Daily Slop – 28 Jun 24: Spotlight on Magee and Dotson; retired Redskins talk about franchise past, present and future

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

The Athletic (paywall)

Commanders offensive depth chart projection ahead of training camp

“It’s all about our competition,” coach Dan Quinn said during the offseason program. “We want it at every position, and it’s really the central theme in what we do.”

That answer, in response to a question about helping 2023 first-round cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. rebound after a trying rookie season, sounds generic. We get the concept of an organization not wanting players, from stars to long shots, assuming anything about the final 53-man makeup or who plays with the first team. The intrigue this time is that neither Quinn nor general manager Adam Peters has ties to Washington’s past amid recalibrating the team’s future.

While treating player evaluations fairly is expected, neither Quinn nor Peters is burdened with hoping inherited players will contribute at levels that match previous investments. The same mindset broadly applies to some of the 20-plus free agents who signed one-year contracts since the regime overhaul. After weeks of organized team activities and minicamp, everyone involved should better understand one another. In many cases, the period of discovery is far from over.

These variables make a 53-player projection borderline crazy from an accuracy perspective. The value in the following exercise is recognizing which competitions are real, and why assuming some familiar names are safe is unwise. Over half of the 2023 roster is gone. More will join them.

Running back (3)

Brian Robinson Jr., Austin Ekeler, Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Others — Jeremy McNichols, Austin Jones, Michael Wiley

It’s too early to dub Robinson and Ekeler a modern version of Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, but that’s how the setup appears.

Robinson is due for more rushing touchdowns (seven in 27 career games). His new offensive coordinator’s play-calling history suggests that should happen. Kliff Kingsbury’s primary running backs with the Arizona Cardinals — Kenyan Drake and James Conner — combined for 40 rushing scores from 2019 to 2022, even with a touchdown vulture threat (Kyler Murray) similar to Daniels.

How much Ekeler eats into Robinson’s usage depends on how the veteran, who has over 1,400 career touches, holds up physically. The ex-Los Angeles Charger averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry last season following a Week 1 ankle injury. Ekeler offers Daniels a viable safety valve capable of turning a swing pass into a chain-moving reception. Projecting eight to 12 touches per game seems fair for now. Anything close to his 2021 and 2022 production — Ekeler led the league in touchdowns each season — would be a massive bonus.

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Commanders.com

Jordan Magee brings rare leadership to Commanders

Magee created…a reputation of being a dependable, smart, productive player. It was for those reasons, and more, that Magee was gifted with the highest honor a Temple player can receive.

Single-digit jersey numbers are not a trifle thing at Temple. They are reserved for players who lead by example, both on and off the field, and represent the program’s core values. Magee earned the honor twice, proving that he was a key piece to the Owls’ success.

“It’s a guy that’s gonna do the dirty work that you need when maybe things aren’t going well; the guy that’s gonna be the leader and rally the troops and say the right things behind closed doors and be an extension of the coaching staff,” Woods said.

Temple’s jersey numbers are given out before the start of every season as part of a ceremony that involves a Zoom call with previous players who have earned the honor. The tradition has existed since 2009, and the list of recipients includes former Washington defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis, Haason Reddick, P.J. Walker and Muhammad Wilkerson.

Woods said the coaching staff was more involved when Magee first got a single digit, but the second time was driven entirely by the players. Whether it was the coaches or players who decided Magee got a single digit, both groups identified the same qualities that made it an easy choice.

“You gotta be a dude to be a single digit,” Woods said.

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Riggo’s Rag

Commanders coach outlines focus around Jahan Dotson’s growth in 2024

The wide receiver is working on one fatal flaw this offseason.

The Commanders are working hard to remove some problem areas from Dotson’s game this offseason. Wide receivers coach Bobby Engram – one of the few staff members retained by Dan Quinn – outlined the primary focus centered on coping with press coverage better. Something the progressive thinker believes can make the former Penn State star more impactful downfield based on comments via John Keim of ESPN.

“Press releases have been a focus. He’s figuring out what the next step is for him and how to get better. He knows if he’s really good at the line it will allow him to be more dominant down the field. He has such great feet in terms of his quickness at the line [so] the emphasis has been on his hands, not allowing guys to be as physical as they want to be.”

