Random Commanders Thoughts

[Dead Money]

Last year, everyone attributed RG3's horrible season to not being able to get any reps in preseason.

Well then, based on that, how about we actually give him a FULL preseason to get those reps, before we pass judgment on him.

If he continues this type of play during the regular season on a consistent basis, then I am actually open to the idea of a benching.

But for the love of Cocoa Puffs, let's at least give him the preseason that we all hungered for him to have the benefit of, last year !

That was his full preseason.. Color me unimpressed. I'm not happy about the way he looks at all. Oh well. We'll see.

 

[Boone]

no surprise....but I'm not down with this. Gruden isn't going to tip his hand when it comes to concerns in a post game interview. he's gonna keep it in-house and say all the right things so as not to embarrass any player publicly.

I think that's obviously true and a good thing. But he was very matter of fact in his comments. I sense no major panic about Robert in his tone.

it's apparently going to take longer than some hoped for the offense to be absorbed and executed efficiently. the first team O hasn't scored much and has continued a previous pattern of so so play in the red zone. the QB is not executing and the O-line is getting outplayed physically too often. all my opinion, of course, but it's what I have seen thus far.

I don't think this is true. Griffin has played very well in other pre-season games. He was horrible last night, but let's not act like that's what we've seen in every pre-season game. I keep hearing this and it annoys me because I saw Griffin look pretty damn good just a week ago!

no disrespect to McD (I like your optimism...it's a wonderful counterweight to the negative Nancy's like me!)...but having talent doesn't cut it if all parts of the game don't come together into a team that can execute. long-run...with the exception of QB and o-line play...I think your vision/optimism is well placed. at the end of the day...it all boils down to execution. and that offense isn't firing on all cylinders. heck...not even on half cylinders!

Agree. But we do need to remember it's not just about the OL and Robert 'learning to be a pocket passer' as people use as a mantra. The entire offense is learning a new system. That's a big deal. Different plays. Different expectations of individual players. Different language. It's going to take some time.

 

[Boone]

I've got to assume the league is going to have something to say about his two headshots that knocked out two players within 5 min. He's take too many himself not to get it by now

I'm not sure they were headshots. I'd like to see those over again. I saw one clearly where it was a shoulder to shoulder hit and then as the player went down there was some secondary contact with the head. I don't know if that's a legal hit or not, but it wasn't a blatant intentional headshot.

I have some empathy for Merriweather. He's blatantly ignored the rules and hurt his team (and himself) in the past, but what I see now is a guy who is aggressive and trying to make a play. I could be wrong, but I'm not sure he deserves any 'action' for last night's play. That doesn't mean there won't be any.

 

[fansince62]

Last year, everyone attributed RG3's horrible season to not being able to get any reps in preseason.

Well then, based on that, how about we actually give him a FULL preseason to get those reps, before we pass judgment on him.

If he continues this type of play during the regular season on a consistent basis, then I am actually open to the idea of a benching.

But for the love of Cocoa Puffs, let's at least give him the preseason that we all hungered for him to have the benefit of, last year !

Fear...we did...his preseason ended last night. he aint playin this Thursday.

The tool kit was definitely restocked since last season. we all know this offense will eventually be potent. but right in the here and now: the first team offense doesn't score and it continues a tradition of uncertainty in the red zone. no one...I mean no one...is seeing griffin shakin his head comin off the field with that "damn it...catch the friggin ball...I got it to you at the right time". he's not running the passing game efficiently. from where I sit...he's the main governor on this offense....keeping it from reaching full potential.

 

[Boone]

RG3 and out not looking so hot...

Boo.
Hiss.
That's something a Cowboys fan would say. Just sayin'.

 

[Boone]

he's not running the passing game efficiently. from where I sit...he's the main governor on this offense....keeping it from reaching full potential.

Griffin looked great last week - especially in the passing game.

 

[Dead Money]

Yeah I like his style but the rules are the rules and ANY head to head contact is going to be trouble. I thought I saw h2h contact in both. With his rapsheet he can't really afford any of it. I don't recall hearing about fines like these in the preseason, but with his past and the presence of concussion like symptoms I'm afraid this will be his first two strikes this season... I'm guessing the next one will cost him 4 to 8 games.

 

[fansince62]

I think that's obviously true and a good thing. But he was very matter of fact in his comments. I sense no major panic about Robert in his tone.



