Views From The Booth: Commanders Takeaways

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Greetings From The Booth!

Can you feel it in the air? Fall is coming, and with it, “for-real” NFL games, not to be confused with the pre-season contests that whet our appetites this time of year. That being said, I have some takeaways from the Washington Commanders’ 17-13 loss to Detroit this past Saturday. No one cares about the score or the result–that will be forgotten by Tuesday, if it isn’t already. These are the things that concern and puzzle me as we get closer to teeing it up on September 13th in Philadelphia:

Why did Jayden Daniels even play? 3 snaps?!? Are you kidding me? I thought Week 2 of the preseason was supposed to be a “dress rehearsal” for the starters. Especially for a team with new coordinators, new systems, and new players. As for Daniels, his 3 plays consisted of a hurried incompletion, a 10-yard sack, and a “give-up” handoff on 3rd and 20. That was his day. I would have liked to see the starters play for at least a quarter. Nothing was accomplished here.

No running game. The Washington running game Saturday consisted of 45 yards. This paltry total is not so much a reflection of the Commanders running backs as it is an indictment of the offensive line. With several starters on the O-line, this was an opportunity for the “next man up,” and as John Lennon might say, they didn’t pass the audition.

The battle for QB3. Hands down, Athan Kaliakmanis is winning (or has already won) this duel with Sam Hartman. The former Illinois and Rutgers quarterback has good pocket presence and is not afraid to throw the ball downfield. On the other hand, Hartman looks for his check down receivers almost immediately after the snap. Look at the stats. Both have a pretty high completion percentage, but the yardage belongs to AK16, who simply looks to be the better option at QB3. With backup Marcus Mariotta injured, this matters.

Sonny Styles. There has been a lot of fan board and social media discussion about the Commanders linebacker and number one draft choice, who has not dazzled in the team’s first two preseason games. Styles at times looks to be out of position, as he was on a 50-yard quarterback read-option that went for a Lions touchdown. And there seems to be some concern about his size. 2 preseason games does not a season or career make, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt. That being said, maybe he would be a better (strong) safety in the pro game. Let’s give him some time.

Defensive takeaways. The Commanders’ defense has been a turnover machine in the preseason. I’m not sure how this will carry over into the regular season, but it’s an encouraging sign for a defense that couldn’t take candy from a baby in 2025. It was also fun to see a defensive touchdown on the game’s first series.

An overall sloppy effort. For a Week 2 dress rehearsal, Dan Quinn could not have been happy. The eye test revealed a sloppy effort, especially when you consider that this game was an opportunity for players who will not make the Commanders roster but are auditioning for other NFL teams.

Overall grade for Week 2: C-minus.

What can we really take away from the above? Probably nothing. Hopefully we will see a prepared and much different team when the Commanders begin a challenging schedule in Philadelphia in a few weeks. I’m ready…I just hope my team is.

Until the next visit from the Booth…HTTC!

RW

 

 

 

What’s In A Number?

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(Posted 8-17-26)

Greetings from The Booth!

As we wait for College and NFL Football, and watch another Nationals season go down in flames, jersey numbers have become a prime topic in the Nation’s Capital.

Let’s start with the wildfire that is the Jayden Daniels controversy. You can read about this–it’s everywhere–but the gist of the story is that the number 5 that Daniels wore during his time as the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at LSU was recently given to Tiger’s cornerback DJ Pickett, who apparently was promised the number when he was recruited by the school. This move went against Daniels’ wishes, prompting the Washington quarterback to issue a cease and desist order to LSU to refrain from using his name, image, and likeness.

There’s a lot of nuance to the story, as number retirement is a very complicated thing. A statement issued by the Daniels family states that “Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would…be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university.” Meanwhile, the LSU policy states that an athlete must have completed competition for five years before being considered for jersey retirement. Daniels left the school in 2023.

As for the cease and desist, Daniels’ contract with LSU gave the school only 180 days after his final college game to use his name, image, and likeness, so he has every right to issue the order. Yet, he has become the villain in this whole story. Even other sports teams have been trolling the Commanders signal-caller.

(Sidebar: The New York Mets, in the midst of sweeping the Nats this past weekend, posted on social media after one of those wins that they stopped at 4 runs out of respect for Jayden Daniels. The Mets only need to look at themselves, floundering in last place in the NL East, and worry about playing baseball. The Mets can pound sand).

