The NFL football season begins tonight with a rematch of last years AFC title game. This means the 200405 kickoff for the Redskins is only a few days away. The Skins open their season Sunday at FedEx Field with a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Expectations are running high in the nations capital with the return of former head coach Joe Gibbs and the trade that brought in Clinton Portis for Denver. The other big off season addition was bringing in veteran quarterback Mark Brunell, who was recently named the teams starter, ahead of last years signal caller Patrick Ramsey. Currently, the Skins sit 20th in ESPN’s power rankings.
No doubt many people will be tuning in this weekend to see how Gibbs handles his return to coaching. The last game he coached that counted in the standings was the Jan. 9, 1993, NFC divisional round playoff loss at San Francisco. Sports Illustrateds Don Banks has some interesting observations about how the league has changed since Gibbs last paced the sidelines. Still, with Portis in the backfield, dont expect an overhaul of the old playbook.
In other Redskins news, the team kept its place atop the Forbes list of most valuable sports franchises for the second straight year. Forbes valued the franchise at $1.1 billion, an increase of 16 percent in the last year. The team had revenues of $245 million in the last year and an operating income of $69.6 million, proving that even those obstructed view seats are expensive.
