redskins.com: Rabach is New Center of Attention

[RedskinPride27]

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=7770

Rabach Is New Center of Attention
By Casey Husband
Redskins.com
July 1, 2005



As any offensive lineman will tell you, it's a big change when you switch teams.
Casey Rabach, late of the Baltimore Ravens and now a first-year Redskin, is trying to get to that point where he feels continuity with his new teammates.

Rabach explained the process this way, at the close of the Redskins mini-camp on June 19: "Those guys have to learn to trust me, and vice versa. We're getting there. We've made a lot of progress. We'll be there when the bell rings on opening day."

The 6-4, 301-pound Rabach, says head coach Joe Gibbs, "fits in perfectly for us. He's a talented addition."

A fifth-year NFL player out of Wisconsin, Rabach is expected to step in as the starter for veteran Cory Raymer, who is still highly-regarded among Redskins coaches.

That means one Wisconsin center for another. Consider that the Cowboys' starter at center, Al Johnson, is also a former Badger, and maybe you can spot a trend.

Says Joe Bugel: "Casey comes out of an outstanding program for offensive linemen, and centers in particular, at Wisconsin. Casey did a great job the past couple of years at Baltimore, at center or guard, whatever they needed him to play.

"He and Raymer set the whole thing up on the offensive line. They're both really smart, and they have an outstanding work ethic. Those are the type of guys you're happy to call Redskins. You just want them on your team.

"Both of those guys can give you a lot at the center position. Casey's a lot younger and we expect that he'll be our starter."

The thing that has impressed Rabach the most in the early going? It's the quarterback.

"The thing about Patrick Ramsey is that he's such a confident player," Rabach says. "Obviously, I've only been around him for a few months. But what I see in Patrick is confidence.

"He has the attitude that he'll step up and be a leader for this team. That's what you need out of that position."

Rabach started 15 games at center and one at left guard for Baltimore a year ago. He helped pave the way for Jamal Lewis's third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season and helped the Ravens' offense compile more than 2,000 rushing yards on the season.



The Redskins snapped him up this spring on the first day of free agency, which means that he'll be blocking for a different type of running back in 2005.

"Like all the great backs, Clinton [Portis] has outstanding vision," Rabach says. "And like all those Miami guys, he's extremely confident. No matter what the situation, you'll never see him get down on himself or the team.

"As far as making the change from Baltimore to the Redskins, it doesn't really effect my technique, switching from blocking for Jamal Lewis to blocking for Clinton. I'll be asked to do pretty much the same thing I did in Baltimore. We ran a power game for Jamal Lewis, and he's a great cutback runner. Here, with Clinton, he's more of a slasher, with more speed and with more of an ability to make tacklers miss."

Rabach and his new teammates will visit Baltimore for a scrimmage Aug. 6 and for a pre-season game Sept. 1. He still has a lot of friends in the Baltimore organization, of course, but that aspect of his NFL career is in the past tense.

"Coming here, to play for the Redskins, I get to play for two coaching legends, in Joe Gibbs and Joe Bugel," says Rabach. "I'm aware of that, and I really believe it. You couldn't ask for much more, with those coaches and all the tradition around the Redskins and the Hogs. Any offensive lineman should want to come here to play ball."

Adds Rabach: "Bugel's incredible. He works you so hard, because he cares about his players and the Redskins so much. We'll have a good season here. I know it. I'm certain of it. This is going to be fun."

Gibbs and Bugel like Rabach's versatility, which dates back to his college days at Wisconsin. He garnered All-Big 10 Conference first-team honors at two different positions: center in 1999 and guard in 2000.

He continued to play both positions after being drafted by the Ravens in the third round (92nd overall) in 2001.

"Casey's only been in the league four years and he did a heck of a job at left guard for the Ravens and he did a heck of a job at center," Bugel said. "When you get someone available like that, you better jump on him. He's going to be a good offensive lineman for us."

[TXREDSKINS44]

Originally posted by RedskinPride27
The thing that has impressed Rabach the most in the early going? It's the quarterback.

"The thing about Patrick Ramsey is that he's such a confident player," Rabach says. "Obviously, I've only been around him for a few months. But what I see in Patrick is confidence.

"He has the attitude that he'll step up and be a leader for this team. That's what you need out of that position."


Man it seems like all the article I have read, the players are saying that Ramsey is very confident. This is great news!!

