Skinsinparadise

Yes, call me a rebel. i am indeed claiming it was a very good defense. It's nuts. Ranked #3 in yards. Ranked #8 in DVOA. #7 from PFN. Rivera's defense fluctuated from very good, to bad in alternate years. We can say we all thought the real story is only the bad was meaningful not the good. But that's rewriting history. I'd say 99% of the board expected the defense to kill it in 2023, plenty of pundits, too (if was the offense that was the big question) the defense looked very good in 2022. I don't recall too many in the 2023 off season saying its a paper tiger and wait for the collapse of the unit. At least judging by PFF metrics, Chinn followed his rookie year with a good year #2, was so so the last 2 years, so not that long ago, he's 26. Quan you say can't even be considered an average starting safety by you. But by PFF scores and comments from coaches he's an emerging very good player. In my amateur opinion, I thought to my eyes he played very well towards the end of the season. I was rooting for losses for the higher draft pick and he was one of the pain in the ass players for me who I was hoping would cool it, especially in the Jets game. And I loved his college tape, he was one of my fav players in that draft. Guys like Logan Paulsen who rewatches tape to death, thought he was very good too. Darrick Forrest with a 67 PFF score, 4 picks in 2022 -- that feels below average to you. Cool. But not to many. He was one of the players many of us and the coaches (based on their rhetoric) were jazzed to see last year. And some reporters (if I recall Keim was one) referred to the poor communication in the backfield last year to partly be about missing Forrest. Clearly, you are going glass half empty on this unit. It's cool to each their own. But as a dude that often likes to say I wouldn't bet money on this or that -- on this point I'd bet you end up wrong and I'd put money on this one. I know you say you rooting to be wrong. I don't think you got to worry about this. I think the worry is can the O line hold up. The defense at a minimum I'd be surprised if its not top half of the league. I do think this defensive coaching staff is loaded with studs. I don't expect players to under acheive like last year. Also, when you got a pass happy offense that can't convert that will downgrade most defenses. You can't be on the field all the time without paying a price. That will change digesting the rhetoric so far this off season. And I am far from a pollyana type I was a pessimist like you seem to be now about the team heading into the last season. I crapped on Ron and the off season moves all late Spring and summer long.

Chinn was #2 in rookie of the year voting. He slid after as some say because he was misused after that. But its not as if he hasn't shown anything. Martin played well towards the end of the season and he was a very good college player. They were missing Forrest for most of last year, and he played well the season before. Whitt has a big time reputation as a teacher of the secondary. Quinn for the defensive line. How did this defense rank #3 in 2022? Was that all Kam Curl and Sweat because that's really the main assets they had over now. Sweat had 8 sacks that year. Same number as Armstrong who they just signed. Curl was a nice player but not a game changer, doesn't do picks. Wasn't even ranked in the top 25 when personnel people around the league picked for ESPN the best players at different spots. Wagner and Luvu are miles better than Holcomb and Davis. It's taking a crap unit and making it great. So not sure how that doesn't at least keep them treading water from that team. You'd figure Newton makes some kind of impact. My point is on paper its at least as talented as the 2022 defense. With coaches who are known to be a lot better.

Am somewhat shocked this dude and his brain trust haven't been gobbled yet by some team in the NFL

Listening to Mitchell with Doc (I think its Doc he sounds like him but a bit more subdued than unusual) they said rennovations are happening to the practice facility to the extent that they don't even recognize it.

Will see. LBs are IMO are VERY good. The safeties IMO are good not average at best -- and deep. DTs are among the best in the league. Dorance Armstrong, not even playing full time had similar production than the typical Montez Sweat year. The 2022 defense was ranked top 3. It fell apart last year. Comparing 2022 and this year... D line. Only difference is Armstrong versus Sweat. Ferrell, Fowler -- versus Toohill-Williams. And the addition of Newton. Feels like a wash to me at worst. LBs. upgraded dramatically from now to then. From maybe one of the worst LB corp in the league to one of the best, will see. Deep too. Rivera had a crap LB crew and it wasn't deep either, Safety -- feels the same to me or close enough. Quan Martin emerged as the season progressed last year. I admit I am biased towards Chinn, a dude I liked a lot before that draft. Forrest was coming on the previous season but alas got hurt last season. Hampton is a good depth piece. CB -- Sainstrill versus Fuller. Not great then, not great now. And the coaches reputation wise are mountains better. Heck I recall even with Logan Paulsen when working for this team back then saying he doesn't think Micah Parsons here would be what he is in Dallas because in Dallas Quinn was a master of finding matchups for him which is something this team doesn't do. Luvu -- Armstrong as to pass rush i think will match Sweat and Williams or close enough maybe beat them. You'd figure the DTs should be better with Newton in the mix, Then you got Chinn who is a great blitzer, Sainstrill too now in the mix. When Quinn inherited the Dallas defense, it sucked, gave up the 4th most points in the league the year before. Back then we took it for granted almost that Dallas would have a crap defense and ours would hopefully be better. All of a sudden that all changed. That all changed with Quinn. The next year they were ranked 6th best in points allowed. From zero to hero.

