Hogs Haven
The Commanders’ season death spiral continued into its fourth week with a 22-44 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Commanders fell behind with the touchdown on Lions’ first offensive drive and were really a threatened to retake the lead.
The Commanders enter Week 11 with a 3-7 record and three remaining games against teams with 7 or 8 wins. The offense ranks 13th in the league in efficiency (0.046 EPA/play), 22nd in scoring and 18th in total yards. The main problems are on defense, where they rank 30th in efficiency (+0.157 EPA/play – you want that figure to be negative), 29th in points allowed, 30th in yards allowed, 30th in turnovers, 27th in first downs allowed, 31st in passing yards, 32nd in Net Yards/Pass Attempt, and 23rd in rushing yards allowed.
A major contributor to the disappointing performance is the rash of injuries to key starters and depth pipelines at some positions. The team flew to Miami with its star QB and WR1 rehabbing from injuries, and missing all of its starters at DE and boundary CB, one Safety and with only one starter remaining at WR. Commanders’ fans have been calling for the team to give the younger players a try, and they have been dropping like flies. First Javontae Jean-Baptiste, then Luke McAffrey, and now Ben Sinnott and Treylon Burks, who only signed with the team four weeks ago.
At this juncture, I feel it is time to introduce Hogs Haven readers to some Australian slang. If you still feel the need to read the Stats and Snaps to see how the boys in Burgundy and Gold did each week, despite the score line and everything else that has gone wrong this season, you are probably “rusted on”, a “tragic”, or both.
Football is deeply engrained in Australian culture. Australians have such an appetite for “the footy” that they aren’t content with just one professional league. There are three major codes – Aussie Rules, Rugby League, Rugby Union – as well as minor codes like soccer and gaelic football. There are even a few minor league American football teams, here and there.
Most Australians are born into fandom of their local team, although levels of commitment do vary. Occasionally one comes across an Aussie who isn’t into sport, such as the lovely Mrs Bris Vegas, but they are something of a rarity.
While Brisbane residents have been fortunate to enjoy two premierships in the last few months (Broncos NRL, Lions AFL), certain Australian fanbases have not been so lucky. The Parramatta Eels NRL club, for example, is now in the 37th year of a premiership drought, which should be relatable to long-term Redskins fans. Attendance at their games may have dwindled over the years, but there will always be fans in the stadium. Fans who keep coming back, week after week, no matter the record, are referred to as “rusted on”. They couldn’t break away from their beloved team, even if they tried.
A “tragic” has a lot...