It seems to me that there are a host of other NFL players more deserving of being vilified than Jayden Daniels (One was just arrested this weekend for domestic abuse). He’s a model player, team leader, and by all accounts a solid citizen, whose primary focus is playing football.  And I might add that he’s the only quarterback in the recent Netflix series of the same name that doesn’t drop an f-bomb every 2 seconds.

Yet, in the world of social media, where anonymity and lack of accountability and facts rule, a quality young man is being cast as the bad guy. Facts matter, and the fact is that Daniels is within his rights to order LSU to stop profiting from his past glories, especially if they promised to protect his number (as he claims), then promising another player that he could wear that number. As former Tiger coach Brian Kelly said, we can’t treat one Heisman winner one way (Joe Burrow, whose number 9 is protected) and another Heisman winner (Daniels) differently.

I have a feeling that once NFL play starts for real, this story will fade from the news cycle and will be much ado about nothing. As for me, all I care about is number 5 raising a number 1 as he hoists a Lombardi Trophy.

Until the next visit from The Booth…HTTC!

RW

 

 

Buy or Sell…and Training Camp Opens

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(Posted 7-28-26)

Greetings from The Booth!

Well, it’s been a minute since we got together. I got back last week from a nice week off, and a relaxing vacation at Deep Creek Lake, where I played a round of golf, ate very well, and as I always do, watched a fair amount of The Open Championship, as well as the MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. A lot of folks in the lake house were glued to the FIFA World Cup. I must admit, once the USA was eliminated, I checked out. As the late NFL great Sonny Randle would say, if a soccer game broke out in my backyard, the shade wouldn’t go up.

We’re kind of in a down time in sports, with baseball’s “dog days” approaching, and football season not quite here, but I did want to weigh in on those two sports, specifically your Washington Nationals and Washington Commanders. We’ll start with the Nats. As of this post, the Nationals are a hair above .500 at 54-53 after last night’s loss to Toronto.

(Sidebar: it was really strange seeing former Nats’ great Max Scherzer in a Blue Jays uniform last night. In an emotional return to DC on his 42nd birthday, “Mad Max” got the start and threw 2 and 2/3 gutsy innings, and received 2 well-deserved standing ovations from the Washington fans, who appreciated his contributions to a great Nationals’ run over 6-plus seasons. At 42, and on a one-year contract, last night was probably his last appearance in the Nation’s Capital.)

With the trade deadline a week away, should the Nats buy or sell? It’s a tough question. The team is very much in contention for a Wild Card berth, but also very much in need of pitching for the long haul. The name being brought up most often in trade rumors is Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams, who was last week’s NL Player of the Week and has been red hot recently. As a fan, I want Abrams in Washington, and I want to see the team go all in on a playoff run. This is why GM’s get paid the big money. Do you throw all your cards on the table for 2026, or do you stay the course and get some young arms for the future? We’ll find out soon.

And, we head to Ashburn, where the Commanders open training camp this week. NFL training camps have become less important in the modern age of football, because of OTAs and year-round conditioning advances, and the strides that have been made in nutrition. Back in the day, players would arrive at camp vastly out of shape, having sold insurance or used cars in the offseason. There is no offseason now in the NFL, so camps are refresher courses for the veterans, and for developing chemistry for rookies and new acquisitions.

That’s why I think this is a very important camp for the Commanders, as the team tries to cleanse its palate from a 5-12 campaign. With an almost complete overhaul of the defense, this will be a camp where everyone on that side of the ball must get on the same page. Offensively, we need to see a hungry Jayden Daniels, who wants to show his critics that his injury-plagued 2025 was a fluke, and that he is not a one-year flash in the pan.

Interesting times are ahead for the Nats and Commanders. Until the next visit from The Booth…GO NATS…and HTTC!

RW

 

 

 

 

 

A Season Off The Rails

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Greetings From The Booth!

I’m BAAACK…and I need some venting therapy.

Did it really happen? The magical 2024 Washington Commanders season is now a distant memory. Last year, we were all basking in the glow of a new ownership, a franchise quarterback, and a trip to the NFC Championship game. Man, we couldn’t wait until 2025 to ride this incredible vibe all the way to The Super Bowl.

