Tag: Joe Gibbs

Former Washington TE Doc Walker calls Commanders ‘a crap show’

Walker saying what Commanders’ fans know all too well. “A crap show.”

“It’s really not easy covering this crap up. You basically have the assignment of covering for a crap show.”

That’s how Rick “Doc” Walker opened his appearance on the “Chris Russell Show” on Thursday, over on Team 980. Walker spent all three hours with Russell on Thursday’s program.

Walker continued, “That’s the way it is. And it’s been worse. You’ve been here quite a long time, as I have done this quite a long time, and it makes you really remember the good times.”

Walker a former tight end, played for the Redskins 1980-1985. In his seasons with Washington. the Redskins were 6-10 in 1980, 8-8 in 1981, Super Bowl Champs in 1982, NFC Champs in 1983, NFC East Champs for a third consecutive year in 1984 and 10-6 in 1985.

The remainder of the Joe Gibbs (1.0) era saw the Redskins finish 12-4 and lose the NFC Championship game, Super Bowl Champs (1987), 7-9 Gibbs’ only losing season in 1988, 10-6 in 1989, 10-6 in 1990 winning a road playoff game, Super Bowl Champs in 1991 and 9-7 winners of a road playoff game in 1992.

Walker was reminding Russell and all of the football fans listening to 980, “There is no guarantee you will ever experience it again, but I sure hope so. Because I miss it, and it does make me remember the good times and the great moments we experienced through this ball club.”

“But there is no guarantee that will ever happen again.”

Russell replied that he has been covering and reporting on the team for 14 years and has been fooled more than once, thinking surely the team was going to break through and be good again.

Walker talked of how he thought, “there is no way we are losing to the Giants,” but he, like all the rest of us, was again disappointed by the Commanders.

He suggested that perhaps Sam Howell is not going to be able to fix this problem of holding onto the ball too long. Then he quickly transitioned to how Giants DC Wink Martindale was ahead of Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy last Sunday.

Walker expressed his frustration that Martindale repeatedly showed early he was calling for blitzers and pressure, but the Commanders offensive coaches and players seemed to have no answers.

Russell pointed out that Bieniemy talked of their making adjustments but asked Walker, wasn’t Bieniemy late with the adjustments? To which Walker unhesitatingly declared yes, because the entire first half the offense was being overmatched by the Giants’ execution of the Martindale attack on Howell.

 

When the Washington Commanders were last 3-0

Remember the Monday Night Miracle?

Well, of course, the “Commanders” have never been 3-0.

Neither was the “Washington Football Team” 3-0 in its brief two-year run (2020-21).

The 2011 Redskins were 2-0 after opening the season with home wins over the Giants (28-14) and Cardinals (22-21). However, they traveled to Dallas in Week 3 and lost 18-16 after leading 16-9 in the third quarter.

The following week, the 2011 team defeated the Rams 17-10, only then to lose six consecutive games, finishing the season with a very disappointing 5-11 record.

The 2007 Joe Gibbs (2.0) team was 2-0 but lost in Week 3 at home to the Giants 24-17. They finished 9-7, earning a Wild Card playoff birth before losing in the first round in Seattle 35-14.

We have to go back to the 2005 team as the last Washington team to begin an NFL season 3-0. Joe Gibbs was in his second season in his second term as head coach. Patrick Ramsey started at quarterback in the opener but struggled against the Bears, yet Washington defeated Chicago 9-7.

Mark Brunell and the Redskins offense was literally non-existent for over three quarters in their Week 2 Monday Night game at Dallas. Trailing 13-0, Brunell connected with Santana Moss from 39 yards, and it was 13-7 with 3:46 remaining.

On their next possession, Brunell and Moss again made sweet music, this time from 70 yards, and the Redskins stole the game from the Cowboys 14-13.

Their third game found Washington traveling to Seattle. The Seahawks scored in the last two minutes to force overtime. But Nick Novak’s 39-yard field goal provided the Redskins the road win and their last 3-0 start to date.

Will this year’s Commanders team make it to 3-0? They are at home Sunday at FedEx. There is increased fan support in the DMV since the ownership has been transferred from Daniel Snyder to the Josh Harris group. It is an announced sell-out. However, there will no doubt be many Bills fans in attendance.

Sam Howell has had his struggles, but he has also made several big plays in the first two wins of this season. The fan base is increasingly excited that Howell is showing signs he might develop into a long-term answer at quarterback.

