Predicting 16

The 'Skins season kicks off this Sunday with a fierce rival from the NFC East, the New York Giants. But before this game initiates the beginning of a long, grueling season, I've gotta take a stab at the 'Skins schedule.

Week One: @ Giants (0-0)
The Giants are one of the best teams in the NFL, and games in the NFC are especially competitive, so the edge has to go to the home team. Giants in a close one, 20-17.

Week Two: VS Rams (0-1)
The 'Skins will be looking to bounce back after this week, and with first year head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who was the Giants defensive coordinator the past two years, the defense should be ready for what the 'Skins have to offer, but the defense is going to take this one over. 'Skins win 24-6.

Week Three: @ Lions (1-1)
With a chance to go above a .500 record in week three while playing the worst team from last year should be an easy win for the 'Skins, but they better not take this game lightly. They found themselves in the loss column with a similar game against the Rams last year, and they came to regret it at the end of the season. This team will remember that game, however, and blowout a young Lions team, 27-10.

Week Four: VS Buccaneers (2-1)
The 'Skins come home week four to play their third rookie head coach in a row. The Buccaneers are in a rebuilding season, and with a roster filled with youngsters, the Redskins should overmatch them greatly. Veterans like Ronde Barber, however, will prevent the 'Skins passing attack from taking off, and the game will be a little closer. 20-13.

Week Five: @ Panthers (3-1)
This game should be the biggest challenge the 'Skins have had since the season opener against the Giants. The Panthers have a fierce running attack and always put a solid defense on the field. The 'Skins lose in a close one, 21-17.

Week Six: VS Chiefs (3-2)
Wanting to stay above .500 and frustrated about the close loss to the Panthers, the 'Skins will dominate a young Chiefs team. Matt Cassel will throw a lot to stay in this one, and will get picked off a few times, but with a porous defense, the Chiefs won't be able to keep up. 'Skins win easily, 34-17.

Week Seven: VS Eagles (4-2)
Mike Vick makes his first appearance at FedEx Field and causes a stir. The focus will be on him coming to town and not on the team, and they will thrive. This will still be a battle in the East, but the Eagles will still be getting used to using Vick, so the 'Skins steal one, 24-21.

Week Eight: BYE WEEK (5-2 and feeling good)

Week Nine: @ Falcons (5-2)
Coming off the bye week, the 'Skins are fully rested, ready to play some football again, but are shocked by Matt Ryan and the fantastic Falcons. 'Skins lose, 24-10.

Week Ten: VS Broncos (5-3)
Once again on edge after a loss, the 'Skins come back ready to face the team that almost had a hand in sending Jason Campbell out of town. Campbell has a big day, throwing three TD's. 'Skins win handily, 31-13.

Week Eleven: @ Cowboys (6-3)
It's finally the biggest rivalry of the season, and the 'Skins first trip to Jerry Jones' Palace. It's a close one between these two rivals, and after a delay where Shawn Suisham breaks the Jerry's big screen TV over the stadium, the 'Skins blow it in the fourth quarter as Marion Barber runs all over them, 24-13.

Week Twelve: @ Eagles (6-4)
The Eagles have figured out their offense, and the defense has hit their midseason stride. This is a close game, but it doesn't show on the scoreboard. Eagles win, 27-14.

Week Thirteen: VS Saints (6-5)
Hitting their first two game skid of the season, the 'Skins look to bounce back at home verse their old defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams. The Redskins current coordinator, Greg Blatche, worked for several years with Williams, and the 'Skins offense practices against pretty much the same defensive scheme every day, they will take this one, but not without Saints quarterback Drew Brees putting a few nice scoring drives together. Redskins, 31-21.

Week Fourteen: @ Raiders (7-5)
The Raiders recently traded a first round pick in 2011 for a 29 year old defensive end who has only played 16 games two times in his eight year NFL career. Do I need to say more to how much disarray this organization is in? 'Skins crush, 35-9.

Week Fifteen: VS Giants (8-5)
Entering their toughest home stretch of the season, the 'Skins beat a banged up Giants team, but it's an ugly one. 14-10.

Week Sixteen: VS Cowboys (9-5)
The rivalry comes home and with the playoffs on the line for the both teams, the home team prevails in another slugfest. Redskins win, 17-16.

