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We here at the blog have so much to talk about in the sporting world. The Caps are in the playoffs (with Backstrom suspended for game 4 because of a last second cross check to the head). Both the Orioles and Nationals are in first place in their respective divisions. Wow! I know, it's a long season, and if you want your baseball fix, check out Josh's site. We here at Caputo's Corner will focus today on one of the most overhyped days in the NFL offseason calendar: the release of the regular season schedule!
OK, you might think that it's fun to find out who you're playing, but all of that dramas was settled the day the season ended. Everyone has known their opponents for quite some time because the division opponents were predetermined and the strength opponents (based on order of divisional finish) were set as soon as the last game of Week 17 ended. Nevertheless, I do find enjoyment in figuring out when we get to play on Monday Night Football, when is the bye week, when do we face divisional opponents and more importantly, whether or not those games will actually matter. I could break down everyone's schedule scientifically, but I today will focus on the home team...YOUR Washington Redskins.
Week 1: @ New Orleans Saints-I'm chalking this one up as a win right off the bat. It's going to be a reversion back to the old 'Aints after their complete and utter decimation in the wake of Bounty----. Half of their coaching staff, including the interim guy replacing the first suspended guy, as well as a large number of defensive players will be on suspension. The only thing that concerns me is whether or not the Redskins will be completely out of the woods. After all, tastefully named (yet not very tasteful) Gregg Williams was the DC (excuse me, Assistant Head Coach-Defense) here for 4 years. Remember when everyone clamored for him to be the head man to replace Gibbs? Yeah, those were the days.
Week 2: @ St. Louis Rams-For the first time in over a decade, we open the season with back to back road games. I don't mind this actually because that means our home games will be more on the back end of the schedule when (ideally), we could use the fan support to make a playoff run. In any event, the Rams are a bit of a mess in the wake of Bounty----. After all, they were the ones that hired Gregg Williams following his departure from New Orleans. We ought to win this game. The Rams still stink. They fired Spagnuolo and replaced him with Jeff Fisher, but all of the other parts are still the same. Yet for some reason, I just don't see us pulling away in this one for the simple reason that we notoriously play DOWN to the level of our competition. We should win this, but have the Maalox handy.
Week 3: Cincinnati Bengals-We play teams in the AFC North this year, which sent 3 teams to the playoffs in 2011. Cinci features breakout star from last year Andy Dalton, and while it is tempting to just say "Same old Bungles," watch out. They were a feisty bunch last year, having split with both Baltimore and Pittsburgh to earn that last AFC playoff bid at 10-6. Marvin Lewis always has their defense prepared, which could give Luck or Griffin (whoever it ends up being) some agitation.
Week 4: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers-It's the latest edition of the Caputo-Chase Bowl (JP Chase is the huge Bucs fan around here). Tampa got the short end of the stick in 2010, missing the playoffs with a 10-6 record, but instead of backing it up with a solid 2011, they thudded to 4-12. So you would think this is another "winnable" road game for the Skins, but just like the Rams, watch out. Josh Freeman can give you fits. It might be fun to watch him and RGIII going at it...another Maalox masher.
Week 5: Atlanta Falcons-We continue racing through the NFC South as we finally return home to face Matty Ice and the Falcs. This game will be a huge test for our subpar secondary as we try to keep guys like Rowdy Roddy White and Julio Jones in check. D-Hall better have some Tootsie Rolls in his socks. This one could get ugly. Memo to Orakpo and Kerrigan: "Rush the Quarterback."
Week 6: Minnesota Vikings-Another winnable game against a subpar opponent. The Vikings were a trendy pick in 2011 having picked up McNabb...but then they started playing games. Now it's up to Christian Ponder. There's a lot of talk about what the Vikings will do in the draft to improve the parts around Ponder, specifically on the offensive line, but that is a team that needs a lot of work in all phases. Again, should be a win, but read my analysis of the Rams game for more.
Week 7: @ New York Giants-Alright you NFC East aficionados, if you like NFC East football, you better enjoy this week, as this is the only NFC East game Skins fans will get to see until the end of November. For some reason, the schedule yahoos decided to backload our entire schedule with division games: 5 out of our last 7 are in the BEAST. This game being the one exception. Without realizing it, the powers that be might have done us a HUGE favor. Whoever the quarterback ends up being, he will have a good opportunity to build up his game in advance of what games in the NFC East has to offer. Playing the Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys can wear on a kid's nerves, especially on the road, even hyped rookies like Luck and Griffin. This game will be a huge measuring stick for how good this team really is, assuming we take care of business against the rest of the schedule. Even if we lose this one, our next division game won't be for 4 more weeks, so there is time to make adjustments before Philly comes to town after the bye. As far as this one goes, having swept the Giants last year means nothing. All that proves is that we have the overall talent to compete with the rest of the division. Winning this game doesn't make us presumptive favorites, losing it won't change much either.