– Bobby Engram via ESPN

It’s easy to forget how Dotson’s deep threat was renowned at the collegiate level. He averaged 15.1 yards per catch over his four seasons with the Nittany Lions, including 18.1 during the 2019 campaign. This hasn’t been put to good use in the pros as yet, but there’s still time for that to change.

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Commanders Wire

Clinton Portis outspoken on his time in Washington

Portis appeared on the “Grant and Danny” show (106.7 The Fan) Thursday and made some striking remarks reminiscing on his playing days with the Redskins (2004-2010).

Portis said in Washington, he had five offensive coordinators in his seven seasons, who all wanted to do something different. That’s understandable, as Portis did have four offensive coordinators (Don Breaux, Al Saunders, Sherman Smith and Kyle Shanahan).

But Portis then claimed he “might have played for nine or ten quarterbacks.” Actually it was only six (Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman).

The former Washington running back said, “I left the DMV so upset because I felt like for years I was the savior, and I turned into the problem. That left a bitter taste in my mouth before I came back to broadcast, where I fell in love with the city.”

When Grant Paulsen asked Portis who his favorite Washington quarterback to play with was, Portis actually had no answer, pausing and then saying, “That’s crazy.”

Paulsen then supplied him with names of quarterbacks, to which Portis replied, “But I think Donovan (McNabb) had something going on. It was different. He was at the end.”

Indeed, McNabb did have some career lows that 2009 season in Washington, as his TD rate and QBR were his lowest, and his interception rate was his highest. He was traded after only one season to Minnesota and released during his lone season with the Vikings, never playing again.

Back to Portis’ favorite quarterback in Washington. He asked who they got from Kansas City. Grant Paulsen had to provide Portis with the name: Todd Collins. Portis then said Collins was his favorite. How strange is it that Collins was his favorite, yet he didn’t remember his name?

Portis then strangely blamed the coaches for Jason Campbell’s play, saying they told him where to throw it and then blamed Campbell. When pressed which coach, Portis quickly responded, “Of course, I am not talking about Gibbs. I love Coach Gibbs, I love Coach Shanahan.”

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Commanders Wire

Mark Schlereth on the Commanders: ‘The stench is gone’

“The stench is gone.”

That’s what former Washington offensive lineman and current NFL analyst Mark Schlereth said about the Commanders with former owner Daniel Snyder long gone.

“I feel like the stench, the overall stench of Daniel Snyder, who just came into a crown jewel of the National Football League and took a s–t on it, I really believe that stench is gone,” Schlereth said Thursday on his Stinkin Truth Podcast.

The former member of The Hogs is a fan of new head coach Dan Quinn.

“You know, when Dan Quinn is the guy carrying two bottles of Febreze, you know, and they’re just psshhhhhh just all over………..just spraying Febreze all over that. Josh Harris, the new owner, and Magic Johnson’s hanging around, it feels like it’s moving in the right direction. So, I hope so because I still have an affinity. That’s where I cut my teeth in the NFL, and, you know, I’ve said this about the Raiders, which hurts, but the league’s a better place when Washington’s relevant, and they haven’t been relevant since Dan Snyder bought them.”

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Podcasts & videos

Washington Commanders 53-Man Roster Projection: Quarterback Sam Hartman Favorite as 3rd Quarterback?

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Beltway Football: OL Coach Bobby Johnson and WR Coach Bobby Engram join the podcast

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NFC East links

Blogging the Boys

Mike McCarthy is on the hot seat despite holding a Cowboys coaching record

It’s hard to believe the head coach with the best win/loss record in Cowboys history could be fighting for his job, but that’s where Mike McCarthy finds himself in 2024.

There’s no question that Mike McCarthy is coaching for his job with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. Set to enter the season with an expiring contract, McCarthy’s on unusually shaky ground for the coach with the best win-loss record in franchise history.

That’s right; not Tom Landry or Jimmy Johnson. Not even Barry Switzer, who swooped in and scooped up wins off of Johnson’s foundation. It’s McCarthy, who after three consecutive 12-5 regular seasons is 42-25 with a .627 winning percentage. He narrowly edges Swizter’s 40-24 record (.625%) from his four-year run with Dallas in the mid-90s.

