Random Commanders Thoughts

[Voice_of_Reason]

Oh man it is probably Lavar for me too. Had all the athleticism & physical tools you could ask for but none of the discipline and he made it a point to blame everyone but himself when his lack of discipline was exposed on the field.

Runner up might be Michael Westbrook because looking back at that time period he really seemed to be the physical prototype of the new generation of WR's but everything else about him was a disaster.

Westbrook is another but I never thought he had the goods to be a top 5 WR. A very good WR? Sure. His attitude was so disappointing. And he beat the living crap out of Stephen Davis.

I haven’t really considered him as a disappointment before but you certainly have a point.

 

[Ashburn Dave]

I probably gave Lavar a pass because he took out Aikman.

For me it's either Shuler or Desmond Howard.

 

[AngryChuckT]

I just think he was a self-serving guy and players like that tend not to do well in the long haul. I don't think he was particularly interested in what his coaches input or thoughts were, he wasn't interested in learning the position beyond what he could do on raw talent alone, and ultimately wasn't liked and supported by his teammates. All of those things are essential ingredients to success. When his raw ability was reduced to human levels by injury (and as Conn stated, he lost some of that confidence and swagger) it all came crashing down. He is still that same selfish guy and doesn't appear to have learned any humility since then.

I will always have a soft spot for RG3, after the joy of 2012 and now because he still seems to think of himself as a Redskin. But overall my view of RG3 is generally the same.

I remember watching one of Baylor's games towards the end of the 2011 season. I was fascinated by RG3 and thought what a dream it would be if the Skins got him. After the game he was doing an on-field interview (maybe with Erin Andrews after BU vs OU game?) There was something that bothered and stuck with me afterwards. It was beyond confidence, but I didn't want to outright say arrogance - because I couldn't point to what he said or how he said it exactly. It was just a subtle vibe that came through the tv and took me down a notch on him.

I never shook that vibe, but pushed it to the side and chalked it up to being a little cocky as a young man with such talent and success. I still wanted him over Luck and was thrilled when we Colts took Luck - though that draft night I still had that deep down nagging misgiving back from that interview crop back up. Again, I pushed the feeling to the side.

2012 happened and I almost completely forgot about that interview.

2013 and that memory of that interview came flooding back.

I don't know the man personally, so I will not call him selfish or at least will never say he purposefully tried to hurt his team for his own gain. I do think he has a stubbornness in his personality and that stubbornness is the reason his NFL career flamed-out so quickly - regardless of injury and any malfeasance on the part of the team staff.

 

[AngryChuckT]

I probably gave Lavar a pass because he took out Aikman.

For me it's either Shuler or Desmond Howard.

Shuler for me. There are pictures of college-aged me the summer prior to his rookie year on the beach in OBX in a Shuler jersey-style tee shirt complete with his name and number. I was so excited we had this monster QB from the SEC coming. I had already started saving up for a jersey. Glad I never spent that money. The tee alone was a waste of cash.

 

[ntotoro]

If only RGIII had just a hair of hubris and let Kyle maximize his own blessings and abilities rather than trying to convince Kyle he was the second coming of Brady...

 

[Boone]

 

[skinsmarydu]

Seriously, dude...you put yourself back in.
I drank every drop of that KoolAid, thought you were the second coming.
You were an Olympic hurdler that Art Briles turned into whatever.

Still love you for that season, tho.

 

[burgold]

Shanahan should have never let him play no matter what RGIII wanted. It was so obvious. Major failing on Mike's part.

 

[Faithful Fan]

RG3’s rookie campaign is still in the top 3 or 4 seasons we’ve had in the decades since our last Super Bowl, so he was certainly great that year, and the way it ended was a tragedy.

I do think Shanahan gets some blame for playing him injured, and this is especially obvious in hindsight. He was never the same again after that.

I also think RG3 gets a lot of blame for how his career turned out. For example, there is a story about his dad calling Shanahan to complain that Kirk Cousins was running a different offense than his son, when really he should have been thanking him for designing an offense that used pistol formation and option plays to emphasize his strengths. So it is fair to criticize RG3 for his ego and inability to learn and develop, and this latest episode still blaming the coach for his failed career is more evidence of that.