[TXREDSKINS44]

Originally posted by RedskinPride27
http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=7770The thing that has impressed Rabach the most in the early going? It's the quarterback.

"The thing about Patrick Ramsey is that he's such a confident player," Rabach says. "Obviously, I've only been around him for a few months. But what I see in Patrick is confidence.

"He has the attitude that he'll step up and be a leader for this team. That's what you need out of that position."


Man it seems like all the article I have read, the players are saying that Ramsey is very confident. This is great news!!

[Fifty Gut]

so so so so so happy we replaced Raymer

[autographcollector]

Originally posted by TXREDSKINS44


Man it seems like all the article I have read, the players are saying that Ramsey is very confident. This is great news!!

Lets hope the o-line plays better than last year and ramsey will be fine....otherwise....

[dg28daman]

With Rabach, our line should be dominant, and give up less sacks, which shold make Ramsey more confident.

[Cool Hand Loki]

Originally posted by Gfunk703
so so so so so happy we replaced Raymer

Blown back on every play...so happy we replaced him

[ntotoro]

Good to hear Rabach buying into the system, the coaches and the team as a whole so quickly and so absolutely. This is only a good thing. Jansen was the first to do that last year and having him back will be another plus.

Nick

[illone]

Wait, you mean we actually addressed an area of need with a quality free agent, and we didn't Mortgage our future on him?

Someone alert the media;)

[wskin44]

Originally posted by illone
Wait, you mean we actually addressed an area of need with a quality free agent, and we didn't Mortgage our future on him?

Someone alert the media;)

Not just an area of need, but a huge hole that was holding the whole offense back. The press isn't paying attention. I hope they wager their farms against us.

[illone]

Originally posted by wskin44


Not just an area of need, but a huge hole that was holding the whole offense back. The press isn't paying attention. I hope they wager their farms against us.


Me too. I'll be the guy at the other end collecting;)

[Skindrodamus]

I am not positive but I believe I read somewhere there John Clayton while reviewing our offseason said with the addition of Rabach, if our line stays healthy it will be the best in the East, and I agree as long as they gather confidence with each other like Rabach said and promised they would.

Rabach = best offseason move in my opinion by far

[Truant]

The mainstream media is totally clueless to how important this pickup is.

Rabach is an important part of infusing this team with confidence. Can't wait to see it all come together in the 'worst offseason in history'.

[FARAPS]

jyasjtra i cant wait for the season to be here!!!!!

[lame]

Originally posted by wskin44

The press isn't paying attention. I hope they wager their farms against us.

Yeah, blah blah blah. We hear it every offseason. We'll see what's going on in November.

[Skindrodamus]

Lame, we dont hear this every offseason, we usually are being built up by the media every offseason, not put down, so that is why people on this site are starting to get excited.

[CHUBAKAH]

Originally posted by lame


Yeah, blah blah blah. We hear it every offseason. We'll see what's going on in November.
Agreed. Talk is cheap....

[Blade]

Originally posted by Truant
The mainstream media is totally clueless to how important this pickup is.

Rabach is an important part of infusing this team with confidence. Can't wait to see it all come together in the 'worst offseason in history'.

I believe Karl Swanson (perhaps it was someone else) mentioned this in one of his interviews: Only one guy from media got it right regarding free agency this year: Joe White from the AP. He got it right last year too regarding the free agency moves.

Most of them are, however, clueless.

[VaSkinsNut]

Originally posted by TXREDSKINS44


Man it seems like all the article I have read, the players are saying that Ramsey is very confident. This is great news!!

Well this is definately good news but I'm sure Ramsey would exude more confidence than Boller lol

[lame]

Originally posted by Truant
The mainstream media is totally clueless to how important this pickup is.

Can't wait to see it all come together in the 'worst offseason in history'.

I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.

There is not one other team in the entire NFL - not one - who has lost it's best player or very important player from its roster so many years in the row like the Redskins:

First it was Brad Johnson who literally was the reason why the Redskins had one successful season in the past 12 or so years. He later went on to be a Pro Bowler for Tampa and lead them to their only Super Bowl victory.

Then it was Stephen Davis who later went on to be a Pro Bowler and help lead the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Then it was Champ Bailey - a righly regarded player who, more importantly, plays a position of major significance in the league.

