skinsmania123

Yes, I know he was with Minny and other teams. But what did he say in the interview with Keim exactly that you found foolish or wrong? Or did not consider it a sound process to follow? As a GM I think he made some errors. As an example, he was known as the GM that traded down for more pics, and some questioned the lack of talent, when it came to the roster composition. But in this interview, I agreed with his process of how it should be done. He said you have to have the GM, HC, and owner on the "same page" when it comes to a QB. And I 100% agree with that because the outcome of not having that consensus can be fairly disastrous, and you only need to look at Washington under Snyder ownership to know that. The ironic part of his making that statement, one I was in 100% agreement with, is I never thought Zimmer was fully in agreement with having Kirk Cousins as QB regardless of what Spielman or the owner may have thought. He never seemed enthusiastic about him, and the contract was such, that they maybe he felt they had to settle in other areas of the roster. I don't know. Because at the time in 2018, he signed the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history for a QB. Maybe they had to settle a bit with the roster trying to cover salaries.

Haha me either, but you know that old saying, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. So, they might say one or two things that the owner hadn't considered, or an incoming GM didn't think about. Based upon how ****ty and poorly run this organization has been, it is probably best to cover every possible potentiality when it comes to player personnel.

Listening it sounded like he was striking off a # options, and that if the combo of HC, GM and owner agreed, they could go QB. Yeah, I agree with the part when he said, if you think Caleb or Maye are the type of QB's that can get you to a SB you go with them. I think the key is consensus. Yeah I got the sense that he likes Terry a lot but does not see him as a true #1 and that Harrison Jr. fits the bill, and then he seemed to add in the OT part, so it seemed that it was an option.

What is interesting to me, is hearing Sam Howell say after the game other day, "if we knew what the problem was we would fix it." It is almost as though his poor play and decision-making is baffling to him as well. I still think he can play in the league, and I hope, whether here or somewhere else he is able to sort if out with his coach. With such a cheap contract though, I would be surprised if they traded him. He is such a professional, he would never cause any disruption or negativity if they went with another QB. I could care about fans trying to create a QB controversy. That is where a good HC comes in and just shuts that down during press conferences.

Listening to Keim interview former GM Rick Spielman regarding his thoughts on the process the team should take in evaluating Howell. Said ownership should interview the current staff regarding Howell and ask them straight up if he has what it takes to be a franchise QB. Then getting the new GM and coaches to evaluate him, and of course he hedged a bit when he said "new staff" - But overall, his sentiment is they need to get as much information as possible on Howell, based on watching film, interviewing Howell to understand his decision-making process in game time situations even going through film with him and also determining if he is a leader. He even mentioned interviewing other players regarding Howell. But Spielman, while he thinks Howell is talented, and does not think they should just pull the plug on him, points out that Howell is not consistent, and makes some poor decisions. He also pointed out that if they have a shot at a Caleb Williams or Maye, that a HC and GM may not want to pass on them. But that making final decisions on a franchise, particularly when it comes to a QB, the HC, GM and the owner have to have the same philosophy - including the same philosophy on how to create a winning culture. And that for me was a very strong point. We all know what the Snyder era did to destroy any sort of cohesion that should exist there. One thing that Spielman did point out is if they decided to fortify their roster and stay with Howell another year, that if they could get a player like Marvin Harrison Jr., that he would immediately improve the QB's play, and then he said you add a OT and strengthen the O-line, pointing out that in his opinion it takes 3 years to adequately determine what you have in a QB. I just thought made some good points on how the evaluation process should take place on an NFL team.

Fair enough. Just surprised that you waited so long to chime in that's all. I mean if the Heine Hive did not bring you in......that was lively discussion to say the least. My hope is that they keep Howell, with a bolstered O line, a decent TE, and a big, bodied receiver and he has an opportunity to compete. But right now, he probably needs a sports psychologist...LOL! And of course this all speculation, they could opt to trade him (I bet Sean McVay would take him), draft a rookie and bring in a vet backup. I am open to anything. I just want to win.

That is actually a good point especially regarding the kickers. Cheeseman has been especially, and consistently poor this year.

When you look at his numbers in 2021, his junior year, it is important to point out that both of his RB's were gone, who combined for over 2,000 yards rushing in 2020. One moved onto the NFL, and two of his go to receivers moved onto the NFL, one being Dyami Brown, which led to a depleted roster in terms of talent. In 2021 Howell, rushed for close to 900 yards, but did not have the numbers he had in his first two years in terms of passing. It has been noted that there was a decline in roster talent and reliable weapons around him. I know you said you "lurked" as you say, but in just the last two days you have posted over 100 variations of we have to move on from Sam Howell posts. But the assessment of him at NC, particularly in 2021 is couched in a number of factors. Truthfully, I ask why do we have to move on from him? He is a cheap contract. He would not cause any issues. He is a quiet, self-contained respectful guy. Every team has fans screaming for a new QB when there are issues with the starter. Yes, like most QB's Howell needs a modicum of talent around him to be successful. He has had some solid games. And he has had some real duds, with no help on the other side of the ball, to perhaps uplift him through it. He may, at this juncture, need a fresh start somewhere else. But from a financial perspective, and based upon what he has shown, they should hold onto him. Yes, they probably will draft a QB, even though we have the most mediocre roster and need upgrades everywhere. But rookies are unproven, so why dump Howell? Personally, I cannot wait for the season to end, on a losing note, to fire Ron, the last vestige of Snyder stink, to bring in a proven GM and a decent HC.

And resurrected elsewhere. How many kickers for example have we released only to see them be successful elsewhere? I am sure some team will give the LS Cheeseman another shot somewhere.

This is where I am at with Sam. Why would you dump a cheap contract, with a guy who has shown flashes? He needs a QB coach, to help correct some of his neg. tendencies and an OC that gameplans to his strengths. I mean Patrick Mahomes has a QB coach that he sits with on the bench and goes over plays with. I will always remember Pederson working to Nick Foles strengths when Wentz went out injured. Total different scheming because they were totally different QB's with different skillsets. They won a SB because of it. Yes, Sam is in his head too much right now and maybe he did some overthinking during the bye week. Who knows? @kingdaddyBringing up Aikman, when discussing a super rough rookie season is an understatement...lol! He struggled incredibly, ending with 1-15 record, 9 TD's to18 INTs. Interestingly enough Aikman is a pretty level-headed guy temperament wise, similar to Howell. That season was a definitely a baptism by fire. Maybe I am wrong, but if a guy can take coaching, they can turn around some bad tendencies. I trust we will have a proven GM and offense minded HC, that can work this out. I just want to win.

What a breakdown by the Commanders? You mean same ol' same ol'....man this D blows.

Well clearly, from reading the comments, I have not missed anything, just tuning in.

You might be right. The point is we do not know who he can be. I also thought to myself even though he is level-headed, a calm dude, this has to be wearing on him, week in week out with the pounding he has endured. I would like to see him come back fresh and play some solid football, but selfishly I want us to lose out for a better draft position. We have so many needs. One thing that I read about Howell was that during his 3rd year at NC he did not have the weapons he used to have, because they were drafted into the NFL, so he actually had to run for close 900 yards with 11 TDs. One surprising tidbit was Dyami Brown who used to be his go to guy at NC, has actually not helped him this year, The timing between these two has been a little off. A number of throws I thought Brown would haul in, he either dropped, or missed, but for the most part, their production together pales in comparison to their time together in NC. It just seems to me that regardless of who is at QB in NY they have our number. And similarly, we always play the Eagles fairly tight. Clearly if the GM thinks you grab one of those 3 top QB prospects, that is what they are going to do. Regardless I think Howell will have a decent year with the right coaching and some weapons.

Clearly the FO needs to make the decision on Howell going forward. I think he has a lot of positives - super strong arm, can make all the NFL throws. We knew there would have to be adjustments because he essentially redshirted his entire first year. I have watched a lot of the replays and what you are calling regression in the last 3 games is IMO DC's figuring out how to handle our OL, by crowding the middle and rushing, forcing Howell to throw to what I saw as well covered receivers. Go back and look at the scores of the games. Yes, week 11, 12 and 13 he played poorly. But if you take the whole season in its totality, until the last 3 games he is someone you can probably build around. He needs better coaching to work out his weaknesses. He needs a QB coach. Even Mahomes has one. We simply do not have an accurate, or proper evaluation of Howell. He could be anything. That is my biggest takeaway. He could be anything. Look at his performances in both Eagles games, Denver, Atlanta, even against the Seahawks; he played well. His ball placement has been really good in a number of instances. Do you remember all the contested **** Taylor Heinike. noodle arm, used to throw that Terry would jump up and get? Any this year to him, from Howell he's dropped them. It is there. Same with Dotson. I just do not see our receivers getting separation this year. I have no idea if it is scheme, maybe I am using the wrong word. Maybe the coverage is better. Or maybe he is being forced to throw before they come out of their breaks. What I do know is that since Chicago, DC's have a recipe to go by. I like the Redwolves name too btw.

