Who Knows Where They Are Going With This

The Washington Commanders are getting down to Preseason Winning Time.

The time when rosters are phased into regular season form.

Who is going to be here?

Who is not?

 

Feels like Terry McLaurin is not going to be here.

Brian Robinson is not going to be here.

There seems to be a plan in place for Robinson's exit.

McLaurin leaving feels awful.

Who is stepping in?

I don't like these unknowns. 

They say the Kingsbury Offense doesn't require the star wide receiver.

Last year's offense? Pretty potent. With guys like Noah Brown. OZ. Jamison Crowder.

Anchored by Zach Ertz. 

But it also had Terry. Do we have anyone who can do to Dallas what he did?

I think we will miss that. It would be a loss for sure. It is a step back the team is taking here.

I like the young running backs. C-Rod and BCM.

I like Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane. I hope Jacory Brooks makes the team.

Hopefully, Noah Brown is healthy.

Enough there to compensate? I don't know. 

The preseason has been all about B-Rob and Terry.

We haven't seen anything else to judge.

One way or another.

Josh Conerly got plenty of work. 

That's it.

 

The Defense hasn't been on the field enough to tell if it can stop the run.

There are a lot of veterans on defense.

George Allen would love it.

Allen's defenses were good. But you guessed it.

At times they couldn't stop the run. 

They have Ifs on Offense. And Ifs on Defense.

Ifs on special teams. 

I hope they know something we don't.

I don't like it all being on JD5.  

Targeting Involvement

Commanders can help themselves Sunday with a win over the Titans. 

Titans have an up and coming young QB and a fine defense. I'm sure they have it in mind to get a winning season in the bag with a victory over Washington being part of the equation.

The meme being created in D.C. about the Commander Offense is that Kliff Kingsbury's typical late season brain fog is hampering production. 

Then there is the issue of the defense being gassed in the fourth quarter. 

One of the Anti-Kingsbury knocks on the Air Raid Offense is it gasses its own defense. Pro-Kliffers cite Kingsbury's willingness to run the ball in the pros to deflect the hate. Yet the Commanders have gone up-tempo quite a bit and they excel in the 2-minute. With some saying they should be in 2-minute the whole game, throwing up the hands on the gassed defense phenomenon believing it is unsolvable due to lack of depth on defense. Hoping they come out ahead in the inevitable shootouts.

Which arrives at placing winning squarely on the shoulders of one Jayden Daniels, M.D.

If we are going to do "basketball on grass", the point guard QB has to maximize involvement of his receivers. Contrary to the thinking of many, that our "Doctor J" stands in need of additional superstars at receiver, the Air Raid, like its companion piece, zone blocking, was designed for offenses with receivers having the skillsets of slow Lilliputians. 

Theoretically, the Air Raid should work no matter who you have at receiver. I'm not saying the cupboard is empty with the Commanders. I'm also not saying Jayden Daniels couldn't use a Randy Moss type to go with Scary Terry. 

I am saying BBall on Grass is like setting the Thanksgiving Table. You have to spread the targets around. Because it is the targets you do that tell people whether you make the defense work to defend the field. You hear but 9 people caught a pass. But if 8 are only targeted once they are not putting any fear in the defense. Make them defend all five and show them you are serious about it. If you can't do it, you are number six. 

I get it. You are not a number. You are a free man. So run like hell.

There's an old saying: Who is Number One?

You are Number 6. Number 5 is Number 6. Check your six, Receivers. Come back to the quarterback. 

All well and good. But how do the Commanders keep from coughing up a 40 Burger to the Titans? How do you play BBall on Grass and not make your defense look like Snails on Peanut Butter?

I mean, in the old days in the NBA you let your Subs play the third quarter and rested your superstars. It helped if your GM got you good defenders for second teamers. 

That's what I would do here. Put those young "freak athletes" out on the field in the third quarter and attack like Barbarians sacking Rome. Nothing fancy. Nothing to communicate. Just simple no brainer primitive aggression. Then allow the first team D to be your closer in the fourth quarter.

Then you INVOLVE the running backs by running the damn ball in the fourth quarter on Offense, 

Like Secretariat in the Belmont. In the fourth quarter run like hell.

The Professor: Take the Over and the Steelers to Cover

One interesting thing about the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers is only three times in eight games have they surrendered 100 or more yards rushing. 

The Steelers are 1-2 in those three games. 

The Steelers average 23.4 points a game. They give up 14.9. Their QBs have thrown just one pick all year while the defense has 15 takeaways. Pittsburgh is 26th in passing, 8th in rushing. The Commanders are 29th against the run, 5th against the pass.

Most people I think would consider the 5th place ranking against the Pass for Washington to be a bit of a mirage. Though people appear enthused about the addition of Marshon Lattimore and expect him to improve the Commander secondary.

The Commanders average 29.2 points a game. They give up 21. The Commanders are 11th in passing, 3rd in rushing. The Steelers are 21st against the pass and 4th against the run.

The average of the points per game = Pittsburgh 22.2, Washington 22.05.

The only two times the Steelers have lost they gave up over a 100 yards rushing. However, there also seems to be a stalemate for the Commanders ranking wise in the running game versus the Steelers. The rankings seem to suggest the Commanders be well advised to pass.

Can you run on a stout run defense? The answer was no against the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers' mortal enemy. Is the answer for the Commanders still no?

The last Washington Football Coach to extinguish the Steelers was the much maligned Ron Rivera whose  2020 squad upset an undefeated Steelers unit lead by NFL Icon Ben Roethlisberger. 

