Vision Quest: Predictions for 2006.

We are about to enter the football wasteland. Sure the off season has been pretty exciting up until now but it is about to get very dull very fast. That would be ok if we were Philadelphia Eagles fans that are used to dull off seasons or 49er fans who know that they may officially be on the clock after week 1 of the regular season. But we are Redskin fans and we are not use to boredom.

Our owner spends money in free agency regularly making the first week of March the most anticipated week in the off season. This last year after our loss to Seattle we were already wondering which Wide Receiver Danny would bring aboard (we got two) and which pass rushing Defensive End Redskin One would be picking up (Mr. Carter prepare for take off).

Then after the free agency settles we have the draft. And Coach Gibbs always makes that exciting. It seems as if every year we find a way to move up, trading future picks to reach for a future start right now. In 2004 while others were debating the Taylor/Winslow selection Gibbs was planning on moving into the third round to select Chris Cooley. In 2005 Gibbs shocked the NFL world by moving up to get a second first round selection and draft QB Jason Campbell. This last year everyone expected a boring draft day with the Redskins first pick scheduled to be #53. But Gibbs loved Rocky McIntosh and moved up almost an entire round to take him.

But now the draft is over, the free agents have all been signed and we enter upon the Off Season Wasteland. News is scarce of our beloved team this time of year. Sure there are June 1 cuts coming up, but with team’s managing the cap better there are fewer quality players every year. Mini Camps are closed to the public but Redskin one gives us a little action. Same with OTAs. Usually the only news this time of the year is bad news like injuries or legal trouble (Mr. Taylor, I am looking at you). In a very real way no news is good news.

So with all that in mind this is the perfect time of year to make some wild and outrageous predictions about the Redskins. If any of them come true I can point to my genius. IF they don’t I can hope everyone forgets. Without further ado my outrageous predictions for the upcoming Redskin season:

The Redskins will not be a player in June 1 Cuts. Not much of a prediction here because most teams will not be players in the June 1 cuts. Teams are managing their caps better and there simply is not much talent to pick up and the Redskins have already done their cuts for the season and are in very good cap space for this year.

Sean Taylor’s trial will end with a plea agreement to a misdemeanor. This trial is falling apart faster then the Houston Texan’s pass protection schemes. The “victims” are all convicted felons. The “witnesses” are joining them in the pokey. The Prosecutor removed himself from the case after learning that he had a secret identity as “DJ Esquire” in the Miami bar scene and also resigned from the DA. The new prosecutor has already delayed the trial a couple of times. This is a bad case for an assistant DA who is probably not as attached to the prosecution of the case as the original attorney was. Look for this to be settled in early July.

2005 Redskins that will be moving to a new zip code by end of camp: Taylor Jacobs, Robert McCune, & Ryan Boschetti. Most of the players the Redskins wanted to cut are already gone but these three remain for the simple fact that cutting them saves very little against the cap. Might as well let them fight it out in camp. Boschetti and Jacobs have had a couple of years to show they can contribute to the Redskins and so far have failed. McCune is a natural athlete but has no real position and will get caught up in the numbers game. The DL, WR, and LB positions were buttressed in Free Agency and the draft making them

2005 Redskins that should not buy real estate anytime soon: Derrick Frost, Warrick Holdman, & Jim Molinaro. These players were all pet project of certain coaches (Smith, Lindsey, and Bugel) but they failed to impress over the last year. Frost was one of the worst punters in the league and could lose his job to an Australian in camp. Holdman was invisible while starting for Lavar last year and his lack of special team play hurts his chances this year. Holdman’s best chance for staying on the squad is right now he is the only LB capable of backing up Marcus Washington. Molinaro has failed to improve over his rookie year and when injuries have happened on our offensive line other players were tapped to fill in. All 3 will have to show the coaches they have the talent to contribute to this team.

