What huge disappointments emerged from another embarrassing loss on national television for the Washington Commanders in Week 12?
I was cooking and eating Thanksgiving dinner a couple of hundred miles from my home while the Washington Commanders were being dismantled by the Dallas Cowboys on late Thursday afternoon. My biggest disappointment was knowing I would have to watch the game on tape at some point so that I could write the weekly disappointments piece.
Then I figured, I don’t really need to watch it. I know exactly what happened.
This outcome was not too hard to predict. But being the conscientious guy that I am, I did wake up early Friday and watch. I just watched really, really fast.
It took me about a half hour. It was all there. Dallas' wide receivers running free through a disorganized secondary. Linebackers blown out of running plays. Minimal pass rush.
On offense, the Commanders' offensive line could not open holes on the interior and could not handle Dallas’ pass rush. For the second straight week, second-year quarterback Sam Howell threw a fourth-quarter pick-six. At least this time, it didn’t matter because the contest was long over.
Therefore, for this week’s disappointments, let’s try something a little different. Here are my biggest failings from Washington's 45-10 loss against the Cowboys on Turkey Day, 2023.
Commanders high-end draft picks
These high-end picks that have been such a disappointment are all the players selected by the Washington Commanders on Days 1 and 2 of the NFL Draft since Ron Rivera has been head coach. How many of those performed well with the entire NFL world watching during their Thanksgiving festivities on Thursday?
I’d say they ranged from mediocre - Brian Robinson Jr., Jahan Dotson, Sam Cosmi, Quan Martin - to below-average, which is most of the rest. There's also the "What does that guy look like? I forget” - Ricky Stromberg, Phidarian Mathis to Chase Young - he gets his own category.
These are supposed to be the players upon which your team is built. Washington has done a rather good job of finding Day 3 gems over the past four years, but that doesn’t come anywhere near offsetting their significant failures in the first three rounds since Rivera took over.
That was readily apparent against a Dallas Cowboys team that had Micah Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa, CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Smith, and Jalen Tolbert making big plays all over the field. Until the Commanders manage to hit some home runs in the early rounds, they'll keep treading water or worse.
Commanders veteran acquisitions
More specifically, we are going to focus on the four highest-paid veteran acquisitions - via free agency or trade - brought into the Washington Commanders during each of Ron Rivera’s four years as head coach. It's not pretty.
Six of them are no longer with the team. None of those six has played a snap in 2023. Of the remaining 10, veteran cornerback Kendall Fuller is the only one who I would judge as having a decent year.
Charles Leno Jr. and Logan Thomas still start, but both are on the downside of their careers, as is Cornelius Lucas. That is the problem with relying on veteran free agents to fill your roster. They will not last very long.
Amongst the others, dynamic wide receiver Curtis Samuel clearly has talent but is hindered by an offensive line that neither pass protects nor blocks effectively on running downs. That failure trickles into all aspects of the offense.
What’s especially disappointing about this group is that the classes have gotten significantly worse year by year. Jacoby Brissett is a backup, which is fine. Nick Gates has been benched. Cody Barton probably should be benched, but they have no one better to step in.
Andrew Wylie, a mediocre-at-best right tackle, has been the class of the lot. That’s not a recipe for success.
Eric Stokes
I am not disappointed in Eric Stokes. I am disappointed for Eric Stokes.
Stokes has been the team’s director of player personnel for the past three seasons. As such, he will no doubt be blamed and jettisoned when the expected coaching and front office purge comes this offseason.
But consider this:
In 2020, working as director of pro personnel under then-chief Kyle Smith, the now-Washington Commanders signed Kendall Fuller, Logan Thomas, and Cornelius Lucas, along with J.D. McKissic, Ronald Darby. Kevin Pierre-Louis, Wes Schweitzer, and Taylor Heinicke.
None of those guys are destined for Canton. But they were all instrumental in helping the Commanders to their last playoff appearance.
Following 2020, Smith was fired. Martin Mayhew was brought in as general manager with Marty Hurney became the team's executive vice president of player personnel.
Stokes was “promoted” to fill Smith’s role. But he was severely layered underneath Mayhew, Hurney, and Ron Rivera, who still kept a hand in personnel decisions.
The results have been undeniable. Falling off a cliff comes to mind.
Stokes has 20 years of scouting and player personnel experience. Until the last few years, had a very good reputation. He’ll get another job, but he has been tainted by his time in Washington.
I can’t say with any certainty whether or not Stokes deserves the criticism he will get. Perhaps he does. I just know he used to do a good job, and now it doesn’t appear that he does.
And it may have little to do with his ability.
Commanders position coaches
Juan Castillo is the Washington Commanders' run game coordinator. The other four under this particular microscope coach the offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, and now formerly, the defensive backs.
Can you think of a single player at any of those positions who has improved since arriving in Washington? The only possible answer is at safety, where Kamren Curl and the injured Darrick Forest have outperformed expectations.
Safeties are coached by Richard Rodgers, one of the team’s best position coaches. It's the other position groups that are struggling to meet even modest expectations.
Brent Vieselmeyer is no longer an issue after he was fired along with defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio after the Commanders' loss at the Dallas Cowboys. Travelle Wharton is new to his job as offensive line coach after serving as an assistant before replacing John Matsko. Perhaps it is too early to judge him. But his group has looked woefully disorganized for much of the season.
With the exception of Rodgers and quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard - who's done a fantastic job nurturing the talent of Sam Howell in difficult circumstances - the other position coaches haven’t done much to inspire confidence. Whether the recent changes will help is anyone's guess, but it's the last roll of the dice from Rivera in pursuit of saving his job.
Dolly Parton didn't sing for longer
That one is from my wife.