Official Game Thread - Week 5 - Commanders @ Chargers

Dlts20 said:
Commanders officially have the #1 rushing offense and tied for 3rd in total sacks but some teams have had bye's on that one
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And if you take out the quarterback rushing yards, we're still 8th. The team runs the ball well, and not just because of Daniels.
 
Question: Do we want to have a "Day After" thread for post-game comments, or just leave them in the gameday thread. We used to have day after threads. Doesn't matter to me. I'm happy to start them if folks would prefer that, or we can just keep using the game day thread.
 
DWinzit said:
It also a signal to the team that the coaches have faith in them. Remember how DQ made so many calls to go for it instead of kicking. It seemed to empower the players. Earlier this year I believe they would have taken the kick
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Yes - this! I maintain that the NFCCG was lost the minute we went for the field goal on 4th down and 3 on the Philly 15 yard line.



Completely changed the complexion of that game and it was completely counter to everything we had done up to that point. Our guys seemed shaken after that. We never got it going again on offense.
 
Voice_of_Reason said:
Question: Do we want to have a "Day After" thread for post-game comments, or just leave them in the gameday thread. We used to have day after threads. Doesn't matter to me. I'm happy to start them if folks would prefer that, or we can just keep using the game day thread.
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I for one would appreciate that. Win or lose, it's a great opportunity to come in and discuss it.
 
So, after consuming the game yesterday, I had the following thoughts:

1. There were 3 plays in the game, where if any of them go the other way, we might have lost. It's that close between a 17 point win and a loss:
- The Martin Fumble/Lattimore recovery which led to the first TD. No fumble there, and we might be down 17. We weren't providing any resistance up to that point.
- The Roughing the Punter penalty (totally legit) which took 7 points off the board for them, and we scored a figgie at the end of the half to tie the game.
- The Newton tip/Sainristil INT. It was 20-10, and they were moving the ball, and a TD there makes things REALLY close. Got the pick, went 99 yards, and all of a sudden a 10 point game is a 17 point game.

Three plays. 3 HUGE plays which went our way. Only one of those plays was an obvious Chargers booboo. Defense made the other 2 plays.

2. Whatever grumbles people have with Kliff, in the last 3 games, he is a top 5 OC and playcaller in the league right now. What he is doing with motion, hurry-up, play design, and creativity is just fantastic. Last week he was covering for missing 2 of the top 3 WRs, Bates (blocking TE) and top-5 NFL QB. And they still scored 27 points. This week, they got Daniels and Bates back, but are still down #1WR and Brown (who might be losing his job as we speak), and going up against a very good defense on the road, and they put up 17 points again.

There might be nits to pick, but he's working magic at the moment.

3. The combination of Bill's explosiveness in the hole, the OL's blocking, and Kliff's run-schemes were outstanding. This is why the team was ok trading Brian Robinson. He could not do what Bill did. He doesn't have the explosiveness to do it. I still think they need him to improve in pass protection. He's learning, and that's going to take time.

4. The defense stepped up, however they still have a ways to go. They started really poorly. My hope is they can build on the momentum. The good news is while they let Herbert go 25/33, it was for only 181 yards, or 4.8 yards per attempt. That's pretty good. But they still have gaping holes at times which they need to get worked out.

5. Whatever else you can say, Quinn's teams just don't give up. They fight until they are knocked out. I can think of only 3 games where they were basically ambushed and had no real chance: 2024 Ravens game, NFC Championship game against the Eagles, and 2025 Green Bay. Other than that, they are in just about every game, win or lose, and they "fight their guts out." (thank you Joe Gibbs.)
 
Voice_of_Reason said:
So, after consuming the game yesterday, I had the following thoughts:

1. There were 3 plays in the game, where if any of them go the other way, we might have lost. It's that close between a 17 point win and a loss:
- The Martin Fumble/Lattimore recovery which led to the first TD. No fumble there, and we might be down 17. We weren't providing any resistance up to that point.
- The Roughing the Punter penalty (totally legit) which took 7 points off the board for them, and we scored a figgie at the end of the half to tie the game.
- The Newton tip/Sainristil INT. It was 20-10, and they were moving the ball, and a TD there makes things REALLY close. Got the pick, went 99 yards, and all of a sudden a 10 point game is a 17 point game.

Three plays. 3 HUGE plays which went our way. Only one of those plays was an obvious Chargers booboo. Defense made the other 2 plays.
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I couldn't agree more. The scary thing is that the margins are likely 'this' close pretty much every game. I would almost guarantee we could go back and watch the game against the Falcons and find 3 plays that would have changed the dynamic of the game directly... and that's just the stuff you can measure. It's almost impossible to think about what those 3 plays meant well beyond just the drive chart. The mentality of a team changes. The ebbs and flows of the game. The emotions and momentum that makes the differences between that extra step. That extra second within a given play that changes that 'inch' between winnin and losin.
 
AngryChuckT said:
Flying into the DMV taking the 4th Gen fans to have a long weekend with their GGPs the 1st Gen fans. 2 Commanders and 1 Skins Jersey packed. My kids are psyched to get to watch the game with their 89 and 90 year old GGPs and Great Aunt and Uncle who are coming over to watch as well.

Good guys find a way to pull one out in the end and my fam goes wild.

Skins: something
Chargers: less
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Getting on a plane soon to head home. 1st Gen Fans to the 4th Gen (90 years old to 11 years old) really enjoyed watching that win yesterday.

Kind of wins my kids will always remember because of who they got to watch it with.

RaiseHail
HTTR
 
Voice_of_Reason said:
So, after consuming the game yesterday, I had the following thoughts:

1. There were 3 plays in the game, where if any of them go the other way, we might have lost. It's that close between a 17 point win and a loss:
- The Martin Fumble/Lattimore recovery which led to the first TD. No fumble there, and we might be down 17. We weren't providing any resistance up to that point.
- The Roughing the Punter penalty (totally legit) which took 7 points off the board for them, and we scored a figgie at the end of the half to tie the game.
- The Newton tip/Sainristil INT. It was 20-10, and they were moving the ball, and a TD there makes things REALLY close. Got the pick, went 99 yards, and all of a sudden a 10 point game is a 17 point game.



3. The combination of Bill's explosiveness in the hole, the OL's blocking, and Kliff's run-schemes were outstanding. This is why the team was ok trading Brian Robinson. He could not do what Bill did. He doesn't have the explosiveness to do it. I still think they need him to improve in pass protection. He's learning, and that's going to take time.
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Yep. I think defenses were okay ignoring BRob, figuring he'd get four to eight yards if he broke free before the defense could respond. Now, if the D doesn't play the run honestly, Bill can torch them and they still have to worry about Daniels as a runner and thrower. BRob (when healthy) was fine, but he wasn't ever going to scare defenses or make them focus on him.
 
burgold said:
Yep. I think defenses were okay ignoring BRob, figuring he'd get four to eight yards if he broke free before the defense could respond. Now, if the D doesn't play the run honestly, Bill can torch them and they still have to worry about Daniels as a runner and thrower. BRob (when healthy) was fine, but he wasn't ever going to scare defenses or make them focus on him.
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Every time Bill touched the ball yesterday, he looked like he was on the verge of breaking off a huge run. He ran with such power and decisiveness.
 
Primus Porcus said:
I couldn't agree more. The scary thing is that the margins are likely 'this' close pretty much every game. I would almost guarantee we could go back and watch the game against the Falcons and find 3 plays that would have changed the dynamic of the game directly... and that's just the stuff you can measure. It's almost impossible to think about what those 3 plays meant well beyond just the drive chart. The mentality of a team changes. The ebbs and flows of the game. The emotions and momentum that makes the differences between that extra step. That extra second within a given play that changes that 'inch' between winnin and losin.
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I don't think I've seen a game with 3 plays as obvious that led to such a big difference, though, in a long, long time.

I mean, those 3 plays go the other way (no-fumble, return TD stands, Chargers score TD instead of INT), and we probably lose, and maybe it's not that close.

This one really stuck out to me how big these specific 3 plays were.
 
Another key (thought not quite as key) play: the McNichols pickup on third down. That was huge at the moment.

I really like our RB room. I don't think they need Ekler. I like Ekler, but that is an open roster spot next year. Bill, CRod and McNichols are fine. They might look for another one to compete, but it's a fine group with the 3 of them for now.
 
Voice_of_Reason said:
I don't think I've seen a game with 3 plays as obvious that led to such a big difference, though, in a long, long time.

I mean, those 3 plays go the other way (no-fumble, return TD stands, Chargers score TD instead of INT), and we probably lose, and maybe it's not that close.

This one really stuck out to me how big these specific 3 plays were.
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Maybe, but i tend to believe it happens a lot more than we know.. To your point, maybe they're not so obvious, but it's a testament to the parody of the league right now.
 
Voice_of_Reason said:
Question: Do we want to have a "Day After" thread for post-game comments, or just leave them in the gameday thread. We used to have day after threads. Doesn't matter to me. I'm happy to start them if folks would prefer that, or we can just keep using the game day thread.
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My preference would be a Day After/Game Wrap thread.

But for now I will say that a quarter into the game and my trepidations about the game seemed to be coming true but all of a sudden a switch either flipped in the front seven or it was Whitt himself deciding QB pressure would be the best route for the defense to get wins because they straight up took over for most of the rest of the game.

On the other side of the ball, some of our wishes were granted and we got to see the running game really get a consistent commitment and the production showed. Breakout game for Bill as he kept showing what he seemed capable as a RB but also in the passing game he had some nice moments. I don't see RB by committee ending all together any time soon but Bill is just producing too much right now to think he won't be the featured RB of the committee.
 
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One could also say that the Bill fumble appeared to be closer to just bad luck, and that minus that fumble, we’d have won by even more.

We had more 1st downs, more total yards, less penalties, less turnovers. The only thing about the win that appeared flukey was time of possession.

In the end, we dominated both lines of scrimmage. And any time that happens, the win also isn’t going to appear flukey.

We were the better team on Sunday
 
NoCalSkins said:
My preference would be a Day After/Game Wrap thread.

But for now I will say that a quarter into the game and my trepidations about the game seemed to be coming true but all of a sudden a switch either flipped in the front seven or it was Whitt himself deciding QB pressure would be the best route for the defense to get wins because they straight up took over for most of the rest of the game.

On the other side of the ball, some of our wishes were granted and we got to see the running game really get a consistent commitment and the production showed. Breakout game for Bill as he kept showing what he seemed capable as a RB but also in the passing game he had some nice moments. I don't see RB by committee ending all together any time soon but Bill is just producing too much right now to think he won't be the featured RB of the committee.
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I like the idea of a Day After thread, too. I think it hasn't happened because no one wants to step on KDawg's toes. That was sort of his thing.
 
JKM is the exact back most of us have been screaming for. I loved the pick and wish they had taken a back with burst in the 4th. I didn't expect him to be able to run with such power and I'm glad DQ saw the obvious and made him our primary ball carrier. Still needs work on pass pro but it's all there.

Jayden has been so so and this team isn't good enough to win with a so so Jayden. He showed his old self as the game went on and that was exciting, but he was still 15 for 26 and he didn't have too many 15 for 26 games last season. I still don't trust the defense but the offensive will improve. Please remove Moore from the rotation.
 
With the talk of the few plays that likely changed the outcome of the game, one sequence of events that hasn't been discussed enough was the Chargers series where they repeatedly overcame 2nd and long only to have it reversed on a big penalty.

I think they got close to a first on 2nd and 19 following a sack, only to be pushed back to 2nd and 28 because of one penalty. Then they converted that on a single pass, only to have it called back on another penalty. Given the ease it took to wipe out those negatives, it made no sense to me that they gave up by going to the run on 2nd and 33.
 
In the chat yesterday there was a few people screaming to fire the coach, the OC the DC and even Peters. First quarter.

I had to leave because it was pissing me off so much
 
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