Week Seventeen: @ Chargers (10-5)
It comes down to the last game of the season, but the Chargers have already clinched their division and their hearts aren't in the game as much as the 'Skins are. The 'Skins win this one from the beginning, 21-17.

The 'Skins finish 11-5 with a wildcard spot in the NFC. It's going to be tough, and a lot of this depends on the team staying healthy, but I think it should shake out like this. What does everyone else think?

Positional Analysis: Safeties

Starters: Laron Landry will be the only unquestioned starter, playing free safety. He has improved over his first two years in the league, even while playing away from the position he was drafted for, strong safety. He has the ability to drop back in to coverage and play center field while landing punishing hits on receivers who dare to go across the center of the field.

The starter at strong safety will be a close competition between 4-year veteran Reed Doughty and second year pro Chris Horton. Doughty entered last season as the starter, but his season was cut short with an injury, allowing Horton to step in to the starting role, in which he performed at a much higher level than expected. Both players play the run well, but can be exploited in coverage. Play during preseason games should decide the starter, but the other will be sure to see playing time with Greg Blatche's creative scheming.

Reserves: Kareem Moore will be the primary backup for Landry. Moore, a sixth round draft choice by the team last year, didn't see the field much last year as he had trouble grasping the playbook. His playing time should increase this year, but he will also be a solid contributor on special teams.

As training camp approaches, I wouldn't be surprised to see the team add a veteran to this group. Last year they added Mike Green to the mix, and he made good contributions while injuries were keeping players off the field. This is the youngest group on the team and there is no reason for them to address it during the draft.

Positional Analysis: Defensive Tackle

After all the madness with Jason Campbell, it's time to get back to reviewing the roster. Let's start with the big boys up front, the defensive tackles.

Heading in to free agency, the Redskins had been rumored to have interest in what many experts believed was the best player available, Albert Haynesworth. The Redskins signed him in the opening hours of free agency, and he adds to a group that is now arguably the deepest position on the defense.

Starting alongside Haynesworth will be 10-year veteran Cornelious Griffin. Griffin has been solid when healthy, but has his fair share of injuries over the past few years, though he often played through them. With Haynesworth now taking on the double teams, Griffin should be freed up more to be the playmaker he looked like when the 'Skins first signed him.

Backing up the two starters will be youngsters Anthony Montgomery and Kedric Golston, both 25. They both have seen a lot of playing time since being drafted four years ago, and I wouldn't expect to see a large decrease in their playing time with the addition of Haynesworth. Defensive coordinator Greg Blatche loves to rotate his linemen to keep them fresh, and he trusts both players to perform. Both, however, may be battling for a long-term starting position with the team, as Griffin gets in to the last years of his career.

The addition of Haynesworth has made the defensive tackle position better, but should also enhance other positions play. With a great push up the middle, defensive ends will get to the quarterback quicker, causing them to throw the ball sooner. Now, the corners won't have to cover their receivers all day, allowing them to make plays on the ball. The tackles will also eat up blockers on run plays, freeing linebackers to make more plays at the line of scrimmage. The upgrade at tackle was a shrewd move, and shoould prove beneficial right away.

Redskins Roster Review: Defense

Even if you only saw one Redskins game last year, you would have left knowing the strong point of the team was it's defense.

The 'Skins finished the season ranked 4th overall on yards allowed. Defensive coordinator Greg Blatche has repeatedly defended his players and his scheme, but there is definitely room for improvement.

The defense ranked 29th in takeaways last season, only taking the ball from their opponents 18 times. They also posted only 24 sacks, placing them in the cellar of the NFC. Moves this off season should help to raise these numbers.

Vinny Cerrato is back to true form this off season, making huge splashes wit the signings of DeAngelo Hall and the $100 million man, Albert Haynesworth. These two players should make a big difference in both categories.

Hall, who with the team for the second half of the season, had three interceptions in his short time with the team. An off season with the coaches and his teammates will only increase his production, but the big man in the middle will help him the most.

Haynesworth is a beast up front, taking on double and triple teams while still reaching the quarterback. This also frees up teammates to get the quarterback, and will also make quarterbacks throw errant passes which the defensive backs can jump on.

Even with these additions, there are gaps. An experienced starting outside linebacker is needed as well as another pass rusher, but overall the group is moving in the right direction.