I don't think this is true. Griffin has played very well in other pre-season games. He was horrible last night, but let's not act like that's what we've seen in every pre-season game. I keep hearing this and it annoys me because I saw Griffin look pretty damn good just a week ago!



Agree. But we do need to remember it's not just about the OL and Robert 'learning to be a pocket passer' as people use as a mantra. The entire offense is learning a new system. That's a big deal. Different plays. Different expectations of individual players. Different language. It's going to take some time.

well then...we simply disagree! I don't think he has played "very well" at any time since the 2012 season. those other games? his first team offense didn't score much. NE didn't even play many starters and played base defense only. the Browns picked him. to me....he hasn't looked like a guy who is in control. in those games he didn't look like a bafoon...he just didn't look efficient...as though he knew exactly where everyone was supposed to be and saw the opportunities BEFORE they opened....not to me anyway.

so...here's a thought: does this team need to reconsider the whole strategy? since we can't leverage his greatest strength (running) we adopt Seattle's approach and demand less of the QB. depend on the running game as the engine and put less pressure on him in the passing game?

 

[Fear The Spear]

That was his full preseason.. Color me unimpressed. I'm not happy about the way he looks at all. Oh well. We'll see.

Fear...we did...his preseason ended last night.

Preseason isn't over, and it's not over for RG3 either.
He's still going to get practice reps between now and Sept 7th, is he not ?
That's a full 2 weeks. Are you saying 2 weeks of practice reps are meaningless and fruitless ?
Preseason is not over until he steps onto the field on Sept 7th.
Two weeks is plenty of time to work on your preseason flaws, and he deserves that full time just like anyone else, whether or not he's actually playing in a 4th preseason game.

 

[Chris]

Classy of the Raven's color guy to laugh about Ngata having injured RG3 in 2012.

 

[Dead Money]

Preseason isn't over, and it's not over for RG3 either.
He's still going to get practice reps between now and Sept 7th, is he not ?
That's a full 2 weeks. Are you saying 2 weeks of practice reps are meaningless and fruitless ?
Preseason is not over until he steps onto the field on Sept 7th.
Two weeks is plenty of time to work on your preseason flaws, and he deserves that full time just like anyone else, whether or not he's actually playing in a 4th preseason game.

At this point yes. Live game action against competition is over. Now he gets practice reps against out scout team. 2 weeks to improve what we've been seeing isn't enough to make a dent IMHO. Like I said we'll see but I have lost a lot of confidence that so many like me had in him. I'm not freaking but I have less confidence than I should in 3rd year pro who cost us so much in pics, drama and time.

 

[fansince62]

That's a full 2 weeks. Are you saying 2 weeks of practice reps are meaningless and fruitless ?
Preseason is not over until he steps onto the field on Sept 7th.
Two weeks is plenty of time to work on your preseason flaws, and he deserves that full time just like anyone else, whether or not he's actually playing in a 4th preseason game.

1) hasn't helped all that much so far.

2) the next two weeks should be spent integrating the game plan for TX.....not teaching an individual who is entering his third season how to slide, when to throw the ball away, not to throw into coverage, how to find open receivers in scoring positions, how to pick up the extra second constantly lost figuring things out.

he's making the same mistakes as last season. his mechanics are getting better. he's not tucking and running as quickly as before. but he just doesn't seem to be consistently aware (or ahead if you like) of the time dimension...and that is the key to everything (in just about all walks of professional life in many ways). by the third game of the preseason the better QBs and offenses are expected to have some modicum of scoring capability. the offenses should look reasonably in synch. ours does not. it does not look nearly as bad as previous preseasons. but it's not accomplishing its primary purpose - scoring. and there are two main reasons...an inconsistent QB and an inconsistent o-line.

lotta money tied up in Jackson and Garcon. they have basically been totally absent from the passing game. sure jackson has caught a few....but the long game? nothing. nada. zip. garcon might as well be on the sidelines drinking mai tais and having sum fun cause he aint been used for nothin. I get it that we haven't really been exploring the more complicated stuff in the playbook.

preseason is over for the first team O. let's hope they surprise us all Sep 7th.