As they say, both things can be true at the same time. Shanny should have sat him when he got hurt, and RG3’s ego contributed to his downfall.

 

[Conn]

Shanahan should have never let him play no matter what RGIII wanted. It was so obvious. Major failing on Mike's part.

Lot of rumors at the time that it was a Snyder call, that Mike wanted to game plan, practice, and play with Kirk

Edit: in the messy aftermath, I mean. I didn’t hear that before the playoff game, but in the dirty blame-battle afterwards it was a popular rumor

 

[skinsmarydu]

Lot of rumors at the time that it was a Snyder call, that Mike wanted to game plan, practice, and play with Kirk

I was at the game here in 2012 with Kirk starting, sitting next to a guy from Michigan who knew all about Kirk. Weird and wild when we lost.

 

[skinsmarydu]

anyway, Riverboat was never a real "coach" and we lost our franchise name to that idiot. He's in my crosshairs.

I was just fine with WFT.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I was at the game here in 2012 with Kirk starting, sitting next to a guy from Michigan who knew all about Kirk. Weird and wild when we lost.

Kirk Cousins won the only game he started that year, a 38-21 week 15 victory over the Browns. Maybe you’re thinking of the game he came in for relief of RG3 against Atlanta in week 5?

 

[skinsmarydu]

Kirk Cousins won the only game he started that year, a 38-21 week 14 victory over the Browns. Maybe you’re thinking of the game he can in for relief of RG3 against Atlanta in week 5?

You're right, it was '13...after the "rehab". I had video of him sprinting down the sideline, but not able to start. My bad.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

I'd add Heath Shuler to the list for me. Norv Turner who had been labeled an offensive and somewhat QB guru was signed away from Dallas and he had his pick of (supposedly) really good QB's. There were high expectations for both Turner and Shuler and a new beginning for the Redskins. Shuler sucked balls after being drafted 3rd.

I personally never had high hopes for Shuler. I was very young at the time (as in, high school) but right from the jump it looked like a mistake. When Frerotte and Frieze were looking better immediately, I think I just assumed Shuler was going to bust.

Maybe he should have been disappointing but he just always looked bad so I never had any expectations to be dashed.

Different with Lavar and Griffin.

 

[Voice_of_Reason]

Lot of rumors at the time that it was a Snyder call, that Mike wanted to game plan, practice, and play with Kirk

Edit: in the messy aftermath, I mean. I didn’t hear that before the playoff game, but in the dirty blame-battle afterwards it was a popular rumor

What’s funny is I can absolutely see any of the following being true:

- The rumor Snyder meddled and forced Shanahan to play Griffin. As a corollary to that, I can see Mike/Kyle running Griffin just to prove a point to Snyder. But it would shock nobody (and least of all me) if Snyder forced his will on Mike and Snyder was stupid and wrong with what he wanted.

- the rumors leaked by Shanahan to make Snyder look bad and deflect the blame

- the rumor being come up with by fans/media members to blame somebody and Snyder was a great target to get people mad

- Snyder leaking it to prove he was in charge but Shanahan messed it up.

All of the players are pretty arrogant ass hats of were being honest. Snyder the most by far, but Mike and Kyle were no choir boys either.

I have no idea what’s true nor do I care much these days. Im just hopeful that type of drama doesn’t return. 5-12 and angst over the roster I can handle. The Fox reality show which were for 30 years is hopefully gone forever.

 

[Conn]

Amen to that

 

[burgold]

On the Take Command podcast, Logan and Bram decided to talk about how lucky Washington has been at left tackle. Three or four times, they talked about our great left tackles listing Samuels, Trent, and now Tunsil. Never once did they bring up Jacoby or Lachey. Jacoby's omission is particularly galling to me as he deserves to be in the HOF!

Decided this deserved a two-poster on Bluesky.

 

[Pokey]

Are either Paulson old enough to remember Jake and/or Lachey?

 

[Conn]

I didn’t hear the segment but based on that, I’d assume they were speaking about more modern history.