Game Day Thread - Preseason: The Commanders vs. The Ravens - The Commanders Strike Back!!!

[Skinsinparadise]

 

44 minutes ago, Going Commando said:

 

I like that he comes across as a real person.  And I'm hoping that he's going to approach his new job as the managing owner of an NFL franchise without a bunch of ego, and be willing to listen and learn.  I think he will.  And I think Ron is going to have a big job of acclimating Harris to the NFL, and that he can be a major resource for Harris if he'll use him.  It's not a part of the Ron tenure equation that I was considering before I started realizing how green Harris might actually be, but it reinforces what I already thought was the right course.

 

You've not been that high on Harris in our conversations in the past.   Also, in multiple posts in the past you've said Josh's grade will be determined by how he handles Ron. Your inference is he should keep Ron and if he didn't it will define his ownership in a bad way.

 

Here you basically say about Harris.

 

A.  Real person, and you'll think he will listen and learn.  That's positive clearly.

 

B.  You don't think he knows what he's doing as to running a football team.  That's a negative.

 

The solution as you make it out here is to listen to Ron and Mayhew.   Maybe i am missing something and if so sorry let me know if so.  Otherwise your point feels to me that Josh's handshake moment for you is further proof we need keep Ron in the fold for years to come?

 

 

[skinsfan66]

12 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

Yeah, if there was a question if Sam got the job “because reasons” vs “I’m actually the better QB” I think they were answered tonight.  Brisket’s accuracy was deplorable. And he was slow with decisions.  And his velocity was noticeably less than Howell’s.

 

 

Never got the hype for him, he is a backup and if Howell got beat out we were in big trouble. need to add QB's every year or few and never go back to free agencey again.  

[GOSKINS_08]

3 hours ago, ixcuincle said:

Impressed by the new Commanders PA voice who does the Wizards games too. Looking forward to making it out to a game soon!

I disagree here. I was at the game and he was kind of annoying. Needs to chill at times when we get big first downs in the redzone. Also he messed up Atleast 3 times on yards gained on previous plays. One occasion it was 2nd and 9, the play gained 4 yards and he’s saying gain of one 3rd and 8. That was just one of a few examples that happened. Not a huge deal I guess but should be something done correctly.

[lovemaskins]

12 hours ago, FootballZombie said:

 

 

 

I would pay good money to be in the film room when the players see Cosmi doing the ahhh gritty??? I think that’s the gritty…? 🤔 that is supposed to be the gritty right!?

[Going Commando]

5 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

The solution as you make it out here is to listen to Ron and Mayhew.   Maybe i am missing something and if so sorry let me know if so.  Otherwise your point feels to me that Josh's handshake moment for you is further proof we need keep Ron in the fold for years to come?

 

No I don't really care about the handshake.  It barely even registered to me in the moment, it's just a social media meme.  I was much, much more struck by his lack of insight and comfort in talking to them about the team, about what they've been trying to do this summer.  In how he struggled to answer even basic questions as they were trying to baby step him through this interview.  And I kind of got the sense he was a little drunk.  It's a real contrast to the way I've heard seasoned NFL owners like Arthur Blank navigate interviews and preach their messages, and it kind of made clear to me how inexperienced he is.  It's something I understood before on an academic level, but that made it real.

 

Yeah I do think the solution for Harris is just to listen and learn from Ron and Mayhew.  They've got decades of experience in this show, and they can be honest to God resources for Harris and help him avoid the **** ups that plague new owners.  You may think Harris can do better than them, but I think they are who he has right now, and that he doesn't even know enough yet to avoid getting taken in by slick hucksters selling him a load of crap, which is exactly what happened to him in Philadelphia with Bryan Colangelo and Daryl Morey.  Harris needs to just sit back, focus on the business side, and get the lay of the land of the NFL.

[skinsfan66]

12 hours ago, Going Commando said:

No idea who is going to get that 6th receiver spot.  Tinsley is going to be hard to cut, but we need someone to return punts and kicks.

 

Andre Jones is definitely making the team.  I'm more curious about whether KJ Henry can find a spot too, because he's on track for the PS right now.

 

JSW is a beast.  Was he the one who downed that punt on the one yard line?  The dude is just a solid player all around, and he is always doing good things when he rotates in.  We've been getting some defensive line gems at the end of the draft and those guys are critical for your defensive and special teams stable.

