Daily Slop – 15 Sep 24: Commanders looking for first win of Jayden Daniels era in home opener against the Giants

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

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Washington Post (paywall)

Josh Harris bought a broken franchise. It needs more work than he knew.

After buying the Washington Commanders last year and realizing how much there was to fix, Harris is beginning to leave his imprint

Although it has been widely portrayed as a $6.05 billion purchase, it probably will end up being for $5.85 billion; there is a $200 million earnout, or deferred payment, that is contingent on certain revenue markers the team is unlikely to reach, according to one person with knowledge of the terms.

“There were definitely points that I felt that this was not going to happen,” Rales said last year. “… [Harris and I] were saying, ‘We’re spending a lot of money on this process with lawyers and accountants and others. Do we want to continue down this road? … Do we want to continue to hang around the hoop?’ And the answer was yes.”

As Harris dug deeper into the franchise, it was inevitable he would find more issues. But as he peeled back every layer of dysfunction, he encountered even more than anticipated.

“We’re good at doing [due] diligence,” Harris said. “But in each case, it was probably slightly worse than we thought. … There was more investment than we thought going in, across the board. Everything from the stadium to the practice and training area required a lot of investment.”

“I remember [then-coach] Ron Rivera came to me and he said — this is literally a true story — ‘We don’t have a clock on the [field], so Sam Howell doesn’t know how many seconds to practice getting in and out of the huddle,’” Harris recalled. “Like, why are you even asking? I mean, high schools have that.”

Some of the most significant changes at the Commanders’ training facility are products of player feedback, which began immediately after Harris purchased the team. He and Rales held roundtable discussions with the team’s leaders about the state of the franchise to hear from players directly.

Peters took it further. After receiving the latest NFLPA report card, he contacted the players’ union for more specifics on what players felt needed changing in Washington. He, too, sought players’ direct input.

“During the offseason, we all got phone calls like, ‘Hey, what do you think that we could change to make this thing better?’ wide receiver Dyami Brown said. “They really took our input and tried to make changes.”

The team has added four people to the player health and performance staff — players told the NFLPA the team had too few resources for training and recovery — and it has invested in new technologies for rehabilitation, including 3D biomechanical analysis for injury prevention. There is better equipment in the weight room, along with redesigned offices and new and improved meeting rooms.

“If you had seen the building before, the O-line room was way down the hall,” Peters said. “You had to walk past, like, four departments, and when you got there it was like a hodgepodge of tables and chairs. It was not even Division III-worthy.”

Now the offensive line meeting room is an expansive space with leather stadium seating and, most importantly, tables overflowing with snacks.

“It’s like a fresh start,” said Reaves, who has been with the Commanders since 2018. “When I came back for [training] camp this year, I came back to a different team. The building changed. Coaches changed. The owners changed. Everything was new. It’s like the changes have kind of lifted all of the dark clouds that were here and brought a new sense of energy and excitement.”

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Commanders Wire

Commanders were second in the NFL pass rush win rate in Week 1

With only one sack and Mayfield completing 80% of his passes in Week 1, it would appear that Washington did not apply significant pressure.

That’s not the case, according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Analysis. The Commanders finished second in the NFL in pass rush win rate last week at 67%, behind only the Chicago Bears (71%).

What exactly is pass rush win rate?

Pass rush win rate is a metric created by ESPN that records how often a pass rusher beats his block within 2.5 seconds.

Sometimes, stats don’t always tell the whole story. That was certainly the case for the Commanders last week. It’s encouraging that Washington was winning one-on-one matchups up front, but the failure to finish haunted them throughout the game.

It wasn’t only pass rush win rate where Washington excelled. Sharp had the Commanders finishing fifth in run stop win rate. That’s more in line with the numbers, as Washington held Tampa Bay to 3.7 yards per rush attempt.

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Commanders Wire

Commanders’ Quinn: ‘Sainristil has a real presence about him’

[C]oach Dan Quinn likes what he sees in Sainristil: his work during the week, preparation, and mindset. Quinn believes in Sainristil and that the former Michigan Wolverine cornerback will bounce back and play well this Sunday against the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium.

“I think what we have grown accustomed to with Mike is the urgency he can play with,” expressed Quinn. The blitzing, the communication, the owning the leverage onto whomever he is guarding.”

Sainristil was in on six tackles last week (5 solo, one assist), but he also found himself beaten badly on a few occasions by Buccaneer receivers. It was undoubtedly a learning experience for a slot corner in his first regular-season NFL game.

Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. brought Sainristil four times on a blitz of Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield in Week 1. Meanwhile, in pass coverage, the Bucs targeted Sainristil six times, completing five against him for 58 passing yards and 11.6 yards given up per completion.

Though Sainristil had a lot to think about in the opener, Quinn believes in him, and they are still planning on giving him many differing tasks on Sunday against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.

