25 Comments to ‘Perennial Skins Bias’: »

mike:

looks like its fairly even, but i think we look back after this season (god forbid no injuries)and then we will see. randall el was a good compliment to ward, i dont see it with the redskins. lloyd is decent and was the better wr they picked up. TO is just a freak of nature and he makes all the difference (obviously). i feel after the season it will be dominated by the cowboys

mike:

as far as bias is concerned i wouldnt be suprised if joe make my name rhymne with heisman didnt make the list. cant wait for MNF with the mute on…

artj in VA:

Great Comparison Raul, as usual this site breaks down the numbers the “pros” never look at. Just more spouting off at the mouth to make themselves sound good, though I do metion that Mike Golic, who I do like, pushed Dallas up to five when Chris Mort had them at six. This bias is really hard to handle living here in Virginia, so close to skins teritory. But I do have my new T.O. jersey hanging in the office.

Not sure if its been mentioned but an Article on DC.com about the cowboys off-season signings hints that Witten may be signed to a Contract extension as early as this week. Great news fo all the cowboys faithful.

Fighter15:

Rafael,

Your last comment speaks to the heart of the matter. They DIDN’T take that into account, and that’s even more telling.

What would our game averages be if you only took the first half of the season when we had Flo? Without going through the same numbers, I’d bet that the #5 offense in the league would dominate every statistical category.

The more I read about our line, the more I like. We have so much better depth and talent competing and coming together that there is reason for optimism.

During camp, I’m sure we’ll compare last year’s group with this one and it will astound you. We are younger, healthier, and deeper. Better? Well, we can’t be worse than the group that finished, that’s for sure.

Anyway, great comparison dude. You the man.

reldbr:

. . .and lets not forget that WWWEEE gifted them (Moss) two of those touchdowns and 150 of those yards!!! (Wow, that really hurt to write. But as long as it supports you ‘us vs. them argument going forward, I’ll suck it up.)

It will be interesting to see how your broader point about bias against the ‘Boys plays out next year. ESPN hates the Boys and TO. And never forget that, as much respect as they have to give Parcells, he bagged on them after one year (and he looked bored everytime they had him on.) Another reason to love Parcells.

Jesse NY:

Granted the Skins do have explosive players at these positions as we do.
But let`s not forget the QB play plays a large role in these stats. the last 6 games of last year Bledsoe spent a lot of time on the ground. Look up the # of sacks the last 6 games last year.. I do not know the figures but I would be surprised if it is even close. Also let`s not forget that if Brunnell does go down this year ( As I said before I would be shocked if the 38yr old , injury prone QB lasts) they have no real back up in play !

Fighter15:

Another comment on the whole ESPN ranking thing.

Can you really rank a player or unit in isolation? Brett Favre is still top 5 talent, but his surrounding cast is pitiful. Isn’t Brady, Burger, Bulger, et al really a product of their entire scheme/team?

I’ve stated my opinions on statistics, but overall indicators say a running team won’t be a passing team. And a balanced team will seem mediocre in both.

I remember the ’90s Boys being consistently ranked in the 5-10 range, but nobody (except maybe the 9ers) were better. You could not stop that team. Period.

I’d like to see them rank Overall Offense and Defense. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Everything else is Fantasy-lite.

jarhead:

I think the bias is there in the big media, most of whom are based on the east coast.
I agree the calls on the redskins being better this summer are more of the same old, “great offseason” splashes they make every year instead of just a bias.
Rafael’s numbers speak for themselves however.
The question is, can we stay healthy, and can we protect the QB? Yes to those, and we will put up numbers to rival the skins.
Cooley really scares me more than anyone on the team though. I think we can scheme Moss better this year.

racer_x:

The most any talking head throws the way of Irving, is that yes TO is a specimen, but he will destroy the cowboys. Thats why, Randle El (the Michael Pittman of last year’s super bowl) and Brandon “I just had my first 2 100 yard games” are the saviors and we are going to implode. When TO dominates, it will be, “ok, but next year he will destroy them”. If you forced one of these donkeys to come up with an original thought instead of towing the conventional wisdom line, they themselves would implode.

If you want further evidence that they dont know what they are talking about…check out their syndicated content from scouts, inc. They have 3 guys all saying different things. Horton has the giants winning the NFC east, Kidd has the skins winning, and green has us winning.

