Another year of Redskins dreams dashed, another winter to wonder what if... despite the last-second win over Philadelphia this is a team that is going nowhere for the seventh time in nine years. From offseason expectations (all ten draft picks making the roster) to preseason disaster (the late August collapse that saw the Skins fall 71-6 over their last two exhibitions), from early season surprise (4-1 with road wins over Dallas and Philadelphia) to late season slip (the Cincinnati debacle), the 2008 campaign was nothing if not entertaining.
Where does this team go from here? Is the best case a win at San Francisco and a 9-7 finish or will it just foster a false sense of security that things are moving in the right direction? And even with a defeat and an 8-8 mark who says this team isn't on the right track?
As this team is currently built there are major needs on the offensive and defensive lines that need addressing--a good football team is like a nice meal, and for years the Skins have had incredible creamed spinach (Portis) as well as phenomenal Lyonnaise potatoes (Sean Taylor and now LaRon Landry)--but the steak (both lines) is far from prime...and sometimes borders on standard/substandard. Injuries and age are taking their toll while the team hasn't replenished either unit in the draft...with Derrick Dockery the lone top-95 offensive line selection since 2000. The last defensive lineman taken in the first four rounds? Try Kenard Lang in 1997. In each of the last two seasons covering the draft I was surprised at the lack of attention given to bolstering both units.
Receiver revisionism...the second round triumvirate of Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly and Fred Davis never got in gear after Davis overslept an alarm in OTA's before Thomas and Kelly suffered injuries in training camp. But should this be a surprise? In a pre-draft press conference, coach Jim Zorn talked about the learning curve facing rookie receivers and how it was a challenge for them to be productive immediately--which made the selection of three receivers so high such an intriguing decision.
Looking around the league:
AFC surge reverses trend...last year for the first time since the late 90's, the NFC actually won as many interconference games as the AFC (32-32) and throughout September it appeared as though the NFC would dominate-- but over the last few months the AFC has actually taken a 32-29-1 lead...meaning once again the National Football Conference is once again looking up at their rivals.
NFC Beast? Never before has a division boasted four teams with winning records--although the NFC East's last place squad finished 8-8 last year (Philadelphia). This fall we could have two divisions where every team is over .500 (if New Orleans and Washington both win) and two where the division champ is .500...more on them in a moment.
Divisions of Depression? No chance of an east-coast bias; both the NFC and AFC Wests were putrid this past fall...the only question is which was the worst division in pro football. Although the AFC West has a better cumulative record (by one game) added with Arizona's collapse (1-4 since Thanksgiving night) plus St. Louis's free fall (nine straight losses), I can't deny the AFC West as the worst---a division led by a team that can't play defense (Denver), followed by one that is being coached well under its talent (San Diego) plus two massive disasters--one short-term (Carl Peterson's era in Kansas City concluding with a thud) and one with a feeling of forever (or at least until Al Davis lets someone else run Oakland).
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
College Football Corner...bowling for brackets...
Welcome to the NCAA College Football Tournament...kicked off by overall number one seed Oklahoma against Cinderella Buffalo in the Motor City Bowl Friday December 12th followed by seven games over twelve hours on a very lucky December 13th--
Hold on, I'm waking up from my nap...makes me wonder how close we are to a true Division I-A postseason. I'd even be happy with a four-team bracket with games this weekend and a championship on New Years Day. The previous jigsaw system of conference tie-ins wasn't ideal, but at least you had the four or five contenders all playing within 48 hours. Having the BCS title game a full week after January first is akin to eating a bunch of appetizers...but then waiting seven days for your entree.
And I'm not for blowing up the bowl system--the 32 game postseason that allows for 7-5 and 6-6 schools to finish their years on a positive note can continue...but there's no reason to involve the bowls in a playoff skeleton. Would a playoff make the minor bowls obsolete? You could say the BCS makes the major bowls irrelevant.
I do know it would make for an incredible Saturday in December (quadrupleheader on ABC and ESPN family of networks for either a 16 or 8 team tournament...with the games staggered in a manner that would feel like March Madness). Here's the postseason bracket you won't see...with national semifinal games pitting the East-Midwest and South-West regional winners...:
EAST REGION:
Alabama-Virginia Tech winner plays the Texas Tech-Cincinnati winner in the Peach Bowl
MIDWEST REGION:
Oklahoma-Buffalo winner plays the Penn State-TCU winner in the Cotton Bowl
SOUTH REGION:
Florida-Troy winner faces the Utah-Ohio State winner in the Sugar Bowl
WEST REGION:
Texas-East Carolina winner plays the USC-Boise State winner in the Fiesta Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH faces Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl fresh off a 30-12 thumping of Boston College...giving the Hokies their third ACC title in five seasons (VT is 51-15 since leaving the Big East). Hokie Highlights--Darren Evans made fans forget Branden Ore with 114 yards and a touchdown capping off an 1112 yard season...Tyrod Taylor ran for two scores while the defense tallied four takeaways and returned one of them for a touchdown...Hokie Humblings--three giveaways...and a passing attack that averaged under eight yards per completion will give coach Beamer plenty to work on in between now and the New Year.
