The Sky Has Really, Really Fallen Thread

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

Yeah, I think most of us looked at Mikey as a positive on an upward trajectory going into this season.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I said he's drafted well overall. There are bound to be misses, and development is real. It often takes longer if you're both developing and taking up the slack for others in your unit. AP has only been in charge a year and a half, and he's giving the coordinators and position coaches sufficient talent to yield better results than the results we've seen. Some players aren't seeing enough time on the field doing what got them drafted, largely because coaches aren't using them as (or as often) as they should. The celebrations for #82 yesterday were for a reason.

And I'm saying he has not drafted well overall and gave examples. Teams all over the league are getting production from their 2nd round picks in year 2, AP had 3 of them and right now none are productive. While I'm not ready to say development by the coaches is unimportant some times you can't make chicken soup out of....

Like you I still believe in Sainristill. But we can't ignore what we are seeing with the same coaching staff, it is perplexing. Bottom line is while I still like the pick this is a TBD situation.

Newton has done nothing in a year and a half. Again if you can play in this league you show something halfway through your 2nd year.

Sinnott is a gadget guy, he was hardly recruited out of high school. That's the type of player you draft on Day 3 not in round 2 and we are paying the price for this decision.

McCaffery was a converted QB, another project who was slated to go in the 4th and we reached. 11 catches in 9 games.

Coleman appeared to be a good pick. He went from possible future LT to inactive coaches decision pretty quickly and now has no defined position other than as a backup.

We're assumed Magee has something based on all the comments from the coaches. But then again DQ spent the entire camp talking up Quan Martin. So until we actually see him make a play we can't say Magee was a good pick either.

I liked the '25 draft better. Amos appears to be a player you can build with. Connerly has played much better lately which is great news. But again teams all over the league got far more production from their 1st round pick this season and he is unfortunately a TBD situation as well. Too early to say on Layne, I loved the JCM pick and can't understand why he is being criticized. You can't make yards that aren't there, teams are taking away the run because of the WR situation.

The bottom line is this is the oldest team in the league and they needed to get far more production from their draft picks. And he had a lot of draft picks.

 

[Petey hodge]

Do we have a graphic of the Day 1 Starters... vs today's Starters which shows all of the Day 1 guys on Injured Reserve?

That would be powerful to see.

Example:
Ekeler OUT.
Noah, NEVER REALLY IN
That new Safety that I didnt get to know his name, OUT
Wise, OUT
Jayden, OUT for bunch of games
Selfish Terry, HOLDING OUT, then OUT

 

[Riggo44]

Do we have a graphic of the Day 1 Starters... vs today

 

[Chris]

That’s only 45% of the expected starters! Many other teams experience that and never skip a beat. Enough with the injury ‘excuses’. The piss-poor underperforming GM, HC, OC, etc have all got to go. 😉

 

[Riggo44]

That’s only 45% of the expected starters! Many other teams experience that and never skip a beat. Enough with the injury ‘excuses’. The piss-poor underperforming GM, HC, OC, etc have all got to go. 😉

What? No "Sell the Team?" No "Harris is Snyder" proclamations? How far we've fallen as a fanbase!

 

[Faithful Fan]

Here we are again, another lost season. We thought the new owner, manager, coach, and QB had finally changed our fortunes. We were the marquee team following a miraculous run last year. We should know better by now. This injury plagued season and six game losing streak is the norm. We are the same losers we have been for decades. What hope is there?

We struggled for years before Norv finally had a good team in 1999, then that botched snap happened and we wouldn’t host another playoff game for 12 years.

Gibbs brought some hope when he returned after the embarrassment of Spurrier, but ultimately his tenure ended in the worst tragedy we have seen. Sean Taylor should have been a Hall of Famer, instead he was murdered before he hit his prime.

Then five more embarrassing years before RG3 brought hope. He had one magical season but shredded his knee before the postseason and ended up a punchline. That picture of him lying broken on the turf is etched in memory.

Then more futility before Alex Smith showed up and won some games. Then the curse hit him too. So many stories like that.

Then they took our mascot and destroyed our brand, and we lost a large portion of the few remaining fans. Listen to people singing the old fight song while the new one plays, in a run-down stadium that’s removed tens of thousands of seats due to declining attendance, that’s us. Josh Harris bought a distressed asset.

This is a tragic place. The misery and agony of DC football are so deeply engrained in our collective psyche, the fans have developed the habit of rooting to lose for draft position sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving every year. It’s hard to imagine it changing. On the rare occasions something good happens it ends horribly. Poor Jayden should get out of here as fast as he can before the curse hits him too. Ours is a sad story.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

The Lions were winless a few years back. Fortunes can change with worse owners than Harris.

Give it time. There just is not a quick fix in store for us but we have the impossible step complete. Snyder is gone. That needed to happen and was nigh unimaginable.

Now all is possible with time. I for one am patient.

 

[Conn]

Nightmare seasons happen, imperfect (or outright bad) offseasons, poor roster construction, poor coaching, and lots of injuries all contribute sometimes. This is one of those times.

