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***OFFICIAL*** Washington Commanders Thread (5 Viewers)

That's how I'm thinking about it, too.1)  Keep the ball at least 35 minutes of the game, 2) come away with scores every possession (even if they're FG's), 3) pressure Brees, trust the secondary (don't laugh), and they have a shot.
I listed 3 things they didn't do. Secondary didn't have a chance. They (or the Saints) did hold down Kamara, which didn't matter.

 
That was pathetic. Smith is garbage, its beyond clear that 99% of his success is due to Andy Reid, he's regressed to the QB he was in San Fran. I'm not 100% he's better than Colt McCoy.

I don't understand anything they are doing on offense. Reed and Thompson are easily the two best pass catchers on the team. They are both on the sidelines for half the game. Meanwhile they are drawing up plays for Brian Quick, who would be out of the NFL if they cut him. Why don't they run more 2-TE sets with Reed and Davis? Something that would actually challenge a defense?

This game had nothing to do with New Orleans. 2/3rds of the NFL would have smoked this Redskins team tonight. If this is the Redskins team(and they have been bad in all but the Green Bay game) than this is the worst team in the NFC East, and that is a low bar.

 
I hadn’t watched the skins in a while.  Wow that was ugly and why I was done w this team until Allen was entirely out of the organization. 

The talent simply isn’t there to score on quality defenses and he’s the cause of it. He ran cousins out of town.  He signed poor players.  Who on the skins O scares the opponent?  An old AP?  An old Smith?  An old Vernon Davis?  Hurt Jordan Reed or tiny Chris Thompson?  A bevy of blah WRs?  The correct answer is nobody.  Gruden is an offensive coach that lacks offensive stars.  

On the defensive side the secondary is really bad.  Their best in the secondary is a converted WR.  Their marquee player Norman is awful in man coverage.  Again the talent isn’t there. The DL has potential but seems to be used wrong.

And that has fizzled down to where the team has no identity and Gruden is in tiffs with the players.  Smith. Swearinger. Norman.   He’s no great HC but he’s average and I like his demeanor.  His offense simply doesn’t work with the players he has.  To hear him so defeated in his press conference is sad.

Danny needs to clean house all the way up to Allen.  Then go get a defensive minded HC.  They’ve never had that in his tenure and they are closer on defense than offense.

Unfortunatley changing the coach is a minor problem until a good talent evaluator is there.  Heck, Doig Williams said he didn’t even know they were getting Alex smith until after the trade, so obviously Allen still pulls the strings.  And he’s got them all tangled up.  Until dan realizes Allen is his issue not much will change. Just more 8-8 seasons.  

 
i mean the team is who we thought they were.  :shrug:    destined for 8-8 in a pitiful division.  I again am just enjoying the ride and hoping throughout all this we are able to coach up some young players. 

 
Lack of mental discipline/strength:

As much as the commentators were blowing Drew Brees, our defense played well enough to stop them the first two drives.  But three penalties on third downs sustained the Saints and they used that to build a 13-3 lead.  Once behind, we’re a different team and the game was over early.  I get that the Saints offense is tops but I don’t think they just score at will if we don’t make those mistakes early.  It feels like we got rattled at best and flat out gave up at worst.

Disturbing trend:

After we lost to Indy, Gruden said we lost because Indy went down and scored early, punched us in the mouth, and we never recovered.  No #### numb nuts.  Same deal last night.  But as horrific as the mistakes and big plays were, amazingly we were still only down two scores going into halftime.  You would have thought we would come out at halftime a desperate team, playing like our hair was on fire.  But we did not.  We laid down and let Brees f us.  No heart.

alex Smith:

i still like smith but it’s clear he’s good when leading but not the guy to come back from a big deficit.  He missed a lot of big throws in the second half and seemed frenzied.  Also he’s gonna get his guys killed out there leading them into death shots.

im sure Bruce is busy this morning figuring out how to blame Gruden and Williams so they both will be fired to save his ###.  Well Gruden deserves it but not Williams.

in the scope of the whole season we’re not out of it at all.  But why does it feel just a matter of time?

 
Andy Reid probably watched the game with a couple of hoagies in his lap and laughed to himself, "I got 'em again."  I'll bet Kirk was yelling at the TV with "How you like me now"?  

