turtle28 Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 (edited) https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/sports/washington-commanders/dan-quinn-commanders-myth-buster/3696694/ “I think there's a narrative that can happen for any ball player outside the building versus inside the building," Quinn said late Saturday night after the Commanders' 13-6 loss to Miami in the second week of the preseason. Quinn was answering a question about second-year cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, but the answer could have applied to a number of positions. Forbes has had his struggles this preseason (and certainly last season) but he's firmly on the 53-man roster and is a player that Quinn and company hope can show significant improvement this fall. That doesn't match with some of the vitriolic comments made about Forbes - and other players - on social media. And Quinn is over it. "I wanted to make sure he was aware of the decisions that we'll make, Adam [Peters] and I, are the ones that come from inside the building, not from outside. I love the way he's competing at practice," Quinn said about Forbes. So as fan angst rises from players that didn't perform their best for a coaching staff that has been almost entirely replaced, how much does that carry over to this season? For Quinn, not much. And for the storylines forming based on last year's production and early preseason returns, the head coach doesn't want to hear it. "I know that's a narrative in here but it's not as much as me. I want to be clear on that," the coach said. "We're trying to feature all the things players can do." Specifically, Quinn was asked if a hierarchy was emerging for the Commanders' wide receivers, which has been a hot topic as fourth-year pro Dyami Brown continues with a strong camp. But the comments could have been made about just anybody. Far too much has been made about a seemingly down camp for 2022 first-round pick Jahan Dotson, who has three catches so far this preseason. Like Forbes, Dotson is firmly in the Commanders' plans for this fall and has a close relationship with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Quinn went out of his way to say he "loves" the way Dotson runs his deep and in-breaking routes and that showed during the Commanders' joint practice with the Dolphins. "I don't see it as one person has to be in this space. I just want the guys to be absolutely flying and at their best and competing and playing with urgency. It's not about a number at a position, it's really about just the urgency, competitiveness, contested catches, route running, getting away from press coverage, beating man-to-man. Those are all the things I look for." It is interesting to note the shift in Quinn's tone when talking about the wide receiver group. Earlier in the week the head coach stressed competition for the second wideout - Terry McLaurin has the WR1 role locked up. So in a way, Quinn bears some responsibility for the WR2 conversation emerging as a hot topic, but in much the same way the conversation about Forbes went overboard, the same happened with Dotson. "It doesn't have to be a 1, 2, 3; it just has to be really consistent," Quinn said of his wideouts. "I like the group." Edited August 18 by turtle28 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 Ya I don’t really understand the narrative either. Even if some of these guys we took with high draft picks were drafted slightly higher than projected, all of them were within the range of where we took them. That means they were highly regarded prospects coming out of college. With that in mind, as a team that really has no Super Bowl aspirations this seasons it would make no sense to cut these guys before you can see what they can do in the new coaching schemes. Anyone calling for these guys to be outright cut now is basically just letting their opinion of the previous coaching staff influence them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naptownskinsfan Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 5 minutes ago, MKnight82 said: Ya I don’t really understand the narrative either. Even if some of these guys we took with high draft picks were drafted slightly higher than projected, all of them were within the range of where we took them. That means they were highly regarded prospects coming out of college. With that in mind, as a team that really has no Super Bowl aspirations this seasons it would make no sense to cut these guys before you can see what they can do in the new coaching schemes. Anyone calling for these guys to be outright cut now is basically just letting their opinion of the previous coaching staff influence them. Agreed. There is nothing wrong with a development year, and I think so many people are conditioned to believe that you have to win every year. This team is not in the shape to get a top 2 pick, and then immediately turn it around. That happens for teams that bottom out with a QB injury or something that are still very talented. This was a bottom five talent roster during Rivera’s tenure, and even heading into his, it wasn’t in great shape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle28 Posted August 18 Author Share Posted August 18 2 minutes ago, MKnight82 said: Ya I don’t really understand the narrative either. Even if some of these guys we took with high draft picks were drafted slightly higher than projected, all of them were within the range of where we took them. That means they were highly regarded prospects coming out of college. With that in mind, as a team that really has no Super Bowl aspirations this seasons it would make no sense to cut these guys before you can see what they can do in the new coaching schemes. Anyone calling for these guys to be outright cut now is basically just letting their opinion of the previous coaching staff influence them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavar703 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 19 hours ago, MKnight82 said: Ya I don’t really understand the narrative either. Even if some of these guys we took with high draft picks were drafted slightly higher than projected, all of them were within the range of where we took them. That means they were highly regarded prospects coming out of college. With that in mind, as a team that really has no Super Bowl aspirations