It has all turned to a smouldering ruin…

As of this post, the Commanders are 3-7, and all but out of the NFC playoff picture (I can hear Jim Mora saying “Playoffs!? Playoffs? We’re just trying to win a game!” Still one of the best coach’s rants of all time.). What went wrong? As with most seasons that turn sour, it’s not just one thing. This season has been the perfect storm of injuries, underperformance, an aging roster, and a very tough schedule. Let’s address each one of these things:

As for the injuries, the Commanders are one of the most banged-up teams in the NFL, starting with franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has suffered 3, count ’em, 3 injuries this year. The list goes on, to the extent that backups to the backups are now playing for the Burgundy and Gold. It’s a veritable MASH unit out in Ashburn. But, as former NFL great Jonathan Vilma said on the national broadcast of Washington’s blowout loss to the Lions on Sunday, “no one cares.” In truth, all NFL teams have their share of injuries, and in the National Football League it’s “next man up.” No one in the league has any sympathy for the Commanners on game day.

That brings us to underperformance, which is especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Washington’s defensive problems were well-hidden last season by the magic of Daniels. This year, a bad defense has gotten worse. The Commanders “D” can’t tackle, can’t cover, can’t stop the run, and can’t force turnovers (they are one of the NFL’s worst in that department). Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? This week, the team announced that Head Coach Dan Quinn would take over the defensive play-calling duties, while demoting Defensive Coordinator Joe Whitt, Jr. Those kind of moves usually have short shelf lives–the players aren’t magically going to get better. As for Whitt, the fans want a scalp, and I’m afraid it will be his, quite possibly after the bye week.

The Commanders have one of the oldest rosters in the NFL, and last year’s experience has given way to this year’s age and lack of speed. You only have to do the “eye test” to see that players like linebacker Bobby Wagner, while a great team leader, cannot keep up with younger, faster backs and receivers on Sunday. The Commanders roster was built last year on bringing in experienced veterans to guide the younger players. But after the surprising playoff run last year, a lot of those players were brought back, and have not been the same. As the old saying goes, better to get rid of a player one year too soon than one year too late.

Finally, we address the schedule, which is loaded with playoff contenders this year. Already this season, Washington has faced Seattle, the Chargers, Lions, and Packers, and is staring down the barrel at the Broncos, Vikings, and Philly (twice). Last year, against a much lighter slate, the Commanders posted a 12-5 regular season. Upon further examination, had just six plays gone the other way, Washington could have very easily been 6-11. So maybe the Commanders weren’t the powerhouse we (or the networks) thought they were. Sometimes, magic just happens.

It’s midnight, Cinderella, at least for 2025. I don’t see Joe Gibbs hanging around, so there will be no 7-game win streak or playoff football this year for the Washington Commanders. However, I swear I see Dan Snyder, Ron Rivera, Bruce Allen, and Jim Zorn lurking around Northwest Stadium…

Until the next visit from The Booth…HTTC/HTTR!

RW

 

Sports Dogs Podcast: Week Zero & A Mounties and Dukes Season Preview

The Dogs take a quick look back at Commanders’ preseason game 2, and preview 2025 JMU and WVU Football as Week Zero kicks off the college football season…

The Sports Dogs Podcast: A Look Back At The NFC Championship

The clock finally struck midnight for the Washington Commanders, as their season came to an end in the NFC Championship game. The Dogs recap the blowout loss to Philly and look ahead to what should be a busy offseason for the Burgundy and Gold…

The Perfect Sports Day

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Greetings from The Booth!

It doesn’t happen often, but on Saturday the stars aligned and I had the perfect sports day. That doesn’t happen very often because I am a fan of the WVU Mountaineers, who have crushed my hopes and dreams time and time again. I am also a fan of the Washington Football Franchise, a laughing stock for over 20 years now. I also root for the Washington Capitals, who, with the exception of their 2018 Stanley Cup, always seem to be one and done in the playoffs. Saturday, I hit the trifecta.

My perfect sports day began around 5, when West Virginia Men’s Basketball took the floor of the WVU Coliseum against #2 Iowa State on Jerry West Day, as the packed house celebrated the life of the most famous sports icon in the history of the Mountain State. Surely, “Zeke From Cabin Creek” would be looking down on the boys as they tried to take down their 4th nationally ranked team of the season. And that’s exactly what happened, as Darian DeVries’ gritty Mountaineers stunned the Cyclones. WVU boasts one of the top players in the country in Javon Small, and he took over the game down the stretch, as the Mounties improved to 13-4. When the clock hit zero, and fans rushed the floor to sing Country Roads, I knew it was going to be a good day.

