Will the Redskins Make the Playoffs

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Perhaps people haven't noticed, but New Orleans has won 3 in a row and in strong fashion. They're waking up.

And I'm still a bit afraid of Philadelphia, especially when Brian Dawkins returns. People are writing both of those teams off WAAY too quickly.

We have the chops to beat them either head to head or in a race for a playoff spot, don't get me wrong. It's certainly possible we get in. But to say the NFC is so crappy is dangerous. The Saints especially are perfectly capable of going on a tear.

We're halfway through the season now. Can bad teams (e.g., Philly) pull out and get to the playoffs? Sure, but good teams can also collapse. In judging whether or not we will make the playoffs, I am simply looking at our conference, the current standings, and the schedule. I just see us winning 9 or 10 games and getting the 6th seed.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

We're halfway through the season now. Can bad teams (e.g., Philly) pull out and get to the playoffs? Sure, but good teams can also collapse. In judging whether or not we will make the playoffs, I am simply looking at our conference, the current standings, and the schedule. I just see us winning 9 or 10 games and getting the 6th seed.

How can you say Philly is a bad team?? Sorry dude but they are not a bad team at all. They are an average team that has had some tough losses. They can very easily come down here and beat us and I wouldn't be shocked if they did.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

How can you say Philly is a bad team?? Sorry dude but they are not a bad team at all. They are an average team that has had some tough losses. They can very easily come down here and beat us and I wouldn't be shocked if they did.

They can't score on offense, their defense isn't good, they've got a losing record, and I just don't think they are a good team anymore. I do not necessarily think they are a bad team (I overstated things), but they are not a good team.

But, if as you say, Philly is not a bad team that has had tough losses, why do you think that we won't make the playoffs? After all, we have a winning record, we beat the Eagles (a supposedly average team) by more than a touchdown, we had two tough losses, and we got blown out or beaten badly in just one game against the best team in the league.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

They can't score on offense, their defense isn't good, they've got a losing record, and I just don't think they are a good team anymore. I do not necessarily think they are a bad team (I overstated things), but they are not a good team.

But, if as you say, Philly is not a bad team that has had tough losses, why do you think that we won't make the playoffs? After all, we have a winning record, we beat the Eagles (a supposedly average team) by more than a touchdown, we had two tough losses, and we got blown out or beaten badly in just one game against the best team in the league.

Yes we did beat them. Barely. McNabb missed a wide open Curtis on the goaline that would have tied the game. McNabb played terrible. It looks like he is coming around and is getting healthy. I would not expect him to play that bad again. When Philly comes down here it's going to go down to the wire.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

Yes we did beat them. Barely. McNabb missed a wide open Curtis on the goaline that would have tied the game. McNabb played terrible. It looks like he is coming around and is getting healthy. I would not expect him to play that bad again. When Philly comes down here it's going to go down to the wire.

Why should the Eagles get some credit for barely losing to some teams, while we don't get credit for beating the Eagles by more than a touchdown. And, McNabb didn't miss a wide open Curtis on the goaline. Curtis got his ass handed to him by Laron Landry. Moreover, even if Curtis had caught that ball, it would not have been a tied game. Curtis was hit by Landry at the 3 yard line, not in the end zone. Even assuming McNabb got the ball back and scored a TD, they would have had to convert for 2 to tie the game.

But, I think you are right and when Philly comes to D.C., it is going to be a good, close game. In fact Philly could beat us (on any given Sunday). But, I still don't think they are a good team.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

They can't score on offense, their defense isn't good, they've got a losing record, and I just don't think they are a good team anymore. I do not necessarily think they are a bad team (I overstated things), but they are not a good team.

But, if as you say, Philly is not a bad team that has had tough losses, why do you think that we won't make the playoffs? After all, we have a winning record, we beat the Eagles (a supposedly average team) by more than a touchdown, we had two tough losses, and we got blown out or beaten badly in just one game against the best team in the league.

Because our secret is out. Our offense is now so transparent. It got absolutely shut down two weeks in a row by the Cardinals and Patriots. We scored 21 on the Cards, but that's only because Warner turned it over and gave us a short field. Hell, one of those TDs was a defensive TD. Both teams applied blitz pressure up the middle and chased Campbell out of the pocket as an unhealthy Rabach and Fabini can't hold up in there. We only run to one side of the field, which makes us so much easier to defend. I still like our defense, even with Rogers hurt, so we'll be in games. But we're going to struggle to score.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Because our secret is out. Our offense is now so transparent. It got absolutely shut down two weeks in a row by the Cardinals and Patriots. We scored 21 on the Cards, but that's only because Warner turned it over and gave us a short field. Hell, one of those TDs was a defensive TD. Both teams applied blitz pressure up the middle and chased Campbell out of the pocket as an unhealthy Rabach and Fabini can't hold up in there. We only run to one side of the field, which makes us so much easier to defend. I still like our defense, even with Rogers hurt, so we'll be in games. But we're going to struggle to score.

We probably will continue to struggle because the O-line is playing like crap and our wideouts and running backs aren't producing. But, I don't think you can take the last two games in isolation and use them to predict how we will fare the rest of the way. Gibbs and Saunders admitted they were too conservative against the Cards and the Pats, well, are the Pats.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Because our secret is out. Our offense is now so transparent. It got absolutely shut down two weeks in a row by the Cardinals and Patriots. We scored 21 on the Cards, but that's only because Warner turned it over and gave us a short field. Hell, one of those TDs was a defensive TD. Both teams applied blitz pressure up the middle and chased Campbell out of the pocket as an unhealthy Rabach and Fabini can't hold up in there. We only run to one side of the field, which makes us so much easier to defend. I still like our defense, even with Rogers hurt, so we'll be in games. But we're going to struggle to score.

