2009-2010 Wizards Preview

So I've kept the Wizards chatter to a minimum, mostly because there hasn't been a ton to talk about with Gilbert's recent "silence." Of course the beginning of football season paired with hockey has taken a little away from the Wiz hype as well. Maybe I'd be more excited if they were the Bullets again. At any rate, the season is now a week away, and with a Redskin/Hokie/Capital bye week, why not give the Bullets their love? Here are some major questions facing the Wizards this season and some things to watch for:

• Coaching...how will Flip Saunders manage the egos and playing time of this roster? As some people have noted, the Wiz are basically a collection of swingmen and scorers, so who gets the minutes? Will Mike Miller become a starter or stay a sixth man? What about "defensive minded" resident psycho DeShawn Stevenson? Will he and his neck tattoos see slashed minutes this season? Will he be able to push Randy Foye and Andray Blatche to their potential productivity? All of these are big questions entering the season with Flip at the helm.
• Depth...speaking of roster management, last season saw Nick Young, JaVale McGee, Dominic McGuire, and Blatche gain some experience with significant injuries. How valuable that experience was comes in to question when you consider that those guys were playing for a lame-duck coach and didn't show a ton of progress as the season slogged on. Will these guys be able to fight their way into a regular rotation, or will they give up their minutes easily to Foye and Miller? Each of these guys is under 25, and the competition has to be helpful for a team that seemed a bit complacent before all the injuries set in.
• Consistency...can the Wizards remember how to win right out of the gate or will they stumble. Once they figure it out, can they maintain a high level of play? Everyone seems to think that they're a lock to be the NBA's most improved team this season, but how they respond to being kicked around for the entire 2008-2009 season will be a story to watch. If they can establish consistency against bad teams (something they couldn't do last year), as well as grab a few pelts from the Bostons, Clevelands and Orlandos of the world, it could be a good season.

The biggest story of the season will easily be the Arenas/Haywood recovery process. How will they perform? Will their presence, plus solid coaching from Saunders allow them to challenge the elite teams in the East, or will their talent alone carry them to a low seed in the conference? Overall, I have to think the season will go somewhere in between. You have to think that the "big three" of Caron, Gilbert and Antawn (considering injury) have lost at least a step since their heyday a few years ago, so it's hard to expect any more than a 4-5 seed in the East. However, while they might not be as good, it seems that the depth (and overall youth) has improved as a result of decent drafting and dealing. Will that be enough to be the best of the non-elite in the East? I think so. I think the best case scenario is for the Wiz to challenge a 50 win season, while the worst is another injury plagued year where they struggle to hit 35. I believe with their talent, they should fall somewhere in between. I'll go with the high side and make my prediction for the season:

44-38, 5th in the Eastern Conference, lose in Eastern Conference Semifinals

Thank God For the Caps: 2009-2010 Predictions

Between the infinite sadness that is the Redskins offense and the enigma that is the Hokies offense, I say a little prayer everyday thanking God for my Washington Capitals. If I had to run through hockey season with a Minnesota Wild-type offense, I think my eyes would start to bleed and I would give up on sports altogether. Ok, maybe that last part isn't so true, but life would be a lot tougher without the boys in red. I've been spending quite a bit of time concentrating on the now #6 Hokies, and the miserable Skins, so I haven't put nearly enough effort into a full Caps preview. I'll leave that stuff up to the professionals like JP and Stephen Pepper. Over here at FFODC, I'll just make my asenine, bold, an extremely homer-esque predictions for the upcoming season.

Offense:

Obviously the Capitals biggest strength, and it only got stronger in the offseason. Mike Knuble has already proven that he's the glue that Ovechkin has needed to take the first-line game to the next level. If Boudreau can avoid keeping the carebears together too much this season, the Caps should be in good shape. Alex Semin and Brendan Morrsion showed some pretty solid chemistry when they got to play together, and I think you'll see a little more of the Vancouver edition of Mo this season. I also expect to see more improvement from Brooks Laich, and hopefully from David Steckel. Don't be shocked to see Stecks learn how to score on teams other than Tampa this season. The only problem here is if the team leans too hard on Knuble for their offensive grit and otherwise try to be too fancy. That was the top problem last year, but it should be corrected.

Defense:

Tyler Sloan has officially earned a spot with the big boys (as of today) and should help bolster the defensive corps with some depth. Guys like Jurcina, Morrisonn and Schultz must keep their play to a high level if they expect to see the type of ice time they saw last season. Brian Pothier came on very strong at the end of the playoffs, and should be able to shoulder a little bit of the load from Mike Green on the power play. This group is much maligned, but I think you have to put a great deal of pressure on Tom Poti this season. If the Poti of 2007-2008 shows up, the Caps should be a little more stout, but if the oft-injured edition from last year makes too many appearances, we could see a lot of 5-4 games. I think we'll see improvement to somewhere in the middle of the defensive rankings this season, but don't expect much better than that. Ideally, you'd like to see a Karl Alzner or John Carlson develop enough early in the season to squeeze a veterean out come the trading deadline.

Goaltending:

I expect, like most, for Semyon Varlamov to start the season on the bench and wrestle the job away from Jose Theodore by Thanksgiving. People forget how poorly Theo played in the early goings last season, and he's prone to very slow starts. He can't afford to pull that stuff this year or he'll be riding the pine. I think the best case scenario is for Theo to have a strong enough season to go around 50-50 with Varlamov, keeping Varly fresh enough to take his game to another level in the postseason.