Previously, Dan Quinn's 2018 Atlanta Falcons fell to Mike Tomlin's Steelers 17-41. Steelers ran for 131 yards.

Versus Russell Wilson in 2016, Dan Quinn's Falcons fell 24-26 to the Seahawks, where Russ tossed for 270 yards and 0 TDs while netting 7 yards on 6 carries. Wilson's Seahawks were 5-14 on Third Downs in that game.

They met again in the playoffs. This time Russ ran for 49 yards on 6 runs while tossing for 225 yards. He threw two picks and two touchdowns in a 20-36 loss to the Falcons. The Hawks were 5-11 on Third Downs.

In 2017, the Falcons beat Russ 34-31. Wilson ran for 86 yards. Russ beat the Falcons 27-20 in 2019. 

In 2020, Russ posted his best game against Dan Quinn's defense. going 31-35 and 322 yards with 4 TDs. The Hawks defeated Dan Quinn in the first of his last five games as Falcons Head Coach. Seahawks 38, Falcons 25. 

Quinn is 2-4 versus Russell Wilson with the average being Russ 30.5, DQ 26. Russ is a 4.5 point favorite over DQ.

Kliff Kingsbury's 2019 Cardinals squad were eclipsed by the Steel Curtain 17-23. Steelers busted for 140 yards while Kliff's running game was limited to 71 yards.

The Commanders are 2.5 point favorites. The over under is 45.5. The Game will go over if DQ and Russ hit their average.

Points per game plus Russ versus DQ = 26-24 Steelers.

However, the three points traditionally ceded to the Home Team gives a 27-26 home win to the Commanders. Wink wink officiating.

So I'm taking the over with the Steelers to cover and the Commanders to win.

The Professor: Washington Wins, Covers and Take the Over

According to Wunderdog, Washington is at present a 3.5 point favorite over the New York Football Giants. The Over Under is 43.5. The Commanders are the most pounded by the Public with 72% backing Washington.

The Giants are 3-5 Against the Spread. Washington is 6-1-1.

This is Washington's first rematch of the year having beaten the G-Men at home in a close game. What adjustments will the Teams make? What has gotten better? What worse?

According to Stat Muse, Washington is 2-5-1 versus Giants QB Daniel Jones.

Both teams have injury issues on the O-Line. A worry for Washington is the Left Tackle Position.

Washington is 3rd in the NFL in scoring at 29.5. The Giants are 31st at 14.6. The Commanders are allowing 20.9 points a game. The Giants 21.9. The Commanders are 3rd in rushing, 10th in passing. The Giants are 23rd in passing and 24th in rushing. On Defense, both teams are in the top 10 versus the pass, but in the bottom ten against the run. 

There are two things I think can happen. Considering the Commanders are facing Daniel Jones their arch-nemesis, a letdown could occur due to hangover from the Miracle in Landover. Or the Miracle in Landover could be a launching pad. 

In the Eagles 28-3 victory over the G-Men, Philadelphia didn't bother with the pass much, amassing 269 yards rushing on 45 carries.  

Washington's defense is playing better when compared to their previous encounter with the Giants. I'm sure the Giants feel confident they can run the ball against the Commanders and vice versa. 

I'll take Washington to win. They cover. And they achieve the Over by an eyelash.

This will look familiar.

Commanders 26 Giants 18

The Professor: Commanders Over Panthers and Panthers Cover

This week's game against the Carolina Football Panthers sees the Washington Commanders 7.5 point favorites in a matchup between Coaches who are very familiar with each other.

Dan Quinn is 8-3 all time against the Carolina Franchise. Kliff Kingsbury is 1-3 versus Carolina. Quinn coached with Dave Canales in the Pete Carroll Coaching tree. Canales did pretty much everything except waterboy on offense for Seattle.

Tangentially, Kliff was 3-5 versus the Seattle Seahawks as Head Coach in Arizona.

The Over/Under according to Wunderdog is 51.5 with the Public going 75% in favor of Washington. The Sharps apparently are on the Commanders as well.

The Running Game will be key for both teams. Both teams will have to run the ball and stop the run. Neither team is great in run defense.

I basically go on the chess match history between Coaches and Schemes. I think familiarity tends to make things either very close or an out-and-out blowout.

I'm guessing close is more likely giving the volatility of the young but developing Washington Commander defense  and the presence of Savvy Panther Veteran QB Andy Dalton.

I'll go with the under. Washington wins 27-24.

Carolina covers. Daniels conducts a game winning drive.

Season Prediction: A Good Time Had By All

I imagine this week's Tampa Bay Game for the Commanders might somewhat resemble the Bucs Super Bowl Win over Kansas City in the which Todd Bowles came up with a way to prevent Pat Mahomes from stealing Tom Brady's thunder.

They settled for rushing four and went hard on scramble drill in practice.

Mahomes was once employed by Kingsbury Quarterbacks Incorporated. I'm sure Bowles remembers the Super Bowl. He remembers how to beat Kingsbury Quarterbacks. Jayden Daniels is officially a Kingsbury Quarterback. Expect ex-Redskin Bowles to go Scrambler Code once again.

Should the Washington Commanders lose as expected this Sunday it does not mean much. There are still 16 games left. The NFL owns the 8-win copyright guaranteeing its member franchises 8 wins a year to insure full 32-team involvement in box office receipts.

Or so it seems.