As a club with a new head coach, the Washington Commanders have been able to get an early jump on a lot of things this offseason—and, as such, their organized team activities got started last week, a week ahead of most of the rest of the NFL. So when Dan Quinn talks about what he’s looking for in the de facto start of football practice for the 2024 season, he’s not talking in hypotheticals. “Two things,” Quinn quickly answers, on his way home Friday. “One, first thing, man, what a time to either sharpen your skills or develop them. So I think, number one, top of the pile, that’s really important in our game. Even if you’re already great at something, like, ‘Can I be the best at it?’ So I’m saying, it’s important for Terry McLaurin—and he’s an excellent player already—but it’s still important to sharpen his skills. Certain things, the running, training on your own, lifting, that doesn’t do it for these specific football skills. … Quinn is in a bit of a different spot in Washington. He’s new. So, too, as he said earlier, is so much of his roster. The ethos he’ll build has the same roots as what he built in Atlanta, with competition emphasized to everyone. So with all of that getting off the ground, both in the makeup of the program and mix on the roster, it’d be pretty tough to tell guys like McLaurin or Jonathan Allen that it’s time to fight for reps, and not have the rookie quarterback do the same. Now, the downside to that approach, and benefit of doing it the way the Bears are, would normally be in the reps that a guy gets as a starter and misses out on as a backup. Which is why Quinn and his staff, with OC Kliff Kingsbury building the offense, are prioritizing reps in how they’re setting up practice. Through the spring, that’ll mean running OTAs as “two-spot” practices—with the first and second teams running plays simultaneously to make sure everyone gets the most out of the (limited) time that’s allotted by the league for this time of year. In doing so, Quinn and his staff will mix guys with the ones and twos to try to give everyone a shot to legitimately compete for playing time. For the quarterbacks, that’ll mean that both Daniels and veteran Marcus Mariota (the 2015 first-rounder, who’s actually one of 23 of the aforementioned 48 first-round QBs to start Week 1 as a rookie) getting work in with the starters and backups, and different combinations of their teammates. Last week, in what was basically a passing-camp setting, everyone got their first taste of it. “The fact is they’re both getting the same amount of reps, as opposed to if they were on the same field, and ‘I’ll get 50%, you get 50%,’” Quinn says. “It’s not just Jayden. It’s a good way for all these younger players [to] get extra turns, extra reps. So I did that all of [last] week and then next week, there’ll be times, O.K., those two can flip in terms of how we do it with some players changing some fields. It’s been an effective way to get more reps for more players in a passing emphasis.” The play calls on each field, both for the offense and the defense, are identical, giving the coaches a side-by-side look at their team, both live and on tape. That said, Quinn isn’t living with his head in the clouds. Obviously, you take a kid No. 2, he’s going to wind up your starter, whether it’s now or later. “Yep,” Quinn says, “correct.” So he acknowledged that while the quarterbacks are competing, an offense is being constructed by Kingsbury for Daniels’s skill set, which is one reason why the March signing of the mobile Mariota was an early tell that the Commanders were leaning heavy toward taking the reigning Heisman winner. “A hundred percent,” Quinn says. “What we learn with any player, ‘O.K., this is a concept that he rips it on this route. This specific concept you can see it. So how do you feature a player into those spaces?’ So the first part of the OTAs—we’ve had three practices, we have three more [this] week. And so you just keep stacking on and, ‘O.K., what about this, what about this, what about this?’ And you find out the things that he’s exceptional at. But it is a process, and the cool part about it is, the hard-working part of it has clearly showed up.” And it manifested pretty much right away, before Daniels even touched the practice field. On the day after the draft, the Commanders brought him in for the normal, perfunctory press conference. Daniels came in, met with his new coaches, met with the press and, most importantly, got his first NFL playbook to take home with him. The next day, after Daniels and his family were ushered home, Quinn heard a story that stuck with him. “The plane ride back home, where everybody else was sleeping, he was going through the hand signals of the offense, of how he’s going to communicate,” Quinn says. “So he just got drafted the night before, came here, did a press conference, did meetings and on the ride home, as opposed to just sleeping, he’s giving commands, doing hand signals, going through the offense. He wasn’t wasting a second. If nothing else, there’s an urgency and a work ethic that I thought was gonna be really strong.” And after the rookie minicamp, Quinn continued, that was only cemented. “It turns out,” the coach continues, “it’s exceptional.” After seeing it over that second weekend in May, Quinn wanted to find a way to show his veterans what he’d already seen. So early on the first day, he put Daniels out there with the first team, so they could see for themselves that he’d already gained a level of command with the offense, a sign from the rookie to his older teammates of just how serious he’d taken the two and a half weeks since being drafted. So where he may not have gotten the on-ramp that Williams did—the Commanders really installed with him just once predraft, and that was at the 30 visit nine days before they selected him—it was pretty apparent he was doing everything and anything he possibly could to make up for any lost time. “He loves football,” Quinn says. “That came across. So like, ‘All right, Dan, what does that mean?’ I’m talking about wanting to just put in the extra time. You can tell how important it is to get it right and go for it. So I learned how much he loves it. Like, it’s evident by how hard somebody’s going for it. I knew he was an excellent competitor, everybody said that. But to see him take his work and communicate and already establish some leadership in the way he carries himself and works—that was cool to see.” Quinn, and all his players and coaches, will get to see a lot more of it over the next month.

