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.
About Last Week
Washington managed to make a one-score game of it against an intriguing Dallas team. As is their wont the Cowboys came out of the tunnel on fire on Offense. The key element being their ability to stay on the field. Up front the Burgundy and Gold desperately missed Daron Payne. Dallas had success running right through the “A-Gap” between Center and Guard. It’s the old “Dive” play sans the Fullback. It worked so well that Dallas didn’t feel the need to punt on 4th Downs. They went 6-for-6 in attempts. The Cowboys ran 44-attempts for 211-yards. You probably read this week about Linebacker Bobby Wagner‘s amazing tackles stats. He has 157 Combined tackles split almost equally between Assists and Solo efforts. The good news is that he makes those tackles. The bad news is that he has to do so. The Defensive Line is too porous.
The lack of Edge Rusher has hobbled this Defense since early in the season. Deatrich Wise Jr was lost in the second game. Then Javontae Jean-Baptiste was lost after only 3-games. Dorance Armstrong was off to a torrid start to the year. Then he was hurt and lost for the season. Make no mistake, this was not an elite grouping by anyone’s reckoning. But, the backups were guaranteed to be less effective. And, they were. If you were an Offensive Coordinator going against this group, as Frank Herzog used to say on the radio broadcasts, “It’s Smorgasbord Time!”
Without providing consistent pressure Offenses were free to release the Back out of the backfield. Wheel Routes would isolate Bobby Wagner on a much faster Back. It wasn’t a contest. Or the teams would go Empty behind the Quarterback putting the Back in to a Slot position. The Strong Safety would cover the Back leaving Frankie Luvu to cover a much faster Receiver. At one point in this past game Luvu was attempting to cover George Pickens as a result of this strategy…with predictable results.
But, when Dak Prescott needed a play he knew where to go. This has been around since the time of Slingin’ Sammy Baugh. Sonny Jurgensen said on more than one occasion, “When we really needed a third-down (conversion) I’d find Charlie Waters.” Dak would find Noah Igbinoghene. The former 1st-Round pick by the Dolphins has turned into the go-to guy by the opposition. But, if for some reason Dallas couldn’t convert they’d just run Blast plays into the A-Gap on 4th Down…finding success.
There’s a whole Winter and Spring to address upgrade needs on this team. But, it will have to start in the trenches on Defense.
Bright Spots
There were some bright spots. Jer’Zhan Newton had 3-Sacks, 5-QB hits, and 2-Tackles for Loss. It was by far his best game. He appears to be a 3rd-Down specialist more than an every-down run stuffer. Now, put a decent pair of Edge Rushers out there on the Line with him and he’ll see less Double Teams and Chips from the Running Back. If you look at the elite Defensive Lines in the League right now it isn’t all Edge pressure doing the heavy lifting. Pressure comes from the Edges AND the Interior. Look at Houston. And, look at Atlanta. They invested heavily in their D-Line. It took most of the season for them to find their bearings. But, that Line is for real now. Ask Matthew Stafford after he took 3-Sacks, 5-QB Hits, and threw 3-INTs. The Atlanta experiment might be a wee bit of a blueprint.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt only had 11-rushing attempts But, he converted them into 105-yards and 2-TDs. For those who keep track of such things the 2-TDs match the total for the year by Brian Robinson Jr in San Francisco after being traded before the season. “Bill” has 8-TDs on the year. The week saw Bill rewarded with his 4th Pepsi Rookie of the Week. Merritt is the only multi-week recipient of the honor. He has that burst and open field speed that make him dangerous. But, he’s a skill-set short of being elite. He’s only been targeted some 13-times on passes all season. That includes not a single target in the last five-games. His blocking isn’t particularly good, either. That keeps him off the field in third-downs when a Back has to chip on a blitzer, or drift out for a check-down. Merritt on a Wheel Route would run past all but a handful of Linebackers. It’s reported that he is very hungry for improvement working diligently. Hopefully it bears fruit. There’s a huge upside for this young player waiting to be realized.
Treylon Burks is another reclamation project. Unlike Iggy this one shows signs of panning out. He’s only being targeted about twice-per-game. But, his receptions average 14.8-yards per. And, he blocks. If you watch the tape below of Bill’s big run, Burks sets the final big block to spring him.
Josh Conerly had a nice game. He has had a respectable first year at a new position. His baptism of fire against Brian Burns and Micah Parsons right out of the chute was a blessing in disguise. After facing those guys the remainder appeared to be manageable. There’s still development to be had. But, having a solid Right Tackle for multiple years into the future is a good thing, indeed.
Post Mortems
All of the Beat Writers are issuing comprehensive post-mortems on the season. It’s a joyless exercise. But, it is an easy write. If you lived it, there is no need. If you feel compelled to relive every painful minute it won’t take long to find the slog recounted in vivid detail. But, it won’t be here.
The Ashes
Half a world away in Australia Summer has just started. There the Aussies are hosting England in a bi-annual 5-match series of Test Cricket. It’s called “The Ashes.” When Britannia ruled the waves they also ruled the game of Cricket. Most of their colonies adopted it in whole cloth. America took away three-quarters of the field, added two more bases, and eliminated the wickets. First came “Rounders.” Then came Baseball. Other than the fact that the game is played with a ball and bat the two have scarce little in common. A nine-inning game may last a a seeming eternity. But, a Test Match in Cricket can last five-days. They break for Tea every day.
Australia was a penal colony for England. The vested gentry stared down their nose at the colony…and still do. As Australia grew and developed they became proficient at the old game. In 1882 the upstarts defeated England on English soil. This prompted the Sporting Times of London to post an Obituary for English Cricket. The Brits are not known for understatement.
When the English came to Australia to seek revenge the English Captain was presented with a Terra Cotta urn containing ashes of some description. Some say it was from the leather cover of a ball. Others claim it was the “Bails” from the losing match. Bails are the little spindles that sit on top of the wickets. Regardless, it was symbolically significant.
This year’s best of five series was decided in three as Australia smoked the English side. It happens most of the time, especially when the matches are in Australia. But, the larger picture is that the rivalry and competition continues to exist long after the disappointment and bitterness of the initial loss. Every other year The Ashes match is the centerpiece of Cricket for the two countries. Each time it is played with passion and intensity. Drama and controversy exist in abundance. A new set of matches brings new hope. One side will realize them.
There’s space on the shelf of WFT seasons for what comes next year. We will have to wait to see if it’s filled with playoff memories or another urn of ashes.
Game Information
Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles: CBS, Jan. 4, 4:25 p.m.
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Ross Tucker, Melanie Collins
D.C. Radio: Bram Weinstein (play-by-play), London Fletcher (analyst), Logan Paulsen (analyst) BIG 100 WBIG-FM