And now if you named the top 8 players off the Redskins roster a year ago - I would tell you 3 of them are gone and 2 others futures are hanging up in the air (Arrington still injured, taking his employer to arbritation - yeah, that will go over "well" regardless of the outcome.....and S. Taylor who doesn't seem to care about football and might not need to soon).

But, ahh, yes, you signed a center. Good for you.

You cannot keep losing THEE key member from your team every single year.

But let at the record every year. Truth is in the record.
See you when it COUNTS - see you in November

[Skindrodamus]

to Lame:

First off, you must be a Eagles or Cowboys fan.

Second the one and only true thing you said was that Davis was a huge loss, but Brad Johnson was nothing without Davis so I dont know why he was such a big loss there, so you are wrong.

Third, you are talking about loss Vs. gains, we lost bailey, and gained Springs (10x better year last year) and also gained Portis 1300 yards.

and here are the top 8 in no order from last year.

Portis, Washington, Cooley, Griffin, Springs, Pierce, Taylor, Coles

Lost Two: Pierce ( On our D, you can plug anyone in, it is all about GW system) : Coles (replaced with a younger version of himself)

We WILL see you in "DECEMBER"

[Luca Brasi]

Originally posted by lame


I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.



It's similar to how I can't understand why fans of other teams spend so much time on this board. We are obsessed with our team and we will always remain positive. Are you obsessed with our team too? Is that why you're here?

If you really want to make the argument that we didn't 'add' more than we lost with the Portis/Bailey trade, I think you would find yourself proved wrong in an embarrassing fashion.

[Cool Hand Loki]

Thanks for coming out, lame.

[VaSkinsNut]

Originally posted by lame


I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.

There is not one other team in the entire NFL - not one - who has lost it's best player or very important player from its roster so many years in the row like the Redskins:

First it was Brad Johnson who literally was the reason why the Redskins had one successful season in the past 12 or so years. He later went on to be a Pro Bowler for Tampa and lead them to their only Super Bowl victory.

Then it was Stephen Davis who later went on to be a Pro Bowler and help lead the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Then it was Champ Bailey - a righly regarded player who, more importantly, plays a position of major significance in the league.

And now if you named the top 8 players off the Redskins roster a year ago - I would tell you 3 of them are gone and 2 others futures are hanging up in the air (Arrington still injured, taking his employer to arbritation - yeah, that will go over "well" regardless of the outcome.....and S. Taylor who doesn't seem to care about football and might not need to soon).

But, ahh, yes, you signed a center. Good for you.

You cannot keep losing THEE key member from your team every single year.

But let at the record every year. Truth is in the record.
See you when it COUNTS - see you in November

Sorry but your theory just doesn't hold up. If you compare the guys who came in vs the guys we lost you'll see that Gibbs has done a great job with getting rid of the garbage on this team.

Benard Holsey < Cornelius Griffin
Lional Dalton < Joe Salve'a
Champ Bailey< Shawn Springs (Springs made more plays last year than Camp ever did here...oh and he's sucked since he left)
Trung Candidate < Clinton Portis
Peppi Zellner < Ron Warner
Reagan Upshaw < Demetric Evans
Zeron Flemister < Chris Cooley
Iffey Ohelete < Sean Taylor
Brian Barker < Tom Tupa

We had upgrades across the board. And that's just a quick, from memory, sample.

Now you're saying we lost 3 key guys. But hello...we acquired 3.

Santana Moss
David Patten
Casey Rabach

The 2 WR's we signed were NFL leaders in YAC (tells you something). Something neither WR could do last year.

And btw...its not a few players who win or loose for you. That's why there's this concept of football teams. Your only as strong as your weakest link. Anyone else like the depth players we've acquired lately? :cheers

[flexxskins]

Originally posted by Skindrodamus
to Lame:

First off, you must be a Eagles or Cowboys fan.

Second the one and only true thing you said was that Davis was a huge loss, but Brad Johnson was nothing without Davis so I dont know why he was such a big loss there, so you are wrong.

Third, you are talking about loss Vs. gains, we lost bailey, and gained Springs (10x better year last year) and also gained Portis 1300 yards.

and here are the top 8 in no order from last year.

Portis, Washington, Cooley, Griffin, Springs, Pierce, Taylor, Coles

Lost Two: Pierce ( On our D, you can plug anyone in, it is all about GW system) : Coles (replaced with a younger version of himself)

We WILL see you in "DECEMBER" Nicely put.

[flexxskins]

Originally posted by lame


I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.