 

That fumble by Chris Rodriguez was painful, but I don't think it's going to cost him reps or role.  He's a strong ball carrier who just got unlucky.

 

The offensive line is going to be fine.  People were being ridiculously impatient with them, but they'll eventually come together and be competent.  They're still not there yet as run blockers, but the protections were solid.  The depth is OK too.  Backs did a good job in that regard too, and our QBs did a pretty good job reading the pressure tonight.  It's night and day how our QBs look now that they are under competent coaching and playcalling, compared to where they were the previous three years.  It's not controversial any more, but Scott Turner really was a horrible coach, and hiring him was the worst mistake Rivera made here.  Fixing that one mistake is gonna be good for multiple wins.

 

It was nice to see our first and second round picks make big plays to get us the ball back in the first half.

 

This tight end group is way better than most of us realized, including me.  It's becoming clear that Cole Turner is a gem, and I think Logan Thomas has the opportunity to tear it up this season.  This is a super tight end friendly offense, and it's starting to make sense why Travis Kelce has been putting up GOAT numbers in it.  Bates is a really good player too.  We're three deep in real quality, with several intriguing options for TE4.  These guys look as good as the backs and receivers do, despite their lack of pedigree.

 

Trenton Simpson was a steal for the Ravens at pick 86.  That was like 60 picks lower than he probably should have gone.

 

 

I think TE could be biggest weakness? More than OL at the moment. If logan does not returned to form, Turner is fragile and if he goes down? Bates has never showed anything other than he is the best blocker on a bad blocking TE team. We lost the best we had to injury. Hope I am wrong but TE is just like OL a bunch of IF's at this point. No established TE on roster. Just not seeing TE as anything other than ? right now with a offense that needs a reliable TE. RB's, WR's are going to have to make up for it. 

[Skinsinparadise]

15 minutes ago, Going Commando said:

 

No I don't really care about the handshake.  It barely even registered to me in the moment, it's just a social media meme.  I was much, much more struck by his lack of insight and comfort in talking to them about the team, about what they've been trying to do this summer.  In how he struggled to answer even basic questions as they were trying to baby step him through this interview.  And I kind of got the sense he was a little drunk.  It's a real contrast to the way I've heard seasoned NFL owners like Arthur Blank navigate interviews and preach their messages, and it kind of made clear to me how inexperienced he is.  It's something I understood before on an academic level, but that made it real.

 

Yeah I do think the solution for Harris is just to listen and learn from Ron and Mayhew.  They've got decades of experience in this show, and they can be honest to God resources for Harris and help him avoid the **** ups that plague new owners.  You may think Harris can do better than them, but I think they are who he has right now, and that he doesn't even know enough yet to avoid getting taken in by slick hucksters selling him a load of crap, which is exactly what happened to him in Philadelphia with Bryan Colangelo and Daryl Morey.  Harris needs to just sit back, focus on the business side, and get the lay of the land of the NFL.

 

Reading and hearing about what he's been up to since taking over.

 

A.  Upgrade the fan experience

B.  Making it clear to fans he will interact with them versus being in the ivory tower like Dan.  As he said its not his team its the city's team

C. Upgrade the stadium

D.  New facility

E.   Chase a new stadium

 

And he is off to the races, 100 miles an hour on all of those fronts.

 

As for the team -- FO I gather he's going to let that unfold organically.  Ron said he shared HIS vision with Josh.  At the moment Josh will run with that vision since its the card dealt to him.   As for Josh articulating Ron's vision, as to the specifics of this team, I agree maybe he can do that better.  But I don't really care at this point.

 

Josh has in multiple interviews explained his vision of that HE believes in as for running a team.  Hire a top GM, let them make the decisions, stay out of their way.  Give that GM and the team the resources they need to succeed.  Give the team all the extra stuff that matters -- top facilities-recovery equipment -- top scouting staff.  And pay top dollar to get the best of everything.  He's been super clear on that.  And it reflects what he's done elsewhere.

 

But yes I gather articulating Ron's current vision for the team isn't his wheel house yet.  He IMO has much bigger things on his plate.  Ron's fate will be be solved organically IMO.   I suspect Ron's vision which is the current construct of this team isn't going to be the long game for Josh.  But for now, its OK. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Skinsinparadise

[Voice_of_Reason]

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

I don't think Harris's possible awkwardness on television is any indication of his knowledge/skillset/acumen when it comes to owning a sports franchise. Some people just aren't great in certain social situations.

