Game Day - 2020 Week 5 - Washington vs LA Rams

[Primus Porcus]

I don't know how realistic it was to believe today was going to go well. However - I'll say this. Our defense had a few 2nd half moments but was largely awful today. There's too much talent on this D to play that poorly and I put most of that on Del Rio. I mentioned to ST that this is the worst Del Rio defense I've ever seen. And let's be realistic (to your point DP) - with this pathetic OL, we won't win more than another game or two, regardless of who the QB is. With the kind of pressure our QBs were under today, Haskins would have taken a dozen sacks, fumbled a couple of times, and thrown some picks as well. I honestly don't know how anyone could think this team is a potential playoff team - I don't care how godawful bad the NFC East is this year.

Yeah i was left pulling my hair out watching Chase Young run down an RB in pass coverage... only to see him lift up and carry the RT back into Goffs lap forcing the interception by Fuller. Yes Fuller caught it but make no mistake, that INT was 100% due to Chase Young on pass rush. I don't like what I've seen so far on defense and it worries me. They showed up to play after about 27 minutes. Once Alex came in the defense played a different game... I dont know why.

 

[Primus Porcus]

So when they lose next week and then get housed by Prescott and the Cowboys, will Ron stop the nonsense?

stop what nonsense? Telling the media that we're trying to win football games? He better never come out and say that losing is the better option, even if he coaches toward that. He better never tell the locker room that it's ok to not show up. That a player who struggles on Sunday doesn't have to work harder on Mon - Fri. Of course not. I don't like a lot of things but I'm never going to endorse the Head Coach saying it's ok to lose.

 

[DieselPwr44]

I don't know how realistic it was to believe today was going to go well. However - I'll say this. Our defense had a few 2nd half moments but was largely awful today. There's too much talent on this D to play that poorly and I put most of that on Del Rio. I mentioned to ST that this is the worst Del Rio defense I've ever seen. And let's be realistic (to your point DP) - with this pathetic OL, we won't win more than another game or two, regardless of who the QB is. With the kind of pressure our QBs were under today, Haskins would have taken a dozen sacks, fumbled a couple of times, and thrown some picks as well. I honestly don't know how anyone could think this team is a potential playoff team - I don't care how godawful bad the NFC East is this year.

I agree.
Ron saying the division is there to be had....when it comes to the "Football Team"...seriously has me questioning his football IQ and judgement.
Henry Jones needs to talk to Ron...

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I only got to see the game through the Red Zone Channel. So between the plays they showed and the stats from the box score, I just have one response.

WOOF!

 

[DieselPwr44]

stop what nonsense? Telling the media that we're trying to win football games? He better never come out and say that losing is the better option, even if he coaches toward that. He better never tell the locker room that it's ok to not show up. That a player who struggles on Sunday doesn't have to work harder on Mon - Fri. Of course not. I don't like a lot of things but I'm never going to endorse the Head Coach saying it's ok to lose.

The nonsense of pretending that this team was ready to contend for the division.
You know, the fanbase has been withered from 25 years of losing and pruned back further by the name change. All that's left is hardcore fans...fans that know football.
Don't bullshit them. Do what you initially said you would do:
Build the right way.
Use this as the evaluation year you originally said it was.
Work to grow and get better each week.

Just don't drop all that and start talking about making a run at this division when everyone here knows they're not capable of doing that yet.

 

[Primus Porcus]

The nonsense of pretending that this team was ready to contend for the division.
You know, the fanbase has been withered from 25 years of losing and pruned back further by the name change. All that left is hardcore fans...fans that know football.
Don't bullshit them. Do what you initially said you would do:
Build the right way.
Use this as the evaluation year you originally said it was.
Work to grow and get better each week.

Just don't drop all that and start talking about making a run at this division when everyone here knows they're not capable of doing that yet.

who is pretending?

If he comes out and says "this team isnt ready, we have low expectations"..... He gets KILLED because coaches shouldnt do that
If he comes out and says "we're a game out of first place".. he gets killed because we all know where this team really is

Build the right way? Ok he did not overspend on free agents, he's looking at an offseason NEXT year that will have a limited cap and we go into it with a surplus of cap room. Chances are there will be some surprise cuts (see the Eagles who are as of now $60 mil OVER the cap in 2021, and that's if it stays the same... not if it goes down) that we can take advantage of and address some of these holes.

Look at how he's coaching. He's not calling timouts to extend drives. He's playing as many players at as many positions as he can (for example, Wes Martin starting vs Aaron Donald) so he can evaluate. He clearly is still on the path he set out on... Haskins has apparently proven he's not the guy, so now he will not get subjected to hits, or further killing his trade value. Watch him trade Haskins by the end of the month. The evaluation on him was that he's not their guy. Kyle Allen started today over Alex Smith. If Smith was healthy enough to play (clearly he was given the fact that he was 2nd string) then if 'winning' the game was the priority he would have started.

