Tag: Camaron Cheeseman

Studs and duds from Commanders’ ugly loss to Giants

The good and mostly bad from another ugly loss to the Giants.

The Washington Commanders dropped to 4-7 on the season after Sunday’s 31-19 loss to the New York Giants. In his two seasons as Giants head coach, Brian Daboll improved to 3-0-1 vs. Washington.

The story of the game was turnovers. The Commanders turned the ball over six times, and the game, fittingly, ended on quarterback Sam Howell’s third interception of the day.

Washington scored to cut New York’s lead to 24-19. With three timeouts remaining, the defense forced a three-and-out. The Commanders would get the ball back with just under two minutes remaining and one timeout. However, the offense showed a lack of urgency. When they got into Giants’ territory, Howell, trying to throw the ball away under heavy pressure, was intercepted by New York linebacker Isaiah Simmons, who returned it for a touchdown.

Here are the studs and duds from another ugly loss. It’s important to note there weren’t a lot of studs.

 

Commanders working out multiple long snappers this week

The Commanders are keeping their options open after another bad snap from Camaron Cheeseman.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said long snapper Camaron Cheeseman’s bad snaps were a concern last week.

“Well, it is a concern more than anything else,” Rivera said. “And so we’ll just continue to have Camaron snap, and until, unfortunately, something happens, then we’ll decide from there. But right now, we’re handling it; we’re putting the ball through the upright, which is most important. And I believe it’s just something that he’s working out.”

Something did happen in Washington’s Week 2 game at Denver. After the Commanders’ first drive ended in a field-goal attempt, Cheeseman’s snap skidded back to holder Tress Way, and kicker Joey Slye missed the field goal. On some of Cheeseman’s previous bad snaps, Way has been able to rescue him. This time, it cost Washington three points.

Fortunately for Cheeseman, the Commanders ended up defeating the Broncos, and he had no more issues for the remainder of the game.

However, Rivera, true to his word, is looking at other options. Washington will bring in multiple long snappers to Ashburn for a workout on Tuesday. Here’s what Rivera had to say.

“The biggest thing, more than anything else, was a little disappointed in the very first snap,” Rivera said. “It’s crazy because you go back and look at the rest of his snaps, and they were pretty good, but this is something we have to do because it can’t happen every week because it could cost you a game. It really could have.”

Rivera then discussed bringing in some contingency options.

“Part of it is you don’t want it to affect anybody else,” he said. “If we look at it that, hey, we need to have an insurance policy, if we need to do something, we’re going to do it because it’s what’s best for this football team. That’s what we’re looking at. We’ve talked about some options. One of the options is we’re going to have a little information gathering tomorrow. We’re going to bring in a few players, give them an opportunity to show us what they’re capable of, and we’ll take a look and go from there.”

Two of the names the Commanders are bringing in are Tucker Addington via John Keim of ESPN and Jake McQuaide via Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

McQuaide, 35, spent 10 years with the Rams before spending the past two seasons with the Cowboys. Addington, 26, has spent time with three different franchises, appearing in three games.

It sounds like Rivera is giving Cheeseman another chance to keep his job but is going to have a list of players ready in case of another bad snap in the coming weeks.

5 takeaways from Commanders’ 35-33 win over the Broncos

Some things we learned from the Commanders’ win over the Broncos.

The Washington Commanders defeated the Denver Broncos 35-33 on Sunday to improve to 2-0 on the season. It’s the first time since 2011 that Washington has began a season with two consecutive wins.

It wasn’t easy as the Broncos opened up a 21-3 lead over the Commanders into the second quarter. However, Washington linebacker Jamin Davis chased down Denver quarterback Russell Wilson to force a fumble near midfield, giving the Commanders some momentum to turn the game around.

The Commanders rallied behind quarterback Sam Howell and the defensive line to hold a late Denver rally.

Here are some things we learned from Washington’s second win of the season.

 

Twitter reacts to another bad Commanders’ snap

Cheeseman was trending.

Washington long snapper Camaron Cheeseman was trending during the first quarter of the Commanders’ first-quarter game Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

That can’t be a good thing, right?

On Washington’s first drive of the game, quarterback Sam Howell brought to the Commanders near the red zone before a sack pushed them out, leading a field-goal attempt from kicker Joey Slye.

However, another ugly snap from Cheeseman led to a missed kick and a wasted opportunity for Washington.

Cheeseman had issues all summer with his snaps, as the coaches and punter Tress Way said he was working on a new grip. In Week 1, Cheeseman had another bad snap, but Way and Slye rescued him by making the field goal.