I haven’t believed in curses or the like since before my frontal lobe finished developing, outcomes result from a combination of processes, circumstances, and chance.

As long as the processes keep improving under this ownership group, over a larger sample size the outcomes will improve. Eventually the circumstances and chance will line up and allow for something special to happen, hopefully it’s in our lifetimes. It’s not guaranteed. But learning from mistakes and improving processes will always result in generally improving outcomes, with expected ups and downs along the timeline.

I wasn’t happy with our offseason approach, I’m not thrilled with some members of our coaching staff, and we have a lot of work to do. This has indeed been a nightmare season and a slap in the face after last season’s glimmer of hope. Nobody should be happy, and despair is understandable.

But there’s nothing magically wrong with this franchise. Now that Snyder is gone, we’re a normal franchise with all the hope in the world of experiencing the entire range of potential outcomes, not just the bad ones. This year was bad.

 

[abdcskins]

I'll just say that we need to get younger, not older. We signed and traded for all these veterans hoping it would put us over the top, and it did quite the opposite. The injuries only amplified the situation.

The young guys that we do have have not showed any progression. Even when Jayden was healthy (he has never been 100% healthy this year) he didn't look that great. No one to throw to. Terry has been a massive disappointment. I had a feeling we shouldn't have given him all that money, and guess what, he got paid and now he is lounging at his mansion doing nothing. Will probably be like that again next year (I sure as hell hope not).

Need to get a top 5-7 draft pick and trade down. I hope Conerly can get better, I haven't exactly been examining his play, but I have definitely seen him get beat. Defense needs an entire overhaul. I can't remember that last time we had anything remotely near a lockdown corner. Maybe we can find one in the draft (yeah right). Lattimore was a complete bust of a trade.

 

[method man]

I'll just say that we need to get younger, not older. We signed and traded for all these veterans hoping it would put us over the top, and it did quite the opposite. The injuries only amplified the situation.

The young guys that we do have have not showed any progression. Even when Jayden was healthy (he has never been 100% healthy this year) he didn't look that great. No one to throw to. Terry has been a massive disappointment. I had a feeling we shouldn't have given him all that money, and guess what, he got paid and now he is lounging at his mansion doing nothing. Will probably be like that again next year (I sure as hell hope not).

Need to get a top 5-7 draft pick and trade down. I hope Conerly can get better, I haven't exactly been examining his play, but I have definitely seen him get beat. Defense needs an entire overhaul. I can't remember that last time we had anything remotely near a lockdown corner. Maybe we can find one in the draft (yeah right). Lattimore was a complete bust of a trade.

With two years of AP drafts in the books, he has been way better at multiyear FA deals so far than the draft sadly.

 

[Discobob]

That’s only 45% of the expected starters! Many other teams experience that and never skip a beat. Enough with the injury ‘excuses’. The piss-poor underperforming GM, HC, OC, etc have all got to go. 😉

I like the space you're in, we all know that the coaches still have to get us into the right space regardless of the team head space. That's the space where we need to live.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

With two years of AP drafts in the books, he has been way better at multiyear FA deals so far than the draft sadly.

Without being an AP acolyte; some GMs (especially green? No data for that) seem to lean in on collaborating on picks a lot. So if your coaching staff has deficiencies and your GM doesn’t understand when to override and when not to?

It tanks both GM and coaching staff.

This dynamic for AP has to develop better; to me, the picks are better than Rivera, but I believe the coaching staff has some serious issues. Also, as a result of the latter- even Rivera’s picks looked much worse than they should have. I don’t believe we needed as much change as we got. I think some of the moves were in the wrong places, frankly.

 

[method man]

Without being an AP acolyte; some GMs (especially green? No data for that) seem to lean in on collaborating on picks a lot. So if your coaching staff has deficiencies and your GM doesn’t understand when to override and when not to?

It tanks both GM and coaching staff.

This dynamic for AP has to develop better; to me, the picks are better than Rivera, but I believe the coaching staff has some serious issues. Also, as a result of the latter- even Rivera’s picks looked much worse than they should have. I don’t believe we needed as much change as we got. I think some of the moves were in the wrong places, frankly.

You know, this is one of the things that did Chris Grier in as a GM. I was listening to the Dolphins podcast guy on Galdi’s podcast last week and he pointed to this. They had a bunch of bad drafts and apparently Grier took too much direction from the coaching staff on those picks

 

[Faithful Fan]

Nightmare seasons happen, . . .

They certainly do, in our case they happen over and over again for the past 30+ years. Since 1993, we have had at most four good years (1999, 2005, 2012, and 2024), all of which were followed by spectacular collapses. We have had well over a dozen nightmare seasons (defined as 6 or fewer wins) in the same period.

I haven’t believed in curses or the like since before my frontal lobe finished developing, outcomes result from a combination of processes, circumstances, and chance.

