Category: Washington

One statistic that summarizes the utter futility of the Daniel Snyder era

If you want to summarize the utter futility of the Daniel Snyder era, there’s one statistic that does it better than most.

The Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders under owner Daniel Snyder had quite the string of futility from 1999, when Snyder took ownership, through 2022, Snyder’s last season as owner before he was finally and mercifully bought out.

Snyders announce agreement to sell Commanders to Josh Harris-led group

The NFL franchise in the nation’s capital compiled a 164-220-2 record throughout Snyder’s tenure, and the .427 win percentage was the sixth-worst in the NFL over that period of time, ahead of only the Houston Texans, Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns. No amount of Snyder’s money could overcome the toxic environment he created, and his constant need to meddle in personnel affairs continued to limit his team’s prospects.

Perhaps the most damning Snyder statistic is this: Through his time as team owner, Washington’s football franchise had three different names (Redskins/Football Team/Commanders)… and just two playoff wins. There was the 27-13 wild-card win over the Detroit Lions in the 1999 season, and the 17-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2005 season.

That’s it.

Meanwhile, Snyder finally dropped the “Redskins” name in 2020 after insisting for years that he wouldn’t, changing it to the “Football Team” (how original) for a couple years, and then flipping it to “Commanders” in time for last season.

One thing’s for sure — the new ownership group, led by Josh Harris, has a low bar to clear.

Snyders announce agreement to sell Commanders to Josh Harris-led group

Dan Snyder has agreed to sell the Washington Commanders to a group headed by Josh Harris

And, with a simple statement on a Friday, the scandal-scarred run of ownership by Dan Snyder of the Washington Commanders will be coming to an end, pending NFL owners’ approval.

The price is $6.05 billion from a Josh Harris-led group and has to be a relief to NFL brass and fellow owners as the Washington franchise has been hit with ugly blow and allegations after ugly blow and allegations for years under Snyder.

The purchase and sale agreement agreed to by Harris’ group likely won’t be approved until the league meetings scheduled for May 22-24 in Minneapolis.

Former Washington coach Joe Gibbs weighed in on the new owner.

12 things to know about the 2023 NFL schedule

Here’s 12 things to know about the 2023 NFL schedule — everything from how it starts, to how to watch, to how it ends.

The NFL announced its 18-week, 272-game regular-season schedule for 2023, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 7, in Kansas City and concludes with 16 division games in Week 18 – two on Saturday, January 6, and 14 on Sunday, January 7.

The 2023 NFL schedule, powered by AWS, will feature each team playing 17 regular-season games and three preseason games for the third consecutive year. The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same standing within their respective divisions the previous season. The AFC will be the home conference for the 17th game in 2023. For how opponents were determined for the 2023 season, click here.

The NFL uses the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to power its schedule-making process. There are approximately a quadrillion possible schedule combinations each NFL season and over 26,000 factors to take into consideration such as stadium availability, travel requirements, primetime games, competitive fairness and division rivalries. The NFL uses AWS to run high performance computing workloads to find the best possible schedule each year. For more information, click here.

Here’s 12 things you need to know about the 2023 schedule, courtesy of the NFL.

The 2023 NFL schedule, week by week

Here is the complete 2023 NFL schedule from Week 1 through Week 18.

The NFL announced its 18-week, 272-game regular-season schedule for 2023, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 7, in Kansas City and concludes with 16 division games in Week 18 – two on Saturday, January 6, and 14 on Sunday, January 7.

The 2023 NFL schedule, powered by AWS, will feature each team playing 17 regular-season games and three preseason games for the third consecutive year. The 17th game will feature teams from opposing conferences that finished in the same standing within their respective divisions the previous season. The AFC will be the home conference for the 17th game in 2023. For how opponents were determined for the 2023 season, click here.

The NFL uses the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to power its schedule-making process. There are approximately a quadrillion possible schedule combinations each NFL season and over 26,000 factors to take into consideration such as stadium availability, travel requirements, primetime games, competitive fairness and division rivalries. The NFL uses AWS to run high performance computing workloads to find the best possible schedule each year. For more information, click here.

