The Sky is not Falling Thread

[Boone]

There will be a lot of doom and gloom and disappointment on BGO after 2 brutal losses. Rightfully so. Last season whet our appetite of what a team with a real franchise QB with competent coaches and a smart, savvy GM could look like. It was a magical season and it got all of us excited. This season, we have seen regression and whether it's the massive injury bug we've experienced, or other things driving it, it has many of us questioning everything.

So just to provide a little balance, I wanted to create a little alternative to the gnashing of teeth, hand-wringing, and anger and negativity that will dominate until we get things moving in the right direction.

So keeping in mind as Primus Porcus has done his level best to frequently remind us of, we are not even halfway through season #2 of a massive rebuild, let's limit this thread to talking about the good things we are seeing (yes - even in 2025).

I think the first positive thing we all need to constantly remember is that building a dominant NFL franchise is really hard, and it takes time. There are no shortcuts.

Let's talk about what we LOVE about what this Washington team and organization have done and are doing right now.

 

[Boone]

I will start. I think Luke McCaffrey may turn into a Pro Bowl caliber player. He is the best return man in the NFL right now. And you are starting to see his potential at WR. I don't believe he is anywhere near his ceiling and once he is in the mix with some actual starting caliber WRs I think he may really shine and he has a decade of football in front of him.

 

[Ghost of Sarge]

There will be a lot of doom and gloom and disappointment on BGO after 2 brutal losses. Rightfully so. Last season whet our appetite of what a team with a real franchise QB with competent coaches and a smart, savvy GM could look like. It was a magical season and it got all of us excited. This season, we have seen regression and whether it's the massive injury bug we've experienced, or other things driving it, it has many of us questioning everything.

So just to provide a little balance, I wanted to create a little alternative to the gnashing of teeth, hand-wringing, and anger and negativity that will dominate until we get things moving in the right direction.

So keeping in mind as Primus Porcus has done his level best to frequently remind us of, we are not even halfway through season #2 of a massive rebuild, let's limit this thread to talking about the good things we are seeing (yes - even in 2025).

I think the first positive thing we all need to constantly remember is that building a dominant NFL franchise is really hard, and it takes time. There are no shortcuts.

Let's talk about what we LOVE about what this Washington team and organization have done and are doing right now.

You might be paddlin upstream this mornin bro. I will agree that this will take time. And it will take a better off season than we had last year. The good thing is (at least I hope) is that some eyes may have been opened in the franchise.

 

[HOF44]

Chris Paul has emerged as dare I say an elite guard. We need to resign him in season this year.

 

[Dah-Dee]

We have some exciting rookies. Bill gave the offense a jolt when Ekeler went down. Amos has been not just our best CB but the best player in the secondary. Lane is not only a good punt returner but has shown the ability to create separation as a receiver.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

There are glimpses - Trey Amos looks like a player, Chris Paul has improved, and the special teams minus the kicker have been positive.

I tip my cap though for being able to remain positive. I thought the days of meaningless November and December football were over, but it sure feels like it’s back to me. Not in a dramatic OMG We lost and I’m so mad way, but in a legitimate everything that can go wrong has went wrong, so why would that change now sort of way.

 

[Boone]

I'm not ready to bail on the season - we are 2 games back from Philly not 4 or 5. There is a ton of football still to be played. I'm not sure how they right the ship over the next 4 weeks between now and the bye. We play three 4 win teams with Miami being the only team we will be favored against. Since this is a positive thread - I'll say it's good news that the Seahawks are coming to us, and we have shown we can beat Detroit and also get them at home. So if they could somehow win 3/4 that would put us above .500 going into our bye with 6 remaining games coming out of it.

 

[Gooseneck]

Think through the injuries we will find some key players for next year. I think we are still on track on a good 3 year plan. My guess, Lattimore is gone, and 18 million buys a good player.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

The reality is this team can still turn it around. The injured receivers coming back will improve the offense. Last year, there were a lot of games no one expected them to win and they won them. We all raised our expectations after last year and I think that’s a contributor to some of the opinions. We expected more and we should have seen more so far this year. But still a lot of football left in this season.

 

[Discobob]

I'm feeling super negative right now, but I will say that I don't think the roster is nearly as bad as it seems. Our Oline and QB should be stable moving forward, and that should count for a lot. I'm choosing to the see the defense through the lense of, "Scheme / Coaching bare much of the blame." That should be easier to fix 🤞

 

[SkinsOrlando]

We had a magical run last year in a team with heavy roster turnover, and then an off season with heavy roster turnover again, we were going to see some setbacks at some point in time. Yesterday was bad, it sucked, it wasn't watching Philly trounce us on MNF with Vick bad or fat Albert lying on the ground for 10 seconds bad. Dallas played the game they needed to on defense, stack the box, blitz and we had no receivers that scared anyone on the field. As far as the defense goes, a lot of lackluster tackling, going for big hits and not wrapping up, shit happens even when it shouldn't, very unengaged group tackling as well. Whether we like it or not Dak is our f'ng kryptonite, dude has owned us like Rodgers did Chicago. It's Monday, time to game plan for KC, we already know we are not getting favorable calls from the refs, have to game plan accordingly but hell it might not matter if we don't have healthy players that can make a difference. Players matter folks, please see how Flacco looked with stud receivers last week. However, I sure as hell feel better than I did during the past 5 years before the new ownership.

