Woz

Since the Caps went to seven The fanbase has found a new place to dwell Sitting there on Lonely Street At Heartbreak Hotel

The martyr look is never a good look. For the record, if it has nothing to do with the rules, I'm just a guy with an opinion. The fact that I'm a moderator is generally irrelevant. I never said "get out." I tried to explain why what you were seeing could be happening. Is it fair to Smith? No. But it is what it is. I do appreciate the optimistic views. I just get tired of being told that when I have a less than rosy outlook on the team's decisions that I'm somehow deficient as a fan of this franchise or that the optimists are somehow an aggrieved minority that is abused horridly. If you want to take the sunny view, please do. Just don't wrap yourself in the flag when others disagree with you. For the record, this statement is not just targeted at you. There are others who I wish would read it. You have done nothing to violate the rules. You've been a bit of a pill from time to time, but hey, we put up with @turtle28, so what's one more?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I said your posting tone "comes across as." Whether you intended it or not, that's how I read it. I tried to give you context as to why perhaps Alex Smith hasn't been given the hero's welcome independent of Alex Smith the player. You blew it off with a "[this] just does not suit me." How am I supposed to avoid reading condescension from that? How am I the one manufacturing your attitude? Because some of us didn't want the old QB to leave. Some of us are angry at the GM who created the situation where the old QB to leave. Some of us are angry at the GM because he's an idiot. Some of are angry at the GM for trading young talent and draft picks for a 35 year old quarterback. Some of us are angry at the GM because we don't think that the new QB is any better than the old QB, and fear that he might be worse. In this last case, it could be completely false, but it still registers. Context matters. You don't seem to recognize any of this. No, the way you've come across in multiple threads is with an apparent attitude that we're a bunch of naive, silly children who just don't know the glory that is the coming of Alex Smith.

... so ... seriously ... Alex Boone is available ...

If the price is reasonable, yeah, why not?

The main difference between the Nationals and the Wizards: the GM for the Nationals is considered one of the best in the game. The GM for the Wizards is ... Ernie Grunfeld. I don't think the whole "trade/dump Ovechkin" makes as much sense since it seems the current team construction for the Capitals is alright (and thus the front office is actually competent), but then again, I haven't really paid it any attention so I could be wrong.

For all the people who were gnashing their teeth and rending their garments about the result of doing away with the kickoff leading to the end of the onside kick ... yeah, that eight men in the setup zone basically kills nearly all likelihood any coach would go for an "unexpected" onside kick. I'm also not exactly sure how this prevents the collisions they claim to be looking to avoid. Yes, the kickoff team won't get an extra ten yards to get up to speed prior to the kick, but the return team cannot engage any blocks (barring the ball hitting the ground or being touched) for fifteen yards. What do they think the kickoff team will do in those fifteen yards?

At the same time, your attitude (which comes across as condescending) and dismissal of the situation is helping.

GRAH!!!!!!

Here's the thing: you are probably right. Alex Smith, until he hits the field, will probably not get a fair shake. Even then, he'll need to replicate his 2017 numbers almost from the jump to get the fanbase on his side. It's unfair to him, but he walked into this. To explain "this," you need to understand the history and context of the QB situation for most of the past decade. The last big name quarterback the Washington Redskins traded for was Donovan McNabb, someone I think even you will admit had more cachet and potentially better numbers than Alex Smith had. That was an utter debacle. It didn't help one bit that the Redskins were fleeced by a divisional rival coached by ... Andy Reid. Then, after McNabb blew up in their faces, they tried to run with a year of Rex Grossman and John Beck. Yeah ... That put them in sixth(*) for the 2012 NFL Draft and they made the Robert Griffin III trade. This looked like an expensive but good deal ... until he blew out his knee his rookie year and was never the same. For the next two years, there was a swirl of massive controversy as Griffin tried to dictate the playbook, whether he was healthy, whether he could play, etc. Meanwhile, there was this guy on the roster named Kirk Cousins who kept on just putting in the work. Eventually things broke his way, and he became the starter. For the first time since possibly Gus Frerotte in the mid to late 90s, a home town developed quarterback was leading the team. Alas, you know how that worked out. What has made Smith's job even harder is that A) the Redskins traded for him, B) traded him to Andy Reid (bringing back fears of the McNabb deal), and C) gave him a contract extension that Kirk Cousins would have jumped at if it had ever been offered. So, yeah, the fanbase around here (especially in Football's Future, where I believe we're a bit more realistic/less-homerish than other boards that exist for Redskins talk which I won't mention beyond this oblique reference) tends to be negative on Smith. Some of that is based on how we view Smith relative to his actual talents. Some of that is history. Most of us don't just assume that because a player signed with or was drafted by the Redskins that he will become the next [name of player who was best at his position]. We tend to analyze how each move fits into the larger picture of the franchise's talent base. For instance, last year I was incredibly dismissive of the Terrell McClain and Stacy McGee signings, pro-Swearinger, and unsure of Pryor. I loathed their 2017 draft for the most part (only exceptions were Jonathan Allen (I was over the moon), Fabian Moreau (liked the value), and Robert Davis (I have a weakness for small school guys)). By and large, I did pretty well with that evaluation (Montae Nicholson and Chase Rouiller look to be major misses on my part). I'm not trying to toot my own horn but show that I (like a lot of guys in this forum) spend time trying to be clinical in our evaluations. I like most of their 2018 offseason, though the trade for Smith (not necessarily the player himself) is my biggest negative. Maybe it will turn out for the best. Maybe it will blow up in the Redskins' faces. Neither of us know. (*) In the 2011 season, the Redskins started out 3-1 under Rex Grossman but benched him in game five after he had thrown four interceptions. John Beck finished out that game (a loss) and started three more (all losses). They brought Grossman as the starter in week 9 and he proceeded to go 2-6. Had they stuck with Beck, or had Grossman lost just one of those games, it's possible the Redskins wouldn't have had to make the massive deal that they made for Griffin. Yes, they would likely have had to trade up, but the price probably wouldn't have been as high as they could have been 4th or possible 3rd (if they had lost out as the Vikings beat them in week 15).

I'm completely rooting for the kid. Sounds he's a cross of early Clinton Portis' goofiness (in a good way) with Alfred Morris' down-to-earth-ness. Again, thanks rumor mill!

Them's dangerously close to fightin' words ...

Oh, I know. I was showing that it wasn't comparable. If Harper had his uber contract now, then maybe we could put it in the same category as the others. As it stands, he doesn't, so no team is going to deal for him.

Which will be weighed against the possibility of higher medical costs by playing those extra games. Honestly, barring maybe giving something ridiculous (say 70% of net profits) on the gambling revenue to the players (with a guaranteed payment floor and good faith negotiation clause), I don't see what the owners can give the players that would lead them to two extra games simply because sports betting can now be legal in more states than just Nevada.