Commanders Vs. Titans - Studs and Duds

It’s just not enjoyable being a fan of this team right now…

At this point, it’s VERY clear to see that Tugboat Ron just doesn’t care anymore. All the coach-speak, all the pandering…HE DOESN’T GIVE A HOOT! He’s been through far too much, that this is just “work” to him. It’s sad - it really is, but the game has passed him by. The boxing gloves are finally down, and the jabs still continue to land! He's just here to collect a paycheck!

The season is essentially over before it even began…

Now that I have gotten that off my chest - let me just say that despite my opening comment and the end result, this was a very enjoyable game to watch. Unlike the last two weeks, it was a showdown of two pretty well-matched teams who are both decimated with injury and fighting to keep their season going. One did just that - and for the other, the season is pretty much guaranteed to be another losing one. However, I was never angry - even when we failed to score inside the five yard line with waning seconds left in the game. I was just emotionless. Like when the skies overhead looked dark all day and you are expecting rain, so when that first cool drop of H2O hits you in the face, you just go on to open your umbrella and proceed along your journey, because you knew the rain was coming and you had prepared yourself for it.

The sad fact is this has become my life now as a fan of the Washington Commanders…and you know what - I’m not losing anymore sleep over it. Quite honestly, I wish I’d have done this years ago because I could have probably saved myself thousands on Bourbon, broken TV remotes and burned jerseys. It’s not that I will stop being a fan of them, it’s just the emotion is now COMPLETELY gone!

Oh well, you live and you learn, and simply move on to the Studs and Duds - to which I am actually surprised I care enough to write…

Studs:

Montez Sweat - Sweat took over the game early, and made his presence felt through all four quarters. He built a home in the Titans backfield, and despite numerous offers above market value, refused to sell! He finished with six total tackles, three for loss, two sacks (should have been three as Tannehill was CLEARLY in the grasp on one of those hits) and four quarterback hits.

Cole Holcomb - Holcomb played his most complete game as a MIKE linebacker, racking up a team high 15 tackles (11 solo), and one for a loss. Holding Henry to just 3.6 YPC is quite the accomplishment, and Cole was a big reason for that.

Dyami Brown - The second year receiver finally broke out in a big way against a depleted Titans secondary. He showed off the deep speed that made him a folk-hero at UNC, grabbing two deep balls for 105 yards and two touchdowns. One of those receptions was a beautiful one-hander while the defender had his other arm pinned.

James Smith-Williams - I heavily criticized Smith-Williams over the past few weeks for being the “invisible man”, but he played a very good game Sunday. He had four total tackles (one for a loss), and a sack, while hitting Tannehill four times.

Duds:

Tugboat Ron - He has officially captured DUD status for the entire season! He could go on an eight game winning streak and narrowly miss the playoffs and he’s STILL a dud in my book. In fact, since Bruce Allen was fired, and outside of the obvious Dan Snyder, there had never been someone more deserving of permanent DUD status than TUGBOAT RON is right now!

His personnel decisions were atrocious, and they sunk this team before they even had a chance to board the boat! His preparation (or lack there of) is an embarrassment. His clock management has been, and continues to be, PISS POOR, and the damn pandering he throws toward the media and fan base is humiliating!

To say this man should be immediately fired would be the understatement of the decade!

Andrew Norwell - it’s VERY clear he’s just here to collect his final pay checks and retire in a cave somewhere in one of the Dakota’s - because he SURE AS HELL isn’t here to play football! The display he put on against Tennessee will haunt future generations of his family!

Nick Martin - He wasn’t QUITE as bad as Norwell, but he wasn’t too far off. Mutiple low snaps, untimely penalties and poor blocking doomed the former street free agent. I really don’t have much more to say without sounding like that zealot “former scout” Daniel Kelly, that Ken hired to write here, used to sound like - so I’ll just stop!

Notes:

• Wentz was on his way to having a great game…until the last interception at the goal line. And you know what, I don’t even know if I can put that on him. I will simply give credit to one HELL of a play by the defense! That being said, this was a severely depleted Titans team, and if we can’t beat them, we may not win a game the remainder of the season.
• Kam Curl continues to play REALLY good football. He was the Buffalo Nickel for the majority of the game, and he did an outstanding job down in the box and in coverage. What a player this guy is turning out to be!
• Interesting that Scott Turner moved to the booth to call plays yesterday. The play calling seems much better and actually found a nice little rhythm - however not taking shots to Cole Turner or Cam Sims at the end of the game aggravated the hell out of me!
• Speaking of Scott Turner, the running game could not get on track Sunday afternoon, averaging just 2.5 yards on 17 attempts.
• Cornelius Lucas held up much better than I expected at right tackle, although the Titans were without some key players along their defensive line. If/when Cosmi returns, it may behoove Matsko to put him at guard to replace the human turnstile that is Andrew Norwell.
• It was a quiet day for the cornerbacks - mainly because Tennesse had no one to challenge them deep OR enough time to take shots even if they did. Holding the Titans to 181 yards passing and just one touchdown (to a RB), was a good accomplishment.
• Penalties - These are getting worrisome; however, they are a direct result of both coaching and being undisciplined. We were hit with nine penalties for 71 yards and should have had at least two more (including the one where Sweat took his helmet off on the field).