Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Week 4 Takeaways

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October 4, 2022

by David Earl

Let’s Just Be Blunt!

I try always to be balanced in these columns, but this game – despite the fact that the defense showed some good fight – was just peek Washington football as we’ve all come to know under Dan Snyder’s ownership. No matter who runs the show here this fan base continues seeing a trend of a small amount of false positive results that does enough to awaken some hope, only ultimately to see our collective souls ripped out again. As it appears today, Ron Rivera‘s tenure is no different.  I too fell for the trap. Tony Perkins  nailed it with his quote above: “Once again this franchise is FAILING its ever-dwindling fan base.” Rivera is a great motivator, an inspiring human being (especially as a cancer survivor), and has great admiration for the men and women of the military which I personally appreciate but he’s been only a mediocre had coach in his career. His coaching career has amassed a 91-85-1 record, and includes only three winning seasons, with a Super Bowl run on the back of Cam Newton and a very good coaching staff.

As you read above this is a very clear point that many Carolina fans pointed out a few years ago yet this fan base (me included) disregarded it. Ron Rivera still has to develop and coach these players but, much like Carson Wentz, it’s a fact that Ron needs all the right pieces around him to succeed. Great coaches can adjust their scheme and overall coaching philosophies in order to get the most out of the talent they have, which is what keeps Ron from this group. I understand what Ron has to deal with in Dan Snyder, the cancer treatment he endured, and the overall culture shift for which he played a vital role, but how long can this be used to ignore where he has failed? This fan base has been through far too much for far too long so, under no circumstances should we ever be forced to be patient any longer. In year three, this team has been unprepared, out-coached, out-schemed, and just seemed to show no sense of urgency through the first quarter of this season. Rivera’s press conference statements like, “We have shown some promises,” in a handful of plays to feed off or, “The coaches have spoken to the players and we know what needs to get done,” are just words without meaning to this point. From players brought in not being utilized to their strengths to the inability of this staff, especially Scott Turner, to make timely adjustments is of course frustrating; however, when the head coach continues to imply that the problem is simple execution, it just shows gross negligence and no personal accountability and the fans have had enough…AGAIN! RINSE and REPEAT for this organization.

The list of fans who are in a state of continued desperation can go on and on but these comments continue to fall on deaf ears. No one cares about Rivera’s frustrations over negative fans not when a player states, “Don’t be a fan later,” because the fact of the matter is when you all are gone the fans continue to live through this nightmare cycle. The arrogance in this building today is no different than under Bruce Allen. The only difference is that the culture is heading in the right direction. While I don’t want to lessen the message of these abused women and the mismanagement of Dan Snyder over these decades, stop throwing that in the fan’s faces just to guilt them into being quiet. This next statement seems so relevant today and, although this team’s skill position players seem very good, the overall construction plus negligence to this roster speaks to this truth.

Carson Wentz IS and IS NOT Part of the Problem!

I have written this before about Carson Wentz and it still stands true today: he is NOT an elite-level quarterback who can carry a bad team on his shoulders. If Wentz doesn’t feel confident in the offensive lineman in front of him, bad mechanics and happy feet will certainly rear their ugly heads. Couple that with his desire to hold the ball too long just to make a hero ball play often leads to bad sacks and interceptions, particularly when the line in front of him is playing terribly. Does this excuse Carson Wentz of any blame? Absolutely not. He needs to get rid of the ball to live and fight on another play and he needs to eliminate the poor decisions he is prone to make. With that said, Ron Rivera deserves far more of this blame than he seems willing to accept. Every NFL general manager, scout, coach, and teammate has talked about what you need for Wentz to succeed, which Ron did not supply. Without any form of effort, he allowed one of the best left tackles in the NFL to walk and replaced him with an average tackle. While not wanting to pay an often injured Brandon Scherff $18 million a year was reasonable, Ron brought in two guards who are past their prime while letting a more serviceable player in Ereck Flowers walk. Yes, Flowers is still a free agent, but are you going to honestly tell me he is not a better option than Turner or Norwell? The line Ron built is barely a unit that even a player like Tom Brady could win with, yet he expects Carson Wentz to succeed.

With all that said, Scott Turner’s play calling has not done anything to help offset the issues along the offensive line. Far too many long-developing pass plays and the lack of misdirection run plays are simply serving Wentz on a silver platter to the opposing defenses. When Turner does adjust, it’s typically too late, but when he does, the quick passing game plus play action off the run has been giving Wentz the time to go through his progressions. This situation is not a result of just Carson Wentz or even Scott Turner but a collective failure starting with Ron Rivera. In his 3rd year, there doesn’t seem to be any hope of change on the horizon. Trust me, people have noticed and understood the full picture of what’s happening offensively.

All Leads Back To The Top

Here’s the bottom line and the reason why this fan base has dwindled into mediocrity: Dan Snyder is the root cause of this disaster. If the truth is that Dan gets upset and his ego is bruised by this fact, this fan base just does not care. What he’s done to this once proud franchise is nothing short of a disgrace and when anyone dares to challenge the fan’s negative perception of him or this organization they can simply just go to hell (no apologies from me). The unfortunate truth is that Dan is going nowhere anytime soon unless the NFL ownership circle can find an undisputable fact of a concrete sexual assault or racist charge (something of that severity). Aside from the over-the-top ra-ra fans who will always look past Snyder’s transgressions, the fans have continued to cry out for help to stop this brutal embarrassment that runs the Washington franchise. Many are like me and believe that the current changes, while great to see, will never be enough to give Dan Snyder any form of retribution because every with any sense of reasoning can see this is strictly NFL driven. Dan even interfered in the investigation of Ben Wilkinson, who he originally hired to conduct  an impartial third party investigation. I can certainly go on talking about the unforgivable deconstruction of our team Dan Snyder has done, but I’ll leave you with this:

  • If the truth bothers you, Dan…I have no sympathy
  • If you strive for forgiveness, Dan…Look elsewhere
  • If my vocal doubts about you are offensive…Good
  • If my praying for your removal seems unfair…It’s not

Dan Snyder, this fan is not alone: