Washington Commanders
fanbase hasn’t had a lot to be excited about in the last handful of years. The Washington Redskins/Football
Team/Commanders organization as a whole for the last decade has left a very
sour taste in the mouths of spectators everywhere and understandably so. Dan Synder, the previous owner of Washington
for 24 years, didn’t have the best rep when it came to NFL owners. Honestly, he was arguably the worst owner in professional sports history. It was a brutal ending for Synder after a
very rocky 24 year run as the team owner, regardless of the teams name,
(Redskins, Football Team, Commanders) the head coaches, (Norv Turner, Terry
Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs, Jim Zorn, Mike
Shanahan, Jay Gruden, Bill Callahan and Ron Rivera) or the QBs (30 different
QBs have made starts for Washington under Snyder’s tenure); Such as popular
names like Brad Johnson, Patrick Ramsey, Tim Hasselbeck, Mark Brunell, Jason
Campbell, Todd Collins, Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, of course Robert Griffin
III & Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith and many more that were a part of his time
as their owner which almost spanned a quarter of a century.
Robert Griffin III, RG3, or RGIII
which ever you like to call him was almost the closest sighting the Washinton
franchise has seen to a Superhero at the QB position. This was right up until RG3’s career was
halted after numerous injuries. None bigger or more detrimental than Jan 6,
2013 when Griffin tore his right ACL, LCL, and Meniscus in the Wild Card
Round of the playoffs in a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to all of this, Griffin was seemingly a
Superhero for his Alma Mater, Baylor, where he had a decorated collegiate
career winning awards such as Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the year (2008), 1st-team
All-Big 12 (2011), Big 12 OPOTY (2011), All-American(2011), AP College Football
POTY(2011), Davey O’Brien Award(2011), The Heisman Trophy(2011), amongst
others; then Washington drafted him and
he was elected to the Pro Bowl (2012) as well as getting awarded the OROY
(2012).
In contact sports athletes go through a lot
of pain, agony, heartache and general daily stresses on top of everything else
that has to do with playing said sports.
As NFL players you are essentially away from home on the road for at
least 6 months out of a year unless your team makes the playoffs or even the
dream game that every players fantasizes about, the Super Bowl, which would
make roughly 8 months away from your loved ones. RGIII experienced multiple concussions, ankle
injuries, and the most severe knee injuries that no one would ever wish upon
anyone. It was truly a shame to see such
talent succumb to such a tragic end.
Though he continued to bounce around to other teams as a backup, he was
never the same and never got a true chance to reclaim a starting role with
another team.
When you are a team that must play against
the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants for a total of 6
games every season; that is very stiff competition for any team let alone one
that has been viewed as a bottom NFL team for quite some time now. This is what life is like for Washington each
year in the NFC East. Fans may have a
brighter future than yester year as they have drafted an absolute Dog out of
LSU in their new drafted QB for the future, Jayden Daniels. Daniels was drafted #2 overall in this year’s
NFL draft. You could say his college
career was quite superb. He posted
terrific stats throwing for 89 TDs and only 20 INTs. Jayden completed 953 out of 1,438 passes, a
completion percentage of 66.3%, along with 12,749 YDs and a passer rating of
158.4. Daniels was awarded the 2023
Heisman, 2023 SEC OPOY, 1x All-American in addition to his win/loss record
37-18 in 55 starts. His dynamic play
also accounted for 3,307 rush yards and 34 rushing TDs to add to his 89 passing
TDs. Oh yeah, he also scored a receiving
TD as well. Daniels is also the only
player in FBS history to rack up 12,000 + passing YDs & 3,000 + rushing
YDs.
Washington should be feeling somewhat
rejuvenated with a new young and very impressive QB1 that they can build around
for hopefully the next decade plus.
Behind Daniels is a very good backup in Marcus Mariota who was a starter
for the Titans early on in his career and just recently the top QB for the
Atlanta Falcons. Newly hired staff
members such as HC Dan Quinn, GM Adam Peters, OC Kliff Kingsbury, DC Joe Whitt
Jr., and 2nd year Owner Josh Harris are all going to need a little
bit of time to gel. Even so, things
couldn’t be off to a better start after a complete overhaul of the coaching
staff. Sometimes this is exactly what it
takes to jump start a franchise and give them new energy to gain some steam. Josh Harris, GM Adam Peters and the rest of
the staff have been doing their due diligence to bring in as much talent as
possible since they’ve all arrived in Washington; and boy is it showing! Adam Peters brought in a top talent at the RB
position in ex-Charger’s Austin Ekeler, along with longtime veteran TE Zach
Ertz on offense, depth on the O-line at the G and C positions, resigned WR
Jamison Crowder, and drafted the versatile talented son of Ed McCaffrey and
Christian’s younger brother Luke McCaffrey.
Luke played both QB and WR in college and because of his athletically
gifted blood line it has many wondering what type of player he will be at the
NFL level.
Dan Quinn has been notoriously known for
coaching some of the best Defenses in the NFL for several years now. Quinn left Dallas following the 2023 season
after a great run as Cowboys DC for the last 3 years. In that impressive time with Dallas his
defense led the NFL in turnovers each year.
Quinn may have left the Cowboys for their division foe; however, he
didn’t leave alone, as he brought some familiar faces with him including
ex-Cowboys C Tyler Biadasz, DEs Dorance Armstrong & Dante Fowler Jr., CB
Noah Igbinoghene, and Joe Whitt Jr. who served as Cowboy’s secondary coach
& pass game coordinator. They are
also bringing in stellar defensive players at the LB position in Frankie Luvu,
longtime veteran, and arguably one of the greatest LBs to ever play in Bobby
Wagner and a few others. This should be
an enticing situation for such an organization and team that has been on the
wrong side of history for many years now.
Though a total turnaround will not happen overnight, it will certainly
be exciting to watch how things play out with a whole new coaching staff,
owner, and a great mix of talented young and veteran players for the Washington
Commanders.
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