Random Commanders Thoughts

[McD5]

I don't even understand how anyone can be negative right now. Zeroooo idea how that's even possible. I think a large portion of our fan base is either too emotional, or permanently depressed. It makes no sense at all when looking at the big picture.

1. Is our FO better or worse than a year ago? Much, much better.

2. Is our coaching staff better or worse than a year ago? Much, much better. Callahan?

3. Is our roster better or worse than a year ago? Much, much better. That draft class looks fantastic.

4. Are we playing more physically, or less physically than a year ago? Much, much more physically. Suh, 2 tackles and 0 sacks?

So what's the bad stuff again? Anything "bad" pales in comparison to anything listed above.

We've made huge improvements.

 

[Chris]

I agree BT. This season is all about finding the keepers. On the field, on the coaching staff, and under the center. This is a long term process. The chance to draft a difference maker with a top 4 pick in the next draft, along with the associated spot in the subsequent rounds, will/should go a long way toward moving the team closer to what we all want.

 

[MikeSr619]

Jordan Reed....questionable with a quad issue.

 

[Chris]

He should change his name to questionable.

 

[CounterTrey]

You didn't see how aggressive our D was last week, how dominating our run game was most of the game, and even that Cousins in company moved the ball effectively at times? Then there's the performance of several rookies even beyond the obvious (Scherff and Jones)...


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We lost 17-10 at home to a team that I consider to be bottom third to middle of the league so no I wasn't in any way enamored or impressed. They were sloppy as hell (special teams is continuing to look "special"), had over a dozen penalties, failed in the clutch once again and pretty much looked exactly like they have the last 2 years with the exception of the O line. I have a hard time this early and fresh off the Griffin demotion not seeing that and wondering how he'd do with that kind of protection instead of the crap he was subjected to the last time he played and it mitigates any positivity I have at the moment. For every bright spot there were dull ones like Kerrigan's lousy game and DJax's predictable injury after little to no playtime in the preseason. So no, bright spots weren't exactly in the forefront of my mind and won't be as long as our team is scoring a measly ten points at home against a relatively average or weak team with our QB throwing 2 dumb picks. Our run game has always been outstanding...meh, hasn't helped out in the W column.

I told ya man I'm jaded. It's gonna take some serious shine from the team to break this funk I'm in. I was a borderline homer for so long that when the pendulum finally swung it swung FAR. Little bright spots aren't even going to make a dent. I need to see wholesale dramatic improvement to break this. That's probably going to take more than a season. Like I said, I kept my yap shut in the other threads to avoid buzzkill. I get it believe me, but I'm like a jilted lover at this point. Bitter and resentful. Totally sucks. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of this, not so much right now.

 

[Bulldog]

In re the situation with Jordan Reed - I don't think McCloughan brought in Derek Carrier to be a blocking end as at 6'4 and 241 he isn't that big.

But what he is, is a good athlete with good hands and some speed.

My guess now is that Scot was bringing Carrier in with the expectation that the team was NOT going to be able to count on Reed.

 

[micks113]

This is actually the best I felt about this organization since Gibbs came back in 2004.

We are finally keeping and making draft choices, signing value free agents, and getting rid of guys that are over the hill, malcontents or simply guys that don't improve year over year.

I didn't expect the Redskins to beat the Dolphins on Sunday, but I expected the team to play a close game and despite the loss of several players did just that.

This year is about FINDING out who we can count on going forward. Whose a player and whose a pretender.

Also, which guys perhaps like Jordan Reed are guys with ability but not with that second skill, AVAILABILITY

If Moses and Scherff work out on the right side you then have 3 building blocks on the OL age 27 or younger.

We need reinforcements at WR, mainly because we need more speed. Crowder and Grant can catch the football and make first downs, but they are not game-breakers.

Meanwhile the salaries of Pierre Garcon and Andre Roberts likely means they are gone after 2015.

That's all part of the process of determining who is going to be left standing for this team to move forward into the future and who is not.

Am I worried about the secondary?

Yeah, but you can only address so many things in one offseason.

We have to figure out if Breeland and Amerson can really play.

The 'vacancy' sign at safety should be up once the season comes to a conclusion.

Good stuff BT. I would add that its imperative that we have a great FG kicker and a great defense to be a playoff contender. We have had and continue to have, a scoring problem. I expected 17 pts per game average from this team (which only equates to a 6 win team btw). Now I'm having to revise that somewhat. I'm hoping McClou can not forget the secondary while he's digging for the big uglies in the trenches. We need a great secondary in this league or we will be toast trying to play catch up football.

 

[MikeSr619]

He should change his name to questionable.

He showed what he's shown us since we got him. Amazing plays followed by weeks of being "questionable"

 

[Bulldog]

If while he's out Carrier can prove he is a reliable pass-catcher Reed may very well be in trouble at the end of the season.

We aren't going to resign a guy to a long-term deal who only plays 8-10 games each year.

 

[McD5]

Good stuff BT. I would add that its imperative that we have a great FG kicker and a great defense to be a playoff contender. We have had and continue to have, a scoring problem. I expected 17 pts per game average from this team (which only equates to a 6 win team btw). Now I'm having to revise that somewhat. I'm hoping McClou can not forget the secondary while he's digging for the big uglies in the trenches. We need a great secondary in this league or we will be toast trying to play catch up football.

Next year's draft class features 3 legit starters at safety in the first round. Not Landon Collins nonsense from last year.

Our timing might be perfect.

 

[MikeSr619]

If while he's out Carrier can prove he is a reliable pass-catcher Reed may very well be in trouble at the end of the season.