Most people predict a range of 6-10 wins for our beloved Washington Franchise. I prefer to make space for a surprise and therefore I will refrain from putting a cap on their endeavours. That also means there is no floor. 

The NFL Season is a long ocean going voyage. Some teams wreck the ship right in the bay. Some go down half way. Some discover life rafts and make it to the playoffs.

The length of the season has produced a plague of end of year slides. The 53 man roster limit restricts teams quite a bit, even with the practice squad gimmick. The screws are tightened even more with social pressure from the League Office to play track meet games every week. That style of play is a gift that keeps on giving with defenses so exhausted, beat up, and injured that the offenses have to outscore each other whether they want to play a track meet or not.

Setting aside the medical ethical benefits of a 90-man roster, which the League is tone-deaf to, there are also monetary benefits that gild the NFL's greedy lily. A cigar chomping league accountant could ask: What's in it for me with a 90-man roster?

More games. Ninety-man is four strings of players. Two teams. Forty-four of them could play a televised Saturday Matinee for you. They gain experience. You get another pot of gold. 

Remember high school? Sort of the same. You play a Jayvee game on Thursday and play Varsity on Friday. 

You guys are always complaining. These guys don't have enough experience. Where do I get my head coaches from? How do I develop my O-Line? 

I believe the teams that get to the Super Bowl will have the freshest defenses. If Washington makes a playoff game this year, I suspect it will be their defense that gets them there, God Willing. 

A good time will be had by all.

 

Scrappy Performances in Last NFL Preseason Game

Martavis Bryant, Tracy McSorley, John Ridgeway, Phidarian Mathis, K.J. Henry, Michael Wiley, Cade York, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

The above-cited individuals made some statements in the last preseason game for the Washington Commanders and the Nationeal Football League. The Commanders won the ball game, 20-10.

The offensive line played reasonably well. The defense struggled in pass defense. The special teams return game was uneventful. Cade York showed some foot.

Tuesday is cut down day.  A lot of the guys we saw play last night will be released.

People are doing their roster projections. 

I'd like to see the Commanders keep all the guys listed above. 

It is at this point I'd like to interject the fact that the people responsible for the won-loss record this year are Dan Quinn and Adam Peters. 

Ron Rivera is gone. So are most of his players. 

From here on out, any losing done is on Quinn and Peters.

 

 

A Lazy, Uninspired, Lethargic, Entitled Commanders Football Staff

You know, come to think of it, we don't PLAY TO WIN in Washington.

Things began to trouble me earlier this week and I'm not seeing anything dissuading me from the slow creeping depression that I guess was there from the time Jacoby Brissett was benched.

These guys, the new contingent in charge of the Washington Commanders, apparently believe they have a lot of time to build a winner in Washington. They were out of time when they bought the team. Seems like a case where somebody sold you a house somebody was murdered in and you didn't get the memo.

To hear Dan Quinn talk, with his notions of succession in the coaching staff, you'd think he was expecting to be here years on end. That's entitlement. That expectation is going to cut short his stay. The NFL stands for NOT FOR LONG and if you are not serious about WINNING THIS YEAR you probably should spare yourself the trouble coming for you in year two when you get fired and just get the hell out.

I guess we should not be surprised at the lack of urgency apparent in this new staff since the exemplars of lack of urgency, the Dallas Cowboys, were smashed by a more motivated team in the playoffs. That was Quinn's team. They may have been a number one defense but they were also Number One in not giving a damn.

The Free Agency Period, which this Bruce Allen like General Manager appears ready to forsake, features some players who could help Washington.

There are veteran Quarterbacks available Washington should have a serious interest in. The three rookies people are swooning over in this years draft are dodgy at best. Two are not going to make it through the season. The third will be out of gas and decoded as his former team mate was by week 10.

Adam Peters seems to be a laid back kind of guy. Like nothing bothers him.

Seems like LOSING should bother the hell out of you. And the resemblance to Allen lies in the sense you get he is part of the "brotherhood", the OLD BOY NETWORK. I mean he looks like Bruce Dern when he smiles. I hope that means he is as MEAN AS BRUCE DERN. 

Bruce Dern, somebody who shot JOHN WAYNE in the back, would not be laid back about losing. He might smile but that just meant he was about to ATTACK.

The other disturbing thing about this new crew is they are NBA Guys. NBA Guys think they have forever to build a winner. They tank a season they don't care what the fans think. Five years later they are still tanking and they still don't care what the fans think.

That is not going to keep an NFL Franchise in Washington. 

I need to see these guys getting some work done in Free Agency or I'm going to bail. Divest in 2024. Because when help is available and you don't seize the opportunity there is something wrong with you.

I applaud those of you willing to sit through yet another embarrassing double digit loss season. 

It's like your Grandmother telling you you have to put up with a job that makes you miserable and you wake up one day and you've been miserable half your life.

That's what is in the offing for young Washington Football Fans. Don't put up with it because your parents put up with it. 

Hold their feet to the fire or kick them the hell out of your life. Life is too short.

Finding Out Too Late

I think the Washington Commanders have found out too late what starting Jacoby Brissett would mean for the football team. It has been a trait of Ron Rivera's run. They find out too late about things.

I grant you it might have been hard to detect when precisely Sam Howell was going to have one of his bounce backs. I am afraid he is out of bounce backs for the year. For a variety of reasons. Sophomore slump. His physical style of play. His relentless studying. He seems to have a fried CNS. Unless he rests, that's Uh-Oh territory both for performance and for injuries.

