Hogs Haven
Washington Post (paywall)
The fuzzy feelings have faded fast following the remarkable run last winter. This season, Washington has reverted to one of the NFL’s worst teams.
There were still several minutes left in the third quarter Sunday night when fans in burgundy-and-gold jerseys began shuffling toward the exits at Northwest Stadium, trying to avoid the traffic, beat the rain or perhaps simply forget about the game they were watching. By the early part of the fourth quarter, Gate A had become downright congested. A mustachioed man in a Terry McLaurin jersey grimaced as he walked through the first set of gates. “F—!” he yelled to no one in particular.
This has all led to a sense of emotional whiplash for Commanders fans. Some are still riding the high of last season and the hope of a new regime led by principal owner Josh Harris, General Manager Adam Peters and Coach Dan Quinn. But for others, the fuzzy feelings are gone. Criticism of Peters and Quinn is fair, in their eyes, if not warranted. And a familiar sense of resignation has returned.
That feeling cuts against the excitement Harris brought in 2023, when he purchased the team from Daniel Snyder. The sale was celebrated locally like a championship. Harris was treated like a conquering hero. And for parts of the fan base, the change in ownership and the success of last season were taken as proof that things were different.
Yet the scenes in Landover on Sunday night — of crowded aisles in the fourth quarter and a lower bowl with large swaths of the Lions’ Honolulu blue — were more of the same, reminiscent of so many other losing stretches in Washington.
The Athletic (paywall)
“When something’s not working, we shift from the question of why isn’t it working to what do we need to get it right. And right now, that will call for some change,” Quinn said, a day after a 44-22 loss to the Detroit Lions. “I’ll take over the role as defensive coordinator and all that entails.
As the losses have piled up, Quinn has tried paring the play calls to simplify the defense. He has altered practices to focus on physicality and creating takeaways, changed some of the personnel on game days and, most recently, had Whitt move from the booth to the sideline with the hope of improving communication during games.
Yet the same problems surfaced week after week.
Whitt will be involved with the rest of the defensive staff in planning for games, starting with Sunday’s meeting with the Miami Dolphins in Madrid. Then on game days, he’ll be in the coaches booth monitoring coverages.
“I’m fortunate that we’ve been in that battle rhythm together during our time together in Dallas, so we’re going to try to slip into that spot, as...
