By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Generally speaking, reaching the playoffs is a good thing.
Teams
toil through training camps and long seasons to earn an invitation to the after-party.
That’s the only shot at dancing with a trophy at the end, as the Washington
Capitals demonstrated last summer.
But
some franchises have conditioned fans to be less interested in short-term
success – i.e., a postseason berth in a
given year – and more concerned with purposeful losing – i.e., better positioning
to acquire foundational players.
The
Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs each endured multiple seasons of 90-plus losses
before catapulting to become World Series champions. The Philadelphia 76ers made
losing a process and now stand among the NBA’s finest in the Eastern Conference.
Accomplishing
similar feats in the NFL is much harder (see: Browns, Cleveland), but that didn’t
stop the New York Jets from willfully nosediving
last season for a better shot in the quarterback grab bag.
In
D.C., a different groundswell is forming among fans of the NBA and NFL franchises.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Washington’s NFL team broke a four-game losing streak Sunday, keeping its playoff hopes alive behind its fourth starting quarterback and 44th offensive line combination. The victory reminded us of the team’s resilience from time to time when least expected.
The
16-13 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars reminded us of something else,
too, which seems more unfathomable today than it did last month:
Washington’s brain trust believed Mark Sanchez was the best choice as this season’s third starting quarterback.
Josh Johnson’s performance Sunday, in his first start since 2011, and the week before, in garbage time against the New York Giants, is an indictment of the decision-makers in Ashburn. Nothing against Sanchez – who seems like a great guy and enjoyed a moment a decade ago with the New York Jets – but no team still envisioned him as an NFL QB before Washington signed him off the couch.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Soon, after spending about a week back home, Mike Locksley will return to Alabama, an environment that makes his new job at Maryland look like Pop Warner. Back to all the championship trophies, fanatical support, and historical significance. Back to aid the Crimson Tide’s quest for a second consecutive national title, which would be its third in four years and its sixth in 10 years.
Yet, when he says being the Terrapins head coach is his dream job, you don’t immediately question his sanity. Few new hires would say that – and even fewer would mean it – but Locksley appears to be that rare.
“When I got into coaching, this was the one job that I always coveted,” he said during his introductory news conference last week.
Considering that he entered the profession a quarter-century ago as an assistant at Towson, his alma mater, we’d understand if his career goals had changed. Somewhere, there must be a Top 25 list for “Jobs Better Than Maryland,” including more-attractive options in the “also receiving votes” category.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
The December descent began earlier than usual for Washington’s NFL team this season and it’s likely still a long way from hitting bottom.
You might wonder if anything can top a 40-16 shellacking at FedEx Field against a subpar divisional opponent missing one of its two best offensive weapons. Asking that question means you haven’t been paying attention. When there’s only one way this franchise can go, it’s typically further down.
Maybe it’s our proximity and history with this team. But for drama and intrigue, combined with pure tomfoolery and a lack of winning, Washington has few rivals in the league. Cleveland comes to mind and Oakland is a contender, too. However, each also has something to look forward to, respectively, life with a shiny new QB and life in Las Vegas
But in Washington, there’s no looking ahead. Unless you have X-ray vision to peer through the brick wall.
The late Flip Saunders was talking about Washington’s NBA franchise, but he easily could’ve been referencing the city’s NFL outfit when he said, “Don’t think it can’t get any worse because it can.”
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
LANDOVER – There was a bright spot among the wreckage Sunday, a familiar glimmer in the midst of carnage.
As the New York Giants piled on against Washington, sending a chunk of the intimate gathering to FedEx Field exit gates at halftime, there was good, ol’ No. 5, still doing his thing.
You want to talk about the overall atrociousness of a 40-16 blowout that was worse than it sounds? By my guest. You want to bemoan the horrendous play of quarterback Mark Sanchez? The pitiful, porous defense? No problem. You want to strap coach Jay Gruden and president Bruce Allen in seats on the next plane, train, or automobile headed out of town? Go for it.
Can’t say that I blame you.
But I’d rather spend our short time together in a Philippian state of mind, fixing our thoughts on what’s honorable, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy: punter Tress Way.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
I would have more respect for the Washington NFL team’s higher-ups if they simply stated the obvious, instead of feeding us a steaming pile of manure regarding Colin Kaepernick.
We are long past the point where “football issues” was trotted out regarding teams’ lack of interest in the free-agent quarterback. That excuse was as illogical the last two seasons as it was Tuesday, when coach Jay Gruden queued it up like a radio hit in heavy rotation.
Gruden did a remix, though. He said the problem wouldn’t be Kaepernick’s lack of ability, but rather how it would fit into the revolutionary offense that is scorching the league with its unique philosophy and novel schemes.
Everything would have to change. (Insert a punchline here.)
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
There were questions on whether his current situation was tenable. There was rampant speculation about his next destination. The nagging question became a major issue that engulfed his program.
Would he stay? Would he go?
Then it happened.
Nick Saban left his job as head coach of the Miami Dolphins for the position at the University of Alabama.
At a Dolphins news conference about two weeks prior, Saban was emphatic when pressed on the matter. A reporter noted that the coach had never flatly denied the rumor. “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach,” Saban said.
An eight-year contract worth a guaranteed $32 million apparently changed his mind, perhaps with knowing there’s more where that came from. (His latest deal, announced in July, is for eight years and at least $74 million.)
That’s great for the Saban family.
But how is it that we were supposed to chastise Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts if he had left Tuscaloosa before this season?
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
My stomach turned a bit when news broke that Washington claimed Reuben Foster on waivers.
The 49ers had just put
him on the curb, like a moldy armchair awaiting a bulk trash pick-up. Washington,
acting like a thrift-conscious scavenger driving around neighborhoods in search
of such “deals,” pounced on the chance to haul him to Ashburn.
This marks the second
time in four weeks that a local institution reached a despicable conclusion
that flies in the face of decency. First, the University of Maryland tried to
put disgraced football coach DJ Durkin back on the sideline. Now, Dan Snyder’s
team has embraced a man twice charged with domestic violence.
According to ESPN,
Washington was the only organization to put in a waiver claim for Foster, three
days after he was arrested at the 49ers’ team hotel. The incident occurred less
than 24 hours before San Francisco faced Tampa Bay. Police said Foster had a
verbal altercation with a woman and “slapped her phone out of her hand, pushed
her in the chest area, and slapped her with an open hand on the left side of
her face.”
The 49ers couldn’t cut
him quick enough. They saw no need to let the legal process play out and see
where it leads. They had seen enough since making him a first-round draft pick
in 2017.
“Reuben has had a string
of making bad decisions,” San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters
Monday. “We knew that when we took him. We thought he would improve, and we
were going to do everything that we could to help him.
By DERON SNYDER (as published in The Washington Times)
Some fans who watched
Monday night’s game after not watching games for a long while, might think they
missed a memo. When did the NFL change its name to the New Football League?
The name is the same. But
the sport is different, at least as played by the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas
City Chiefs in their 54-51 scoring spree. It makes you wonder whether those
teams and Washington’s team play under common rules.
All 32 teams use the same
rule book (more on that later). But the personnel and coaching are wildly
divergent. If the likes of, say, Blake Bortles and Hue Jackson form the
quarterback-head coach combo, the offense will resemble the Rams and Chiefs not
at all, even less without dynamic talents like Tyreek Hill, Brandin Cooks, Todd
Gurley and Kareem Hunt.
That’s why we should slow
down on all the “new NFL” talk. At least until more teams have coaches as
imaginative and creative as Sean McVay and Andy Reid, molding young gunslingers
like Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes. (Never forget that Goff started seven
games under Jeff Fisher and was considered a bust as the Rams won none of
them.)
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