Burgold

Kinda funny that Logan Paulsen (the blocking tight end) is less enthusiastic about Turner than Cooley. It could be one of those... "I don't see a reflection of me in him" kind of deals. Paulsen's understanding of a tight end's duties were almost completely about being a blocker. Cooley was more of a weapon. From what I read, Turner is much more a receiver than a blocker. Much more of a Cooley than a Paulsen. Rivera's biggest weakness (in my opinion) is either loyalty or lack of imagination. He not only can't think outside the box... he has a difficult time imagining that anything exists outside of his box.

I think that's fair. The question on his floor is how much of that perception is due to having consistently inferior supporting casts. We noticed with Heinike against poor defenses how he looked good, but against pressures and good tight coverage, and how because the only healthy receiver we had was McClaurin his latter performances suffered. Wentz is obviously more physically talented, but a good QB will look bad if he faces unending pressure or if his receivers fail to get open.

It's a little odd to me that the Colts are bashing Wentz after a trade, too. It's basically screaming, "We screwed you guys and got one over on you because we traded you our trash!!! Suckers!!!!!!!" Generally, even if a team clearly wins the trade, both parties treat each other well because they want to do business in the future. They also don't want a reputation of doing bad deals that are designed to screw the other team over. So, beyond simple class, it's not nice to **** on an ex-player you have just traded especially when that player didn't force his way out, but was traded because of a team decision.

Except Dan Snyder pre-Bruce Allen was not known for being cheap. In fact, he was well known for overspending and throwing his money around at anything that moves.

Who wants an option that would get all the votes. That's no fun!

Throughout the offseason, Washington has promised to be aggressive and while they were aggressive going after the QB almost every other act was to wait and see what others teams were doing and MAYBE offering to match. As for pursuing free agents to fill holes, the team has been remarkably patient. Now, while Wentz did eat up a ton of cap we know better than most how cash cures cap so the question becomes... Does Snyder have the cash to cure the cap? We know a bunch of his businesses: Six Flags, Johnny Rockets, etc. have done really poorly. We also know that Snyder is a billionaire on paper. He also just took out a huge loan (with the league's help) to buy out his minority owners. So, what do you think... Is Snyder broke?

I don't really agree with Rivera's front office being as awful as the poster you quoted said, but it's hard to ignore the fact that he came in three years ago with a weak linebacking corp and problems at safety. Three years later, we still have questions at linebacker and safety. Strangely, these are two positions that are supposed to be relatively easy to fix.

Heinike should stick. He did remarkably well for an undrafted free agent who was unclaimed and sleeping on his sister's couch last week. He's shown he can step up and compete. He doesn't have the arm you want in a starter, but he absolutely has the grit, moxie, and intangibles to be a great back up. Just ask Tom Brady. As for Howell, despite the fact that he was picked in the fifth round I don't think we should think of him as a fifth rounder. He was mocked (yeah, I know we are mocking mocks) as a second and frequently considered one of the best QBs in this QB poor draft. If we go back a year when he was playing with weapons and a line, quite a few people projected Howell as having first round talent. We shouldn't pigeonhole him because of where he was picked. Once done, the draft is pretty irrelevant. Think of how many udfas make teams or how many have made the HOF. Think of how many number one overall QBs were busts. Howell may not be the guy this year, but he could be the "guy" for the future. He could also be the guy who nets a number one in trade. Lord knows the NFL loves trading number ones for back up QBs. Now that Allen is gone, we may change our philosophy that getting nothing for a talent is a win if we make the player miserable enough.

Agreed. But Terry saying no or not yet is different than the FO not pitching him an offer.

There really wasn’t a good reason to wait on extending McClaurin. Premium players never get cheaper. I do get how acquiring Wentz threw the cap plans into the air, but priorities need to be planned for.

I mostly don't eat red meat anymore either. A few times a year, I'll break down and get some ribs, but it's been a long, long time since I had a hamburger or a steak. It's really not hard giving them up. You really don't miss it.

So, you want us to copy the Raven’s model?

