Wyvern

The site is losing posts that were made in this thread. There's a big gap, after French Fan's post (7 hours ago) and Chump Bailey's (17 minutes ago). It was in that timeframe when I made a decent-sized post which someone later rated; that's gone. Heck, even the the system notification to me about that rating is now gone. ....What gives?

Dotson doesn't seem like the kind of receiver Wentz needs -- he's small-sized and doesn't seem physical enough for those high 50-50 contested passes that Went routinely serves up. So now we have one more small "smurf" WR to add to Washington's current mix of slender/slot-sized WRs plus 2 quasi-4th rounders, to show for having voluntarily dropped out of the blue-chip zone? While I'm sure Dotson will make some nice catches at times, which the Washington hype machine will then use to make this guy seem to be the next coming of the "ultimate receiver" - it seemed to me he was a more like a consolation reach when RonCo's trade-down plans unravelled. It almost seems a bit of a desperation move.

They're going to need a lot of lipstick for this pig of a first round.

I'm not optimistic for the Washington draft results -- as these are the same people who drafted a lot of duds (Davis & Charles) last year, and I as disgusted on how they 'whistled past the graveyard' about their shortcomings at linebacker and safety during free agency. ....From every piece of film I've seen, Jamin Davis is AWFUL. Okay, we have Wentz... but no receiving corps to support his style of passing and certainly no power RB to bail him out -- just a "sore-toed" finesse WR/RB, with a bit of a fumbling problem. And don't tell m' that inspite of Matsko, that Washington's O-Line is better than Indy's. Moreover, Ron wants to stick with some coaches who apparently can't develop DL, RBs, LBs and or even WRs -- and unfortunately Washington is still stuck with the old C-/D+ scouting network that Allen prevented McCloughan from overhauling. Some jobs need to be on the line for this draft and the upcoming season.

How about a big "W"-shaped costume for a mascot? We could use a few more W's in our home stadium.

On TEs .... Washington needs to do something to upgrade. Bates is essentially a blocking TE and safety outlet. Reyes is still super-green and untested. Thomas may not be ready in time to start by pre-season much less build decent chemistry with Wentz. (Frankly, it remains to be seen if Thomas can even regain his 2021 performance level after his injury.). And RSJ, while a known quantity, isn't that awesome of a TE on which to pin Washington's entire TE offensive production. If Washington can sign RSJ, they still might need proven depth from one of the decent TE free agents out there --Ertz, Engram, Hurst, Howard, Everett, or maybe even Alie-Cox, some who might be relatively affordable and likely an upgrade from RSJ. I feel the TEs will be very important if Turner wants to get decent play out of Wentz. I feel this because I'm not sold on Washington's O-line being that great for the deep passing game (only 2 quality tackles with no other tackle depth, Roullier coming back from injury, and Scherf leaving). I think we're going to see a lot of 2 TE formations to give Wentz the protection he needs to stay comfortable in the pocket, plus some other options for short outlet passes, in areas opened up by McLaurin, Samuels, or Brown.

I read Wentz's comments differently. It's message is more about not questioning/complaining being traded by the Colts after 1 year, and instead simply accepting that in the overall scheme of things, these challenging developments in his life's destiny are just part of God's plan for him. It's a bit of an evangelical message because it's being delivered to an evangelical audience. And the other main theme he was trying to express is one shouldn't grumble or brood over the challenges occurring in one's life-path, rather you keep doing the best you can, while keeping true to yourself and the moral code (in his case, the Christian code) that guides your time on earth. This has to be a difficult time for Wentz, being traded for the 2nd time in two years, having to uproot himself and his family again and being the subject (target) of every media-caster, blogger, message-board and tweet-forum pumping out their views about Wentz's shortcomings and about why he shouldn't be starting anywhere. (And then there's always that fact how Wentz is such an easy target to criticize ---for his evangelical views, his anti vaccine views, and the fact that it was Washington that traded for him.) I don't think Wentz was complaining about coming to Washington, rather he was simply expressing what sustains him through the emotional challenge of being rejected by two teams in two years. I wouldn't be surprised if once the trade is official in NFL eyes, and he can comment, Wentz will have a very positive message about his opportunity to QB for Washington.

I think projecting what we view as logical factors for the length of Rivera's tenure as Washington's head-coach overlooks a key factor -- what is going on in Snyder's brain which, as you know, has produced some very unpredictable (and some would say "illogical) results. I am often surprised by the choices made by Snyder/Washington F.O. -- so it's difficult for me to predict what they might decide about Rivera. To me, it seems like Ron's been moving this team in the right direction -- but what does that count for in Snyder's thinking?

