(All of my stuff is here)
Purifier was sitting outside of the lab, having decided to try her luck with one of the vending machines that was on the base. She was aware of what ships and humans ate, but there were some things that still boggled her (often underused) positronic brain.
At this point, her yellow eyes were fixed on one of the items in a vending machine that was imported from the Sakura Empire.
What was sparkling coffee? And more importantly, why was sparkling coffee?
The only way she was going to find out about that was by forking over the cash to find out herself, so she just resigned herself to the tyranny of money instead of just ripping the vending machine open herself. It’s not like it would hurt her to punch a speed hole into the machine, but that kind of thing did make other people upset with her and would lead to long, long lectures she didn’t want to sit through.
So, sparkling coffee it was.
It was just espresso mixed with carbonated water and some kind of fruit juice, so she didn’t see what the big deal was, trying to make it all fancy-sounding, so she drank it while squatting by the machine like the delinquent she liked to play at being.
It was then that her phone rang, and she grumbled to herself, as she wondered what Yuubari might suddenly want now.
Her eyes widened, and her pupils narrowed as her phone struggled to process the incoming caller, but eventually the Caller ID settled on something.
ANTIOCHUS GROUP ARMS LABORATORY
Her hand slowly raised the phone up to her ear. “Hello?”
“This is no time for pleasantries, Purifier.”
Purifier looked around. “Ummm… Sorry, I’m not interested in talking about my car’s extended warranty.”
“Purifier, this is no time for you to test my patience.”
Purifier stood up. “Uhhh… New phone who dis?”
“Purifier.”
Purifier squeaked. “All right, Alpha… First off, how did you even get this number?”
“You use it to secure your account on your InstaFans page. The one where you pretend to be a girl who’s cosplaying as Purifier in numerous… Compromising… positions… Why do you even have one of those, anyway?”
“My job is part-time and doesn’t pay that well. Girl’s got her get her top dollar somehow!”
Purifier smiled as she heard an exasperated sigh from the other end. “…There are serious matters to discuss, and I know you don’t mind talking when the right questions were asked. However, you gave your survival away when Tester was killed, because you are the only one who could have relayed that information to them. You have caused us a great deal of trouble.”
“I guess so!” Purifier said, with a smile. “It looks like you just sorta found out that the dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed! Yeah, I served up Tester for them on a silver platter, and don’t start acting high and mighty about it- This is what it took for you to start taking me seriously when you wouldn’t give me the time of day. And don’t act like you didn’t run me through the brain laundromat at least once!”
There was a moment of silence. “…You gave them that information when you knew that killing Tester was one of the possible results.”
“Naw.” She said. “I gave them that info because I knew they’d do it, and that it’d be one of the only things that’d wake you up. Did you ever stop and think about why the Anomaly and KAN-SEN found it so easy to pull the trigger on Tester? Do you even know what we have done to these people?”
There was silence at the other end, and Purifier had begun to wonder if Observer Alpha had hung up. But then, “…I would offer you a chance to return, but you know what awaits you if you come back. A fresh wipe and modifications to your program. Even if you have a change of heart, you can never return to us.”
“The chance of that is so fat that it needs its own mobility scooter.” She pouted. “Besides, I like it here more. Did you know about sparkling coffee?”
“I was aware.” Observer Alpha replied. “…You are determined to remain where you are?”
“There’s no bribe you can offer me to make me go back.” She said. “…Besides, I should be asking you and the others to come over here before things get ugly. No matter what Empress spouts out of her pie hole, even Zero will have nowhere to run once the hammer comes down.”
“You believe that Zero’s suspicions may be correct?”
“Yeah.” She said. “And the rest of you, especially the Tarot Tag Team, need to start thinking about what that means. Because if Zero is right, then it’s only a matter of time until we’re no longer daddy’s favorite, and you’re not going to be able to control the power Zero wants to let loose. If that happens, then you’re the ones who’re going to be the live-fire test subjects, and they’ll want to fire off a lot of rounds.”
“…Purifier. I managed to find the calculations Tester did. All of them were perfect- They accounted for every permutation of the combat scenario she devised. There wasn’t a single error- She accounted for all capabilities of every observed Kansen the Anomaly had available. Before I finish, know this- I do not believe the error that cost Tester her life lay in her math.”
“Oh?” Purifier went reading Alpha’s meaning immediately. She giggled. “All right, talk to you never, Dr. Octagonapus.”
The call ended.
----------
Purifier brought the results of her call directly to the commander. Or she would have, if she hadn’t gotten distracted along the way.
“Puri~” Went Anchorage. “…Oh, are you here to see the baby, too?”
“Nah, I was just going to talk to your teacher. Something came up that he’s gonna know about.”
“Oh…” Anchorage went, not knowing that Purifier was exercising every restraint to avoid calling Matilda “that little tit-sucker.” Anchorage perked up. “If you’re going to be here, maybe you could… see her anyway?”
Purifier looked into Anchorage’s eyes. It was very clear that this was going to be a package deal, and even Purifier couldn’t find it in herself to bully Anchorage, not the least of which was that the cruiser was only conditionally harmless. “I’ll be by after I’m done talking to teacher, all right?”
“All right~” Anchorage smiled and went on her habitually merry way.
The Siren made her way into the commander’s office, walking in like she was already invited. “Heeey, Anomaly! Before you say a thing, I’m not here for a social call. Got some news for you that you might want to hear.”
The commander looked up from his work- some report from that other officer that Purifier couldn’t be bothered to remember, so she thought of Albert as the king of delivery boys. “It’s not often that you volunteer information like this without being asked, so it must be something special.”
“Yep.” She put on a big smile as she sat on his desk. “I just got a call from my old boss, so here’s the deal…”
Before the commander could react, Purifier spilled the beans about everything that she talked about with Observer Alpha, leaving the commander to ask the obvious question. “…So, just what does Zero suspect?”
“That, Anomaly, requires a teaching lesson from professor Purifier. Unfortunately, I don’t have a sexy teacher outfit to give you this special lesson, buuuut we’re going to just have to make do.” She crossed her legs. “You see, what’s on Zero’s noggin is one of the reasons you have to work for a living.”
The commander nodded. “All right, so what is Zero, anyway?”
“Daddy’s favorite number one girl~” She said. “A living strategic computer that could think her way out of any scenario without fail. That is, until the enemy showed up, and for the first time in her life she went “BEEP BOOP DOES NOT COMPUTE” and that’s stuck in her craw ever since. Ninety percent of everything that’s happened is her trying to execute the boss’s directives. In fact, I kiiinda wonder if the boss is actually calling the shots any more.”
The commander nodded. “So, what does she suspect about the Kansen?”
“Wellll…” She smiled. “…You see, the cubes aren’t a new thing, Anomaly. Me, the research team, and even the Arcana Avengers are all powered by cubes- We were just given powerful android bodies and weapons that could make good use of the huge amount of power they made available. But you see, for us, they’re just a power source, but for the Kansen… Haha, Dr. Anzeel did a funny and somehow made them into the soul of the machine. And Zero has been keeping an eye on that, and thinks there might be more than meets the eye. Your girls have gotten buffer and hotter, but she thinks they can become far, far stronger than anyone else believes.”
The commander had one question. “How?”
“Apparently she believes in something called an “awakening”, where the cube and its carrier become perfectly synced. She said it was the perfect expression of will and genius, but it sounded like a whole bunch of hoo-hah to me. So, a lot of what she’s been doing figuring out how to scientifically make that happen with science, but no luck.” She stretched. “Aaaanyway, that’s all I’ve got for you for today, Anomaly, so good luck with that whole Anomaly thing you’ve got going on.”
The commander stopped working. “So, where are you off to now?”
“Hm?” She hopped off the desk. “Oh, promised Anchorage that I’d go see that spawn of yours with her.” She shook her head. “…Can’t say no to her or she’ll get all sad about it, and that’s not something I need on a Monday~”
The commander looked at his routine paperwork, then back at Purifier, and then he stood up from his desk. “…You know, I think I should probably see my own daughter, too.”
However, something did stick in the back of his mind. If Zero believed that Kansen could undergo some kind of awakening, it meant that some Kansen showed the properties of being able to achieve it, whatever it really was.
The question was… Who?
--------------
King George V looked up from her papers and smiled. She had decided to just sit down and review some reports from the Royal Navy in her daughter’s bedroom. Anchorage was happy with watching Matilda be a baby, but Dido’s usually low-level conniptions flared up once she saw Purifier come into Matilda’s room. “Ah! Master… Is it really all right for Purifier to be in here?”
Purifier pouted. “Hey! I’d have to be a real sack of…”
King George turned her intense red eyes on Purifier, frowned, and pointed at Matilda.
The Siren hurriedly corrected herself. “…I’d have to be real low to think kidnapping a baby would be a good idea. I’m not Tester, all right?”
King George smiled. “Indeed… Besides, Tester’s willingness, if lack of ability, to stoop that low turned out to be rather counterproductive for her. Anyway, it’s not a problem for Purifier to be here. After all, miss Dido, you are empowered to eject Purifier from the premises by any means desired if she acts unscrupulously, never mind the fact that I myself am present.”
“Ah, yes, your excellency.” Dido bowed to her and then to the commander. “I will be ready to do such a thing of mischief is afoot!”
Alex smiled. “You’ve never disappointed us, Dido, so don’t worry.”
“Uwaa…” Went Dido, blushing quite red.
Anchorage, however, was looking over the edge of Matilda’s crib. “Ah… So, this is the baby… Teacher says that they’re this small when they’re made, they don’t come out even as big as Little Bel.”
“Ahh…” Alex scratched the back of his head. “…I don’t think King George V would forgive me if it was the way Kansen worked.”
“Indeed, it was something of a feat to get her out when she was small.” King George looked over at the crib. “If she was larger, it would, at the very least permanently cure me of any desire to have another one.”
Anchorage giggled. “Puri, why don’t you say hello?”
“Wagbgb.” Went Matilda, having not yet mastered any recognizable language.
Purifier leaned over to have a look. “Hey there! It’s me, the prettiest android in the world.” She held out a finger. “You can touch, I’m tough.”
Matilda grabbed onto Purifier’s pale fingers before she turned to look at Alex and King George. “So, when do you plan to tell her that I’m a very bad girl who needed to be spanked?”
Alex shrugged. “When she starts asking questions about it, I guess. No need to do it before then. But we’re going to tell her.”
King George V nodded. “It might well be important for her to know that people can change for the better. It doesn’t always happen, certainly, and that desire for change must, at least in part, come from within. But it still can happen.”
Purifier carefully withdrew her finger once Matilda lost interest in it. “I think that’s enough baby time. Gotta do lab stuff or that fox over there will gnaw on me.”
Anchorage smiled. “Um… Puri… Teacher and his special lady had a baby by growing one inside of her, and I was made from cubes like all my other friends… But who made you?”
Purifier blinked. “Who made me? The guy who was our big boss or whatever, probably!”
Anchorage paused. “Oh, um… what was his name?”
Purifier needed to think about it. What was his name?
What was his name?
WHAT was his name?
What was HIS name?
WhaT wAs HiS NaME???
WHAT
WAS
HIIIIIS
NAAAAAAAAAMMMMEEE
Purifier suddenly pitched forward, slamming face-first into the floor of the bedroom. Anchorage’s eyes widened and she ran over to nudge the unresponsive girl. “Puri? Puri?”

“Doctor~!” Shouted the assistant as she bolted into the lab. She had long, black hair done in a ponytail, violet eyes, and a big smile that never seemed to leave. The young woman always skirted what was acceptable in the lab dress code, always wearing the shortest shorts that she could get away with, and always choosing whatever tops could turn the most heads without exposing an unacceptable amount of skin. Plus she had her own lab coat, so she met that requirement at least.
The head of the lab smiled at her, one hand in the pocket of his own white lab coat, the other hand holding a clipboard. “You have your own way of entering, but at least you’re on time.” The bespectacled doctor himself was someone who had aged very gracefully into middle age- even his short, white hair wasn’t enough to detract from the fact that he was tall and fit, and not even his stubble took away from his looks.
She giggled. “Can’t help making my classmates jealous, you know!”
The scientist adjusted his glasses. “Jealous? It’s not like working here is a vacation. You know that as much as anyone.”
The assistant smiled. “Come on, doc, you’ve heard what goes on around campus. You’ve got that real DILF energy that just makes some girls horrendously down bad.”
The scientist just stared at her for a moment. “…This… Is it a joke?”
“Naw!’ Her smile grew wider to the point that the doctor wondered what a look at his assistant’s anatomy might produce. “There was all kinds of talk about how they wanted to perform repeatable stress tests to determine the maximum thresholds of doc’s Bone Zone.”
His mouth fell open slightly, and he shook his head. “…You know, sometimes I have a hard time convincing other people that you’re as intelligent as I know you are. If I didn’t have proof that you designed that propulsion system…”
“Which you accepted!”
“Which I accepted.” He repeated. “You really have a knack for that kind of danger engineering.”
“Haha… I’m not just a pretty face and hot bod, doc! Besides… Anything I can do to help is something I’m going to do.”
The scientist smiled. “…I know. And since you’re a part of this lab, there’s something I’m going to want to show you. It took me some time to get permission for you to see what I’m about to reveal to you, so don’t get up to any mischief.”
“Sure thing, doc!”
The doctor unlocked one of the corridors in the lab with a special passkey. “You see, this lab has been working on the Antiochus Project- an integrated autonomous strategic system that can effectively run itself based on an artificial intelligence’s examination of broad directives and objectives given by its controlling parties. You’ve been working on some of the mechanics, of course, but that’s just on the margins.”
“So… You’re taking me to see the main event?”
“That’s about the size of it.” He began opening a series of heavy, thick, vault-like doors. “…Sorry if this whole security setup seems portentous, but this was a condition placed on us by our benefactors if our efforts bore any fruit. This won’t take much longer.”
“No probs! Sad as it sounds, I’ve got nothing else going on today.”
“…Right.” He said, as he opened the last door. The doors slid back to reveal what looked to be… A big, cozy bedroom with an intense laboratory setup right next to it. The whiplash of seeing those two things next to each other nearly made the assistant’s head spin, but what caught her attention was the… Girl? Sitting on the bed- her pale skin, her short, white hair, her bright blue eyes that moved this way and that… And that white, fluffy dress of hers.
The pale girl’s head immediately turned to look at the assistant. “Someone new.”
“Of course.” The doctor said. “This is my assistant, Purity, who has been working with us for a little while. Purity, this is Terminal Bastion Zero, the centerpiece of our project. Zero because she’s not a production model, and if that all just sounds like too much of a mouthful, you can just call her TB. Some people also call her Dreamweaver, but that’s more of an unofficial thing.”
“Heya TB!” Purity gave her a little wave. “So… What does she do? And why Dreamweaver?”
“In effect, she’s a living strategic computer that’s supposed to be at the center of a strategic system that will include other powerful androids of various kinds- combat, analysis, nearly any kind of autonomous unit can be integrated into her mission profile. As for Dreamweaver… You’ve heard of the 100 scenarios, right?”
“Yeah, it’s a bunch of really outlandish stuff that militaries train for.” She shrugged. “Zombie apocalypse, Care Bear Stare, all kinds of things like that.”
“Many of these have strategic versions.” He said. “Scenarios that are so enormous and calamitous in scope that it’s hard for humans to even begin to grasp the implications of their impact and progression. So far we’ve fed forty of those into her and she has been able to solve them all, and there’s no sign that the rest will pose any more of a challenge. A strategic mind that could only be imagined in centuries past, and now she’s sitting here in front of us. What do you think?”
Purity leaned over to get a good look into TB’s eyes. “…I wanna squish her cheeks.”
TB blinked. “For what purpose is this cheek squishing?”
“Because you’re cute, obviously!”
The doctor sighed. “…Please do not squish the cheeks of my unique and practically irreplaceable strategic computer.”
Purity pouted. “Not just a little?”
The doctor flipped a page on his clipboard. “I’ll write a bad performance for you right now.”
Purity huffed. “What?! Still not gonna stop me from wanting to squish cheek.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “When presented with an invaluable piece of prototype strategic equipment, the assistant couldn’t stop herself from handling it in improper and befuddling ways.”
“Aughhh… Fine!” She hmphed. “Besides, maybe she wanted it too…”
TB looked at Purity. “The action of squishing cheeks does not provide any service, nor does it assist in the performance of TB-Zero’s duties.”
Purity shook her head. “Well, you’re no fun. Like daughter like dad, huh?”
The doctor shrugged. “I wouldn’t exactly call TB my daughter. She has far fewer limitations than I do… I think there are far greater things ahead of her than I can even speculate on- Not that a scientist of any worth should allow themselves to be prone to unhealthy prognostications in the first place. Anyway, you’re going to have a bigger role in helping me from now on.”
Purity smiled, and winked. “Just leave it to me! After all, I’m Purity, Dr. Aoste’s number one assistant!”

Purifier shot straight up the moment she was awake. Anchorage had the presence of mind to carry her over to Yuubari’s lab- the girl must have figured out that Purifier was built somewhat differently from basically everyone else on the base.
Anchorage was looking at her with an immeasurable amount of concern. “Puri!... Um… Did I hurt you?”
The Siren shook her head. “Nah, you just asked me a really, really hard question.”
Yuubari nodded. “I’ll say. It over-excited even her core processing systems to the point of priority shutdown of motive and sensor functions. Still, there was also some other strange activity that was going on in there while I we were monitoring you.”
The commander looked over at the fox. “What kind of strangeness?”
Yuubari shrugged. “I’m hoping I’m not wrong, master, but there was a great deal of activity in data storage sectors that, on all other examination, should be blank.” Yuubari blinked. “…Did you remember something?”
“Huh?” She said. “Ahhh… Maybe, but I don’t know if I was remembering me or something that Alpha put in there. There was a name, maybe, Dr. Aoste or something.” She shook her head. “Prolly doesn’t mean anything to any of you.”
The commander shrugged. “It’s more than what we had before, at least.”
Anchorage tugged on the commander’s sleeve. “…Teacher, is Puri going to be okay?”
“I think she’ll be fine, Anchorage. I think she’s just starting to remember things that people tried really hard to make her forget.”
“Mmm!” Purifier jumped off the lab table. “Yeah, it’s going to take a lot more than falling flat on my face to put me down.” She looked at Anchorage. “Aaaanyway, I think I’m going to head to my room, and you’d better go back home, too. You probably have lessons to catch up on or something.”
Anchorage’s eyes widened to their fullest extent. “Ah… How did you know? No, wait… Everyone teaches me~” She giggled. “All right, but you can come over if you want, Puri.”
After Anchorage left, Purifier looked at the commander. “Can’t believe she asked me who made me, and no I don’t know if that doctor did it. Maybe had something to do with it, but… Aaahhh…” She shook her head. “Too much thinky.”
The commander nodded. “There’s no telling what those former comrades of yours have done to you. We’ll deal with it when it comes up again.”
“When!?” She went. “Ahhh… This kind of weird-ass cryptic stuff was always Alpha’s thing… Maybe she’ll take my advice and get while the getting’s good.”
The commander shrugged. “If this Observer Alpha feels like she needs to pack up and leave the Sirens, then she can always come here, but I don’t think the Sirens are at that point yet. As for you, I think you should just continue helping Yuubari, since she can do the most if you blow another gasket.”
Purifier huffed. “What, my brain goes kablooey and I get a weird dream from being asked a very personal question and all of you are acting like it’s important? That’s…” She paused. “…Really sensible, if this was an anime!”
The commander sighed. “…I don’t think you appreciate how strange my life has gotten since I came here.”
“Ugh, fine.” Purifier crossed her arms. “Stupid prophetic bullshit…”
The commander shook his head. Whatever was going on, Purifier was going to be herself.

Alright, "suspicious" is a massive understatement.
A few weeks back I was searching for a certain appliance to see if I could find it at a low price, don't remember if it was Google or Bing (probably the former because I first saw the listing on my phone), but it was listed for less than a third of its normal price on what was identified by the search engine as Walmart. When I checked the link, I noticed I was on a website using the Walmart Logo called wholesaleclub.shop. What's interesting is after I looked more into it today, I find that the site's domain would have been no older than 3 days when I first saw it, and they list a phone number I haven't called and an address I don't think is real.
Does anyone know anything else about this site? I don't trust it at all.
Supposed phone number for anyone willing to call: 1(443)-318-4481 (shows up in search results, not visible on any pages I've seen)
Address according to search engine: 4250 Five Points, Bel Air, Maryland 21014, United States
"Addres" according to contact us page: 1250 31st St Apartment 153,Des Moines,Iowa 50311,United States
Contact us page also only has lorem ipsum text in the FAQ, and outright says the form is for demo purposes and "no inquiry will be answered."
Anyone want to try contacting them by the phone number or something? Scam review sites (the only other place the address will be mentioned) don't detect it as a scam (probably because it's only 17 days old at the time of this post), but there's no way it's legit.
Don't want to post a direct link to the site people can click on, for obvious reasons, but feel free to go to the address and ask yourself why it has a Walmart logo (and how Google listed it at any point as the real thing).