The defense will have to rise to the occasion. They yielded 33 points to the winless Broncos last week, while the Bills destroyed the Raiders 38-10. Josh Allen enjoyed a career game, completing 31 of 37 passing attempts for three touchdowns and no interceptions and a 124.5 passer rating.

The Commanders have defeated the Cardinals and Broncos, who are a combined 0-4. After Sunday’s game against the Bills, we will have a much better gauge monitoring the Commanders.

Highlights from the first day of Commanders/Ravens joint practice

Some of the top highlights from the first day of joint practices between the Commanders and Ravens.

The Washington Commanders’ first day of joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens will best be remembered for the multiple brawls. Fortunately, nothing got out of hand as things were settled quickly, and the teams got in some good work.

It was a good day for Washington’s offense, particularly quarterback Sam Howell. Howell shined in 11-on-11 work with his accuracy and decision-making.

New Washington owner Josh Harris was in attendance for the first day of practice with the Ravens, and legendary Washington coach Joe Gibbs joined him.

Here is a collection of some of the top videos and photos from the Commanders’ first day of joint practice with the Ravens.

PHOTOS: Images from the Commanders press conference and pep rally

Some of the best images from Friday’s events at FedEx Field.

The Josh Harris era kicked off Friday, and what a day it was for Washington fans.

Harris and some of his ownership partners, Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, David Blitzer and Mark Ein, were at FedEx Field for his introductory press conference. Also joining Harris was his wife, mother and five children.

Harris spoke of how much this opportunity means to him. He’s excited; he’s stressed, but he’s ready to get to work. So is Johnson. So is Rales. So are Ron Rivera, Jason Wright, Terry McLaurin and Jonathan Allen.

The energy at FedEx Field was something the franchise hasn’t seen since at least 2012, during Robert Griffin III’s magical rookie season.

After the press conference, the new owners, Rivera, Wright, McLaurin, Allen, Joe Gibbs and others, went to the training camp pep rally — also at FedEx Field. The atmosphere was electric as Harris mingled with fans, Magic Johnson danced and Coach Gibbs said the Washington franchise and fans were the best in the world.

Here are some of the top photos from Friday’s festivities.

Jonathan Allen: ‘I’ve waited 7 years to see the fan base like this’

Jonathan Allen was impressed by Commanders fans.

Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen is one of the longest-tenured players on the team. Entering his seventh NFL season, Allen came to Washington accustomed to winning and competing for championships.

While Allen has done his part on the field, success hasn’t always followed the Commanders. And during Allen’s time with Washington, fan support has eroded. Part of it was due to the team’s lack of success on the field, but much of it was because of former owner Daniel Snyder.

Snyder is gone now, and the ownership group led by Josh Harris is in. Allen, along with Terry McLaurin, were among the Commanders players and legends present at Harris’ introductory press conference Friday. After the presser, the new owners, Allen, McLaurin and some of the franchise’s legends attended the training camp pep rally at FedEx Field.

The crowd was wild — in a good way — as Harris was high-fiving fans. Legendary coach Joe Gibbs spoke, and so did Harris’ partner, NBA legend Magic Johnson.

Allen and McLaurin did, too. Allen took notice of the crowd, and he was impressed.

“I’ve waited seven years to see the fan base like this,” Allen said.

Allen wasn’t criticizing the fans. He was impressed. Remember, it was Allen — on more than one occasion — who has bought tickets for fans and given them away to encourage Washington fans to attend FedEx Field and support the Commanders.

What an incredible two days for the Washington Commanders.

Sights and sounds from a big day for the Commanders

What an amazing two days.

The last two days will likely go down as two of the most important in the history of the Washington NFL franchise. On Thursday, the NFL approved Josh Harris as the Commanders new owner. Local establishments celebrated the ownership change, and Harris even called in to buy beer for every fan in attendance at one event.

Harris and some of his ownership partners, including local businessman and philanthropist Mitchell Rales and NBA legend Magic Johnson, met with the media on Friday.

After Friday’s press conference, the new owners attended the team’s training camp pep rally at FedEx Field. Harris and Johnson spoke, as did legendary coach Joe Gibbs.

It was a monumental day for the Washington Commanders.

We’ve pulled together some of the top tweets from Friday’s event.

