The Philadelphia Eagles have been the darling of the offseason, while the New York Giants seem to have more direction than in past years. The Dallas Cowboys have underachieved, but they have the talent to win the NFC East.
As for the Washington Commanders? Ron Rivera thinks you shouldn’t write them off yet.
The Commanders are in an odd spot. Off the field, their owner is having to testify in front of congress over the team's workplace misconduct history. Then, in an offseason that featured more stunning quarterback moves than we’ve ever seen, the Commanders took on Carson Wentz after a rough year in Indianapolis.
Despite the improvements made elsewhere in the division, the East has been bad enough the last few years that it’s effectively still up for grabs. Asked Friday by The Sports Junkies if he thinks the Commanders could actually win the division if the pieces fall into place, Rivera didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah. You should not go into this not thinking (anything but) that, OK?” Rivera said. “So, that’s a little bit of a trap question – just think about how you asked that to me. Am I going to sit here and say 'No, we have no chance'?
"I’m an optimistic guy, I really do believe in everything that we do. I like our guys, I like our team. It’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be hard-fought. Everybody is going to have to get after it and it’s going to be a heck of a year, and I really do look forward to the start of real football once we get into the second weekend of September."
Rivera didn't seem angry in his response, rather he sounded like someone you can tell has legitimate belief in his group of players.
But few are as bullish on the Commanders as Rivera is, so there's a lot of winning over they'll have to do in order to convince people they have a legit shot.
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