Tag: Fred Smoot

Who might be the best players available for the Commanders?

Logan Paulsen and Fred Smoot took a look at a few players who they feel might be the best pure football players available for Washington.

Who might be the best pure football players in the draft still available at No. 16 in the 2023 NFL draft when the Commanders are set to be on the clock Thursday night?

Former Washington tight end and now current football analyst Logan Paulsen believes the best player on the board might actually be available at No. 16 for Washington.

Paulsen seen Sunday on the Commanders Draft Week episode on Commanders Central told viewers that “He’s not the biggest, not the strongest, not the fastest, Brian Branch (of) Alabama plays that nickel, safety spot, he can make plays.”

Fred Smoot echoed Paulsen saying Branch reminds Smoot of “the Honey Badger,” Tyrann Mathieu.

Paulsen repeated again that Branch is not the biggest or fastest safety, “but he might be the best football player”.

Another defensive player that Paulsen and Smoot really like is Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell. Paulsen elaborated, “Everyone says he is not a great athlete, but I see plays like this (game film), and he seems like a pretty athletic dude running down an athletic quarterback. Good football instincts, physical like you said (to Smoot), but also really smart.”

Campbell is someone Paulsen and Smoot were referring to that possibly might be still available at No. 47 (round two) for the Commanders.

Back to round one and pick No. 16, both Smoot and Paulsen singled out Tennessee right tackle Darnell Wright as someone they really hope is still on the board when the Commanders are on the clock.

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Commanders land a cornerback in new Mel Kiper mock draft

And not the one you expected.

The Washington Commanders used the first week of free agency to find upgrades at multiple positions. Washington signed two offensive linemen, both of whom are projected to start, a quarterback, linebacker, defensive tackle and claimed a cornerback off waivers.

The most significant move the Commanders made was re-signing defensive tackle Daron Payne to a four-year, $90 million contract.

While Washington added much-needed talent throughout the roster in the first week of free agency, holes remain. Fortunately for the Commanders, they can take the best available player at No. 16 overall instead of being forced to take a specific position.

Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN released his first mock draft since free agency began and gave the Commanders a cornerback at No. 16 — just not the one you expected.

Kiper went with Emmanuel Forbest of Mississippi State.

Before free agency, Washington had a massive hole at right tackle, but now that spot is filled by former Chiefs lineman Andrew Wylie, who signed a three-year deal last week. I’m not going to rule out the possibility of a tackle here — left tackle Charles Leno Jr. is 31 and on a reasonable contract through 2024 — but let’s move on to another key area: cornerback.

I’m a huge fan of Forbes, who is rail thin but really fast. He ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the combine but weighed in at 166 pounds, making him the lightest prospect at the position. He’s going to get bigger, of course, but some teams will be scared off by his size. The Commanders should capitalize; Forbes is a ball hawk who picked off 14 passes over the past three seasons — one of those was a pick-six off Will Levis — and could be an All-Pro player. He has gone up against some of college football’s best wideouts and consistently held his own.

Nothing wrong with Forbes here, but this is probably not the scenario Washington envisions. If Christian Gonzalez, Devon Witherspoon and Joey Porter Jr. are all off the board and the Commanders are determined to go with a cornerback, Forbest or Deonte Banks of Maryland would likely be the top choices.

Ideally, if things play out this way, Washington general manager Martin Mayhew is likely working the phones and looking to move back.

Former Washington cornerback Fred Smoot is a huge fan of Forbes and believes he’s a future star. With his height, long arms and speed, Forbes has everything you look for, but some will be concerned with his slight frame.

Former NFL Washington player warns free agents

Fred Smoot offers some good advice for all free agents.

The NFL has just concluded its first calendar week of 2023 free agency.

The first week is always the most intense, the most active, and where teams make their biggest splash and or blunder.

Former Washington Redskins’ defensive back Fred Smoot didn’t hesitate however to warn those free agents wanting to change teams. Smoot warned them in the very opening minute of the Command Center episode, “Free Agent Frenzy.”