The NFL’s 104th season begins with the league’s annual primetime kickoff game, as the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, September 7 (8:20 PM ET, NBC). The Lions finished the 2022 regular season with wins in eight of their final 10 games while the Chiefs won each of the final eight games last season, including the playoffs.

Week 1 continues Sunday, September 10, with a double-doubleheader featuring four Sunday afternoon games in every market. On CBS at 4:25 PM ET, two 2022 playoff teams meet as Miami visits the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas travels to Denver in an AFC West showdown and Philadelphia visits New England in a rematch of Super Bowls XXXIX and LII. On FOX at 4:25 PM ET, the two teams with the most regular-season wins in NFL history – Green Bay and Chicago – meet at Soldier Field to renew their rivalry while the Los Angeles Rams travel to Seattle in a rematch of their thrilling Week 18 overtime contest that helped the Seahawks secure a 2022 playoff berth.

Later that day, NBC’s Sunday Night Football begins with the Dallas Cowboys visiting the New York Giants (8:20 PM ET), in a matchup between NFC East divisional rivals and 2022 playoff teams. NBC will televise one game each Sunday night in Weeks 1-15 and Week 17. On Saturday in Week 16, NBC will feature Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (4:30 PM ET) while Peacock will exclusively stream Buffalo at the Los Angeles Chargers at 8:00 PM ET.

Kickoff Weekend concludes on Monday, September 11, with ESPN/ABC’s Monday Night Football, featuring Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets hosting Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills (8:15 PM ET) in an AFC East showdown. YouTube is the presenting sponsor of Kickoff Weekend, marking the first time a League partner will brand the opening weekend of the season, inclusive of Thursday night, the weekend games, and Monday night.

ESPN will televise 16 games this season (one game each Monday night in Weeks 1-15 and Saturday night in Week 17) and will be simulcast on ABC in Weeks 1, 11 and 17, including the Super Bowl LVII rematch between Philadelphia and Kansas City on Monday, November 20. In Weeks 2, 3 and 14, there will be two Monday night games on ESPN and ABC. In Weeks 2 and 3, the two Monday night games broadcast at 7:15 PM ET and 8:15 PM ET. In Week 14, the two Monday night games will both kickoff at 8:15 ET, as Tennessee visits Miami (ESPN) and the New York Giants host Green Bay (ABC). In Week 16, ABC will broadcast the conclusion of the NFL’s Christmas Day triple-header between Baltimore and San Francisco (8:15 PM ET). There will be no Monday night game on the final regular-season weekend (Week 18) to provide more flexibility for the scheduling of the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs.

Additionally, ESPN/ABC will air two games with playoff implications on the Saturday of Week 18, January 6, at 4:30 PM ET and 8:15 PM ET. These games will be selected following the conclusion of Week 17.

Thursday Night Football will air exclusively on Prime Video, kicking off its slate in Week 2 as the Philadelphia Eagles host the Minnesota Vikings (8:15 PM ET). Prime Video will broadcast 15 Thursday Night Football games between Weeks 2-17 (excluding Thanksgiving night) and exclusively stream the first-ever NFL Black Friday game when the New York Jets host the Miami Dolphins in Week 12 (3:00 PM ET).

NFL Network will exclusively televise eight games – four international games, three games in Week 15 on Saturday, December 16 and the New England Patriots visiting the Denver Broncos on Sunday, December 24 (8:15 PM ET).

The NFL schedule features five international regular-season games – three in the UK and two in Germany, marking the first-ever regular-season NFL games to be hosted in Frankfurt. As part of the League’s expansion of the regular season to 17 games, it was determined that, beginning with the 2022 season, up to four of the teams from the conference whose teams were eligible for a ninth regular-season home game would instead be designated to play a neutral-site international game each year.

The international slate features games in three consecutive weeks, beginning in London at Wembley Stadium in Week 4 with a matchup between Jacksonville and Atlanta (9:30 AM ET, ESPN+). The London action shifts to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the next two weeks, as Jacksonville and Buffalo meet in Week 5 (9:30 AM ET, NFL Network) and Tennessee and Baltimore face off in Week 6 (9:30 AM ET, NFL Network). The Jaguars are scheduled to become the first NFL team to play two regular-season games outside of the United States in the same season.