I think Rivera gets at least 2022 and 2023 seasons -- even if the team signs a bridge QB for the 2022 season and had to draft their anticipated "franchise" QB in the 2023 draft. Frankly Rivera's team will be adequately competitive in 2022, and it doesn't seem likely the team would have some 3-14 meltdown that would heat up Ron's seat for the 2023 season. But by the end of 2023, Ron will need to have the team showing it has all the pieces in place to get into the playoffs in the 2024 season.

I guess I don't feel Rivera's seat is that hot. And frankly, if the defense can shore up its linebacker situation, it has all the pieces in place for a really decent defense that could keep Washington's "C+" level of offense in a lot of close games.

I'm not in favor of offering up 3 1st-rounders in for a 33-year old version of Wilson (especially with that costly 2 years left on his contract, plus whatever it costs to get him to waive his "no-trade" clause to a non-playoff caliber franchise that wasn't on his list of preferred teams.) And let's face it, Rodgers won't be coming here and the Raiders won't be letting Carr go. And as for Watson...?? I don't think that would work out for a lot of different reasons. That leaves candidates Mariota, Winston, Trubisky, Garapolo, and maybe Bridgewater if Rodgers for to Denver. At best most of these would be a 2 year bridge solution -- while Washington tries to draft a decent rookie QB to develop. As for the draft --The 2022 class of of QBs isn't that strong, so unless the top-rated QB drops to #11, I'd save the draft capital planned for acquiring Wilson to use for moving up in the 2023 draft to get the top-tier QB of a stronger class. So I see the most practical course is a top-pick for the best LB possible and two bridges (QB and MLB) and maybe a 2nd round flyer on a QB, if a good one slid.

To be accurate in reflecting what Tomwvr was expressing , Washington used its 1st round picks of 2012, 2013 & 2014 for procuring one of those QBs. So essentially four out of the last ten Washington 1st-rounders were used for obtaining QBs.

Trubisky could work here as a bridge QB, while Washington groomed their high-round 2022 (or 2023) draft pick QB. That said, I'm not sure how much time Ron has to keep building and stabilizing his roster, before Snyder demands a deep playoff run, but I really don't see any high-percentage chances for instant elite QBs in this draft, unless folks are willing to wait to see how much Willis can improve in what the NFL passing game would demand. Trubisky/Heincke/Willis might work in 2022, and we'd have to hope Willis is ready in 2023. The others might be able to fit in more quickly, but each one carries some risks of low cielings, and not really franchise material. But unless Trubisky has really improved from what he showed with the Bears and with the pre-season Bills, he's, at best, just a slight upgrade from Heincke. Stronger arm, somewhat decent pocket presence, can run okay, but slightly slower processing speed on seeing the right play to make. If Ron &Co surprise me and don't draft a QB in the first round, I'd understand why he didnt. There are still lots of key positions needing upgrade and high-quality talent to choose. for example, I'd really like Washington to find a way to obtain a solid MLB (plus one more LB) to shore up the defense, because it's really the weakpoint that all Washington's opponents were exploiting in 2021.

Question: Do you think St. Juste will work out as a CB answer for Washington? He seems concussion-prone, and not aggressive enough to be a ball-hawk like Diggs. Also, it looked like he was more about minimizing YAC, and tipping the ball away, or was that just him learning the ropes as a rookie? I like him, but does WFT need to look for another CB, in case St. Juste doesn't work out?

It would be very risky, if Washington was betting on Watson getting past his current legal issues, and trying to pull a trade before the legal issues were resolved, simply to keep the price tag for acquiring Watson from getting too high, Because, If Watson were to be the face of the franchise, his legal issues would have to have completely cleared... beyond the shadow of any doubt. If there were still some "gray areas", the Washington media would be very tough on Watson , and constantly looking for new dirt. Any small thing they did surface could turn into a tinderbox event, And the NFL would come down very hard on both Watson and Washington and making an "example" when the Commissioner doled out punishment. So I think Washington would have to wait until the current legal process played out -- and should Watson was cleared/100% absolved, then his price tag could become very high for Washington, maybe too high for a team with many key positions still needing to be upgraded.