 

[method man]

I'm feeling super negative right now, but I will say that I don't think the roster is nearly as bad as it seems. Our Oline and QB should be stable moving forward, and that should count for a lot. I'm choosing to the see the defense through the lense of, "Scheme / Coaching bear much of the blame." That should be easier to fix 🤞

Yeah I agree. The positions we need to fix aren’t hard to find. I think we need a TE1, WR2, DE2, ILB, starting corner and at least one starting safety.

If we really wanted to do, we can go fill all these roles in free agency (not saying we do that or should do that).

To your point, my bigger worry is who they bring in as the next DC. When I look ahead, I don’t think there are going to be many experienced names out there and none I can think of with ties to DQ.

Jonathan Gannon, local guy Dennard Wilson, ???. Aaron Glenn may get fired but I never thought he actually had good defenses in Detroit and was way overrated.

 

[BayouBrave86]

I really LOVE the potential of this offense if it can ever get fully healthy. The Oline is going to be strong with Cosmi getting back into playing shape. The WR room could legit be 5 deep now and Bill is a solid RB to compliment Jayden. Ertz is Ertz. Oh and our special teams outside of a kicker is playing well too.

Just have to improve that defense.

 

[Discobob]

Jonathan Gannon, local guy Dennard Wilson, ???. Aaron Glenn may get fired but I never thought he actually had good defenses in Detroit and was way overrated.

I just want someone proven, one of those legacy DC's... Whitt was a shot in the dark, and seemingly a very misguided one!

 

[Boone]

He’s been a DC one full season guys. Are we really ready to pronounce him a failure?

Tough crowd. And in the positivity thread.

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

The reality is this team can still turn it around. The injured receivers coming back will improve the offense.

Can we count on them to return though? And if so, when?

Noah is gone 4 more games minimum. We might as well forget he exists.

Terry’s injury and how it’s been handled hasn’t made much sense. There’s nothing that suggests he’s back soon. Rumors are rumors for a reason, but the only ones I’ve heard is not to expect to see him soon.

Deebo- it’s hard to say with the heel. Hes a tough SOB, gave it a go against the Bears and quickly had to depart. Even if he does go soon, likely not full speed.

I know it’s October but this is the meat of the season. These guys could be returning after there’s no longer a point in them returning.

Add to that, we still don’t know what’s up with JD, who already wears one knee brace that has clearly hampered his athleticism.

I know this is the sky is not falling thread, so I guess all I can say is that many guys who haven’t been getting opportunities should soon have them- for better or worse.

 

[Neophyte]

I think perhaps the fairytale year that was the 2024 season has induced a kind of amnesia in the fanbase. I think we have forgotten just how bad the team Peters and Quinn took over 19 months ago really was.

When most of your starters would be depth guys on the rosters of any team drafting outside the Top 10, you don't fix everything in 2 off-seasons.

Having said that, here are some positives I see:

- While its early days for Conerly, it appears we have the best OT combination since the days of Samuels and Jansen.

- Once the 5 starters get a couple more games together, we likely have our best offensive line since the days of the Hogs.

- We have a franchise QB (and that is his floor, btw).

- For 2 years in a row now, we have gotten 1st round talent in the 2nd round, instead of taken 2nd round talent in the 1st round.

- I'm excited about our young CBs - Sainristil and Amos.

- While things are rough right now and a couple of Peter's moves aren't working out the way I'm sure he thought, I like the aggresiveness of this front office in looking for ways to maximize the team while Daniels is on his rookie deal. I'd rather flame out trying then ignore the obvious potential to win now that we all saw last season.

 

[Conn]

I’m not in a Sky Is Falling mood, but I’m certainly Not Happy With How Close The Sky Feels

My one positive I’d like to highlight in the spirit of the thread is that (assuming we re-sign Tunsil + Paul) it seems we’ve fully rebuilt the OL in 18 months. A great beginning to a rebuild along with getting an exciting young QB. The rest will follow.

That’s not to say it’s perfect, but it’s the first time it feels like we’ve got a little depth to spare, some studs, and some developing starters with high ceilings. Main need is a better backup Center option, rather than a journeyman interior OG/OC who isn’t very good. But many teams wish they had that luxury. We can really turn draft and FA resources to the rest of the roster now and feel good about the OL, something that felt unthinkable when Rivera was fired. We’ll build outwards from there.

 

[burgold]

You know I never really put it together before, but when the sky falls all you really get is fog.

 

[HOF44]

You know I never really put it together before, but when the sky falls all you really get is fog.

I think there’s a book title in there somewhere!!