There is not one other team in the entire NFL - not one - who has lost it's best player or very important player from its roster so many years in the row like the Redskins:

First it was Brad Johnson who literally was the reason why the Redskins had one successful season in the past 12 or so years. He later went on to be a Pro Bowler for Tampa and lead them to their only Super Bowl victory.

Then it was Stephen Davis who later went on to be a Pro Bowler and help lead the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Then it was Champ Bailey - a righly regarded player who, more importantly, plays a position of major significance in the league.

And now if you named the top 8 players off the Redskins roster a year ago - I would tell you 3 of them are gone and 2 others futures are hanging up in the air (Arrington still injured, taking his employer to arbritation - yeah, that will go over "well" regardless of the outcome.....and S. Taylor who doesn't seem to care about football and might not need to soon).

But, ahh, yes, you signed a center. Good for you.

You cannot keep losing THEE key member from your team every single year.

But let at the record every year. Truth is in the record.
See you when it COUNTS - see you in November lame, may I ask who your favorite team is? I just happen to notice that you say things like "Good for you" and "from your team".

[TK]

Originally posted by lame


Yeah, blah blah blah. We hear it every offseason. We'll see what's going on in November.
Got a mouse in your pocket? :)

[TK]

Blade

It was Swanson. He mentioned it in the Extremeskins Exclusive Q&A on the front page. ;)

[illone]

Somehow the name "lame" seems to be right at home for you.

Not sure why;)

[Henry]

While his delivery may be a bit juvenile, lame raises an interesting point. We HAVE had a revovling door of top-end players over the years. Heck, our entire roster has turned over far too often, not just the good players.

This can be directly attributed to the revolving door at head coach. Schottenheimer let Johnson go. Spurrier let Davis go. Gibbs got rid of Bailey.

What this team has desperately been needing, and I think now they've got it, is stability at the top. Of COURSE Gibbs is going to turn over some of the roster before he gets settled. That's not really the issue. The issue is whether or not his roster will get the job done when he has it the way he likes it.

What cracks me up are all the experts a year ago saying "Gibbs will struggle early on but he'll get the team turned around eventually." Now that he actually HAS struggled early all these geniuses come out of the woodwork to tell us he's lost it and we were never any good and we'll continue to not be any good.

Well, that may be. We may continue to suck. But it's not because Spurrier's teams sucked or Schottenheimer's team sucked or Norv sucked. It will be because GIBBS sucks. And frankly, I'm not about to make that judgement just yet. Not after one season which bore a striking resemblance to his first season back in 81 ... the year before he won his first superbowl. Of three.

[Mr. S]

Originally posted by lame


I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.



Ok fine, we lost Smoot and Pierce, those were tough. However, last year Barrow was gonna be the starter at MLB, and apparently he is ready for training camp right now. We also picked up Holdman, so we have 2 proven veterans at MLB, along with 2 youngsters in Smith (who has signed a 2 year extension) and McCune. Dont forget about Lemar Marshall, who stood in for OLB, and may do MLB (oh yeah, he also took a 3 year extension).

We lost Coles, probably Gardner. We gained Moss, Patten, Dyson.

We lost Smoot, we drafted Rogers, and took a veteran in Artrell Hawkins last week.

Now, only ones I havent covered are Lavar, who is set to return, and Taylor, who is the only one who worries people.

Therefore, we picked up Rabach, we didnt lose anyone, but we still picked him up, He is an upgrade over Raymer, and Raymer now provides depth. How is that a loss?

[Neophyte]

Originally posted by lame


I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.

I don't see anyone here who does not know and understand that this is a net sum game, lame. We all get that. What we all also get is that last year we watched the defensive coaching staff just plug guys in all over the place while players missed a game, several games or the whole season. We never once had the actual preseason projected starting lineup on the field together and the defense arguably got better as the season went on and the injuries mounted.

I think we know something about loosing players already, thank you.


Originally posted by lame
There is not one other team in the entire NFL - not one - who has lost it's best player or very important player from its roster so many years in the row like the Redskins:

First it was Brad Johnson who literally was the reason why the Redskins had one successful season in the past 12 or so years. He later went on to be a Pro Bowler for Tampa and lead them to their only Super Bowl victory.

Then it was Stephen Davis who later went on to be a Pro Bowler and help lead the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Then it was Champ Bailey - a righly regarded player who, more importantly, plays a position of major significance in the league.

