With the NFL season now less than 30 hours away, ESPN's Louis Riddick joined Grant & Danny Wednesday afternoon to discuss a little Commanders…and unlike some of the national media clowning the team and Ron Rivera, the former Redskins exec is optimistic about the current crop in DC.
"I don't want to say guarded optimism, because that makes it sound I don't really believe, but I am optimistic," Riddick said. "I remember speaking with Erc Bieniemy at the Combine and the question was always going to be the quarterback situation – was Sam Howell really that guy you could develop and build around? Eric said he was excited about Sam and working with the weapons they have. We know that defensively, this team was capable of playing high-quality football before they added a playmaker in Emmanuel Forbes, and I'm very high on this team. I love what I saw in the preseason, and the new ownership group, so I'm excited as hell."
So what does he think we can expect out of Howell?
"In terms of a ceiling or floor, I don't know, because anything is in the realm of possibility provided protection holds up and Sam is able to progress in Eric's offense," Riddick said. "You've seen glimpses of what he can do and his off-schedule playmaking ability, but what you want to see is his in-structure playmaking ability, because that's what's indicative of someone who is grasping the concepts. I think he's capable of doing that, but the offensive line is where it needs to come together."
Riddick thinks Howell can surprise people and the team can put up enough points to, in conjunction with a strong defense, 'put up a fight and give the division a run for its money.'
Oh, and as for the comments Ron Rivera made that caused a kerfuffle about Bieniemy's coaching style?
"Eric and I came up at the same time, and we played against each other in the East-West Shrine Game in college, so we're from the same era," Riddick said. "We all know that this is a sensitive generation of player. They don't take to the whole out of yourself, into the team mantra, or the hard-nosed, in-your-face coaching. They want to be told that they're great, and their individual skills are first and foremost, and you have to hope it all comes together. Its kind of backwards how you have to put a team together – so I think with Eric, he takes some getting used to. All the players he's coached will tell you he's hard as hell, old school in terms of holding you accountable and letting you know you better be on top of your game, or he'll be in your face quickly. Will he have to make adjustments to make sure he doesn't lose players' respect or willingness to learn what he's teaching? Yes, but he doesn't have to make wholesale changes, because what he's teaching is championship-caliber stuff. You need hard, tough-minded people in an NFL where there is no room for error."
Take a listen to Riddick's entire call-in, which also included thoughts from around the NFL, above!
