Am I being seduced by the almighty dollar yet again? Has Daniel Snyder, the dorky, petulant little owner of the Washington Racial Slurs, again forged an Era of Good Feelings by burning money on over-privileged, emotionally underdeveloped psychopaths? We will see, my friend, we will see. But if I'm not mistaken the Redskins have the type of team that is tailor-made for a deep playoff run.

Or the potential for an amazing flame out.

The Redskins have a hard-hitting defense that slid statistically last season, but has been among the league's elite units in its two seasons under Gregg Williams. Offensively, Joe Gibbs has his head in the right place (up new OC Al Saunders' rear) and Washington is able to pound the ball on the ground with the best of them. That sounds like a winning combination to me.

The trouble is - and this is a blazing red flag - their leader is a gimpy-kneed sex fiend named Mark Brunell. The guy that the Jags gave up on three years ago is entering his 14th season in The League and his 37th season on Planet Earth. How can you trust a team's entire well-being to a guy that's older than a handful of coaches and coordinators in the NFL?

The Redskins have a scattered schedule, with back-to-back road games on three occasions and two short weeks - but if they are as tough as they showed last year during their stretch run then I think another postseason berth out of the rough-and-tumble East is a capital possibility.

Here's Doc's 2006 Washington Redskins Preview:
2005 Record: 11-7 (6-2 home, 4-4 road)
2005 Rankings: 11th offense (21st pass, 7th rush); 9th defense (10th pass, 13th rush)
2005 Against the Spread: 10-8 (4-4 home, 6-4 road); 8-10 vs. total (4-4 h, 4-6 r)
2006 Odds: 19/1 to win SB, 9/1 to win NFC, 2.5/1 to win NFC East, 9.0 wins O/U
2006 Strength of Schedule: 12th (.516 opp. win %)
Key stat: Over the course of the past six years, Washington has won 56.3 percent ATS on the road. They were 6-4 (60 percent) last season.

Returning starters: 17 (10 offense, 7 defense)
Key acquisitions: T.J. Duckett, RB (from Atlanta); Antwaan Randle El, WR (from Pitt.); Brandon Lloyd, WR (from S.F.); Adam Archuleta, S (from STL); Andre Carter, DE (from S.F.); Christian Fauria, TE (from N.E.); Rocky McIntosh, LB (draft).
Key departures: Lavar Arrington, LB; Walt Harris, CB; Patrick Ramsey, QB; Robert Royal, TE; Tom Tupa, P.

Offense: Mark Brunell guided a pop-gun passing attack last season. But he was efficient, committing just 11 interceptions and navigating one of the NFL's top time-of-possession units. The entire offensive line is intact, and they remain one of the league's least-heralded but highest-producing crews. Portis will be fine with the shoulder issue, and the combo of Betts and Duckett will help take the burden off of him. A key question is which wideout - Lloyd, Randle El or David Givens - will arise as a legit No. 2 threat to keep defenses from shading both safeties and a linebacker towards Santana Moss?
Defense: Teams completed just 54.4 percent of their passes against the Redskins. That was lowest in the league. Adding sack man Carter was nice, but he hasn't posted double-digits since 2002. However, that was with the feeble 49ers. Archuleta teams with Taylor to give Washington the hardest-hitting pair of safeties that I can remember suiting up together. Arrington's loss will be felt - don't let anyone tell you differently - but Marcus Washington is still a better player/leader than Lavar and the defense should post another Top 10 season.
X-factor: Brunell. Seriously, the whole season comes down to whether or not he stays healthy.
Outlook: I like Washington because they displayed what type of thuggish bad-asses they can be last season when they rolled off six straight gutsy wins during a march into the playoffs. They've upgraded the passing game (contingent on Brunell) and the defense is still rock solid.

Questions or comments for Robert? E-mail him at robert@docsports.com or check out his Insider Page here.