Defending the Draft: 2023 Washington Commanders 8-8-1
Preface:
Hope.
This 2023 season will be the most interesting for the Commanders franchise in a long long time. We enter this season with more uncertainty than I have ever been a part of, however, the one thing the fan base is certain of... is the future is brighter. Dan Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999 and subsequently done nothing but run a blue blood franchise into the ground. This team has lacked direction for a long time and a large part of that was due to Dan Snyder's meddling in the day-to-day football operations of the team. Starting his ownership with signing washed up HOF veterans, to then overspending in free agency (Albert Haynesworth is arguably the worst free agent signing of all time), drug scandal with thetraining staff, the mishandling of the RG3 and Kirk Cousins situation, Not resigning Trent Williams, and lastly we've now reached tumultuous time where his off the field issues have hung a dark cloud over a once proud franchise. Although, lol, his most egregious mistake may be hiring Jim Zorn as head coach. It's egregious that his only punishment is a 6 billion dollar payout for his franchise. I hope the banks bury him and he faces the deserved legal actions. As of now there had been an agreement to sell the franchise to 76'rs and NJ Devils owner, Josh Harris.... and is 20ish members of his parliament. We await to hear news of the reviews from the NFL financial committee to close out the process. Last news I came across was he has cut down the number of minority owners to 20. It will be a pleasure when this agreement is finalized. He could be a terrible owner, but it would still be an upgrade from Synder. Harris, seemingly has been a hands off owner and properly allows the people he's hired to operate the team. This last sports season he's had both of his teams deep in the playoff hunt. This season will be interesting. A lot of questions all around: Sam Howell? Chase Young? Ron Rivera? Eric Bienemy? Josh Harris? I'm not sure of those answers, but I'm very excited to find them out.
Coaching:
HC- Ron Rivera OC- Eric Bieniemy DC- Jack Del Rio
Key Additions: Eric Bieniemy
Ole' Riverboat Ron Rivera is back and going into his 4th season with the Washington Commanders, hopefully his last. I believe Ron Rivera is a leader of men, but I highly question his actual coaching skills and team building. I've currently seen enough of this coaching regime and front office to safely say let's move on. There's been several things that I believed were firable offenses.... the Carson Wentz trade. Some rumors have said that this was a Snyder push. Not entirely positive, but Ron bragged that it was his call. Our team at that point was not a qb away from being really good, let alone a Carson Wentz level of qb. The next fireable offense was starting Wentz over Hienke when the playoffs were on the line. Wentz ended up being benched for Hienke, but it was too little too late. The next fireable offense was not realizing we were eliminated from the playoffs. Going into the last week of the season Ron planned on starting Hieneke. Pretty odd to not know you're out of the playoffs, let alone to test Sam Howell out for next season. Additionally, there's been some pretty questionable roster creation decisions. I absolutely hate the versatile secondary and offensive line philosophy. We currently have a patch work offensive line that has the means to fluctuate between average to below average. Not a single player on the line is top 5 at their respected position. Two years ago we had a top 10 o-line, but that had Brandon Sherff playing like a top 5 guard and Charles Leno having his best season. Our o-line took a significant step back this past season and now looks to be our biggest weakness. Ron has shown to trust his own board and has reached (according to the consensus big board) with every single pick so far. People mistake 2019 as one of his drafts ( Sweat, McLaurin, Holcomb), but he was hired at the end of the season. Take this with a grain of salt as it takes at least 3 years to properly review a draft. Rons 1st round picks have been the following: 2020 pick 2 Chase Young- the correct pick at the time, but hard to botch the 2nd overall pick, 2021 pick 19 Jamin Davis- hated the pick at the time, too early for a linebacker... let a lone a project. On tape he looked lost a lot and made up for it with his elite athleticism. He's shown progress, but nothing showing he's worthy of the pick. 2022 pick 16 Jahan Dotson- looks to be an absolute baller, had him ranked above Olave in the pre-draft process. Was a slight reach above the consensus board, but flashed high end ability. Davis has been the only mistake in the 1st round thus far. When I say mistake I don't necessarily mean player, but the roster building philosophy. Whether reaching on Phidarian Mathis in the 2nd round of 2022. Lol, he was older than Payne coming out of the draft, one year of good production, and was taken a round too early. In the next round Brian Robinson was taken and was really just a body. Haven't really seen anything elite with him so far and was a meh pick. John Bates in the 4th round was egregious. Now I have to give credit where it's due. Kam Curl was an absolute steal and can solidify himself as top 5 safety this season if he continues to play this well. Our other starting safety in Darrick Forest also had a lot of bright spots playing this past season.
Arguably, our best offseason move was signing Eric Bieniemy. I'm absolutely excited. Forget everything about him not calling the plays. Reports from OTA's shows his hands on approach and full control of the offense. One of my favorites things I've heard is he is using OTA's to see what the players can do and crafting the offense to their abilities. Time and time again (Scott Turner) you see coaches say this is the offense and not change anything to match the players strengths. We don't know for sure how the offense will look, but if it's anything close to the motion west coast offense the Chiefs have... boy lessssss gooooooo. Jack Del Rio has been up-and-down in his time in Washington. He's had two very slow starts with the defense to start year, however, they've finished strong and kept his job safe. This is really the no excuse year and everyone needs to show up amd show out.
Free Agency:
Key Departures:
Taylor Hieneke- signed with the Falcons
Cole Holcolm- signed with the Steelers
Bobby McCain- signed with the Giants
Carson Wentz- TBD
J.D. McKissic- TBD
Trai Turner TBD
Andrew Norwell- will be released when he passes a physical
Summary:
In my personal oppinion, the only player that hurt losing in free agency was Cole Holcolm. Linebacker is our one weak spot on defense, however, not resigning Holcolm shows Ron's belief in Jaymin Davis's progression. Cole was limited to 7 games last season and has yet to truly break out. Always played very solid and losing him downgraded the position. We've moved on from both starting guards from last year in Norwell and Turner (previously on the Panthers). Both players were liabilities last season and the guard position was easily upgradeable. Bonny McCain was a solid do it all for is player. Lined up at corner, safety, and nickel throughout the season. Hieneke was a big fan favorite, but was never the answer. We thank you for your service though. Carson Wentz, fuck you. Loved J.D. and his time here, suffered a major injury. Not sure if he gets picked up hy another team.
Key Additions:
Andrew Wiley- 3 years for 24 million, 12 guaranteed. Previously on the Chiefs
Nick Gates- 3 years for 16.5 million, 8 million guaranteed. Previously on the Giants
Jacoby Brissett- 1 year for 8 million, 7.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Browns
Cody Barton- 1 year for 3.5 million, 3.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Seahawks
Summary:
Simple. In free agency the Commanders did not overspend and tackled positions of need. None of the players signed are top 5 at their position, however, they could all possibly end up being upgrades to what we have. The most interesting is Andrew Wiley. He allowed 9 sacks (tied for 3rd most)... but man he put on the performance of his life in the superbowl. Another stat that favors him is pass block win-rate, which measure if a lineman can sustain a block for 2.5 seconds. Wylie ranked 9th in that stat last season. I translate that stat to mean can a lineman sustain a block against thr initial rush and counter move off the snap. After that 2.5 seconds the ball is thrown or the play breaks down. Another key factor to this signing is it kicks Samuel Cosmi inside to guard. Cosmi has shown flashes being a high end lineman and I expect him to be even better kicking to guard from right tackle. Guard was our weakest position on the line and Wylie signing helped to upgrade the RG position. Nick Gates is expected to he our starting center. He's coming off of a brutal leg injury that made him consider retirement. Has played guard and center and has some positional flexibility. Jacoby Brissett is the best backup qb in thr league. A solid signing if Howell doesn't pan out. Just a solid game manager that doesn't commit many turnovers. Cody Barton is another unproven guy. Last year was his first year with significant reps. Bobby Wagner leaving in FA and Jordyn Brooks injury made em the guy. He showed flashes of coverage abilities and had a lot of tackles. The tackles weren't necessarily a product of his abilities and more so of cleaning up on a bad run defense team. I've read some notes that he has trouble getting off of blocks. Honestly, haven't watched much on the guy, but reports were he played solid down the stretch.
The Draft:
Round 1 Pick 16: Emmanuel Forbes- CB
Round 2 Pick 47: Jatavius Martin- NCB/S
Round 3 Pick 97: Ricky Stromberg- C/G
Round 4 Pick 118: Braeden Daniels- T/G
Round 5 Pick 137: KJ Henry-DE
Round 6 Pick 193: Chris Rodriguez-RB
Round 7 Pick 223: Andre Jones- DE/LB
Link to all RAS scores for our draft class
https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-ras-scores-for-the-washington-commanders-7-player-class-emmanuel-forbes/
Round 1:16 Emmanuel Forbes 6'1" 174 lbs. Mississippi St
Stats: 58 targets, 31 catches allowed for 284 yards (23 yards a game), 3 tds allowed/ 6 ints, 9 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 46 tackles.
PFF Grade: 87.2
If being a 160 pounds is your only knock then I think you're doing something alright. The word on the street is he is already up to 174 pounds. You wouldnt realize hes only 174 pounds by the way he plays the run. Hes not scared to hit and flies ro the ball. Although, he does struggle to get off of blocks. Emmanuel Forbes, per PFF, had the highest rating in man coverage last season, albeit the snap count was very miniscule. Emmanuel Forbes is a lanky corner than played a lot of zone coverage and is a very good scheme fit for what we do. I like the pick and I'm not upset about taking him over Gonzalez, who also had his own question marks. Forbes set a NCAA record with 6 pick sixes. A lot of those were the right place at the right time, but when you have that high of a number than you're doing something right.
PFF:
Forbes is one of the best ballhawks in this class. Over the course of his three-year career, he came down with 13 interceptions. That’s four more than the next closest Power Five cornerback since 2020. Forbes was unbelievably dominant in man coverage in 2022, giving up only three catches while also snagging three interceptions. He also only allowed a 20% completion rate in man, the lowest among FBS
PROS
Remarkably lanky frame. Limbs for days — ideal for a corner.Has bounce like a hooper. He can challenge any catch point necessary. Elite ability to locate the football. All six of his interceptions came in man coverage.
CONS
Still a stick. Not much mass on his frame. Has eyes that get him in trouble. Some freelance tendencies on tape.Can get bowled over in the run game. Mediocre tackler over the course of his career.
Round 2: 47 Jartavius "Quan" Martin 5'11". 194 lbs Illinois
Stats: 74 targets, 42 catches allowed, 611 yards allowed, 3 tds allowed, 3 ints, 15 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 4 missed tackles, 64 tackles.
PFF Grade: 73.2
Quan is a beast. I thought he was the 2nd best nickel prospect in the draft and a better deep safety than Brian Branch. Martin absolute rockets around the field in the run game. He started his career at cornerback before transitioning into the safety/nickel position. Another elite athlete that is a perfect fit for our Buffalo Nickel defense.
PFF:
Martin came to Illinois and immediately started as a true freshman in 2018. He originally started off as an outside corner before becoming more of a slot corner recently. He had arguably his best year in 2022, as his 15 forced incompletions were tied for the sixth-most among Power-Five corners. Martin’s 91.0 run-defense grade also led all Power Five cornerbacks. While he played corner at Illinois, we project him more as a safety for the next level.
PROS:
Explosive flat-foot breaks. Tremendous burst. Forceful and reliable tackler - 7 misses on the last 129 attempts last two seasons.Fills like a mac truck in the run game. Wants to come downhill and play in the backfield.
CONS:
Pure man skills are work in progress. Overagressive and liability to bite on fakes. cons On the lighter side for an around the line of scrimmage player. Gets caught with his eyes in the backfield on run
Round 3: 97 Ricky Stromberg 6'3" 306 lbs Arkansas
Stats: 9 impact blocks, 11 qb hurries, 0 qb hits, 0 sacks allowed
PFF Grade: 82.4
Nasty. Another guard experience player that spent his last two years at the center position. Award winner of the Jacob's Blocking Trophy for the SEC'S most outstanding blocker award. This is a solid player that has started since he was freshman in the SEC. He's been battle tested since he was kid and has improved every year. He has some knocks about his play strength, but a NFL program should get em to where he needs to be.
PFF:
Stromberg was a three-star recruit in the 2019 class and started for the Razorbacks as a true freshman, mostly at right guard. He moved inside to center for his sophomore season and spent his final three college seasons there. Stromberg’s 82.4 overall grade and 83.7 run-blocking grade in 2022 both ranked fourth among all centers in college football, and his nine big-time blocks were tied for fifth among FBS centers. Not to mention, Stromberg had an incredible performance at the NFL combine.
PROS:
Does not want to let blocks go. Can see him straining his butt of to stay engaged on tape. Tons of experience against top competition. Four-year starter with 3,121 career snaps.
CONS:
Forward lean gets going on the move, making him liable to topple over. Has wide hands to initiate contact in pass protection before resetting. Leaves himself open for stronger rushers.Unimpressive musculature, which leaves questions about how he'll anchor against NFL strength.
Round 4: Braeden Daniels 6'4" 296 lbs Utah STATS:
0 sacks allowed, 1 qb hit allowed, 14 hurries allowed.
PFF GRADE: 72.2 at tackle, 2021 84.4 at guard.
Braeden Daniels is another tackle/guard hybrid, with starting experience across his college career. This guy is on the lighter side but that allows him to be an Explosive athlete. Very raw at the tackle position and will be a developmental guy. I'd like to give em a try as our swing tackle and see how he performs. He was one of the quickest offensive lineman I've seen off the tape and that athleticism will let him climb to the next level. Even on the lightweight side I'd hate to see this guy running at me on the second level.
PFF:
Daniels is an experienced veteran who commanded the Utes’ offensive line for the past few years. He originally started as a guard before switching over to tackle. His best season came in 2021, as he put up an 84.4 PFF grade. Given his time on the interior, Daniels is at his best when run blocking, and his run-blocking grade in 2021 was an elite 89.1. He still held his own as a pass protector, allowing only five sacks in his Utah career.
PROS
Explodes out of his stance. Arguably the quickest get off in the offensive line class. Linebackers don't want to see him climbing. Gets on them before they can even react. Drive in his lower half to still move the line of scrimmage despite being under 300 pounds.
CONS
Wild into contact. He approaches blocks with the adjustment ability of a freight train. consDoesn't bring his hands with him. Clean engagements are rare on tape. Very light by NFL standards (294 pounds at combine).
Round 5: 137 KJ Henry 6'4" 260 lbs Clemson
STATS:
51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 6 pass deflections, 50 qb pressures, 31 qb hurries, 14 qb hits.
PFF GRADE: 83.1
Loved this pick. Henry was a 5 star recruit coming out of high-school and decided to attend Clemson University. With Clemson having deep lines it took him a couple of years to get on the field. The stats look odd when you only see 3.5 sacks, however, the 50 qb pressures is the key stat. Seems more like bad luck that the sack numbers weren't high. Clemson's whole d-line underperformed (Bresee, Murphey) and they should have picked up more sacks from Henry who was the best DE on that team last year. The team clearly liked him as we traded back up for him. He's not elite athlete, but he is an elite hands guy. Almost had that veteran presence in college. High motor and will immediately make an impact as a rotational de, a position that sorely needed an upgrade.
PFF:
On a team with Myles Murphy, you can easily make the case that KJ Henry was Clemson's best defensive end this year, as he posted better PFF grades than Murphy in every category and even generated 19 more pressures. The only problem is That Henry is 24 years old while Murphy is only 21. Therefore, Henry was expected to produce this well against younger competition. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that he can’t still improve. If Henry's play this season is any indication of his potential, he can still have a great NFL career as an edge defender.
PROS:
Heavy hands that are so well refined. Uses them independently to use combination moves.Utilizes hesitations and head fakes so well to catch linemen off-balance. Coaches rave about the type of teammate he is. He is the type of player you want in the locker room.
CONS:
First step that's unimposing for a rusher on the smaller side. Late bloomer. Wasn't even a starter until this past fall. One of the oldest prospects in the class. Already 24 years old.
Round 6: 193 Chris Rodriguez 6'0" 217 lbs Kentucky
STATS: 8 games played, 175 attempts, 904 rushing yards, 6 tds, 5.2 ypa, 5 catches, 41 rec yards.
PFF GRADE: 90.8
Chris Rodriguez is a PFF darling and was rated as the 7th best running back. This guy's is a pure one cut, run you over, power back. There's not much finesse to his game, but there's highlights of dragging guys 10-yards down the field. He does not posses break away speed, but he will get you 40 yards. He was suspended 4 games due to a dui and he may have been drafted higher on am abysmal Kentucky team. An extra 4 games of stats against SEC competition and no suspension may have jumped him into the 4th round. This was an Eric Bienemy guy and they brought him in because of that. Isiah Pacheco was another EB guy.
PFF:
Rodriguez is a powerful runner, but he lacks the burst and creativity to become anything more than a downhill grinder. He has the size and mentality to do the dirty work between the tackles, but it could be a challenge for him to get to and through the hole quickly in the NFL. He’s a physical blitz protector, so teams might envision a role for him as a second-half battering ram and third-down quarterback protector.
PROS:
Two-time team captain. Thick frame with ability to pick up tough yards. Makes tacklers feel his size at impact. Stays square getting through downhill cuts. Low success rate guaranteed for arm-tacklers. Stays on his feet through heavy angle strikes. Allows lead blockers to do their work. Steps up with force against incoming rushers.
CONS:
Below-average burst getting through line of scrimmage. Lacks finesse to navigate tight run lanes. Change of direction is heavy. One-speed running style is easy to track for linebackers. Pad level is a little tall as run-finisher. Inconsistent finding assignment versus blitz.
Round 7: 233 Andre Jones 6'4" 248 lbs Louisiana
STATS: 7 sacks, 5 qb hits, 20 hurries.
PFF GRADE: 77.2
Andre Jones was another hybrid de/lb player coming out last year. He possess 34 1/4" arms which is an elite number for his size. May move to LB, but I'm not sure that's the right move with a 4.71 40-yard dash. He doesn't have much a pass rush move set playing a hybrid role, but does use length to his advantage. A solid developmental pick.
PROS:
Shows a natural feel for setting up blockers and getting them off-balance. His hands are active and violent, and Jones quickly disengages with blockers and counters when his initial move stalls. Possesses accurate snap anticipation and timing to beat blockers off the edge. Offers some versatility, rushing from a two-and three-point stance with the playing speed to stand up in space.Flashes strength as a bull rusher and his energy doesn't plateau. Showed initial quickness and good flexibility to dip and bend. Jones has active hands and suddenness to his movements, demonstrating the ability to counter inside. Has fluid footwork to redirect, reverse momentum and close with a burst. Regularly first off the ball with good snap anticipation. He’s a high-effort pass rusher with an impressive combination of length and speed.
CONS:
Jones has to develop a counter move or two in the pass rush, and Jones needs to make better use of his hands. He lacks the speed of a chase and- tackle guy. He lacks twitch as a pass rusher and lacks the feet and flexibility to threaten around the edge. Jones also shows some stiffness when trying to bend the edge, often getting pushed past the pocket — he seems more comfortable countering back inside.
Draft Summary:
This was my favorite Ron Rivera/Martin Mayhew draft thus far. Going into the draft, offensive line, cornerback, and quarterback were our three biggest needs. Drafting in the middle of the round really took us out of the olineman race. The last one that interested me was Broderick Jones and he went off the board when the Steelers traded up. At that point in the draft it really left us with going cornerback. The Forbes pick was received negatively due to Christian Gonzalez being available. Both players will be viewed under the microscope throughout their careers. I'm fine with Forbes pick though. Another lanky cornerback who was an elite athlete. I did have Gonzalez rated higher going into the draft, but he slid for a reason. A lot of his tape shows him not necessarily being an elite cornerback, but being an elite athlete that plays corner. Forbes actually showed the athleticism, corner skills, and ballhawking ability. Some additional knocks against Gonazalez and his love of the game. Quan Martin was our biggest surprise pick of the draft. A lot of people had him going in the 3rd round, but I think the 2nd was a fine spot. Mayhew after the draft said he wish we were more aggressive at times, which I translated as not getting Brian Branch that went several picks before us. I think Quan was the backup option, but I like him as much as Branch. I think Quan will be a better deep safety and Bramch will be a better nickel. Liked Quan alot, but felt we should have gone o-line at this pick. Ocyrus Torrence would've been a sweet pick here. I think if that happened, the consensus view on our draft would shoot up. Quan will immediately via for playing time as our base defense is essentially a 4-2-5. Kendall Fuller was our only above average corner and now we turned our secondary into a strength. Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels were our next two picks. I like Stromberg’s tape a lot and think by next he will be a solid starter at guard or center. Braeden Daniels will be a nice depth piece and if he's able to tame his play he could develop into a starter. Fun player to watch. KJ Henry was an awesome pick and can see him being a nice rotational piece. Good pick at an underrated area of need on our defense. RB wasn't a pressing need, but it's an underrated area of weakness. I think Brian Robinson is about as average of rb as you will see starting in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez slowly cut into Robinson's role over the next two years. Antonio Gibson has had some solid season, but has a severe fumbling problem. Andre Jones will be a depth piece that will need development moving forward.
Offseason summary:
The biggest question of our offseason was our owner, which now appears resolved. Our second biggest question... was who was our starting qb? Sam Howell. Ron preached all offseason that he was going with Howell and I'll be damned, he did. Brissett was good qb to bring in, not someone that would necessarily turn the offseason into a battle, but can be a starter if called upon. Really a true backup qb. I'm all in on the Sam Howell train. I love it for a multitude of reasons. One, he balls out and we have our qb of the future, two he plays well enough we give him another season and maybe Ron is out and we get a high draft pick, three he bombs and we fire Ron Rivera and go for Caleb Williams next season. If anything, it gives us a direction for our future. I'm ready for Ron to go and think he's only as good as his coordinators. I'm concerned that EB AND Howell turn the offense around Ron gets resigned and EB takes a head coaching role... then the offense regressed. Additionally, I don't want Ron to get credit for drafting Howell. It was 5th round pick, you and every team passed on him for 4 rounds. If Howell is that good... it's not because Ron was a genius and drafted him. Very similar to Seattle taking Russel. I am excited about EB being here and think he's the real deal. I will give Ron credit for allowing him to run his own offense as he sees fit. OTA's have shown that EB is pushing his guys hard and is trying to see what he can do with the offense. We really do have elite playmaker and I'm most excited to see what he can do with Antonio Gibson. I can see his role being that of Jerrick McKinnon, with more athleticism. Sam Howell has shown a lot of progress since his rookie season. Had issues with his foot work, but has shown vast improvements. We only have 1 preseason game and 1 NFL game of tape on him. I liked what he showed. When watching tape you could see him going through his progression, man absolutely saved the day wish his escapability- was under pressure the whole game, threw two beautiful deep passes, and won the game. He did throw one bad pick, but was under pressure and playing hero ball. He had one week of practice with the starters, now he has a whole offseason. Our defense should be a top 5 unit next season and we only got better. Chase Young should be fully healthy and he's the X-factor for the number one overall defense. He comes out plays to his full potential then he could be a mid teens sack guy. If we have that sort of production and Sam Howell plays well than we can compete for the decision. Big if though. Our secondary really lacked a 2nd option, Benjamin St Juyce has shown some flashes but didn't seeze the role last year. Now on paper he's the number and that's very solid. We return two top 6 defensive tackles and Montez Swear is one of the most underrated players in the league. He's yet to have a high sack season, but is very much that Jadaveon Ckowney type of player in the run game. Big question mark season for Jaymin Davis. We knew he needed development, but it's been slower than previously thought. Down the stretch he showed flashes that he was coming into his own and now is his year. He's one of the best athletes at linebacker in the league and his ceiling is very very high. Overall I predict we will go 10-7 and challenge for a wild card spot. That record can fluctuate each one, but I'm calling the improvement now. We went 8-8-1 with bottom 3 qb play. The defense got better, we hired a better offensive coordinator, Howell will at the minimum be slightly better than Hienke last season, we didn't lose any major pieces and had a solid all around draft. I'm truly excited to watch how our future plays out.

