BGO Blind Pig: Week 2 Preseason

[Boone]

The guys review the good, the bad, and the ugly from last week's preseason clash with the Panthers and give our impressions on the first ever Washington Commanders home game.

 

[Chris]

 

[Chris]

ST- I was out running while listening and started shouting LAMAR MILLER LAMAR MILLER. Got some strange looks.

I think they are purposely not throwing to Dotson just like they did with McLaurin when he was rookie. 🤫

 

[Boone]

Just out of curiosity looked at team fumbles over the past two seasons.

2020
23 Total
McKissic 3
Gibson 1
Combined WRs 10
QBs 9

2021
25 total
Gibson 6
Patterson 1
Combined WR/TE 6
QBs 8

Interesting that the guys who put the ball on the turf the most (Steven Sims, Isaiah Wright, Haskins, Deandre Carter) are all gone. The only guys who have so far survived multiple fumbles the past 2 seasons are Heinicke, Gibson, and McKissic who had 3 of his own in 2020.

We fumble a lot - especially at the WR and QB spots.

 

[Om]

Good stuff, Boone. Might have to compare those numbers against the league average this morning just out of (perhaps morbid) curiosity.

 

[Boone]

Something weird with the stats on Pro Football Reference as the fumbles attributed to individuals are less than the totals but I give up trying to figure out why

 

[Boone]

One comment. My criticism of Randy Jordan and Jennifer King last night sounds over the top but quick story… when I was a young Marine Corps Platoon Commander, there was a guy in my buddies platoon who was just a total **** up. Kid could not do anything right. Constantly in trouble both in and out of uniform. I told my Lt. Buddy ‘I’d make it my personal mission to run him right out of the Marine Corps’ (or words to that effect). This old salty staff sergeant who’d been listening said something I’ve remembered countless times since then.

‘You know sir, I’ve always felt like when our Marines failed, it was our failure. Have we done everything we could to get this kid straightened out? Why don’t we move him to my platoon and let me see what I can do with him’.

And that was so so true and impactful.

And do you know that staff sergeant took that kid under his wing and made a helluva Marine out of him. Marine Corps leadership can move mountains

So that’s my question for our coaches if the fumbling woes continue. You have this amazing talent in Antonio Gibson… are you telling me our coaches aren’t good enough to help him overcome this? I hope Rivera and Turner are challenging the coaching staff to get this fixed as much as they are focusing on Gibson.

That was my point.

 

[Lovin Cousins]

Interesting that the guys who put the ball on the turf the most (Steven Sims, Isaiah Wright, Haskins, Deandre Carter) are all gone. The only guys who have so far survived multiple fumbles the past 2 seasons are Heinicke, Gibson, and McKissic who had 3 of his own in 2020.

It seems as though, the balancing factor for those fumblers is production, or lack thereof.
I see a common denominator in the fumblers who were cut, and the ones who survived.
For the most part, maybe with a little exception, the fumblers who were not big producers were cut.
And the fumblers that had a lot more production survived.
Production seems to give more latitude with flawed players.

 

[Om]

One comment. My criticism of Randy Jordan and Jennifer King last night sounds over the top but quick story… when I was a young Marine Corps Platoon Commander, there was a guy in my buddies platoon who was just a total **** up. Kid could not do anything right. Constantly in trouble both in and out of uniform. I told my Lt. Buddy ‘I’d make it my personal mission to run him right out of the Marine Corps’ (or words to that effect). This old salty staff sergeant who’d been listening said something I’ve remembered countless times since then.

‘You know sir, I’ve always felt like when our Marines failed, it was our failure. Have we done everything we could to get this kid straightened out? Why don’t we move him to my platoon and let me see what I can do with him’.

And that was so so true and impactful.

And do you know that staff sergeant took that kid under his wing and made a helluva Marine out of him. Marine Corps leadership can move mountains

So that’s my question for our coaches if the fumbling woes continue. You have this amazing talent in Antonio Gibson… are you telling me our coaches aren’t good enough to help him overcome this? I hope Rivera and Turner are challenging the coaching staff to get this fixed as much as they are focusing on Gibson.

That was my point.

A point well taken ... and I fervently hope the Redsk Commanders coaches can do for this talented kid what that salty old staff sergeant did for Kid ****up.

My only thought was to suggest it's also possible they've spent the last six months doing everything they could to get AG straightened out, but he's proven intractable so far. Sometimes guys just fail and it's no one's fault but their own.

Truth? I hope AG comes out this Saturday and goes off and we never have to talk about this again.

 

[Boone]

I’m going to stick with my original point. A preseason fumble doesn’t mean a damn thing. If Gibson had not fumbled last Saturday - that ALSO would not have meant a damn thing. We won’t know if Gibson can limit his mistakes until he shows us over the course of this coming season.

 

[Boone]

Sometimes guys just fail and it's no one's fault but their own.

I’m not sure I agree.

But then I think of Antonio Brown

 

[Om]

To me, sometimes it isn't about not having the coaching. Sometimes is about one's inability or unwillingness to absorb it.

Ryan Leaf ... Jeff George ... RGIII ... a million other other talented guys who never made it far enough for us to know their names.

Not a hill I'm willing to die on, but one I feel worth considering.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Something weird with the stats on Pro Football Reference as the fumbles attributed to individuals are less than the totals but I give up trying to figure out why

I THINK the total is ALL. The ones attributed to players are Fumbles LOST.... ommitting those we were able to recover ourselves.

 

[Boone]

I don’t see even the slightest thread in common with those guys though when it comes to Gibson. I’m just sayin’… coaches should have some heat on them. It’s their job to help players achieve their potential. I know you’re not disputing that, but I’m not giving them a pass. It’s easy to coach guys who don’t have a glaring weakness or issue. You earn your $$ and rep on what you can do with players who are struggling. I’ll stop beating the dead horse now .

 

[Primus Porcus]

ST- I was out running while listening and started shouting LAMAR MILLER LAMAR MILLER. Got some strange looks.

I think they are purposely not throwing to Dotson just like they did with McLaurin when he was rookie.

YES! I couldn't figure it out for the life of me.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

It's just not the same with CH constantly interrupting and over talking everyone

 

[Boone]

CH is like EF Hutton - when he talks people listen!

 

[Boone]

One other comment. Derek made a good point on the pod that perhaps Gibson would benefit from not being forced into a between the tackles power back role. Logically I agree that he probably fumbles less if we are not pounding him up the gut repeatedly. The problem is, we NEED someone other than the rookie to be able to be a power back. If not Gibson, who? McKissic can do it on a pinch but that’s not his strength either and he’s shown a tendency to get injured. We already have McKissic and Samuels in kind of hybrid roles, so I don’t know how many opportunities Gibson would get if they aren’t using him in that more traditional power back role?

I think, based on our roster, he needs to primarily be one of our two power backs, figure out how to hold onto the ball in that role, and his versatility as being able to go outside or work as a receiving target is a bonus, not his primary role.

 

[Chris]

Gibson just needs to be better at protecting the ball and everything will be just fine.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Practice bad technique, get bad technique, practice good technique, get good technique - as Boone alluded to in the podcast, what exactly are the coaches having him focus on since he's still holding the ball in the same position. I went back and watched all his fumbles from last year, correcting his ball placement as he gets hit will rectify a good portion of it. Who was Tiki's personal trainer who fixed his errors and can the Commanders hire him??