Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Week 3 Takeaways

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September 27, 2022

by David Earl

Adam Schefter Trade Report for Jimmy Garoppolo

Let me start off with the ill-timed report by Adam Schefter regarding the Commander’s trade offer for Jimmy Garoppolo during the scouting combine that he published a few hours before kickoff. As you see above, my personal sound-off on Twitter Kevin Sheehan responded to my Twitter sound-off to this matter.  It is yet another example of why many fans are so frustrated. Whether it’s a personal bias Schefter may have against the organization or the local and national media hell-bent on attacking an organization owned by Dan Snyder, there is a clear agenda I see that borders on the failure of journalistic integrity. While continued criticism against the owner is absolutely warranted and I personally would never argue against such criticism, using these stories to target this team is just reckless. Let me be very clear that is exactly what I have seen all year, especially on the back of Carson Wentz. When you get a few reputable local media members making hints that maybe Wentz was never Ron’s guy after all is just embarrassing by all accounts. Trust me when I say my emotional frustrations with Dan Snyder is as high, if not higher, than most but I refuse to allow that to cloud anything I write about the team, cnot even for the sake of clickbait. So what is the issue exactly with this series of events? Glad you asked.

As we all know this past offseason’s top priority was getting a franchise quarterback and the team was very clear that all options remained open. Apparently the front office came into the scouting combine with Jimmy Garoppolo in their sights.  Who could blame Ron and the front office for this direction? It could very well be they figured to trade for Garoppolo and then position themselves for a rookie quarterback in the 2022 draft which would have been a very plausible plan. Sure during this time, Russell Wilson was rumored to want out of Seattle but the league-wide talks were more inquiries than anything else entering the Combine. Leading up to the draft many didn’t truly think Seattle and Wilson would even part ways. The Sporting News laid out a great timeline of events on the Wilson trade and claimed that later Washington joined in the bidding war. As soon as the Garoppolo deal fell through then the Wilson in Seattle and Wentz in Indianapolis situations became very clear. Even though Ron Rivera stated he’d call every team, the top two options after the Garoppolo deal were clearly Russell Wilson first (obviously so) and then Carson Wentz. Once the trade of Wilson to Denver happened on March 8th, Ron and the organization quickly made the deal for Carson Wentz on March 9th. Whether you want to say this was solely out of desperation because the market was drying up and Wentz may have never come here if released, the fact remains Washington made a serious offer for Carson Wentz. Ron made it a point to bring in his quarterback, and to act as though Wentz was never truly “The Guy” is just irresponsible and motivated by misguided narratives, as we’ve seen all offseason. I get how it ended in Indianapolis but Jim Irsay had a lot more to do with that decision than just Carson’s performance.

To close, Adam Schefter’s timing was just too coincidental in releasing this report and members of the local media right away took the bait to start a negative narrative just before kickoff which is exactly why this fan base’s respect for the media has dwindled. Dan Snyder’s ownership has had a toxic effect on everyone in the media, especially locally, but these same media people need to realize the effects this has had on the fans of this team. While you all in the media have the platform and can freely air out your issues, the rest of us have work and/or family responsibilities that do not allow that time to properly vent. For a lot of us, it’s actually more difficult to handle this situation especially when we look to this team to get away from the everyday grind of real life. When week after week the media has to continue making a story out of nothing just to spin a “yet again, another toxic situation for Washington” narrative makes the fans even more frustrated. I understand the owner’s situation and the scandals around him but the timing of these reports is just unnecessary, mainly for the health of a suffering fan base and the players attempting to create a new team culture of winning. I can never understand the rationale that every time this team takes a step forward some need to pull them back a few steps and the back door comments after mentioning something positive is just as tiresome. Here at this site, we all have different levels of disgust for what Dan Snyder has done but we also keep those emotions from dictating our columns and podcasts, which is one of the reasons I was excited to become a writer for the Hog Sty. While I am sure the organization itself may not appreciate how we may air out our opinions freely about Dan, they certainly can’t complain about how we report on the team overall. Yes, we have our warts here too but not to the extent of the new age clickbait media we see every day. It’s time we all learn to separate the owner from the rest of this team because using Dan as a reason to keep targeting this organization does not help remove him from ownership but simply drives the fans away and frustrates the players putting in the work week after week.

As Far As the Game

This comment basically sums up today’s performance as while the defense actually started off playing strong disciplined football early but the offense was never able to get anything started. Carson Wentz certainly did not have a good game but that was also fostered by a game plan from Scott Turner that featured far too many long-developing pass plays. Entering this game the offensive line was down a few starters and faced face and aggressive defensive front 7. This style of defense was more susceptible to a quick passing game and misdirection run plays that could cause them to over pursue, which would possibly open up plays down the field. The Detroit Lions exposed that week 1; however, for whatever reason, neither Minnesota in week 2 nor Washington in week 3 executed that game plan. As a result, the defense, already thin at the defensive line and cornerback positions entering this game, became exhausted letting up multiple big plays again this week. Entering halftime down 24-0, this coaching staff was simply out-coached and out-prepared by their opponent. I won’t completely absolve the players – Wentz began to hold onto the ball too long and took bad sacks, the offensive line couldn’t hold blocks, thereby leaving Wentz with no pocket, and the wide receivers didn’t make plays when they should have, but this also falls on Scott Turner’s game plan too. Once again there were no offensive adjustments until it was too late which lends to the idea that maybe Scott should be calling plays from the booth. Either way, this fan base has had just about enough of Ron Rivera and the coaching staff. For a full game, recap check out Noonefromtampa’s column here.