Take away the press conferences and the coach speak... what would YOU have done differently if you were the coach and this was an evaluation season?

If we find ourselves winning 4 of the next 6, then chances are we're in the catbird seat for the division while still accomplishing our ultimate goal. The coach needs to enforce a winning culture first and foremost. I dont care if the team is 13 - 0 or 0 - 13, it's never 'OK' for the coach to tell the team it's ok to lose, publicly, in the lockerroom, or anywhere else. Rivera will continue to tell the public that winning is the ultimate goal, this week, next week, or any other week. If you expect any different you're going to be disappointed.

 

[DieselPwr44]

who is pretending?

If he comes out and says "this team isnt ready, we have low expectations"..... He gets KILLED because coaches shouldnt do that
If he comes out and says "we're a game out of first place".. he gets killed because we all know where this team really is

Build the right way? Ok he did not overspend on free agents, he's looking at an offseason NEXT year that will have a limited cap and we go into it with a surplus of cap room. Chances are there will be some surprise cuts (see the Eagles who are as of now $60 mil OVER the cap in 2021, and that's if it stays the same... not if it goes down) that we can take advantage of and address some of these holes.

Look at how he's coaching. He's not calling timouts to extend drives. He's playing as many players at as many positions as he can (for example, Wes Martin starting vs Aaron Donald) so he can evaluate. He clearly is still on the path he set out on... Haskins has apparently proven he's not the guy, so now he will not get subjected to hits, or further killing his trade value. Watch him trade Haskins by the end of the month. The evaluation on him was that he's not their guy. Kyle Allen started today over Alex Smith. If Smith was healthy enough to play (clearly he was given the fact that he was 2nd string) then if 'winning' the game was the priority he would have started.

Take away the press conferences and the coach speak... what would YOU have done differently if you were the coach and this was an evaluation season?

If we find ourselves winning 4 of the next 6, then chances are we're in the catbird seat for the division while still accomplishing our ultimate goal. The coach needs to enforce a winning culture first and foremost. I dont care if the team is 13 - 0 or 0 - 13, it's never 'OK' for the coach to tell the team it's ok to lose, publicly, in the lockerroom, or anywhere else. Rivera will continue to tell the public that winning is the ultimate goal, this week, next week, or any other week. If you expect any different you're going to be disappointed.

What would I do different?
I wouldn't promise grandiose things after I already told the public we were going to build it right,evaluate the roster this year and try to get better every week.
Ever heard of under promise, over deliver?
Ron started this season the right way but after just four games,dove off the dock and into the abyss of we're close and can make a run.
Delusional.

 

[Primus Porcus]

What would I do different?
I wouldn't promise grandiose things after I already told the public we were going to build it right,evaluate the roster this year and try to get better every week.
Ever heard of under promise, over deliver?
Ron started this season the right way but after just four games,dove off the dock and into the abyss of we're close and can make a run.
Delusional.

lol promise grandiose things? By telling the world that the goal is to win? I am 100% in the camp that we need to not put 2020 as a priority over the next 10 years, but what have we done to do that other than say we're trying to win football games in a press conference?

What has he done to 'not' evaluate the roster?

 

[Chris]

You know things are bad when a virus outbreak would be _______________.

 

[Boone]

I think the issue is bigger 'perception' problem than 'real problem'. What Rivera says doesn't have any long-term impact - it's where he goes from here. If you want to know the truth, I don't think Rivera wanted Haskins to be his QB from nearly the outset. You know we are all the same in some ways. We make up our mind about people pretty quickly. Whatever it was, he decided pretty quickly that Haskins didn't have the goods, and Haskins did nothing to sway him from that. My sense is that some of the 'rationale' he gave for benching Haskins was simply fodder for the fanbase and, maybe, for Snyder. I don't know how realistic it is to have expected him to say 'Drafting Haskins was a mistake in our assessment, and we aren't moving forward with a guy who isn't a future NFL starter'. That's particularly true knowing your effing meddling owner likely forced the pick.He may have felt compelled to give him 'a chance' and he probably framed it the way he did to appease some fans and to keep from embarrassing his owner further.

I don't really care about Haskins at this point. I don't care about the wasted 1st round pick. I don't care about anything other than this team becoming a respectable on the field performer. I won't be a fan in a few years if the same ineptitude we've become so accustomed to continues.

Bottom line... of all the things to be angry and bitter about over the past 20 years of fandom, getting in a wad over the 'reason Dwayne Haskins was benched' doesn't come close to appearing on my radar.

