Washington Redskins' First Battle: Winning over the Skeptics

If you're a professional football team that ended the season 8-8, ranked fourth overall in defense, and added what many consider to be the best defensive lineman in football, most fans and sportswriters would be expecting great things from your team the following year.

Add to that a first-round talent at linebacker and the emergence of three second round receivers entering their second year in a system, and you'd probably consider this team a playoff contender.

You would, if you hadn't been fooled by this trick before. 

Ever since Daniel Snyder took over the Washington Redskins, each offseason has been filled with the acquisition of big names, followed by high hopes, followed by disappointment.

So is it any wonder that the Redskins, despite the credentials listed above, along with the added comfort of coach Jim Zorn and quarterback Jason Campbell entering their second year in the same system, are predicted by most to finish dead last in the NFC East?

Certainly, the other teams in the division play some role in this seeding, as most sportswriters consider the Giants and Eagles the top teams in the NFC entering the season.  However, for the Redskins to be considered an afterthought in the NFC would appear to have less to do with the actual talent on the field than the new legacy that the Redskins have earned over the past 10 years under Snyder's helm.

Perhaps, this is finally what this team needs. 

Perhaps everyone is no longer impressed with the new big name, under the assumption that it is going to pan out like other past "stars" Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Chad Morton, Antwaan Randall El, Adam Archuleta, and Jason Taylor. 

Perhaps, the Redskins will finally play like a team with a chip on their shoulder instead of a wad of cash in their back pocket.

Most of the sports world is skeptical that the talent on the Redskins roster translates into anything more than another disappointing season without a trip to the playoffs.

And what better way to prove the skeptics wrong than to begin their season against division rival and NFC favorite, New York Giants?  Their performance in this Sunday's game will go a long way in proving the skeptics right or wrong.

What type of team will show up?