And he's been really good in other public situations. 

 

That's such a contrived environment, standing in a row, talking to a camera, not really knowing what you're going to say, bouncing back and forth with the game, etc.  It's not his bag.  

 

He was endearingly awkward, and that's fine.  

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[method man]

Josh has a lot going on now. He is apparently trying to recreate the Apollo business model on his own and that includes the creation of a captive insurance company whose capital the asset manager would manage. 
 

It would not surprise me if he has delegated a lot of the on the ground stuff to Mark Ein and Rales

[Chris 44]

2 minutes ago, method man said:

"creation of a captive insurance company whose capital the asset manager would manage". 

 

Wish I knew what the hell that meant.
 

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

Given the magnitude of this broadcasting moment, I reached out to Buck on Tuesday morning to get his thoughts.

“For the record, ANY time a billionaire wants to shake my hand, I’m in,” said Buck. “He’s a great guy. We were at a wedding together last year for a mutual friend, so I knew him a little. There’s a lot of stuff flying around that booth when a game is happening. So he was probably a little nervous. It was a fun interview with a man who has totally changed the feel around an entire organization in a month. Good for him.”

Buck did add, though, that Aikman laughing makes him laugh.

Meanwhile, Aikman told me, “I knew Joe was hand-gesturing and then I caught Josh shaking his hand. I thought it was really funny, but tried not to react knowing we were on camera.”

Aikman trying not to react but still reacting was a huge hit with viewers.

Harris deserves a massive amount of credit for not getting flustered. If I miscalculate a handshake like this, I’m shook for at least a half hour. Harris kept his cool and plowed through the interview with no issues.

[London Kev]

I don't really care if Harris was nervous, drunk or both because he came over as a real human being which is a refreshing change from the previous moron. The handshake was a funny little moment and it's great that he seems to have owned it by putting it out there on the team Twitter account (I'm assuming that he had some kind of input in it).

 

The game was about as exciting as a preseason game could get, and we won. I'm happy that we won, and happy that the players appeared happy that we won.

 

I've read a lot of the stuff that you guys have been saying about Howell, but last night was the first time that I started to really believe it. He will almost certainly start to make quicker decisions as he becomes more comfortable in the system and also learn when not to try and break tackles against safeties.

 

Brissett looked bad last night and Fromm looked good which was a complete reverse from week 1. Let's hope that neither have to see any meaningful snaps during the regular season.

 

I liked our young receivers, especailly Kaz Allen, who should be our new returner. Cole Turner seems to be Howell's favourite TE with Logan still out, I think that Bates is a good player but has been a bit unlucky at times.

 

I liked the way that Rodriguez shrugged off the fumble and had a solid showing afterwards, I hope he gets more snaps against the Bengals to show his stuff. My memory must be playing tricks on me because I was convinced that it was the FB, Armah that was stopped at the goal line, but after checking the stats on ESPN he's not listed (it was about 3 AM) so does anyone know who it was?

 

The Oline was fairly average against Baltimore's second team, but I suppose that average is better than expected, they did handle the blitzes at the end OK, so there is that.

 

The back-up defense was MIA for the most part (no sacks, one TFL), but the two interceptions were nice. The bad angles and missed tackles were worrying.

 

All-in all it was a good game, Fromm did what he had to do and Slye came through at the end. On to CIncy.

 

Edit: Almost forgot about the most important moment in the game; Hope that Terry's injury is a minor one and he's good to go week one. Is there any news on the severity?

Edited August 22, 2023 by London Kev

[MartinC]

5 minutes ago, London Kev said:

 

 

I liked the way that Rodriguez shrugged off the fumble and had a solid showing afterwards, I hope he gets more snaps against the Bengals to show his stuff. My memory must be playing tricks on me because I was convinced that it was the FB, Armah that was stopped at the goal line, but after checking the stats on ESPN he's not listed (it was about 3 AM) so does anyone know who it was?

 

 

 

It was Armah - but because it was on a 2 point attempt the catch will not show up in the stats. Players dont get credit for stats from 2 point plays.

[London Kev]

1 minute ago, MartinC said:

 

It was Armah - but because it was on a 2 point attempt the catch will not show up in the stats. Players dont get credit for stats from 2 point plays.

