Are the Washington Commanders heading in the right direction under Ron Rivera? Former NFL GM Michael Lombardi isn't completely sold on that idea.
Lombardi joined 106.7 The Fan's Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier and was asked about Rivera's shaky coaching record, which includes only three winning seasons as a head coach in the league and four consecutive losing seasons dating back to 2018 in Carolina.
"One of those winning seasons he's 15-1," Lombardi noted. "And if Dan Snyder was the old Dan Snyder in Washington, [Rivera] wouldn't be here for the third year. You and I both know this. Every Washington fan knows this, right? It's only because of the fire that's going on around the building that Ron's come back for this year. And he's had more time. I mean the year he makes the playoffs, he's below .500."
"What worries me if I'm a Washington fan is you made no changes at all, really, to your coaching staff," Lombardi said. "So what you're saying is the players were the reason why we were 25th in points allowed. The players are the reason we were only 23rd. The players are the reason we gave up the most touchdown passes in all of football last year. Like, the players were the reason we couldn't stop anybody once they got into the red zone. The players were the reason we were 31st on third-down defense. And that becomes hard to sell.
"Like, to me they're saying continuity, continue it, we're gonna get better. I don't know how that happens. I really don't. I don't know how that's gonna happen. I mean last year they were one of the worst teams in the red zone on offense last year. Are they gonna improve on that? They were 20th in third-down offense. Now is their offensive line better that they can do that, and is Wentz gonna be better than what they played with last year? Call me skeptical. I don't know. But there's a difference between staying the same and staying the course as, if you're lost, you're going the wrong way."
Asked what Carson Wentz has to do to prove the Commanders made the right move bringing him in, Lombardi quipped, "Not throw the ball left-handed would be a start."
"I mean he led the league in left-handed throws last year," he said. "I mean look, when Wentz had to play in key moments of the game, he didn't play very well. And I was a Carson Wentz fan in 2017. I thought he should have been MVP, he was sensational. The reality of it is he wasn't last year. He did a lot of dumb things at the wrong time.
"You remember the clip Parcells says 'we're too stupid to be any good'? Well, he made dumb plays at the wrong time," Lombardi continued. "Throwing it left-handed against the Rams and let 'em walk into the end zone for a touchdown. Just think about the conversations that still come out of Indianapolis from their owner about when Carson was there. It wasn't good. And I don't think they felt like he was vested and fully bought-in. So we'll see how it's gonna change, but call me doubtful. I don't know why they had to pay what they paid to get him."
