Does Joe Gibbs match up to his Hall of Fame self?

For only the third time since he retired the first time, the Washington Redskins are heading back to the playoffs under the direction of Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. Now there is no doubt in my mind that what Gibbs did in his first tenure with the team qualifies him as a Hall of Famer however anyone who feels the second time around has been as good as the first is just kidding themselves.

But before you go accusing me of saying Gibbs is not a good coach, I want to take an in depth, impartial look at how "The Return of the King," as the Washington Post dubbed his coming out of retirement, has really gone.

First and foremost, Gibbs is the best coach we have had since his retirement. He is the only coach to take us to the playoffs twice, and other than Norv Turner's one playoff year, he is the only coach to post a winning season since then too.

But the one question I have is if Gibbs wasn't who he is, would he have lasted this long at the helm?

His overall record in 4 years (not including the playoffs) is 30-34 and he has losing seasons of 6-10 and 5-11. I think it would be fair to assume that he would have been a coach on the hot seat heading into the season and that he may have even been out of a job in the AFC by midseason. So it sure was nice for him to have the reputation he did.

However, looking past measureables such as records and statistics, it is apparent that Gibbs was the right guy to have in charge this year. It seems that his personality and experience have been invaluable in dealing with the scores of injuries and tragedies the team faced this year and his positive outlook made it possible to rally the Skins and earn the final playoff spot.

And as Washington gets ready for Saturday's game, you have to feel confident knowing that with Gibbs at the helm the Skins should be able to beat Seattle, especially after the year in which the Seahawks have had.

So while media pundits and reporters outside of DC continue to argue whether the game has passed Gibbs by, I feel confident in knowing that he is the one in charge on Saturday. After all, we could be stuck with Norv or Steve Spurrier.

2007 Previews: San Diego Chargers

Note: This is a team-by-team look previewing the 2007 season. These are my official thoughts on how I think things will play out.

Last year: 14-2 (AFC West champs)

Best addition: Craig Davis (WR, 1st round pick out of LSU)

Key personnel loss: Donnie Edwards (LB, Chiefs)

2007 outlook: The team that should have won the Super Bowl last year, San Diego added no veterans in the offseason and only lost guys who were expendable. The biggest change has to be the return of Norv Turner, this time as head coach and he should be the difference between last year's playoff loss and deep playoff run this year - if he can actually coach the Chargers better than he did the Skins and the Raiders.

With LaDainian Tomlinson, Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates on offense and Jamal Williams, Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips on defense, this team is solid on both sides of the ball yet again this season. The additions of draft picks Davis and Eric Weddle should only help San Diego fill the holes it had last year.

Key to success: For San Diego to make a run at the Super Bowl, Turner is going to have to get over his past coaching deficiencies. Lucky for him, he happened upon a job that even he shouldn't be able to screw up. If he can add more fire power to the offense and the defense doesn't suffer a lapse after losing D coordinator Wade Phillips to Dallas, this should be the team to beat in the AFC.

Against Washington: Washington let a victory slip out of its grasp in 2005 when Tomlinson's 41-yard TD run in overtime gave SD a 23-17 win a week after Washington lost to Turner's Raiders 16-13. Both were losses at home. SD will not face Washington this season.

Fantasy sleeper: Vincent Jackson. With Keenan McCardell no longer in SD and with Eric Parker being vertically challenged, it is up to the 6'5" Jackson to help take some of the focus off of Gates. Jackson showed flashes of promise in multiple games last year when they were on the line and if can find some consistency this season, he should become the steal of the draft and one of the better fantasy receivers in the league. Nab him in the middle rounds and reap the benefits.