This would be more convincing if changing circumstances and processes ever made a difference in the outcome. It seems we’ve tried everything: two hall of fame coaches, big-time college coaches, respected vet coaches, first-time head coaches, offensive masterminds, defensive masterminds, big name coordinators, all-star coaching staffs, giving coaches a short leash, giving coaches a long leash, big name general managers, massive free agency spending, stacking draft picks and building through the draft, rookie quarterback sensations, veteran quarterbacks, new ownership, new brand, and so on. None of it has ever worked.

But there’s nothing magically wrong with this franchise.

You don’t have to believe in magic to know there is a lot wrong with this franchise. Not only the perpetual losing, but look at our horrible brand, dilapidated stadium, and miserable shrinking fanbase.

I’m glad so many of my fellow fans can enjoy the tank-a-thon and the false hope that comes with it, but I’m just so tired of having this same conversation over and over again.

I wish I could just stop caring about this team, it seems more than anything they just make me miserable, but evidently I can’t quit them. I keep thinking eventually my patience will be rewarded with sustained success, which will be made so much sweeter because of the wait, but if so, when? I still love the team, but I’ve lost all hope that we will ever be good again.

 

[Neophyte]

Geez, guys. Revise history much?

The Newton pick was universally hailed as brilliant last year. The only downside anyone pointed to was that he would be behind Allen and Payne, but before the draft, he was considered a mid-first round pick by everyone. Getting him at #36? Total steal.

Remember, Chase Young was considered the best player in his draft. By everyone.

It's great to look back and grade on new information but with the information we had at the time, Newton was great move.

Would I have traded #40 away? No. In fact, I was on record on the pre-draft pod as being a huge DeJean fan. I wanted him here. But when that draft happened, we had just drafted Forbes high the year before. Quinn was on record as having been a fan of Forbes during the draft the previous year and I think Quinn and Whitt really thought he was just misused by JDR and Rivera. Forbes didn't work (here) and they thought they needed a slot CB more urgently.

I can't help but think Sinnott's issue is less about Sinnott than it is a trust factor for Ertz on the part of Kingsbury. It's just a guess but I think Sinnott would shock some folks if Ertz got injured and had to miss time.

All I know is my Dad was right when told me that hindsight is 20/20. My guess is all of us dated girls/guys who looked like great moves at the time but after the fact not so much.

 

[Riggo44]

In fact, I was on record on the pre-draft pod as being a huge DeJean fan.

deJean also has the luxury of playing behind that DL.

 

[Neophyte]

deJean also has the luxury of playing behind that DL.

You are not wrong. A disruptive DL is a CB's best friend.

 

[NoCalSkins]

I don't watch enough college to ever really have an opinion on who gets drafted outside recognizing when we draft for positions that there are glaring needs for on the roster. I have been a fan of the NFL for long enough to know that there is rarely a guaranteed "can't miss" regardless of what the experts say. Sometimes draft picks don't pan out for unforeseen circumstances but it didn't make taking the player a bad decision at the time. Contrast that with organizations with good coaching staffs and developmental systems and you see 3rd and 4th round picks turn into studs within a couple seasons. There are so many variables that go into it when up to college a lot of times athleticism alone allows a certain number of players to accel beyond their peers.

My general belief is you want volume going into the draft because only a certain amount of players are going to hit as viable long term starters and an even smaller amount are going to pan out as the blue chip pro-bowl/all-pro players you need to anchor a championship team. Depending on high a pick we end up with I would probably lean towards trading back to increase the amount of picks.

 

[SkinsLife]

Geez, guys. Revise history much?

The Newton pick was universally hailed as brilliant last year. The only downside anyone pointed to was that he would be behind Allen and Payne, but before the draft, he was considered a mid-first round pick by everyone. Getting him at #36? Total steal.

Remember, Chase Young was considered the best player in his draft. By everyone.

It's great to look back and grade on new information but with the information we had at the time, Newton was great move.

Would I have traded #40 away? No. In fact, I was on record on the pre-draft pod as being a huge DeJean fan. I wanted him here. But when that draft happened, we had just drafted Forbes high the year before. Quinn was on record as having been a fan of Forbes during the draft the previous year and I think Quinn and Whitt really thought he was just misused by JDR and Rivera. Forbes didn't work (here) and they thought they needed a slot CB more urgently.

I can't help but think Sinnott's issue is less about Sinnott than it is a trust factor for Ertz on the part of Kingsbury. It's just a guess but I think Sinnott would shock some folks if Ertz got injured and had to miss time.

All I know is my Dad was right when told me that hindsight is 20/20. My guess is all of us dated girls/guys who looked like great moves at the time but after the fact not so much.

Not sure which universe you're talking about but he was far from brilliant pick from the get go. He had the same injury on both feet and didnt even contribute in a meaningful way until the last 3rd of the season. The knock on him was that they drafted an injured player with feet issues and so far whatever the reason might be he hasnt even come close to replacing Allen.
Could be that the injuries didnt heal right... or maybe he is just not that good.. but button line is that he's been almost invisible this year.
Interesting point is players that this D coaching staff couldnt do much with like StJuste and Forbes .. seem to be performing ok on other teams. Makes me wonder about the level of coaching here.