A Clarification on whether the Redskins are Re-Building

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

I think the Redskins are finally rebuilding on offense (two years too late if you ask me). Last year to me, seemed like a rebuilding year for the defense. We have a lot of young players that hopefully can develop into starters (though some of them got starts last year due to injury), and hopefully we can pick up 6 more rookies (in addition to RG3) that can contribute to the team. I think we have done a good job at bringing in free agents under 30 years old for the most part this offseason and last offseason.

So far, it seems to me that the team has gone away from the win-now attitude. Although who knows what would have happened if we had not had the cap penalty. Still, I think we have a young team who won't be expected to do much this season, but has the potential to overachieve. I get the feeling that Snyder has given Shanahan and Bruce Allen a mulligan for the past two seasons. And that is a good thing, because we will definitely have a lot of growing pains this upcoming season.

I'm definitely in this camp. To answer GTripp's question literally, are we rebuilding, yes. By rebuilding the inference is that we are not a Super Bowl contender at this point which I don't really think is up for debate. However, I expect to see the most talented and most balanced Redskin team since 2007 on the field next year and a much improved product than in recent seasons.

I'm not really of the belief that the RGIII trade has crippled our chances to improve over the next 3 off seasons. That mentality is rooted in the belief that we will still be a 4-7 win team and picking in the upper 1/3 of the draft. I'm not discounting the value of first round picks but they are not a guarantee of success. We still have plenty of picks over the next three years to build a legitimate contender, assuming RGIII is what he appears to be. It's been so long since we've had quality at that position, we forget how much an elite QB can raise the performance of the overall team.

To answer the final question, yes, I think there is a plan and has been since 2010. 2010 evaluate the roster and start the 3-4 transition, try to win with core players plus a couple of additions. 2011 focus on building a playoff defense through the draft and free agency. 2012 focus on building a playoff offense, focusing on skill positions (that's why I don't think an early pick on a RB is out of the question) and specify areas of need. The cap penalties probably derailed our full plan this offseason but we targeted players to address one of our major shortcomings in recent years, team speed and explosive players.

I've been saying since late 2011 and into the early offseason, my evaluation of Shanahan starts this season. He was playing with Zorn's roster in 2010 and was hindered by a lockout in 2011. Now he's built his defense and his offense, let's see what he does with them.