What are you talking about. He is a first-year starter. He is a rookie by any comparison standard. And if you go through the history of the league of first year starters in the NFL at QB, who went on to be quite good, I think you would be surprised, at how poorly to average they played their first year starting. Our defense has been putrid this year. Our play calling on offense because of EB, has been so predictable, the defenses only need to crowd the middle, and blitz. If you haven't noticed, guys have been having a real difficult time breaking free from the coverages and getting open. Is that scheme or is it on our receivers? Their ability to get YAC even if they do get the ball, well placed, and in stride has not been great. Our O line is ineffective at consistently setting blocks and completing their assignments. Now what does this lead to? A QB holding the ball too long. A QB running for his life. A QB not having enough time to make the proper reads. And people talk about his inability to get the ball out, but if guys are not getting separation, which they have struggled with all year, i.e. Dotson, who, even though I like, has been a drop machine in a few games, along with Brown and even Terry has dropped a few. With our defense, which is a putrid pile of steaming garbage, there is little room for error. Our Offense is more often than not playing from behind. With all that said, I do trust the GM to get the right guy in there at QB. If he does not want to roll with Howell so be it. But this roster is so low level, with holes and upgrades needs all over it. I think you start building a roster. And you keep Howell for another year.

I definitely see him as a starter here at least next year. Those are fair points you are making. That was just one of many blunders that occurred during the Snyder-Allen debacle. That was a complete **** show. Cousins knew he was being disrespected by them with the tagging, and I agree we could have gotten a low 1st round for him. The Cousins trade should have happened solely because he did not want to play here after the disrespect and because he had solid seasons under his belt between 2015-2017, so there was enough there, in terms of his production, for some QB needy team to pull the trigger. It is not there for Howell yet. Honestly, I do not think you are going to get more than a third rounder or a very low 2nd for Howell. There are too many unknowns.

But they are going to evaluate him based upon production and stats, because any team evaluating him wants to get a deal for their team as well. I don't know what you can sell them on if Sam does not statistically improve over these next 4 games. Personally, I do not see us getting better than a 4th rounder for him. But truthfully, I want to hold onto Sam. He is on a cheap contract first of all, and if the new GM goes QB, you have a great backup. it's pretty clear that Sam's issues with this team seem to be as follows: EB's play calling and its predictability, the inefficient O-line, WR's NOT getting separation possibly due to scheme, and perhaps, connected with that last point, leading to a lack of explosive plays downfield. Sam was excellent in college, as we all know in terms of completion percentages both in his freshman and sophomore year, and having players that can stretch the field. Sam is essentially having his rookie year here, so has made boneheaded plays. My God look at Manning, and Aikman during their freshman campaigns. My biggest fear is if we trade him, and he has some fairly decent players around him and improved protection upfront, he is going to do very well. He is very level-headed, and he can make all the throws, and he is quick enough to pick up yards. In 2019, he was rated 5th in the country in terms of accuracy and decision-making. BUT in 2020 he did not have the receiver talent around him, so he ran a lot, and scored 11 TD's. I find it curious that Dyami Brown was his go to guy in 2018- 2019 in college - a very reliable connection, but here in Washington, not so much. Brown has dropped balls, sometimes can't get separation, and Sam of course has overthrown him. And this to me comes back to the lack of protection upfront, and predictability of this offense. How do you fairly evaluate him? You give him another year. You form a decent O line, which may take a couple of years. But just improvements there would help Howell improve. If we have the opportunity to take Harrison Jr (who will IMO match expectations in the NFL), that would be a game changer for this offense. A true big-bodied #1 receiver. And if you can't get someone of his caliber, you have to at least get yourself a kick ass TE who can achieve YAC. All the top QB's have had that TE connection. But IMO you have to jettison EB. He is not the right fit for this team.

I agree regarding Howell. I mean he is on a rookie deal to begin with. I would also want to get rid of everyone that does not want to be here. Maybe we could get a 2nd for Jonathan Allen. While Dotson really fell off a cliff this year I am hoping, it was the scheme, because he struggled with separation. The biggest issue for me with him was the dropped balls. But he has shown some improvement, over the last few weeks. I am not sure I want to lose McLaurin. What we need is a big, bodied possession receiver like Harrison Jr. or similar. Or we simply get a TE who was super productive in college like Bowers or Mayer. I like BRob too. I do not want to lose him either.

Welp Zach Wilson is officially starting for the Jets this week, but they are playing the Texans. Go Jets.

I believe he will get another gig. Maybe even as a HC. I think most coordinators that have been here, at least historically, have gotten a pass, just based upon the reputation of Washington as a dumpster fire. Plus, there is a perception out there that he helped with the success of Kansas City, and both Mahomes and Reid vouched for him. But if you watch the Netflix docuseries Quarterback, it is apparent he did nothing but hold the play card on the bench.