Not this time and Twitter wasn’t happy.

Remember, head coach Ron Rivera said last week the following about Cheeseman last week:

“Well, it is a concern more than anything else,” Rivera said. “And so we’ll just continue to have Camaron snap, and until, unfortunately, something happens, then we’ll decide from there. But right now, we’re handling it.

Well, something happened.

Twitter responded.

Commanders playing a dangerous game with snapping issues

Camaron Cheeseman’s snaps are a problem.

It’s not often that a team selects a long snapper in the NFL draft. It’s even more rare when a team trades up for a long snapper. That’s precisely what the Washington Commanders did in the 2021 NFL draft.

Washington, which didn’t have a long snapper on the roster, traded two draft selections to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2021 sixth-round pick. That’s where they selected Cheeseman, who played collegiately at Michigan.

Cheeseman had big shoes to fill in Washington, replacing Nick Sundberg, the team’s long snapper for the previous 11 seasons.

For the first two seasons of his NFL career, things went smoothly for Cheeseman. He appeared to replace Sundberg with no issues and quickly bonded with punter Tress Way.

However, over the summer, Cheeseman appeared to have some issues with his snaps. That lasted through the preseason, with Way and head coach Ron Rivera noting that Cheeseman was trying different grips, and there was no cause for concern.

In Washington’s Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Cheeseman’s issues popped up again. Cheeseman had an errant snap on a Joey Slye field-goal attempt. Fortunately, Way did an outstanding job of getting the snap down, and Slye made the field goal.

The long snapper is probably the most anonymous player on every NFL team. And for the good ones, you want it to stay that way. Only the hardcore fans likely even know the name of their long snapper.

Cheeseman has been popular among Washington fans for his name. However, his recent struggles have put him under the microscope.

After Wednesday’s practice, Rivera was asked about Cheeseman’s recent issues. He acknowledged it’s a concern.

“Well, it is a concern more than anything else,” Rivera said. “And so we’ll just continue to have Camaron snap, and until, unfortunately, something happens, then we’ll decide from there. But right now, we’re handling it; we’re putting the ball through the upright, which is most important. And I believe it’s just something that he’s working out.”

Rivera is waiting for something to happen before he decides? That’s interesting phrasing for a head coach who knows he needs to win. The margin of error in every NFL game is small. Every snap matters. One more errant snap could cause the Commanders a game.

You can understand Rivera’s reasoning to an extent. The Commanders haven’t lost a game because of it. But, at the very least, shouldn’t you consider bringing some long snappers in during the week to have ready in case Cheeseman has more issues?

Cheeseman has done something no long snapper ever wants to do: He’s put himself under the microscope on every snap. And until he can go a few weeks with no issues, his snaps will remain a concern.

Commanders will sign virtually anything for their fans

A vegetable? Cheese? A toaster? No problem, Commanders players will sign anything for fans.

Through two weeks of training camp, fans have packed training camp to see the Washington Commanders. Last Saturday, an estimated 10,000 fans showed up to watch practice and potentially meet players.

After each practice, multiple Washington players have taken time with the fans, with wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, quarterback Sam Howell, running back Brian Robinson Jr. and defensive end Chase Young among the most prominent signers.

Players clearly feel the love — and it matters seeing fans in the stands for training camp.

Over the past few years, the Commanders’ social media team has become much more creative and interesting. On Thursday, Washington’s social media team went undercover with a young fan named Avi. Avi’s mission was to greet different Commanders’ players with weird items to sign and tell them it was her birthday.

It worked. Players were happy to sign anything for Avi, from a mannequin that quarterback Sam Howell signed to an empty bottle of Drano. Terry McLaurin and Chase Young were also among several Washington players who took time out to sign for Avi.

Check it out.

She approached rookie DE K.J. Henry — already a fan favorite — to sign a head of lettuce. Henry was happy to oblige.

Wide receiver Dyami Brown signed a toaster. He had to do a double take but happily signed with a smile.

Perhaps the best part was Avi approaching long snapper Camaron Cheeseman with several pieces of cheese to sign so she could sell on eBay.

Great stuff.

And good job, Avi.

Kam Curl wins Washington Commanders’ March Madness bracket challenge

No one involved picked a Final Four team correctly in a wild NCAA Tournament.

It was nothing short of March Madness in 2023, but Kam Curl came out on top.

Curl, a safety out of Arkansas, did not have a team of his four picks to advance to this year’s Final Four. However, neither did anyone else, as it was a crazy tournament as no top seed advanced to a regional final and only one No. 2 seed advanced to a regional final.