Julie Donaldson opened the episode by announcing the episode’s focus would be the free-agent activity of the Commanders during the past week. Logan Paulsen was next proclaiming he feels the week has become much more of an event than he recalls it being when he was an NFL tight end.

Smoot’s opening comments no doubt surprised his audience when he opened, “It’s more NBA-ish right now. Right now, the offseason is all about the draft and all about free agency. (It’s) all about guys finding new homes. But I can say this, as a guy that did it. The grass is not always greener on the other side.”

Smoot was drafted in the second round (45th overall) in 2001 by Marty Schottenheimer. Smoot proved to be a good choice, starting 13, 16, 15 and 15 games in his four seasons in Washington (2001-2004).

The former Mississippi State Bulldog corner back then determined he would try his way in the open NFL free agency market. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings in March 2005. But after only two seasons in Minnesota, Smoot was released.

He returned to Washington for three more seasons, playing in Burgundy and Gold from the 2007 through the 2009 seasons.

Apparently, Smoot is warning anyone wanting to listen that by picking up and moving to another job, team, or city; you are naive to think the world is always going to be better for you in your new circumstances.

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Commanders Danny Johnson appreciates being in Washington

Danny Johnson is an underrated part of Washington’s secondary.

Commanders cornerback Danny Johnson is glad to be back with Washington.

Age 27, Johnson has spent some time on the Washington roster in each of the last five seasons (2018-22). With Benjamin St-Juste fighting injuries, Johnson started four games during the 2022 season. Johnson collected his first career interception and sack.

This week, Johnson signed a 2-year, $5,000,000 contract with the Commanders, including a $1,750,000 signing bonus, $2,750,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $2,500,000.

This week he had the opportunity to briefly sit down with former Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot to discuss his new contract and return to the Commanders in 2023. Here are some excerpts of the discussion.

“It’s exciting to just have the weight lifted off your shoulder,” said Johnson. I’m excited to be back, and I’m ready to get back to work.”

“Coming from a school like Southern University, which is HBCU, you always have your back against the wall and just be willing to fight. I just take advantage of every opportunity I had.”

“Knowing what I was capable of and just presenting the opportunity to go out and make plays, (I want) to help the team however. I would just do whatever I could to show them that I wanted to be here, play for the organization.”

Johnson has had to battle mentally the rigors of being on the practice squad, active roster and back to the Practice Squad. “Injuries happen, players go down. Whatever the situation may be, I just try to stay in those meetings and stay locked in, and when my number is called, just be ready to go out there and play.”

“Starting those last few games, I showed I can go out there and play with confidence and just play, whether it was inside or outside, just wherever they need me.”

Commanders Julie Donaldson: A lifetime of preparation and development

In part three of our interview with Commanders senior VP of media and content Julie Donaldson, she discusses hiring former players such as Logan Paulsen and London Fletcher.

Part three and the final segment of Commanders Wire interview with Julie Donaldson, the Commanders senior VP of media and content.

Part one.        Part two.

Julie Donaldson was driving home one night after doing a postgame show listening to the radio. Catching the middle of a discussion she heard this guy talking about the Washington game earlier that afternoon and she instantly realized he was quite informative.

“I was driving, and I was thinking, ‘I am learning things listening to this guy that I didn’t even learn in our one-hour post-game show.'”

Hearing it was Logan Paulsen she contacted him for interest in future shows.  Paulsen is a veteran of 120 NFL games and four teams including his longest stay which was with Washington from 2010-2014.

“He is so coachable. He takes his work in the studio work seriously. He went out and bought a suit, and I think Bram had to tie his tie for him the first time. He has cut his hair; he really gets into it. I enjoy watching him grow in the studio. He keeps hitting it out of the park.”

Donaldson has been in the business for two decades now. She knows intelligence and talent when she sees it. Regarding Paulsen, she openly offered, “I just hope he doesn’t leave us.”

In becoming the department head, Donaldson quickly learned the hard way she could attempt to micromanage and do all the shows and interviews herself, keeping control.

“I really want to use a lot of people; let them do what they do well. I don’t want this to be “The Julie Donaldson Show.” It’s definitely going to be a much different conversation when Santana Moss is talking with Terry McLaurin than myself.”

