picks a couple singing acts to open the show. I’m predicting the Jonas Brothers as the act outside the stadium, and Martina McBride as the in-stadium guest. If I get both of these right, I expect props from the readers. 
Your predictions are welcome as always in the comments section.
-DW
Redskins 17, Giants 10. Jessica Simpson and Bruce Springstein to perform.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:06 pmOooooh! Good call on the Boss, but I think he might be too big for the opener. I call him as my prediction for the Super Bowl this year though.
Jessica would have been a mortal lock if the Cowboys were in the game. As it is, I still think she’s got a chance if she promises to keep her clothes on. Come on people. This is fun. Join in.
-DW
March 27th, 2008 at 12:09 amExcuse me, but what did you just predict the score to be? What? Seriously?Dave?Giants 24 Redskins 16
March 27th, 2008 at 12:40 amWay to ruin opening day NFL. As much as I hate the Cowboys, it makes much more sense for opening day to be Giants vs Cowboys. Nobody wants to see the Redskins get their asses handed to them on national TV. Well that might be fun to watch actually.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:18 pmIan and Dan, shame on you for having such short memories. The last time the Redskins and Giants played we crushed them 22-10 and we had our starters out by the start of the fourth quarter. And we’re only going to be a better team this year with essentially the same starting group, coaching staff, and 7 new draft picks to add to our depth. We’re going to win this one, and win big.
And by the way, neither of you had the guts to predict the performers for the game. Total cowards!
-DW
March 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pmThat’s it, Dan! How dare you express an opinion! I’m putting you on watch! You also have to change your name so that it says "The Landry-My-team-hasn’t-won-a-playoff-game-in-twelve-years-Hat". *whew* that felt good! Now I know why Landry does it to me all the time.
March 27th, 2008 at 4:50 pmWow look at the traffic this sorry *censored* site gets! Just shows how much the forskins suck! hahaaaaa losers! Cowboys own you! Look at the all time series matchup….we own you! KTHXBYE!
March 28th, 2008 at 12:22 am<i>essentially the same starting group, coaching staff, and 7 new draft picks to add to our depth</i> Uhm.. did I miss something where Joe Gibbs and the assistant head coaches came back?
March 28th, 2008 at 11:50 amJeff,
More than 3/4 of the coaching staff is back. And during offseason workouts the players have been coming in talking about how things didn’t feel that different. They missed Coach Gibbs, but they said everything was being run very similarly and they felt very comfortable. There is such a thing as stability and continuity with a few pieces turning over. Jim Zorn is very similar in mental makeup to Coach Gibbs. He’s keeping the running plays in the play book, and is only changing the passing game. This team has more stability than many teams that kept their head coach. Probably the only person on the team that feels like things are changing is Jason Campbell who has to learn yet another passing system though even he has said that it is similar to a system he ran at Auburn.
I’m not saying it is static. I’m saying it is consistent and stable. There is a major difference. And stable is actually better than static anyway.
-DW
March 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pmHow about the defensive side though. Just as stable? Fair enough. I hope it’s closer to the Auburn system. I’d love nothing more than to have Campbell and Manning chuck it up and down the field all night. Redskins 31-Giants 24Billy Joel and.. Alicia Keys (both from the New York area)
March 28th, 2008 at 12:54 pmIn other news.. why the hell do my returns for paragraph ever take in the comments?
March 28th, 2008 at 12:55 pmThe defense should be even more comfortable with things than the offense. While Gregg Williams was loved and respected, Coach Blatche has always been a key cog in the defensive coaching staff. He’s been a successful defensive coordinator before and the team respects him.
Blatche did say he was going to try to get more pressure than Willaims did last year. While it was highly successful, the deep cover 1 zones we were playing after Sean died didn’t lead to a lot of QB pressure and could be picked apart by the better QBs. This is of course why Eli Manning, Tony Romo, and Donovan McNabb couldn’t do it.
While there is no way Gibbs, Williams, and even Saunders won’t be missed, I think we’ve done a really good job considering the circumstances. Retaining Coach Bugel was a major plus. All of the skills position coaches are back (except Earnest Byner) and let’s face it, the guys spend way more time with their position coches than they do the coordinators.
-DW
March 28th, 2008 at 1:24 pmIn some ways, I think it’s a benefit. We had too many coaches and the left hand often didn’t know what the right hand was doing. While I didn’t want the people leaving to be Gibbs and Williams, I do think there’s something to be said for improved efficiency and a more streamlined system of communication.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:34 pm