 

[Primus Porcus]

I think the issue is bigger 'perception' problem than 'real problem'. What Rivera says doesn't have any long-term impact - it's where he goes from here. If you want to know the truth, I don't think Rivera wanted Haskins to be his QB from nearly the outset. You know we are all the same in some ways. We make up our mind about people pretty quickly. Whatever it was, he decided pretty quickly that Haskins didn't have the goods, and Haskins did nothing to sway him from that. My sense is that some of the 'rationale' he gave for benching Haskins was simply fodder for the fanbase and, maybe, for Snyder. I don't know how realistic it is to have expected him to say 'Drafting Haskins was a mistake in our assessment, and we aren't moving forward with a guy who isn't a future NFL starter'. That's particularly true knowing your effing meddling owner likely forced the pick.He may have felt compelled to give him 'a chance' and he probably framed it the way he did to appease some fans and to keep from embarrassing his owner further.

I don't really care about Haskins at this point. I don't care about the wasted 1st round pick. I don't care about anything other than this team becoming a respectable on the field performer. I won't be a fan in a few years if the same ineptitude we've become so accustomed to continues.

Bottom line... of all the things to be angry and bitter about over the past 20 years of fandom, getting in a wad over the 'reason Dwayne Haskins was benched' doesn't come close to appearing on my radar.

I agree, the world just doesn't spin that way. Coaches can't say 'welp, we suck, on to next year.' They also can't say 'that guy isn't good enough to be a part of this team' or 'we messed up taking him there, he clearly wasn't worth the no. 15 overall pick.'

Rivera is playing the roles of HC and GM. He needs to play on Sunday with an idea to win while also working Mon - Fri with the focus on the future. He' playing both cards.

 

[Boone]

Oh - and btw, dealing with a cancer diagnosis, the most dysfunctional owner in the NFL, and an aggressive press with a history of animosity towards his team.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

I agree.
Ron saying the division is there to be had....when it comes to the "Football Team"...seriously has me questioning his football IQ and judgement.
Henry Jones needs to talk to Ron...

That statement had plenty of PR purpose, which was Haskins not pulling his weight in doing work to be ready.

 

[Boone]

I was really irritated yesterday. One of those games where as I'm watching, I start to realize how seldom we get to experience a good performance, and question why I bother tuning in. Woke up early, early with a better perspective. The truth is, this is a very young team, with a lot of holes at a lot of positions. But we do have some pieces in place. The Rams, on the other hand, are a very good team. I did not expect us to win yesterday, but I hoped we'd 'compete'. That was probably a foolish hope. We just aren't in that league at this point. Not our coaching. Not our schemes. Not our talent.

Maybe someday that changes. In the meantime, we can continue to wonder how in the hell we had these Rams coaches on our staff and let them walk?

 

[Primus Porcus]

Because they dont want to coach for Snyder. LeFluer is killing it in Green Bay too. Kyle Shanny (although i have no belief he would have stayed) isn't exactly failing in San Fran....

 

[Boone]

Kyle's situation was obviously complicated. With the way they parted ways with his Dad, that was never going to happen. I have never been a Mike Shanahan fan, but seems like we could have weathered his passive-aggressive tenure if it meant him being succeeded by Kyle. I don't know if I agree on McVay and Lefleur. I think either of those guys might well have taken the job had we fired Gruden much earlier and made one of them a big offer. Not sure Lefleur is the real deal. A lot of average coaches would look good coaching up Aaron Rodgers in his prime

The real question is - would any of them been successful in DC if we'd managed to retain one of them? I'm not sure it's a given. That's the problem, in a nutshell. The franchise oozes dysfunction and a losing mentality and approach. Unless Snyder is somehow ousted, feels like that will never, ever change.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Kyle's situation was obviously complicated. With the way they parted ways with his Dad, that was never going to happen. I have never been a Mike Shanahan fan, but seems like we could have weathered his passive-aggressive tenure if it meant him being succeeded by Kyle. I don't know if I agree on McVay and Lefleur. I think either of those guys might well have taken the job had we fired Gruden much earlier and made one of them a big offer. Not sure Lefleur is the real deal. A lot of average coaches would look good coaching up Aaron Rodgers in his prime

The real question is - would any of them been successful in DC if we'd managed to retain one of them. I'm not sure it's a given. That's the problem, in a nutshell. The franchise oozes dysfunction and a losing mentality and approach. Unless Snycer is somehow ousted, feels like that will never, ever change.

I think McVay was ready to take over here but LA offered him a HC job and we weren't ready to hand the keys over to a sub-31 year old, and I believe we had just extended Gruden at that time.

 

[Boone]

There was a time, when Kirk was starting to look like a real starter, and we were finding ways to continue to compete despite epic injuries, that Gruden looked competent. What a mirage that was.... But we'd have to have had a real GM to make a bold move like shitcanning Gruden and giving McVay his job.