NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
For the Washington Commanders and the fans Sunday’s performance was not what was wanted, but can you say you were REALLY surprised? This is not just a new team, but a new organization from top to bottom. Years of bad drafts not holding players accountable, and the devil as an owner have left this franchise near the bottom of the NFL for years. The fresh start began on Sunday and we saw a whole lot of bad but also some bright spots starting with the NFC Rookie of The Week Jayden Daniels. Now you get back home and find a team in the New York Giants that has its own set of problems someone has to win right? So how and why can’t it be the Commanders?
Kliff You Good?
Jayden showed me he can play in this league and never kept his head down for too long. He also had nerves like any other rookie would making his NFL debut. Moving onto week 2 he needs to improve a couple of things starting with going through his progressions and finding the open man. He used his legs and made a ton of plays that way, but staying in the pocket a bit longer and allowing guys to get open could result in some big plays. Sam Darnold had a field day last week so that should give some excitement to Kliff Kingsbury and Daniels. Every time he steps on the field he will improve and that is something fans and his teammates have to remember. Get Terry McLaurin involved early and often.
No way an elite wideout should have four targets. This is a game where Terry should pass the 100-yard receiving clip, his stats vs New York are solid. Teams watch film so of course the Giants will expect Jayden to bail at the first sign of trouble he needs to take advantage of that for some big plays. After one game I can’t lie I am already feeling shaky about Kingsbury as the OC, the Air Raid works in college this is the NFL and we saw what happened in Arizona. He needs to put his guys in spots to make plays and put points on the board. Did he watch LSU last year? Where was the deep ball? Roll outs? And run the ball more to keep the defense honest, again this is ONE game so I will chill but the knot in my stomach is real. The running game was a joke but at least B Rob got in the end zone. Who is WR 2? Lots of questions to answer.
No Mercy For Daniel Jones
New York has a major problem at the sport’s most important position quarterback. Daniel Jones was God-awful last week and has been for most of his time in the Big Apple. Last week 2 picks, 4.4 yards per attempt, and a QB rating of 44.3 OUCH. So this needs to be a game where Washington’s defense shows up and shows out in front of a hungry home crowd. The G-Men had multiple holding calls and created zero running room for its backs. Only where to go for them is up, but that can start next week. Another rookie Malik Nabers looked solid in his debut unfortunately he still has Jones at QB. Now Washington’s defense has NO room to laugh or talk trash after making Baker Mayfield look like Payton Manning and getting one sack. A rookie was gaining almost 8 yards a carry. EIGHT! The film has been trashed and the guys need to step up. If Jones has a huge game the issues on this side of the ball are more serious than even I thought.
Prediction
The coaching staff has a lot to answer for as well Dan Quinn had clock issues, new DC and OC didn’t impress at all. The three of them will want to put a better foot forward this week. One thing about Washington is we HATE Dan Synder so a new ownership group and new players give this group a bit of grace. But we want to see improvement quickly. A complete team game versus a team with an equal share of issues would be nice to see. Allow Jayden to throw the rock deep and test the Giants’ secondary. People in the DMV remember the RGIII era and how it ended so watching our new star QB run 16 times makes us nervous. I see the Commanders taking a step in the right direction and grabbing a 27-24 win over the New York Giants. I can not wait to see what was or wasn’t worked on this week. #RaiseHail
