Returnees That (Hopefully) Will Make A Difference

The sad but fortunate thing about last year's team are the number of players hit by injury that lost significant time. Yet Williams was still able to cobble together a defense in his first year with relative no-names stepping up. Lemar Marshall got some good game experience. So did Garnell Wilds and players on the D-line.

The silver lining is that getting players back from injury is like a little jackpot. Arrington only played 4 games last year. What if he'd been able to play a full season? How much more of a difference could he have made? One would assume so (although Arrington's mental mistakes have also hurt them in the past). Philip Daniels was injured most of the time with pulled stomach and groin muscles. Would he have been able to help with a stronger pass rush? One would assume so. Bowen returns - he will definitely be a factor. If the Redskins can keep most of these core players, including stars from last year's squad - Shawn Springs, Marcus Washington, Cornelius Griffin, healthy, it makes for just as good a core group, if not better.

People look at the Skins' offseason acquisitions and have pretty much counted them out because of a lack of star power in terms of free-agent signings. The difference is that Gibbs will translate his one-year crash course back to the modern NFL into on the field wins. This team should finish 8-8, if not better, simply because Gibbs will have adjusted. And although the acquisitions aren't headliners, they are ones that have his stamp on them. Presumably, they are players that can come and be solid contributors. Omar Stoutmire and Prioleau add excellent secondary depth, for example.

Barrow of Laughs
Why the Skins stuck with Mike Barrow as long as they did, I will never understand. It seemed pretty clear early on that he was an over-the-hill injured player that wasn't going to make it on the field. The Skins should have released him early and focused with all their might on retaining Antonio Pierce. I'll never figure that one out.