Defending the Draft: 2023 Washington Commanders 8-8-1
Preface:
Hope.
This 2023 season will be the most interesting for the Commanders franchise in a long long time. We enter this season with more uncertainty than I have ever been a part of, however, the one thing the fan base is certain of... is the future is brighter. Dan Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999 and subsequently done nothing but run a blue blood franchise into the ground. This team has lacked direction for a long time and a large part of that was due to Dan Snyder's meddling in the day-to-day football operations of the team. Starting his ownership with signing washed up HOF veterans, to then overspending in free agency (Albert Haynesworth is arguably the worst free agent signing of all time), drug scandal with thetraining staff, the mishandling of the RG3 and Kirk Cousins situation, Not resigning Trent Williams, and lastly we've now reached tumultuous time where his off the field issues have hung a dark cloud over a once proud franchise. Although, lol, his most egregious mistake may be hiring Jim Zorn as head coach. It's egregious that his only punishment is a 6 billion dollar payout for his franchise. I hope the banks bury him and he faces the deserved legal actions. As of now there had been an agreement to sell the franchise to 76'rs and NJ Devils owner, Josh Harris.... and is 20ish members of his parliament. We await to hear news of the reviews from the NFL financial committee to close out the process. Last news I came across was he has cut down the number of minority owners to 20. It will be a pleasure when this agreement is finalized. He could be a terrible owner, but it would still be an upgrade from Synder. Harris, seemingly has been a hands off owner and properly allows the people he's hired to operate the team. This last sports season he's had both of his teams deep in the playoff hunt. This season will be interesting. A lot of questions all around: Sam Howell? Chase Young? Ron Rivera? Eric Bienemy? Josh Harris? I'm not sure of those answers, but I'm very excited to find them out.
Coaching:
HC- Ron Rivera OC- Eric Bieniemy DC- Jack Del Rio
Key Additions: Eric Bieniemy
Ole' Riverboat Ron Rivera is back and going into his 4th season with the Washington Commanders, hopefully his last. I believe Ron Rivera is a leader of men, but I highly question his actual coaching skills and team building. I've currently seen enough of this coaching regime and front office to safely say let's move on. There's been several things that I believed were firable offenses.... the Carson Wentz trade. Some rumors have said that this was a Snyder push. Not entirely positive, but Ron bragged that it was his call. Our team at that point was not a qb away from being really good, let alone a Carson Wentz level of qb. The next fireable offense was starting Wentz over Hienke when the playoffs were on the line. Wentz ended up being benched for Hienke, but it was too little too late. The next fireable offense was not realizing we were eliminated from the playoffs. Going into the last week of the season Ron planned on starting Hieneke. Pretty odd to not know you're out of the playoffs, let alone to test Sam Howell out for next season. Additionally, there's been some pretty questionable roster creation decisions. I absolutely hate the versatile secondary and offensive line philosophy. We currently have a patch work offensive line that has the means to fluctuate between average to below average. Not a single player on the line is top 5 at their respected position. Two years ago we had a top 10 o-line, but that had Brandon Sherff playing like a top 5 guard and Charles Leno having his best season. Our o-line took a significant step back this past season and now looks to be our biggest weakness. Ron has shown to trust his own board and has reached (according to the consensus big board) with every single pick so far. People mistake 2019 as one of his drafts ( Sweat, McLaurin, Holcomb), but he was hired at the end of the season. Take this with a grain of salt as it takes at least 3 years to properly review a draft. Rons 1st round picks have been the following: 2020 pick 2 Chase Young- the correct pick at the time, but hard to botch the 2nd overall pick, 2021 pick 19 Jamin Davis- hated the pick at the time, too early for a linebacker... let a lone a project. On tape he looked lost a lot and made up for it with his elite athleticism. He's shown progress, but nothing showing he's worthy of the pick. 2022 pick 16 Jahan Dotson- looks to be an absolute baller, had him ranked above Olave in the pre-draft process. Was a slight reach above the consensus board, but flashed high end ability. Davis has been the only mistake in the 1st round thus far. When I say mistake I don't necessarily mean player, but the roster building philosophy. Whether reaching on Phidarian Mathis in the 2nd round of 2022. Lol, he was older than Payne coming out of the draft, one year of good production, and was taken a round too early. In the next round Brian Robinson was taken and was really just a body. Haven't really seen anything elite with him so far and was a meh pick. John Bates in the 4th round was egregious. Now I have to give credit where it's due. Kam Curl was an absolute steal and can solidify himself as top 5 safety this season if he continues to play this well. Our other starting safety in Darrick Forest also had a lot of bright spots playing this past season.
Arguably, our best offseason move was signing Eric Bieniemy. I'm absolutely excited. Forget everything about him not calling the plays. Reports from OTA's shows his hands on approach and full control of the offense. One of my favorites things I've heard is he is using OTA's to see what the players can do and crafting the offense to their abilities. Time and time again (Scott Turner) you see coaches say this is the offense and not change anything to match the players strengths. We don't know for sure how the offense will look, but if it's anything close to the motion west coast offense the Chiefs have... boy lessssss gooooooo. Jack Del Rio has been up-and-down in his time in Washington. He's had two very slow starts with the defense to start year, however, they've finished strong and kept his job safe. This is really the no excuse year and everyone needs to show up amd show out.
Free Agency:
Key Departures:
Taylor Hieneke- signed with the Falcons
Cole Holcolm- signed with the Steelers
Bobby McCain- signed with the Giants
Carson Wentz- TBD
J.D. McKissic- TBD
Trai Turner TBD
Andrew Norwell- will be released when he passes a physical
Summary:
In my personal oppinion, the only player that hurt losing in free agency was Cole Holcolm. Linebacker is our one weak spot on defense, however, not resigning Holcolm shows Ron's belief in Jaymin Davis's progression. Cole was limited to 7 games last season and has yet to truly break out. Always played very solid and losing him downgraded the position. We've moved on from both starting guards from last year in Norwell and Turner (previously on the Panthers). Both players were liabilities last season and the guard position was easily upgradeable. Bonny McCain was a solid do it all for is player. Lined up at corner, safety, and nickel throughout the season. Hieneke was a big fan favorite, but was never the answer. We thank you for your service though. Carson Wentz, fuck you. Loved J.D. and his time here, suffered a major injury. Not sure if he gets picked up hy another team.
Key Additions:
Andrew Wiley- 3 years for 24 million, 12 guaranteed. Previously on the Chiefs
Nick Gates- 3 years for 16.5 million, 8 million guaranteed. Previously on the Giants
Jacoby Brissett- 1 year for 8 million, 7.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Browns
Cody Barton- 1 year for 3.5 million, 3.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Seahawks
Summary:
Simple. In free agency the Commanders did not overspend and tackled positions of need. None of the players signed are top 5 at their position, however, they could all possibly end up being upgrades to what we have. The most interesting is Andrew Wiley. He allowed 9 sacks (tied for 3rd most)... but man he put on the performance of his life in the superbowl. Another stat that favors him is pass block win-rate, which measure if a lineman can sustain a block for 2.5 seconds. Wylie ranked 9th in that stat last season. I translate that stat to mean can a lineman sustain a block against thr initial rush and counter move off the snap. After that 2.5 seconds the ball is thrown or the play breaks down. Another key factor to this signing is it kicks Samuel Cosmi inside to guard. Cosmi has shown flashes being a high end lineman and I expect him to be even better kicking to guard from right tackle. Guard was our weakest position on the line and Wylie signing helped to upgrade the RG position. Nick Gates is expected to he our starting center. He's coming off of a brutal leg injury that made him consider retirement. Has played guard and center and has some positional flexibility. Jacoby Brissett is the best backup qb in thr league. A solid signing if Howell doesn't pan out. Just a solid game manager that doesn't commit many turnovers. Cody Barton is another unproven guy. Last year was his first year with significant reps. Bobby Wagner leaving in FA and Jordyn Brooks injury made em the guy. He showed flashes of coverage abilities and had a lot of tackles. The tackles weren't necessarily a product of his abilities and more so of cleaning up on a bad run defense team. I've read some notes that he has trouble getting off of blocks. Honestly, haven't watched much on the guy, but reports were he played solid down the stretch.
The Draft:
Round 1 Pick 16: Emmanuel Forbes- CB
Round 2 Pick 47: Jatavius Martin- NCB/S
Round 3 Pick 97: Ricky Stromberg- C/G
Round 4 Pick 118: Braeden Daniels- T/G
Round 5 Pick 137: KJ Henry-DE
Round 6 Pick 193: Chris Rodriguez-RB
Round 7 Pick 223: Andre Jones- DE/LB
Link to all RAS scores for our draft class
https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-ras-scores-for-the-washington-commanders-7-player-class-emmanuel-forbes/
Round 1:16 Emmanuel Forbes 6'1" 174 lbs. Mississippi St
Stats: 58 targets, 31 catches allowed for 284 yards (23 yards a game), 3 tds allowed/ 6 ints, 9 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 46 tackles.
PFF Grade: 87.2
If being a 160 pounds is your only knock then I think you're doing something alright. The word on the street is he is already up to 174 pounds. You wouldnt realize hes only 174 pounds by the way he plays the run. Hes not scared to hit and flies ro the ball. Although, he does struggle to get off of blocks. Emmanuel Forbes, per PFF, had the highest rating in man coverage last season, albeit the snap count was very miniscule. Emmanuel Forbes is a lanky corner than played a lot of zone coverage and is a very good scheme fit for what we do. I like the pick and I'm not upset about taking him over Gonzalez, who also had his own question marks. Forbes set a NCAA record with 6 pick sixes. A lot of those were the right place at the right time, but when you have that high of a number than you're doing something right.
PFF:
Forbes is one of the best ballhawks in this class. Over the course of his three-year career, he came down with 13 interceptions. That’s four more than the next closest Power Five cornerback since 2020. Forbes was unbelievably dominant in man coverage in 2022, giving up only three catches while also snagging three interceptions. He also only allowed a 20% completion rate in man, the lowest among FBS
PROS
Remarkably lanky frame. Limbs for days — ideal for a corner.Has bounce like a hooper. He can challenge any catch point necessary. Elite ability to locate the football. All six of his interceptions came in man coverage.
CONS
Still a stick. Not much mass on his frame. Has eyes that get him in trouble. Some freelance tendencies on tape.Can get bowled over in the run game. Mediocre tackler over the course of his career.
Round 2: 47 Jartavius "Quan" Martin 5'11". 194 lbs Illinois
Stats: 74 targets, 42 catches allowed, 611 yards allowed, 3 tds allowed, 3 ints, 15 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 4 missed tackles, 64 tackles.
PFF Grade: 73.2
Quan is a beast. I thought he was the 2nd best nickel prospect in the draft and a better deep safety than Brian Branch. Martin absolute rockets around the field in the run game. He started his career at cornerback before transitioning into the safety/nickel position. Another elite athlete that is a perfect fit for our Buffalo Nickel defense.
PFF:
Martin came to Illinois and immediately started as a true freshman in 2018. He originally started off as an outside corner before becoming more of a slot corner recently. He had arguably his best year in 2022, as his 15 forced incompletions were tied for the sixth-most among Power-Five corners. Martin’s 91.0 run-defense grade also led all Power Five cornerbacks. While he played corner at Illinois, we project him more as a safety for the next level.
PROS:
Explosive flat-foot breaks. Tremendous burst. Forceful and reliable tackler - 7 misses on the last 129 attempts last two seasons.Fills like a mac truck in the run game. Wants to come downhill and play in the backfield.
CONS:
Pure man skills are work in progress. Overagressive and liability to bite on fakes. cons On the lighter side for an around the line of scrimmage player. Gets caught with his eyes in the backfield on run
Round 3: 97 Ricky Stromberg 6'3" 306 lbs Arkansas
Stats: 9 impact blocks, 11 qb hurries, 0 qb hits, 0 sacks allowed
PFF Grade: 82.4
Nasty. Another guard experience player that spent his last two years at the center position. Award winner of the Jacob's Blocking Trophy for the SEC'S most outstanding blocker award. This is a solid player that has started since he was freshman in the SEC. He's been battle tested since he was kid and has improved every year. He has some knocks about his play strength, but a NFL program should get em to where he needs to be.
PFF:
Stromberg was a three-star recruit in the 2019 class and started for the Razorbacks as a true freshman, mostly at right guard. He moved inside to center for his sophomore season and spent his final three college seasons there. Stromberg’s 82.4 overall grade and 83.7 run-blocking grade in 2022 both ranked fourth among all centers in college football, and his nine big-time blocks were tied for fifth among FBS centers. Not to mention, Stromberg had an incredible performance at the NFL combine.
PROS:
Does not want to let blocks go. Can see him straining his butt of to stay engaged on tape. Tons of experience against top competition. Four-year starter with 3,121 career snaps.
CONS:
Forward lean gets going on the move, making him liable to topple over. Has wide hands to initiate contact in pass protection before resetting. Leaves himself open for stronger rushers.Unimpressive musculature, which leaves questions about how he'll anchor against NFL strength.
Round 4: Braeden Daniels 6'4" 296 lbs Utah STATS:
0 sacks allowed, 1 qb hit allowed, 14 hurries allowed.
PFF GRADE: 72.2 at tackle, 2021 84.4 at guard.
Braeden Daniels is another tackle/guard hybrid, with starting experience across his college career. This guy is on the lighter side but that allows him to be an Explosive athlete. Very raw at the tackle position and will be a developmental guy. I'd like to give em a try as our swing tackle and see how he performs. He was one of the quickest offensive lineman I've seen off the tape and that athleticism will let him climb to the next level. Even on the lightweight side I'd hate to see this guy running at me on the second level.
PFF:
Daniels is an experienced veteran who commanded the Utes’ offensive line for the past few years. He originally started as a guard before switching over to tackle. His best season came in 2021, as he put up an 84.4 PFF grade. Given his time on the interior, Daniels is at his best when run blocking, and his run-blocking grade in 2021 was an elite 89.1. He still held his own as a pass protector, allowing only five sacks in his Utah career.
PROS
Explodes out of his stance. Arguably the quickest get off in the offensive line class. Linebackers don't want to see him climbing. Gets on them before they can even react. Drive in his lower half to still move the line of scrimmage despite being under 300 pounds.
CONS
Wild into contact. He approaches blocks with the adjustment ability of a freight train. consDoesn't bring his hands with him. Clean engagements are rare on tape. Very light by NFL standards (294 pounds at combine).
Round 5: 137 KJ Henry 6'4" 260 lbs Clemson
STATS:
51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 6 pass deflections, 50 qb pressures, 31 qb hurries, 14 qb hits.
PFF GRADE: 83.1
Loved this pick. Henry was a 5 star recruit coming out of high-school and decided to attend Clemson University. With Clemson having deep lines it took him a couple of years to get on the field. The stats look odd when you only see 3.5 sacks, however, the 50 qb pressures is the key stat. Seems more like bad luck that the sack numbers weren't high. Clemson's whole d-line underperformed (Bresee, Murphey) and they should have picked up more sacks from Henry who was the best DE on that team last year. The team clearly liked him as we traded back up for him. He's not elite athlete, but he is an elite hands guy. Almost had that veteran presence in college. High motor and will immediately make an impact as a rotational de, a position that sorely needed an upgrade.
PFF:
On a team with Myles Murphy, you can easily make the case that KJ Henry was Clemson's best defensive end this year, as he posted better PFF grades than Murphy in every category and even generated 19 more pressures. The only problem is That Henry is 24 years old while Murphy is only 21. Therefore, Henry was expected to produce this well against younger competition. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that he can’t still improve. If Henry's play this season is any indication of his potential, he can still have a great NFL career as an edge defender.
PROS:
Heavy hands that are so well refined. Uses them independently to use combination moves.Utilizes hesitations and head fakes so well to catch linemen off-balance. Coaches rave about the type of teammate he is. He is the type of player you want in the locker room.
CONS:
First step that's unimposing for a rusher on the smaller side. Late bloomer. Wasn't even a starter until this past fall. One of the oldest prospects in the class. Already 24 years old.
Round 6: 193 Chris Rodriguez 6'0" 217 lbs Kentucky
STATS: 8 games played, 175 attempts, 904 rushing yards, 6 tds, 5.2 ypa, 5 catches, 41 rec yards.
PFF GRADE: 90.8
Chris Rodriguez is a PFF darling and was rated as the 7th best running back. This guy's is a pure one cut, run you over, power back. There's not much finesse to his game, but there's highlights of dragging guys 10-yards down the field. He does not posses break away speed, but he will get you 40 yards. He was suspended 4 games due to a dui and he may have been drafted higher on am abysmal Kentucky team. An extra 4 games of stats against SEC competition and no suspension may have jumped him into the 4th round. This was an Eric Bienemy guy and they brought him in because of that. Isiah Pacheco was another EB guy.
PFF:
Rodriguez is a powerful runner, but he lacks the burst and creativity to become anything more than a downhill grinder. He has the size and mentality to do the dirty work between the tackles, but it could be a challenge for him to get to and through the hole quickly in the NFL. He’s a physical blitz protector, so teams might envision a role for him as a second-half battering ram and third-down quarterback protector.
PROS:
Two-time team captain. Thick frame with ability to pick up tough yards. Makes tacklers feel his size at impact. Stays square getting through downhill cuts. Low success rate guaranteed for arm-tacklers. Stays on his feet through heavy angle strikes. Allows lead blockers to do their work. Steps up with force against incoming rushers.
CONS:
Below-average burst getting through line of scrimmage. Lacks finesse to navigate tight run lanes. Change of direction is heavy. One-speed running style is easy to track for linebackers. Pad level is a little tall as run-finisher. Inconsistent finding assignment versus blitz.
Round 7: 233 Andre Jones 6'4" 248 lbs Louisiana
STATS: 7 sacks, 5 qb hits, 20 hurries.
PFF GRADE: 77.2
Andre Jones was another hybrid de/lb player coming out last year. He possess 34 1/4" arms which is an elite number for his size. May move to LB, but I'm not sure that's the right move with a 4.71 40-yard dash. He doesn't have much a pass rush move set playing a hybrid role, but does use length to his advantage. A solid developmental pick.
PROS:
Shows a natural feel for setting up blockers and getting them off-balance. His hands are active and violent, and Jones quickly disengages with blockers and counters when his initial move stalls. Possesses accurate snap anticipation and timing to beat blockers off the edge. Offers some versatility, rushing from a two-and three-point stance with the playing speed to stand up in space.Flashes strength as a bull rusher and his energy doesn't plateau. Showed initial quickness and good flexibility to dip and bend. Jones has active hands and suddenness to his movements, demonstrating the ability to counter inside. Has fluid footwork to redirect, reverse momentum and close with a burst. Regularly first off the ball with good snap anticipation. He’s a high-effort pass rusher with an impressive combination of length and speed.
CONS:
Jones has to develop a counter move or two in the pass rush, and Jones needs to make better use of his hands. He lacks the speed of a chase and- tackle guy. He lacks twitch as a pass rusher and lacks the feet and flexibility to threaten around the edge. Jones also shows some stiffness when trying to bend the edge, often getting pushed past the pocket — he seems more comfortable countering back inside.
Draft Summary:
This was my favorite Ron Rivera/Martin Mayhew draft thus far. Going into the draft, offensive line, cornerback, and quarterback were our three biggest needs. Drafting in the middle of the round really took us out of the olineman race. The last one that interested me was Broderick Jones and he went off the board when the Steelers traded up. At that point in the draft it really left us with going cornerback. The Forbes pick was received negatively due to Christian Gonzalez being available. Both players will be viewed under the microscope throughout their careers. I'm fine with Forbes pick though. Another lanky cornerback who was an elite athlete. I did have Gonzalez rated higher going into the draft, but he slid for a reason. A lot of his tape shows him not necessarily being an elite cornerback, but being an elite athlete that plays corner. Forbes actually showed the athleticism, corner skills, and ballhawking ability. Some additional knocks against Gonazalez and his love of the game. Quan Martin was our biggest surprise pick of the draft. A lot of people had him going in the 3rd round, but I think the 2nd was a fine spot. Mayhew after the draft said he wish we were more aggressive at times, which I translated as not getting Brian Branch that went several picks before us. I think Quan was the backup option, but I like him as much as Branch. I think Quan will be a better deep safety and Bramch will be a better nickel. Liked Quan alot, but felt we should have gone o-line at this pick. Ocyrus Torrence would've been a sweet pick here. I think if that happened, the consensus view on our draft would shoot up. Quan will immediately via for playing time as our base defense is essentially a 4-2-5. Kendall Fuller was our only above average corner and now we turned our secondary into a strength. Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels were our next two picks. I like Stromberg’s tape a lot and think by next he will be a solid starter at guard or center. Braeden Daniels will be a nice depth piece and if he's able to tame his play he could develop into a starter. Fun player to watch. KJ Henry was an awesome pick and can see him being a nice rotational piece. Good pick at an underrated area of need on our defense. RB wasn't a pressing need, but it's an underrated area of weakness. I think Brian Robinson is about as average of rb as you will see starting in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez slowly cut into Robinson's role over the next two years. Antonio Gibson has had some solid season, but has a severe fumbling problem. Andre Jones will be a depth piece that will need development moving forward.
Offseason summary:
The biggest question of our offseason was our owner, which now appears resolved. Our second biggest question... was who was our starting qb? Sam Howell. Ron preached all offseason that he was going with Howell and I'll be damned, he did. Brissett was good qb to bring in, not someone that would necessarily turn the offseason into a battle, but can be a starter if called upon. Really a true backup qb. I'm all in on the Sam Howell train. I love it for a multitude of reasons. One, he balls out and we have our qb of the future, two he plays well enough we give him another season and maybe Ron is out and we get a high draft pick, three he bombs and we fire Ron Rivera and go for Caleb Williams next season. If anything, it gives us a direction for our future. I'm ready for Ron to go and think he's only as good as his coordinators. I'm concerned that EB AND Howell turn the offense around Ron gets resigned and EB takes a head coaching role... then the offense regressed. Additionally, I don't want Ron to get credit for drafting Howell. It was 5th round pick, you and every team passed on him for 4 rounds. If Howell is that good... it's not because Ron was a genius and drafted him. Very similar to Seattle taking Russel. I am excited about EB being here and think he's the real deal. I will give Ron credit for allowing him to run his own offense as he sees fit. OTA's have shown that EB is pushing his guys hard and is trying to see what he can do with the offense. We really do have elite playmaker and I'm most excited to see what he can do with Antonio Gibson. I can see his role being that of Jerrick McKinnon, with more athleticism. Sam Howell has shown a lot of progress since his rookie season. Had issues with his foot work, but has shown vast improvements. We only have 1 preseason game and 1 NFL game of tape on him. I liked what he showed. When watching tape you could see him going through his progression, man absolutely saved the day wish his escapability- was under pressure the whole game, threw two beautiful deep passes, and won the game. He did throw one bad pick, but was under pressure and playing hero ball. He had one week of practice with the starters, now he has a whole offseason. Our defense should be a top 5 unit next season and we only got better. Chase Young should be fully healthy and he's the X-factor for the number one overall defense. He comes out plays to his full potential then he could be a mid teens sack guy. If we have that sort of production and Sam Howell plays well than we can compete for the decision. Big if though. Our secondary really lacked a 2nd option, Benjamin St Juyce has shown some flashes but didn't seeze the role last year. Now on paper he's the number and that's very solid. We return two top 6 defensive tackles and Montez Swear is one of the most underrated players in the league. He's yet to have a high sack season, but is very much that Jadaveon Ckowney type of player in the run game. Big question mark season for Jaymin Davis. We knew he needed development, but it's been slower than previously thought. Down the stretch he showed flashes that he was coming into his own and now is his year. He's one of the best athletes at linebacker in the league and his ceiling is very very high. Overall I predict we will go 10-7 and challenge for a wild card spot. That record can fluctuate each one, but I'm calling the improvement now. We went 8-8-1 with bottom 3 qb play. The defense got better, we hired a better offensive coordinator, Howell will at the minimum be slightly better than Hienke last season, we didn't lose any major pieces and had a solid all around draft. I'm truly excited to watch how our future plays out.