Brissett ignited the ball team on Christmas Eve bringing the Commanders all the way back from twenty points down to take the lead in the final two minutes. He did so unceremoniously, decisively, and consecutively in a way that left no doubt that EB's offense could cut a defense into chicken nuggets given the right leadership.

That's important to know. It benchmarks the offense. The organic components of the offense begin to resurface and function. While Jacoby Brissett was in the football game, the Washington Commanders blocked well, they passed well, and they ran well. And the Defense took note. Sensing impending victory, the Commander defense woke up and smelled some coffee or was it blood?

Had Brissett been starting from the fifth game of the season onward would the Washington Commanders be in this year's playoffs? I think the answer is Yes. Jack Del Rio would not have been fired and the Commanders would not be out Chase Young and Montez Sweat.

There are fans who wanted those three gone for various reasons. I didn't. But it was bound to happen because the organization typically finds out too late what needs to be done. Strategy wise. Personnel wise. Long game wise. The whole organizational ball of wax.

They have to make their discoveries quicker. 

I vote for Brissett finishing the season as the Starter. Using the 49er and Cowboy games as notecards on whether you keep him AS THE STARTER going into next year. It also gives Jacoby the chance to up the Ante on his services because it is obvious the Commanders WILL have significant if not heated competition for his services. To the point of maybe getting Magic Johnson involved in the contract talks.

There won't be the "develop the QB", "lose to win" brain fog with teams courting Jacoby. They will pay him and play him. They will win with him.

I imagine that is what Robert Saleh told Jacoby as they came off the field yesterday. 

I knew we should have signed you.

Because the Jets would be in the playoffs RIGHT NOW if they had done so.

Whamsical Thoughts: How to Run the Football

Both the existence of the running game as an aspect of Pro Football and the question of whether the Washington Football Commanders CAN run the football are reviewed in these Whammy Videos preparing the Magic Mojo for the upcoming Philadelphia Eagles football contest. 

From an archaeological standpoint, this bibliography features proof of the existence of the running game in the game of American Football and proof that members of the 2023 Washington Commanders squad are aware of and have indeed dared to show their faces in running the football at the NFL Level:

2005: Washington at Philadelphia, Box, featuring Clinton Portis

1983: Philadelphia at Washington, Box, featuring John Riggins and Joe Washington. 

1985: Washington at Philadelphia, Box, featuring George Rogers

1996: Eric Bieniemy verus Pittsburgh featuring Eric Bieniemy

2022: B-Rob versus the Schedule, featuring Brian Robinson Jr.

2022-2023: Antonio Gibson, featuring Antonio Gibson

Running the Ball, featuring A.P. and E.B.

After checking with the League Office in New York, replay confirms it is still LEGAL to run the football in the NFL.

Commanders Over Bills

I'm sure the Bills Mafia believe they have this game against the Washington Commanders in the Bag. The Bills played a lot better against the Raiders after a shocking game against the Jets.

The Jets know the Bills. They tend to give the Bills trouble as a matter of course. 

The Commanders also know the Bills. Both in an agony and ecstacy sort of way. 

Josh Allen, the Bills QB, is a pain in the patooti. He's a run-crazed sling the ball to Mars bigfoot sized Jake Delhomme type son of a gun with a burning desire to win. I wish he was a cream puff. He's not. 

He got the ball to 9 different Bills against the Raiders. Jack Del Rio probably didn't like that. I'm thinking double a-gap with Chase and Montez over the Center, Smith-Williams and Toohill on the edge. Josh seems to like jetting out the middle. It would be nice to throw him a surprise party.

I know Josh is working on protecting the ball. I also know he knows we've got to get him to cough it up. We're at loggerheads. Something's going to give eventually.

The Bills are occasionally vulnerable to the run, as are the Commanders, at least early in the season. Both teams will have to run it. Which one is better is probably the winner. 

I would like a repeat of the Buccaneers Game a few years back when Washington kept Tom Brady off the field. Do the same against Josh. But ball control has not been Eric Bieniemy's tactic against the Bills. He and the Bills tended to get into epic track meets. There's a good chance the game will be similar to the Bronco game points wise. 

Like what the Commanders did in the second half against the Broncos. Like the screen game. Run blocking was good in general. Sam dealt the ball to ten different receivers. I'm sure that made for thrilling film study for the Bills Defense.

The Commander Defense was Godzilla like in the second half. They were snoozing in the first. Josh Allen will be up by 35 points at half time if they do that this week. Like Aaron Rodgers, you have to rock Josh early and often. A couple pick 6s would be optimal. Fumblerooskis. Smokes if you have them.

The Crowd at Fed-Ex is pivotal. Washington fans have to outperform Bills fans to be a fully sufficient inspiration for our guys. A boisterous crowd can be the difference in games like this where we are the underdog. New levels of football glory become possible.

Bills jump out to a 12-0 half-time lead on four field goals. Cameron Cheeseman catches his own snap, bootlegs it into the end zone and Joey Slye boots two field goals, the last one a 62 yarder, one measley second on the clock, and the Commanders win before 65,000 screaming fans.

Commanders 13, Bills 12.

A Relentless Capacity Crowd Beats the Cardinals

It's a good thing the Football Players play the game and the fans do not. 

Because this game against the Arizona Cardinals would be an Arizona beatdown of the Washington Commanders. The fans were like the "Washington Waterboys could pound the pathetic Cardinals. Let's play the Waterboys and we'll still win 62-0".

