As we start another football season, I just want to caution Redskins fans that this could still could be a little dicey before it gets better.
Courtesy: bigleadsports
They had five wins last year for a reason. I know the burgundy and gold has this fantastic talent at quarterback and, by all indications, Robert Griffin III will not embarrass himself on the professional level. But I am still really concerned about his protection over a 16-game regular season. The defensive secondary is also a concern. Will they be able to consistently stop the passing games of more that half of the opponents on their schedule?
I have been covering this team for more than a decade and I refuse to get sucked in to the hype. But I will become cautiously optimistic if two individuals step their games up. You see while many of you will be looking at the flashy new quarterback, the new toy at wide receiver in Pierre Garcon or the defensive front seven, which is the best it has been in years. I will be looking at the play calling of the coordinators Kyle Shanahan and Jim Haslett. This team now has talent and depth at almost every position on the field and if they are not competitive in every game this season I will blame them.
The schedule this year is brutal. The St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Cleveland games are the only contests I see right now that the Redskins should be favored in. The good news is that every year the NFL has a team that was dreadful the prior season and then turned it around big time. Could this be the year of the burgundy and gold?
What are your predictions for the season and who do you think will emerge as the most valuable player on this team?
*Also published at http://www.masnsports.com/holder_on/2012/09/i-like-the-iii-but-lets-not-forget-about-the-5.html *