Schedule:

It starts out like a bear, tapers off, then has a major break for the Olympics. Those are the things to watch. Don't be shocked if this team comes out hard early, but doesn't have a great record to show for it. The schedule is frontloaded with the likes of Boston, Philly and San Jose, but they don't play Pittsburgh until 2010. How will the team handle the long break? How will Ovechkin, Semin and the other Olympic participants fare at the end of the season. It should be interesting.

Coaching:

Does Gabby get them motivated every night? Does he resort to "pretty play" with Semin and Ovi or does he crack down on them and ask from more grit. Will he be able to push the right buttons down the stretch? How does he handle an inept Michael Nylander on the roster. These are all huge questions.

Overall Impressions:

I think the Caps will be a better team this season. They're one year older and two playoff series wiser. It might not reflect in the points standings, but they will be a bigger force come playoff time. However, injuries could be the great equalizer. Last season, we seemed to have the injury bug throughout the season and into the playoffs. It could be the same with so many guys playing in Vancouver. That's something to watch for. Overall I look for an equally potent (but grittier) offense, a little more balanced defense, and up-and-down goaltending, hopefully settling by February or March. I think the Caps will have a tougher time with Carolina this season, but the win the Southeast. They'll take it a step further and lose to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals this season. Here's hoping they go further.

Final Prediction:

Eastern Conference Runner-Up, 48-27-7, 103 points

Redskins 2009 Preview: Quarterbacks

Image Courtesy of theHogs.net

Through July, I will be running positional breakdowns for the Washington Redskins. Each assessment will be broken down into four areas: Past Statistics, Experience/Potential, Positional Competition, and Intangibles.

Today we begin with the quarterbacks. The Redskins enter the 2009 season in virtually the same position as the prior season, but with a little more pressure on Jason Campbell. There are many reasons to believe that Campbell is not the answer at quarterback for the organization moving forward, but many argue that he deserves at least one more season to prove himself. A great deal of this preview will talk about Campbell, as we have little knowledge of how Todd Collins (haven’t seen him since ’07) and Colt Brennan would perform in a game situation right now.

Statistics

Campbell seems to be the fourth-flashiest starter in the NFC East. While he managed to survive the first-half of last year without an interception, he only managed to 13 touchdowns on the ENTIRE season. Only two quarterbacks from playoff teams (Kerry Collins/Gus Frerotte with 12 each) threw less touchdowns (13) during the regular season, and each of those teams bowed out in their first playoff game. Campbell was middle-of-the-pack in yards (16^th), completion percentage (14^th), and 1^st downs (13^th). Some concerns were found in his big play ability (27^th in plays over 40 yards) and sacks (4^th most with 38). Overall Campbell’s statistics say that he is a middle of the road quarterback that had trouble with pass rush last season. Can we chalk that up to a patchwork line? Probably. Can we put some of the blame on a two-man receiving corps (referring to Cooley and Moss)? Definitely. However, Campbell’s play seems to have AVERAGE written all over it.

Potential/Experience

At 27, many people believe that it’s time to put up or shut up for Campbell. He is now entering his fifth NFL season, having played in three of the first four(with 36 games started). While many people believe the third year is the most important developmental year for a quarterback, Campbell has had to learn a new system three times since graduating college. His potential is hard to judge because he has been in a constant state of fluxthroughout the last several years of his career. I believe that this year is his biggest opportunity to prove that he is a viable NFL passer. If he fails to impress, we may see #5 hit the field in mop-up duty in November/December. Campbell has a relatively big arm, but he seems to overshoot his receivers quite often. He’s got a great chemistry with TE Chris Cooley, and he will have to ride Captain Chaos to the top if he plans on improving his stat line this year. Jim Zorn’s system will somewhat skew Campbell’s statistics, but they must see some big play ability out of him, and see it soon.

Positional Competition

As stated before, Campbell has started 36 games, and about 2 ½ seasons. Colt Brennan and Todd Collins will be competing for the no. 2 quarterback spot this offseason. Collins has the edge in experience, having led the Skins to the playoffs in the 2007 season. Brennan has an awkward throwing motion, and too many pineapples to count, but many fans were impressed by his confidence and moxie during last season’s training camp and preseason. I believe that Collins has seen the last of his playing days, and Brennan will beat him out for the backup spot. The only problem with this will be that fans will be calling for him as soon as Campbell falters. How JC handles that will determine a lot of his success this season, which leads us to…

Intangibles

Campbell has the full confidence of his teammates, even after several botched attempts to trade him by Vinny Cerrato in the offseason. As mentioned before, Campbell really hasn’t had a fair shake during his time in the District, including coordinator carousel as well as the relatively poor choice of weapons he’s had around him. I believe that people have been a little hard on him over the past 3 years. He's a great role model and member of the DMV community, and he's shown a genuine love for the city, even if its fans haven't always reciprocated the love. I really liked the poise he showed through all the controversy this spring, and I expect him to come out with a bit of a fire in his belly next year. He has the exceptional work ethic and character that could potentially take a team to the Super Bowl (note: I’m not predicting that)...eventually.

Final Assessment

I believe that the Redskins have a capable backup in Colt Brennan, who they will continue to develop, and will eventually contribute on the field or in a trade. Jason Campbell has all the physical tools to be a top-10 NFL quarterback, but I don’t believe he did a lot to disprove his detractors last season. I do believe that he does have the ability to come out and have a great season, especially playing a 4^th place schedule. He should play with a chip on his shoulder and a much better knowledge of Jim Zorn’s offense, and based upon that, I believe he’ll do just enough to keep the heat off himself in 2009.

What do you think? Should the Redskins have pulled the trigger on a Campbell trade or do you think he still has a shot to be something special for the organization. Let us know in the comments section!