The Cardinals are going to bring the heat. They are going to pound the rock. Jack Del Rio thinks he can skimp on linebackers and stop a raging bull running back with just two LBs. Let's see it. Really, he plays only one real linebacker in that 4-2-5 set. The other one is a hybrid. A safety who can bench press.

They get their running game going Josh Dobbs can dull that edge and take a couple bootlegs to the House.  I'm pretty sure he will do just that.

This Washington Defense, if it played relentlessly, can destroy everybody they play. I've never seen them play a game relentlessly every play. It is going to take a relentless effort to beat the Cardinals. They have to stop the run. They have to harden the edge. It would be nice to get the turnovers Del Rio talks about.

I don't think Dobbs will turn the ball over. I'm betting the goals Del Rio has set will not happen because Arizona has probably had it up to here with hearing had badly they suck. This is a team of world-class athletes who have absolutely nothing to lose. They can pin their ears back and throw everything at you. They can swing all haymakers and some of those are going to land. And that is just their offense.

Arizona is set up to play the most effective way you can play in the NFL: All Out. That is the best way to train. They will be dangerous THIS YEAR and LETHAL NEXT YEAR. Because they are going to know what it takes to win.

And their defense is better than their offense. 

If the Commanders play the way Arizona is going to play, they're in the Super Bowl. Hands down. A relentless Commanders football team, on offense and defense, would make the Super Bowl.

Let's say that again: If the Commanders could play ALL OUT, they would win the Super Bowl.

But I would agree with some of the veteran commentators that the Washington QB would not last the season with the offensive line they have IF they had Johnny Unitas or Bill Kilmer or Mark Rypien or some easy to hit pocket passer playing quarterback and IF they had a purely pocket passing offense. 

They don't. 

Sam Howell has a good chance to play the whole season. Because of the way they play. The style of play alone should keep Sam going. It isn't official yet but the Offensive Line is rumored to be better than people think. 

And it is Sam and the Offense who will pull this one out. Even though at halftime it will look like Arizona is going to take it.

Sam has his first game-winning drive. Joey Slye misses the game winning kick but the Cardinals are off side. Slye makes the reboot and the Commanders win.

Commanders 31, Cardinals 30. 

Arizona beats the spread easily. Washington wins the game with considerable difficulty, carried over the top by a crazed capacity crowd.

Losing Football Games the Easy Way

I'm not enamored with the idea an NFL team should tank its season to nab the Number One Draft Pick. 

Asking a football team to post less than their best effort is asking them to get hurt real bad real fast. What would be the difference anyway between playing your best and going 1-15 and playing your worst and going 0-16? You are going to put sucky film about yourself out there for other teams to go "Yeah, this guy is some trash!"?

And I don't know how you can say the NFL is NOT Fake when teams are tanking. "No, No, they are playing hard it's just if they get a chance to throw the game they will!"

Not to mention it dulls the competitive edge. What are you getting from a game against a team that is tanking? You get infected by the idea you can not only take plays off but take games off.

I hope that hasn't already happened to Washington.

The Commanders need to play hard and be professional in order to win any game. Including this one. I doubt the Offense under EB is going to get lazy with any team, especially the Cardinals. 

But the Defense is another story. NFL teams in general don't tackle well early in the season. They just don't do enough of it in preseason. This Commander franchise in particular under this coaching staff starts turtle slow on Defense. 

And if they tack getting lazy or letting down onto starting slow, well we are talking a Titanic Level disaster on Defense.

That's not even counting the natural shock of playing with an Offense that scores points. Finding yourself back on the field quicker than you are used to. That takes sharper focus. Do they have that sharper focus? Do they have the depth?

Do they have the fire and professionalism of the Offense?

Because there is no way they will beat the hell out of the Cardinals or anybody without that burning desire to play good football. 

Last Year's Browns Game

I'm sure Drew Petzing, Arizona Cardinals Offensive Coordinator, remembers last year's Browns versus Commanders game. Here's a short trip down memory lane for you.

This should give you an idea what plays you might see called this upcoming weekend. I call this line of thinking "conceptuals". Coaching conceptions running in the background of a football game like computer programs. The Unconscious Mind of Football. The subliminal mental reps that occur in the underlying chess game that coaches play in football. 

From a conceptuals stand point, Arizona can beat Washington. The critique of conceptuals analysis would be "Yeah, but the Cardinals don't have the Browns roster." They have no Nick Chubb. No Deshaun Watson. No Amari Cooper.

And the Commanders have no Carson Wentz.

The Cardinals do have Drew Terrell. Ex-Commanders receiving coach. They have Jonathan Gannon whose Eagles Defense contained the Commander running game in another Carson Wentz incident in the which the running game had to be there.

The Cardinals don't have the Eagles Defense.

I don't see the Cardinals matching up well against the Commander Offense. I don't think Eric Bieniemy is going to give up on the running game if it strikes gold. The passing game should also do well against the Cardinals. But I do think the Cardinals can, CAN, move the ball on the Washington Defense. 

I don't like the Media, both National and D.C., viewing the Cardinals as Trash Incarnate. If the past four years are any indication, the Washington Defense is going to start slow and take a while to get the carburetor clean. 

If there is to be a shock, it will be in the form of the Cardinals Offense running the ball and maximizing RPOs which will put points on the board. 

If the Commanders share the obnoxious disrespect the Media has for the Arizona Cardinals, they will find a way to lose. 

The Commanders Offense is the Most Likely to Succeed in the game and they are going to need that success mindset to compensate for what I'm expecting to be a shameful, disrespectful defensive effort. 