I sometimes wonder though if that's a chicken and the egg thing. Did we so rarely have three linebackers on the field because we didn't have three linebackers we wanted on the field or because scheme and the modern NFL makes having three linebackers on the field problematic?

Don't know why, but this morning I realized I'm rooting for Charles to steal one of those starting guard positions. Maybe it's just because I want something good to come out of the Trent Williams fiasco. More likely it's that I'd love for one of our rookies to step up for a longer term fix... Although at this point he may only have a year or two left on his contract. Still, I wouldn't mind if Charles could find a way to beat Turner, Schweitzer, and Norwell. Steep climb though and clearly with the latest signing the coaching staff doesn't think he can do it. Surprise us and grab your spot, Charles.

You guys are nuts. I had Dotson slotted at 17. Getting him at 16 is almost a criminal waste. What a reach!!!

This resonates with me a bit. In some respects, the draft pick is being compensated for being an employed worker through high school, college, etc. As to the other comments, my reaction is an ages old one. It's more about where we put value in our society. I think of the teachers, nurses, EMTs, I think of the scientists, and all the other professions who daily contribute to making our lives healthier and better... and see the skew between entertainment salaries (which pro athletics are a part of) and so many other salaries... and sometimes, I just go... THIS IS NUTS. So no, I don't want Dan Snyder to make more money, but I also don't know that I want a fifth round draft pick to make more money in their first "cheap" contract than a teacher or nurse will if they put in forty years of service.

A fifth rounder is immediately a multimillionaire. There’s something wrong about that.

Any major insights or reactions from rookie camp? From scattered tweets, it feels like it went smoothly, but I can't tell if there were any surprises or revelations. Anyone significantly better or more raw than was expected.

The arm thing is the thing. If Heinicke had a pro arm he had the potential to be a really excellent QB. I mean, he's got all the intangibles, escapability, ability to read a defense, anticipation, he just doesn't have the arm to get it done.

I can’t give Bruce credit for this. He may not have been publicly sniping himself, but through intermediaries he always tried to wreck the reputation of players or anyone who left. Think of the conveniently timed pics of Gruden drunk and cheating on his wife that got leaked.

This is a little out of the blue, but it's something I've wondered about. Why can't a QB without a strong arm develop a strong arm? The big talk about Heinike is that he couldn't get it done because he doesn't have an NFL arm even though he is good at reading defenses and has all the other intangibles. Well, why can't a QB get an NFL arm? Isn't that what weight rooms are for? Isn't that what proper technique is for? I often read that linemen when they come into the league need to get stronger. Heck, I read that about every position. Why is an arm uniquely incapable of change? This isn't to say that Heinike could or should be our future. I think he maxxed out and was a great Cinderella story, but he seemed to show us what he can and can't do last year and what he couldn't do won. I think he's a great hustle guy and that's who you want for a back up. Regardless, the arm-question is one I've wondered about. Your post was great. I misquoted you. I was actually responding to the quote you quoted about the Jags have had the Colts number for 6 years despite being one of the NFL's worst teams over the last six years.

The NFL is weird in that somehow there are bad teams who somehow match up really well. The Giants, by and large, have been a bad team for a long time. As bad and probably worse than Washington. Still, they've had our number. For whatever reason, we really struggle against them.

If I had to guess, the defensiveness stems from the players saying they didn't expect to be picked yet. I don't know that I ever heard that before. I mean you hear players ranting about the chip on their shoulder from being snubbed and how they would prove everyone wrong all the time, but you never hear players going... "Ooh! I don't know if the team made a wise choice in picking me. I should have been picked later. I mean I'm not that good. There are other better players out there, you know!" (The above quote is clearly an exageration and an actual quote.)

Imagine how much different it would be if Joe Manchin hadn't decided to go on a power trip or Krysten Sinema decided to be the person she had campaigned to be. Imagine what it would be like if a handful of Republicans were capable of thinking for themselves or acting based on their constituents wishes?

Just think it needs to be said-- Pro-Conception is not Pro-Life. To me, that is a large part of why conservative thought in this area is awful.