Why am I not surprised that some people would actually complain about a $50 dollar room when the avg ADR (price) for a room near or in San Antonio is easily near $100 to $150+ if you're lucky? Talk about noob travelers! It's ridiculous... 😂
This place is a great deal in my opinion!!!
And now for the TLDR when it comes to social media gremlins any hotel can relate to....
Who's writing these review's anyway? I don't see decent actual working class people complaining over a $50 buck room.... Is it the disgruntled wife who's husband wasn't man enough to tell her, "Sorry hun, this is all we can afford since we're going to Schlitterbahn, 6 Flags, Sea World, and the Alamo with you plus our 4+ kids we didn't even tell the hotel about SO we could get a cheeper rate/stay..."(?)
(...and WE wonder why hotels in New York City will take "guaranteed" government money by housing illegal immigrants and construction workers over wedding parties and normal travelers... Hmmm..... 🤔)
...And then THEY wonder and complain when hotels don't know how much breakfast food hotels should pre-order and prepare in the morning? That's ridiculous! 😂 Oh, and of course it's the "hotels' fault" in their eyes... even though they neglected their own family by not disclosing their needs to the hotel. Probably not by choice but hubby is trying to save money and save face in front of their family. (I get it... The Griswolds did it too...❤️) Meanwhile the WITCHES lay down their social media text spells while hubby is thinking, "Yay, She's not mad at me!" 🥳 Am I not Right?! 😂🤣😂🤣😂 ....By the way, ya married a dimwit... Congratulations. 👍 (That goes both ways btw...)
From what I've seen, this place is pretty good for $50 bucks... It's not like you're gonna be getting much more out of a hotel than a 4 hour nap between the kids finally going to bed after a long drive they probably slept through anyway (thanks to all the Benadryl and Dramamine ya had to give them) and then trying to get showers in the morning before starting your vacation day. 😆
Sure, a hotel could expect these dumbest people/guests ya can imagine and multiply that by the number of rooms the hotel has... but since Obama's 2008 crash and especially after the COVID crap, affording decent staff who have had quantive years in the hotel industry is hard to come by. Hotel management (including front desk managers) used to get 401Ks, but not since Obama... and probably never again. Apparently that's still the hotels' fault. 😂 Yeah right.. Simpleton rule of thumb, "If ya can't afford it, don't expect it."
Of course people could always not be cheap nor neglect their families' lives... Ya know, like actually claim how many people & pets will be in the room incase of an evacuation, give corporate a reason to raise wages for decenty trained employees, and at very least let the breakfast servers know how many people to expect and feed...... but of course that's "the hotels' fault" for --YOU-- being so cheep on your own "family" and not caring about your own kids' well being and lives... Daft families who don't prepare never seem to blame themselves. No big surprise there! Sigh
These people paid $50 bucks for a room, ignored their families needs, and expected a Ferrari that acts like a Winnebago. They don't actually care about their family, the people who actually work there, nor their fellow guests who may now have to go somewhere else for breakfast now. On top of that they want retribution in comps.... And yelp style bitch-craft complaining is all they "socially" know because they don't know how to confront people like a decent human being. It's Friggin Ridiculous 🙄
To be fair I'm sure the issue is as old as the industry itself... But I bet some just probably want their $50 dollars back and think they can take advantage of some lowly hotel because they forgot ya have to pay for parking downtown and Biden's gas/inflation prices are another WTF on top of that... I dig being poor and cutting corners myself. Yet hopefully I'm the type of person that would NEVER do it to MY family. 😭