This is I'm afraid going to be reminiscent of the Old Denver Broncos under Dan Reeves where Elway/Howell has to conduct a Drive to win the ball game.

Hopefully not. But the tea leaves look awful.

Ship on Course

The Washington Commanders looked fairly decent in their game against their Northern cousins, the Baltimore Ravens.

Sam Howell played well. Fit a lot of passes in tight windows. Nobody gets wide open much in the NFL anymore.

A few commentators didn't like Sam hopping around in the pocket and missing a hot read. Don't even know if they had hot reads. The one play where the Raven guy comes clean looks like the Raven linebacker was going to jump the "hot" route had Sam thrown it. Once upon a time, the Ravens picked off hot routes. It was something of a specialty for them.

The Ravens had that play leveraged.

These were the twos and threes Sam played against. Which means the O-Line didn't really get tested to the maximum. And they won't until the opener. 

The Commander second team defense has to play better. I'm thinking they are going to play more this year than last. This Commander offense seems poised to score more than last year with the potential for quick drives. Our defense is not used to that. It will be a tempo change. And that means second team has to play like starters. Or we're looking at some track meets.

The Ravens made Second Team look like the Sisters of the Poor. And the Sisters may have done better against the running game.

The good thing about the Offensive Line is these are veteran guys. That will speed up the gelling process. The worry as always is injuries but it looks like there is enough youth to sprinkle in, on a pay as you go basis, that young guys will gain experience as the year goes on. By the playoffs, maybe everybody will be good to go.

I think the people talking 7 to 10 wins are about right. I'd extend it to 7 to 11. With the possibility for better IF the Fans go nuts.

Never understimate the magical powers of a Fanbase that has gone complete bananas. Fanbases have the power to raise level of play. 

The Redskins beat the Cowboys in that 83 NFC Title Game in part because RFK Stadium was registering on the Richter Scale. A Fanbase can rip open the gates of Football Heaven causing the blessings of the Football Gods to rain down upon a football team. 

There's nothing more breathtaking on this planet than that.

Put the Media in Rehab and Let's Go

I'm wondering what we, meaning the Washington Commanders, should do against the Browns this week. 

How much do you want to show in a preseason game? What prejudices do you want your 2023 opponents to develop about you strategically? Maybe nothing. Maybe just do basics. Run. Pass. Block. Tackle. That's it.

I would like to see all our running backs play. All our O-linemen. Maybe show a little success to get an early bite on play action for the 2023 season. 

In the passing game, I'd like to see some deep balls. Some tight end involvement. A well-executed screen. Things that start opponents worrying about us. Nothing fancy. Stuff everybody else runs. Focus on execution from everybody.

It might be interesting to watch for a mental contagion sprouting up with regard to turnovers. I'm hearing Kam Curl is all of a sudden picking balls off in practice. The Coaching Staff has posted their expectation that the defense come up with more turnovers. They drafted Emmanuel Forbes, a notorious thief in College. Maybe the vets don't want the rookie stealing their thefts, so to speak. 

Don't forget Chase Young created turnovers his rookie year. So as much as sacks, we ought to trace Chase's turnover harvest.

Hopefully, creating turnovers goes viral on defense this year. Young people maybe don't remember or weren't alive at the time but the 1983 Redskin team went bananas on turnovers. They had a crazy plus ratio. That was the best Redskin team in history. The one that didn't win the Super Bowl. Theismann's MVP Year.

An early test positive on turnovers would be good.

Media is breaking negative on Sam Howell and the Offensive Line. 

I'm thinking Sam will at the base be on track with Daniel Jones' first year. But let's back up and include some Redskin History here. Sam is an RPO QB with a little pocket passing mixed in. The RPO Era arguably began in earnest with Robert Griffin III and the Shanahans with the 2012 Washington Redskins. 

Ostensibly, the Shanahans implemented the Pistol and the Zone Read because QBs at the time in College Football just weren't being taught NFL Quarterbacking. Instead of expecting quarterbacks to adjust to them, they adjusted to the quarterbacks. What they were doing. How they played their best game.

The RPO Game makes it easier for College Quarterbacks to play right away in the NFL. The League adopted the Shanahan adaptation and that's why watching Anthony Richardson this year could be scintillating.

The Passing game is built off the play fake which itself is built off a successful running game. It really was genius to meld together the Zone Read with the conservative short passing game of Bill Walsh. Conservative Coaches who don't like a lot of turnovers love it because the passing game is really a lengthened running game.

And you take your occasional deep shot.

We have the running game in Washington to make that trend work here. Ground the offense in the running game. Do concentric circles from there. Feed off it. Sam has the arm for deep shots. He'll be OK. And there's potential for Better Than OK.

Because most RPO plays don't take long to develop, the RPO game is kinder to the Offensive Line. 

Much hay was made about how the Washington D-Line roughed up the O-Line this week. The NFC East defensive lines are very similar to ours in Washington. They are good, fast, strong troublemakers every last man of them. May as well face it now. In fact, things should be as disruptive in practice as possible. The games should feel like dress down day. Sandals and Hawaiian Shirts.  

To get stronger, you have to make demands above and beyond what your body can do. Eventually, it adapts. You can lift the new record. The same thing has to happen with the Washington O-Line. 

People gripe they are new. Look, it's a veteran group. Not their first rodeo. They know the NFL. They know what they are getting into. It is not 5 rookies. A few are young. I wish they were younger. I wish the team had developed the O-Line like they developed the D-Line. Didn't happen.