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Big Blue View

Giants-Commanders, Week 2: 5 matchups to watch

Giants edge defenders vs. Commanders offensive tackles

The Giants are banking heavily on the troika of nose tackle Dexter Lawrence and edge defenders Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux to wreak havoc in opposing backfields, covering for a young secondary that has question marks.

Burns (4 tackles, 1 quarterback hit) and Thibodeaux (0 tackles, 1 quarterback hit, 1 missed tackle, and a costly personal foul penalty on third-and-16 that led to a Minnesota Vikings touchdown) did not do their parts in Week 1.

The Commanders have questions at offensive tackle, with veteran Washington, D.C. sportswriter Rick Snider telling the ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast that “this offensive line is still really tattered on the ends.”

Washington starts 11-year veteran Cornelius Lucas at left tackle and seven-year veteran Andrew Wylie at right tackle. Rookie third-round pick Brandon Coleman also played 13 snaps at left tackle for Washington in Week 1.

Tae Banks vs. Terry McLaurin

Banks also had something to say about McLaurin after a five-catch, 43-yard day:

“I’m just trying to figure out, though, did 17 play today?” Banks said on Instagram. “That’s all I wanna know. Did he play today? Did he play? I just wanna know if he played.”

With Banks now the Giants’ No. 1 cornerback and likely responsible for following McLaurin whenever the Giants are in man-to-man defense, this was always going to be an interesting matchup. Banks’ words heighten the stakes for the 23-year-old.

In Week 1, Banks had a 156.2 passer rating against while trying to shadow Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson, perhaps the league’s best receiver. Banks was victimized by Jefferson for a 44-yard catch and a 3-yard touchdown.

Giants offensive line vs. Commanders defensive line

The strength of the Washington defense, and perhaps of its entire team, is its defensive line.

Daron Payne is in the midst of a four-year, $90 million contract with $46.01 million guaranteed. That is virtually identical to Dexter Lawrence’s four-year, $90 million extension that guaranteed him $46.5 million. Payne has 30.5 sacks over seven seasons, and had 11.5 in a Pro Bowl 2022 season.

Jonathan Allen is a two-time Pro Bowler drafted by Washington in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He has 39.0 career sacks.

The Giants’ revamped offensive line played better, at least in pass protection, than the five sacks taken by Daniel Jones vs. Minnesota would indicate. Pro Football Focus ranked the Giants 12th in the league in pass blocking.

Where the line struggled mightily was in run blocking, with PFF grading the Giants last in the league in that category.

Giants front seven vs. Jayden Daniels’ scrambling

There is a proliferation of running quarterbacks in the NFL now. The vast majority of teams have a quarterback who can make plays with their legs under pressure, and several have quarterbacks who are an integral part of their team’s designed run game.

Washington’s Daniels, though, is arguably the most electric running quarterback to come into the league since Lamar Jackson.

Daniels rushed 16 times for 88 yards in his Week 1 NFL debut, much of that after breaking contain in the pocket. The Commanders may not want him to run that often, but if he is going to try the Giants have to limit the damage.

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NFC East links

Big Blue View

Giants roster moves: Gunner Olszewski to injured reserve

Giants make moves before Sunday’s game with Washington

The New York Giants, in a move that had been anticipated for several days, on Saturday placed wide receiver/kick returner Gunner Olszewski on injured reserve.

Olszewski suffered a groin injury in pre-game warmups before last week’s season-opening gam against the Minnesota Vikings. Head coach Brian Daboll said during the week that Olszewski would be sidelined for “weeks.” Thus, placing him on IR was anticipated.

The Giants signed wide receiver/returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette during the week to handle punt returns.

The Giants on Saturday also elevated two players from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders — linebackers Tomon Fox and Ty Summers.

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Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles rooting guide for Week 2 games

Sunday afternoon reference material.

NFC EAST

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at DALLAS COWBOYS: Very early on, it’s looking like the division will be another two-team race between the Eagles and Cowboys. The Birds will be rooting for a Dallas loss. Though they probably don’t want the Saints looking too sharp ahead of the Eagles traveling down to New Orleans in Week 3. Root for the Saints.

NEW YORK GIANTS at WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: The Giants are probably the bigger threat to get the No. 1 overall pick. The Commanders might eventually figure some things out and not be totally terrible. Root for the Giants.

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NFL league links

Articles

Sportico

DirecTV, Disney Reach Carriage Deal, End 2-Week Blackout

After a two-week blackout that left ESPN and a host of other networks dark in some 11 million U.S. households, DirecTV and Disney have come to an agreement on a carriage deal.

Financial terms were not disclosed, although in a joint statement released Saturday morning, the parties said they had agreed to “market-based terms” on pricing, and that DirecTV had negotiated the rights to carve out “multiple genre-specific packages,” including a la carte sports and entertainment options.