Defending the Draft: 2023 Washington Commanders 8-8-1
Preface:
Hope.
This 2023 season will be the most interesting for the Commanders franchise in a long long time. We enter this season with more uncertainty than I have ever been a part of, however, the one thing the fan base is certain of... is the future is brighter. Dan Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999 and subsequently done nothing but run a blue blood franchise into the ground. This team has lacked direction for a long time and a large part of that was due to Dan Snyder's meddling in the day-to-day football operations of the team. Starting his ownership with signing washed up HOF veterans, to then overspending in free agency (Albert Haynesworth is arguably the worst free agent signing of all time), drug scandal with thetraining staff, the mishandling of the RG3 and Kirk Cousins situation, Not resigning Trent Williams, and lastly we've now reached tumultuous time where his off the field issues have hung a dark cloud over a once proud franchise. Although, lol, his most egregious mistake may be hiring Jim Zorn as head coach. It's egregious that his only punishment is a 6 billion dollar payout for his franchise. I hope the banks bury him and he faces the deserved legal actions. As of now there had been an agreement to sell the franchise to 76'rs and NJ Devils owner, Josh Harris.... and is 20ish members of his parliament. We await to hear news of the reviews from the NFL financial committee to close out the process. Last news I came across was he has cut down the number of minority owners to 20. It will be a pleasure when this agreement is finalized. He could be a terrible owner, but it would still be an upgrade from Synder. Harris, seemingly has been a hands off owner and properly allows the people he's hired to operate the team. This last sports season he's had both of his teams deep in the playoff hunt. This season will be interesting. A lot of questions all around: Sam Howell? Chase Young? Ron Rivera? Eric Bienemy? Josh Harris? I'm not sure of those answers, but I'm very excited to find them out.
Coaching:
HC- Ron Rivera OC- Eric Bieniemy DC- Jack Del Rio
Key Additions: Eric Bieniemy
Ole' Riverboat Ron Rivera is back and going into his 4th season with the Washington Commanders, hopefully his last. I believe Ron Rivera is a leader of men, but I highly question his actual coaching skills and team building. I've currently seen enough of this coaching regime and front office to safely say let's move on. There's been several things that I believed were firable offenses.... the Carson Wentz trade. Some rumors have said that this was a Snyder push. Not entirely positive, but Ron bragged that it was his call. Our team at that point was not a qb away from being really good, let alone a Carson Wentz level of qb. The next fireable offense was starting Wentz over Hienke when the playoffs were on the line. Wentz ended up being benched for Hienke, but it was too little too late. The next fireable offense was not realizing we were eliminated from the playoffs. Going into the last week of the season Ron planned on starting Hieneke. Pretty odd to not know you're out of the playoffs, let alone to test Sam Howell out for next season. Additionally, there's been some pretty questionable roster creation decisions. I absolutely hate the versatile secondary and offensive line philosophy. We currently have a patch work offensive line that has the means to fluctuate between average to below average. Not a single player on the line is top 5 at their respected position. Two years ago we had a top 10 o-line, but that had Brandon Sherff playing like a top 5 guard and Charles Leno having his best season. Our o-line took a significant step back this past season and now looks to be our biggest weakness. Ron has shown to trust his own board and has reached (according to the consensus big board) with every single pick so far. People mistake 2019 as one of his drafts ( Sweat, McLaurin, Holcomb), but he was hired at the end of the season. Take this with a grain of salt as it takes at least 3 years to properly review a draft. Rons 1st round picks have been the following: 2020 pick 2 Chase Young- the correct pick at the time, but hard to botch the 2nd overall pick, 2021 pick 19 Jamin Davis- hated the pick at the time, too early for a linebacker... let a lone a project. On tape he looked lost a lot and made up for it with his elite athleticism. He's shown progress, but nothing showing he's worthy of the pick. 2022 pick 16 Jahan Dotson- looks to be an absolute baller, had him ranked above Olave in the pre-draft process. Was a slight reach above the consensus board, but flashed high end ability. Davis has been the only mistake in the 1st round thus far. When I say mistake I don't necessarily mean player, but the roster building philosophy. Whether reaching on Phidarian Mathis in the 2nd round of 2022. Lol, he was older than Payne coming out of the draft, one year of good production, and was taken a round too early. In the next round Brian Robinson was taken and was really just a body. Haven't really seen anything elite with him so far and was a meh pick. John Bates in the 4th round was egregious. Now I have to give credit where it's due. Kam Curl was an absolute steal and can solidify himself as top 5 safety this season if he continues to play this well. Our other starting safety in Darrick Forest also had a lot of bright spots playing this past season.
Arguably, our best offseason move was signing Eric Bieniemy. I'm absolutely excited. Forget everything about him not calling the plays. Reports from OTA's shows his hands on approach and full control of the offense. One of my favorites things I've heard is he is using OTA's to see what the players can do and crafting the offense to their abilities. Time and time again (Scott Turner) you see coaches say this is the offense and not change anything to match the players strengths. We don't know for sure how the offense will look, but if it's anything close to the motion west coast offense the Chiefs have... boy lessssss gooooooo. Jack Del Rio has been up-and-down in his time in Washington. He's had two very slow starts with the defense to start year, however, they've finished strong and kept his job safe. This is really the no excuse year and everyone needs to show up amd show out.
Free Agency:
Key Departures:
Taylor Hieneke- signed with the Falcons
Cole Holcolm- signed with the Steelers
Bobby McCain- signed with the Giants
Carson Wentz- TBD
J.D. McKissic- TBD
Trai Turner TBD
Andrew Norwell- will be released when he passes a physical
Summary:
In my personal oppinion, the only player that hurt losing in free agency was Cole Holcolm. Linebacker is our one weak spot on defense, however, not resigning Holcolm shows Ron's belief in Jaymin Davis's progression. Cole was limited to 7 games last season and has yet to truly break out. Always played very solid and losing him downgraded the position. We've moved on from both starting guards from last year in Norwell and Turner (previously on the Panthers). Both players were liabilities last season and the guard position was easily upgradeable. Bonny McCain was a solid do it all for is player. Lined up at corner, safety, and nickel throughout the season. Hieneke was a big fan favorite, but was never the answer. We thank you for your service though. Carson Wentz, fuck you. Loved J.D. and his time here, suffered a major injury. Not sure if he gets picked up hy another team.
Key Additions:
Andrew Wiley- 3 years for 24 million, 12 guaranteed. Previously on the Chiefs
Nick Gates- 3 years for 16.5 million, 8 million guaranteed. Previously on the Giants
Jacoby Brissett- 1 year for 8 million, 7.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Browns
Cody Barton- 1 year for 3.5 million, 3.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Seahawks
Summary:
Simple. In free agency the Commanders did not overspend and tackled positions of need. None of the players signed are top 5 at their position, however, they could all possibly end up being upgrades to what we have. The most interesting is Andrew Wiley. He allowed 9 sacks (tied for 3rd most)... but man he put on the performance of his life in the superbowl. Another stat that favors him is pass block win-rate, which measure if a lineman can sustain a block for 2.5 seconds. Wylie ranked 9th in that stat last season. I translate that stat to mean can a lineman sustain a block against thr initial rush and counter move off the snap. After that 2.5 seconds the ball is thrown or the play breaks down. Another key factor to this signing is it kicks Samuel Cosmi inside to guard. Cosmi has shown flashes being a high end lineman and I expect him to be even better kicking to guard from right tackle. Guard was our weakest position on the line and Wylie signing helped to upgrade the RG position. Nick Gates is expected to he our starting center. He's coming off of a brutal leg injury that made him consider retirement. Has played guard and center and has some positional flexibility. Jacoby Brissett is the best backup qb in thr league. A solid signing if Howell doesn't pan out. Just a solid game manager that doesn't commit many turnovers. Cody Barton is another unproven guy. Last year was his first year with significant reps. Bobby Wagner leaving in FA and Jordyn Brooks injury made em the guy. He showed flashes of coverage abilities and had a lot of tackles. The tackles weren't necessarily a product of his abilities and more so of cleaning up on a bad run defense team. I've read some notes that he has trouble getting off of blocks. Honestly, haven't watched much on the guy, but reports were he played solid down the stretch.
The Draft:
Link to all RAS scores for our draft class
https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-ras-scores-for-the-washington-commanders-7-player-class-emmanuel-forbes/
Round 1:16 Emmanuel Forbes 6'1" 174 lbs. Mississippi St
Stats: 58 targets, 31 catches allowed for 284 yards (23 yards a game), 3 tds allowed/ 6 ints, 9 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 46 tackles.
PFF Grade: 87.2
If being a 160 pounds is your only knock then I think you're doing something alright. The word on the street is he is already up to 174 pounds. You wouldnt realize hes only 174 pounds by the way he plays the run. Hes not scared to hit and flies ro the ball. Although, he does struggle to get off of blocks. Emmanuel Forbes, per PFF, had the highest rating in man coverage last season, albeit the snap count was very miniscule. Emmanuel Forbes is a lanky corner than played a lot of zone coverage and is a very good scheme fit for what we do. I like the pick and I'm not upset about taking him over Gonzalez, who also had his own question marks. Forbes set a NCAA record with 6 pick sixes. A lot of those were the right place at the right time, but when you have that high of a number than you're doing something right.
PFF:
Forbes is one of the best ballhawks in this class. Over the course of his three-year career, he came down with 13 interceptions. That’s four more than the next closest Power Five cornerback since 2020. Forbes was unbelievably dominant in man coverage in 2022, giving up only three catches while also snagging three interceptions. He also only allowed a 20% completion rate in man, the lowest among FBS
PROS
Remarkably lanky frame. Limbs for days — ideal for a corner.Has bounce like a hooper. He can challenge any catch point necessary. Elite ability to locate the football. All six of his interceptions came in man coverage.
CONS
Still a stick. Not much mass on his frame. Has eyes that get him in trouble. Some freelance tendencies on tape.Can get bowled over in the run game. Mediocre tackler over the course of his career.
Round 2: 47 Jartavius "Quan" Martin 5'11". 194 lbs Illinois
Stats: 74 targets, 42 catches allowed, 611 yards allowed, 3 tds allowed, 3 ints, 15 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 4 missed tackles, 64 tackles.
PFF Grade: 73.2
Quan is a beast. I thought he was the 2nd best nickel prospect in the draft and a better deep safety than Brian Branch. Martin absolute rockets around the field in the run game. He started his career at cornerback before transitioning into the safety/nickel position. Another elite athlete that is a perfect fit for our Buffalo Nickel defense.
PFF:
Martin came to Illinois and immediately started as a true freshman in 2018. He originally started off as an outside corner before becoming more of a slot corner recently. He had arguably his best year in 2022, as his 15 forced incompletions were tied for the sixth-most among Power-Five corners. Martin’s 91.0 run-defense grade also led all Power Five cornerbacks. While he played corner at Illinois, we project him more as a safety for the next level.
PROS:
Explosive flat-foot breaks. Tremendous burst. Forceful and reliable tackler - 7 misses on the last 129 attempts last two seasons.Fills like a mac truck in the run game. Wants to come downhill and play in the backfield.
CONS:
Pure man skills are work in progress. Overagressive and liability to bite on fakes. cons On the lighter side for an around the line of scrimmage player. Gets caught with his eyes in the backfield on run
Round 3: 97 Ricky Stromberg 6'3" 306 lbs Arkansas
Stats: 9 impact blocks, 11 qb hurries, 0 qb hits, 0 sacks allowed
PFF Grade: 82.4
Nasty. Another guard experience player that spent his last two years at the center position. Award winner of the Jacob's Blocking Trophy for the SEC'S most outstanding blocker award. This is a solid player that has started since he was freshman in the SEC. He's been battle tested since he was kid and has improved every year. He has some knocks about his play strength, but a NFL program should get em to where he needs to be.
PFF:
Stromberg was a three-star recruit in the 2019 class and started for the Razorbacks as a true freshman, mostly at right guard. He moved inside to center for his sophomore season and spent his final three college seasons there. Stromberg’s 82.4 overall grade and 83.7 run-blocking grade in 2022 both ranked fourth among all centers in college football, and his nine big-time blocks were tied for fifth among FBS centers. Not to mention, Stromberg had an incredible performance at the NFL combine.
PROS:
Does not want to let blocks go. Can see him straining his butt of to stay engaged on tape. Tons of experience against top competition. Four-year starter with 3,121 career snaps.
CONS:
Forward lean gets going on the move, making him liable to topple over. Has wide hands to initiate contact in pass protection before resetting. Leaves himself open for stronger rushers.Unimpressive musculature, which leaves questions about how he'll anchor against NFL strength.
Round 4: Braeden Daniels 6'4" 296 lbs Utah STATS:
0 sacks allowed, 1 qb hit allowed, 14 hurries allowed.
PFF GRADE: 72.2 at tackle, 2021 84.4 at guard.
Braeden Daniels is another tackle/guard hybrid, with starting experience across his college career. This guy is on the lighter side but that allows him to be an Explosive athlete. Very raw at the tackle position and will be a developmental guy. I'd like to give em a try as our swing tackle and see how he performs. He was one of the quickest offensive lineman I've seen off the tape and that athleticism will let him climb to the next level. Even on the lightweight side I'd hate to see this guy running at me on the second level.
PFF:
Daniels is an experienced veteran who commanded the Utes’ offensive line for the past few years. He originally started as a guard before switching over to tackle. His best season came in 2021, as he put up an 84.4 PFF grade. Given his time on the interior, Daniels is at his best when run blocking, and his run-blocking grade in 2021 was an elite 89.1. He still held his own as a pass protector, allowing only five sacks in his Utah career.
PROS
Explodes out of his stance. Arguably the quickest get off in the offensive line class. Linebackers don't want to see him climbing. Gets on them before they can even react. Drive in his lower half to still move the line of scrimmage despite being under 300 pounds.
CONS
Wild into contact. He approaches blocks with the adjustment ability of a freight train. consDoesn't bring his hands with him. Clean engagements are rare on tape. Very light by NFL standards (294 pounds at combine).
Round 5: 137 KJ Henry 6'4" 260 lbs Clemson
STATS:
51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 6 pass deflections, 50 qb pressures, 31 qb hurries, 14 qb hits.
PFF GRADE: 83.1
Loved this pick. Henry was a 5 star recruit coming out of high-school and decided to attend Clemson University. With Clemson having deep lines it took him a couple of years to get on the field. The stats look odd when you only see 3.5 sacks, however, the 50 qb pressures is the key stat. Seems more like bad luck that the sack numbers weren't high. Clemson's whole d-line underperformed (Bresee, Murphey) and they should have picked up more sacks from Henry who was the best DE on that team last year. The team clearly liked him as we traded back up for him. He's not elite athlete, but he is an elite hands guy. Almost had that veteran presence in college. High motor and will immediately make an impact as a rotational de, a position that sorely needed an upgrade.
PFF:
On a team with Myles Murphy, you can easily make the case that KJ Henry was Clemson's best defensive end this year, as he posted better PFF grades than Murphy in every category and even generated 19 more pressures. The only problem is That Henry is 24 years old while Murphy is only 21. Therefore, Henry was expected to produce this well against younger competition. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that he can’t still improve. If Henry's play this season is any indication of his potential, he can still have a great NFL career as an edge defender.
PROS:
Heavy hands that are so well refined. Uses them independently to use combination moves.Utilizes hesitations and head fakes so well to catch linemen off-balance. Coaches rave about the type of teammate he is. He is the type of player you want in the locker room.
CONS:
First step that's unimposing for a rusher on the smaller side. Late bloomer. Wasn't even a starter until this past fall. One of the oldest prospects in the class. Already 24 years old.
Round 6: 193 Chris Rodriguez 6'0" 217 lbs Kentucky
STATS: 8 games played, 175 attempts, 904 rushing yards, 6 tds, 5.2 ypa, 5 catches, 41 rec yards.
PFF GRADE: 90.8
Chris Rodriguez is a PFF darling and was rated as the 7th best running back. This guy's is a pure one cut, run you over, power back. There's not much finesse to his game, but there's highlights of dragging guys 10-yards down the field. He does not posses break away speed, but he will get you 40 yards. He was suspended 4 games due to a dui and he may have been drafted higher on am abysmal Kentucky team. An extra 4 games of stats against SEC competition and no suspension may have jumped him into the 4th round. This was an Eric Bienemy guy and they brought him in because of that. Isiah Pacheco was another EB guy.
PFF:
Rodriguez is a powerful runner, but he lacks the burst and creativity to become anything more than a downhill grinder. He has the size and mentality to do the dirty work between the tackles, but it could be a challenge for him to get to and through the hole quickly in the NFL. He’s a physical blitz protector, so teams might envision a role for him as a second-half battering ram and third-down quarterback protector.
PROS:
Two-time team captain. Thick frame with ability to pick up tough yards. Makes tacklers feel his size at impact. Stays square getting through downhill cuts. Low success rate guaranteed for arm-tacklers. Stays on his feet through heavy angle strikes. Allows lead blockers to do their work. Steps up with force against incoming rushers.
CONS:
Below-average burst getting through line of scrimmage. Lacks finesse to navigate tight run lanes. Change of direction is heavy. One-speed running style is easy to track for linebackers. Pad level is a little tall as run-finisher. Inconsistent finding assignment versus blitz.
Round 7: 233 Andre Jones 6'4" 248 lbs Louisiana
STATS: 7 sacks, 5 qb hits, 20 hurries.
PFF GRADE: 77.2
Andre Jones was another hybrid de/lb player coming out last year. He possess 34 1/4" arms which is an elite number for his size. May move to LB, but I'm not sure that's the right move with a 4.71 40-yard dash. He doesn't have much a pass rush move set playing a hybrid role, but does use length to his advantage. A solid developmental pick.
PROS:
Shows a natural feel for setting up blockers and getting them off-balance. His hands are active and violent, and Jones quickly disengages with blockers and counters when his initial move stalls. Possesses accurate snap anticipation and timing to beat blockers off the edge. Offers some versatility, rushing from a two-and three-point stance with the playing speed to stand up in space.Flashes strength as a bull rusher and his energy doesn't plateau. Showed initial quickness and good flexibility to dip and bend. Jones has active hands and suddenness to his movements, demonstrating the ability to counter inside. Has fluid footwork to redirect, reverse momentum and close with a burst. Regularly first off the ball with good snap anticipation. He’s a high-effort pass rusher with an impressive combination of length and speed.
CONS:
Jones has to develop a counter move or two in the pass rush, and Jones needs to make better use of his hands. He lacks the speed of a chase and- tackle guy. He lacks twitch as a pass rusher and lacks the feet and flexibility to threaten around the edge. Jones also shows some stiffness when trying to bend the edge, often getting pushed past the pocket — he seems more comfortable countering back inside.
Draft Summary:
This was my favorite Ron Rivera/Martin Mayhew draft thus far. Going into the draft, offensive line, cornerback, and quarterback were our three biggest needs. Drafting in the middle of the round really took us out of the olineman race. The last one that interested me was Broderick Jones and he went off the board when the Steelers traded up. At that point in the draft it really left us with going cornerback. The Forbes pick was received negatively due to Christian Gonzalez being available. Both players will be viewed under the microscope throughout their careers. I'm fine with Forbes pick though. Another lanky cornerback who was an elite athlete. I did have Gonzalez rated higher going into the draft, but he slid for a reason. A lot of his tape shows him not necessarily being an elite cornerback, but being an elite athlete that plays corner. Forbes actually showed the athleticism, corner skills, and ballhawking ability. Some additional knocks against Gonazalez and his love of the game. Quan Martin was our biggest surprise pick of the draft. A lot of people had him going in the 3rd round, but I think the 2nd was a fine spot. Mayhew after the draft said he wish we were more aggressive at times, which I translated as not getting Brian Branch that went several picks before us. I think Quan was the backup option, but I like him as much as Branch. I think Quan will be a better deep safety and Bramch will be a better nickel. Liked Quan alot, but felt we should have gone o-line at this pick. Ocyrus Torrence would've been a sweet pick here. I think if that happened, the consensus view on our draft would shoot up. Quan will immediately via for playing time as our base defense is essentially a 4-2-5. Kendall Fuller was our only above average corner and now we turned our secondary into a strength. Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels were our next two picks. I like Stromberg’s tape a lot and think by next he will be a solid starter at guard or center. Braeden Daniels will be a nice depth piece and if he's able to tame his play he could develop into a starter. Fun player to watch. KJ Henry was an awesome pick and can see him being a nice rotational piece. Good pick at an underrated area of need on our defense. RB wasn't a pressing need, but it's an underrated area of weakness. I think Brian Robinson is about as average of rb as you will see starting in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez slowly cut into Robinson's role over the next two years. Antonio Gibson has had some solid season, but has a severe fumbling problem. Andre Jones will be a depth piece that will need development moving forward.
Offseason summary:
The biggest question of our offseason was our owner, which now appears resolved. Our second biggest question... was who was our starting qb? Sam Howell. Ron preached all offseason that he was going with Howell and I'll be damned, he did. Brissett was good qb to bring in, not someone that would necessarily turn the offseason into a battle, but can be a starter if called upon. Really a true backup qb. I'm all in on the Sam Howell train. I love it for a multitude of reasons. One, he balls out and we have our qb of the future, two he plays well enough we give him another season and maybe Ron is out and we get a high draft pick, three he bombs and we fire Ron Rivera and go for Caleb Williams next season. If anything, it gives us a direction for our future. I'm ready for Ron to go and think he's only as good as his coordinators. I'm concerned that EB AND Howell turn the offense around Ron gets resigned and EB takes a head coaching role... then the offense regressed. Additionally, I don't want Ron to get credit for drafting Howell. It was 5th round pick, you and every team passed on him for 4 rounds. If Howell is that good... it's not because Ron was a genius and drafted him. Very similar to Seattle taking Russel. I am excited about EB being here and think he's the real deal. I will give Ron credit for allowing him to run his own offense as he sees fit. OTA's have shown that EB is pushing his guys hard and is trying to see what he can do with the offense. We really do have elite playmaker and I'm most excited to see what he can do with Antonio Gibson. I can see his role being that of Jerrick McKinnon, with more athleticism. Sam Howell has shown a lot of progress since his rookie season. Had issues with his foot work, but has shown vast improvements. We only have 1 preseason game and 1 NFL game of tape on him. I liked what he showed. When watching tape you could see him going through his progression, man absolutely saved the day wish his escapability- was under pressure the whole game, threw two beautiful deep passes, and won the game. He did throw one bad pick, but was under pressure and playing hero ball. He had one week of practice with the starters, now he has a whole offseason. Our defense should be a top 5 unit next season and we only got better. Chase Young should be fully healthy and he's the X-factor for the number one overall defense. He comes out plays to his full potential then he could be a mid teens sack guy. If we have that sort of production and Sam Howell plays well than we can compete for the decision. Big if though. Our secondary really lacked a 2nd option, Benjamin St Juyce has shown some flashes but didn't seeze the role last year. Now on paper he's the number and that's very solid. We return two top 6 defensive tackles and Montez Swear is one of the most underrated players in the league. He's yet to have a high sack season, but is very much that Jadaveon Ckowney type of player in the run game. Big question mark season for Jaymin Davis. We knew he needed development, but it's been slower than previously thought. Down the stretch he showed flashes that he was coming into his own and now is his year. He's one of the best athletes at linebacker in the league and his ceiling is very very high. Overall I predict we will go 10-7 and challenge for a wild card spot. That record can fluctuate each one, but I'm calling the improvement now. We went 8-8-1 with bottom 3 qb play. The defense got better, we hired a better offensive coordinator, Howell will at the minimum be slightly better than Hienke last season, we didn't lose any major pieces and had a solid all around draft. I'm truly excited to watch how our future plays out.