Some NFL franchises would be quick to commit to a coach who’s brought them so much overall success. But McCarthy’s 1-3 postseason record is the noose currently tightening around his neck. Three-straight 12-5 seasons are nullified by three-straight playoff exits, especially given how Dallas has been outclassed in those losses. It was one thing when Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers seemed to have the Cowboys’ number, but last year’s embarrassing home loss to the Packers was the worst yet.

That’s why Mike McCarthy is heading into 2024 with no certainty about his future. With Mike Zimmer waiting in the wings, who knows if McCarthy will even make it to the final game? It might seem unfair given his record so far in Dallas, but so far he hasn’t fulfilled his assignment.

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Big Blue View

Can the Giants put the drama from 2023 behind them?

It’s safe to say that 2023 was a perfect storm for the New York Giants and just about everything that could go wrong, did.

Calculated risks in personnel blew up in the front office’s collective face, key players suffered significant injuries, and the rest of the NFL seemingly caught up with the Giants’ schemes. For the most part, all of that came to a close on January 7th with the final game of the season.

But only then did the simmering tensions behind the scenes boil over into public view.

Jordan Raanan of ESPN wrote Thursday morning about how Brian Daboll’s new staff is working to put that behind them and rebuild for 2024.

I would encourage everyone to read Raanan’s piece in full.

We also gain some insight into just how wide-spread tensions grew during the Daboll – Martindale schism. At the time, the story we were presented featured Wink Martindale building a private fiefdom on the defense and attempting to undermine Daboll as head coach. However Raanan hints that even coaches on the offense or special teams were uncomfortable with the situation behind the scenes.

Raanan quotes one coach who said that Daboll’s mid-game outbursts kept the rest of the coaching staff from doing their jobs. He reports multiple sources as saying that the staff on both sides of the ball grew weary of Daboll’s outbursts and finger-pointing, with one saying that it didn’t feel as though they were all on the same team.

He also quotes yet another coach (who he notes isn’t on the defensive side of the ball) as saying, “We were all trying to get out of there.”

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NFL league links

Articles

Washington Post (paywall)

NFL ordered to pay $5 billion in Sunday Ticket lawsuit

The NFL immediately said it would appeal, and no immediate changes will occur as the case continues to be litigated.

A group of plaintiffs that purchased the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package won a judgment of $4.7 billion from the jury, while another group of bar owners was awarded $96 million. Both amounts could be tripled because of antitrust laws.

The NFL immediately said it would appeal.

Plaintiffs argued that the NFL selling the games in a single package to a single distributor violated antitrust laws by not offering consumers more choice and artificially inflating the cost. The league countered that Sunday Ticket is a “premium product” and the league’s system for distributing its games allowed most of its games to be available on broadcast television.

No immediate changes will occur as the case continues to be litigated, but Dan Rascher, an economic expert for the plaintiffs, said one possible outcome is that Sunday Ticket is sold to multiple companies and potentially at a lower price.

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Front Office Sports

The NFL Lost the Sunday Ticket Trial: Here’s What Happens Next

Pending any inflation under antitrust law, the 2.4 million individual fans in the class-action lawsuit are now owed roughly $1,958 each, with the 48,000 business owners set to receive $2,000 apiece. In total, the $4.796 billion the league owes would cost each team owner nearly $150 million each.

The NFL’s appeals could take months, if not years, though. So, while fans in the lawsuit received a big win Thursday, they won’t see any payments just yet—if ever.

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Pro Football Talk

Sunday Ticket verdict won’t affect salary cap, changes to Sunday Ticket could

When it comes to the $4.696 billion verdict (which by law becomes $14.088 billion) in the Sunday Ticket class action, the NFL is on its own.

None of the money comes from the revenue that is split between the league and the NFL Players Association. All of it comes from the money held in the coffers of the 32 franchises.

That’s great news for the players, who have benefited from the antitrust violations that kept Sunday Ticket priced at a level that protected the investment made by CBS and Fox, by discouraging people from buying Sunday Ticket and encouraging them to watch the games on their local TV stations.

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