The situational football fact of the matter is, they do not have to be great to have success. I know with the Media everyone has to have been to 10 Pro Bowls and only be 23 years old. Not happening.

This time of year I wouldn't listen to or watch Washington Media. They are still addicted to Dan Snyder. They're like dry drunks having no spouse to abuse. This team could win the Super Bowl and they'd still talk about Snyder. 

It might be worth checking them out midway through the season. Maybe the Detox will be done by then. Now? Still in Denial. Everybody's a bum to them and they're looking for somebody to punch.

Don't they have 9 Round Fitness in D.C.?

The Washington Burgundy and Gold

The team Nickname is coming up again. 

I was a Redskin fan since 1969. I started as a kid. Socialized to accept the nickname.

The Nickname though means something different to some Native Americans than it does to D.C. Football fans. We are not living in an age of free speech. Authoritarians are in charge of our country and our universities. The outrage they will post should Washington revert to the Redskin nickname would be an unnecessary distraction and a valueless political mess serving no one.

I don't mean to become an apologist for the nickname. But the word Redskin seems to have emerged in the minds of white conquistadors who were irritated by Native American resistance to White Land Use improvements. A Redskin in that light was an insurrectionist. It was good to be an insurrectionist working to retard White conquest.

The same dynamic occurs in the N-Word. White mental retardation was irritated by Black Resistance to slavery so it fulminated the N-Word. Once it emanated from mule-faced anglo saxons, Black Americans took pride in the fact they were irritating the oppressors. The N-Word used among Blacks was a celebration of the essential fact that they were existentially free and the N-Word in the mouth of a white man was an unconditional surrender to that truth. 

This is why some Native Americans are not bothered by the nickname and why the N-Word can be heard among some Black Americans.

Basing your identity on your capacity to irritate others is not universally effective because not everyone is an oppressor. Nor are insults concretized incantations that wound like boulders. Insults are a form of mental weakness. In football, as in life, it is good to be mentally tough. It is better not to speak at all if all you have to say is an insult. It is not that you aren't achieving your goal of destabilizing the person whose existence you reject. Maybe you are. But you are nakedly confessing that you are stupid and weak.

But shutting you up is your job not anyone else's. Why free speech works is it allows people to say stupid things and thereby organize themselves out of the loop. At the same time it allows for the intrusion of truth and the possibility for its acceptance. You should always allow the idiot to put his idiocy on full display and the genius to warn of the oncoming train. The idiot and the genius are intertwined. 

In the present environment, everyone is an oppressor. Ignorance is universally stipulated. Language must be politically correct. Inoffensive. Overly polite to works of fiction or fantasy realities. This is why science is in deep trouble. Facts are too oppressive to be admitted. A bodyguard of lies is necessary. It is like giving yourself a lobotomy. And apparently in this age of Authoritarian Rule one is morally obligated to stupidify oneself into a complete brain fog.

The Redskin Players and Coaches were not on the whole blazing racists and Klan Rally attendees. They weren't perfect. But they had moments of social relevance and sublime moments of competitive football. The history of those moments is worth preserving. And if Authoritarian Rule disallows the use of the word "Redskin", it ought to allow an inoffensive alternative which at the same time calls to mind the rich football history of the Washington Franchise.

That nickname to me, as well as to others, is "Burgundy and Gold". It's not my invention. The players used it themselves. It was a matter of pride to put on those colors. If you wore those colors in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties, you were part of something special. Three decades of it.

Not a wave of racist animosity. But years of good football. 

That is what we want to get back to in Washington. A Washington football-related nickname is my preference.

The Attack Upon Fandom

I've never seen such vitriolic attacks upon Washington football fans with regard to Sam Howell. 

Sourcing it takes me into a critque of sports journalism. They are the ones attacking. Why they attack fans I don't know. Maybe it is just the lay of the land they occupy. Starting bar fights is a way to get "hits".

Sports Journalism died for me when it veered into constant moral philosophizing. Social issues and politics became the subject matter. The games were secondary. The Pulitzer was in libelling players. Coaches. Owners. Hall of Famers.

I don't see a moral exemplar in the Sports Reporting crowd. I'm not one myself. I don't know anyone who is. Feel free to volunteer. Today's moral exemplars seem little more than Reign of Terror Denunciators. Full of narcissistic love for their outrage.

It seems Washington Sports Journalism is going to miss former Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder. He was a constant ritual sacrifice. They filled a man-made lake full of venom from their Snyder Hatred. He's gone. They have nothing to destroy. Where will they put their free-floating animosity?

The remains of Snyder's regime. That happens to be the present Football Operations people. The Coaching Staff. The General Manager. The Quarterback. The Die-Hard Fans.

Doesn't matter what I think about Sam Howell. He seems the type of QB that is having success in today's NFL. The intent of the Washington Journalist Establishment is to smash any talk of his success. Or talk of any Washington Commander's success for that matter.

Some of them feel the very existence of American Football is morally reprehensible.

The theory is Snyder was a moral cancer. Every vestige of his presence must be removed or the cancer will spread. Start over. For the three millionth time.

Starting over means 0-16 and five plus years of losing. Like the theory of perpetual war the theory of obligatory losing has too much influence in Washington Journalism. 

These guys have worked too hard to glorify disrespectful predictions out of a moral obligation to purge the Snyder Metastasis. I don't think holding a parade like some sort of Aztec Human sacrifice is going to clear the negativity. It is just going to increase the codependency.