looks like he has multiple hats

Agree. That's why when I read every now and then (granted its a minority of people) hey this is Washington we can screw this up again -- it almost feels like a homage to Dan. I know unintentionally it is -- but it still feels that way to me. Anyone who thinks hey this is Washington we can screw this up -- I can't see how they saw Dan as a problem -- feels in that context that Dan was more the symptom of the disease. Even though me and I'd guess 95% of the fans see Dan as the disease. Not a symptom of. Not part of the dysfuncion. But THE dysfunction. So yeah for me just alone reading about this FO working 24-7 to get it right and looking to pilfer the best of the best from other FO's feel almost surreal. We would post about this stuff on the FO for years pinning for days like this and we finally got it. Some would say we were naive to ever hope that Dan would leave or anything would change and would get testy about it -- those posts haven't aged well. I'd add feels like luck is changing. Ron despite his best efforts to be stuck in 8-8 purgatory, collapsed at the perfect time. The seas parted for the FO types to come here. Heck even Bezo's biggest fan back then admitted that we lucked out that he wasn't interested and Harris bought the team, instead. The fact that the Virginia deal for a stadium years back collapsed was also a godsend, the dude likely wouldn't have sold if that didn't happen. On and on.

Blackburn who they supposedly want in the FO. Director of college scouting is already a big title and spotted a tweet about how the Chargers should consider him for the GM spot. My point is to lure him here I gather it has to be an elevated title of some sort. He has a name-pedigree already.

And he never learned which was amazing. I recall Tanya saying as recent as that infamous Schefter interview that she's more or less the people person and Dan is the football X's amd O's savant in the family. This team's losing ways wasn't hard to explain. Impossible to win with some of the least talented rosters in the NFL or ever fix it with the worst talent pickers in the NFL -- and that's before even delving into the bad culture, douche behavior, bad faclities, bad health-- recovery crew, on and on. And we are competing in the division with the Eagles who were obsessed with loading up their FO with talent, manage the draft like magicians, including being innovative with anayltics among other things. And Dallas with Will McClay who might be the best evaluator in the league. We had zero chance. This whole dynamic has changed 100%. Hence my point that we are already out of the woods, its OK to believe. Don't know when the winning kicks in but when you do it right, the normal way, winning eventually comes. This team is the only in the last 30 years who hasn't reached 11 wins. Only 2 teams go further back without winning a playoff game. Teams we all like to goof on like the Giants have enjoyed over 10 wins and a playoff win as recent as the last 5 years or so. It's been miserable and we are accustomed to it. It's going to change IMO and I'd bet sooner than later. When I read an occasional post here or see a pundit comment that heck this is Washington something likely could go wrong -- I cringe. I get the point that its been so bad the last 30 years or so that the losing culture-ways feels like its just who this team is ala the Detriot Lions or name that loser franchise for most of their history. But I recall far enough back when this organization was one of the best in the league. Like other strong teams we had some losing years after the stars aged and FA came but other organizations bounced back. We instead went much deeper in the abyss and never came out of it because of Dan. But that wasn't some sort of endemic thing to hey Washington never wins -- its just the history of this team -- it was 100% a Dan Snyder thing.

