• Welcome to BGO! We know you will have questions as you become familiar with the software. Please take a moment to read our New BGO User Guide which will give you a great start. If you have questions, post them in the Feedback and Tech Support Forum, or feel free to message any available Staff Member.

Random Commanders Thoughts

John Keim included this sentence in his ESPN article yesterday-

Doctson posted video on his Snapchat account, showing him doing the drills and catching passes Thursday. He has been bothered by his Achilles’ in both feet since, though it started when he tweaked his right one May 25.

Is that just awkwardly written or is Doctson experiencing discomfort from those drills?

If taken as it's written, this don't look good.
 
I agree with most of your post, but this stood out the most...in both places he was instrumental in building solid defenses, he did so by drafting well and signing key players in free agency. There simply aren't enough years to get an entire team built through the draft alone.

My point has been, and will continue to be is that with the offense hitting on most cylinders, like you've eluded to, if we put together a good defense (through draft and free agency) I believe we could get to the divisional playoffs, probably the NFC Championship this year. I am just not confident enough that the FO can and will get it done this year, and I think this season is all Gruden has to prove himself.
You could be right. I make no declarations about future offseasons. :)

All I'll say is if we hire a dude who's known for putting together solid teams through five year plans, Im going to have a hard time giving up on his methods after two years. Especially considering that this team, with its recent history of sucking, has actually not sucked during those two years.

Although that is something Dan Snyder definitely would do.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Totally agree Henry. One thing that bothers me about the media coverage of the Skins is that, if you didn't know better, you'd think we'd just strung together back to back 3 win seasons. But the reality is Gruden and McLovin have improved this team and brought stability and *mostly* competence to bear during their tenure. Hell, up until the past month or two, they've managed a period of relative quiet, drama-free operations.

When you honestly assess what's transpired since the end of the season that might warrant all of the hysteria and negative press - well, doesn't it really come down to 3 issues? The loss of Sean McVay to promotion, the perceived challenges in finding an impact DC, and the uncertainty of Kirk Cousins future in Washington have been the big events the team has recently navigated.

Losing McVay to promotion is a positive reflection of the state of the Redskins organization, not a failure. Contract tensions are just a reality in the NFL, and nothing that's transpired with the Cousins situation is either unusual or has been (to date) negatively managed. What the 'right' thing to do with him is highly debateable and regardless of which direction the team goes, they are just one player in the equation with limited control, and how well they do with that challenge won't even be fairly assessable for years. As for the DC search, let's be honest - until the Redskins have a run of perennial playoff appearances, playoff wins, lead by a stable coaching staff, perhaps even a championship or two, DC will always be a less attractive destination for coaches, most likely due to the reputation of Snyder as a meddling, petty owner. That may or may not be a fair characterization of him currently, who knows?

When you look at the issues the Redskins have contended with this off-season objectively, there's nothing to warrant the kind of negativity of media coverage they are getting imho. I suppose the McLovin alcohol/Bruce Allen power struggle rumors (to date, totally unsubstantiated) are a wildcard factor in all this. But until those are something more substantial than suppositions thrown at the wall during the sports doldrums, I'm not going to spend a lot of my time wringing my hands.
 
NFL Classics.....the best quarter is Super Bowl history is about to start on the NFL Network.
 
Totally agree Henry. One thing that bothers me about the media coverage of the Skins is that, if you didn't know better, you'd think we'd just strung together back to back 3 win seasons. But the reality is Gruden and McLovin have improved this team and brought stability and *mostly* competence to bear during their tenure. Hell, up until the past month or two, they've managed a period of relative quiet, drama-free operations.

When you honestly assess what's transpired since the end of the season that might warrant all of the hysteria and negative press - well, doesn't it really come down to 3 issues? The loss of Sean McVay to promotion, the perceived challenges in finding an impact DC, and the uncertainty of Kirk Cousins future in Washington have been the big events the team has recently navigated.

Losing McVay to promotion is a positive reflection of the state of the Redskins organization, not a failure. Contract tensions are just a reality in the NFL, and nothing that's transpired with the Cousins situation is either unusual or has been (to date) negatively managed. What the 'right' thing to do with him is highly debateable and regardless of which direction the team goes, they are just one player in the equation with limited control, and how well they do with that challenge won't even be fairly assessable for years. As for the DC search, let's be honest - until the Redskins have a run of perennial playoff appearances, playoff wins, lead by a stable coaching staff, perhaps even a championship or two, DC will always be a less attractive destination for coaches, most likely due to the reputation of Snyder as a meddling, petty owner. That may or may not be a fair characterization of him currently, who knows?