I mean I guess this is codependency. It does not stop drinking even though that is what it is trying to do. It does not stop losing either. Washington Sports Journalism has a need for losing. How they would be able to comprehend success when it happened I have no idea. They could view it as failure.

Something is failing. Their careers as moral exemplars. Same thing happens to spouses of alcoholics who go sober. They want the alcoholic back so they can be the moral exemplar once again.

Apparently it is shameful to wish the Team well. I don't know what else a Fan is supposed to do. Wish the team ill? There is nothing wrong or dumb or toxic about wishing Sam Howell well. Or in thinking Ron Rivera is a good coach. 

I am about to commit a shameful act. I wish the Washington Commanders well on their quest for a Super Bowl Title. 

May they win it, may they enjoy it, may they reap many blessings personally and as a family because of it.

Thoughts on the Offensive Line

A few thoughts on the Washington Commander Offensive Line since I've liked and subscribed to the Quarterbacks, the Running Backs, the Wide Receivers, the Defensive Line, and the DBs.

I would like and subscribe to the Linebackers but we only play two.

The Commander O-Line had 11 different starters last year. Injuries mucked up everything. Going into the offseason, the Commanders had to improve the offensive line. Did they do that?

It's a new bunch. Though I don't know what new would mean to a team that was always starting a new line. This "new" line, this new starting line, is a veteran group. When you think new you think they are not going to know each other. 

They're not new to football. Andrew Wylie was in the Super Bowl last year. Nick Gates was in the playoffs. Sam Cosmi has a few years under his belt and supposedly is in his natural position at guard. Charles Leno was a pro bowler with that 12-4 2018 Chicago Bear Squad. The left guard is going to be manned by Saahdiq Charles who is a youthful veteran. 

There's enough experience on the line to offset any stranger in town chemistry problems. This is why George Allen Theory still is effective. It is easier to gel as a unit if you have experience even if you don't have much experience with each other.

It is still better to build the line through the draft complemented by good scouting and research in the archeological digs for jewels in the undrafted free agent pits and grocery bagging communities.

Did the Commanders improve? If the O-Line is healthy, yes they've improved. I'm not saying they're dominant. I'm not saying they're five pro-bowlers. I am saying they are good enough, if healthy, to get the job done. 

They still need to find snaps for the young fellas. It is a good bet they will get snaps and there will be growing pains. 

But hopefully we will be blessed with a little bit better health than we got last year. 

So say your prayers. 

The New York Football Giants

As Washington Commanders fans know, the only team in the NFC East the BnG did not beat last year was the New York Giants.

The Commanders split with the "Big Boys", Philadelphia and Dallas. A fact lost on the so-called experts who place this team at the bottom of the league.

There are problems in matching up with the Giants. The main ones are Brian Daboll, Daniel Jones, and carelessness with the football. 

There is an invisible chess game that I think impacts games a lot more than people think and that is the clash of titans that takes place between opposing NFL coaches and the three dimensional chess they play against each other. 

I thought Nick Sirianni was Coach of the Year last year but Daboll won it. He is a former assistant with the Buffalo Bills where Ron Rivera disciple Sean McDermott is head coach. He is familiar with Rivera thought processes. 

You would think injection of Eric Bieniemy into the thought milieu would effect a surprise element in Giants-Commanders games this year. But the Giants played the Chiefs tough in their 2021 game under Joe Judge. I'm sure the players have some muscle memory of playing the Chiefs Offense. Bieniemy's presence should not change the nature of these tough, scrum-infested Commanders-Giants contests.

But Bieniemy is working with a different set of players in Washington. He's not necessarily going to play Chiefs Copycat. He's got options in the passing game, the running game, and RPOs he didn't have in Kansas City. 

The Giants collected 8 sacks against the Commanders last year. It is clear what needs to be done. It will be on the new offensive line and the Quarterback to reduce that number, preferably to zero. The line has to block and the QB has to protect the football. 

The Commanders have to contain Daniel Jones (over 700 yards rushing in 2022). He sprang for 71 yards in their first matchup. He seems to depend on the middle breaking open. The recommendation from around the league on Jones is disciplined pass rush. Stay in your lanes. Circle the wagons and meet at the QB. 

Given the improvement in the Commander Secondary, Jones will probably end up wanting to run more. Preparing to stop his running game is top priority. The Commander Secondary should test his accuracy this year better than last. Jones was infuriatingly accurate against Washington.

Prescription for beating the New York Football Giants: Continue running the football especially to wear out Lawrence and Thibodeaux. Sack Daniel Jones at least 5 times. Hold the Giants to under 100 yards rushing. In the four games they were held to less than 100 yards, the Giants were 1-3. Get at least two hundred yards passing with a Tight End presence (a la Dallas Goedert) in ball distribution and three turnovers.

Tall order? Obviously. But there is one additional factor to consider: The Whammy Factor. Superstition. Hexxing. 

Last year, before the Giants return engagement with the Commanders, the Giants posted an accolade video on the 1986 Giants going 3-0 against the very good 1986 Washington Redskin Squad. It was an obvious attempt at a psyche-out. Let's go back to the days where we had their number and they couldn't beat us. Joe Gibbs during that time could not beat Parcells. The Parcells Giants flummoxed him. It was not until 2005 that Gibbs started to turn the tables.

So let's go back to the days we beat the Giants. As a ritual before Giants games, let us call to our collective minds games where Washington beat the Giants. 

For now here are some Giants losses from last year that may help clue us in on how to beat them:

New York Giants versus Seattle Seahawks, Stats

New York Giants versus Philadelphia Eagles, Stats