I wanted to wait for the season to wrap up before posting a complete recap looking back on everything. Then, time got away from me with the season ending and slipping into college basketball. But, here it is and all I can say is what a year of football we had in DC. It was easily the most fun season this team has put together in my lifetime. To go from winning 4 games to the NFC Championship in one year is unprecedented. We were one game away from the Super Bowl in a year we were projected to win 7 games. It felt like every game came down to the wire and went our way. Hopefully, I don’t have that many years taken off my life next season. We have our quarterback, coach, and GM in place for many years to come. The Rookie of the Year bet was the easiest win in my lifetime. With him at quarterback, for the foreseeable future, the window is officially open.
I say this with full confidence that I believe we would have beaten the Chiefs. The game we witnessed was arguably the worst Super Bowl since the Seahawks beat the Broncos 43-8. There’s no denying the Eagles had the best roster in football this year. They were a buzzsaw on both sides of the ball. If you look at the scoreboard, you would think Kansas City played them closer than we did however that was not the case. Their game was never a contest. Kansas City points came in garbage time when the game was already over. We shot outselves in the foot 4 times when we couldn’t afford to do that at all. Everytime we were one play away from making it a game, somebody managed to cough up the ball. It wasn’t until the 4th quarter when it got out of hand. The Super Bowl was over before it was even halftime.
My biggest takeaway from the Super Bowl was how far away we are from that kind of roster. The fact I am saying that and we were two wins away goes to show how incredibly good our quarterback is. For starters, we need upgrades all over both the offensive and defensive line. The Eagles proved championships are won in the trenches. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are what we had hoped Allen and Payne would be. They did not blitz Mahomes a single time but managed to get home and create pressure what felt like every play. The Eagles biggest area of need for improvement moving into last year’s draft was cornerback. They went onto to grab the two best guys in the draft with their first and second round picks. I do not like Howie Roseman and it pains me to say it but he is very good at his job.
Adam Peters entered last offseason needing to overhaul the entire roster. Now this offseason, it seems like we’ll need to do it again. Despite the success this team had, we can all agree it was solely due to the fact that we already have a top 5 quarterback in the league. We need upgrades and development in the trenches. In the passing game, Jayden’s legs offset bad protection. But there was a reason we couldn’t run the ball against anyone but the Lions all postseason. I do think we’ll be in the market for a running back this draft. Especially with it being the deepest class we have seen in a long time. I don’t think BRob is going to cut it anymore and Ekeler has never been the long term solution. Just saying I wouldn’t hate it if we grabbed Treyveon Henderson.
The team is going to once again look very different at the start of next season. We have 28 unrestricted free agents. The players I would like to see back next year are: Bobby, Chinn, Dante, Ertz, Noah, Crowder, Mariota, and the best punter in the league, Tress Way. Every other player on the list can hit the market and see where it takes them. I cannot emphasize enough how happy and relieved I am knowing I will never have to watch St. Juste play another snap in burgundy and gold again. I actually think this fan base would revolt if we were to resign him. His biggest play as a Skin will be cemented as picking off Desmond Ridder. Mikey escaped the second round draft pick corner curse the Skins have had for many years. Sua Cravens and BSJ could go down as the worst second round picks in my lifetime.
Something different about this offseason is we are actually a destination players will be trying to land. I believe a lot of our free agents will be guys AP and DQ are familiar with coming from Dallas and San Francisco. Chardavius Ward and Osa Odighizuwa are two guys who fit that category. I’m seeing reports Osa will likely get franchise tagged in Dallas. Let’s hope Jerry fumbles another one so we have the opportunity to scoop him up. It wouldn’t shock me to see if we part ways with Jonathan Allen this offseason. I don’t think he has any business being one of the highest paid players on our roster. This same argument goes for Payne. Relative to what they made this year, they both underperformed and have become very bad contracts. It feels weird saying this. However, they both are among the remaining Ron baggage that in my opinion needs to go.