 
Andy Reid probably watched the game with a couple of hoagies in his lap and laughed to himself, "I got 'em again."  I'll bet Kirk was yelling at the TV with "How you like me now"?  
Don’t worry, we’ll get Mahomes in about ten years, in exchange for a couple of number one picks...

 
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That was pathetic. Smith is garbage, its beyond clear that 99% of his success is due to Andy Reid, he's regressed to the QB he was in San Fran. I'm not 100% he's better than Colt McCoy.

I don't understand anything they are doing on offense. Reed and Thompson are easily the two best pass catchers on the team. They are both on the sidelines for half the game. Meanwhile they are drawing up plays for Brian Quick, who would be out of the NFL if they cut him. Why don't they run more 2-TE sets with Reed and Davis? Something that would actually challenge a defense?

This game had nothing to do with New Orleans. 2/3rds of the NFL would have smoked this Redskins team tonight. If this is the Redskins team(and they have been bad in all but the Green Bay game) than this is the worst team in the NFC East, and that is a low bar.
sadly you are right on all counts.  Wash. offense looked out of sorts to say the least.  No timing, no nothing & N.O. defense is not that good.

 
I hadn’t watched the skins in a while.  Wow that was ugly and why I was done w this team until Allen was entirely out of the organization. 

The talent simply isn’t there to score on quality defenses and he’s the cause of it. He ran cousins out of town.  He signed poor players.  Who on the skins O scares the opponent?  An old AP?  An old Smith?  An old Vernon Davis?  Hurt Jordan Reed or tiny Chris Thompson?  A bevy of blah WRs?  The correct answer is nobody.  Gruden is an offensive coach that lacks offensive stars.  

On the defensive side the secondary is really bad.  Their best in the secondary is a converted WR.  Their marquee player Norman is awful in man coverage.  Again the talent isn’t there. The DL has potential but seems to be used wrong.

And that has fizzled down to where the team has no identity and Gruden is in tiffs with the players.  Smith. Swearinger. Norman.   He’s no great HC but he’s average and I like his demeanor.  His offense simply doesn’t work with the players he has.  To hear him so defeated in his press conference is sad.

Danny needs to clean house all the way up to Allen.  Then go get a defensive minded HC.  They’ve never had that in his tenure and they are closer on defense than offense.

Unfortunatley changing the coach is a minor problem until a good talent evaluator is there.  Heck, Doig Williams said he didn’t even know they were getting Alex smith until after the trade, so obviously Allen still pulls the strings.  And he’s got them all tangled up.  Until dan realizes Allen is his issue not much will change. Just more 8-8 seasons.  
:sleep:

 
Smith had a terrible game. Awful. It happens. Doesn't mean he's a terrible awful QB. 

I'm worried about AP. He said he dislocated his shoulder. 

 
Smith had a terrible game. Awful. It happens. Doesn't mean he's a terrible awful QB. 

I'm worried about AP. He said he dislocated his shoulder. 
Sounds like it's just a sprain and he'll be good to go this weekend.  The Junkies did report this morning he is getting a second opinion.

 
I hadn’t watched the skins in a while.  Wow that was ugly and why I was done w this team until Allen was entirely out of the organization. 

The talent simply isn’t there to score on quality defenses and he’s the cause of it. He ran cousins out of town.  He signed poor players.  Who on the skins O scares the opponent?  An old AP?  An old Smith?  An old Vernon Davis?  Hurt Jordan Reed or tiny Chris Thompson?  A bevy of blah WRs?  The correct answer is nobody.  Gruden is an offensive coach that lacks offensive stars.  

On the defensive side the secondary is really bad.  Their best in the secondary is a converted WR.  Their marquee player Norman is awful in man coverage.  Again the talent isn’t there. The DL has potential but seems to be used wrong.

And that has fizzled down to where the team has no identity and Gruden is in tiffs with the players.  Smith. Swearinger. Norman.   He’s no great HC but he’s average and I like his demeanor.  His offense simply doesn’t work with the players he has.  To hear him so defeated in his press conference is sad.

Danny needs to clean house all the way up to Allen.  Then go get a defensive minded HC.  They’ve never had that in his tenure and they are closer on defense than offense.