Thanks, I totally forgot it was on the 2-point try.

 

It was a disappointing moment because I've said a few times that I want us to use a FB/TE hybrid. That was the exact situation where I thought he could bully his way into the endzone and show the value in the position. He was probably a longshot to make the team anyway, and didn't help his stock on that play ☹️.

[Koolblue13]

2 minutes ago, London Kev said:

Thanks, I totally forgot it was on the 2-point try.

 

It was a disappointing moment because I've said a few times that I want us to use a FB/TE hybrid. That was the exact situation where I thought he could bully his way into the endzone and show the value in the position. He was probably a longshot to make the team anyway, and didn't help his stock on that play ☹️.

The DB made an impressive play. Not too many players are getting their feet under them as they catch the ball, while the DB is already on top of them.

[MartinC]

5 minutes ago, London Kev said:

Thanks, I totally forgot it was on the 2-point try.

 

It was a disappointing moment because I've said a few times that I want us to use a FB/TE hybrid. That was the exact situation where I thought he could bully his way into the endzone and show the value in the position. He was probably a longshot to make the team anyway, and didn't help his stock on that play ☹️.

 He was off balance after making the catch and didn’t have time to get his feet under him and use his power. The DB made a good play and used his momentum and size against him. 

[London Kev]

29 minutes ago, Koolblue13 said:

The DB made an impressive play. Not too many players are getting their feet under them as they catch the ball, while the DB is already on top of them.

 

27 minutes ago, MartinC said:

 He was off balance after making the catch and didn’t have time to get his feet under him and use his power. The DB made a good play and used his momentum and size against him. 

 

OK, maybe I'm being overly critical because I really want the guy to make the 53. I can't re-watch the game until Friday, hopefully I'll agree with you both then.

[lead commander]

1 hour ago, MartinC said:

 He was off balance after making the catch and didn’t have time to get his feet under him and use his power. The DB made a good play and used his momentum and size against him. 

spot on analysis I thought that as soon as the DB made the play if our Back was able to turn and get both feet planted he would have broken that tackle and skipped in the endzone..

[NoVaSkins21]

2 hours ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

I was right.  Harris did get the game ball again

[RVAskins]

12 minutes ago, NoVaSkins21 said:

I was right.  Harris did get the game ball again

Did he try to shake hands with it?

[HigSkin]

I hope EB got a gameball because he deserves a lot of credit for scoring over 20 points.  Lol

[PeterMP]

4 hours ago, Going Commando said:

You may think Harris can do better than them, but I think they are who he has right now, and that he doesn't even know enough yet to avoid getting taken in by slick hucksters selling him a load of crap, which is exactly what happened to him in Philadelphia with Bryan Colangelo and Daryl Morey.  Harris needs to just sit back, focus on the business side, and get the lay of the land of the NFL.

 

I dont know how you can really knock Morey and Colangelo and back Rivera.

 

They all have had about the same level of suceess in their perspective leagues.  And I'm pretty sure Mayhew has even less and if you consider Rivera's history actually running a team and not just being headcoach, I think his history isn't very strong.

 

If Rivera is fired, I doubt he lands somewhere else where he has the same level of control.

 

Should he listen to them for now because that is who is here?  Yes

 

But you seem to be suggesting he should just absolutely leave them in place for several years.

 

I have no problem waiting how this season plays out, but if it is another sub-500 season (which I expect), then he should absolutely look at upgrading the front office if possible.

 

And if he does,  he'll most likely get it wrong.  Hiring top notch sports executives is hard.

 

(And just look at your examples of "good" owners.  Jerry realistically made one good hire with Jimmy Johnson and other than the one super bowl apperance Blank has done nothing really.  Even Bowlen hire Josh McDaniel.)

Edited August 22, 2023 by PeterMP

[FootballZombie]

Fascinating how much burn this handshake is getting in the media.

 

Fascinating and boring... I don't care at all

[XxSpearheadxX]

4 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

 He was endearingly awkward, and that's fine.  

Like any of us posting here would have come off smooth as Sean Connery. Come on I know you guys 😂 

37 minutes ago, FootballZombie said:

Fascinating how much burn this handshake is getting in the media.

 

Fascinating and boring... I don't care at all

As a connoisseur of high level cringe it's an acquired taste I understand your point. This was epic level awkward and I love it.