“It’s great when we permit our alumni Logan, Santana, Fred Smoot, London Fletcher to dialog with each other, and the conversations that come out of that NFL experience they share.”

Part of leadership is hiring. So when DeAngelo Hall decided after two years to pursue things outside of radio, Donaldson looked for Hall’s replacement.

“London had done the postgame show the first season 2020 and voiced he really missed the game, missed being at practice, being on the field game day.”

“During his audition, he was so coachable, and I could see his desire, his willingness to work. Hey, London is in our Ring of Fame. He is a great ambassador for the team and embraced by the fan base.”

“Taking on this job I have learned you really need the right people around you, making sure you hire people who share your vision, your work ethic.”

Donaldson readily acknowledges it is also the people never on camera who are vital to a department’s success and productivity.

“Executive producer Ryan Yocum knows how to deal with the operations, and make things happen. He has really helped in what we’ve accomplished and where we are going as a team.”

“I knew I needed someone to help me, set the vision, keep us focused and let me focus on what I need to do. Ryan has really provided structure and practices into place, helping us operate much more efficiently.”

For Julie, there was more than a decade in broadcasting and reporting previously.  She was studying the business of broadcasting at the University of Florida, she was competing in Miss Florida and Miss USA pageants, graduating with honors in high school, and her mother was an elementary school teacher.

“Mom taught us, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’  She also taught us ‘God gives people different skill sets, so grow that, take advantage of that.”

Perhaps Julie Donaldson was prepared all along for such a time as this.

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The infamous Love Boat set sail 17 years ago today

17 years ago, the fateful voyage set sail on Lake Minnetonka

The beginning of the Zygi Wilf era was a tumultuous one. After former owner Red McCombs spent years giving the team budgets that were minimal at best, he officially sold the team in the summer to Zygi and Mark Wilf.

The team they inherited had just traded Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss and quarterback Daunte Culpepper was coming off of an MVP-type season.

Instead of seeing success on the field right away, the Wilf’s had to deal with a myriad of scandals. Onterrio Smith being caught using “The Whizzinator,” head coach Mike Tice being caught scalping tickets, and one of the biggest scandals in NFL history: The Love Boat.

The event had all the elements of a popular scandal: sex, drugs and celebrities. There were 17 players identified as being on the two yachts that were rented from Al and Alma’s on Lake Minnetonka. The Star Tribune broke the story at the time and the details are insane.

“At least 17 Vikings players have been identified as being on the
yachts, he said. It was unclear how many were involved in
sex-related activities. At least 90 people were on the two yachts. The boats were ordered to return to shore just 40 minutes into what had been planned as a 3 1/2-hour cruise after supervisors learned of the alleged behavior.”

That fateful bye week expenditure, organized by free agent signee cornerback Fred Smoot, changed the course of Vikings’ history and left a massive wound on the history of the storied franchise. 17 years later, things have changed drastically for the Vikings, including a 77-page code of conduct that Wilf gave to the players after the incident.

Needless to say, this is an incident the Vikings wish they could forget.

Fred Smoot predicts Washington’s 2021 record, is high on Benjamin St-Juste

Fred Smoot has a podcast with Chick Hernandez called “That’s Your Opinion.” Smoot recently offered his opinion on the 2021 Washington Football Team.

Fred Smoot played seven seasons for the Washington Football Team over two stints between 2001-2009. The colorful Smoot was one of the more popular Washington players over the last 20 years.

Now, Smoot does some work in the media and, yes, he is a big Washington fan.

Smoot co-hosts a podcast with popular D.C. sports personality Chick Hernandez called “That’s Your Opinion” on the Bleav Podcast Network. It’s an entertaining show that will make you laugh while offering plenty of good football takes.

In the most recent episode, Hernandez asked Smoot his outlook on Washington when he visited camp this summer.

“I see an 11-6 team, could be 12-5,” Smoot said. “I am telling you, I am witnessing a team that practices hard; every position has competition. We are two-deep at so many positions.”

Since Ron Rivera took over as head coach in 2020, he has focused on creating competition at every position. It’s an approach that is appreciated by his players.