Defending the Draft: 2023 Washington Commanders 8-8-1
Preface:
Hope.
This 2023 season will be the most interesting for the Commanders franchise in a long long time. We enter this season with more uncertainty than I have ever been a part of, however, the one thing the fan base is certain of... is the future is brighter. Dan Snyder purchased the franchise in 1999 and subsequently done nothing but run a blue blood franchise into the ground. This team has lacked direction for a long time and a large part of that was due to Dan Snyder's meddling in the day-to-day football operations of the team. Starting his ownership with signing washed up HOF veterans, to then overspending in free agency (Albert Haynesworth is arguably the worst free agent signing of all time), drug scandal with thetraining staff, the mishandling of the RG3 and Kirk Cousins situation, Not resigning Trent Williams, and lastly we've now reached tumultuous time where his off the field issues have hung a dark cloud over a once proud franchise. Although, lol, his most egregious mistake may be hiring Jim Zorn as head coach. It's egregious that his only punishment is a 6 billion dollar payout for his franchise. I hope the banks bury him and he faces the deserved legal actions. As of now there had been an agreement to sell the franchise to 76'rs and NJ Devils owner, Josh Harris.... and is 20ish members of his parliament. We await to hear news of the reviews from the NFL financial committee to close out the process. Last news I came across was he has cut down the number of minority owners to 20. It will be a pleasure when this agreement is finalized. He could be a terrible owner, but it would still be an upgrade from Synder. Harris, seemingly has been a hands off owner and properly allows the people he's hired to operate the team. This last sports season he's had both of his teams deep in the playoff hunt. This season will be interesting. A lot of questions all around: Sam Howell? Chase Young? Ron Rivera? Eric Bienemy? Josh Harris? I'm not sure of those answers, but I'm very excited to find them out.
Coaching:
HC- Ron Rivera OC- Eric Bieniemy DC- Jack Del Rio
Key Additions: Eric Bieniemy
Ole' Riverboat Ron Rivera is back and going into his 4th season with the Washington Commanders, hopefully his last. I believe Ron Rivera is a leader of men, but I highly question his actual coaching skills and team building. I've currently seen enough of this coaching regime and front office to safely say let's move on. There's been several things that I believed were firable offenses.... the Carson Wentz trade. Some rumors have said that this was a Snyder push. Not entirely positive, but Ron bragged that it was his call. Our team at that point was not a qb away from being really good, let alone a Carson Wentz level of qb. The next fireable offense was starting Wentz over Hienke when the playoffs were on the line. Wentz ended up being benched for Hienke, but it was too little too late. The next fireable offense was not realizing we were eliminated from the playoffs. Going into the last week of the season Ron planned on starting Hieneke. Pretty odd to not know you're out of the playoffs, let alone to test Sam Howell out for next season. Additionally, there's been some pretty questionable roster creation decisions. I absolutely hate the versatile secondary and offensive line philosophy. We currently have a patch work offensive line that has the means to fluctuate between average to below average. Not a single player on the line is top 5 at their respected position. Two years ago we had a top 10 o-line, but that had Brandon Sherff playing like a top 5 guard and Charles Leno having his best season. Our o-line took a significant step back this past season and now looks to be our biggest weakness. Ron has shown to trust his own board and has reached (according to the consensus big board) with every single pick so far. People mistake 2019 as one of his drafts ( Sweat, McLaurin, Holcomb), but he was hired at the end of the season. Take this with a grain of salt as it takes at least 3 years to properly review a draft. Rons 1st round picks have been the following: 2020 pick 2 Chase Young- the correct pick at the time, but hard to botch the 2nd overall pick, 2021 pick 19 Jamin Davis- hated the pick at the time, too early for a linebacker... let a lone a project. On tape he looked lost a lot and made up for it with his elite athleticism. He's shown progress, but nothing showing he's worthy of the pick. 2022 pick 16 Jahan Dotson- looks to be an absolute baller, had him ranked above Olave in the pre-draft process. Was a slight reach above the consensus board, but flashed high end ability. Davis has been the only mistake in the 1st round thus far. When I say mistake I don't necessarily mean player, but the roster building philosophy. Whether reaching on Phidarian Mathis in the 2nd round of 2022. Lol, he was older than Payne coming out of the draft, one year of good production, and was taken a round too early. In the next round Brian Robinson was taken and was really just a body. Haven't really seen anything elite with him so far and was a meh pick. John Bates in the 4th round was egregious. Now I have to give credit where it's due. Kam Curl was an absolute steal and can solidify himself as top 5 safety this season if he continues to play this well. Our other starting safety in Darrick Forest also had a lot of bright spots playing this past season.
Arguably, our best offseason move was signing Eric Bieniemy. I'm absolutely excited. Forget everything about him not calling the plays. Reports from OTA's shows his hands on approach and full control of the offense. One of my favorites things I've heard is he is using OTA's to see what the players can do and crafting the offense to their abilities. Time and time again (Scott Turner) you see coaches say this is the offense and not change anything to match the players strengths. We don't know for sure how the offense will look, but if it's anything close to the motion west coast offense the Chiefs have... boy lessssss gooooooo. Jack Del Rio has been up-and-down in his time in Washington. He's had two very slow starts with the defense to start year, however, they've finished strong and kept his job safe. This is really the no excuse year and everyone needs to show up amd show out.
Free Agency:
Key Departures:
Taylor Hieneke- signed with the Falcons
Cole Holcolm- signed with the Steelers
Bobby McCain- signed with the Giants
Carson Wentz- TBD
J.D. McKissic- TBD
Trai Turner TBD
Andrew Norwell- will be released when he passes a physical
Summary:
In my personal oppinion, the only player that hurt losing in free agency was Cole Holcolm. Linebacker is our one weak spot on defense, however, not resigning Holcolm shows Ron's belief in Jaymin Davis's progression. Cole was limited to 7 games last season and has yet to truly break out. Always played very solid and losing him downgraded the position. We've moved on from both starting guards from last year in Norwell and Turner (previously on the Panthers). Both players were liabilities last season and the guard position was easily upgradeable. Bonny McCain was a solid do it all for is player. Lined up at corner, safety, and nickel throughout the season. Hieneke was a big fan favorite, but was never the answer. We thank you for your service though. Carson Wentz, fuck you. Loved J.D. and his time here, suffered a major injury. Not sure if he gets picked up hy another team.
Key Additions:
Andrew Wiley- 3 years for 24 million, 12 guaranteed. Previously on the Chiefs
Nick Gates- 3 years for 16.5 million, 8 million guaranteed. Previously on the Giants
Jacoby Brissett- 1 year for 8 million, 7.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Browns
Cody Barton- 1 year for 3.5 million, 3.5 million guaranteed. Previously on the Seahawks
Summary:
Simple. In free agency the Commanders did not overspend and tackled positions of need. None of the players signed are top 5 at their position, however, they could all possibly end up being upgrades to what we have. The most interesting is Andrew Wiley. He allowed 9 sacks (tied for 3rd most)... but man he put on the performance of his life in the superbowl. Another stat that favors him is pass block win-rate, which measure if a lineman can sustain a block for 2.5 seconds. Wylie ranked 9th in that stat last season. I translate that stat to mean can a lineman sustain a block against thr initial rush and counter move off the snap. After that 2.5 seconds the ball is thrown or the play breaks down. Another key factor to this signing is it kicks Samuel Cosmi inside to guard. Cosmi has shown flashes being a high end lineman and I expect him to be even better kicking to guard from right tackle. Guard was our weakest position on the line and Wylie signing helped to upgrade the RG position. Nick Gates is expected to he our starting center. He's coming off of a brutal leg injury that made him consider retirement. Has played guard and center and has some positional flexibility. Jacoby Brissett is the best backup qb in thr league. A solid signing if Howell doesn't pan out. Just a solid game manager that doesn't commit many turnovers. Cody Barton is another unproven guy. Last year was his first year with significant reps. Bobby Wagner leaving in FA and Jordyn Brooks injury made em the guy. He showed flashes of coverage abilities and had a lot of tackles. The tackles weren't necessarily a product of his abilities and more so of cleaning up on a bad run defense team. I've read some notes that he has trouble getting off of blocks. Honestly, haven't watched much on the guy, but reports were he played solid down the stretch.
The Draft:
Link to all RAS scores for our draft class
https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-ras-scores-for-the-washington-commanders-7-player-class-emmanuel-forbes/
Round 1:16 Emmanuel Forbes 6'1" 174 lbs. Mississippi St
Stats: 58 targets, 31 catches allowed for 284 yards (23 yards a game), 3 tds allowed/ 6 ints, 9 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 46 tackles.
PFF Grade: 87.2
If being a 160 pounds is your only knock then I think you're doing something alright. The word on the street is he is already up to 174 pounds. You wouldnt realize hes only 174 pounds by the way he plays the run. Hes not scared to hit and flies ro the ball. Although, he does struggle to get off of blocks. Emmanuel Forbes, per PFF, had the highest rating in man coverage last season, albeit the snap count was very miniscule. Emmanuel Forbes is a lanky corner than played a lot of zone coverage and is a very good scheme fit for what we do. I like the pick and I'm not upset about taking him over Gonzalez, who also had his own question marks. Forbes set a NCAA record with 6 pick sixes. A lot of those were the right place at the right time, but when you have that high of a number than you're doing something right.
PFF:
Forbes is one of the best ballhawks in this class. Over the course of his three-year career, he came down with 13 interceptions. That’s four more than the next closest Power Five cornerback since 2020. Forbes was unbelievably dominant in man coverage in 2022, giving up only three catches while also snagging three interceptions. He also only allowed a 20% completion rate in man, the lowest among FBS
PROS
Remarkably lanky frame. Limbs for days — ideal for a corner.Has bounce like a hooper. He can challenge any catch point necessary. Elite ability to locate the football. All six of his interceptions came in man coverage.
CONS
Still a stick. Not much mass on his frame. Has eyes that get him in trouble. Some freelance tendencies on tape.Can get bowled over in the run game. Mediocre tackler over the course of his career.
Round 2: 47 Jartavius "Quan" Martin 5'11". 194 lbs Illinois
Stats: 74 targets, 42 catches allowed, 611 yards allowed, 3 tds allowed, 3 ints, 15 forced incompletions, 2 dropped ints, 4 missed tackles, 64 tackles.
PFF Grade: 73.2
Quan is a beast. I thought he was the 2nd best nickel prospect in the draft and a better deep safety than Brian Branch. Martin absolute rockets around the field in the run game. He started his career at cornerback before transitioning into the safety/nickel position. Another elite athlete that is a perfect fit for our Buffalo Nickel defense.
PFF:
Martin came to Illinois and immediately started as a true freshman in 2018. He originally started off as an outside corner before becoming more of a slot corner recently. He had arguably his best year in 2022, as his 15 forced incompletions were tied for the sixth-most among Power-Five corners. Martin’s 91.0 run-defense grade also led all Power Five cornerbacks. While he played corner at Illinois, we project him more as a safety for the next level.
PROS:
Explosive flat-foot breaks. Tremendous burst. Forceful and reliable tackler - 7 misses on the last 129 attempts last two seasons.Fills like a mac truck in the run game. Wants to come downhill and play in the backfield.
CONS:
Pure man skills are work in progress. Overagressive and liability to bite on fakes. cons On the lighter side for an around the line of scrimmage player. Gets caught with his eyes in the backfield on run
Round 3: 97 Ricky Stromberg 6'3" 306 lbs Arkansas
Stats: 9 impact blocks, 11 qb hurries, 0 qb hits, 0 sacks allowed
PFF Grade: 82.4
Nasty. Another guard experience player that spent his last two years at the center position. Award winner of the Jacob's Blocking Trophy for the SEC'S most outstanding blocker award. This is a solid player that has started since he was freshman in the SEC. He's been battle tested since he was kid and has improved every year. He has some knocks about his play strength, but a NFL program should get em to where he needs to be.
PFF:
Stromberg was a three-star recruit in the 2019 class and started for the Razorbacks as a true freshman, mostly at right guard. He moved inside to center for his sophomore season and spent his final three college seasons there. Stromberg’s 82.4 overall grade and 83.7 run-blocking grade in 2022 both ranked fourth among all centers in college football, and his nine big-time blocks were tied for fifth among FBS centers. Not to mention, Stromberg had an incredible performance at the NFL combine.
PROS:
Does not want to let blocks go. Can see him straining his butt of to stay engaged on tape. Tons of experience against top competition. Four-year starter with 3,121 career snaps.
CONS:
Forward lean gets going on the move, making him liable to topple over. Has wide hands to initiate contact in pass protection before resetting. Leaves himself open for stronger rushers.Unimpressive musculature, which leaves questions about how he'll anchor against NFL strength.
Round 4: Braeden Daniels 6'4" 296 lbs Utah STATS:
0 sacks allowed, 1 qb hit allowed, 14 hurries allowed.
PFF GRADE: 72.2 at tackle, 2021 84.4 at guard.
Braeden Daniels is another tackle/guard hybrid, with starting experience across his college career. This guy is on the lighter side but that allows him to be an Explosive athlete. Very raw at the tackle position and will be a developmental guy. I'd like to give em a try as our swing tackle and see how he performs. He was one of the quickest offensive lineman I've seen off the tape and that athleticism will let him climb to the next level. Even on the lightweight side I'd hate to see this guy running at me on the second level.
PFF:
Daniels is an experienced veteran who commanded the Utes’ offensive line for the past few years. He originally started as a guard before switching over to tackle. His best season came in 2021, as he put up an 84.4 PFF grade. Given his time on the interior, Daniels is at his best when run blocking, and his run-blocking grade in 2021 was an elite 89.1. He still held his own as a pass protector, allowing only five sacks in his Utah career.
PROS
Explodes out of his stance. Arguably the quickest get off in the offensive line class. Linebackers don't want to see him climbing. Gets on them before they can even react. Drive in his lower half to still move the line of scrimmage despite being under 300 pounds.
CONS
Wild into contact. He approaches blocks with the adjustment ability of a freight train. consDoesn't bring his hands with him. Clean engagements are rare on tape. Very light by NFL standards (294 pounds at combine).
Round 5: 137 KJ Henry 6'4" 260 lbs Clemson
STATS:
51 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 FF, 6 pass deflections, 50 qb pressures, 31 qb hurries, 14 qb hits.
PFF GRADE: 83.1
Loved this pick. Henry was a 5 star recruit coming out of high-school and decided to attend Clemson University. With Clemson having deep lines it took him a couple of years to get on the field. The stats look odd when you only see 3.5 sacks, however, the 50 qb pressures is the key stat. Seems more like bad luck that the sack numbers weren't high. Clemson's whole d-line underperformed (Bresee, Murphey) and they should have picked up more sacks from Henry who was the best DE on that team last year. The team clearly liked him as we traded back up for him. He's not elite athlete, but he is an elite hands guy. Almost had that veteran presence in college. High motor and will immediately make an impact as a rotational de, a position that sorely needed an upgrade.
PFF:
On a team with Myles Murphy, you can easily make the case that KJ Henry was Clemson's best defensive end this year, as he posted better PFF grades than Murphy in every category and even generated 19 more pressures. The only problem is That Henry is 24 years old while Murphy is only 21. Therefore, Henry was expected to produce this well against younger competition. Nonetheless, this doesn’t mean that he can’t still improve. If Henry's play this season is any indication of his potential, he can still have a great NFL career as an edge defender.
PROS:
Heavy hands that are so well refined. Uses them independently to use combination moves.Utilizes hesitations and head fakes so well to catch linemen off-balance. Coaches rave about the type of teammate he is. He is the type of player you want in the locker room.
CONS:
First step that's unimposing for a rusher on the smaller side. Late bloomer. Wasn't even a starter until this past fall. One of the oldest prospects in the class. Already 24 years old.
Round 6: 193 Chris Rodriguez 6'0" 217 lbs Kentucky
STATS: 8 games played, 175 attempts, 904 rushing yards, 6 tds, 5.2 ypa, 5 catches, 41 rec yards.
PFF GRADE: 90.8
Chris Rodriguez is a PFF darling and was rated as the 7th best running back. This guy's is a pure one cut, run you over, power back. There's not much finesse to his game, but there's highlights of dragging guys 10-yards down the field. He does not posses break away speed, but he will get you 40 yards. He was suspended 4 games due to a dui and he may have been drafted higher on am abysmal Kentucky team. An extra 4 games of stats against SEC competition and no suspension may have jumped him into the 4th round. This was an Eric Bienemy guy and they brought him in because of that. Isiah Pacheco was another EB guy.
PFF:
Rodriguez is a powerful runner, but he lacks the burst and creativity to become anything more than a downhill grinder. He has the size and mentality to do the dirty work between the tackles, but it could be a challenge for him to get to and through the hole quickly in the NFL. He’s a physical blitz protector, so teams might envision a role for him as a second-half battering ram and third-down quarterback protector.
PROS:
Two-time team captain. Thick frame with ability to pick up tough yards. Makes tacklers feel his size at impact. Stays square getting through downhill cuts. Low success rate guaranteed for arm-tacklers. Stays on his feet through heavy angle strikes. Allows lead blockers to do their work. Steps up with force against incoming rushers.
CONS:
Below-average burst getting through line of scrimmage. Lacks finesse to navigate tight run lanes. Change of direction is heavy. One-speed running style is easy to track for linebackers. Pad level is a little tall as run-finisher. Inconsistent finding assignment versus blitz.
Round 7: 233 Andre Jones 6'4" 248 lbs Louisiana
STATS: 7 sacks, 5 qb hits, 20 hurries.
PFF GRADE: 77.2
Andre Jones was another hybrid de/lb player coming out last year. He possess 34 1/4" arms which is an elite number for his size. May move to LB, but I'm not sure that's the right move with a 4.71 40-yard dash. He doesn't have much a pass rush move set playing a hybrid role, but does use length to his advantage. A solid developmental pick.
PROS:
Shows a natural feel for setting up blockers and getting them off-balance. His hands are active and violent, and Jones quickly disengages with blockers and counters when his initial move stalls. Possesses accurate snap anticipation and timing to beat blockers off the edge. Offers some versatility, rushing from a two-and three-point stance with the playing speed to stand up in space.Flashes strength as a bull rusher and his energy doesn't plateau. Showed initial quickness and good flexibility to dip and bend. Jones has active hands and suddenness to his movements, demonstrating the ability to counter inside. Has fluid footwork to redirect, reverse momentum and close with a burst. Regularly first off the ball with good snap anticipation. He’s a high-effort pass rusher with an impressive combination of length and speed.
CONS:
Jones has to develop a counter move or two in the pass rush, and Jones needs to make better use of his hands. He lacks the speed of a chase and- tackle guy. He lacks twitch as a pass rusher and lacks the feet and flexibility to threaten around the edge. Jones also shows some stiffness when trying to bend the edge, often getting pushed past the pocket — he seems more comfortable countering back inside.
Draft Summary:
This was my favorite Ron Rivera/Martin Mayhew draft thus far. Going into the draft, offensive line, cornerback, and quarterback were our three biggest needs. Drafting in the middle of the round really took us out of the olineman race. The last one that interested me was Broderick Jones and he went off the board when the Steelers traded up. At that point in the draft it really left us with going cornerback. The Forbes pick was received negatively due to Christian Gonzalez being available. Both players will be viewed under the microscope throughout their careers. I'm fine with Forbes pick though. Another lanky cornerback who was an elite athlete. I did have Gonzalez rated higher going into the draft, but he slid for a reason. A lot of his tape shows him not necessarily being an elite cornerback, but being an elite athlete that plays corner. Forbes actually showed the athleticism, corner skills, and ballhawking ability. Some additional knocks against Gonazalez and his love of the game. Quan Martin was our biggest surprise pick of the draft. A lot of people had him going in the 3rd round, but I think the 2nd was a fine spot. Mayhew after the draft said he wish we were more aggressive at times, which I translated as not getting Brian Branch that went several picks before us. I think Quan was the backup option, but I like him as much as Branch. I think Quan will be a better deep safety and Bramch will be a better nickel. Liked Quan alot, but felt we should have gone o-line at this pick. Ocyrus Torrence would've been a sweet pick here. I think if that happened, the consensus view on our draft would shoot up. Quan will immediately via for playing time as our base defense is essentially a 4-2-5. Kendall Fuller was our only above average corner and now we turned our secondary into a strength. Ricky Stromberg and Braeden Daniels were our next two picks. I like Stromberg’s tape a lot and think by next he will be a solid starter at guard or center. Braeden Daniels will be a nice depth piece and if he's able to tame his play he could develop into a starter. Fun player to watch. KJ Henry was an awesome pick and can see him being a nice rotational piece. Good pick at an underrated area of need on our defense. RB wasn't a pressing need, but it's an underrated area of weakness. I think Brian Robinson is about as average of rb as you will see starting in the NFL. I wouldn't be surprised if Rodriguez slowly cut into Robinson's role over the next two years. Antonio Gibson has had some solid season, but has a severe fumbling problem. Andre Jones will be a depth piece that will need development moving forward.
Offseason summary:
The biggest question of our offseason was our owner, which now appears resolved. Our second biggest question... was who was our starting qb? Sam Howell. Ron preached all offseason that he was going with Howell and I'll be damned, he did. Brissett was good qb to bring in, not someone that would necessarily turn the offseason into a battle, but can be a starter if called upon. Really a true backup qb. I'm all in on the Sam Howell train. I love it for a multitude of reasons. One, he balls out and we have our qb of the future, two he plays well enough we give him another season and maybe Ron is out and we get a high draft pick, three he bombs and we fire Ron Rivera and go for Caleb Williams next season. If anything, it gives us a direction for our future. I'm ready for Ron to go and think he's only as good as his coordinators. I'm concerned that EB AND Howell turn the offense around Ron gets resigned and EB takes a head coaching role... then the offense regressed. Additionally, I don't want Ron to get credit for drafting Howell. It was 5th round pick, you and every team passed on him for 4 rounds. If Howell is that good... it's not because Ron was a genius and drafted him. Very similar to Seattle taking Russel. I am excited about EB being here and think he's the real deal. I will give Ron credit for allowing him to run his own offense as he sees fit. OTA's have shown that EB is pushing his guys hard and is trying to see what he can do with the offense. We really do have elite playmaker and I'm most excited to see what he can do with Antonio Gibson. I can see his role being that of Jerrick McKinnon, with more athleticism. Sam Howell has shown a lot of progress since his rookie season. Had issues with his foot work, but has shown vast improvements. We only have 1 preseason game and 1 NFL game of tape on him. I liked what he showed. When watching tape you could see him going through his progression, man absolutely saved the day wish his escapability- was under pressure the whole game, threw two beautiful deep passes, and won the game. He did throw one bad pick, but was under pressure and playing hero ball. He had one week of practice with the starters, now he has a whole offseason. Our defense should be a top 5 unit next season and we only got better. Chase Young should be fully healthy and he's the X-factor for the number one overall defense. He comes out plays to his full potential then he could be a mid teens sack guy. If we have that sort of production and Sam Howell plays well than we can compete for the decision. Big if though. Our secondary really lacked a 2nd option, Benjamin St Juyce has shown some flashes but didn't seeze the role last year. Now on paper he's the number and that's very solid. We return two top 6 defensive tackles and Montez Swear is one of the most underrated players in the league. He's yet to have a high sack season, but is very much that Jadaveon Ckowney type of player in the run game. Big question mark season for Jaymin Davis. We knew he needed development, but it's been slower than previously thought. Down the stretch he showed flashes that he was coming into his own and now is his year. He's one of the best athletes at linebacker in the league and his ceiling is very very high. Overall I predict we will go 10-7 and challenge for a wild card spot. That record can fluctuate each one, but I'm calling the improvement now. We went 8-8-1 with bottom 3 qb play. The defense got better, we hired a better offensive coordinator, Howell will at the minimum be slightly better than Hienke last season, we didn't lose any major pieces and had a solid all around draft. I'm truly excited to watch how our future plays out.