Joe Gibbs on the Commanders: ‘This is the greatest sports franchise in the world’

The legendary Washington coach was in town for the arrival of Washington’s new owners.

There is perhaps no one person more beloved in the 91-year history of the Washington NFL franchise than Joe Gibbs. Players come and go, so do executives and coaches, but Gibbs transcends every era of Washington football.

Over the past 24 years of Dan Snyder’s ownership, Gibbs would often pop up when Snyder needed him. After miraculously luring Gibbs out of retirement in 2004, where he coached four more seasons, those appearances weren’t as frequent in recent years. But when Gibbs came, Washington made sure the cameras found him.

Why? Because everybody loves Coach Gibbs — and rightfully so.

We learned in recent months that Gibbs has formed a relationship with new Washington owner Josh Harris. Harris spoke with Gibbs often, even investing in his NASCAR team with longtime business partner David Blitzer — also a minority owner of the Commanders.

So it was no surprise Friday when Gibbs was at FedEx Field for Harris’ introduction to the fans and media.

Gibbs spoke to Washington fans Friday at the team’s training camp pep rally. In his often humble nature, Gibbs thanked Washington’s fans. He spoke of building a relationship with Harris, telling fans they were in good hands.

“Over the past year, I’ve got a chance to build a friendship with Josh, David, and now I am getting to meet the rest of the team,” Gibbs said.

“Magic [Johnson], Mark [Ein], Mitch [Rales], you’ve got people that grew up here, care about the team. So I have told them this is the greatest sports franchise in the world. With the greatest fan base in the world. I’ve seen you guys. I think we’ve got something great that is going on here. I know you are going to do your part, and I know Josh and his team are committed to do his part.”

Harris, Ein and Rales know all about Washington’s fan base, having grown up in the area as fans of the Redskins.

Remember when Commanders owner Daniel Snyder…

One last look back at some of Daniel Snyder’s many lowlights as owner of Washington.

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NFL owners will vote on the sale of the Washington Commanders from Daniel Snyder to Josh Harris for $6.05 billion Thursday. Sometime Thursday afternoon, the Commanders — after 24 years of Snyder — will have a new owner.

We remember some of Snyder’s follies on his last day as owner:

  • Had become the owner in May 1999, and Charley Casserly was suddenly resigning as General Manager in July 1999. What GM resigns just as training camp is opening?
  • In the offseason leading up to the 2000 season, he signed aging free agents Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Andre Reed, Deion Sanders, and Mark Carrier. He not only overpaid all of them but why would Snyder overpay Sanders so much when he had just been released by the Cowboys and was available in early June?
  • Upon Sanders being released, suddenly, the Redskins released Brian Mitchell. They actually released Mitchell for MUCH, MUCH less than they gave Sanders? What were they thinking?
  • Fired head coach Norv Turner with the team at 7-6 in the 2000 season and immediately hired Pepper Rodgers as VP of Football Operations? Snyder was ready to hire Rodgers, who had never coached in the NFL, but was persuaded that was not a wise step.
  • Hired Marty Schottenheimer as head coach and Director of Football Operations, then fired him after the 8-8 2001 season, demanding that he again have power over football decisions and not Marty? Then hired Steve Spurrier the next day?
  • Hired Steve Spurrier and brought back and rehired Vinny Cerrato as head of player personnel?
  • Shocked all of us announcing he had hired Joe Gibbs to return to coach the Redskins in January of 2004?
  • When Joe Gibbs retired after four seasons, Snyder hired Jim Zorn to be his offensive coordinator. Why would Snyder do this, not permitting a new head coach to select his own staff? Thus, he couldn’t find anyone to take the job, so he then hired Zorn to be his head coach in 2008, though Zorn had never been a coordinator in the NFL. What?

This only takes us up to 2008, and I am already tired of remembering all of this.

Welcome to Washington, Mr. Josh Harris.

We certainly welcome more competency in the ownership and leadership of the Washington NFL franchise than we have experienced since 1999.

You can follow Ivan Lambert on Twitter @IvanLambert18 and Commanders Wire @Washington_Wire

‘Commanders are one of 14 NFL teams to not….’

It’s been a while.

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Warren Sharp took a moment Sunday evening to educate his readers that 14 NFL teams have not won a playoff game in the last five seasons.

I immediately thought, “Five years? Why stop there, Warren?”

