Washington 2015 Season Preview

Washington

2014 record 4-12

2015 O/U 6.5

How do you even get into this team? On paper, it looks like a bit of a breath of fresh air with some of the new additions, but you look on the inside and you have no idea what to expect. We will first get into the additions. Terrance Knighton and Dashon Goldson are the major upgrades. The addition of Knighton versus the loss of Barry Cofield gives Washington an edge to have a better defense this season. Goldson wasn’t as great in Tampa Bay as he was in San Francisco, but having two coaches in two years may not have bode well. Goldson however, compared to Ryan Clark, who started 16 games and now works for ESPN, is another upgrade. Chris Culliver, Stephen Paea, and Ricky Jean- Francois are all new faces who should see time and when seeing Santana Moss, Roy Helu, and Bradon Merriweather as notable losses you have to think it was a good off season. Then you like at this front office, ownership, and coaching staff and you wonder if anything will stick.

Offensive Strengths

Their playmakers are their strengths and they do have a plethora of talent. Desean Jackson and Pierre Garcon are the perfect over and under duo. Garcon can work the low routes and can find space in the middle, while Jackson has the ability to take the top off on any play. It is a safety nightmare in theory. A young up and comer Jamison Crowder may join the crew as the slot option, but he has to beat out Andre Holmes, who did average 12.4 yards per catch in 2014. Alfred Morris has been the most consistent player on the team since being drafted in the sixth round in 2012 and has average of 4.5 yards per carry. His stats seem boosted from his rookie season, in which him and Robert Griffin tore up the league, and he averaged 4.8 a pop. Morris’ stats have declined year by year, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t the most crucial piece on this team.

Offensive Weakness

On to the situation that makes “Days of Our Lives” look like a family sitcom. You have this kid who you trade in total six players and three first round picks and you immediately draft his back up. Then you give him ok to play through a torn ACL. Then when it is confirmed he not only tore that, but more by playing through it you let him play six months later. Then you hire a coach who was the lead voice in choosing Andy Dalton over Colin Kaepernick as his franchise. I don’t need to get into a debate about which one may be better, but when hiring a guy who has RG3, or Kirk Cousins, and you hire the guy who made that decision, which one plays more like the other? In what would have been technically his third season, but still within 18 moths of his ACL tear, he was benched for Cousins. Then Cousins was benched. Then McCoy was benched. Then Griffin. Now Griffin had a “concussion”. This concussion turned into Jay Gruden seeing everything he needed to see as far quarter back play and named Kirk Cousins the starter. I don’t want to rag on Cousins, but I thought his upside in college was Brian Hoyer. That isn’t disrespectful, Hoyer has a great career, but that who he is. All in all Cousins has a 18:19 TD to INT ratio, and last season he led the league in INT rate. It shouldn’t be long until McCoy is back in and I am not even counting Griffin out. Someone put out this fire.

Aside from having no idea what they are doing, they have a weak offensive line. Trent Williams, is an anchor and it is safe to say the team has a left tackle, but what else? Brandon Scherff was drafted at pick five to clear up the interior for the run, but he isn’t quite there yet, and aside from the two the unit could use some work. Do you die with Griffin limping around for his life, or do you die with Cousins tossing up 50/50 balls. What a proposition.

Defensive Strengths

The big run stoppers will be strength and it starts with addition of Knighton. The defense against the run was already above average, but Knighton should be strong upgrade at the nose, and is immovable object up front. Paea, and Francois team up with Jason Hatcher to form a formidable rotation at the ends in the 3-4 defense, They are all pure space eaters, and should be able to set up for Ryan Kerrigan to expand on his stellar season so far. Having 13.5 sacks is a feat to build on but the stud is only entering year five, is now in his prime and has improved statistically every season. He creates a problem for left tackles every week, and while many always thought it was going to be Orakpo beside Kerrigan for years, they seem to not have trusted his health and the draft the past two years has created a strong rotation at outside linebacker. Preston Smith and Trent Murphy were prospects that I was excited to see develop, and the two competing with each other should be fun as they can now bring out the best in each other. Smith and Murphy, as well as Kerrigan are also plus players against the run, which is one reason I really like all of them as outside linebacker prospects. Overall the front is clearly not the teams weakness, and it should be above average in the run game, again the question will be can the secondary additions work?

Defensive Weakness

I think the secondary will be better this year. That isn’t saying much, because despite Kerrigans pressure, QBs lit this team up, and they ranked 32 in efficiency against the pass. Deangelo Hall was the key to the defense for years in the secondary, but now at age 30, Hall comes off of tearing, and eventually retearing his Achilles in 2014. That is a debilitating injury and how he can come back to improve the unit will be in question to me. Breshad Breeland has seemed to find a home in the slot and Chris Culliver is an improvement on what they had last year. The safety group is unproven as well, and Goldson will have to have a better year, but I trust him, as long as the defense can utilize him correctly. This isn’t a group that blows me away, but while I have ripped the offensive direction, the defense isn’t in the worst shape heading into 2015.

Where do they rank O/U 6.5

If you are telling me that Kirk Cousins is planning to start 16 games I am telling you to bet the under. This should be an easy one, and Jay Gruden should be a safe bet for first coach fired. I see Gruden fitting a square peg into a round hole on Griffin and if he could adopt I still see Griffin as the most talented quarter back on the roster. Aside from that I am trusting Colt McCoy to win games before Cousins. I do like the roster outside of the dumpster fire, but don’t think they can win six games with such a dysfunctional organization and lockeroom.

Parkers Pick: 4th in the NFC East, Under 6.5

Logans Pick: 4th in the NFC East, Under 6.5