Shane J:

I don’t know that it is that much different than every year except that the Boys are ranked higher than they have been. The Redskins have always ranked high on paper since Snyder took over. I don’t know that the so-called panel really disected any team that closely with numbers, they simply went on last year and aquisitions.

I did see the running back portion as well and they had us at 20th. I think we should be higher because they called it ‘depth rankings and there were talking of potential. I think we are slightly better depth wise. I have to agree that until JJ can prove himself a whole year we won’t get the respect we think we deserve. They did add a side note to there credit about Jones being able to move them higher on the list if he goes the whole year in his rookie form.

Sam:

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who show that ESPN show the other night and was wondering what the heck those guys were thinking. Stats aside, just look at the players and ask yourself, if you were to rank them in order, how would it look. My guess is that it would look something like this:

1. T.O.
2. Moss
3. Glenn
4. Randall El
5. Lloyd
6. Crayton

T.O is definitely the best of the bunch. Moss had an incredible year last year and couldn’t be stopped, but he isn’t better than Owens. Randall El has some razzle and dazzle, but he’s not a better pure WR than Terry Glenn. I’d go as far and say that it could be argued that Glenn is every bit as good as Moss. I’d say it’s a toss up between Crayton and Lloyd; Lloyd having played for the 49ers and Crayton seeing limited time last year. The Witten vs Cooley pick could also be argued either way as they are both very very good.

Here’s the kicker in this analysis, the offensive line. No doubt about it the Skins have a great line and it played well last year, however the Cowboys line won’t play worse than it did last year. You’d have to figure the Cowboys line improves and with it the performance of their passing game, whereas the Skins’ line isn’t going to be better this year as it played to it’s potential last year.

You think that pro-Skins bias was bad with their WR rankings, wait until you see the show tonight. They rank the Cowboys passing defense at #16 and the Skins at #2. Why? They say it’s all because of Greg Williams. That’s insane. I’m convinced more than ever that those guys are a bunch of clowns and have an analytical skills whatsoever. Other than the safety position, there is no unit on defense where the Skins are better than the Cowboys.

NICHOLAS:

One more important, stat-skewing factor to consider here is that Lloyd was the No. 1 in San Francisco and will now be the number 2, and Randel El goes from 2 to 3. Add Chris Cooley into the mix and they can’t possibly amass as many catches TOGETHER as they did seperately. TO replaces KJ, the former number 1 and while he will get more balls thrown his way, won’t distract away from the other players that much; he may actually help others get open.

Raul Villaronga:

Fighter15:

I know Rafael writes most of the stuff here but can’t I get a little love as well??

Fighter15:

You know you have the love. Your the heart and soul of the board.

I’d love to hear from you more often.

As a side note, did anyone have a chance to see the video of Drew Bledsoe on dallascowboys.com?

Gave me goose bumps. Call me easily swayed, but this team is going to compete for the Super Bowl. I don’t see a single team with more drive from the offensive captain. No one wants it more.

proscout:

Sam:

Here is some food for thought, was fiddling with some numbers from last season and you made a comment about how the Cowboys were ranked #15 and the Redskins #2 in pass defense, here is some evidence to support your complaint:

Passing Yards Per Game:
Dallas 192.7 Washington 192.6
Yards Per Play:
Washington 5.76 Dallas 6.23
Sacks Per Attempt:
Dallas 7.47% Washington 6.54%
3rd Down Pct:
Dallas 34.60% Washington 36.49%

I guess what I am trying to say is, how can one be #2 and the other #15 when they are this close together? Really makes no sense.

Raul Villaronga:

Fighter15:

Heart and soul of the board? I’d lay that title on Rafeal, not me! But I should be more active on the blog. I’ll try harder to do that.

J-MAN:

Raul,
Nice analysis!

As far as comparisons go, it tough to do when half the players come from other teams. Lloyd was with the niners of all teams, randle el was with a running team, TO was only there seven games but it was the west coast offense. Then there are the others…..Witten probably made it out into his route only half the time b/c he had to block, how can drew throw when he is on his back? With the porous protection, a lot more of his throws were shorter. I have to go with Fighter15 on this, stats aren’t that great. Even more so with BP as your coach. but what the heck here is my guess…
-TO will have fewer catches but greater YPC and about 12 TDs
-JW will return to 2004 form
-Glenn will be status quo
-Crayton will stay the same(hard when you are on the sidelines)
-AFasano will have decent stats, enough for teams to respect him
-Moss’s YPC and total yards willdrop
-Randle El…forgetaboutit no change
-Lloyd will show improvement across the board
-Cooley will stay status quo b/c he will be known to defenses now but al saunders will get him more balls

Year end stats will show we have more yards and YPC, less catches same TDs

BECKER2:

RAUL…..who loves ya baby…??