Well, technically Sharp didn’t. He did actually say “5+ years.”

Commanders fans were already quite aware of this discouraging and frustrating NFL reality. You see, we are all too aware that this NFL franchise has not won a playoff game in well over five years.

Hey Warren, try 18 NFL seasons without a team playoff win!

That’s right, Washington NFL fans have not enjoyed a playoff win since Joe Gibbs 2.0 came out of NFL retirement because he loved the franchise so much he wanted to bring it back some respect.

Gregg Williams was the defensive coordinator, Don Breaux was the offensive coordinator, and Joe Bugel was the offensive line coach.

Quarterback Patrick Ramsey started the season opener, and Mark Brunell the other 15 games. Clinton Portis gained 1,516 yards rushing, including 11 touchdowns.

Santana Moss gained 1,483 receiving yards on 84 receptions (17.7 yards per reception) and 9 receiving touchdowns. Chris Cooley generated 774 receiving yards on 71 receptions and 7 touchdowns.

Ladell Betts returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Antonio Brown returned one 91 yards for a touchdown. No, not that “Antonio Brown.”

John Hall and Nick Novak connected on 17 of 21 field goals and all 42 extra-point attempts.

Remember linebacker Lemar Marshall?

He led the team in tackles (101) and interceptions (4). Defensive end Phillip Daniels led with 8.0 quarterback sacks. He and linebacker Marcus Washington each led with 11 tackles for a loss.

What a year that secondary had, getting their hands on balls. Safety Sean Taylor led with 12 passes defended, and corners Walt Harris and Shawn Springs collected 11 and 10, respectively.

In fact, the defense was most responsible for the last playoff win in franchise history those 18 seasons ago, when Washington went down to Tampa and beat the Bucs 17-10.

Brunell was injured and unable to pass effectively, but Coach Joe was not putting Ramsey out there against the Bucs defense. The Washington offense totaled only 120 yards. But they won the turnover battle 3-1, including a Sean Taylor 51-yard fumble recovery touchdown run.

And so it was 18 NFL seasons ago when the Washington NFL team was the “Redskins,” and they last won a playoff game.

 

You can follow Ivan Lambert on Twitter @IvanLambert18 and Commanders Wire @Washington_Wire

Countdown to the end of the Commanders Daniel Snyder era

The countdown has officially begun.

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The final ten-day countdown has begun.

NFL owners will meet on July 20 for a scheduled gathering where they will vote for the affirmation of the sale of the Washington Commanders from Daniel and Tanya Snyder to a multitude of owners headed by Josh Harris.

Snyder took over ownership of the Washington NFL franchise in 1999, and 2022 was his last season of ownership. In a surprise move last fall, Snyder suddenly was going to look into selling the once-proud and successful franchise.

When Snyder did not show up for the Sonny Jurgensen jersey being retired, and Snyder had his office in Ashburn cleaned out before the final game, it was confirmed, Snyder really was moving on.

There have been plenty of bad moves by Snyder over the years, and Commanders Wire has chronicled many.

He will be criticized — and heavily. There is no question much of that is deserved. It was a bad ending for Charley Casserly, Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier.

It was Snyder who, for whatever reason, hired Jim Zorn as offensive coordinator, dooming Snyder’s search for a head coach. No one wanting the job, Snyder ended up elevating Zorn to head coach, though he had yet to be an NFL coordinator. It was embarrassing.

He sided with an immature quarterback over a great offensive coaching staff, and when the quarterback couldn’t develop into an NFL pocket passer, Snyder then fired the head coach. Seven years later, he forced his football people to draft another immature quarterback. Again it failed, and backfired.

He and Bruce Allen were so smug as a pair it was harmful to the organization. They certainly mishandled Kirk Cousins, and the franchise has yet to have a winning record since the quarterback was Cousins.

Snyder did, however, bring back Joe Gibbs in his greatest achievement as owner. Gibbs had a heart for the franchise, hated seeing the team struggle, and risked so much of his history and reputation in returning. Yet, Gibbs’s leadership was indeed masterful as the team rebounded to earn two playoff births in his last three seasons.

The team has not won a playoff game since Gibbs 2.0.

In the end, the default for most will be to absolutely demonize Snyder. No, he was not successful. But no, he was not entirely responsible for all of the dysfunction from the business side of operations we have witnessed the last few years either.

It’s true… everything rises and falls on leadership.