Talk Commanders

After today the ashes of a lost season can finally be collected into a single container and stuffed into an obscure storage location. If you are a life-long Washington fan you have a substantial collection of them. For this still-young century the WFT is 174-244-2 (.414). Some 18 of the 26 seasons were losing efforts (69%) Right this minute RFK Stadium has been torn into pieces small enough for front-end loaders to grab and disposition into 10-wheel dump trucks. Since 1961, when Washington relocated from Griffith Stadium to the new “District of Columbia Stadium” the team is 486-wins, 504-losses, and 22-ties (.485). However, before the year-2000 the franchise had only 14-losing seasons in that 40-year span. One-half of them came in the 1960’s. Life was pretty good for Washington fans once the 1970s hit. It all went south when Dan Snyder took the reins. But, you knew that. The bookcase with the urns of lost seasons’ ashes is heavily stacked toward the more recent past. For younger fans there isn’t much in the way of success to stand upon.

Give credit to Dan Snyder for one thing: It’s not easy to lose an entire generation of fans. He did it with aplomb.

The NFL will play three-games on Christmas Day. All should have been key matchups with plenty of playoff consequences. That’s how they drew it up at least. As Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend.” Four of the six teams are completely eliminated. That includes your Washington Football Team. They will face the equally eliminated Dallas Cowboys. It’s not “Must See TV” by any stretch of the imagination. Washington will be starting QB3, 39-year-old Josh Johnson. Game #2 features the Lions vs. the Vikings. There the likely staring QB will be an undrafted Free Agent who has thrown 0-Touchdowns while chucking an interception every 12-throws. In Game #3 the Kansas City Chiefs will be starting a QB3 as well.

It’s not hard to imagine the empty suits at the NFL office in New York back in March salivating over a slate of compelling games. Reality interceded. Best laid plans…and all that. There’s a warm snap coming for the Mid-Atlantic, even warmer farther south. The best football games of the day are likely to be in back yards.

It is altogether too easy to dismiss last week’s win as immaterial. It was two poor teams going head-to-head after all. But, there was a certain element of fight within the WFT squad on display. The larger truth of the matter is that this was a team completely stripped of player inventory at key positions, yet still fought through for a win. It was not a thing of beauty. That’s hardly surprising. And, the team managed to add drama by treating the ball like the proverbial Hot Potato coming down the stretch. Still, as other teams in similar situations have devolved into dysfunction and acrimony on public display this unit has not. This is bad news for the “Fire Everybody” crowd. Adam Peters emphasized “High Character” people in the staffing process. The dividends from that include the lack of drama from within the building during a most difficult and trying season.

That was not fun. Last week is one of those games that left a welt. The opening told the tale: Minnesota drove 61-yards in less than 4-minutes to go up by 7-points. Washington drove 83-yards on 15-plays chewing up nearly 9-minutes, and came up empty. Minnesota then drove the ball 98-yards on 19-plays taking right at 12-minutes off of the clock to go up 2-scores. Game Over. Unfortunately, there was enough game left to play to have the Quarterback hurt his already banged up arm. And, the 50-reception Tight End suffered a probably career-ending knee injury. All in all it was a good day to have done something other than watch the game.

Last year the Minnesota Vikings and the Burgundy and Gold were both playoff teams. This year? Neither one is. A lot can happen in a year…and it did. Washington’s demise centered on the infamous “Blue Tent.” But, Minnesota’s is more complex. In a League where a franchise absolutely must have a highly functional Quarterback the Vikings let their version of it walk away. The answer was thought to be on-hand in JJ McCarthy. We all know about Jayden Daniels‘ injuries. JJ’s are similar in effect if not in substance. When the two face off in game #13 it will be the 7th game this season for both. JD5 has 8 Touchdowns with 2 Interceptions. JJ has 6 TDs and 10 picks. His last start was against Chicago where he was 12 of 19 for 87-yards, 0 TDs and 2 picks. Here’s the thing: He’s their best option.