Good post, and I am sure the coaches know that. Real question is can we do anything significant to our offense? Especially with the Oline injuries.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

They can't score on offense, their defense isn't good, they've got a losing record, and I just don't think they are a good team anymore. I do not necessarily think they are a bad team (I overstated things), but they are not a good team.

But, if as you say, Philly is not a bad team that has had tough losses, why do you think that we won't make the playoffs? After all, we have a winning record, we beat the Eagles (a supposedly average team) by more than a touchdown, we had two tough losses, and we got blown out or beaten badly in just one game against the best team in the league.

Let's just throw out who we have to play and focus on our team. Just by watching the last three games I can see in the teams play that we are just not good enough.

We have a good, but not great defense and a bad offense and a somewhat shaky and unproven kicker. That does not = a playoff team to me. And even if we somehow sneak in it's going to be one and done.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

They can't score on offense, their defense isn't good, they've got a losing record, and I just don't think they are a good team anymore. I do not necessarily think they are a bad team (I overstated things), but they are not a good team.

But, if as you say, Philly is not a bad team that has had tough losses, why do you think that we won't make the playoffs? After all, we have a winning record, we beat the Eagles (a supposedly average team) by more than a touchdown, we had two tough losses, and we got blown out or beaten badly in just one game against the best team in the league.

What brings you to think that Philly isn't at least average? Their record is average. They've scored more points than they've given up. They have a really good offense (not sure what you mean by "can't score" as they average 20 pts per game. That's league average, and they are way more efficient that that to make up for a bend but dont break D) and a "meh" defense. That's better than average, is it not?

They have been pretty bad in the red zone, but historically McNabb has been a good Red Zone passer, so I would expect that trend to stop.

I think we are a better team than Philly, but their skill and ours seem to be right in the same area.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

What brings you to think that Philly isn't at least average? Their record is average. They've scored more points than they've given up. They have a really good offense (not sure what you mean by "can't score" as they average 20 pts per game. That's league average, and they are way more efficient that that to make up for a bend but dont break D) and a "meh" defense. That's better than average, is it not?

The Eagles scored 13 points against Green Bay, which allows an average of 17 points. They scored 12 points against us and we're allowing an average of 20 points per game (granted that stat is skewed because of New England). They scored 3 points against the G-men, who allow an average of 20 points per game. They scored 16 points against the New York Jets, who allow an average of 26 points per game. They scored 16 points against Chicago, who allow an average of 23 points per game. They scored 23 points against the Vikings, who are allowing 20 points per game. That's an average of 13 points per game, when opponents have been averaging 21 points per game against those same teams. Scoring 8 fewer points per game than your opponents, is bad. 13 points per game is bad.

Granted, they torched the Lions for 50+ points, but they're not scoring a lot of points. They could rebound and they might very well beat us. But the Eagles offense has been anemic.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

The Eagles scored 13 points against Green Bay, which allows an average of 17 points. They scored 12 points against us and we're allowing an average of 20 points per game (granted that stat is skewed because of New England). They scored 3 points against the G-men, who allow an average of 20 points per game. They scored 16 points against the New York Jets, who allow an average of 26 points per game. They scored 16 points against Chicago, who allow an average of 23 points per game. They scored 23 points against the Vikings, who are allowing 20 points per game. That's an average of 13 points per game, when opponents have been averaging 21 points per game against those same teams. Scoring 8 fewer points per game than your opponents, is bad. 13 points per game is bad.

Granted, they torched the Lions for 50+ points, but they're not scoring a lot of points. They could rebound and they might very well beat us. But the Eagles offense has been anemic.

Yeah, I'm guessing the Lions game is really skewing the numbers. But is it skewing? Should we really discredit that dominance as just a bad opponent?

I don't know the answer, and I'm inclined to be on the safe side and give Philly the benefit of the doubt. If their offense was all that bad, I don't think they would have been able to do that against Detroit.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Yeah, I'm guessing the Lions game is really skewing the numbers. But is it skewing? Should we really discredit that dominance as just a bad opponent?

I don't know the answer, and I'm inclined to be on the safe side and give Philly the benefit of the doubt. If their offense was all that bad, I don't think they would have been able to do that against Detroit.

I guess I should have said the Eagles cannot score lots of points on a consistent basis. They're getting decent yardage, but, as you noted, they're not punching it in. I have a lot of respect for the Eagles and McNabb and, like us, they could be explosive. But right now, they're not.

[sandtrapjack]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Yeah, I'm guessing the Lions game is really skewing the numbers. But is it skewing? Should we really discredit that dominance as just a bad opponent?

I don't know the answer, and I'm inclined to be on the safe side and give Philly the benefit of the doubt. If their offense was all that bad, I don't think they would have been able to do that against Detroit.

No that is not skewing the numbers. The Lions are 5-2, and everyone who ridiculed Kitna for his preseason 10 win prediction is preparing to season up their foot to stick it in their yap.

The 5-2 is not a fluke.

I think that dominating performance just showed us what the Redskins are capable of, but as of yet something is preventing that consistency. Play calling? Maybe. Who knows? Good teams beat sub-par teams in dominating fashion such as the Lions game. But the Lions are not sub-par. They are lousy on the road, but that in iteself does not explain a blow-out like the one Washington handed them.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

We're halfway through the season now. Can bad teams (e.g., Philly) pull out and get to the playoffs? Sure, but good teams can also collapse. In judging whether or not we will make the playoffs, I am simply looking at our conference, the current standings, and the schedule. I just see us winning 9 or 10 games and getting the 6th seed.

Exactly everyone is so quick to proclaim the Eagles and Saints as rising teams, but good teams falter as well. We are forgetting that here, and for example the Cowboys could go through a 3 game losing streak when we play them.

You really don't know in the NFL.