Curl finished atop the Commanders bracket challenge scoring a total of 570 points. Unol (not sure who that is) finished second with 540 points 30 points behind Curl.

Linebacker Jamin Davis was third with 530 points. Others I recognize were Daron Payne, Tress Way and Camaron Cheeseman finishing fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Interestingly enough, it was Payne who was the leader following the round of 64 games. Payne totaled 260 points to lead Curl (250) and another participant who is not recognizable by their entry name who also scored 250 in the first round.

Curl made up his ground in the second round scoring a high of 200 points, when he predicted 10 of the 16 games correctly in the round of 32.

Alabama was the overall top seed in the tournament and sure enough Payne, Sam Howell and Christian Holmes all had the Crimson Tide to be standing alone in their bracket.

Curl chose Arkansas, Davis went with Kentucky, while Way and Cheeseman both selected the Kansas Jay Hawks as their choice to win it all.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Terry McLaurin’s teammates react to his performance in leading Commanders to win over Colts

Terry McLaurin’s teammates show him appreciation after the win over the Colts in his hometown.

In case you didn’t know, Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is a popular man.

McLaurin returned home to Indianapolis for the first time as an NFL player Sunday and received a hero’s welcome from his friends, family and former teachers. McLaurin also made the play of the game when he leaped over Indianapolis cornerback Stephon Gilmore to corral a 33-yard pass from Taylor Heinicke to set up the go-ahead touchdown with 22 seconds remaining.

After the game, McLaurin was awarded a game ball for his efforts in helping lead the Commanders to a come-from-behind 17-16 win over the Colts.

In that video, you can see the love McLaurin’s teammates have for him. McLaurin is one of Washington’s rare bright spots in recent years, which is why fans have such a special connection with him.

After the game, multiple teammates took to social media to show their love for McLaurin.

Meet new Washington long snapper Camaron Cheeseman

Every fan of the Washington Football Team knew the team needed a long snapper before heading into the 2021 NFL draft.

Every fan of the Washington Football Team knew the team needed a long snapper before heading into the 2021 NFL draft.

So, it was no surprise when Washington drafted a long snapper Camaron Cheeseman in the sixth round.

The biggest surprise was Washington trading into the round for a long snapper. The Football Team entered day three of the NFL draft without a sixth-round selection. Washington was concerned Alabama long snapper Thomas Fletcher would not be on the board if it waited until the end of the seventh round.

The WFT was right. The Carolina Panthers selected Fletcher No. 222 overall, meaning Washington would have a shot at Cheeseman with the No. 225 overall pick.

After selecting Cheeseman, Washington coach Ron Rivera told the media “he loved the long snapper.”

Cheeseman is more than just an interesting name. After a three-year career at Michigan, Cheeseman opted out in 2020. He opted out because Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told him a scholarship would not be available for 2020. So, Cheeseman skipped the 2020 season and began preparing for the NFL draft.

If Cheeseman didn’t get a shot at the NFL, he was already prepared for a career as a dentist, as he told Harry Lyles Jr. of ESPN.

“It’s kind of just like a security blanket,” Cheeseman said of dental school. “I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen, and I applied, and I got accepted. So I have that in my back pocket. But if the NFL works out this year, then I’ll just reapply.”

Cheeseman certainly hopes he doesn’t need dental school anytime soon. Fortunately for him, Washington’s previous long snapper, Nick Sundberg, held the position for 11 years.

 

Washington selects long-snapper Camaron Cheeseman in the 2021 NFL draft

The Washington Football Team needed a long snapper in the 2021 NFL draft. So when the Carolina Panthers

The Washington Football Team needed a long snapper in the 2021 NFL draft. So when the Carolina Panthers selected Thomas Fletcher of Alabama, Washington didn’t flinch, selecting Michigan long snapper Camaron Cheeseman at No. 225 overall.

Longtime Washington long snapper, Nick Sundberg, was not retained earlier this offseason. Sundberg had been Washington’s long snapper for the past 11 seasons, appearing in 152 regular-season games and three postseason games.

Cheeseman was a consistent snapper for the Wolverines throughout his career but opted out of the 2020 season because Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told Cheeseman a scholarship wasn’t available.

An aspiring dentist, Cheeseman trained for the NFL draft from home after sitting out the season.

Cheeseman is all but guaranteed to make Washington’s roster as the team’s long snapper. Before Sundberg, Washington had Ethan Albright serve as the long snapper for nine seasons.

So, there’s job security for Cheeseman in Washington if he performs well.