Unfortunatley changing the coach is a minor problem until a good talent evaluator is there.  Heck, Doig Williams said he didn’t even know they were getting Alex smith until after the trade, so obviously Allen still pulls the strings.  And he’s got them all tangled up.  Until dan realizes Allen is his issue not much will change. Just more 8-8 seasons.  
Until Dan realizes he's the major issue here nothing will change.  If the Caps have a good season again I think we might hear grumblings about that.  Snyder can't be happy watching the Caps get celebrated all over town.

 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/10/10/brian-mitchell-jay-grudens-redskins-they-think-everything-is-joke/?utm_term=.d7b067323538

Brian Mitchell letting Jay Gruden have it:

“There were things that happened after the bye week that made me start to question a lot of things,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got guys getting a break — a veteran day after a bye. Hell, you just were off for seven days and you come back and you need a veteran day? . . . Guys are still blowing assignments, can’t keep their coverages, can’t communicate properly. And you know what? We always talk about players taking on the personality of their coach, and I’m going to say this: Yes, they’re taking on the personality of their coach. They think everything is a joke. They think everything is easy, and they’re not going out there busting their a — to become the best players they can be.”

This has been a pretty common refrain among old time Redskins like Mitchell and Doc Walker.  And D. J. Swearinger has repeatedly said that Redskins don't practice intensely enough. 

I keep going back to the three dumb defensive penalties that gave NO their first two touchdowns and basically set the tone for the game.  Mental mistakes.  Lack of discipline. It's a trend.

It's tough to switch from being "fun Dad" to "tough Dad" midstream but it's time for Jay to really knuckle down here...

 
I keep going back to the three dumb defensive penalties that gave NO their first two touchdowns and basically set the tone for the game.  Mental mistakes.  Lack of discipline. It's a trend.

It's tough to switch from being "fun Dad" to "tough Dad" midstream but it's time for Jay to really knuckle down here..
I don't think Gruden has it in him to be "tough dad" more than just briefly. If they beat the Panthers he'll be right back to being Mr. Nice Guy With The Underperforming Teams again.

My god they were bad against the Saints. It's still sinking in.

 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2018/10/10/brian-mitchell-jay-grudens-redskins-they-think-everything-is-joke/?utm_term=.d7b067323538

Brian Mitchell letting Jay Gruden have it:

“There were things that happened after the bye week that made me start to question a lot of things,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got guys getting a break — a veteran day after a bye. Hell, you just were off for seven days and you come back and you need a veteran day? . . . Guys are still blowing assignments, can’t keep their coverages, can’t communicate properly. And you know what? We always talk about players taking on the personality of their coach, and I’m going to say this: Yes, they’re taking on the personality of their coach. They think everything is a joke. They think everything is easy, and they’re not going out there busting their a — to become the best players they can be.”

This has been a pretty common refrain among old time Redskins like Mitchell and Doc Walker.  And D. J. Swearinger has repeatedly said that Redskins don't practice intensely enough. 

I keep going back to the three dumb defensive penalties that gave NO their first two touchdowns and basically set the tone for the game.  Mental mistakes.  Lack of discipline. It's a trend.

It's tough to switch from being "fun Dad" to "tough Dad" midstream but it's time for Jay to really knuckle down here...
Is this even possible these days? 

 
I will be happy Sunday if I see the Redskins come out strong, minimize mistakes and penalties, and keep a solid effort for 60 minutes.  If they do that a lose to a superior team, I can deal with it, and it would provide some hope going into the first two division games against Dallas and NYGiants.

What do you need to see to be hopeful?

 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/redskins-week-6-injury-report-185633710.html

All 3 starting WRs questionable. Not sure whether to be upset or blah.  It's not like the WRs have been productive in any game so far.  Inserting Harris for Doctson is fine with me.  I guess we may see what Floyd can do this week.  Maybe it's worth a shot.  I still think we need to get Reed and Davis on the field at the same time.  But with no deep threat, we may see Carolina play the same strategy that both Indy and New Orleans used to shut us down...play soft zone to keep intermediate routes short...stack line to limit running game.  Of all three, I'd kind of like to see Richardson out there just to have some speed -- any speed -- to stretch the field.  Or get creative and line Thompson out wide.  It will be interesting to see who can see the field and how the team will play it...

 
What do you need to see to be hopeful?
I need to see 12 consecutive games where the team looks prepared, looks motivated, plays hard, and plays well.

Actually I need to see 16, but here we are 4 games in, knowing that if the Skins beat the Panthers they'll lose to the Giants, and if they lose to the Panthers they'll beat the Giants.