We aren't going to resign a guy to a long-term deal who only plays 8-10 games each year.

we need to think twice about signing him to a long term deal anyways simply because he is unreliable to be on the field. potential has him finishing this contract but it wont get him far in negotiations. plus, with Paul coming back if Reed keeps up this "questionable" act he may just be shown the door altogether.

 

[Bulldog]

at this point him being shown the door isn't going to make me cry

Mitchell said there are just some guys that come into the NFL and refuse to practice and play if they are not close to 100%.

He indicated those guys don't last because NFL players are rarely 100% during the season.

Reed needed to go play golf or tennis, something a little bit less taxing on him.

 

[Goaldeje]

I don't even understand how anyone can be negative right now. Zeroooo idea how that's even possible. I think a large portion of our fan base is either too emotional, or permanently depressed. It makes no sense at all when looking at the big picture.

Or, and here's a thought, some of us want to see actual improvement on the field before jumping to conclusions. For YEARS we've been fooled into thinking THIS shiny new bauble is different from all the rest and THIS one will definitely result in more winning, be it FA, draft picks, coaches, front office people, etc. Two men have been able to transcend the mediocrity (which is an insult to mediocrity, actually) - one of them retired and we are trying to run the other out of town. So yeah, it can be depressing.

1. Is our FO better or worse than a year ago? Much, much better.

Hopefully. Show me. You have been slamming Scot for months for the Griffin extension; the blowjob fiasco didn't engender a ton of trust in me, FWIW.

2. Is our coaching staff better or worse than a year ago? Much, much better. Callahan?

Yes. To be fair, nowhere to go but up after last year. I will say that Special Teams coaching remains a... challenge.

3. Is our roster better or worse than a year ago? Much, much better. That draft class looks fantastic.

So did the 2012 at the time. Hell, I'm pretty sure a lot of people were excited about the '08 draft.

4. Are we playing more physically, or less physically than a year ago? Much, much more physically. Suh, 2 tackles and 0 sacks?

This is totally legit, completely agree. GREAT sign.

So what's the bad stuff again? Anything "bad" pales in comparison to anything listed above.

We've made huge improvements.

The "bad stuff" is that we aren't winning, and we lost to a decent (maybe) Dolphins team. And we're still beating ourselves with asinine mistakes and penalties.

We could be headed down the right path, I hope to God we are, but history says there's a better chance we aren't.

Show Me.

 

[McD5]

Goal, you agree with all 4.

1. FO? Scot>Bruce or Vinny.

3. The talent. The draft class appears much better. Our FAs (Pot Roast) are much better.

That's 4 big trends that are clearly better. We are headed in the right direction. It's pretty clear to see.

 

[MikeSr619]

at this point him being shown the door isn't going to make me cry

Mitchell said there are just some guys that come into the NFL and refuse to practice and play if they are not close to 100%.

He indicated those guys don't last because NFL players are rarely 100% during the season.

Reed needed to go play golf or tennis, something a little bit less taxing on him.

Give me his salary for one year....I'd be out there every day practicing and trying my ass off. They could never say I didn't give it my all. People like that are spoiled and have never had to work for what they want. Damn shame since most of us would give our right index finger to play even for 1 season.

 

[Bulldog]

McCloughan came out before the season and said this team was not going to be one of the NFL's best.

Shawn Springs, who watched the practices and camp, said this team is rebuilding.

Teams in that position rarely win many games.

I think the key here is that last year in a 4-12 year the Redskins didn't do ANY of the fundamental things.

They didn't run the ball particularly well, they didn't stop the run.

They didn't convert third downs, they allowed an NFC high in sacks, etc.

The defense gave up a near a team record of points allowed.

Those are the things we need to improve on.

The Dolphins are not a great team, but they are a solid 9-7 wildcard contender with talent in places where the Redskins are currently starting rookies and second year players.

So, I didn't expect them to win the game, but I expected a close fought effort and that's what we got.

We might have gotten even better results if Ben Kotwica's special teams ever showed any kind of real improvement.

His entire resume is 1 year of ST coaching with the Jets?

I don't get it.

This team needs a Bill Callahan-type seasoned coach with a track record of success to push these guys to produce or get packing.

 

[Chris]

Next year's draft class features 3 legit starters at safety in the first round. Not Landon Collins nonsense from last year.

Our timing might be perfect.

Although safety is a need I hope the FO is looking at QB's.

 

[Boone]

Betting Reed is a full go on Sunday. We'll see if he holds up for 16 games.


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[Goaldeje]

Goal, you agree with all 4.

1. FO? Scot>Bruce or Vinny.

3. The talent. The draft class appears much better. Our FAs (Pot Roast) are much better.

That's 4 big trends that are clearly better. We are headed in the right direction. It's pretty clear to see.

Goddammit. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but your bar is so low it's ridiculous. So we should get excited because our FO is better than Dan and Bruce? Do you have any idea how pathetic that is? I'm hopeful that Scot is the real deal and will forcibly pull us out of the wilderness hellscape we've been in for frickin' ever, but I'd like to see some tangible improvement on the field before I get too excited. I really feel like that isn't too much to ask for.

Last week, while there were good things to glean from the game, was more of the same from last year.

 

[Bulldog]

I agree Chris.

At this point my guess is that Griffin is not an NFL quarterback, McCoy is a very decent backup quarterback and Cousins is still in the process of showing us what he is.

But in any event we are going to need at least one qb for 2016.

I don't think Cousins even if 'successful' will show himself to be such a dominant player that he shouldn't face competition next offseason.