this seasons it would make no sense to cut these guys before you can see what they can do in the new coaching schemes. Anyone calling for these guys to be outright cut now is basically just letting their opinion of the previous coaching staff influence them. Outright cut? No. Traded? Absolutely. I don't recall a player we've had being as bad as Forbes and then turning it around. He's getting torched by back ups. I have no clue how you come back from where is now? If the staff thinks they can fix him then I'm all for it but it really seems like a long shot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceinthehouse Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, lavar703 said: Outright cut? No. Traded? Absolutely. I don't recall a player we've had being as bad as Forbes and then turning it around. He's getting torched by back ups. I have no clue how you come back from where is now? If the staff thinks they can fix him then I'm all for it but it really seems like a long shot. You & I agree on this, lavar. I don't have much confidence in Forbes, neither. I sure hope we're wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 2 hours ago, lavar703 said: Outright cut? No. Traded? Absolutely. I don't recall a player we've had being as bad as Forbes and then turning it around. He's getting torched by back ups. I have no clue how you come back from where is now? If the staff thinks they can fix him then I'm all for it but it really seems like a long shot. His upside outweighs anything we'd get for him via trade. He's 23 years old and on his 3rd defensive scheme in 3 years. It's going to take some time. The guy broke the NCAA record for career pick 6s and played in the SEC. It's not like he doesn't have talent. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavar703 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 2 hours ago, MKnight82 said: His upside outweighs anything we'd get for him via trade. He's 23 years old and on his 3rd defensive scheme in 3 years. It's going to take some time. The guy broke the NCAA record for career pick 6s and played in the SEC. It's not like he doesn't have talent. I get that but there’s been plenty of talented SEC corners who didn’t make it at the next level. His build is just always going to be a problem. It was the reason most had him as a late first to early second round pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aceinthehouse Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Im wondering if we (Adam Peters) is going to try to trade any players, we plan on cutting. Should be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naptownskinsfan Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 3 hours ago, MKnight82 said: His upside outweighs anything we'd get for him via trade. He's 23 years old and on his 3rd defensive scheme in 3 years. It's going to take some time. The guy broke the NCAA record for career pick 6s and played in the SEC. It's not like he doesn't have talent. Nothing wrong with burning him this year and seeing what we got. If we give him up for a sixth or cut him, and he turns into Carlos Rogers after an eye exam, we would look stupid. No reason not to give him room to run here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT14 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 14 hours ago, aceinthehouse said: Im wondering if we (Adam Peters) is going to try to trade any players, we plan on cutting. Should be interesting. I think I heard somewhere that teams send their list of expected cuts around (that they know of) in hopes of something like that happening. It's generally why you see at least 2-3 last minute trades happen involving that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavar703 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 15 hours ago, naptownskinsfan said: Nothing wrong with burning him this year and seeing what we got. If we give him up for a sixth or cut him, and he turns into Carlos Rogers after an eye exam, we would look stupid. No reason not to give him room to run here. Carlos Rogers wasn't built like a middle schooler and could cover. His problem was that he couldn't catch the ball. What's going on with Forbes is much worse. He's such a liability at the moment that you can't even put him on the field. How do you develop a guy that you can't play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naptownskinsfan Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Forbes- 6’0, 180 Fred Smoot- 5’11, 172 Smoot also has the worst bench showing in 2001, 225 pounds once, and I don’t think it’s even been replicated since. Smoot played in an era where WRs were much more physical than they are now, many standing at 6’3-6’5 and going up against some absolute freaks of nature. To write off Forbes after one year is doing him a disservice, when we saw a smaller guy carve out a 9 year career where he rated pretty well all things considered. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavar703 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 1 minute ago, naptownskinsfan said: Forbes- 6’0, 180 Fred Smoot- 5’11, 172 Smoot also has the worst bench showing in 2001, 225 pounds once, and I don’t think it’s even been replicated since. Smoot played in an era where WRs were much more physical than they are now, many standing at 6’3-6’5 and going up against some absolute freaks of nature. To write off Forbes after one year is doing him a disservice, when we saw a smaller guy carve out a 9 year career where he rated pretty well all things considered. Except that smaller guy wasn't getting torched by literally everyone. Smoot was the best cover corner in the 21' draft but went in the second round below like 3 other corners because of his size. But almost right out the gate he was good. Forbes size is a problem but even more so his inability to play DB in the NFL is becoming the biggest issue. I mean, to put it bluntly, he sucks. Maybe he turns this around but what are the odds? He's not just a struggling player he's legitimately one of the worst players at his position currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 1 hour ago, lavar703 said: Except that smaller guy wasn't getting torched by literally everyone This is a gross exaggeration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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