Later in the episode, Smoot continued with his praise on Washington’s roster. He heaped plenty of praise on rookie cornerback Benjamin St-Juste.

“Benjamin St-Juste is gonna be a star in this league,” Smoot said. “He’s a faster version of Richard Sherman. He’s 6-3, 200. He’s quick in short spaces, usually tall guys or not; this dude is a baller.”

When Smoot talks about other defensive backs, you should listen.

Finally, Hernandez asked Smoot one more time about Washington’s outlook for 2021.

“Top-3 defense, 11-6, NFC (East) champs,” Smoot said.

Smoot noted how important it was to have a quarterback like Ryan Fitzpatrick who can actually give Washington a lead, allowing the team’s outstanding pass-rushers to hunt opposing quarterbacks while playing with a lead.

Give it a listen. Smoot and Hernandez are entertaining, have good chemistry and give outstanding analysis on the Washington Football Team.

 

Former Washington CB Fred Smoot says WFT is ‘legit Super Bowl contender’ with Aaron Rodgers

Former Washington cornerback Fred Smoot would love to see the Football Team make a move for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers if he becomes available. Smoot believes a Washington team with Rodgers is an instant Super Bowl contender.

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Former Washington Football Team cornerback Fred Smoot was always brash and outspoken during his nine-year NFL career.

Now in the media with his former team, Smoot is one of the more entertaining personalities who cover the Football Team. But, while Smoot can sometimes be hilarious and outrageous with some of his takes, he is a good analyst.

In a recent appearance on BMitch and Finlay on DC’s 106.7 The Fan, Smoot talked about the unlikely possibility of Washington trading for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“I’m a big Aaron Rodgers guy,” Smoot said, per Ethan Cadeaux of NBC Sports Washington. “If Aaron Rodgers is on this team, with an elite defense, running game, wide receiving corps, we are a legit Super Bowl contender. We couldn’t say that for 30 years. We are legit a Super Bowl contender.”

Smoot is absolutely right. If Washington could somehow acquire Rodgers, it would have to be considered one of the top four teams in the NFL. With a top-five defense and an upgraded group of skill players led by Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson, the Football Team would be one of the more dangerous teams in the NFL.

The Packers, of course, have shown no indication they plan on trading the reigning MVP.

If Green Bay eventually makes Rodgers available, Smoot believes Washington has the ammunition to get a deal done.

“We have the [capital] to get him,” Smoot said. “I hate to say it, but you might have to part with one of them bad defensive lineman.”

Again, Smoot is right. If Rodgers becomes available, Washington should be all-in on the three-time MVP.

 

Will Dan Snyder’s desire to keep Washington’s logo impact decision on team name?

Dan Snyder reportedly wishes to keep Washington’s current logo, which may impact what the next team name will be.

How do you change a team’s name without completely erasing the history that it holds? Can you hold onto those memories if both the name and the mascot are different down the road?

Those are some of the questions that Dan Snyder and Ron Rivera and likely asking themselves right now when it comes to the Washington ________. While it seems apparent that ‘Redskins’ is out, something else needs to step in. But what exactly?

For one former Washington player, cornerback Fred Smoot, the leading candidate is the Washington Warriors, simply because it would make it so that only a name change is necessary, and the logo could remain. He said as much when talking to NBC Sports Washington. 

“Me, in my head, Warriors is the one that sticks out the most. I think it’s an easy transition. There are no Warriors in the NFL. It’s already a mascot for Golden State, and they’ve gotten no pushback on it. At the end of the day, besides Warriors, I know Redtails is up there. But [Synder] said something that stuck out to me: he wants to keep the logo and acknowledge Native Americans, give them something that they’re proud of. So that tells me that it won’t be Redtails.”

Many believe that switching away from the current Redskins name will be enough to appease those who find the name racist and insensitive. Others will undoubtedly claim that the use of a Native American Chief as a logo will still be a step too far.

In the end, it will be interesting to see how important that logo is to Snyder and Rivera, and whether or not it will greatly impact their decision when making the final call.

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