At about 7, the Capitals hit the ice to take on their archrival Pittsburgh Penguins. The Caps have been a pleasant surprise in a season that was supposed to be all about Alex Ovechkin’s all-time goals record. Instead, the Capitals have the NHL’s best record, and seem poised for a Stanley Cup run. In contrast, the Pens are going in the other direction, and the game was no contest, as Washington easily won 4-1.

Finally, the cherry on the sports sundae was the stunning 45-31 victory by the Washington Commanders over the number-one seed Detroit Lions in the NFC Divisional round. Playing in a hostile environment against arguably the best team in the NFL did not faze the Commanders, as the legend of Jayden Daniels added another chapter. The moment was not too big for the rookie QB, who kept the high-scoring Lions at bay time after time with clutch plays. Despite giving up over 500 yards, the burgundy and gold defense forced five Detroit turnovers as Washington shocked the football world, and is now just one win from playing in the Super Bowl. The game may not have ended until almost midnight, but the clock has not yet struck twelve for the Commanders, who kept their magical season alive for at least one more week.

So, thank you Mountaineers, Capitals, and Commanders for a great sports day this past Saturday! My only regret is that I didn’t buy a lottery ticket.

Until the next visit from The Booth…”LET’S GO!” “ALL CAPS,” and “HTTC!”

RW

 

 

The Sports Dogs Podcast: Breaking Down The NFL Divisional Round

We’re down to the final eight teams in the NFL Playoffs, and the Washington Commanders are still alive!  The Dogs break down all the Divisional games, including our expert analysis and predictions. Plus a quick mention of the CFP Championship on Monday night (1-20).

Windows of Opportunity

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Greetings From The Booth!

Well, tonight is the big night for Washington Commanders fans, of which I am one. It’ll be another bleary-eyed Monday (and hopefully not a “Moan-Day”) as the burgundy and gold take on Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Unlike Washington’s rare and sporadic playoff appearances of the past 23 seasons, tonight’s game feels more like a beginning than an end, no matter the result. The 2024 season appears to be just the start of what could be a bright future for the franchise.

The Commanders appear to have their franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who is on track to be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie Of The Year. In addition to some young talent, Washington has a number of experienced veterans in place that have not only performed well on the field, but are also de facto coaches who are showing the youngsters how to be professionals and how to practice their craft.

The front office and coaching moves that have been made by new owner Josh Harris and his staff have already paid dividends in his first real year of ownership (we don’t count last year, as Harris was busy cleaning up the mess left by Dan Snyder). There are finally “adults in the room” in Ashburn, as evidenced by a 12-5 season, and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2020.  Whether or not the Commanders win their first postseason game since 2005, the window to an eventual Super Bowl appears to be opening, not closing.

Because of the Commanders’ newfound success, another major sports story in the DC area has been largely in the background. Don’t look now, but the Washington Capitals are in the Stanley Cup discussion in this 2004-5 campaign. As of this writing, the Caps are atop the NHL’s Metro Division, 5 points clear of New Jersey with 2 games in hand.

For the Capitals, this was supposed to have been a season of following Alex Ovechkin’s quest to become the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring leader, a mark held by the great Wayne Gretzky. That record is now well within reach, and it was projected that “The Great 8” would break it either this season or early next.

Instead, the Caps have become a dominant team. Last season, Washington snuck into the playoffs with a negative goal differential, and were promptly ushered out of the postseason in the first round, prompting many experts to predict a down year in ’04-’05. Instead, like their football cousins, the Capitals have made some great front-office moves, and the team is poised for a solid second-half playoff run, President’s Cup, and possibly their second “Lord Stanley’s Trophy.”

Familiar names like Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson, and Lars Eller are sprinkled with relative newcomers like Dylan Strome, Pierre Luc Dubois (how’s that for a great hockey name?), Aliaksei Protas, and Logan Thompson. In addition, the pipeline appears to be full of bright prospects. The Ovechkin goal-scoring record would certainly be a nice cherry on top of a Washington Capitals Stanley Cup sundae.

Even in the dead of a DC winter, open windows feel pretty good.

Until the next visit from The Booth (where the windows are also open)…GO CAPS, HTTC!

RW