As part of the League’s commitment to playing regular-season games in Germany, the NFL will play two games in 2023 at Frankfurt Stadium – home of Eintracht Frankfurt, having played the inaugural Germany game last season in Munich. In Week 9, Kansas City takes on Miami (9:30 AM ET, NFL Network) and in Week 10, Indianapolis meets New England (9:30 AM ET, NFL Network) to wrap up the 2023 international games.

The Madden Thanksgiving Celebration will feature a tripleheader on Thursday, November 23, with three divisional matchups. The first game will feature a pair of NFC North foes, as the Packers travel to Detroit to face the Lions (12:30 PM ET, FOX). The late afternoon game will match two NFC East rivals, as the Washington Commanders visit the Dallas Cowboys (4:30 PM ET, CBS). The Thanksgiving Day festivities conclude with an NFC West divisional matchup as the 49ers travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks on NBC (8:20 PM ET).

Week 16 begins with Thursday Night Football on December 21, followed by two games on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, December 23. The slate continues on Sunday, December 24 with 10 games and concludes on Monday, December 25, with the second-ever Christmas tripleheader. The Christmas Day tripleheader features Las Vegas at Kansas City at 1:00 PM ET (CBS), the New York Giants at Philadelphia at 4:30 PM ET (FOX) and Baltimore at San Francisco at 8:15 PM ET (ABC).

The regular season will conclude with Week 18 on Saturday, January 6, and Sunday, January 7. For the 14th consecutive year, all 16 games scheduled for the final week of the season are division contests, enhancing the potential for more games with playoff ramifications.

The NFL’s 32 teams will each play 17 games over 18 weeks. Byes will begin in Week 6 and end in Week 14.

Here is the 2023 NFL schedule, week by week.

Every NFL team’s 2023 schedule, week by week

Here’s the full 2023 schedules for every NFL team, in team-by-team alphabetical order.

With the release of the 2023 schedule at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 11, we now know the slate for every week of the season, and how it’ll line up for every NFL team.

To see the full schedule for your favorite team, as well as the schedules for your favorite team’s divisional opponents, not to mention your least favorite teams, just scroll on down for the official release graphics and videos from the teams themselves!

A few notes from the league:

  • Twenty-three games will be Super Bowl rematches, including each of the past two Super Bowls: Philadelphia at Kansas City (Week 11, Super Bowl LVII) and the Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati (Week 3, Super Bowl LVI).
  • Fourteen 2023 games are rematches from the 2022 playoffs, including Super Bowl LVII, both Championship Games (San Francisco at Philadelphia in Week 13; Cincinnati at Kansas City in Week 17) and all four Divisional playoff games (Kansas City at Jacksonville in Week 2; Buffalo at Cincinnati in Week 9, the New York Giants against Philadelphia in Weeks 16 and 18; Dallas at San Francisco in Week 5).
  • The two most recent winners of the Most Valuable Player award, Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, are scheduled to face off for the first time in their careers when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football in Week 4 (8:20 PM ET, NBC). Should both players start, Mahomes (two-time MVP) and Rodgers (four-time MVP) would become the seventh different pair of quarterbacks to meet in a regular-season game after both players had won multiple NFL Most Valuable Player awards.
  • The top-two picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, are scheduled to meet in Week 8 when the Carolina Panthers host the Houston Texans (1:00 PM ET, FOX). Should both players start, it would mark the fifth game in NFL history between rookie starting quarterbacks selected with first and second overall picks in the NFL Draft.

Without further ado, here’s the full schedule for all 32 NFL teams.

2023 NFL Draft: The best draft steal for every NFL team

Every NFL draft has its selection of steals — those players who could surprise despite their low selections — and here’s one for every NFL team.

One of the many reasons the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII was the job that general manager Brett Veach did outside of the first round of the 2022 draft. Three defensive backs (Bryan Cook in the second round, Joshua Williams in the fourth, and Jaylen Watson in the seventh) were difference-makers all season, and seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco became the team’s bellcow back down the stretch. Also, second-round receiver Skyy Moore joined Pacheco with touchdowns in that Super Bowl victory over the Eagles.