Yep and we've been so used to things not going our way its easier emotionally to expect disappointment versus bring your hopes up and to see them dashed in the end as it happened so many times in the Dan era. The problem as we know about the Dan era is even though we can hope for this or that -- fundamentally it was a dysfunctional and incompetent organization because of Dan so there was no escaping that. Lady luck is turning our way. Heck even last season's crash of a season was big time fortunate. The higher pick and multiple picks made it more attractive for people like Peters to come. it made them sellers for a change during the trading dead line. Gave us a QB in a stacked draft for QB -- when has that ever happened, etc? As I've mentioned Clinton Portis i thought once nailed it when asked why can't this team get over the hump -- his answer was they never have a high pick in a QB rich draft. So now, we got one of the more hyped young QBs in recent years. All the early indications look great on that front. A GM who was touted before the hire as the best available candidate. And now he's about to load his FO with the best of the best. Some lamented why didn't he do that from the jump? The issue is most FO moves are made after the draft. We've gone from one of the worst coaching staffs in the NFL to one of the better ones at least in theory. Heck they are even making real progress towards a stadium at RFK. On and on, good stuff. I get there is no guarantees for anything. But agree this all should be enjoyed.

Under Dan we shopped in the used car lot for talent for the FO. The FO was sort of an after thought at best for Dan. It's amazing how epically incompetent Dan was on just about every level but especially the FO. The team has been dead last in finding All Pro talent from what I recall in the last few decades. When we watch or read about name this or that top 100 player ranking, we get almost no love. JLC among others said this was the team that paid the lowest in the league for scouts. If I recall we had the 2nd smallest anayltic team. The FO was first run by a scout who was fired by SF and came off as buffonish in his statements as were his FO moves. Then run by a dude who was a HC who the Denver media said was canned because he was a bad GM. Then run by a politician-money man with no background in scouting who also came off like a walking buffoon. Then run by a mediocre coach who never played GM before and who hired underlings who were fired in the previous job for poor to medicore performances. And then you surround the clown show at the top with Dan himself impinging on things and being the dumbest evaluator of them all -- and with one of the lowest paid scouting operation in the league and at times one of the smallest scouting teams. Somehow things didn't all work out? And we got some stragglers left who accede Dan was an issue but aren't sure if we are out of the woods as to the Washington Redskins-Football Team-Commanders losing ways like we got some fixed voodo on the team. IMO and most the bad voodo was All Dan. We are out of the woods IMO. All these moves show that. By that I don't mean, we know for certain that the winning ways are in the offing. But we are finally operating like a normal team that wants to do things the right way. That alone gives us a chance. We had no chance previously. When does it all come together? Who knows? Maybe soon, maybe it takes some time. But the issue with this team is basically have a clownshow operation pick the groceries and then our clownshow owner was shocked that the clownshow operation produced a clownshow result. In Dan's defense, he wasn't self aware enough to know he was running a clownshow operation and he was the lead clown. That's part of why we never had a shot. Me @BatteredFanSyndrome, @goskins10 @Conn @Koolblue13 among others for eons would talk about this on the FO thread for years. And its super cool to see this playout. And for anyone who wants to jump down my throat for mentioning Dan. Only reason why I do in this context is this is a sea change approach that is playing out in front of our eyes. And yes the past is relevant to the point about this being a sea change.

I'd assume so. Their jobs overlap. So i doubt they can attract Sosna here without giving him the #1 title for the finance side of the job which Rogers currently holds. He doesn't need to worry, feels like Ron and the coaching staff and his FO team are in great demand around the league

