London Fletcher had a huge interception for the Rams in a win over the Patriots in November 2001, in the game where Drew Bledsoe was cleared to play but Bill Belichick stuck with Tom Brady.
Of course, two decades later, as Fletcher reminisced on that with BMitch & Finlay Friday, we know how Belichick’s decision to stick with TB12 worked out in the end – and sometimes, coaching and a chance is all it takes to make an unheralded player into the greatest of all-time.
So what does Fletcher think of the new coaching staff here in Washington?
“This coaching staff is as impressive on paper as I've seen. You talk about Dan Quinn and wanting guys wanting to work for him and with him, and some of the guys that he's been able to add, it’s an extremely impressive coaching staff,” Fletcher said.
Anthony Lynn was JP’s lynchpin, because being able to land a former head coach at a non-coordinator level showed something about what Quinn is building, and Fletcher agreed it’s a perfect complement.
“It stood out for me from the standpoint of you got Kliff Kingsbury coming in and with his passing game,” Fletcher said, “but adding Lynn as the run game coordinator, with how complex that run game was like in San Francisco and the things that he's gonna bring to this offense? Man! And then also, Brian Johnson coming over from Philadelphia as pass game coordinator, some of the things that they did in Philadelphia really presented problems and challenges for defenses. So when you look at those two additions, if they can meld that all together, I can’t wait to see it. This could be an outstanding offensive scheme.”
BMitch thinks that seeing the final product is the proof in the pudding of why they Commanders hired Quinn, and hopefully, a big key to success.
“You go back to the press conference where Adam Peters said they were looking for a leader of men, and it’s apparent that Dan Quinn is a leader of men,” Fletcher said. “Quinn wasn't the sexy hire that everybody was looking for, but when you saw Dan Quinn in his press conference, extremely impressive. I was on board with him after watching that, because this is a leader of men and I can tell why he impressed him during the interview process. And, all the people that he's been able to assemble on that staff, it’s a good blend of veteran guys with different experiences and young talent and former players.”