First-round hits are nice, but it’s almost worse to miss in the first round than it is better to win there from an opportunity cost perspective. If you want to refresh your roster at a championship level, you had better get those picks right on the second and third day. Veach and his staff did that, and it was the difference that made all the difference in the end.

Moving to the 2023 NFL draft, we’ve selected one second- or third-day pick for every NFL team who could have a similar impact on their NFL roaters sooner than mater. Each of these players have reasons for their relatively low picks in line with their tape, stats, and talent, but these are the kinds of finds that can turn a team around over time.

2023 NFL Draft: Final grades for all 32 NFL teams

Draft grades! You love them, you hate them! And here’s Doug Farrar’s draft grades to add to the cacophony!

What is the point of grading a draft right after it happens? We have no idea what the prospects will do at the NFL level, so it seems that the primary reason for draft grades is clicks.

Which is not altogether inaccurate, to be brutally honest. I can only speak to my process, but when I’m grading a draft right after the fact, it’s all about taking the work I did pre-draft and projecting that analysis to the NFL with the understanding of NFL homes for every player. Grades are evaluations in the moment. Ideally, you’re weighing prospect strength with positional value and draft capital expended. It’s more than a letter and some snark for clicks.

That’s what I did here in grading the 2023 NFL draft for all 32 teams. I could be completely wrong regarding how these players do at the next level, but that’s not really the point. The point is more about how the teams did with the resources they had, the capital they spent, what they got in return, and what they might have left behind.

That’s the mindset I took into the grades you see here. And here’s some of the evaluation I have done to get to this point.

Position lists and scouting reports for the 2023 draft

Top 50 players

Secret Superstars of the 2023 draft

Washington Commanders select Emmanuel Forbes with the 16th pick. Grade: B

It’s a bit surprising that Emmanuel Forbes jumped Christian Gonzalez, but there’s no arguing Forbes’ traits or production.

(Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports)

I’m a bit shocked that Forbes went before Christian Gonzalez, but the production and traits are undeniable. Forbes will need a few protein bars when he hits the Commanders’ facility, and there’s no arguing against 14 career interceptions, and an FBS-record six pick-sixes.

Height: 6′ 0¾” (70th percentile) Weight: 166 (0)
40-Yard Dash: 4.35 (92nd)
10-Yard Split: 1.48 (92nd)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 37½” (69th)
Broad Jump: 124″ (64th)
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A

Wingspan: 79″ (92nd)
Arm Length: 32¼” (78th)
Hand Size: 8½” (7th)

Bio: Forbes was a four-star recruit and the No. 1 cornerback in the state out of Grenada High School in Grenada, Mississippi, and his decision to commit to his home state was certainly good news for the Bulldogs. His impact was immediate, as he started nine games and had five interceptions in his true freshman season of 2020. In that season, he became the first MSU defender with two interceptions in a game since Mark McLaurin in 2017, and the first MSU defender with multiple interception returns for a touchdown since Corey Broomfield in 2009.

Over thee seasons with the Bulldogs, Forbes had one sack, four pressures, 130 tackles, 63 stops, and he allowed 110 catches on 191 targets for 1,404 yards, 657 yards after the catch, 14 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, an astonishing six interceptions returned for touchdowns, 17 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 74.6. Forbes played 1,962 snaps at outside cornerback, 192 in the box, 22 in the slot, six along the defensive line, and three at free safety.

Stat to Know: Teams that prefer man coverage might also prefer Forbes — last season, he led the nation with five interceptions in man coverage, and allowed just six catches on 18 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Strengths: With his interception numbers, you assume that Forbes has excellent ball skills, and that checks out. He’s got a great sense for slow-playing quarterbacks, as he did to Will Levis on this pick-six, and shooting in for the ball before anybody knows what happened.

Forbes will also use his height and crazy wingspan to replace a receiver’s catch radius with his own.