Week 8: @ Pittsburgh Steelers-I am no fan of Pittsburgh fans. I can only wish we overrun the big ketchup bottle (Heinz Field) with as many fans as they surely would bring had they come to FedEx. Skins fans travel well, and Pittsburgh isn't that far away. Geez, if they can have fan clubs in Florida...and ITALY...we can definitely have a nice presence for a midseason road game in their house. I am making no real promises about this game only to say that it will be tough...and I'd like to step on a terrible towel.
Week 9: Carolina Panthers-Last season's matchup with Carolina Cam was just what the doctor ordered for the Panthers. They were coming very close, but not quite getting over the hump against good teams like the Packers. So when the wounded ducks (the Redskins) came to town, everyone saw it as Cam's first win. And sure enough, instead of using the headlines as motivation, we cowered into a ball and just let them beat us. This season hopefully will be different as this is actually one of the games ESPN has circled on the calendar as an intriguing matchup of quarterbacks, especially if Cam Newton faces off against Robert Griffin. Of course, if we're 0-8 at this point who knows how much hype this one will get?
Week 10: Bye-It's nice to have a midseason bye this year after having an early bye last year. Some claim that the early bye last year contributed to our downfall after the 3-1 start as our first game out was against Philadelphia and it looked like we spend the week off in Cancun instead of getting ready for the Eagles. Well wouldn't you look at that...our first opponent after this week is.........
Week 11: Philadelphia Eagles-Readers of this blog know my complete and unadulterated hatred for all things Eagles. Therefore, when we had a chance in week 6 last year to pretty much put them out of their misery and end the competitive portion of their season (we were 3-1 and they were 1-4), it stung when we fell flat on our faces. Here we go again. We potentially have a chance to do away with Philly as we enter perhaps the toughest stretch of our schedule. These games will have lasting impacts over the long term development of our franchise quarterback. What a wonderful way to start it with a win against Philly...especially considering our next opponent is.........
Week 12: @ Dallas Cowboys (Thanksgiving Day)-Nobody has played the Cowboys more on Thanksgiving than the Redskins (6 times). How many times have we beat them? None! What would make me think that this particular trend would change this season? Nothing really. Therefore, I'm just writing this one off as a loss right now
Week 13: New York Giants (Monday Night)-We get what amounts to a bye week between division games as we go from a Thursday game to a Monday game: 11 days in between contests, which will come in handy following the short week leading up to Thanksgiving. This is our only Monday night appearance, and we will have ample time to lick our wounds from our presumed Turkey Day disaster in Big D. So, assuming the team morale is pretty good, we might have a good shot against the Giants in this one, especially if we potentially have something to play for. By now we will be in the thick of the end of season divisional slate, and we will know if our franchise QB has the mental muscle to get through these tough games.
Week 14: Baltimore Ravens-A game with lots of local appeal, but not much national one, we have not played the Ravens at 1PM since 2000. Ever since, both regular season contests have come in prime time. As of now, this game is scheduled for 1PM, but so was the game in 2008, which is why they made it late in the season, to give NBC a chance to move it into primetime if it means something for both teams. All the Raven maniacs around here I'm sure will remind me who their favorite team is in the weeks leading up to this one, but it will be a welcome respite from the grueling divisional slate we will be facing. It would be nice though to have this one mean a lot more than just bragging rights in the state of Maryland.
Week 15: @ Cleveland Browns-The schedule yahoos did us no favors with this one. Cleveland in December is never a picnic, even if the Browns stink (as we project them to). The cold is the great equalizer, and when you get that breeze blowing in off Lake Erie, you can turn into a popsicle. Griffin played his games in the Big XII and Luck played his games in California, so neither one of them are really adapted to cold weather. Will they be able to hold onto the footballs? I have a feeling that IF we are in contention, this game will make or break our season.
Week 16: @ Philadelphia Eagles-See my analysis for the first Eagles game above for my feelings on any game we play against the Eagles during the regular season.
Week 17: Dallas Cowboys-About every 5 years or so, we end the season with the Cowboys at home. I usually like our chances here. The last 3 times we played the Cowboys at home (at least that I can remember) we beat them, usually because they are either playing out the string (2002), or resting starters for the playoffs and couldn't care less (2007 and 1996). The last time that happened was in 2007, and we had everything riding on it. Win and we were in the playoffs. Lose and set up your tee time. The Cowboys had already locked up the division, so Romo decided to take an extended vacation to Mexico (oh wait that was the FOLLOWING week). The Cowboys essentially rolled over for us, which did not bode well for them in their first playoff game against the Giants...they lost. So I like our chances here regardless of our season standing. Hopefully, it will mean something for us and THEY will be playing out the string.
I hope you enjoyed our season preview of the Redskins. I'm sure we'll be doing more preseason analysis after the draft and as we get closer to the start of training camp.
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