Is Ron, as an ex-player coach, loyal to the point of stupidity or is he stubborn? I think it is combination of both. I used to think it was just loyalty until his "send me my SB ring comment" cause that meant he stubbornly thought he had a team that could get to the SB AND that he had the coaches to do it. That is so egoic. And his assessment of his team was 100% inaccurate. And as the GM he picked that putrid secondary. @RandyHoltI do not think he is trying to get fired. His comments until recently is that he thought this team was going to be special, just give it time. But you are right the coaching has been abysmal. And EB signed off on that "elite crap OL" - so I am not sure I give him a pass on anything. And he has been throw, throw, throw all season, and I just have to wonder with the fall off in production with both Terry and Jahan, are his schemes part of the problem? I am 100% okay with moving on from EB. Let him go to the Bears, or somewhere else.

The only player I saw consistently play behind an average to poor O line which they never adequately addressed was Andrew Luck. There was even an article written where their GM at the time said because of the contract they signed with Luck, following his rookie deal, they could not sign decent O-line players, which made no sense. I loved watching Luck play. Luck was close to elite IMO or could have been with the right tools. But because they did not address deficiencies in terms of protections, it prematurely ended his career because of all the hits he took. The SB of 2020 was between the Chiefs and Niners. And the Chiefs won 31-20, overcoming a 10- point deficit. I actually think the Chiefs had a decent O line in 2020. Our O line is a struggling unit at best. There is not a lot of talent there. Many of the sacks and hits Howell has taken, have been assessed by analysts to be because of the line. We have eyes as fans, and we see that too. Nick Gates has struggled in setting protections, and Andrew Wylie has just been plain bad, in terms of missed assignments/blocks. But yes, of course some of it is on Sam. Some of his decisions have been downright boneheaded, but something I would expect in what is essentially a 1st year QB. I guess I just wonder if we had a more consistent line, that could set protections, create running lanes and say a real quick, RB, and gave Sam a bit more time, along with just one or two weapons like a Marvin Harrison Jr., the sort of pieces that Manning had for his career in Indy, what might he become? I mean Manning could have won probably more SB's with Indy, but their D was simply not a solid unit. The year they were, in 2005, they won it all. But Manning in his rookie year had 28 INT's, and yeah, he looked like a rookie. But he had flashes. And I see the same flashes with Sam, with less talent around him.

If you go and review the history of elite QB's like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and a current player like Pat Mahomes, one thing that is consistent across the board for these 3 QB's was the protection upfront. In addition to great O lines, Peyton Manning's offenses were loaded with superstars like James (2006), Harrison, Wayne, and Addai (2000) The runs from scrimmage for Addai and James were off the charts because of the lanes their O line provided. The O lines for Manning for most of the years he was there were stellar. There have been articles written about Brady, saying one of the main reasons he succeeded was due to his stellar O lines. Pat Mahomes last year said during interviews it was the strength of the O line giving him time and a very good D that made the difference for the team. I mean they lost Tyreek Hill, a very strong weapon and they still won the SB. I don't see any QB doing well under center for the Commanders based upon its composition. Sam is a very calm guy, and he seems to benefit from a really good mind set, that I am sure his coach father instilled in him. It is so hard to know who Sam will be. Terry and Jahan are not elite. We do not have any TE who can get YAC. We need an elite player to pair with Sam IMO. Like Brady had Gronk. Mahomes has Kelsey. Manning had Harrison and Wayne. Terry who is a solid WR, is not elite. Maybe it is the play calling of EB, and the routes but both Terry and Jahan have been disappointments this year. So what does Sam need? A solid or at least a decent O line that will give him time. That will block efficiently. And like Mahomes, like Brady, and eventually for Manning, a good Defense. It not even have to be elite. It just has to be solid in coverage. Solid in getting after the QB sometime. We linebacker issues. We do not have a shutdown corner. It goes on and on. And it is true that it starts upfront, and they have not played up to their billing.

I think they have to continue to allow the humiliation ritual to play out. Ron created this atrocious team. Leave no doubt in his mind, despite how he wants to spin it, that his "perspective" in terms of how the defense should run, still yields the same horrible outcome. Make it clear as day that they still cannot cover (not fast enough), they still cannot tackle (not able to adhere to basic fundamentals), and that every single QB they go against, with rare exception, is made to look like an All-Pro. I have to believe that the release of Ron, and the entire front office, which we know will be gutted at the end of the season, officially, ends the Dan Snyder era. That is the only saving grace for me. We desperately need a reset button for this franchise.

Not really. They rarely got pressure with them, and other QB have tore up our secondary all year.