Most exciting position battle in camp: Linebacker.
The Redskins most likely will keep 7 linebackers. Right now only three players (Lemar Marshall, Marcus Washington, Rocky McIntosh) are assured roster spots. That leaves 7 players (Khary Campbell, Chris Clemons, Spencer Havner, Warrick Holdman, Robert McCune, Kevin Simon, & Justin Stull) fighting for 4 spots. Special teams and versatility are going to be the key. Showing up in pre-season games will be as well.

Least exciting position battle in camp: Fullback. Mike Sellers has the starting spot all locked down and you know Chris Cooley will see time rotating into the backfield as well. That leaves Manuel White and Nemo Broughton fighting for the backup spot. This is no clash of the titans. White spent all last year on the IR, Nemo spent most of the last year on the pine holding down the 4th RB spot. One will get the opportunity to be inactive almost every game this season; the other will be cut in training camp.

Undrafted Free Agent who will make the roster this year: Spencer Havner. Sorry Jesse Lumsden fans; this is the guy we should all be drooling over. If Havner can show he can back up the Strong side and Weak side Linebacker position as well as contribute on Special Teams he will take a roster spot and contribute this year. How he went undrafted is amazing and kudos to Gibbs and company for jumping on him right away. He has size, speed, and smarts to make it in the NFL and the college Pedigree to back it up. Honorable mention will go to Buck Ortega, the TE from Miami. I think he will battle with Robert Johnson for the third TE spot, but he ultimately will end up on the practice Squad. As for Jesse Lumsden, the running back from Canada that there have been multiple threads reaching 150+ posts out there, I really don’t know what to say. Lumsden has an outside chance at making the practice Squad, and he is lucky to have that. I haven’t seen so much hype for an unknown from Canada who looked good on film but had marginal talent since Keanu Reeves.

Redskin player who will exceed expectations in 2006: Rocky McIntosh. When you’re the first player a team selects it is hard to exceed expectations, but this guy will. There is a reason Gibbs moved up to select Rocky. I know GW never starts rookies, not even Taylor or Rogers. However the lack of talent at LB and the intelligence of Rocky will get him into the lineup fairly quickly, if not from game one. He will be a force to reckon with as well.

Redskin player who will disappoint in 2006: Joe Salave’a. I hated even typing that, but I had to pick someone. Joe was hurt a lot last year and turning 30 this year. If Montgomery shows as much talent as some says he has, Joe could lose his starting spot by the end of the year.

Game the Redskins should not win, but will: Week 2 @ Dallas. Make no doubt about it the Redskins will once again be underdogs going into the second game of the season. Like last year it will be in Dallas, unlike last year we won’t be sneaking up on anyone. I just think we match up really well against the Cowboys, even with TO. They did nothing to improve their offensive line and still have problems in the secondary. Taylor and Arch can help contain TO and Andre Carter can play havoc on the line. Meanwhile Brunell will have Moss, Lloyd, and ARE running deep on Roy Williams. Second year in a row we should take one early from our hated rival.

Game the Redskins should win, but won’t: Week 5 @ Giants. Despite the huge differences, there are similarities between the 2004 squad and the 2005 squad. One of those similarities is blowing an early game in the Meadowlands. Unfortunately this could continue. This game has let down written all over it.

Season Prediction: 11-5 NFC East Champion. I really believe that the Redskins have the talent to win the NFC East this year. The Cowboys are overrated, NY has improved but Eli is still young, and The Eagles will not bounce back from last year as everyone thought. They will not win home field advantage though as they have the toughest division in football. Home field will probably go to Seattle again.

What about the most important prediction of all? Will we bring home Gibbs fourth Super Bowl victory this year? Well I am going to wuss out on this one. I truly believe that it takes more then talent to win the Super Bowl. You need character and luck as well. For the first time since Gibbs left us I believe that this team has the necessary talent and character to actually make a run. Does it have the luck? Will we stay healthy or will a key position go down to an injury in the middle of our playoff run?

We will have to wait for answers to those questions sometime in January.