DirecTV will also offer Disney’s direct-to-consumer platforms (ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu) alongside the legacy linear-TV networks. Moreover, the satcaster has agreed to offer its customers the upcoming ESPN DTC service (code name: “Flagship”) which is set to launch next fall.

All told, DirecTV customers missed out on a single Monday Night Football game during the standoff, the Sept. 9 Jets-49ers opener. While Aaron Rodgers’ long-awaited return wasn’t particularly compelling—the 40-year-old gunslinger only threw two passes that traveled more than 15 yards, including a busted-coverage touchdown toss to Allen Lazard—the game still managed to deliver 20.43 million viewers across the Disney TV platforms. (ABC averaged 11.03 million viewers, ESPN brought in 8.53 million fans and the ManningCast contributed another 872,000 impressions.)

If the TV turnout for the 55^th season premiere of Monday Night Football seems to suggest that Disney wasn’t greatly put out by the DirecTV standoff, the financial cost was not inconsiderable. Based on the estimated monthly carriage and retransmission-consent fees Disney collects from the satcaster, the Mouse House theoretically lost $46.4 million for each week of the blackout—a figure that does not factor in the short-term impact on advertising revenue.

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Washington Post (paywall)

Most NFL teams don’t have dedicated kicking coaches, a curious choice

In a game of inches, it’s surprising that more teams haven’t hired full-time kicking coaches to bolster their special teams staffs.

The moment Eddy Piñeiro’s foot struck the ball for what could have been a game-winning extra point in Week 8 of the 2022 season, longtime special teams coach Kevin O’Dea knew something was off. The rotation of the ball had the height and appearance of a kickoff, not a field goal.

Watching from his house to cheer on his old pal Steve Wilks — then the Carolina Panthers’ interim coach — O’Dea quickly realized Piñeiro had not connected with the ball properly. He thought it was a simple, correctable mistake that could be immediately addressed on the sideline. It was not fixed, however, and Piñeiro went on to miss a 32-yard field goal in overtime, also wide left, also because of the same error, in O’Dea’s estimation. Carolina’s wild fourth-quarter comeback went for naught, the Panthers lost to the Falcons, and they ended up losing the NFC South by one game. If they had secured that victory in Atlanta, they would have hosted a playoff game.

Such is the NFL’s game of inches.

“I could see right away the rotation wasn’t right,” said O’Dea, who spent more than 20 years coaching special teams in the NFL, specializing in kicking. “Piñeiro hit to the right of the ball from where he had to, and you could tell from the rotation. It’s pretty easy to go back to the kicker and show them on the ball where they hit outside the seams. But I guess no one saw it on their sidelines.”

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Over the Cap

A Closer Look at the Browns Options with Deshaun Watson

The salary cap costs to release Watson are still very high even if the Browns were able to void the guarantees. If they were able to void his guarantees this season and cut him now the cap cost would be $26.7M this year and about $80.25M in 2025. A suspension in 2024 would allow them to get credits for the bonus paid in 2024. If he was suspended in 2025, allowing the team to void the guarantee, they would have the option of taking the $80.25M cap charge in 2025 or spreading it out as $26.7M in 2025 and $53.6M in 2026. If they chose the latter the salary cap hold during free agency in 2025 would be $72.9M and then it would drop to $26.7M on June 2, 2025. In many ways the salary cap considerations are very similar to those of the Broncos with Russell Wilson this past offseason.

The Browns do have the room to absorb such a hit but it would put them in a more difficult position. If they lost the grievance they would have a massive negative adjustment to their 2025 salary cap making it very difficult to function next year. So they are most likely at the mercy of the NFL unless they have a clear out based on the circumstances of this specific accusation.

Finding a way out of the Watson contract, despite the monster short term cap consequences, would be beneficial overall for the team. The trade for Watson and subsequent contract modification will likely go down as the worst sign and trade in NFL history and this would allow them to turn the page on this era. Their path forward would remain the same, in my opinion, as if Watson was on the team- find a way to trade up in the NFL draft and get a young QB to offset the Watson salary cap issues and bring actual upside to the position. However, if they can actually move him off the team it will give the Browns, in the long term, an extra $92 million to work with and remove his presence from the sidelines while they try to develop another player.

At this stage of the game the Browns should be hoping that they can find a way out from under the contract. Watson only appeared in 12 games in his first two years with the team and has not resembled the player he was in Houston. Just on football play alone, Watson is playing at a level where if he was truly a free agent he would be signing a backup with upside type of contract and being asked to compete for a starting job. Combine that with the fact that his situation is toxic and I am not sure he would even be in the NFL right now if not for the contract protections that the Browns gave him in 2022.

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