Meet Lions exec Brandon Sosna, Brad Holmes' contract negotiating wizard The Detroit News View Comments Orlando, Fla. — Every transaction the Lions make, whether in free agency or the draft, general manager Brad Holmes reaps the credit. It's simply the nature of his position. And it makes sense. As the head of the team's personnel department, he's the one making the final decision for each and every decision. But that's an oversimplification of the collaborative process the Lions have in place and Holmes helps captain. There are college scouts who grind all year to build comprehensive profiles of the prospects who will be available in the upcoming draft, and a pro personnel department that maintains extensive data of the players already in the league, as well as every NFL teams' needs. That department is an invaluable resource to Holmes ahead of free agency, when a player hits waivers, when an injury replacement is needed, or even for offering insight on which players might be available on the trade market. Holmes is quick to praise his expansive support system, often rattling off a list of names ahead of his media availabilities, and did so again this week at the league meetings. But of all those staffers getting some time in the sun, one stands out this time of year. Senior director of football administration Brandon Sosna is a behind-the-scenes figure who has quickly become one of the organization's secret weapons. A noted up-and-comer in the industry, he made Forbes' "30 under 30" list in 2020. He spent three years at USC before the Lions brought him on board ahead of the 2022 season. Since then, he's become a central figure with the team's contract negotiations and salary cap management. "It's been really cool to see his growth in this role," Holmes said Tuesday. "Last year was kind of his first free agency, and I thought he did a phenomenal job. This year, he knocked it out of the park again. Just with all these deals, me and (coach) Dan (Campbell) can communicate with him about these guys we're targeting, but Sosna is getting those deals done, along with (chief operating officer) Mike Disner. As always, it's a full collaboration, all hands on deck, and I truly believe this was our best free agency of all that we've had since we've been here." Sosna reports to Disner, who was elevated to his current football/business hybrid role shortly after Holmes and Campbell were hired in 2021. The newcomer, Sosna, has quickly built a reputation for his intelligence and work ethic, helping the Lions navigate the complexities of the NFL salary cap and taking advantage of many of the nuanced devices built into the CBA. "It’s a year-round, collaborative approach," Holmes said. "It really is. We start on this during the season, in terms of planning and our process for free agency. But me and Sosna, we work side by side, man. With the communication, the players that we’re looking to acquire at all levels, starter-level and backup-level guys. We talk about there’s a Plan A, there’s a Plan B, a Plan C, and it’s just consistent communication. "That’s the great thing about Brandon. He’s about as elite of a communicator as I’ve been around. And he’s a grinder. He’s a grinder just like I am, just like a lot of guys in our building. It’s just that communication, collaboration year-round, where it’s at a point Brandon almost, pretty much, has a very good feel of what we’re thinking already. He's very proactive in that sense. That’s pretty much how it works. That’s how me and Sosna communicate and then he just kinda closes the deals." https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/03/27/meet-detroit-lions-exec-brandon-sosna-brad-holmes-contract-negotiating-wizard/73109742007/

"That’s the great thing about Brandon. He’s about as elite of a communicator as I’ve been around," Holmes said during the NFL annual meetings earlier this offseason. "And he’s a grinder. He’s a grinder just like I am, just like a lot of guys in our building." Sosna would be the second significant member of the Lions’ front office to depart for Washington, joining former Lions’ director of player personnel Lance Newmark, who had been with the Lions for the previous 26 seasons. Sosna would become part of the staff for new Washington general manager Adam Peters. Sosna came to the Lions prior to the 2022 season from USC, where he served as the Executive Associate Senior Athletic Director/Chief of Staff. In his role with the Lions, he was responsible for overseeing moves with regards to the salary cap and served as the team’s primary negotiator on contracts. The Lions have signed three significant, long-term extensions this season. The organization agreed to deals with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell and Jared Goff worth a combined value of over $444 million over the next several years. https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/commanders-seeking-to-hire-brandon-sosna