I will give you Johnson and Davis, just for the sake of argument. Personally, I did not want to see either of them leave and I still wonder what Davis would have looked like in Gibbs offense. Not only that, we did not do a good job of replacing them with players when they left.

I don't think Bailey was our best player though. Not only that, we swapped him for a premier RB in Clinton Portis. Frankly, I think we got the best of that deal for last year. Add the fact that picked up Springs and he had a better year than Bailey and I don't think you will find many Skins fans crying in their beer over this one.


Originally posted by lame
And now if you named the top 8 players off the Redskins roster a year ago - I would tell you 3 of them are gone and 2 others futures are hanging up in the air (Arrington still injured, taking his employer to arbritation - yeah, that will go over "well" regardless of the outcome.....and S. Taylor who doesn't seem to care about football and might not need to soon).

If you just want to run down the roster that is fine but I don't think you can put a guy on there like Arrington who played in only 3 games last year and had a marginal impact. I mean, I would include Jansen on my list if we were going by roster but he did not play a regular season down last year. By experience in the league and system I think Barrow might qualify as well but he too did not play a down.

I will give you Pierce and Smoot although frankly I think Smoot is bit overrated. I have seen stats that seem to indicate that was one of the most burned corners in the league last year. Pierce was great last year but it is his only year playing full time and while I think he will continue to be that good no one really knows for sure. He certainly would not have made anyone's preseason list of 8 best players on the roster last year.


Originally posted by lame
But, ahh, yes, you signed a center. Good for you.

You cannot keep losing THEE key member from your team every single year.

But let at the record every year. Truth is in the record.
See you when it COUNTS - see you in November

Yes, yes I think you will see us in November. And December. And just maybe in January too...

[GSF]

Originally posted by lame


I don't understand why Redskin fans never seem to understand (or at least acknowledge) this very simple concept:

It's not the players you pick up. It's the players you lose VERSUS the players you pick up.

There is not one other team in the entire NFL - not one - who has lost it's best player or very important player from its roster so many years in the row like the Redskins:

First it was Brad Johnson who literally was the reason why the Redskins had one successful season in the past 12 or so years. He later went on to be a Pro Bowler for Tampa and lead them to their only Super Bowl victory.

Then it was Stephen Davis who later went on to be a Pro Bowler and help lead the Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Then it was Champ Bailey - a righly regarded player who, more importantly, plays a position of major significance in the league.

And now if you named the top 8 players off the Redskins roster a year ago - I would tell you 3 of them are gone and 2 others futures are hanging up in the air (Arrington still injured, taking his employer to arbritation - yeah, that will go over "well" regardless of the outcome.....and S. Taylor who doesn't seem to care about football and might not need to soon).

But, ahh, yes, you signed a center. Good for you.

You cannot keep losing THEE key member from your team every single year.

But let at the record every year. Truth is in the record.
See you when it COUNTS - see you in November

This has got to be your worst attempt at trolling yet. Brad Johnson and Stephen Davis? First of all, ANY moves made before Gibbs return are completely irrelevant to any discussion about how the Skins operate currently. Secondly, the vast majority of us Skins fans, who you claim to have your problem with, were against those moves.

Champ Bailey? You're kidding right? Springs had a better season last year than Bailey has ever had in his entire career, and for a fraction of the price. And on top of that, we added one of the best RBs in the league. Bailey did nothing last year, except prove he's over-rated and not worth the huge contract he wanted.

And five of our top eight players from last year are in question you say? Here are my top eight from last year in order: Griffin, Springs, Washington, Pierce, Portis, Taylor, Cooley and Smoot. Six of those eight aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Smoot wanted more than he was worth, and was not a good fit in Williams defense. Rogers will be a much better fit. The only real tough loss was Pierce, but his contract demands made it necessary. With the return of Barrow, the number of young LBs on the roster, and Williams' ability to bring guys up and plunk them in, the loss of Pierce is will be overcome.

And yes we did sign a center, and it was VERY good for us. Anyone who watched the Skins last year knows that the interior line was our BIGGEST weakness last year. It was an area of need so important that it was addressed in the first minutes of free agency. To down play that is just stupid.

Every team loses good players every year. It is part of today's NFL. The key is developing younger players to fill in for the losses, which is the direction that the Skins are FINALLY going with the return of Gibbs. The Eagles and Pats have lost numerous key players in recent seasons, yet somehow they handled it. I'm sure your team lost some good players, but I guess we'll never know since you're too much of a chicken-sh1t to tell us who your team is.