Edit:
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February 2001: It’s a bright new era for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. After years of mediocrity and flirts with relegation in the 1990s, a new ownership group is taking over from that cheapskate Alan Sugar. Meet your new overlords in English National Investment Company and your new chairman, Daniel Levy! Its sure to be a great start of a beautiful journey!
May 2001: Finishing 12th is not what you would call ideal. No European football. Not to mention bowing out in the FA Cup Semis and League Cup third round. Enjoy this new manager in Glenn Hoddle.
2001-02 : Sol Campbell signed with our eternal rivals in Arsenal! Levy didn’t offer him a new contract? What?? Doesn’t he know those Gunner clowns can’t be taking our players like that? We also finish 9th but made the League Cup final. It helps having the return of our goal scoring phenom in Teddy Sheringham. Adding Gustavo Poyet helps too. Still no European football.
2002-03: The best way to fight back into the elite is to have more goal scorers right? Welcome Robbie Keane from Leeds United! A crafty piece of business on our end! Him and Sheringham power us to…10th place. The fuck? And third round exits in the Cups…
2003-2004: Glenn Hoddle is underachieving! Get rid of him. David Pleat can surely handle the task at hand. Nope, we finished 14th…and still no trophies. But hey check out our shiny new forward in Jermaine Dafoe.
May 2004: Sol Campbell becomes a key contributor to Arsenal’s Invincibles season and wins the Premier League title. Does it feel cold?
2004-2005: Here’s our new manager in Jacques Santini ~goes 5-4-5~ ok never mind. Here’s our REAL new manager in Martin Jol, much more quality. He’s got the gusto and know-how to guide us to 9th and no trophies. At least Jermaine Defoe was the club top goal scorer…and Ledley King is coming into his own.
May 2005: Our other eternal rivals Chelsea win their first Premier League thanks to that outlandish manager Jose Mourinho and oligarch Roman Abramovich. All they do is buy players whenever they please. Pfft, that won’t be sustainable, they’ll come back to Earth eventually.
2005-06: Martin Jol has been a massive improvement to our fortunes. No trophies yet but we’re back in Europe. It’s good to be back in the UEFA Cup, think of the tv revenue. 5th place is a nice finish. Robbie Keane and newcomer Mido carried us to this spot. We should be keep them around for a while. Bringing in experienced talent like Edgar Davids and this young defensive midfielder in Tom Huddlestone helps. And check out our new record signing in Jermaine Jenas.
2006-07: Michael Carrick is a great defensive midfielder but Manchester United want his services. Here, take him. Edgar Davids is also much too old to be playing Premier League football. Our loss is also our gain with 15 million quid in the books. Let's invest that into a brand-new world class striker in Dimitar Berbatov. And Carrick's replacement in Didier Zokora certainly helps us...but we finish 5th again. No tropies either...at least European football?
2007-08: Jermaine Dafoe and Mido are gone. We need to replace them. Darren Bent seems like a good idea. But who the hell is this young left-back named Gareth Bale? Why is he worth 14 million pounds? Whatever, we need depth, he probably won't be much. Snap up this Jonathan Woodgate guy, too, someone has to help Ledley King here!
Oct 25, 2007: So you sacked Martin Jol at halftime against Getafe because reasons? Maybe if you stopped selling all his good players the division wouldn't have started. The fans are not pleased about this at all. Smooth them over with Juande Ramos from Chelsea.
League Cup Final 2008: All this leads to an 11th place finish, but fear not - YOU WON THE LEAGUE CUP! The first trophy since 1999, a true triumph. Certainly Spurs can aim higher now right?
2008-09: Juande Ramos is a fraudulent piece of shite that doesn't deserve to work in North London. We've promptly canned him for the legend that is Harry Redknapp. Just look at him inspire us to...8th place. We made the League Cup Final broken glass window and we've lost to Manchester United. And sold them Berbatov because money. This is shit. Enjoy this new midfielder signing in Luka Modric. He'd only become one of the best players in the world, nothing too crazy. Oh and Robbie Keane is back. So is Jermaine Defoe! Yay?
2009-10: A full season of Redknapp ball has led to a glorious prize! 4TH PLACE! Tottenham Hotspur will be playing under the lights on Tuesday and Wednesday! Play the music....THE CHAMPPPIONS! All it cost was loaning out Keane, selling Bent, and bringing in Peter Crouch. What a team we have forming. This Aaron Lennon kid is turning into quite the player. Oh and that Gareth Bale kid we paid a premium for? Yea, he's playing left winger now.
2010-2011: Champions League football requires Champions League talent. Quickly, let's eye up cheap deals for Rafael van der Vaardt, Sandro, and William Gallas. The attacking front of Crouch, Bale, Defoe, van der Vaardt, and Roman Pavlyuchenko powered us to 5th. It’s been a tough test balancing these nights. But did you see our massive victories against both Milan teams? I think we'll be back here in no time. Is it really a bad season without winning any trophies?
2011-12: A critical season. Harry Redknapp's contract is set to expire and Daniel Levy hasn't really been known to give coaches pay raises unless they merit it. Unfortunately, Peter Crouch is too old to keep around. Off to Stoke City with you, lad, thanks for that night at the San Siro. Bringing Emmanuel Adebayor from the exile of Manchester City should be a like-for-like swap. It all powers us to finish 4th again! HUZZAH! Another season of Champions League revenues! But still no Cups to take home.
2012 CL Final: Unfortunately, Chelsea did something incredible and won the Champions League in the most chaotic final in recent memory. Thus, for finishing 4th, you get Europa League football...god I hate Chelsea.
2012-13: Gareth Bale is becoming an elite winger without elite help. We've also decided to do something ridiculously unpopular and sell Luka Modric to Real Madrid for huge money. van der Vaardt is also out the door to Hamburg. The revenue brings in Hugo Lloris, Mousa Dembele, Clint Dempsey, and Jan Vertonghen. Under the plucky Andre Villas-Boas we finish 5th and go back to Europa. But our Cup showing was even more abysmal this season. Gareth Bale potted 21 goals...oh god he's next to go isn't he?
2013-14: The worst day has come. Gareth Bale has been sold to Real Madrid. He's joining up with Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo. The money reinvested brings in Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, and the meme known as Roberto Saldado. Andre Villas-Boas' tenure was short-lived. Tim Sherwood is a former Spurs lad, surely he can lead us to greatness. If you call 6th place and no trophies greatness.
CL Final 2014: Luka Modric and Gareth Bale become key contributors to Real Madrid's Decima in the Champions League. Bale also scores one of the best goals of the campaign in the Copa Del Rey against Barcelona. The fans are pissed at Daniel Levy and ENIC.
2014-15: We've been knocking on the door of the elite English teams for a few seasons now. Time to put up or shut up. Tim Sherwood, you are not that guy pal. Mauricio Pochettino, welcome to Spurs. Here's the plucky academy kid in Harry Kane. Please get him firing, our striker woes are well-known. You want to sell Gylfi Sigurdsson and Sandro for this League One prospect in Dele Alli? Ok if you say so. Who the hell is Eric Dier and why do you want him? Culminating in a fifth place finish and League Cup final. Harry Kane scored 21 goals though...whoa.
2015-16: Defense needs an upgrade. Let's buy this experienced Belgian in Toby Alderwaiald. Him and Vertonghen played together before, surely it will work. We also need a left winger. How about Hueng-Min Son? He's been torching defenses for Leverkusen, he can surely do it here. The top teams are having a down season, now is the time to strike. We can smell the Premier League title in our grasp.
Final Matchday 2016: They finished third in a two-horse race after Leicester decided to have the greatest sports story ever play out in real life. It seems like a missed opportunity, but there is plenty to build on. Poch's team is coming together. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose are molding into elite fullbacks. The Belgians and Lloris are brick walls. Harry Kane is becoming a world-class striker. He even won the Golden Boot! They just need a little bit more to get over the trophy drought.
2016-17: Ok this is the year. We made it back to the Champions League, but this will be the last year at White Hart Lane. It's much too old for this modernizing football club. We need a really big stadium to bring in that sweet matchday revenue like our rivals. And I'm talking REALLY big, the best in all of England. It would be nice to fill it with some Champions League revenue and some silverware no? Well, seems like we finished 2nd and didn't win any Cups...AGAIN. But hey, Harry won the Golden Boot again! Dele Alli took serious strides in becoming a generational talent. Progress is progress amirite?
Final Matchday 2017: Chelsea win their 4th Premier League title since Abramovich took over. At least you finished above Arsenal again...that's a win isn't it?
2017-18: Kyle Walker has been sold to Manchester City because we like money over glory. Don't worry, we have a solid replacement with Kieran Trippier. We'll use the Walker money to bring a new defender in Davinson Sanchez from Ajax and right winger in Lucas Moura from PSG. Oh and for the hell of it, here's Serge Aurier from PSG too. Glorious depth. We still don't have a reliable backup striker, but how about a cheap deal for the aging legs of Fernando Llorente. He was good in a past life right?
Nov 1, 2017: By God, we've done it. We've slain the evil empire in Real Madrid. It's hard to believe a team of this size and caliber could scar the kings of Europe. Surely the only way is up from here.
March 2018: Nope, the knockout stages pit you up against a thunderous Juventus team that makes you their English bitch. Giorgio Chiellini goes on to make one of the most overused memes in all of football Twitter. "Iz di history of di Tottenham..."
Final Matchday 2018: Respectable 3rd place finish behind Manchester United lads. Too bad no trophies to go with it. Sigh... what else is new? We finished above Arsenal again...yay? Meanwhile, Kyle Walker is part of the Centurion Manchester City team...I need more liquor.
2018-19: Harry Kane is starting to get impatient. He needs to start seeing some silverware soon. Hueng-Min Son is emerging as a top forward in the league. Dele’s dropped off a bit but it’s just a blip, nothing to worry about. Jan and Toby are rock-solid at the back. We have a plucky solid squad, filled with some high-end talent but we didn't get any reinforcements in the summer...what the fuck? You do realize squads transition every season, ENIC? Where's Poch's reinforcements? Why did you sell Mousa Dembele mid-season, he was still useful! Oh dear god, what have they done? Oh that’s right…the new stadium. It’s still not done yet is it?
UCL QFs 2019: This is massive test. We managed to beat Barcelona in the group stage, and cake-walked through Dortmund in the Round of 16 but this is a new beast. We're up against the defending PL champs in Man City. Harry is hurt but we've got Sonny, Lucas, Chrisitan, Dele, and Fernando to make up for his goals. A huge pen save by Hugo on Aguero keeps us in the tie. Son puts us up 1-0 in the first leg. Going to the Etihad without Harry, it's a tight affair. Son and Sterling trading goals, Fernando kneeing in the go-ahead, Bernardo Silva pulling one back, 4-3 Man City, and seeing out the final whistle. Away goals take us over the line. Onto the Semis!
UCL SFs 2019: This Ajax team downed Real Madrid. They're gonna walk all over us. At least in the first leg. The second leg is a masterpiece. Lucas scored not one, not two, but THREE away goals to push us to glory! Gas up the bus boys, WE ARE GOING TO THE UCL FINAL!!!!
UCL Final 2019: What the actual fuck? How was that a handball on Moussa Sissoko??? IT HIT HIS BLOODY SHOULDER! You gifted this match to Liverpool, UEFA! (This is the moment that broke Tottenham Hotspur) And why the hell didn't Lucas start the game? After that fantastic hat trick? I don't care if Kane was fit to play, this is massive managerial blunder. Maybe this is the summer things start to change. All we got for this was a runner-up medal. At least we finished 4th in England. BUT STILL NO MOTHER FUCKING TROPHIES! writer proceeds to smash his laptop in the process
2019-20: The UCL Final should be a springboard for another potential title charge. Poch is calling out ownership for not wanting to give him signings. They only fumbled the Paulo Dybala signing, surely we can still trust Levy and ENIC right? Here's Giovani Lo Celso instead and Tanguy Ndombele to shore up the midfield. Here's our replacement for Danny Rose in Ryan Sessegnon. Unfortunately, Chrisitan Eriksen wants out and we let his contract run down. He leaves in January for basically nothing. Results are starting to flounder so Poch, pack your furniture and get out of our house. Meet our new manager: Jose Mourinho, the Special One. Just nobody tell Daniel he's been sacked infamously by both Chelsea and Manchester United for being a toxic presence. At least the new stadium is ope---ah fuck, it's COVID. An injury-plagued campaign culminates in a 6th place finish, but still no trophies. Another finish over those Gunners though! Why aren't you fans happy? We can't spend money, don't you see we didn't get any matchday revenue???
FA Cup Final 2020: Even though we finished above them, Arsenal take home an FA Cup with a squad arguably much less talented than Spurs. It was also against Chelsea...who finished above you. Can someone drive me to the nearest cliff please?
2020-21: A full season of Mourinho-ball. Tensions are starting to run high. Kane is pissed at the direction we're going. Jan Vertonghen and Kieran Trippier are gone. Dele Alli forgot how to play football under Jose. We need a new center-back...too goddam expensive. Let's convert Eric Dier to CB and have play back there, what's the worst that can happen? Fans aren't happy at all. I know the solution: you kids remember Uncle Gareth?? He's baaaaack! Sure, he's in his early 30s and a shell of himself but he's won 4 UCL titles and scored that fabulous bike kick in 2018. He's still class. Here’s a bunch of mid table players in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Matt Doherty, and Joe Rodon to supplement the team.
March 2021: Europa League is quite winnable. Surely nothing bad will happen like you losing to a team who's manager is in prison for tax fraud. breaking glass sounds you fumbled a 2-0 agg lead to Dinamo Zagreb...who's manager was in prison for tax fraud. You're fucking pathetic you know that?
April 2021: Jose Mourinho is a dinosaur of English football. Look at him playing park the bus tactics while we can't defend score. Let's get rid of this cancer before it spreads. Who cares if it's six days before the League Cup Final against City? Why can't Ryan Mason see it out?
EFL Cup Final 2021: It's not a blowout loss, but it's clearly an overmatching. City run rampant on Spurs as they lift the trophy they basically own at this point. Fans are calling for Levy's head. In fact, they were calling for it as early as the FA Cup loss to Everton in the fourth round.
Final Matchday 2021: Jose refused to play Gareth Bale. Looking back that was a terrible decision. Bale and Kane power us to a 7th place finish. We finish above Arsenal again. It's a successful season in ENIC's checkbook. And there's still European football to play. Harry Kane wins another Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for most assists. We have to keep him around.
May 2021: Kieran Trippier and Christian Eriksen become key contributors to Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan's respective title wins. In other news, Juan Foyth wins the Europa League with Villarreal while on loan. Does that sound familiar?
CL Final 2021: Chelsea find another way to win another Champions League title, despite sacking a manger midway through the season and having misfiring forwards. And it was against Man City…who we beat every now and then.
2021-22: We need a director of football to help us match up to our rivals better. Fabio Paratici built Juventus in the most dominant club in Italy, surely he can replicate that in England. No we won't hire Paulo Fonseca and his 7 assistant coaches, way too much payroll. And no, you can't hire Gennaro Gattuso for his derogatory comments. Wait, where the hell is Harry Kane? Ahh I see he wants to be sold to Man City. HA! Doesn't he know he just signed an extension? Son has too, so if Harry wants to play hardball let him. Quickly, hire Nuno Espirito Santos as our fail-safe. He's not what we wanted but we fucked up so we're fucked now. Wait, how can we be so critical of ourselves? CHECK OUT THIS GLORIOUS STADIUM!!!!
Nov 2021: Nuno is terrible, he's lost 5 in a row. Who cares if we beat Man City on opening day? Get him out NOW! Get Antonio Conte in. It's another former Chelsea manager to restore our standing in the club.
Final Matchday 2022: HUZZAH! After a turbulent season, losing to wifi-password named clubs in the Conference League then getting kicked out of it for COVID reasons, Conte calling us out in the media multiple times, we galvanized ourselves to a 4th place finish. We're back, and it's thanks to the Juve rejects in Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski, and Rodrigo Bentancur. Son won the Golden Boot, a true testament to his development at Spurs. Back on track. But still...no trophies. Another finish above Arsenal...they should just make a team award for that at this point.
2022-23: A full season of a happier Conte should lead us to silverware. Let’s not dawddle, start making signings. Richarlison always victimized us at Everton, let’s bring him to back up Kane. Yves Bissouma did the same at Brighton and we do need a batter box to box midfielder. Him too. Ivan Perisic on a free for Conte’s wingback. Surely our defense is fine in the hands of Romero, Dier, Clement Lenglet, and Ben Davies. And Djed Spence because reasons.
April 2023: It’s been a terrible season. From having our best start to a season since 1967 to bottling game after game after game. Tepid football, lack of inspiration. Despite small triumphs like winning the Champions League group stage and mugging Manchester City of points again, they have failed miserably again. Son’s form is gone. Richarlison doesn’t know how to score. The defense is wide open. It implodes after giving up 3 goals to a bottom table Southampton after being up 3-0. Conte is furious, criticizes ownership again, and is canned back to Italy. Fabio Paratici was also banned by FIFA for cooking Juve’s books. To make it worse, Arsenal was leading the top of the table and almost won the title. Thank the football gods for Man City and their oil money franchise. That means nothing as the season prolapses, we fall out of European contention, and finish 8th. No manager, no director football, toxic fanbase crying out for changes. I have now developed heavy drinking. "ZE DON'T WANT TO PLAY FOR SOMETHING IMPORTANT! 20 YEARS THERE IS THE OWNER AND NEVER WON SOMETHING!"
UEL Semi-Final 2023: Did I mention this gets worse because it does. A couple seasons back, Spurs swapped Erik Lamela and 25 million for promising Spanish youngster Bryan Gil from Sevilla. Gil was never favored by Nuno or Conte, with the Italian basically exiling him from the team unless he had no other choice but to play him. Gil would be loaned back to Sevilla where he assisted Erik Lamela's game-winning goal in stoppage time to book Sevilla a place in the Europa League final. I want to drink bleach...
Twenty-three years of failures and memes, Tottenham look like a lost club. All the shiny toys, but nothing to show for it. Champagne expectations with a beer budget. Does the ownership really value profit that much? Daniel Levy always insists his goal every season is to win a trophy. But how do you do that without attracting top talent? They squandered a window in 2019 and can’t remake the glory. They've made signing after signing that are inconsistent or not at the level to win trophies. It feels like they value cheap deals rather than actual talent. It's killing the club. Kane has been a legend at the club but he’s ready to move on. I don’t blame him, his career is incomplete with some hardware. But the future looks bleak. What will Spurs do next? Will they do a full rebuild and risk the possibility of no European football? Or will they try to win at least one trophy before Kane's contract is up?

I'm looking to leave AT&T with my iPhone 12 Mini to find something else with decent service and overall saving some cash in my pocket. I live in San Antonio and usually in the medical area for work, is there anyone out there that has tried both Visible and Mint?
If so, what are your reviews? Any drops in service? Price okay? Overall pros and cons...

I played a little bit of FS15 years back but have gotten myself addicted to 22 this weekend. I played on the Xbox since it's included with my gamepass but have decided to buy it on my PC with DLCs.
I know there's some debate about whether the season passes are worth it but it also seems like there's some DLC not included in the passes to begin with.
I'll probably buy the passes since I'm a completionist but am looking for input on whether I should avoid any, or whether any of the following DLCs are actually in a season pass:

• ERO Grapeliner Series 7000
• Porsche Diesel Junior 108
• Volvo Bundle
• Pumps n' Hoses Pack
• GIANTS Bonus Bundle
• CLAAS XERION SADDLE TRAC Pack

These are all included in SP1/2 or are free:

• Antonio Carraro Pack: March 22, 2022 (SP1)
• Kubota Pack: June 28, 2022 (SP1)
• Vermeer Pack: August 23, 2022 (SP1)
• Platinum Expansion: November 15, 2022 (SP1)
• Bonus: ERO Grapeliner Series 7000 (SP1)
• GÖWEIL Pack: March 21, 2023 (SP2)
• Hay & Forage Pack: June 13, 2023 (SP2)
• Bonus: BM-Volvo LM 845 (SP2)
• AGI Pack (Free)
• Precision Farming (Free)

I most play on the Elmcreek map so far and when I start again on PC I'll likely target the "start from zero" mod and work my way up. I've found some good mods for oldecheaper machinery that makes it easy to start out.
EDIT: Looks like the "bundle" DLCs aren't sold this way on steam or epic, only their website. Looks like the "pumps" dlc was by a third party and is panned in the reviews.
EDIT2: $147.48 US when everything here is purchased through Steam. Yikes!

I recently completed my Citizenship by Descent (jure sanguinis) appointment at my local Italian Conuslate's office in Houston, Texas. Below is my write-up that outlines my experience. Hopefully, this is helpful for those currently working through the process. Best of luck to you all! ✨
Line: GGF ➜ GF ➜ F ➜ Yours truly
🗓 Key Dates

• Document Collection Start: July 2022
• Appointment Booked: 03/01/2023
• Appointment Date: 05/25/2023
• Recognition Date: TBD

🔎 Background
In July of last year, my father was diagnosed with cancer. While the news was both unexpected and frightening, my dad’s diagnosis ignited a latent desire to learn more about who he was and the ancestors that came before him. In the weeks and months following his diagnosis, I tried to connect as often as possible with my dad – I asked questions about his childhood. I asked him to tell me about his parents and grandparents. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.
One late summer day last year, as my dad was preparing for another round of chemotherapy, he mentioned that his grandfather, Vincenzo, had immigrated from Italy to the United States. He didn’t know much about his late grandfather. He had died before my dad was born. I spent the following days deep in the far corners of Ancestry.com combing through records in search of everything Vincenzo Panevino. It turns out my dad was right about his grandfather ­– Vincenzo Luigi Antonio Panevino had indeed crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a one-way ticket to New York City at the ripe age of 30. Each record I uncovered unlocked even more information on my great-grandfather – he was born in 1859 in Aliano, Italy (a small, rural town that sits right near the arch of the boot). His birth came nearly two years before Italy’s unification in 1861. He apparently was also quite a sharp dresser (see attached picture)! It was during my research on my great-grandfather that I stumbled upon the process of jure sanguinis. The more I learned about the process, the more it felt like the next logical step on my journey into the past. My dad agreed. And with that, I was off to the races on a vital record collection spree!
📜 Appointment Recap
In March of this year, I was able to secure an appointment for this past Thursday at 9:30 a.m. This came after a previous appointment I had secured for this past January was randomly canceled by the Houston Consulate without an option to reschedule. The process of obtaining this second appointment most definitely aged me!
The night before my appointment, my husband and I drove into town. Thankfully, my in-laws live in the greater-Houston area, so we were able to spend the night at their house before driving to the consulate the following day.
The morning of my appointment, my husband and I arrived at the consulate a bit early. Parking was seamless; the cost is only a few bucks an hour and the lot is located within the same building as the consulate. With some extra time to spare, we decided to stop by nearby Fiction Coffee (literally a stone’s throw away from the lobby of the building that houses the consulate). Their coffee and breakfast tacos were amazing! I left my husband there and made my way up to the 19th floor ready to officially kick things off.
I arrived at the entrance of the consulate and pressed the red button adjacent to the doors; a voice blared out asking what I was there for. I informed the person on the other end that I was there for my citizenship appointment, and I was quickly buzzed in. Once inside, an Italian officer instructed me to place my belongings onto a conveyor belt for a security scan. Next, I was directed towards a window to a consular official who again asked the reason for my visit and for my name. After he jotted down some notes, I was let into a small waiting room and told to make my way to window number 3. While I waited for my appointment to begin, I glanced around the room. The windowless space was quite small, filled with only a handful of red chairs and multiple copies of Italics Magazine.
A woman arrived behind the glass partition and introduced herself as Margherita. I told her that I had heard so much about her through this subreddit community and the amazing Dual U.S.-Italian Citizenship Facebook group. She let out a genuine smile and told me how thankful she was that such a group exists to help people complete this process. After a few minutes of small talk, Margherita and I got right to work!
I began by handing over my driver’s license and passport as well as photocopies of each. Next up, was a utility bill with my name and address on it. Finally, Margherita asked me to sign all forms in front of her (in my case, that was Forms 1, 2, 4, and the Registry Form). With these initial documents out of the way, Margherita took a moment to scan my forms and acknowledged that it appeared as though I was eligible to move forward based on the forms I handed over. Margherita propped up Form 1 on a clipboard and then pulled out a secondary form that she would use to annotate each document I submitted.
We began with my great-grandfather, Vincenzo. I submitted a printout of his Italian birth certificate from PEC which was accepted. Additionally, I also had printouts of his original Italian birth record and birth index (both of which I found on Antenati) which Margherita also accepted. Thankfully, because I had read other member recaps for the Houston Consulate, I made sure to bring a certified copy of the ship record/manifest that documented my grandfather’s arrival into New York City in 1889. Margherita was appreciative that I had this and mentioned that manifest records were important to her when she was reviewing cases. Just to be safe, I highly recommend ordering this record via NARA if you’re within Houston’s consular jurisdiction. Next up, I handed over my great-grandfather’s marriage, census, non-naturalization records (USCIS, NARA, county records), and death records without issue. Because my great-grandfather never naturalized, Margherita asked if I had his A-File (Alien File) Card as further evidence of his non-naturalization. I had not found such a card during my research process. Margherita stood up and pulled out a photocopy of what the A-File Card looked like from her filing cabinet. I quickly grabbed my cell phone and searched for more info. On NARA’s website, I discovered that Alien Registration Numbers and A-File’s were not first issued until just after my great-grandfather died in 1940. Because of this, he likely was never issued an Alien Registration Number or an A-File. I pressed my phone up to the glass to show Margherita the National Archives website. She scanned the web page I presented to her and appeared to agree that I would be unable to locate this record. I was not assigned homework to collect this. Onward we went!
Although the Houston Consulate’s website states that non-line documents are optional, I made sure to bring them just in case! I had gathered certified copies of all non-line documents with translations. Margherita made a point to explicitly call out that translations and apostilles were not necessary as non-line documents were only used by the consulate staff to corroborate any information on in-line family members. Nonetheless, she accepted everything I gave her. Similar to my great-grandfather, my great-grandmother also immigrated from Italy and Margherita was also appreciative that I had secured her ship manifest/arrival record as well.
We continued down the line, sliding through the window apostilled and translated birth/marriage/divorce/death documents for all in-line relatives and basic copies with translations for non-line relatives. When we got to my father’s documents, Margherita paused and let out a notable sigh. She stammered, “Your father, he is no longer with us, no?” I nodded. Two months prior to my appointment, my father’s battle with cancer abruptly ended. As I worked to process the loss of my dad, I continued on with this process. In many ways, I found this journey to be a somewhat cathartic way to work through my pain. I received my father’s apostilled death certificate exactly one week before my appointment. It was the final document needed to complete my application. Margherita put down her pen and we spoke at length about my dad. She didn’t seem to mind our appointment running a bit longer. She was genuine and compassionate. We are so fortunate to have her as our consular official.
As my appointment drew to a close, Margherita slid the document she had been using to notate every document I submitted back to me. She asked me to review her notes for accuracy while she went to the back of the office to officially submit my application with my $321.70 USPS money order. She returned with a photocopy of my Form 1 document which now had my file number written at the top. She informed me that I had no homework as of right now and mentioned that she would contact me via email if any additional documentation was needed. She also let me know that although the consulate has 24 months to process my application, she believes the process would likely wrap up much sooner. Margherita even told me that whenever she has moments of free time, it’s not uncommon for her to pull out an “easy” application (i.e. applicants who aren’t married, have no kids, or those with little to no homework) to try to complete it. Fingers crossed that this translates into even more recognitions out of this consulate in the near future!
I thanked Margherita extensively as my appointment came to a close. We waved goodbye through the glass and Margherita disappeared into the office behind her. And just like that, this phase of my journey was complete. I walked out of the office homework-free and one step closer to my goal of dual citizenship. My husband and I celebrated afterward with an amazing lunch at North Italia just up the block. I was elated!
🗝 Closing Thoughts & Key Takeaways