I thought AGG was re-signed to the WFT practice squad on Jan. 5. Am I mistaken? https://www.profootballrumors.com/2022/01/nfl-practice-squad-updates-1-5-22

This above text is what I reacted to. Rufus, as I mentioned before, I respect your posts... But it as I read this particular post, it seemed you felt the decision-makers in the WFT front office should have dismantled the Gruden roster and accepted how that meant tanking the 2020 season, in hopes of rebuilding in 2021. It seemed you felt Rivera was wrong to try winning with the hand he was dealt (plus the new 2020 draft picks) as he figured out who would fit with the team he was trying to build. Considering the circumstances, I thought Ron had a practical approach for 2020, but it was hindered by how COVID was impacting player evaluation and getting a true sense on Ron's rebuilding the existing team along his plans. .... And, sadly, 2021 turned out to be a very unlucky year for the WFT, with all the injuries to its key players, coupled with the large number of COVID quarantines on WFT players during the stretch run. IMHO, 2021 was a bad year to assess much of anything BTW, this is not intended to be a conversation. This was my final post to you on the topic; and per my traditional procedure, it's you that gets the last say.

Wow! Another "Hindsight" view we needed to 'tank' again in 2020. Hey Rufus, what exactly were the ..."at all costs", you cited? ... that Washington players and coaches actually tried to win their playoff spot in 2020? ...That the WFT players and coaches weren't willing to roll over and lose? That they should have simply agreed to tank, so that everyone on the team could then believe that the new culture Ron was building within Washington was still just another "Loser" culture, and that they should just look forward to being replaced by new players in 2021? Rufus, I consider you to be a long-standing member of the ES community, and I think you are always making interesting posts. But I part ways with you (and others) about calling for Washington to tank for a better draft position. I feel that any team building a winning team culture, a supportive locker-room chemistry, and a "never-say-die" mindset will attract better FAs, and will encourage all the players on the roster to keep battling. Giving up on a winning mindset and tanking in hopes of getting a better draft position, doesnt always yield the best results -- because: 1. To make major leaps through drafting, that means Washington's scouting has to be really good -- and candidly, draft history hints there might be valid reasons to question the quality of the WFT scouting network. 2. Even if the draft did bring in good talent, the WFT coaches need to know how to develop that new incoming talent -- history suggests that decent developmental results fostered by WFT coaching have been 'mixed.' 3. Newly incoming rookies need to avoid being tainted by any pre-existing "loser" team culture's mindset from the veterans still left on the team.. Otherwise, those rookies might decide to start 'mailing in' their performances, until they can move to another franchise which actually has a winning tradition.

You're welcome to have that opinion, I'm sure there are many who think like you do.

Really tough game to watch. I expected it would be bad -- but nothing like this. However, I now see the Dallas HC is a disgusting slob, especially when he was trying to run up the score before the end of the half. This really renewed my hate for the entire Dallas franchise,Seeing McCarthy smirking away on the sidelines today -- really seals the deal for me.

Sorry, but Sammis Reyes needs to show something -even anything - before he can trot around with ads and such. SMH about hyping a basketball player. ....Has he even made it into the field for WFT, even once? So far, the only noteworthy accomplishment I've seen about him has been about his landing on the COVID list, when we needed TEs.

What did Pickett do to celebrate the TD run that was so offensive? I couldn't find much online .... did he do a "Mayfield"? BTW, I'm not a fan of what NFL is allowing for celebrations these days. As for the controversial fake, isn't a when a QB jukes to fake going out of bounds, kind of same thing? g move?

For all the hype and his big salary... Deion Sanders, while not a real bust, still has to be on my list. All those Spurrier 'Gators ... come to mind for me. Actually, most of the best examples of bad free agent signings have been listed by now. There were a lot of other good examples of bad acquisitions by Washington, but those were obtained by trade or straight out drafted by Washington.

Washington's luck with free agents reminds me of Joe BTFSPLK (an Al Capp 1940's comic-strip character who jinxed anything he was around). Evidently the last name was supposed to sound like a Bronx cheer. Maybe 50 years later, Washington has recreated that character, but now he's called Dan WTFSPLK ? I joke of course, but for one reason or another most of Dan's decisions and "BIG" free agent signings haven't seemed to pan out.

As I recall, there some Washington fans who were a little worried the Bengals might select Young instead of Burrow. At the time, Young was often being titled as the generational talent worthy of being the 1st pick in the draft. Burrow's success that season kept moving him up to the point he was the only other real competitor for the overall 1st pick. For various reasons the draftniks had slid Herbert further down... I cannot imagine a scenario where Washington would have been willing to use the 2nd pick oversll, foregoing Young, to draft a QB whose game, pundits claimed, might not fit well in the NFL.--especially after having used a first rounder in Haskins, the up-&-coming potential Franchise QB with a glittering record of success while at Ohio State, and still paying former 1st rounder Alex Smith who supposedly planned to be able to play in the 2020 season. The only QB being mentioned was maybe picking up Tua, and waiting to see how well he'd recovered.... But Chase seemed to be the consensus choice, and at the time that seemed a no-brainer.