Hey everybody, this is your GM, your back row
dominance, your GM who currently is not on a
team right now, but don't you worry about it,
Kale, here to bring you episode 7 of the Stack
and Shed series. Now in this series, we're covering
all 32 teams, meaning nobody is neglected, everybody
gets a chance to be talked about, alright? Now
we're covering a few different topics, and they
include what went wrong, what do they need, stack
or shed, their draft picks, one move i would
do in their cap space now in this episode we're
talking about the commanders so for all my dmv
fans out there make sure you guys go to the forestville
mall get you some snickerdoodle cookies maybe
about maybe a half a pound maybe a pound if you're
feeling you know a little bit extra and make
sure you warm it up and you get you a sprite
to go with it all right and if y 'all don't mind
can y 'all give me a side order of oatmeal raisin
cookies and just have them warm it up just a
little bit please thanks let's lock in All right,
let's get into it. So what went wrong in the
commander season? And I would venture to say
it was a regressing offense and defense. Coming
into the 25 season, the Commanders had a lot
of momentum on their side. For starters, they
just finished making an appearance in the NFC
Championship. They traded for Laremy Tunsil.
They traded for Deebo Samuel. And everybody is
thinking that the Commanders are going to repeat
what they just finished doing. Instead, what
we saw was a regression in both the offense and
the defense. So here's the offensive rankings
from the 24 offense, according to NFL Pro. They
had the 7th ranked offense and they averaged
28 .5 points per game, 369 .6 yards per game,
5 .7 yards per play, and 54 touchdowns. They
were 17th in passing offense and they averaged
215 .6 passing yards per game, 6 .4 passing yards
per play, and 29 passing touchdowns. They were
3rd in rushing offense and they averaged 154
.1 rushing yards per game, 5 rushing yards per
play, and 25 rushing touchdowns. Now the 25 offense
had the 22nd ranked offense and they averaged
20 .9 points per game, 318 .8 yards per game,
5 .5 yards per play, and 39 touchdowns. They
were 24th in passing offense and they averaged
184 .1 passing yards per game, 6 .2 passing yards
per play, and 19 passing touchdowns. They were
4th in rushing offense and they averaged 134
.7 rushing yards per game, 4 .7 rushing yards
per play, and 20 rushing yards per game. Now,
I'm not saying that I expected this passing offense
to be top five or the best passing offense in
the entire league, but you would have thought
they would have made a significant step in the
right direction. But clearly, that wasn't the
case. Now, was it because of the quarterback
play? Was it because of the availability of the
receivers? Was it because the league itself finally
had a game plan to counter Cliff Kingsbury's
offense and Jaden Daniels? It's possible, but
I don't think nobody expected this offense to
go six steps back after going four steps forward.
Now, the defensive regression is mainly in part
because of the lack of talent that they have
on that side of the ball. Now, I understand this
veteran -led defense was productive in 24, but
I don't think nobody expected the defense to
replicate the same thing in 25. Now, they were
probably thinking by acquiring Marshawn Lattimore
via trade and signing Von Miller via free agency
that maybe they'll add a little bit of splash
or a little bit of juice to this defense, and
clearly that wasn't the case. Now, we can all
All admit the Marshawn Lattimore trade was a
flop, and that Von Miller at this point in his
career needs to be paired up with an elite pass
rusher in order for him to be successful. And
when we look at some of the stats from those
defensive players, this is what we have. Von
Miller had 9 sacks, 28 pressures, and a 10 .3
% pressure rate. Dorian Armstrong had 5 .5 sacks,
20 pressures, and a 15 .5 % pressure rate. Jake
Martin had 5 .5 sacks. 43 pressures, and 11 .1
% pressure rate. Jajar Newton had 5 sacks, 23
pressures, and a 10 .8 % pressure rate. Bobby
Wagner had 3 .5 sacks, 17 pressures, and a 23
.3 % pressure rate. Now I was expecting more
production from this defense, but clearly my
expectations are too high. Now let's continue
to paint this picture. When we look at the 24
defense, they had the 13th ranked defense, and
they allowed 23 points per game, 326 .9 yards
per game, 5 .4 yards per play, and 43 touchdowns.