Way back when the season started the last six-games looked to be a daunting prospect. Surely it could derail a Playoff campaign. No worries, Mate. The train wreck happened well upstream. There’s nothing left now to injure except more players and draft position. As imposing as the schedule looked back then the truth is that it has been overtaken by events. The combined record of the remaining teams is 37-32-1. (.528) Hardly impressive. But, the first test is probably the hardest: Denver is coming to town a very legitimate Super Bowl contender. What remains after that is a Dallas team that thinks it’s legit; a Giants team that has driven the Ownership to apoplexy; a Minnesota team without a Quarterback; and two tilts with an Eagles team that looks every bit as lost as it was in 2023. Such a pity Washington is not in position to do anything but spoil someone else’s fun.

Hall of Fame Coach Bill Cowher says often that there are three emotional states in football; Glad, Mad, and Sad. Then he quickly adds, “Never waste time on Sad. It does no good.” Glad was so last year. Mad is this whole year in a nutshell. And, Sad is tough to avoid despite best efforts. All during the Snyder years the few periods of positivity were always accompanied by the anticipation of the other shoe dropping. It almost always did. That old feeling came back last week watching the Sunday Brunch game against the talented, but basically dysfunctional Miami Dolphins. The sour ending seemed unavoidable. It was a bad taste to leave on the palette as the team went on a one-week hiatus. Steering clear of Sad required actual effort. So, the season has gone to full Zombie mode as the full gauntlet of good teams await on the schedule. Perhaps it is best to take advantage of the WFT theater being dark and look around the League.

Sometimes it is best just to get away for a while. Washington had absolutely no say in the decision to play this Brunch Time game in Madrid. But, it was fortuitous. This is a team mired in a deep run of bad football. A change of scenery for a week has not been a bad thing. It won’t be a complete tonic for what ails. But, it was better than staying Stateside and absorbing the bile and venom from those who thought this year would be a repeat of last season’s magic. This year Midnight came early.

The good ship WFT is hard aground on the Mid-Season shoals. All up and down the Chesapeake Bay there are lighthouses to steer mariners away from rocks and shallows in illogical places. The lights were functioning. But, the rudder didn’t respond. Remember way back when in Pre-season? Terry McLaurin was doing the NFL’s oft seen “Get Paid Dance.” Without him the other Receivers could not get open. When the season arrived McLaurin got hurt. This happens with regularity to those guys doing the contract maneuver protocols. Then, guess what? The Receivers still could not get open. Remember way back when at the Draft? The clamor was for an Edge rusher. Washington went O-Line instead. It was hard to argue that protecting Jayden Daniels was a priority. The Edge guys the team had played well. Dorance Armstrong in particular was having a good year. But, three of them have been lost for the season.

So, what’s left is a team without a decent pass rush. That exposes the Secondary. It, naturally has been hurt. Without good Edge play teams are running wide and wild. Add that to an Offense that can’t throw effectively because no one is open. That causes the QB to hold the ball too long, run too often, and ultimately led to injury. For all the griping about the O-Line, if the ball could come out on time it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as the stats indicate. There were indications this was coming. The sheer magnitude and finality of the grounding are the shocking parts, however. Come the first weekend of January a Flood tide will raise the hull up allowing it to go back to home port with the intended destination long lost and forgotten over the horizon.

The song says that you’ve been waiting all day for Sunday Night (football). The question is: Will it have been worth it?

This WFT team reminds of the kid who couldn’t get all the way engaged at school and is now staring down the barrel at mid-term exams. The equations get reduced to simple binary solutions: Win at least this game and one other of the two following before the bye, or kiss any thought of playoffs goodbye. This game and the Lions’ game are against rock solid teams albeit at home. But, this game is the lynch pin. Tuesday at 4:00pm EST (yes the clocks did roll back last night) is the trade deadline. This team has some assets that would be of interest to contenders. A win might convince General Manager Adam Peters to basically stand pat. A loss gives him every green light to sell off anything but the emerging young core. And, yes, there is one hiding among the basket full of aged veterans on one-year deals.