I was checking out the CBS Sports website, and noticed that they have their Power Rankings already in place. I think it is a bit too early for this, since offseason additions do not always make the team better. We should know this more than anyone, since the Redskins almost always have a huge offseason, bringing big names, and looking great on paper, but then they faulter during the season and crap out. So I read the list with a grain of salt, knowing it probably won't be the same a couple of weeks into the season. What I did find rather annoying, however, was where Pete Prisco had placed the Redskins on the list, compared to the other NFC East teams. The Skins are at number 23, the Cowboys at 15, Giats at 6, and Eagles at 5. Even though I do agree that the Skins are probably not as good as the Eagles and Giants, I would have to say, based on the draft and signings, they should be a lot better off than the Cowboys. This is the line he has for the Skins : "They're the fourth team in a four-team division. That will make it tough to win eight games." Are you serious?? Tough to win 8 games? The Skins went 6-2, and would have finished a LOT better than 8-8 last year if the O-Line stayed healthy, and if the D-Line put some pressure on the QB's. So are you telling me that with signing the Million-Dollar man, and drafting Orakpo, and bringing back Dockery, along with some new O-Linemen, they will have trouble matching last year's record? Every draft review I've seen, the Redskins have been given a pretty good score on the draft, picking up players for key positions that they needed. They have been able to, at the very least on paper, shore up the holes they had last year. They have added some depth to the O-Line, D-Line, and LB positions. Not only have they added warm bodies to those positions, they have been able to get rather good players to fill the gaps they had. They are also going to be in their second year in the same offense, with the same QB (at least for now), and the same receivers. Not to mention that the WR's they drafted last year, which produced absolutely nothing, have had a whole year to develope in this system. From all aspects, this year's team is better than last years. Which means, if we don't consider injuries, they should do better than last year, thus at the very least winning 9 games. Based on their schedule, I think they should be able to win at the very least 10 or 11 games this year, but then again I'm biased.
Then again, Mr. Prisco is more knowledgable in these things than I am, so maybe he sees something in the Redskins to make him predict they won't win 8 games. But to say the Cowboys will be better than the Redskins? Again, going to all the reports on the draft, most people have said that the Cowboys did not do a good job filling in the holes they had. Granted, not having too many picks in the first day will do that, but since they had so many picks in the later rounds, they could have traded them to get a few first and second round picks to be able to fill up the gaps. I really don't care what they did or why they did it, but the fact remains that they did not do a good job, according to the experts. They also lost Owens and their big hitting safety, Roy Williams, along with several other players. Granted, I personaly think Owens is bad for the team, but he is still talented, and can be a threat. So with those loses, and not a great draft, they appear to be a bit worse than last year, or perhaps the same. Regardless, they are not better, at least on paper.
So I seriously fail to see why they Cowboys are ranked higher than the Redskins, considering everything I've just mentioned. The only thing I can think of is that most media and experts do not like Dan Snyder, so they are not going to look at the Redskins the same as they would other teams. Not saying that is true, just what I think. Because I seriously can't come up with a reason for thinking the Redskins are not even going to be able to match last year's record, even though they have improved. But I guess we will have to wait for the season to start to see if the analyst and experts are correct, or if the Redskins can be as good as us fans know they can be.
Z