While I appreciate @Going Commando's temper your expectations vibe. It's always better IMO to feel that way with a new roster with a ton of new faces where rookies have to play key parts. My take though is I can't think of a season that felt so wild cardish to me. A season that could go either way including even making the playoffs. I do think this roster has some potential. Especially if McCaffrey blossoms, the WR crew will be good. Sinnott was one of my favorite players in the draft and I've heard Ertz has looked sharp so far. Strong RB room IMO. I like the interior of the O line. I didn't feel that way last year. Don't love the tackle position. My gut is this O line ends up about average to maybe slightly below. Last year, I had low expectations for the O line. Defense I think goes top 10. It was #3 2 years ago. I think the talent is as good as it was then and the coaching is MUCH better on that side of the ball. I do think tough the Texans were more loaded than we think is an overplayed point. So I can't help harping on that one. Most of the NFL pundits before that season thought they were bad enough to be the front runners for the first pick in the draft. Players like Nico Collins were just a guy before last season. He gets Stroud he becomes a superstar. No coincidence IMO. Similar to how Nabers stats were meh at LSU the season before Daniels arrived. There is some clear symphony between great QB play and WR production. Texans had a roster that wasn't that well regarded coupled with being the most injured team in the NFL in 2023. If you told most before the 2023 season, the Texans would be the most injured team in the NFL and especially at the O line -- I'd bet 99% of the pundit types would prredict they'd have the #1 pick in the draft. What was the difference? Much better Qb play. Much better coaching. Does that happen here? We don't know but it feels like there is at least a fighting chance it does. https://texanswire.usatoday.com/2024/03/10/texans-overcame-leagues-highest-injury-total-in-2023/ Texans overcame league's highest injury total in 2023 the Texans led the league in injuries to significant players, according to the adjusted games lost metric (AGL) from FTN Fantasy. Despite the rash of injuries, Houston finished 10-7, won the AFC South and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Texans then beat the Cleveland Browns, who also had several injuries of their own, in the wild-card round. FTN Fantasy charted the AGL for each team and found that injuries declined in 2023. However, the Texans did not have that luxury — especially on the offensive line. Houston set a new record with 82.1 AGL, which surpassed the previous record set by the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. The Texans shuffled constantly throughout the regular season, starting seven different offensive line combinations. No group up front played more than four consecutive games together. Texans right guard Shaq Mason was the only lineman to play all 17 regular season games. Green, tackle Tytus Howard, and rookie linemen Jarrett Patterson and Juice Scruggs each accounted for 10 AGL. The lack of continuity up front likely contributed to the running game struggles. Houston averaged 3.7 yards per carry, tied with the Las Vegas Raiders for fourth-worst in the league. The Texans’ pass blocking was slightly better, with 47 sacks surrendered — just outside the bottom-10 in the league. The injury bug also bit Houston’s defensive back room. Eric Murray, Jimmie Ward, Tavierre Thomas and Derek Stingley combined to account for 33.4 AGL. General manager Nick Caserio made savvy moves on the waiver wire, like signing safety DeAndre Houston-Carson to plug the holes caused by injury. Houston receivers accounted for 17.2 AGL, the fifth-most in the league. Noah Brown and rookie Tank Dell were the biggest contributors to this metric. Brown, who signed in 2023, was hampered by a multitude of injuries throughout the regular season as well and ended the year on injured reserve with a shoulder injury he suffered in the wild-card round. Dell sustained a broken fibula in the Texans’ Week 13 victory over the Denver Broncos and missed the rest of the season. Don’t forget about quarterback C.J. Stroud, either. His two-game absence from a concussion accounted for 2.3 AGL. In total, the Texans collected 159.1 AGL — 30 more than the New England Patriot, who finished with the second-most significant injuries. Houston’s offense contributed 106.6 AGL, again, 30 more than the second-highest team. New England had the most AGL on defense, with the Texans having the fourth most.

Agree with you that the Bears supporting cast > Commanders. I do like the weapons Daniels has though over the 2012 team. #1 WR was Garcon in 2012 and he got banged up in game 1. Morgan and Aldrick, etc were just ok. TE was probably a wash. Alfred Morris had a career year his rookie season, wonder though if much of that was the RO which had defenses off balance. 2012 Oline was better though. Dismantiling a good O line and failing to rebuild it is among the long list of infamous aspects of Rivera's legacy here. I also like the coaches and talent on defense now better than in 2012. Agree. It comes off ridiculous. They keep it together in part by doing almost nothing in FA year after year. Will McClay is a stud drafter, might be the best in the league. But it feels like this year might be their last shot. Dak and Micah need to be paid. Dak supposedly wants 60 million a year. And I'd guess Michah wants 30. Something has to give.

Listened to Steve Sands from the Golf channel on Sheehan's podcast, he's a big Commanders fan. He said he knows people who are close with Jayden and they double down that he's a football junkie, obsessed with football. And he feels that point alone is a big deal. He correlated to saying he knows some around Jonathan Allen and Payne who have told him Allen is better in part because Allen is more obsessed with football than Payne is. As to the Allen-Payne stuff I heard the same thing from another beat reporter, forgetting which one last year, that coaches told him that Payne isn't the most self motivating dude. They didn't say he's bad on that front but he's nothing special as to his drive and sometimes needs to be pushed. But anyway in short it looks like at a minimum Daniels has that Rocky like drive to be great.