Random Commanders Thoughts

For some reason I was remembering this game today. I was jumping up and down, yelling after this one.

It’d be nice to get that fandom back, but won’t be holding my breath for it

 
Well, the hope here is that the trouble Snyder and Co. have been in re ownership and the workplace harassments scandal is enough to keep him 'sidelined' from active management of the draft, roster, etc. for some time.

I remember back to the 1990's when George Steinbrenner was suspended from MLB. The Yankees GM and front office were able to develop players and stop selling off key prospects for aging veterans and that helped them win 4 World Series over 5 plus years.

Any period of time Snyder is effectively sidelined - if the team makes the right moves and starts winning - will in my mind be a watershed of sorts.
 
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Scherff reportedly turned down an offer that would make him the highest paid guard in the league.
 
For some reason Washington seems to engender players that are adamant about breaking the bank on contracts - Kirk Cousins, Trent Williams and now Scherff.

Andrew Norwell was not worth the record-setting deal he received in free agency - guard is simply not a position where that type of money NEEDS to be spent to find capable performers.

It's a bit like strong safety.

These, along with running back, are ones where players can be found in the middle rounds of the draft.

Teams that outspend to keep players at these positions almost always come to regret it a season or two later when other players emerge and need to be paid.

If Scherff had been very durable and was 26-27 years old instead of heading towards 30 with a history of injuries I would perhaps be more in favor of trying to keep him - but evidently he wants a Trent Williams type deal for a guard and that's just not going to happen.

McLaurin, Young, Allen, Payne, etc. all need to get paid and have far more career in front of them to think they can perform to their contracts.

Scherff is almost guaranteed to be a cut with dead money at some point in the future, regardless of who signs him.

Think Trent Williams is going to be playing LT at a high level at 35 or 36?
 
We're going to get a real sense of how much 'culture change' has taken root in a couple years when we are vying to keep our young stars on the roster. DC is not a premier NFL destination. Winning and the possibility of perennial playoff appearances and championships can change that, but it's likely the only thing that changes it.
 
I don't agree.

Yes, the team is going to have to come to the table with legit offers for McLaurin, Young, etc. when they come up. But because their experience in Washington under Rivera is far different from what Kirk, Trent Williams and Scherff saw for the majority of their careers here, I think these younger players view the situation more favorably.

We are not New England 4 or 5 years ago that could get players to come there for pennies on the dollar to get a ring.

But homegrown players treated right by the coach and not low-balled on offers goes a long way.

Remember too that the club has to decide WHICH PLAYERS are the core ones and need to be kept while there are others that are simply not affordable under the cap, etc.

On the defensive line, I could see a scenario where Chase Young, Daron Payne and Montez Sweat get resigned by the club but due to the cap we have to see Jonathan Allen, Matt Ionannidis and Tim Settle leave in free agency.

That doesn't mean the club doesn't like those players but realistically you can only pay 2 or 3 defensive linemen or offensive linemen on second contracts.

On the OL as well as DL I think you have to look at the criticality of the position and the upside of the player in question.

Out of the 5 positions in terms of philosophy I would say you pay the center and the two tackle positions and mix/match at guard with draft picks and mid-tier free agency signings.

I would not break the bank to resign a guard. Again, the example of Ereck Flowers shows you can find a guard.

Just like on the defensive line I think Chase Young is more vital to lock up long-term than say Jonathan Allen.

I want to keep both players but Young to me is the one who is least replaceable as a force going both ways on the outside. He is also turning into a leader and defensive captain at 22/23. So that counts in the wash too.
 
I don't think we disagree at all - because what creates that winning tradition is exactly what you are referencing.
 
Right, but it goes deeper than that. Cousins HATED the Redskins organization. The team won the NFC East in 2015 and finished above .500 in 2016 but he still couldn't wait to get the hell out of here.

The arrogance of Bruce Allen not only turned off the players but also prevented us from getting good value in trading them at the right time when it was obvious to everyone else guys like Cousins and Williams were not coming back here.

