Well there is always next year…..
By author
There is always next year has become a common theme amongst the Washington Redskins faithful for just about as long as Dan Snyder has been the owner so lets talk about next season
NON CONFERENCE HOME GAMES
San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Minnesota Vikings
NON CONFERENCE AWAY GAMES
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
Carolina Panthers
Looking at the non conference games it would appear that the Redskins have been blessed by the football gods because its definitely a cupcake schedule.
Out of the 10 teams only 2 of them had a record of .500 or better and the Redskins get to play both of them at home (not that I’m expecting it to get the Skins a win). So they get 8 games vs teams that had a below .500 record this season and will be entering the off season with a number of questions.
Just going against the NFC West alone gives them a chance at 3 maybe 4 wins next year. Just take a look at the teams in the NFC West
San Fran- Will be entering the season with a new head coach and a serious question mark at the quarterback position. While I think their quarterbacks deserve to be in the league I’m not really sold on either as a starter and feel they would be backups on a good team. They have an elite tight end in Fred Davis but at wide receiver they are still waiting for either Crabtree or Morgan to step up and become a proven number 1 receiver. Their running game in Frank Gore has been solid but he is getting older and is rehabbing a fractured hip that sidelined him for the last 5 games of the season.
So with a new Head Coach it also means new player coaches, new coordinators, a new offense and so on and so on. With the changes being made and all the 49ers could be in for a bumpy road next season.
Arizona- This team has fallen and fallen fast from the end of the 2009 season to where they are now. After having went 10 and 6 in 2009 the Cardinals lost Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin on the offensive side of the ball and it definitely showed this season in the passing game
2009- 251.0 yards per game passing, 27 touchdowns and 18 interceptions
2010- 182.6 yards per game passing, 10 touchdowns and 19 interceptions
It appears the Cardinals may be losing another wide receiver via free agency in Steve Breaston. Granted they still have Fitzgerald who I happen to be a big fan of but the Cardinals are in desperate need of an improvement at quarterback.
As it sits now they are a very beatable team going in to the off season.
Seattle- I know they are in the playoffs and did pull off a surprising upset in the first round but I’m not impressed. They made in to the playoffs only because they play in a weak division and are not a good team.
The Seahawks were 23rd in the league in points per game on offense and gave up the 8th highest amount of points on defense. They have a number of holes on both sides of the ball and finished the year with a losing record.
As bad as the Redskins were I think they may have won the NFC West if they were in that division
St. Louis- This is my early pick team to win the NFC West in 2011. Their qb Sam Bradford will be entering his second second season a pro and should show some improvement next season. They also have a good running back in Steven Jackson and two young offensive tackles in Saffold and Smith that could have bright futures ahead of them.
I’m not saying the Rams will be great but I think they could win the very weak NFC West division. Rams are still a beatable team though.
Overall picture………
Washington is going against 3 non division opponents in Carolina, San Fran and Minnesota that will be in their first year under new head coaches and a team in Miami that will be in its first year under a new offensive coordinator.
San Fran, Arizona, Minnesota, Seattle, Miami and Carolina all have questions at the quarterback position in my opinion.
If the Redskins can improve any from this season to next and take advantage of a weak non division schedule a .500 record is not out of the question.