Hold on, I'm waking up from my nap...makes me wonder how close we are to a true Division I-A postseason. I'd even be happy with a four-team bracket with games this weekend and a championship on New Years Day. The previous jigsaw system of conference tie-ins wasn't ideal, but at least you had the four or five contenders all playing within 48 hours. Having the BCS title game a full week after January first is akin to eating a bunch of appetizers...but then waiting seven days for your entree.
And I'm not for blowing up the bowl system--the 32 game postseason that allows for 7-5 and 6-6 schools to finish their years on a positive note can continue...but there's no reason to involve the bowls in a playoff skeleton. Would a playoff make the minor bowls obsolete? You could say the BCS makes the major bowls irrelevant.
I do know it would make for an incredible Saturday in December (quadrupleheader on ABC and ESPN family of networks for either a 16 or 8 team tournament...with the games staggered in a manner that would feel like March Madness). Here's the postseason bracket you won't see...with national semifinal games pitting the East-Midwest and South-West regional winners...:
EAST REGION:
Alabama-Virginia Tech winner plays the Texas Tech-Cincinnati winner in the Peach Bowl
MIDWEST REGION:
Oklahoma-Buffalo winner plays the Penn State-TCU winner in the Cotton Bowl
SOUTH REGION:
Florida-Troy winner faces the Utah-Ohio State winner in the Sugar Bowl
WEST REGION:
Texas-East Carolina winner plays the USC-Boise State winner in the Fiesta Bowl
VIRGINIA TECH faces Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl fresh off a 30-12 thumping of Boston College...giving the Hokies their third ACC title in five seasons (VT is 51-15 since leaving the Big East). Hokie Highlights--Darren Evans made fans forget Branden Ore with 114 yards and a touchdown capping off an 1112 yard season...Tyrod Taylor ran for two scores while the defense tallied four takeaways and returned one of them for a touchdown...Hokie Humblings--three giveaways...and a passing attack that averaged under eight yards per completion will give coach Beamer plenty to work on in between now and the New Year.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Presto's Pick--another Big East Final...in the ACC
The ACC journey mercifully ends this weekend...after a rollercoaster regular season where the lead in both divisions changed weekly and schools creeping into the top 25 were quickly exposed. Nothing quite says ACC football other than ...Boston College against Virginia Tech?
The Atlantic Coast Conference has dealt with more than its share of dominant eras...from Clemson in the 80's to Florida State in the 90's to what I guess now is an "era of Northern occupation" where former Big East schools run roughshod over the league. The Hokies and Eagles each repeat as division champs; VT won the league its first year in the ACC (by beating ex-Big Easter Miami) and advanced to the title game in 2005.
Both teams reach the threshold of the Orange Bowl thanks to plenty of grit and a little luck--the Hokies fell in Chesnut Hill earlier this year 28-23 in a game where the Hokies tallied two interception returns for touchdowns yet little else offensively (5 for 17 on third down). The offense hasn't improved that much--although Tyrod Taylor is coming off his best performance of the year (274 total yards and a touchdown toss against Virginia). He'll be tested against a BC defense that shut VT down earlier this year (and has allowed under 15 points a game during a four game winning streak).
The Hokie defense needs to contain a one-two punch on the ground that features Montel Harris (116 yards rushing against Maryland) and Josh Haden...and outside of Brandon Robinson the Eagles primarily throw the ball short.
Special teams? BC returned a punt for a touchdown in their October matchup that was decided by five. Beamerball has been somewhat quiet for most of this year--is it time for the kicking game to reach that championship gear? Hokies make another Miami reservation, 25-15.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has dealt with more than its share of dominant eras...from Clemson in the 80's to Florida State in the 90's to what I guess now is an "era of Northern occupation" where former Big East schools run roughshod over the league. The Hokies and Eagles each repeat as division champs; VT won the league its first year in the ACC (by beating ex-Big Easter Miami) and advanced to the title game in 2005.
Both teams reach the threshold of the Orange Bowl thanks to plenty of grit and a little luck--the Hokies fell in Chesnut Hill earlier this year 28-23 in a game where the Hokies tallied two interception returns for touchdowns yet little else offensively (5 for 17 on third down). The offense hasn't improved that much--although Tyrod Taylor is coming off his best performance of the year (274 total yards and a touchdown toss against Virginia). He'll be tested against a BC defense that shut VT down earlier this year (and has allowed under 15 points a game during a four game winning streak).
The Hokie defense needs to contain a one-two punch on the ground that features Montel Harris (116 yards rushing against Maryland) and Josh Haden...and outside of Brandon Robinson the Eagles primarily throw the ball short.
Special teams? BC returned a punt for a touchdown in their October matchup that was decided by five. Beamerball has been somewhat quiet for most of this year--is it time for the kicking game to reach that championship gear? Hokies make another Miami reservation, 25-15.
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