The Commanders play the Dolphins this weekend ahead of their bye, so they have this Sunday and then four more games before what is likely to be a big re-boot in DC – and Brian Mitchell thinks, as Grant & Danny did Wednesday, that Washington can learn a lot from what Miami has done the last few years.
"You're talking about a team that can really run the football as good as any in the league, they pass the ball well as well, and they have all types of coaches that everybody wants," BMitch said. "We don't know what the Harris group is gonna do – we anticipate them looking for some of the most up and coming people, the offensive minds, because people basically come out and say you got an offensive coach, you're probably gonna win in this league."
BMitch knows Miami is a tale of two teams, having crushed bad teams and not done as well versus powerful ones – their three losses are to 10-1 Philly, 8-3 Kansas City, and a 6-6 Bills squad that was 3-1 after that Week 4 win.
But, as he says, any given Sunday isn't just a trope, and now, it's put up or shut up time.
"We're sitting at 4-8, and I saw us take the Philadelphia Eagles, who I think are the best team in the league right now, to the brink twice," Brian said. "I just think if guys on this team…this is what guys need to realize: when coaches are being released, the next thing they start doing is seeing who the weight that we're carrying on the team right now is, and they start thinking about ways to let those people go. High-dollar guys, if you're not performing at that high-dollar rate, you may be looking for a place to be next year, because they may feel that they can go away from you."
Chase Young and Montez Sweat are already gone and the rebuild will continue, so BMitch was blunt: literally everyone on the team has five games to prove themselves to ownership, and to whomever is running the Commanders in 2024.
"You got five games – this is basically a five-game interview, where you're gonna be going out there trying to make sure that you're gonna be a part of this team moving forward," Brian said. "They're not gonna care about how the team did, in essence; if you play well, people see that. When they get analytics guys starting to dissect and looking at all the plays and putting it into the analytics, if you are playing at an analytically-driven high level, you may have a chance to be here."
And the opposite, as he reiterated, is especially true for those with big contracts.
"You know the best analytics they can look at, where they don't need to put in a lot of stuff? I'm paying you big dollars, big-play money, and you're not making big plays," Brian said. "So if you're one of those guys, you need to put your head on a swivel, because they're gonna make some changes moving forward – and it's five games to get you to that point, and you move forward."
Time for a wake-up call for everyone in the building.
"Whether it's coaches, players, whatever, give your best. This is the one time when that "I in team" is very, very prevalent, because they don't care how you're performing in the games that may or may not mean anything," Brian said. "Are you gonna be a consistent player, a consistent contributor who will go out there and give their all no matter what the score is or whatever, or will you be a guy who holds back, trying to conserve energy and make sure you're gonna be healthy for somebody next year? They're gonna be looking for those things, so this is what it is: everybody that still dresses and works for burgundy and gold out there on this football field is gonna be in for a test…now let's pass the test."