 
But with no deep threat, we may see Carolina play the same strategy that both Indy and New Orleans used to shut us down...play soft zone to keep intermediate routes short...stack line to limit running game.
I think we'll see that strategy for the rest of the season from opponents.

 
This is suppose to be a good draft for WRs. We have to take a top one of available, right? Do we have the worst WR corp in the league? 

 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/redskins-week-6-injury-report-185633710.html

All 3 starting WRs questionable. Not sure whether to be upset or blah.  It's not like the WRs have been productive in any game so far.  Inserting Harris for Doctson is fine with me.  I guess we may see what Floyd can do this week.  Maybe it's worth a shot.  I still think we need to get Reed and Davis on the field at the same time.  But with no deep threat, we may see Carolina play the same strategy that both Indy and New Orleans used to shut us down...play soft zone to keep intermediate routes short...stack line to limit running game.  Of all three, I'd kind of like to see Richardson out there just to have some speed -- any speed -- to stretch the field.  Or get creative and line Thompson out wide.  It will be interesting to see who can see the field and how the team will play it...
That should be the base offense. They should be together on the field 90% of the game.

Before the year, you wouldn't have been able to convince me that 6 weeks in the healthiest starting skill position player would be Jordan Reed. With everyone else banged up, I'd be tying to get him 12-15 targets. Last week's usage was inexcusable.

 
Just need to frustrate Cam and contain McCaffrey. When we get to Cam need to finish the tackle.
If they couldn't cover Tre'Quan Smith and Cameron Meredith, we absolutely don't have the speed to stay with DJ Moore or Curtis Samuel. Don't have a coverage LB/Safety to cover McCaffrey or a returning Greg Olsen either...and having to hang back to defend the deep ball is only going to give more room to the short and intermediate guys, I'd imagine. Only thing working in our favor is the weather, and it doesn't appear to be getting colder and wetter, which would help. Panthers are just not a good matchup for us, I think. Long, dark day.

 
If they couldn't cover Tre'Quan Smith and Cameron Meredith, we absolutely don't have the speed to stay with DJ Moore or Curtis Samuel. Don't have a coverage LB/Safety to cover McCaffrey or a returning Greg Olsen either...and having to hang back to defend the deep ball is only going to give more room to the short and intermediate guys, I'd imagine. Only thing working in our favor is the weather, and it doesn't appear to be getting colder and wetter, which would help. Panthers are just not a good matchup for us, I think. Long, dark day.
Can't be as bad as last week. 

My main concern is that this is a Graham Gano revenge game.

 
Chris Thompson and Jamison Crowder are out, as is Lauvao (as usual).

You never know what will happen, but this game looks like doom right now.

 
Gut check win against a quality team.  Who knows how the season will go but showed some character coming off the canvas Monday night and playing strong all game...

 
Chris Thompson and Jamison Crowder are out, as is Lauvao (as usual).

You never know what will happen, but this game looks like doom right now.
Who would have thunk it? 

This is vintage Redskins.  No idea who will show up next week in what you would think would be a winnable game....

Enjoy the ride I guess

 
I could evaluate but a few simple things:

carolina made mistakes early not redskins

we got off to a fast start 

all this enabled us to call a more balanced game.  AP ran hard all game .  Smith hit a number of key shirt throws 

carolina not Washington ababdoned the run game too early

in all three games we’ve won this year these points have been spookily similar...

A lot of the game is beteeen the ears

 
Josh Norman played well today. Dunbar did not, or was put in coverages where he couldn't get to Funchess on time. If Carolina had been smart they would have fed Funchess more.

Redskin pass rush was invisible.

Scherff played hurt a lot of the game. You could see him on the sideline having a defensive player shove him backwards, to see if his leg could keep taking it. Then he went back in, limping.

Without Peterson they lose this game.

 
fatness said:
Redskin pass rush was invisible.
What's happening here.  I like their personell -- Allen, Ionitis, Payne, Kerrigan, Smith, etc.  I think the personell is pretty decent.  Even Kerrigan is way behind on his sack numbers.  What is happening here?  I hate to automatically say "just dial up more blitzes" as it leaves the secondary vulnerable...