When you look at the issues the Redskins have contended with this off-season objectively, there's nothing to warrant the kind of negativity of media coverage they are getting imho. I suppose the McLovin alcohol/Bruce Allen power struggle rumors (to date, totally unsubstantiated) are a wildcard factor in all this. But until those are something more substantial than suppositions thrown at the wall during the sports doldrums, I'm not going to spend a lot of my time wringing my hands.

Thank you for posting this. This sums up my feelings as well and better than I can articulate. Very well said. I'll panic when there is need to panic over.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
McCloughan may very well have had some off the work site issues in the past and they may have recurred here in Washington.

BUT, the one thing that strikes in my mind is that Chris Cooley, whose show I generally like, DOES have a dog in this fight in re Allen/McCloughan.

Two years ago Cooley wanted to make a comeback and had a tryout with the NY Giants. He wanted to come back to the Redskins first and Allen was open to the idea if Gruden was.

Cooley indicated on his show that McCloughan shot that down and indicated the team was moving on at TE.

So, there is some baggage there.

Cooley is used to walking into Redskins Park and seeing nothing but smiling faces. Because McCloughan was not here when Cooley was a player, he really doesn't know him, so the familiarity and closeness is not there.

Just something to consider.
 
Well, that, and the fact that even when Cooley WAS a Redskin, he was pretty much an arrogant prick. He got away with it because he was savvy with the press and generally produced on the field. But I did see it up close.
 
It was amusing to see Cooley, 33, say this past offseason that at his age and being out of the league for 2 plus years that he could still go out and start for half of the teams in the NFL :laugh:

He got mad when he interviewed with Bill Parcells at the combine back in 2004 and Parcells told him that Jason Witten was going to be a better NFL player and Cooley would have to start out proving himself on special teams and as a blocker.

But in the end result that's what happened.

Witten is headed to the Hall of Fame.

Cooley had a solid career, a couple of alternate bids for the pro bowl, and some good coin in the bank.

But he was no franchise great.

He jokes around about being one of the ex-jocks following the team in the media, but in reality his career didn't come close to the others like Sonny, John Riggins and even Brian Mitchell.
 
...As for the DC search, let's be honest - until the Redskins have a run of perennial playoff appearances, playoff wins, lead by a stable coaching staff, perhaps even a championship or two, DC will always be a less attractive destination for coaches, most likely due to the reputation of Snyder as a meddling, petty owner. That may or may not be a fair characterization of him currently, who knows?

I agree with the most of what you posted and a lot of what Henry is saying, but I am still not sold on Gruden long term anymore nor Scot to be allowed to do all things necessary to win. You think Scot McGloughan wanted Joe Barry as his defensive coordinator when the best 3-4 DC in history was available? I can't accept that and a good GM does not allow his coach to make that mistake...unless his hands are tied. There are a bevy of other minor issues that have me concerned Scot may lack the autonomy we'd hoped he'd have. And to be honest, I am afraid the rift in the Cousins contract has something underlying. Cousins wears his emotions on his sleeve at times, I cannot think for a second there wasn't something to Kirk rubbing Scot's head screaming, "How you like that?"

I agree the year before made us all think the ship was headed in the right direction, but if you think last year was something to see hope from, I'm not sure we're seeing the same thing. The product on the field last year was poor in every area except QB stats.

The final offensive series of the season was indicative of the entire year, we moved the ball down the field with ease, we had a good defense on their heals in the waning moments, our QB is on fire, the offense looks unstoppable. What do we do? Call a timeout with more than a minute left and only 35 yards to get to the EZ. With a tired defense given the chance to substitute players, we call a pass play, and Cousins throws an INT when the draw with Chris Thompson had been killing them and we needed to kill some clock. How many times during the season did we give the opposition too much time to win a game?

That drive was like much of the season, one too many mistakes. I think our FO is kinda like that.
 
I've had an epiphany. The last month has been a nonstop agenda of remodeling bathrooms and getting our home ready to sell. (Trying to buy a small farm in South Carolina!)

As a result, I've stayed off line for the most part and gave been insulated from whatever press driven drama has arisen regarding our skins.

I happy! As far as I'm concerned, the team is simply ready to further continuously improve.
 
Last edited:
I agree the year before made us all think the ship was headed in the right direction, but if you think last year was something to see hope from, I'm not sure we're seeing the same thing. The product on the field last year was poor in every area except QB stats.

Well, that and wins/losses. Which is kinda the be-all end-all stat.