There’s something I can’t hide. I’ve had this blog written for a little now and hadn’t posted it. That was laziness. Big news struck this weekend. Deebo Samuel is coming to Washington. I must state a confession. I made some edits to this blog prior to posting. Now that Deebo is coming to the team, I am obviously going to be so deep in his corner. However, I need to include what was already written in this post. So here we go: “For starters, I would like to make one thing clear, I do not want Deebo Samuel on our football team. I think he is arguably the most overrated player in the league and has ridden his 2021 season to this point. He has not surpassed 1000 yards since then and is also a massive diva who doesn’t fit into the culture DQ has established.”
Yeah, can’t hide it. But, everything written there is out the door. I feel like a fool going against Adam Peters. Deebo is now our guy. And for a 5th rounder. At the end of the day, he makes our team better. Our wide receiver 2 last year was Noah Brown. Nothing against Noah but this is Deebo we are talking about. Him and Terry paired together is going to be a lot of fun. I’m sure the person most happy about this trade is Kliff Kinsbury. The video posted on instagram of Deebo reacting to the news shows he too is excited about the trade. It’s going to be a great offseason. It’s exciting being the first team making a move.
I have a feeling the front office isn’t done yet. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be going after Tee Higgins and Myles Garrett isn’t likely anymore either. I believe we’ll have to do some restructuring on Lattimore and Deebo’s deals. Those two and Terry will account for 61 million cap next season. We’ll need the cap to sign more big l names that can make an immediate impact. Even with the addition, we still have loads of of cap room giving us the ability to make more splashes before the season starts.
As the draft gets closer, I will be posting another blog to highlight some of the players that are on the radar. I don’t think it’s worth covering everything 2 months before. As of now, it’s seeming like a two horse race between Cam Ward and Abdul Carter for the first overall pick. Thank god we drafted Jayden last year because I don’t think any quarterback in this upcoming class will produce anything close to what he did this past season. It’s a quarterback driven league so I believe Cam will go one. However, Abdul Carter is the best player in this draft class. If I had the first overall pick, I would be taking him and riding it out with Levis for another season.
To go back through some moments from this past season, the Hail Mary obviously wins play of the year. Terry grabbing the franchise receiving touchdown record to beat Dallas with three seconds left. The clock disaster almost losing us the game to New Orleans. The drive to beat the Eagles. Beating the Giants without scoring a single touchdown. I still cannot believe my touchdown every game bet lasted until week 2. Overtime at home for Sunday night football. Terry’s touchdown in Cincy. It was that game we all realized just how good our quarterback was. The field goal to take us past Tampa. Walking all over the Lions in the divisional.
We won 14 games this year. It’s going to be hard to follow this all up next season. You look at the Bengals for example. They haven’t come close to the same success since making it to the Super Bowl. I do believe the difference maker for Jayden and why there will be no sophomore slump is his legs. The only thing stopping him from being one of the best in the league next year is attending Michael Rubin’s white party. I genuinely think that is the only thing which will cause a slump. I will be closely monitoring the situation. We need to alert his mother that money hungry women will be at that party. He is not allowed to attend. The fate of this franchise depends on it. I already know Rubins going to invite him. I’d want him at my party too. He is just so cool. And fast too. God, I miss watching him play football. He’s the best.
It was nice seeing the difference in the end of season report cards compared to last year. It’s obvious this ownership is doing everything in their power to turn things around as quickly as possible. The one grade that stood out was the lockeroom. If I had to take a wild guess, I think it’d be safe to say the lockeroom will be getting a big upgrade before next year. Aside from that, I was happy to see the progress that was made in many other categories. Specifically, treatment of families. I think that’s a pretty big deal when it comes to players wanting to stick around in DC.
It feels weird looking at next season’s Super Bowl odds and seeing we have the 7th best to win it. Vegas too believes we will be sticking around for next season. I’m glad I have my biased opinions backed by the all knowing omniscient powers. All in all this is shaping up to be an exciting off season. The Deebo trade is a pretty good start if you ask me. I’m already excited to see what happens when free agency kicks off. I’m sure we’ll get our guys back. Then, Adam will go to work. Expect another blog soon after free agency. In the meantime, I’ll do my best to give quick opinions on X (formerly known as Twitter). I’ll leave it at that. Good luck to everyone out there. Wishing everyone the best until next blog.
Photo Credit: Gerald Herbert – AP