Becker does That’s who !!

(Just remember that the next time Raf acts like B.P. and threatens to fire you because some spammer got thru or the waste pails aren’t emptied.)

Seriously, Raul thanks for all your work!
Gee with this post you have more posts than TROLL …..guess he’s our
own “Greg Ellis”….

Cash:

Fighter,

I take exception to the claim that Favre is top 5 talent. You criticize the talent around him, but until this year when was the last time he made it to any of the offseason work in order to develop a relationship with any of the WR? Guys like KC and and Jaworski continually crticize him because he makes the same mistakes over and over and over again. He was once a top 5 talent with a 5 cent brain, now his physical tools are greatly diminished and he still has a 5 cent brain.

Cash:

5 Quaterbacks I’d rather have than Favre:

P. Manning
D. McNabb
T. Brady
M. Hasselback
T. Green
B. Roethlisberger

I could go on, but I’ve exceeded my goal of naming more than 5 QB’s I’d rather have than Favre.

J-MAN:

Favre is still pretty good but not a top player IMO. He is living off his rep…a la larry allen

joey2zs:

You all really believe there is a national bias towards the Washington Redskins? And you believe it’s because ESPN’s headquarters is in Bristol, CT? Really? And you’re certain of it based on 3 ex-jocks’ thumbnail sketches and vague “rankings” for purely entertainment purposes. That’s fascinating. I can’t imagine the other imaginary conspiracies you all wrestle with through the course of your days.

Here’s why the ‘Skins are ranked 3rd overall:
Joe Gibbs is a hall of fame coach who did a very good job last year - ex jocks are very impressed with him as a football guru and celebrity,
Al Saunders is a great offensive coordinator with a history of very explosive scoring and lots of yards gained - ex jocks are very impressed with him as a football guru and celebrity,
Gregg Williams has a proven track record as a great defensive coordinator - ex jocks are very impressed with him as a football guru and celebrity;
Randel El is a scrappy, good natured, blue collar guy that works hard and does a lot pretty well - exactly the kind of guy ex jocks fall in love with,
Randal Lloyd is probably not so good in a pedestrian offense, but he’s only played in the world’s best offense and has been impressive - exactly the scenario that ex jocks appreciate and the kind of athlete they’ll give the benefit of the doubt to,
Brunell played beyond himself last year and led his team to the playoffs,
Santana Moss is great. He’s a legitimate super star, a shade less of a talent than Steve Smith.
There, there’s your consipiracy. The Skins’ pass offense is a situation that shapes up really well for talking heads to support. If you can’t see it, then your own biases are just too strong.
Of course none of it makes any difference, because their rankings carry the same weight as a Joe Thiesman thought.

You all hate those soft-analysis shows so much. Why do you watch them and give them so much credence? If, now and historically, these “skits” or segments are so obviously biased against the Cowboys and so obviously not weighted towards the numbers and stats you place value in, and thereby in your mind irrelevant, then why is this being discussed here?
Purely for entertainment?

burmafrd:

Lloyd has been less then impressive most of the time. Moss was great for half a season, not so great the rest of the season. He has been good but not great. Anyone with a brain would have to pick the boys WR/TE corps over the skins. As regards their secondary: Springs was starting to show his age, Rogers was good and no more; and Arch is not going to look that good whenever he tries to cover. the Thug is the only real top guy they got back there. Meanwhile the Boys have one Pro Bowler in Newman, another real close in Henry, and another Pro Bowler in Roy. And we will upgrade the FS position one way or another.

Cash:

Hmmm….

Joey’s opinion vs. Raul’s facts and figures.

BECKER2:

If Gibbs is “great coach” why would he
need a great defensive cord. and a great offensive cord.??

It is also interesting to see how espn
(the non ex-jocks)played down Lavars’
comments about his leaving Washington
because he wasn’t one of “Gibbs Guys”.

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