Tag: Washington Commander

Michigan State defensive backs coach Jim Salgado going to back to NFL with Washington Commanders

Former Michigan State defensive backs coach Jim Salgado going to back to NFL with the Washington Commanders.

Michigan State hired Jim Salgado before the 2023 season to assist coaching defensive backs with Harlon Barnett. Salgado came to MSU from the Buffalo Bills, where he served as a defensive backs coach for four seasons.

Now, with the coaching changes in East Lansing, Salgado has officially found his new spot in the NFL, getting a job with the Washington Commanders.

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Studs and duds from Commanders’ loss to Bills

The list of studs is an extremely short one.

The Washington Commanders fell to 2-1 on the season after Sunday’s embarrassing 37-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

If you’re looking for positives from this one, you came to the wrong place. The Commanders were sacked nine times, had five turnovers, including four Sam Howell interceptions and the defense did not sack Bills quarterback Josh Allen one time in 32 dropbacks.

Football is indeed a team sport, and Washington’s loss on Sunday was a team loss. Plenty of blame to go around for the Commanders.

Now it’s time for our weekly edition of studs and duds, but this one will be a bit different. There’s only one stud this week — and we were being generous.

Legendary former Washington GM Bobby Beathard dies at 86

Bobby Beathard is one of only a few general managers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He led Washington to two Super Bowl championships.

The most influential executive in the history of the NFL’s Washington franchise, Bobby Beathard, died at 86 on Monday.

Beathard played college football at Cal Poly before a brief stint in the NFL as a player. He was on the preseason roster of the then-Washington Redskins [1959] and San Diego Chargers [1961]. Interestingly enough, those would be the teams Beathard would spend the majority of his executive career with.

Beathard began his scouting career in 1963 with the Kansas City Chiefs. In 1968, he moved to the Atlanta Falcons, where he spent the next three years before landing a promotion with the Miami Dolphins in 1972 as the director of player personnel. The Dolphins won two Super Bowls while Beathard served in his role, including the famous 1972 team that went undefeated.

It was in 1978 that Beathard landed with Washington as the general manager. He built rosters that went to three Super Bowls, winning two, and was responsible for drafting multiple future Hall of Famers, such as Darrell Green, Art Monk and Russ Grimm. He is also the GM who hired Joe Gibbs as Washington’s head coach in 1981.

Beathard was Washington’s general manager for 10 years before resigning in 1989. After taking a year off, Beathard accepted the role as general of the San Diego Chargers in 1990 for 10 seasons.

Beathard built a Chargers roster that went to the first Super Bowl in their franchise history in 1994. He retired in 2000.

After retirement, Beathard earned spots in Washington’s Ring of Fame, the Chargers Hall of Fame and the Cal Poly Hall of Fame. In 2018, he received the ultimate honor as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fittingly, it was Gibbs who was there to introduce Beathard.

Beathard’s son Jeff is a national scout with the Washington Commanders, and his grandson C.J. just finished his sixth NFL season in 2022 with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We’ll have more on the life and legacy of Bobby Beathard.

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Commanders dominate Cowboys, 26-6

The Commanders dominated from start to finish.

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The Washington Commanders dominated the Dallas Cowboys, 26-6, Sunday, to end the season with an 8-8-1 record.

Yes, you read that sentence correctly; Washington dominated Dallas from start to finish after sitting multiple starters, while the Cowboys played everyone in their attempt to win the NFC East.

It seemed like things were going to break Washington’s way early when Dallas punter Bryan Anger dropped the snap, and linebacker Milo Eifler tackled him at the 20-yard line, giving the Commanders excellent field position.

Rookie quarterback Sam Howell, making his first career start, found wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a 16-yard touchdown to give the Commanders an early lead.

It was a lead they’d never relinquish.

Despite kicker Joey Slye missing two field goals and an extra point, the Commanders dominated Dallas in every phase of the game, from start to finish.

Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller’s interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter gave the Commanders a 13-0 lead. This was one play after Fuller almost picked off Prescott and returned it for a touchdown.

The Cowboys would score before the end of the half but missed the PAT, giving Washington a 13-6 lead going into halftime.

The second half was more of the same for Washington, who stuck with the run, even if it wasn’t working, and allowed Howell to make some plays with his legs. Howell punctuated one drive with a beautiful nine-yard touchdown run.

Howell had several good throws on the day, but his best throw was a 52-yard dime to McLaurin that traveled 60 yards in the air.

Howell would end the day by completing 11 of 19 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also carried the ball five times for 35 yards with one score.

Washington outgained Dallas 309-182, with quarterback Dak Prescott completing only 14 of 37 passes for 128 yards with a touchdown and interception. Dallas finished the game with 64 rushing yards on 24 attempts.

Running back Jaret Patterson led the Commanders with 78 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

It was a disappointing final five weeks for Washington, but a dominant win over Dallas makes the end just a bit sweeter.

Why did the Commanders lose to the Giants Sunday?

We look deeper into why the Commanders lost to the Giants in Week 15.

The quick knee-jerk reaction is to blame the officials, but the Commanders offense deserves most of the blame for the Commanders discouraging loss to the Giants in Week 15.

Yes, the defense gave up a 97-yard, 18-play scoring drive. But are you aware the other Giants possessions produced drives of 3, 19, -1, 17, 43 (field goal), 5, 33, 54 (field goal) and -2 yards (end of game)?

Consequently, the Commanders defense only yielded one touchdown and two field goals to the Giants offense for 13 points. How many NFL games do you think you should win if your defense and special teams only yields 13 points? 95 percent? 98 percent? Seriously.

On the other hand, the Commanders offense gave up a strip-sack touchdown when Taylor Heinicke was blindsided by Kayvon Thibodeaux and Thibodeaux returned the fumble one yard for a touchdown.

The Commanders offense produced a mere 12 points. In today’s NFL, isn’t this inexcusable? Looking at the scores of Week 15 games, only the Browns won with as few as 13 points and the Chargers won, scoring 17. Every other winner scored 20 or more, with six winners this week scoring 30 or more points.

The Commanders moved the ball several possessions, rushing for 159 yards on 26 carries and passing for 249 yards on 17 completions.  However, the Commanders yielded three quarterback sacks, fumbled on four offensive plays, losing two of them, and had a costly delay of game in the first half. After moving the ball, the Commanders repeatedly could not convert third downs, finishing the night 1-10.

One of 10 on third downs? Yes, the Commanders moved the ball several times, but repeatedly could not perform on third downs, whether it was protections, decision-making by the quarterback, pulling the trigger by the quarterback, receivers not effectively running routes, or catching third-down passes.

How many NFL games does a team win when they only convert third downs ten percent of the time?

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Commanders place Carson Wentz on injured reserve

Per NFL rules, Wentz will miss at least four games.

The Washington Commanders placed quarterback Carson Wentz on injured reserve Saturday. This is in line with what head coach Ron Rivera said earlier in the week when asked if Wentz would go on IR.

Rivera stated head trainer Al Bellamy wanted to see how the early stages of Wentz’s rehab from a fractured finger went to determine how much time he’d need to recover.

Taylor Heinicke will start at quarterback in Wentz’s absence, while rookie Sam Howell is now the backup. Earlier in the week, the Commanders signed quarterback Jake Fromm to the practice squad.

In six games this season, Wentz has completed 144 of 232 attempts [62%] with 1,489 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 84.1 and a QBR of 34.1. Wentz’s QBR would be the lowest of his seven-year NFL career if the season ended today.

Wentz’s stint on IR means he will miss his return to Philadelphia in Week 10. When Wentz faced the Eagles for the first time in Week 3, he was sacked nine times.

Washington faces the Green Bay Packers in Week 7.