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Washington
REDSKINS
2002 Record: 7-9
Head Coach: Steve Spurrier
7-9 overall, 0-0 postseason
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TEAM LEADERS
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Passing
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Patrick Ramsey
117-227, 1,539 yards, 9 TDs, 8 INTs
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Rushing
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Stephen Davis
207 carries, 820 yards, 7 TDs
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Receiving
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Rod Gardner
71 catches, 1,006 yards, 8 TDs
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Kicking
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James Tuthill
10-16 FGs, 20-21 PATs, 50 points
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Schedule | Roster |
Statistics | Stadium
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By B. Duane Cross, SI.com
The ol' ball coach is back for more -- and this time, he's loaded for ... well, let's just say he's loaded.
Key for the Skins in 2003 will be second-year QB Patrick Ramsey, who finished the season as Washington's leading passer, but also spent a lot of time riding the pine. Gone is leading rusher Stephen Davis, but when was the last time Steve Spurrier really needed a bruising back to fuel his offense?
Washington spent the offseason relocating four former New York Jets to the nation's capital, signing G Randy Thomas, K John Hall, return specialist Chad Morton and WR Laveranues Coles. Other additions include CB Alex Molden, RB Trung Canidate, DE Regan Upshaw and DT Brandon Noble.
If these moves pan out, the Redskins should be favored to win the NFC East for the first time since 1999.
Washington finished 20th in offense last year, which overshadowed the team's fifth-ranked defense. Now that Marvin Lewis has departed for Cincinnati, it will be interesting to see if first-year defensive coordinator George Edwards can maintain the momentum.
When the Skins wrapped up offseason workouts in June, Spurrier said, "Certainly I've learned a lot. We were probably a little overly optimistic last year, so we're not going to do that this year. We know we have better players this year. We're going to try to coach better. Hopefully, our play will do most of the talking."
RB Chad Morton -- While the Redskins were busy raiding the Jets' roster, the addition of Morton will prove to be the biggest plus for the Chuck 'N' Duck. Lavy Coles? He won't have half the impact as Morton. Randy Thomas? Nope -- he'll be watching Morton change the course of games.
RB Stephen Davis -- The first big-name casualty of Steve Spurrier's pass-first mentality, Davis was Washington's leading rusher for four consecutive years before being released in the offseason.
WR Laveranues Coles -- Of the Redskins' raid of the Jets this offseason, the biggest name to come out of that mess was Coles, who led the team with 89 catches and 1,264 yards last season as he helped Chad Pennington develop into a top-notch QB. He can do the same this season for Patrick Ramsey this year, especially since his size and speed seem to be a better fit for Steve Spurrier's offense compared to Rod Gardner, the Redskins' top wideout last season. He'll need to improve on the five TDs, on the other hand.
K John Hall -- Another part of the raid on the Jets, Hall is a relatively erratic kicker, although he did go a solid 24-of-31 each of the past two seasons. He's got a strong leg to make long field goals, but he's not as automatic as you'd like him to be on the closer field goals. Plus, Washington seems to go through two or three kickers a year, which doesn't bode well for Hall, even if he did sign a big contract.
RB Trung Canidate -- One of the fastest players in the NFL, Canidate lost his spot as Marshall Faulk's backup last year to Lamar Gordon thanks to some fumbling problems. He did have a couple of good games filling in for Faulk in 2001, and given a starting job in Washington, he could finally have that breakthrough season.
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>> Redskins will make the playoffs because ...
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Patrick Ramsey comes of age -- and that's all anyone needs to know. The second-year QB will have a much better grasp of the offense, which will offset the loss of Davis.
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>> Redskins will miss the playoffs because ...
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Donald Rumsfeld heads up Washington's top defense department ... and we all know those guys don't play football. The Skins' D has few issues that need to be addressed, but it'll still be at the mercy of Ramsey & Co.
| Washington Redskins |
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| Signed |
From |
Lost |
To |
| G Randy Thomas |
Jets |
RB Stephen Davis |
Panthers |
| G Dave Fiore |
49ers |
TE Walter Rasby |
Released |
| DT Brandon Noble |
Cowboys |
S Sam Shade |
Released |
| DE Regan Upshaw |
Raiders |
P Craig Jarrett |
Released |
| G Tré Johnson |
Re-signed |
DB Darrell Green |
Retired |
| G Lennie Friedman |
Broncos |
DE Carl Powell |
Bengals |
| QB Rob Johnson |
Buccaneers |
G Brendan Stai |
Released |
| K John Hall |
Jets |
T David Loverne |
Trade w/ StL. |
| RB Trung Canidate |
Trade w/ StL. |
DT Daryl Gardener |
Broncos |
| WR Patrick Johnson |
Jaguars |
WR Derrius Thompson |
Dolphins |
| S Matt Bowen |
Packers |
QB Shane Matthews |
Buccaneers |
| WR Laveranues Coles |
Jets |
OL David Brandt |
Trade w/ G.B. |
| OL Wilbert Brown |
Re-signed |
WR Chris Doering |
Steelers |
| OL Alex Sulfsted |
Re-signed |
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| RB Chad Morton |
Jets |
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| S David Terrell |
Re-signed |
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| LB Kevin Mitchell |
Re-signed |
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| DT Jermaine Haley |
Dolphins |
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| LB Antonio Pierce |
Re-signed |
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| CB Alex Molden |
Chargers |
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| DE Peppi Zellner |
Cowboys |
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| Unrestricted |
Restricted |
| DT Santana Dotson |
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| QB Danny Wuerffel |
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| LB Eddie Mason |
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| G Kipp Vickers |
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| 2003 Draft Picks |
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| Rd. |
Pick |
Player |
Pos. |
School |
| 2 |
12 (44) |
Taylor Jacobs |
WR |
Florida |
| 3 |
17 (81) |
Derrick Dockery |
OG |
Texas |
| 7 |
18 (232) |
Gibran Hamdan |
QB |
Indiana |
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