Daily Slop – 1 Jul 24: A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch

A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East and the NFL in general

Commanders links

Articles

Riggo’s Rag

Commanders film room: Frankie Luvu’s impact in Dan Quinn’s scheme

Washington is getting a stud with Frankie Luvu.

Since Frankie Luvu signed with the Washington Commanders, I have been extremely vocal about how head over heels I am for adding him to this defense. He is a top-ten linebacker in the league and can leap into a true X-factor player. He is an exotic second-level presence because he can truly do it all.

To share my love for Luvu, I watched some of his tape and took notes about his game. The film I watched was the Carolina Panthers vs. Houston Texans contest. The veteran posted a stat line of 12 tackles – seven being solo – one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and two passes defended.

The stats from this game for Luvu are impressive in their own right. His overall contribution proves why the Commanders got an absolute stud during 2024 free agency.

Commanders are getting effort and athleticism with Frankie Luvu

One of the most important things for a defender to have is hustle and effort. Luvu is the definition of that. His high motor makes sure he never gives up on a play.

One example during this game saw Brian Burns miss a tackle and Devin Singletary was able to evade Luvu when he went in for the kill. Instead of giving up, the former Washington State star pounced off the ground and took the running back down when he made his cut. Those are the types of plays elite football players make.

Luvu explodes to the contact point. This shows his natural athleticism and allows him to create angles and swat down passes in ways that normal players just can’t do.

This athleticism leads to blown-up gaps and disrupted plays. Luvu is a chess piece in blitzes and can lead to a sack or tackle for loss anytime he gets sent on a blitz. We all know how Dan Quinn loves to scheme his linebackers on blitzes, so this will only benefit the player.

---

Riggo’s Rag

Jayden Daniels holds the key to Commanders’ success in 2024

Adam Rank from NFL.com outlined the primary objectives behind a successful Commanders season in 2024. The analyst preached patience regarding results. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day. He thinks that if rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels proves beyond doubt he can be a franchise-caliber presence under center, that would be the biggest win imaginable where Washington is concerned.

“This is the easiest one to call. It’s great if a rebuilding team can become a surprise playoff power like the [Houston] Texans did in 2023, but the [Washington] Commanders shouldn’t be upset if they don’t do that. The most important piece of information Washington can come away with in 2024 is the answer to this question: Do they have a quarterback who can play? If the defense struggles but [Jayden] Daniels is out there lighting up the scoreboard, I’ll consider that a pretty successful season.”

– Adam Rank, NFL.com

Daniels holds the key to Washington’s future. The Commanders made a significant investment in the former LSU phenom at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He needs to repay this faith by finally providing stability at football’s most crucial position.

---

Commanders Wire

Zach Ertz already making an impact for the Commanders

Yes, Washington believes he can still play, but head coach Dan Quinn has praised Ertz for his leadership throughout this offseason.

In an appearance on “The Sports Junkies” of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., this week, Turner spoke of Ertz’s influence.

“Zach and (Kingsbury) have been together for years before,” Turner said via Logan Mullen of Audacy.

“That’s the first thing about Zack that he’s seen what Kliff expects from the offense, and he’s not a selfish guy, he wants to help everyone out. It’s been really fun to play with him. Me and Zach have become friends in just a few months of knowing each other; he’s a very personable guy and a guy that goes out of his way and wants to see the team win.”

What Turner would say next is music to Quinn and general manager Adam Peters’s ears as they look to build the team and rebuild the culture.

“It’s been great having him around – not just for the tight ends, but for everyone. He’s one of the leaders on the team, for sure.”

---

Sports Illustrated

Washington Commanders, Brian Robinson, and Austin Ekeler a ‘Match Made in Heaven’

The Washington Commanders brought in Austin Ekeler this offseason and he’s excited to be part of a dynamic tandem backfield.