If you're going to troll, at least try to come up with something smart enough to make it interesting.

[GSF]

BTW Lame, I'm not expecting a response from you, since you haven't had enough of a sack to respond to many of the posts directed towards you.

[Clinton Portis]

Honestly, Center might have been our best offseason move. No Joke.

Rabach is one of the best run blocking lineman.

[stevenaa]

"Yeah, blah blah blah. We hear it every offseason. We'll see what's going on in November. "


Just another lame response. Nothing to see here. Move along!!!!

[Romberjo]

I'm probably reading too much into this, but it kind of sounds like Bugel is contemplating Raymer at center and Rabach at left guard in place of Dockery, if Dockery doesn't step up his game. Read all these quotes with that in mind:


Says Joe Bugel: "Casey comes out of an outstanding program for offensive linemen, and centers in particular, at Wisconsin. Casey did a great job the past couple of years at Baltimore, at center or guard, whatever they needed him to play.

"He and Raymer set the whole thing up on the offensive line. They're both really smart, and they have an outstanding work ethic. Those are the type of guys you're happy to call Redskins. You just want them on your team.

"Both of those guys can give you a lot at the center position. Casey's a lot younger and we expect that he'll be our starter."

* * *

Gibbs and Bugel like Rabach's versatility, which dates back to his college days at Wisconsin. He garnered All-Big 10 Conference first-team honors at two different positions: center in 1999 and guard in 2000.

He continued to play both positions after being drafted by the Ravens in the third round (92nd overall) in 2001.

"Casey's only been in the league four years and he did a heck of a job at left guard for the Ravens and he did a heck of a job at center," Bugel said. "When you get someone available like that, you better jump on him. He's going to be a good offensive lineman for us." [/B]

[autographcollector]

Originally posted by Romberjo
I'm probably reading too much into this, but it kind of sounds like Bugel is contemplating Raymer at center and Rabach at left guard in place of Dockery, if Dockery doesn't step up his game. Read all these quotes with that in mind:



Your definitely reading WAY too much into it....

[Om]

I caught a whiff of that too, Romberjo ... but my instinct is that they're thinking Rabach only plays at guard in the event of injury to Dock or Randy, OR if Dock doesn't hold up his end early and they simply have to take him out.

[Stone Cold]

when he was first signed, i initially thought he was replacing dockery and not raymer. i think doc has the potential to be a beast, especially under the guidance of buges. however, we have a sturdy and dependable c in raymer, and a proven product in rabach...who knows.

[Thinking Skins]

Originally posted by Henry
While his delivery may be a bit juvenile, lame raises an interesting point. We HAVE had a revovling door of top-end players over the years. Heck, our entire roster has turned over far too often, not just the good players.

This can be directly attributed to the revolving door at head coach. Schottenheimer let Johnson go. Spurrier let Davis go. Gibbs got rid of Bailey.

What this team has desperately been needing, and I think now they've got it, is stability at the top. Of COURSE Gibbs is going to turn over some of the roster before he gets settled. That's not really the issue. The issue is whether or not his roster will get the job done when he has it the way he likes it.

What cracks me up are all the experts a year ago saying "Gibbs will struggle early on but he'll get the team turned around eventually." Now that he actually HAS struggled early all these geniuses come out of the woodwork to tell us he's lost it and we were never any good and we'll continue to not be any good.

Well, that may be. We may continue to suck. But it's not because Spurrier's teams sucked or Schottenheimer's team sucked or Norv sucked. It will be because GIBBS sucks. And frankly, I'm not about to make that judgement just yet. Not after one season which bore a striking resemblance to his first season back in 81 ... the year before he won his first superbowl. Of three.

I'm glad to see that somebody's thinking on the same page as me. I don't think we've done a bad job replacing the talent we've lost over the years, but we have had a revolving door of talented Redskins over the years. What that leads to is that our team chemistry never reaches a level like we had back in the 80's because nobody's here longer than 2 or 3 years. And that team chemistry thing is a very important part of the overal success of our team.

That being said, it does sound like Clinton Portis and Ramsey are developing into leaders. I say that Ramsey is becoming a leader because his confidence puts faith in the other players that we'll do well. Hopefully the chemistry that these two, and the other 'core' Redskins can bring to us will outweigh what we lost in Smoot, Coles and Pierce.