Granted, there are good reasons for good feelings: Washington is the defending division champion in a weakened NFC East with no obvious favorite. Two of their rivals will start rookie quarterbacks, and the third has an unproven head coach. The Redskins have virtually every piece back from their record-setting passing game. And people who follow a local team are always more optimistic about that team than national observers.

Still, the D.C. optimism seems especially optimistic this time around. Washington has not been a betting favorite to win the NFC East, and its betting win total has generally been 7.5 this offseason. When NFL.com recently surveyed 20 analysts about the division, only four picked the Redskins to repeat.

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Our group? We got predictions from 31 folks. More than two-thirds of them (22) picked Washington to finish with a winning record, and nearly the same number (21) picked Washington to make back-to-back playoff appearances, something the Redskins haven’t done since 1992. And 11 of the 31 observers predicted that the Redskins would advance at least to the divisional round, something the franchise hasn’t done since 2005. Only three of the 31 predicted the team would finish with a losing record.

What does this optimism mean? Not all that much, considering how widely the team was predicted to struggle at this time last year. But it does mean that Jay Gruden will face something new to his head coaching career: high expectations.

Here are the predictions.

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John Auville, 106.7 The Fan: Undrafted rookie Rob Kelley finishes as the team’s leading rusher, Kirk Cousins actually improves in his second season as the starter, and the 10-6 Redskins win the NFC East and win a playoff game before losing in the divisional round.

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Eric Bickel, 106.7 The Fan: Matt Jones disappoints but it doesn’t matter, Cousins establishes himself as the obvious long-term answer at quarterback, leading to a $100 million deal, and the Redskins finish 11-5 while winning their first playoff game since 2005.

Cindy Boren, The Washington Post: Cousins, in something of a surprise, has a solid-but-not-spectacular year, but the Redskins’ opponents outside the NFC East are more formidable. The team repeats its 9-7 record and title in a weak division.

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Zac Boyer, formerly of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star and Washington Times: Cousins doesn’t quite reach the same level of success as he had in 2015, the running game ends up being a disaster and the Redskins, while in the mix late, finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs.

Jerry Brewer, The Washington Post: Jordan Reed becomes the stabilizing influence on a team beset by injuries, playing all 16 games and catching 100 passes. It helps the team survive three weeks without Cousins and finish 8-8, good enough to repeat as NFC division champs after a Week 17 victory over the New York Giants. But Washington loses its first playoff game for the second straight season.

Mark Bullock, The Washington Post: Jamison Crowder surprises everyone and leads the team in receptions, Bashaud Breeland overtakes Josh Norman as the top cornerback on the roster and Washington repeats its 9-7 record to retain the division title, but once again loses the wild-card game.

Rob Carlin, CSN Mid-Atlantic: DeSean Jackson surprisingly stays healthy and goes for 1,300 yards, and Breeland grades out higher than Josh Norman. The Redskins finish 9-7 again and earn an NFC wild card, only to lose again in the first round of the playoffs, this time to the Arizona Cardinals.

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Chad Dukes, 106.7 The Fan: Will Compton has a Pro Bowl-caliber season, the running game struggles enough to cause criticism of the general manager, and the team looks decent overall yet still ends with a 7-9 record.

JP Finlay, CSN Mid-Atlantic: Breeland and Preston Smith emerge as Pro Bowl talent for an improved defense, but eventually, Washington’s pass-only offensive attack slows down and Jay Gruden’s squad falls one game short of a second straight NFC East title with an 8-8 record.

John-Paul Flaim, 106.7 The Fan: Jones defies the skeptics to run for a thousand yards, the franchise gives a contract extension to Jay Gruden and the Redskins win the NFC East at 9-7 before again losing their playoff opener. Also, Kirk Cousins ends up being a better fantasy player than Aaron Rodgers.

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J.I. Halsell, former Redskins salary cap analyst: Smith — not Ryan Kerrigan — leads the Redskins in sacks, and Norman struggles to live up to the large financial investment the franchise made in him. The team finishes 8-8, failing to make the playoffs.

Erin Hawksworth, WJLA: Kelley, the undrafted rookie, emerges as the Redskins’ top ball carrier, and Washington defends its NFC East title with a 10-6 record and wins a first-round playoff game.

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Chick Hernandez, CSN Mid-Atlantic: Colt McCoy starts three games during the regular season, but Cousins still plays his way to a major contract. Vernon Davis resurrects his offense, and the defense finishes in the top 10, with the secondary top five in producing turnovers. The Redskins win another NFC East title, and lose in the NFC championship game.

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Gabe Hiatt, Washington Post Express: Two players top 1,000 yards receiving, Norman elevates the defense to a top-10 unit and Washington repeats as NFC East champion at 10-6 but loses in the divisional round of the playoffs to Seattle.

