 }})
Greetings BGO!
We're back! We come at you with the first installment of "Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips" for the 2022 edition of the Washington Commanders. The name may have changed, the uniforms might not be as pretty, but the tendency of Washington's football franchise to have games come down to the wire while causing a bit of heart damage was ever present this past Sunday vs. the Jaguars. Thankfully, the good guys prevailed with a 28-22 victory! Let's get right to a quick snapshot of this week's Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips.
Studs:
1. Carson Wentz - Dan Snyder warned us. He told us, "we finally have ourselves a Quarterback." He might just be right for once in his despicable life. Interceptions and mistakes aside, with the game on the line, Carson Wentz delivered and showed us some big time arm strength that could realistically keep us in any ball game this coming season. Down by 8 points in the fourth quarter, Commander Carson delivered two huge TD passes to Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson for the victory. He spent a whole offseason hearing about how he couldn't beat Jacksonville to get the Colts into the playoffs last year. Could you imagine how loud the critics would have been had he not recovered from the two INTs on Sunday vs. the same team?! Wentz showed excellent mental strength and grit. Huge kudos to him for showing the guts to spring this team to victory.
2. Jahan Dotson - We may have just hit the Wide Receiver jackpot again with this kid. Two TDs in your first NFL game is extremely impressive...and how about the body control and hands the kid showed to come down with the ball on the game winning TD?! Dotson quickly proved that teams are going to have to carefully account for him on Sundays, otherwise, they are going to have a long day at the office on defense. In just one NFL start, he proved the game is certainly not too big for him, and he brings a great approach and sense of maturity to the football field. Does that remind you of somebody else who suits up on offense for us on Sundays?
3. Curtis Samuel - A healthy and productive Curtis Samuel in 2022 is what B&G fans have been clamoring for forever it feels like. Samuel responded in a huge way on Sunday. He was one of the main driving forces behind our scoring drives on our first two possessions of the season. The ball was put in his hands quickly and his feet and moves did the rest of the work. He was a Swiss Army knife and showcased how having the luxury of lining him up all over the field makes this offense that much more electric and unpredictable. We will forgive him (for now) for the fumble before halftime when the Commanders appeared to be driving to put the game out of reach.
4. Derrick Forrest - the 5th round pick out of Cincinnati certainly made his presence felt on Sunday. I don't think too many people had high expectations in terms of what he could contribute in 2022, but now, Forrest has certainly raised the bar. He delivered a jarring hit on Travis Etienne, broke up a two-point convert attempt in the endzone, broke up another long third down pass to the back of the endzone, and sealed the game on the Jags' final possession with his first INT. All in all, he was noticeable in a lot of positive ways on Sunday. Forrest certainly picked a perfect time to step things up in the absence of Kam Curl.
5. Daron Payne - many of us toyed with the idea of trading Daron Payne in the offseason, thinking the Commanders could benefit from that. He made us look kind of silly on Sunday. Personally, I am not too sure we win that game without him. With the Jags holding a lead in the 4th quarter, Payne made some huge plays on successive drives to get us the ball back on both occasions. He delivered a crucial sack to force a punt, and batted down a pass from Lawrence on a key down to stop the Jags a second time. If Payne is looking for a payday, Sunday certainly helped his cause.
Duds:
1. Kendall Fuller - a bad day at the office for Kendall. He got beat a few times for large chunks of yardage, and was also on the wrong side of a few costly penalty calls. Sure, there was a pass interference call that was silly, but all in all, it is a day Fuller would like to forget. The good news is that I recall Fuller having a few days like this early in the year in 2021 as well. He responded nicely and ended up having a solid year. There is no reason to believe that he can't get things fixed.
2. Andrew Norwell - it pains me to put an offensive lineman on this list, because I am one of the biggest fans of what John Matsko has been able to do with the big men upfront. However, with the offense spinning its wheels for a large portion of the second half, Norwell had two illegal hands to the face penalties called against him. He will be the first to tell you that a former All-Pro veteran needs to do better.
3. Dan Snyder - just because...
Hat Tips:
1. Terry McLaurin - when you need a play, just dial up Terry's number and lean on him. "Mr. Clutch" got us back in the game down by 8 points in the 4th quarter with a 49 yard touchdown reception down the right sideline. While only targeted 4 times in the game, he still made his presence felt in a huge way. That's what special players do, and Terry is certainly one of them.
2. Antonio Gibson - he made receptions downfield and showed his ability to catch the football probably more so than any other game he has played in burgundy and gold in his career. 130 combined yards was a great day at the office for Antonio. With Brian Robinson sidelined, he proved pretty effective on a few occasions bursting between the tackles on runs as well. Best of all - no fumbles!
3. Scott Turner - he kept it simple early on in the game. He got the ball out of Wentz's hands immediately throughout the first half and let the skill guys do their thing. It worked! In the second half when we were spinning our tires for a bit, I thought there should have been more of an emphasis on using the run to establish some momentum and settle us down, but all in all, there was good creativity and unpredictability showed by Turner with almost of full stock of weapons at his disposal on the offensive side of the ball.
4. Charles Leno Jr. - we almost take this guy and his effectiveness for granted sometimes. First game of the season for Carson Wentz with a brand new team, and he pretty much had nothing to worry about in terms of pressure coming from his blindside. Kudos to #72!
5. Washington Fans - there seemed to be a decent amount of energy in the stadium for Week 1. This fanbase has been battered, bruised, and beaten up for years. It was nice to see the home crowd bringing some excitement to FedEx in the start of a new era for the franchise.
That's it for Week 1. What are your thoughts? Who did we miss or get wrong?