Weaknesses: As is the case for most taller cornerbacks with longer limbs, Forbes tends to struggle with receivers who can keep him off balance with quick route adjustments. When he stays low and works to transition through the route, he can mitigate that to a degree, but it does show up as an issue.

Conclusion: Teams who prefer aggressive defenses in which cornerbacks can just line up right on the receiver and clamp down from there should love Forbes’ tape. And nobody’s going to mind adding a player with his ball skills and production. Forbes could stand to add a few pounds in the interest of  play strength, and there are a few holes in his coverage, but in the right system, he’s going to be a very tough defender to deal with.

NFL Comparison: Samari Rolle. Like Forbes, Rolle was a rail-thin (6-foot-0, 175-pound) cornerback who came into the NFL with all the tools for success except for that whole weight thing. It will only take one team to accept Forbes’ outlier status from that perspective and hope he doesn’t lose a tick of quickness if he beefs up a bit. At his peak with the Titans and Ravens, Rolle was a suffocating cornerback who you tested at your peril, and Forbes has put enough on tape to make me think he has the same potential palette.

Falcons to give QB Taylor Heinicke a two-year, $14 million deal. Grade: WTF

The Falcons have paired journeyman QB Taylor Heinicke with Desmond Ridder in the NFL’s least-impressive QB room. We remain perplexed as to the plan.

The Atlanta Falcons don’t really know what they have at the quarterback position. Last season, they had unimpressive veteran Marcus Mariota, and at-times-impressive third-round rookie Desmond Ridder. Atlanta’s aggregate quarterback completed 61.9% of its passes for 7.1 yards per attempt, 17 touchdowns, and nine interceptions — efficient enough, but the exact opposite of explosive.

Replacing Mariota in the short term in the low-ceiling veteran category will be former Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke on a two-year, $14 million deal with $6.32 million guaranteed. The deal could go as high as $20 million with incentives.

The low grade here doesn’t have much to do with Heinicke — it’s really more about the Falcons kicking a small can down the road at the game’s most important position, wasting the efforts of a great offensive skill position group and a good offensive line in the process. Heinicke immediately becomes the best quarterback on Arthur Smith’s roster, and unless Atlanta wants to get funky with the eighth pick in the draft, that’ll remain so.

The good news? You could do a lot worse than Heinicke as a premier backup and spot starter.

Anytime you have a quarterback with nearly three times more explosive plays than interceptions in a season… well, you have something to work with, even if that quarterback may not project as an obvious starter. Heinicke was one-third of the Commanders’ WTF quarterback troika that ended up with Carsen Wentz getting benched, and fifth-round rookie Sam Howell as the prohibitive starter heading into 2023. When Heinicke was on the field, he did alright, completing 62.2% of his passes for 1,859 yards (7.2 yards per attempt), 12 touchdowns, six interceptions, and 17 explosive plays. On throws of 20 or more air yards, he completed 11 of 29 for 383 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Heinicke has a decent sense of the field, can make the occasional big throw, and though he’s a bit random at times, he’s not a serial error factory. This 41-yard completion to Terry McLaurin in Week 10 against the Eagles shows his ultimate upside.

Again, this isn’t about Heinicke’s place in the Pantheon — it’s more about his travels from one WTF QB situation to another.

Loan adds to questions regarding Daniel Snyder, Commanders

Another day, another question about Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyders’ business dealings

Trouble continues to find Daniel Snyder. Or, the Washington Commanders team owner continues to court trouble.

ESPN reported Tuesday that Snyder’s issues with his minority owners began nearly three years ago.

Per ESPN, Snyder is said to have taken out a $55 million credit line 16 months before an April 2020 financial report.

The ESPN article:

The secret $55 million loan has become a primary focus of federal prosecutors in Virginia who are investigating allegations of financial misconduct by Snyder and the Washington Commanders, multiple sources with firsthand knowledge of the inquiry told ESPN.

A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas for a cache of documents related to the team’s finances, including the loan. Prosecutors acquired the partners’ NFL arbitration petition and other supporting materials, including emails and letters between team executives and bank lawyers, documents show. The criminal inquiry is being led by a team of FBI and IRS agents, sources said.