Scott Jackson, ESPN 980: Cousins and Jackson have career years in leading the Redskins to a 10-6 record and consecutive NFC East titles before the season comes to an end at Arizona in the divisional round.

Mike Jones, The Washington Post: Cousins and the offense again operate with great efficiency, and put up big numbers. However, the patchwork defensive line continues to struggle. A strong secondary and linebacking unit helps mask some of this, but can only do so much, and the Redskins fail to make a sizable leap. They do, however, post a winning record (9-7) for the second straight year, and for only the second time since 1991 and ’92.

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Carol Maloney, NBC Washington: In many cases, the past may be a good indicator of what’s to come, but I believe in the exception. That is why I state with conviction that the Redskins will benefit from their talented receiving corps by leading the NFC in rushing yards per game. Jones starts all 16 games and averages nearly five yards per carry, the Redskins win the NFC East at 10-6, and advance to the NFC title game, but lose to the Cardinals, 34-17.

Ken Meringolo, Hogs Haven: Crowder earns his first Pro Bowl nod after leading the team in receptions, Su’a Cravens becomes the linchpin for Washington’s defensive resurgence en route to a 10-6 record and second consecutive NFC East crown, and the Redskins win their first home playoff game in 17 years before bowing out in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Keith McMillan, The Washington Post: They win five, maybe six, games before heading to London but still need to beat the Giants in Week 17 to stay above .500. Joe Barry — largely because of Su’a Cravens — earns a reputation as a crafty defensive coordinator and Washington wins the division at 9-7 but loses a first-round home playoff game against Seattle.

Jamie Mottram, Mister Irrelevant: Crowder, the second-year man, leads a vaunted receiving corps in catches, Su’a Cravens emerges as Washington’s most exciting rookie defender since Sean Taylor, and Jay Gruden wins his second straight NFC East title, this time at 10-6. But the Redskins don’t make it past the divisional round.

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Grant Paulsen, 106.7 The Fan: Breeland develops into a shutdown corner, Cousins plays well enough to earn himself a long-term contract and Washington’s brutal schedule exposes the team as still being a year away from being a credible threat in the conference. The Redskins finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs.

Michael Phillips, Richmond Times-Dispatch: Interceptions are the story this year. Cousins has problems with throwing them, but Breeland leads the division in catching them. Ultimately, the 9-7 Redskins win the final wild card on a tiebreaker.

Chad Ryan, Redskins Capital Connection: Led by an unexpectedly stout defense, the Redskins overcome a tough schedule and a struggling offense to eke out an 8-7 record going into a Week 17 bout for the NFC East title vs. the Giants. But Washington falls short and finishes at .500.

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Rick Snider, Washington Post Express: Cousins regresses, but Norman leads a top-10 defense as the Redskins repeat as NFC East champions at 9-7 while beating Seattle in the first-round playoff game before losing to Arizona.

Ben Standig, Breaking Burgundy: Jackson’s expiring contract shares headlines with Cousins’s after the receiver finishes with his best statistical season since 2013, Smith gives the Redskins their most game-changing edge-rusher in years, and Washington finishes 9-7 for the second straight campaign, but finishes second in the NFC East and misses the playoffs.

Dan Steinberg, Washington Post: The Redskins go over 4,100 passing yards for the first time since the 1980s, but Washington’s turnover margin dips from slightly positive to slightly negative, leading to an 8-8 record and a second-place finish in the NFC East.

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Matt Terl, Washington City Paper: The team continues its drama-lite offseason ways and gets through the regular season without a major embarrassing incident, and Cousins makes a compelling case for an enormous contract on the way to another 9-7 record and a second consecutive division championship in a moribund NFC East.

Master Tesfatsion, Washington Post: It’s a tough schedule, but the Redskins could benefit from another weak NFC East. If they can get through the bye week with four or five wins, the Redskins should be in good shape to finish 9-7 and win the division again.

Jeffrey Tomik, Washington Post Express: Kelley emerges as the Redskins’ lead back and rushes for more than 700 yards, but injuries plague the receiving corps and Cousins leads the NFC East in interceptions. Still, the division comes down to the Redskins-Giants matchup at FedEx Field in Week 17. Washington loses the regular-season finale, falling to 8-8 and missing the playoffs.

Bram Weinstein: Jackson leads all NFL receivers in yards per reception and the team has no choice but to give Cousins a massive contract, but due to its rough schedule, the Redskins finish with the same 9-7 record. It’s good enough to win the weak NFC East, but Arizona comes to FedEx Field and ends Washington’s season in the wild-card round. (And the trash talk between Norman and Patrick Peterson leading into the game is better then the game itself.)