The thing is, we can say one slightly winning season was a fluke, good luck, a fortuitous schedule, a weak division ... whatever. And we can look at that team's weaknesses and say "We were poor in a lot of areas and therefore we probably won't be any good the next year."

But two winning seasons? Even barely winning seasons ... that's a pattern. For whatever reason, this team is good enough, right now, to be a winning team. They've done it repeatedly. And there is just as much room to improve as there is to get worse. I'm not saying necessarily improvement is more likely, but then neither is sucking.

The final offensive series of the season was indicative of the entire year, we moved the ball down the field with ease, we had a good defense on their heals in the waning moments, our QB is on fire, the offense looks unstoppable. What do we do? Call a timeout with more than a minute left and only 35 yards to get to the EZ. With a tired defense given the chance to substitute players, we call a pass play, and Cousins throws an INT when the draw with Chris Thompson had been killing them and we needed to kill some clock. How many times during the season did we give the opposition too much time to win a game?

That drive was like much of the season, one too many mistakes. I think our FO is kinda like that.

Gruden is a bit too much like Norv Turner for my tastes. Then again, so was Pete Carroll. I think I'm going to wait and see for sure that the team crashes and burns before I bemoan it.

Trust me, if we win 6 games next year, you'll never hear the end of it from me. :)
 
1. Resign Cousins

2. Sign Dontari Poe in FA to anchor the DL despite the price tag. He's only 26 and entering his prime.

3. Use the 10 draft picks to add youth and speed to the defense as well as a wide receiver in the middle rounds to ultimately take the place or Garcon or Jackson, whichever one walks.

I know it sounds straight-forward, but it's just the straight-forward things that seem to confuse and perplex this team's front office and ownership.

Sometimes the moves that are available are the ones you make :)

Without over-questioning it.
 
No, they will franchise Berry and let Poe walk.

Poe will cost at least $13M a season. Doubt we chase those numbers.
 
After thinking about it for quite some time, I've decided that one's personal perspective plays a huge role in how this team will approach things (specifically the roster) in the coming months.

On the one hand, you've got a fan base of a sad-sacked franchise for the better part of a 25 year period - us! Here we stand with 17 wins in our pocket over a two year period, a division championship, and back to back seasons with a plus .500 record - the first time that has happened in a 19 year window I might add. As a Redskins fan, you'd be hard-pressed to deny that things are looking up - even slightly. You're chomping at the bit. You get the sense that the team is getting closer, that we are approaching the point where we can start being taken seriously in the conference.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of a fan of a consistent winner - the model franchises around the league...the likes of the Pats, Steelers, Packers, etc. Would they be of the mindset that with the very same results the Redskins have achieved over the last two year window that they are on the verge of something special, or that they need to reexamine the direction of their football team?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is if the front office sees the moderate levels of success we've achieved the last two years as fool's gold, and feels as though stripping things back and taking a few steps backwards the next year or two are our best course of action longterm, while it would be enormously tough to swallow after seemingly exiting the NFL abyss, I think I'd be okay with it.

I personally would love to see this team being led by Kirk Cousins, Desean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Chris Baker, etc., to Super Bowl after Super Bowl victory in the future. I want to believe in my heart that these types of players are part of the foundation on which we can build long-term success. However, if someone with way more football acumen than myself determines/feels they aren't the TRUE solution, then so be it...irregardless of the fact that the needle has just started to point up for this team.

Could we as Redskins fans possibly be giving our guys more credit than they deserve? Are we putting too much stock into a group that's won 17 games over two years? Could we as a fan base simply be so far removed from successful football that we've lowered our standards for what GREAT play looks like?

I certainly don't want to discredit anything this team has accomplished the last couple years. It's been a welcomed change. At the same time, I feel as though that overvaluing successes could also be extremely dangerous for a franchise's long-term success.

In many ways, I get the sense that the front office is attempting to not run the risk of overvaluing what we are currently stocked with on our roster.

The bind they face is that they are attempting to do this while also having to justify why to fan base that has just remotely began to make their way out of the abyss.
 
No, they will franchise Berry and let Poe walk.

Poe will cost at least $13M a season. Doubt we chase those numbers.

Latest word looks like they may well work out the deal with Berry so they can franchise Poe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It's possible, but their cap room is very thin. A lot of work will be needed either way.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 4, Members: 0, Guests: 4)

Help Users
As we enjoy today's conversations, let's remember our dear friends 'Docsandy', Sandy Zier-Teitler, and 'Posse Lover', Michael Huffman, who would dearly love to be here with us today! We love and miss you guys ❤

You haven't joined any rooms.

    You haven't joined any rooms.
    Top