Thinking out loud about the Commanders after 6 weeks of play

I know my place and I usually stay in my lane. I am not a football analyst; I can’t break down film or decipher X’s and O’s. I have no special insights. I’m just a fan with a keyboard with the time and inclination to make sure that there’s content to read and discuss every day. My biggest skills are the ability to copy & paste, the discipline and sobriety needed to stick to a regular schedule, and a more-than-passing acquaintance with English grammar and punctuation.

I have my opinions, but, for the most part, I try to air them in the comments section like everyone else. It seems like a bit of abuse of privilege to fill up an article with thoughts from my head, which are nothing more substantial than the opinions of any other Washington fan.

Normally, when I do write an article about a football topic, as I did last week, talking about special teams, I make a sincere effort to write an article that is evidence-based, and which will inform the reader, even if the ideas I share in the article are not useful. Hopefully, the evidence in the article provides good information regardless of the value of my associated thoughts.

Once or twice a season, however, I give in to the urge to write an opinion article — an editorial, if you will. When I do, I casually toss out the window the idea that I need to include valuable information or evidence and I simply indulge myself in sharing my burgundy-tinted opinions, giving this type of article all the nutritional value of artificial whipped cream. I usually reserve it for the bye week, but I have enough loose thoughts rattling around in my head at the moment that I thought I’d let loose this week.

If you’re not interested in reading my ramblings, I don’t blame you — I’ll see you later in the Daily Slop.

If, against the odds, you still want to read what I’ve written, grab your napkin and spoon and dig into a big bowl of aerated fat & sugar.

The Matt Gay criticism is too much of a ‘knee jerk’ at this point

Washington’s kicker struggled through a rough training camp and an uncomfortable preseason. After not attempting a field goal against the Giants in Week 1, he had a bad game (1 successful field goal on 3 attempts of 50+ yards) against Green Bay, then missed his first attempt against the Raiders. We were all, rightfully, deeply concerned about the kicker. Trust me, I was right along with you in my criticism of how the position had been handled in the offseason.

Since the miss in the first quarter of the Raiders game, Matt Gay has attempted 10 field goals, making 9 of them. His lone miss bounced off the upright on a 50-yard attempt in the rain on Monday night. His 9 successful kicks comprise 3 from 50+, 4 from 40-49, 1 from 30-39, and...