They were third in passing defense, and they
allowed 189 .5 passing yards per game, 6 passing
yards per play, and 25 passing touchdowns. They
were 30th in run defense, and they allowed 18
rushing touchdowns, 137 .5 rushing yards per
game, and 4. rushing yards per play now if we
compare that to the 25 defense this is what we
have they were the worst defense in the league
and they allowed 26 .5 points per game 384 .3
yards per game six yards per play and 51 touchdowns
they were 28th and pass defense and they allowed
242 .5 passing yards per game 7 .1 passing yards
per play and 33 passing touchdowns they were
30th and run defense and they allowed 18 rushing
touchdowns 100 141 .8 rushing yards per game
and 4 .8 rushing yards per play. Now with that
being said, what do the commanders need? And
that is more offensive production and creativity
and more defensive playmakers. Now, by promoting
David Blau to offensive coordinator, I do believe
the commanders are making the first step in the
right direction. Now, I'm not expecting this
offense to be productive or creative like the
49ers or the Chiefs, but I do expect for them
to be different in some capacity. Now, that all
depends on what the commanders do with this offense.
If they can extend Deebo Samuel and Larimi Tunsil,
maybe trade for Brandon Iyuk or sign him if the
49ers release him, and then maybe go after a
productive tight end in the draft, I think that's
a step in the right direction. However, if the
Commanders do none of these things, then we need
to have an honest conversation about Adam Peters
and Dan Quinn. Because at this point, going into
next season, they're on the hot seat right now.
I understand they started their tenure hot. I
understand that the fan base and ownership wants
them to go back to being in the NFC Championship.
And I understand that's hard. But at the same
time, you have to show that this team is heading
in the right direction. Now, getting more defensive
playmakers is an easy fix. And the reason why
I say this is because you have a lot of cap space
and you have a decent amount of draft picks.
So whatever you don't get in the draft or free
agency, you just get it in the other phase. It's
a very simple fix. So if that means that you
address pass rushers high up in the draft, that
means that you can address corner and free agency
or interior defensive linemen or linebacker,
however you want to do it. Now, with that being
said, the question we all need to ask ourselves
is stack or shed. And I will eventually say stack.
And the reason why I say this is because you
have your franchise quarterback. Build off of
that. As long as you don't continue to go after
these old, past their prime veterans, I think
you're going to be in a good spot. But if you
continue to go down that road, you are playing
with fire. We saw what the Bengals did when Joe
Burrow was on his rookie deal. They built that
team up, and they went on a Super Bowl run, and
they went to a couple AFC championships. The
Commanders can do the exact same thing. But it
all depends on what you do in this offseason.
Because this is a very pivotal offseason, not
just for Adam Peters, but for Dan Quinn and everybody
else that is on this coaching staff. When we
look at their draft picks, they have their first,
their third, their fifth, two sixth round picks,
and a seventh round pick, which isn't bad. You're
also in a really good spot in the first round.
So you can get one of the top players in whatever
position you're trying to address. Now with that
being said, the one move that I would do is draft
a defensive player. Now me personally, I think
the commander should address the secondary or
edge rusher in the first round. Now whoever falls
when it's time for you to make your pick, go
for it. If it's Caleb Downs, do it. If it's Arvo
Reese, even though I don't think that's going
to happen, do it. If it's Sonny Styles, do it.
Looking at the Commander's cap situation, they
have $79 .2 million for now. And that's in part
because the NFL has informed all teams that everyone
is getting $22 million added to their cap space.
Meaning that the Commanders can be big spenders
in all three ways of free agency. My expectation
is the Commanders will go after players such
as Lloyd Cushenberry, Devin Lloyd, Adafio Way,
Boye Mafe, Tyreek Woolen, maybe make a trade
for someone, maybe try to go after Brandon Ayuk,
depending on how that situation goes. I think
all of those options are on the table right now.
But only time will tell. But I'm going to end
this episode here. If you guys like what you
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