We're back! We come at you with the first installment of "Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips" for the 2022 edition of the Washington Commanders. The name may have changed, the uniforms might not be as pretty, but the tendency of Washington's football franchise to have games come down to the wire while causing a bit of heart damage was ever present this past Sunday vs. the Jaguars. Thankfully, the good guys prevailed with a 28-22 victory! Let's get right to a quick snapshot of this week's Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips.
Studs:
1. Carson Wentz - Dan Snyder warned us. He told us, "we finally have ourselves a Quarterback." He might just be right for once in his despicable life. Interceptions and mistakes aside, with the game on the line, Carson Wentz delivered and showed us some big time arm strength that could realistically keep us in any ball game this coming season. Down by 8 points in the fourth quarter, Commander Carson delivered two huge TD passes to Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson for the victory. He spent a whole offseason hearing about how he couldn't beat Jacksonville to get the Colts into the playoffs last year. Could you imagine how loud the critics would have been had he not recovered from the two INTs on Sunday vs. the same team?! Wentz showed excellent mental strength and grit. Huge kudos to him for showing the guts to spring this team to victory.
2. Jahan Dotson - We may have just hit the Wide Receiver jackpot again with this kid. Two TDs in your first NFL game is extremely impressive...and how about the body control and hands the kid showed to come down with the ball on the game winning TD?! Dotson quickly proved that teams are going to have to carefully account for him on Sundays, otherwise, they are going to have a long day at the office on defense. In just one NFL start, he proved the game is certainly not too big for him, and he brings a great approach and sense of maturity to the football field. Does that remind you of somebody else who suits up on offense for us on Sundays?
3. Curtis Samuel - A healthy and productive Curtis Samuel in 2022 is what B&G fans have been clamoring for forever it feels like. Samuel responded in a huge way on Sunday. He was one of the main driving forces behind our scoring drives on our first two possessions of the season. The ball was put in his hands quickly and his feet and moves did the rest of the work. He was a Swiss Army knife and showcased how having the luxury of lining him up all over the field makes this offense that much more electric and unpredictable. We will forgive him (for now) for the fumble before halftime when the Commanders appeared to be driving to put the game out of reach.
4. Derrick Forrest - the 5th round pick out of Cincinnati certainly made his presence felt on Sunday. I don't think too many people had high expectations in terms of what he could contribute in 2022, but now, Forrest has certainly raised the bar. He delivered a jarring hit on Travis Etienne, broke up a two-point convert attempt in the endzone, broke up another long third down pass to the back of the endzone, and sealed the game on the Jags' final possession with his first INT. All in all, he was noticeable in a lot of positive ways on Sunday. Forrest certainly picked a perfect time to step things up in the absence of Kam Curl.
5. Daron Payne - many of us toyed with the idea of trading Daron Payne in the offseason, thinking the Commanders could benefit from that. He made us look kind of silly on Sunday. Personally, I am not too sure we win that game without him. With the Jags holding a lead in the 4th quarter, Payne made some huge plays on successive drives to get us the ball back on both occasions. He delivered a crucial sack to force a punt, and batted down a pass from Lawrence on a key down to stop the Jags a second time. If Payne is looking for a payday, Sunday certainly helped his cause.
Duds:
1. Kendall Fuller - a bad day at the office for Kendall. He got beat a few times for large chunks of yardage, and was also on the wrong side of a few costly penalty calls. Sure, there was a pass interference call that was silly, but all in all, it is a day Fuller would like to forget. The good news is that I recall Fuller having a few days like this early in the year in 2021 as well. He responded nicely and ended up having a solid year. There is no reason to believe that he can't get things fixed.
2. Andrew Norwell - it pains me to put an offensive lineman on this list, because I am one of the biggest fans of what John Matsko has been able to do with the big men upfront. However, with the offense spinning its wheels for a large portion of the second half, Norwell had two illegal hands to the face penalties called against him. He will be the first to tell you that a former All-Pro veteran needs to do better.
3. Dan Snyder - just because...
Hat Tips:
1. Terry McLaurin - when you need a play, just dial up Terry's number and lean on him. "Mr. Clutch" got us back in the game down by 8 points in the 4th quarter with a 49 yard touchdown reception down the right sideline. While only targeted 4 times in the game, he still made his presence felt in a huge way. That's what special players do, and Terry is certainly one of them.
2. Antonio Gibson - he made receptions downfield and showed his ability to catch the football probably more so than any other game he has played in burgundy and gold in his career. 130 combined yards was a great day at the office for Antonio. With Brian Robinson sidelined, he proved pretty effective on a few occasions bursting between the tackles on runs as well. Best of all - no fumbles!
3. Scott Turner - he kept it simple early on in the game. He got the ball out of Wentz's hands immediately throughout the first half and let the skill guys do their thing. It worked! In the second half when we were spinning our tires for a bit, I thought there should have been more of an emphasis on using the run to establish some momentum and settle us down, but all in all, there was good creativity and unpredictability showed by Turner with almost of full stock of weapons at his disposal on the offensive side of the ball.
4. Charles Leno Jr. - we almost take this guy and his effectiveness for granted sometimes. First game of the season for Carson Wentz with a brand new team, and he pretty much had nothing to worry about in terms of pressure coming from his blindside. Kudos to #72!
5. Washington Fans - there seemed to be a decent amount of energy in the stadium for Week 1. This fanbase has been battered, bruised, and beaten up for years. It was nice to see the home crowd bringing some excitement to FedEx in the start of a new era for the franchise.
That's it for Week 1. What are your thoughts? Who did we miss or get wrong?