With the Commanders [Austin Ekeler’s] running mate is going to be third-year running back Brian Robinson Jr. who some project to be the primary back while Ekeler will actually do the relieving. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things who starts the game, outside of contract negotiations.

But Ekeler knows he wasn’t just brought in to help on the field, he’s coming in to help out in the locker room, meeting rooms, and on the practice field. Culture, they call it, and Ekeler has a hand in helping establish a new one in Washington.

“They wanted to have some new leadership coming in, so they’re bringing in some of these older guys,” Ekeler continued. “I’ve been a captain on the Chargers for the last few years as well. And it seemed like a match made in heaven for going back to some of my roots, but also building a new culture out in Washington.”

---

Podcasts & videos

Locked on Commanders: How Washington Commanders Quarterback Jayden Daniels Proved No. 1 Billing on Minicamp Practice Field

---

NFC East links

Philly Voice

10 reasons the Cowboys will be a dumpster fire this season

Jimmy Kempski’s annual ‘dumpster fire’ series returns with talk of Jerry Jones, Mike McCarthy and everything related to the Dallas Cowboys.

5) Their offensive run game is going to suck

The Cowboys as a team finished with just 4.1 yards per carry in 2023, their worst average since 2012. That might not get better in 2024 since the offensive line is likely to be worse in the short-term, and their running backs are among the worst in the NFL.

After losing Tony Pollard in free agency, the Cowboys seemed poised to draft a running back, and in fact, Jerry Jones even revealed who he had his eyes on prior to Day 2 of the draft.

Why would he say that?

Anyway, Brooks got drafted 46th overall by the Panthers before the Cowboys could get him at pick 56, and they ended up not selecting a running back at all. Instead, after the draft was over, the Cowboys signed a washed Ezekiel Elliott (LOL!), who averaged 3.5 yards per carry with the Patriots in 2023.

7) Takeaway regression is coming… maybe… finally?

I’ve been doing this dumpster fire series for over a decade now, and as you might imagine I get fans of each of the teams I roast telling me why I’m wrong on some of my points. Those rebuttals are usually dumb, but there was one that wasn’t a couple years ago.

In 2022, I made the point that the Cowboys led the league in takeaways in 2021, and that it was very likely that takeaway regression was coming their way. I even had a well-researched chart showing all the recent teams that had 30 or more takeaways in a season, and how many they had the following season.

It seemed like a fairly bullet-proof assumption that the Cowboys wouldn’t match their 2021 totals in 2022. A bunch of Cowboys fans credited then-defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s style of defense generating those takeaways, and claimed that there wouldn’t likely be a substantial dropoff. Pfft, sure, OK, whatever. In 2022 though, the Cowboys once again led the league in takeaways, with 33. S**t. They got me on that one.

---

NFL.com

Could Cowboys’ Super Bowl window be closing?

Head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott’s futures beyond 2024 seem to be in question, but they’re not the only ones.

Since 2021, the Cowboys’ 36-15 regular-season record is second in the NFL to only the Kansas City Chiefs. However, while the Chiefs have emerged as a dynasty, the Cowboys have emerged with just one playoff win in that span. The burning question heading into 2024 for the Cowboys looms: Is Dallas’ Super Bowl window closing?

A closer look provided by NFL Research accentuates just how precious a time it is for the franchise as it aims high once again for Super Bowl glory, which has gone unrealized since the 1995 season.

Since 1996, Dallas is 0-7 in the Divisional Round, worst in the NFL in that span, according to NFL Research.

During the aforementioned Lombardi-filled run of 1992-1995, the Cowboys were 10-1 in the playoffs overall.

Dating back again to 1996, the Cowboys are 5-13 in the playoffs overall. No other club has double-digit playoff losses with five or fewer wins in that span, per NFL Research.

As they’ve come up short in every Divisional Round appearance since winning their last Super Bowl, they’ve now gone 28 seasons without an NFC Championship Game berth. It’s the second-longest active drought.

---

All a’Twitter