Guys like Quinton Dunbar may not have liked that Rivera actually wanted to see them perform in his defense before he gave them an extension, but that type of thing is NFL business and not unusual.

It's the 'I couldn't wait to get out of DC' euphoria that players used to have that I don't see any longer.

Scherff says he wants to be back here but the 'body language' so to speak seems to indicate otherwise. Yes, he would come back for $20M a year just like Lav Coles came here when the team was willing to give him $5M more than anyone else was offering.

But in Scherff I still see the wariness and the 'I need battle pay' allowance to play here.
 
Cousins felt slighted from day 1. Instead of being grateful the Redskins saw enough in him to take him in the 4th round even though they'd drafted RG3, he felt slighted and I don't think ever forgave them for making him sit for seasons until the Griffin experiment was over. I think that's kind of a unique situation and not necessary illustrative of the larger situation. To your point, having openly dysfunctional and vindictive leadership in place, not to mention Jay Gruden cruising high school chicks while smoking a doob after hours, isn't very conducive to the perceptoin that you belong to a professional organization. I think that's obviously true. To date, last year aside, what would entice a player to stay in DC other than a big paycheck? I think the answer has been - nothing. That may be changing, but until we start retaining our marquee players, I'm going to assume that mostly what drives these decisions is the almighty dollar. I'd love for that to change and not be the only factor involved in our desirable players minds, but I'll believe it once we demonstrate we can start keeping the band together.
 
Right. And unfortunately Scherff was here for the worst and no doubt has a bit of a bad taste in his mouth.

If Washington was coming off a couple of seasons going deep in the playoffs, perhaps to the NFC title game, I think he would still want a big contract but not necessarily what he is asking for now.

The problem for him was that while he came as a young guy as the #5 overall pick, in the intervening years the club has gotten a LOT younger around him and a lot more talented.

So, where his resigning might have been a no-brainer in 2018 or 2019 it isn't any longer.

My gut feeling is that Rivera doesn't want to spend $18M beyond 2021 for Scherff or ANY guard.

And that to me comes from his days as an NFL linebacker and defensive coach in the NFL.

I don't think he looks at it as a critical position to break the bank for.
 
This is the type of thing you hear when you have an elite unit. You start attracting other people who want to play with that unit

www.washingtonfootball.com

The Obvious Selling Point For Washington’s Free Agent DBs

William Jackson III and Darryl Roberts are excited to play behind one of the best defensive lines in the NFL.
www.washingtonfootball.com www.washingtonfootball.com
 
Classic!!!! Love me some stink.
 
Stink on the Skins '91 NFC Championship beatdown of Detroit:

"The sisters were nicer to Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption than we were to the Lions that day."

That's good stuff.
 
he is slaying these Jets fans. It is almost not a fair fight!

what happened to get him on this kick?
 
I am not going to post the link to this article because I hate PFT, but this was a good read. Its hard not to root for this kid.


Newly signed Washington Football Team tight end Sammis Reyes took an usual path to the NFL.

Reyes came to the United States from Chile at 14, learned English, and played basketball at Tulane before trying his hand at football. He spent a few months learning the game and working out in Florida in hopes of landing a spot in the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, but wound up doing well enough at workout to land a contract with Washington.

Reyes, who told reporters on Wednesday that the call from Washington was “a moment of true happiness,” has the physical tools teams are looking for. He’s 6’5″ and weighs 260 pounds with a 40-inch vertical and a 4.65 40-yard dash. There’s still a steep learning curve, of course, but Reyes vowed to put in the time necessary to make Washington’s roll of the dice pay off.

“I always tell people: I don’t think there’s going to be anything harder than having to leave home when you’re 14,” Reyes said, via Peter Hailey of NBCSportsWashington.com. “So I’m prepared for whatever comes. . . . What I do know is that no one is going to outwork me.”

Reyes’ odds of making it to the roster may not be that great, but the odds of him getting to this point weren’t much better and that work ethic should serve his bid well in the months to come.
Click to expand...
 
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