 

[Boone]

well then...we simply disagree! I don't think he has played "very well" at any time since the 2012 season. those other games? his first team offense didn't score much. NE didn't even play many starters and played base defense only. the Browns picked him. to me....he hasn't looked like a guy who is in control. in those games he didn't look like a bafoon...he just didn't look efficient...as though he knew exactly where everyone was supposed to be and saw the opportunities BEFORE they opened....not to me anyway.

so...here's a thought: does this team need to reconsider the whole strategy? since we can't leverage his greatest strength (running) we adopt Seattle's approach and demand less of the QB. depend on the running game as the engine and put less pressure on him in the passing game?

I'm not minimizing how bad he looked last night. But it's the pre-season. He only threw 4 passes in the NE game - you're going to make an analysis of that?! And we countered their 'base' defense with 'vanilla' offense and no game-planning (that works both ways in other words). He was 6-8 against the Browns and looked crisp and efficient with a couple of great throws, and yeah, the 1 INT. How is 6/8 not 'efficient'? What I saw was him reading the defense and successfully throwing to the open WR 6 out of 8 times.

So basically, the most legitimately negative take one ought to bring is to say he barely played in the first two games, but looked fine when he was in there, and he had an awful night (as did the entire starting offense) against the Ravens.

I think we are all very impatient. Last year, even the year before, it's largely irrelevant. This is a new coach, new OC, implementing a new offense. I think logic dictates that the bumps in the road we have and will continue to see are likely mostly a result of that fact, rather than some fatal flaw in our franchise QB. I will continue to believe that until the Redskins bench and trade RG3, an event I don't believe we will ever see.

 

[Chris]

I loved the first quarter defense other than D. Hall's failure to bring down Smith, even though he was on him like a rodeo cowboy. Two 4th down stuffs, Amerson flashed, Robinson flashed, Hatcher flashed. This group looks much tougher and seem much better tacklers than last year.

 

[fansince62]

disagree

I'm not one for sugar-coating things. for someone who hasn't played all that much (as you say)....count up all the picks (actual, dropped, called back) and it's huge relative to time on the field. that just doesn't happen by chance. there are underlying causes....many of which we saw on display all last season. I think he is in transition and still plagued by some of the recognition issues we saw last year. he doesn't have the pistol to mask his lack of experience in the pocket any longer.

 

[micks113]

First time head coach, new offensive scheme and playbook, honeymoon for RGIII and Jay. The whole year is a write off (expectation-wise) really, that's what it will take to learn what Gruden has to work with and for everything to stop being so new. Next year we'll have the chemistry and maybe some OL talent.

 

[Boone]

I'm not discounting what you're saying Al. I have some of the same concerns, believe me. But I think most of what we saw last year was the result of Griffin not being right physically (you can already see how much better his throws look this year), not having any prep, and the impact of all of the drama that went on. You're comparing last season to this season - and they aren't comparable - that's my only point. New coach. New offense. New players. I think we'll see growing pains. But I think Griffin is too talented and too motivated, and surrounded by too many weapons for things not to start clicking sooner rather than later.

Time will tell, but I'm still bullish on this offense, and Griffin.

 

[Boone]

I loved the first quarter defense other than D. Hall's failure to bring down Smith, even though he was on him like a rodeo cowboy. Two 4th down stuffs, Amerson flashed, Robinson flashed, Hatcher flashed. This group looks much tougher and seem much better tacklers than last year.

Not the first time we've seen that from DHall (difficulty tackling more physical players). That was a great effort by Smith btw. Agree we really look improved on D.

 

[SkinsFTW]

Well at least I won't be surprised if the offense comes out Week 1 and has trouble putting up 17 points while RG3 gives away 7-10 points all by himself. I really expected this team to be stacked enough to start winning again this year. We definitely have the offensive weapons. Defense should be fine until they realize, like last year, that the offense isn't going to keep them in games. I hope I'm wrong and we do have a more favorable schedule this year but either Gruden is hiding a big surprise or RG3 is in for a large portion of humble pie to go with his heisman and rookie of the year.

I remember it took Steve Young several years to get it all straight and go from a scrub Tampa Bay bust pick to become the best QB in the league so maybe if it's not going to happen this year they can keep him healthy in the pocket/not running around like Vick and 2015 we can expect better things. I just hope it doesn't take RG3 until his 8th season like it took Young, lol.

 

[Chris]

I'm guessing that the Raven fans are as excited by last nights results as Redskin fans are.