 
What's happening here.  I like their personell -- Allen, Ionitis, Payne, Kerrigan, Smith, etc.  I think the personell is pretty decent.  Even Kerrigan is way behind on his sack numbers.  What is happening here?  I hate to automatically say "just dial up more blitzes" as it leaves the secondary vulnerable...
I don't remember a lot of blitzes this week. Swearinger did get their only sack (a FF) on a blitz and I remember him chasing Cam once in the endzone forcing a throw away. I think there were a decent number of pass plays where Washington only rushed three. It seemed like they were intentionally laying back some, maybe not wanting Cam to run all over them. And I think they did a decent job containing his running. While they didn't get a ton of pressure most of the game, it did cause an INT and I think it greatly affected the last incompletion of the game because Cam couldn't step up and the ball sailed out of bounds. At first I thought he and the WR weren't on the same page but the replay shows Kerrigan getting the RT in Cam's face, which is good pressure on such a short, quick route. Rewatching that play now, they rushed five with a sixth man probably spying.

Also, I think the defense did a lot of man coverage. At times I was worried because they were picking that apart in the second half with crosses, but ultimately I'd say it "worked".

 
Also, I think the defense did a lot of man coverage. At times I was worried because they were picking that apart in the second half with crosses, but ultimately I'd say it "worked".
They did get picked apart. The only thing that "worked" was CAR was kind enough to self-implode with turnovers. I have no idea how the skins hung on. Zeke will likely run for 200 yds this weekend.

 
2 of my favorite plays from the game:

1. Preston Smith in pass coverage, actually covering a guy tightly.

2. Trent Williams running with the ball, giving a straightarm to a Panther.

 
Steinberg tweet

The Redskins are 1-1 in their last 2 games, 2-2 in their last 4 and 3-3 in their last 6. They're 5-5 in their last 10, 6-6 in their last 12, 7-7 in their last 14. They're 10-10 in their last 20. They're 16-16-1 in their last 33. They're 18-18-1 in their last 37. 

28-28-1 over their last 57.

Since a reader asked....the Redskins are 1-7 in their last eight games following a win.

 
They did get picked apart. The only thing that "worked" was CAR was kind enough to self-implode with turnovers. I have no idea how the skins hung on. Zeke will likely run for 200 yds this weekend.
To be fair, the Redskins caused those turnovers.  Norman’s interception was caused by a very good pash rush and also the fumbles were not self-inflicted:  they were the result of defenders targeting the ball.  Causing these types of plays should be something we intend to do, not just the consequence of “luck”

what I fault Carolina for is abandoning the run prematurely.  I would have stuck with. McCaffrey way longer....

 
MikeApf said:
What's happening here.  I like their personell -- Allen, Ionitis, Payne, Kerrigan, Smith, etc.  I think the personell is pretty decent.  Even Kerrigan is way behind on his sack numbers.  What is happening here?  I hate to automatically say "just dial up more blitzes" as it leaves the secondary vulnerable...
I couldn't agree more. I'm not really a Redskin fan but I have always been a big Kerrigan fan and he doesn't even look like the same guy this season. Could there be an injury that he's playing through that's going unreported? Ironically, the Saints game is the only game he's even shown up all season. If he was 35yo and just "lost it" it would make some sort of sense, but he just turned 30 a few months ago.

 
MikeApf said:
To be fair, the Redskins caused those turnovers.  Norman’s interception was caused by a very good pash rush and also the fumbles were not self-inflicted:  they were the result of defenders targeting the ball.  Causing these types of plays should be something we intend to do, not just the consequence of “luck”
I think they may have been making the point that it's not because the secondary suddenly played much better by making great plays on the ball, after getting badly exposed in the N.O. game. I said before the season that going into the year with Dunbar as a starting CB without any real depth behind him was a huge mistake and haven't seen much to change that tune. They were really putting a lot of pressure on Moreau to make a huge leap this year and he may eventually be a pretty good player but that's a lot to ask of a third rounder that didn't get much time on the field as a rookie. 

They are doing pretty well in the standings but I just don't think they have the DB's to hang with a playoff caliber team. Other than the game they shut down GB because they jumped out to that early lead they haven't really impressed me. Shutting down Fitzgerald and...... doesn't mean much. I don't think Scandrick is great but outright releasing him seemed like a real head-scratcher to me. With Gruden fighting to keep his job I'm very surprised they went with such inexperienced CB's to put around Norman.

 

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