• Margherita is extremely flexible when it comes to name discrepancies. I had a few and she never even mentioned name variations. I even had an OATS affidavit on standby but never needed it. All she seemed to care about were that key dates matched up relatively well.
• Err on the side of being overprepared. I had ship manifests, baptismal records, census records, WW2 draft registration cards, and countless other documents I found throughout my research process. Bring them all! Especially in cases of non-naturalization, Margherita needs extensive evidence that your LIRA never naturalized. Having all documentation ready to go also increases the likelihood that you’ll be one of the “easy” applications Margherita tries to complete in her free time at the office.
• Organize, organize, organize! In the weeks leading up to my appointment, I meticulously crafted a binder separated by each generation to come before me. On the day of my appointment, this binder proved to be invaluable. It was super easy to pull out each document Margherita requested. She seemed to appreciate this as well!
• Leverage this online resources. This subreddit and the Dual U.S.-Italian Citizenship Facebook group is such a tremendous resource. It is through these groups that I found an amazing translator in Andrea/lastfuelstation on Fiverr. This community also introduced me to John Chiarelli (https://www.docutrek.com/) who was able to gather No Record of Naturalization letters very quickly from multiple counties in New York City. Beyond that, these communities really understand the ins and outs of this process in ways that no service provider ever could. I am so thankful.
• Be gentle with yourself. Obtaining citizenship in a new country is a big deal that requires a bunch of work! Balancing ordering records, securing a coveted appointment and a ton of other jure sanguinis obligations can easily become overwhelming. Be kind to yourself throughout this process. You will get there. We will get there.

The last time I visited my dad in the hospital, I shared all the details I had dug up on ancestors I’d only seen in a handful of pictures. We pieced together their lives. In some sense, they were all finally real to me. To us. On Thursday, as I walked out of the consulate building, I closed out an unexpected chapter in my life. Buried in the seemingly mundane vital records I had just turned over was a bridge back to little ol’ Aliano, Italy, and a connection to my great-grandfather, my grandfather, and my dad. It’s through this very process that, in some small way, I get to keep them alive. What a gift!
Grazie mille to everyone who helped unlock the past and future when I needed it most. I could never thank you enough! Now, off to celebrate with some gelato! 🇮🇹✨

Company Name	Title	City
UnitedHealth Group	Financial Counselor - Remote in Brewer, ME	Brewer
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Kepro	RN RevieweClinical Assessor (Remote)	Charleston

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in . Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

"There was nothing sane about Chernobyl. What happened there, what happened after, even the good we did, all of it… all of it, madness."
https://preview.redd.it/i0xbut4o422b1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e8e5368d3973d5f947e211bbc8a3130e1710f9f
CHAPTER 1: One hour, twenty three minutes and forty five seconds before winter.
Between 2017 and 2019... between season 7 and season 8 of Game of Thrones, HBO produced a mini-series and won its Golden Globes.
"Please, tell me how an RBMK reactor explodes."
We have to understand that when HBO launches Chernobyl, GoT is over for them, they already know very well where the project is going to end. They known that the end of GoT was going to be a shock. Which was probably more violent than they had anticipated.
And I'm going to show you that through the short story of Chernobyl, there's a message that applies to audience reactions to Game of Thrones.
"When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there, but it is still there."
https://preview.redd.it/9xt4zor7822b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4296bc524a37a3d1379066a34a329f25c72d80b
Six episodes too short to tell an end of story ? Chernobyl did it with five.
The fall of the USSR, the breaking point, seen through a real and serious catastrophe, the explosion of reactor 4 of the V. I. Lenin nuclear power plant in Pripyat, also known as Chernobyl, April 26, 1986 at 1:23 a.m.
Here in Naath, you all know that Daenerys is also a form of nuclear reactor that exploded.
​
CHAPTER 0: The origins of good stories.
It's incomparable, they are two very different stories, a fantasy story with magic, and a historical true story. No link between them. Right ?
Game of thrones is realistic and very serious mythology, inspired by history to tell us about our history, with dragons and magicians. Game of Thrones is not totally fantasy, the series mixes all genres.
And Chernobyl..., takes place in 1986, but the staging presents us with an invisible, frightening and deadly threat, in a post-apocalyptic and dystopian aesthetic, taking on the codes of science fiction. This story, could happen in the future.
Or a series about an American company during the second world war... which shows little battles, little fights, a lot of waiting, and not really epic dialogues... Band of Brothers does not glorify war or ballsy patriotism. It is a universal story that speaks to us of humanity, courage, friendship, love, and a profound moral and philosophical reflection on war. "Why we fight."
https://preview.redd.it/bzx1oagfk22b1.jpg?width=850&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdb766f33ff56d3d235e177e0529689dcec3dec6
The link between these series is HBO, and their desire to educate when they tell stories. They evolve, improve, experiment and respond to their series, through series.
HBO have always broken established codes and updated the meaning of stories for their viewers. The quality of their works seems to be their first objective. They make series, to tell stories. Not to occupy us for an hour, sitting in front of our screen, vegetating and killing time with enjoyment.
​
​
CHAPTER 2: The Studio Wars of our Time.
A counterexample will convince you, and it's Disney. I loved movies when I was little, today I see an ogre, eating all the great sagas and universes, and spitting them out to an audience hungry for new stuffed animals and coffee mugs, happy to take their children at the Cinema and at Disneyworld. The quality of movies for Disney... is not important. Only the trailer counts, to make more money.
I don't mean to be mean or unfair, there's nothing wrong with loving Disney movies, or any movie. I just want to explain that there is a Hollywood Empire and the little mouse studio has the biggest slice of the cake. They don't really have to be innovative and subversive to attract an audience.
HBO is an outsider.
Netflix has turned the game upside down, partly helped by the Game of Thrones phenomenon, Disney+ and Amazon have quickly made a name for themselves. And now there's HBO max.
The MCU is a huge television series, just like Star Wars now, while GoT/HotD... it's Cinema.
Why not work with Disney, who have ten times more resources....? Why continue to work with HBO who are supposed to have ruined the end of GoT...?
Because HBO has stuff to tell us, Disney has stuff to sell us.
When GRRM says he wants an MCU for Game of Thrones, do you think he means he wants to copy the Disney formula ?
Or he means: "Look, I'll show you what a real Cinematic Universe is."
https://preview.redd.it/fjv8py8ij22b1.png?width=1565&format=png&auto=webp&s=5d0eb3bddde2f913e5e5b06f485b62192fd2d79e
"What is the cost of lies ? It’s not that we’ll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all."
Disney's image is the dream. It's positive for the whole family, it's a reassuring and cozy comfort zone. It's cute and great for kids.
"- In the time since he's met me, he's refused to call me queen, he's refused to bow, and now he's calling me a child.
- I believe he's calling \all* of us children. Figure of speech."*
HBO questions us, humanity, our choices, our reasons, our desires, our problems, our goals, our duties and our passions. Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror series is in the same artistic line, a more direct and understandable satire. They use Art to criticize and alert our times. That no one feels directly targeted, we are all concerned more or less, it's just self-criticism, and sometimes certain characters resonate stronger in us, because they carry certain moral characteristics that we can share.
What you watch on your screens, your televisions, in movie theaters with your friends while eating popcorn... is a lie, a dream, an illusion. Cinema is always lies. It's the staging, the show, the journey. And sometimes it's used to tell truths.
HBO doesn't put us to sleep with sweet dreams, they want to wake us up.
"Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid."
​
CHAPTER 3: The true stories and the show.
I'm not lying to you when I tell you that there's nothing wrong with going to see a Disney movie. I loved it for a while, and today, when I see the new ones, it's seen, reviewed, understood, and repeated over and over. The good guys against the bad guys, it's not good to lie, the bad guys are bad because the good guys said they were the bad guys. It's Disney's Manichaeism wall.
I've said too much, it will be impossible, I have to get back to the subject of Chernobyl before the legions of Mandalore join forces with the Asgardian cohorts to come and say I'm an obnoxious Moria troll in the comments. I'm not afraid, come with your raccoons and your lightsabers, I could destroy your universes only with Ran from Kurosawa... But you have with you the groupies of Tom Holland the spider-man, and I was a fan of Tom Holland before he made Spiderman, in The Impossible by Juan Antonio Bayona, with Ewan McGregor and Naomie Watts. A film without lies.
So I'm sparing you, because I'm good.
https://preview.redd.it/96jbx0iax22b1.jpg?width=848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=955e3db66ff8485e12ed984f05287be124a4540c
I have another true story to tell you.
Do you know what is the Demon Core ?
It is the nickname given to a 6.2 kg subcritical mass of plutonium measuring 8.5 cm in diameter, which was the source of two brief criticality accidents at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, in 1945 and 1946. It was intended for use as a third bomb during World War II, but following Japan's surrender it was used for criticality testing.
Criticality testing, to simplify, is to see how far we can approach the limit before the object makes a nuclear chain reaction. And today, it's done with real security, with robots. Not like 1945 by Harry Daghlian. The physicist was testing with small cubes of tungsten carbide, and he dropped one on the heart, which became nuclear. He died a week later.
And a year later, his physicist friend Louis Slotin also made an equally stupid mistake.
There you have it, two brilliant scientists who have been very reckless, arrogant or stupid, and if it was fiction, we could say it's a bit rushed and poorly written. It was known as the Demon Core because it seemed to attract death... saying that they were like “tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon."
https://preview.redd.it/exrfe9aj1a2b1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74f2690a86cd4ee2c7759224b7a9a93d47cf9789
I put you a scene that I found on Youtube, The Demon Core 1945 of the user TitusFlavius79.
This is the real story of a real dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh89h8FxNhQ
"You don't want to wake the dragon, do you ?"
https://preview.redd.it/tgx4ol6d332b1.jpg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d656d67d312931b226a30cc6552e2960ee486b7d
CHAPTER 4: The birth of a philosophical and educational multiverse cinematic.
“Our power comes from the perception of our power.”
Chernobyl is like a television series. Everything is well explained, with great dialogues, everything is revealed, down to the smallest detail, down to the interactions between atoms, we know everything from the explosion of Chernobyl at the end of these five episodes, and even better we have understood. We understood what a nuclear reaction was and how a power plant worked. This series is educational. The whole truth explained with words and flashbacks. The climax of Chernobyl is a professor who talks about physical sciences and law. It's the least epic thing in the world said like that, and strangely, you feel that the end of GoT would have been good like that, right ? With a final trial and a character explaining everything with flashbacks. We can always dream.
It's fun..., the choice of GoT actors in Chernobyl, there are too many to go unnoticed. HBO knows a bit about the human brain... and knows that you'll recognize these actors if you're a fan of GoT, and so... they're playing that.
https://preview.redd.it/nt4zg7ck732b1.jpg?width=3820&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f77b37a9c3bcd6988252f607dabd107876c81e0
The traitor Roose Bolton becomes the accuser of the trial, guarantor of honor and justice. Honest Maester Luwin becomes a dishonest Leninist. The lieutenant who betrayed Theon becomes the loyal Commander. Cousin Lannister dies by surprise, same in Chernobyl. There is always a parallel connection.
But the best is Jeor Mormont who becomes a White Walker.
https://preview.redd.it/h04wvedz932b1.jpg?width=728&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b10e2bf7da29439580d6963f4a9783c0f5c379bb
HBO knows that we continue to exist off screen. They know how to create complex emotions and complex characters. Very human characters, with their lies and their truth.
Disney, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Spielberg, etc... these great Manichean frescoes make us dream, travel, escape our thankless world for a moment. And, it's good.
HBO knows how to make us travel, dream, and escape with the dragons... but it's already seen, and it's not very interesting anymore. The first scene would be enough, but consider the scene when Jaime Lannister pushes Bran Stark off a tower, and admit that it's not really an invitation to the innocent dream at the end of the journey. GoT has much more mature themes, to be considered seriously, academically. Yes, it's a boring idea... and in the end, if we do, we find the cool stuff hidden at the bottom of the puzzles.
If we find the truth behind the lies, it becomes very satisfying. And it could make great goodies too.
​
CHAPTER 5: Truth that hides a lie, Lie that hides a truth.
The end credits of Chernobyl close the fiction by recalling the real story behind it, and the real characters who participated.
https://preview.redd.it/kq1pzx9lz52b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=218af39e2082a90b7c3655e34ad6fdaca572f222
https://preview.redd.it/m64r1zmzz52b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2aa78fc5e96f87413fab84f453ef47cf851b8eb
This credits contains some revelations, like the character of Ulana Khomyuk, fictitious, invented to represent all the scientists who helped Legasov. A lie that is not embarrassing to continue to appreciate the historical authenticity of the series, because what difference between Ulana and the actors who interpret the real characters ? Everything is a fiction, everything is a lie, which tell us the true story.
https://preview.redd.it/wsoyt3dyz52b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4de360db4fa9eda4a92ded2c9d7f545f1ddb6a4
Chernobyl is a fiction, which tells us a true story. Like the Bridge of Death scene...
https://preview.redd.it/8twi8yd6g32b1.jpg?width=976&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=621a2bea72b3c5acd34bb76c98cec442714dd4b8
https://preview.redd.it/p5qgimjkl32b1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5cd022bb79e8521a5eabd678eaf74cba3fc39010
The credits of the historical mini-series necessarily tell the truth. But...
The Bridge of Death in Chernobyl... never existed. You can check, it's pure fantasy.
The lie revealed for Ulana Khomyuk serves to describe the reality. A technical trick to stage the truth. Whereas the Bridge of Death is a lie, bolstering the horror fiction but distancing us from the truth. It's not the same lie as for Ulana, the goal is not the same. The lie about Ulana takes us out of fiction to better bring us into reality. The lie of the Bridge promises us reality, whereas it gives us only fiction.
"But it is always there whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants, it doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time. And this, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl.
Where I once would fear the cost of truth, I only ask: what is the cost of lies ?"
__________________________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER 6: The Lie was good, the Truth is evil.
A lesson about lies. The USSR presented in Chernobyl represents a constructed and real structural entity with its lies, a pyramid of false truths which, in the end, inexorably, lead to catastrophe and drama. Obviously it reminds of another universe built around a lot of lies and false truths.
In Chernobyl, there is HBO satire for HBO. A post and pre-final satire of Game of Thrones.
"We're on dangerous ground right now.
Because of our secrets and our lies, they're practically what define us."
Daenerys' "switch" in season 8 is a truth revealed, the collapse of the pyramid of lies, the explosion. Her final speech is free from lies. When Daenerys destroys King's Landing, she somehow frees the citizens of their miserable life for eternal life, while she freed herself. The Breaker of chains.
The public trusted HBO, and HBO, GRRM, D&D lied, to protect dark secrets and truths, so they could bring Daenerys the tragic heroine to fulfill her destiny.
Deceive us, to teach us a lesson with entertainment.
"That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Lies.”
https://preview.redd.it/vws6cpq7f92b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=862cad9afed2b56d098c63f41a61d08da23396d5
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading this little chat about my thoughts on HBO and Chernobyl. I hope you enjoyed it and made you think about the narrative bridges between the universes of your favorite series. I haven't seen all their series, I mention and use my references, I imagine that the other HBO series almost all have the same energy. As with Pixar, we recognize their style and the desire to share useful morals. The history of cinema is also told through duels between big studios.
We all have our own worlds, tastes and desires. We all follow our own paths. Our experience as a cinephile and series eater is unique, it is forged and constantly evolving. GoT/HotD is an ancient tragedy made for televisions and multiple screen sizes. For us spectators, it is a unique discovery. For creators, it's lucid choices motivated by deep reflections on our times and on why we do what we do.
Disney made us grow, HBO wants to mature us.
"- You don't fight with honor !
- No. He did."
​
CHAPTER 7: This sentence is false.
To conclude, in my opinion, Chernobyl, for HBO, is the resonating chamber of Season 8. The eight is the symbol of infinity, the eternal loop.
Chernobyl tells us indirectly about the mountain of lies they impose on their viewers, the satire on us and them. Did they push the idea too hard ? Was it too difficult or is it us who are not trained enough for this ?
In my opinion, they are starting to fix the end of GoT, gravitating around with the new series. And the explanations of the end will be revealed gradually. Because the ending was too confusing for many people, HBO is fixing its faults, without breaking their artistic and innovative momentum.
It's just a feeling, I think HotD is going to be easier to understand, but much saltier and violent than the end of GoT.
You remember Cersei's phrase: "No elephants."
In Chernobyl, you don't see the elephant's foot either. The corium, a magma of 3000°Celsius composed of the core of the melting reactor, which flowed like lava. Probably the most dangerous thing on this planet. It's called elephant's foot because... it looks like an elephant's foot.
No elephant foot in Chernobyl, no elephants in GoT.
https://preview.redd.it/b5gc7t9q1a2b1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5c18bd50690d2d35eca25158c52989626abf4ef
I deliberately didn't talk about the last GoT character who is in Chernobyl.
https://preview.redd.it/f5dewci4k32b1.jpg?width=728&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12de160822e22bf18630bed10dcaf365e6b9ae64
All the others seen previously had died in GoT before Chernobyl. She dies during the Bells.
She has a baby in Chernobyl, who grew into a little girl in King's Landing. She was on the Bridge of Death, where there were no survivors, and she was killed by Daenerys and dragon fire.
I can't talk more about this character without talking about my "theory", but I would just say that the fictional bridge of death of Chernobyl is the announcement of the awakening of the dragon.
They didn't get the Golden Globes for season 8, but they anticipated it I guess...
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"You have made lava ?"
https://preview.redd.it/bfye4dvmj32b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c5b6788918b32710b8d8303d896eced725836a5