SNIDER: Commanders record turnover is a good thing
There’s an old saying that you can’t fire a whole team so you fire the coach. The Washington Commanders almost did both.
A clean sweep was nearly completed on Tuesday, as only 23 players from last season were retained. A few more may even go after the Commanders review the waiver wire and free agents available.
That’s nearly 57 percent turnover in one year – the team’s highest since 60 percent in 1945 during World War II. The next highest was coach George Allen’s 1971 “RamSkins” team that changed 35 percent of the roster.
The broom that cleared the coach and general manager’s offices months after a new owner arrived now has the locker room fresh and new.
After a 4-13 season, who can blame the Commanders from change? After all, if they lost with those players, they can lose with new players while retaining hope of getting better.
And, Washington is a better team after that mass exit. Maybe not playoff better, but the Commanders should flirt with .500 this season if managing at least 2-4 over the opening six games.
It’s a lot to ask with so many newcomers to have the needed chemistry required in critical moments. There will be broken plays on defense where the secondary or linebackers mistakenly think a teammate had their back but left an open lane. That happens to good teams, but it will surely happen too often for this team that returned no linebackers from last year aside Jamin Davis, who’s now called an end.
It will happen when a pass falls to the ground because the receiver or quarterback expected a different route. Or, a sack suffered when no one picked up a blitz.
So many little things are needed to win, which is why teams practice over and over to get a muscle memory of sorts. These things simply require time and Washington didn’t get enough of it over the offseason to make this team gel. That hole will be a black hole too often.
Only 12 of 33 players drafted during former coach Ron Rivera’s four seasons remain, including just two first-rounders who may not even play regularly this year. Only 23 of 53 players return. The guy manning the facility’s entrance booth is back, though.
Longing for past players is misguided. They weren’t very good. They accepted defeat readily and just cashed paychecks. After returning from a late-season bye, the Commanders lost their last four games without a fight. Too many defensive players cheated by not truly trying to catch a downfield runner for fear of injury. Pending free agency will do that, because nobody wants to recover from injuries over the offseason. The coaching staff checked out after defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was fired in midseason. It’s hard grinding 100 hours weekly knowing you’ll be soon fired.
The upside of all this upheaval is new energy everywhere. Not only coaches and players, but fans, too. Ticket sales are up, says managing partner Josh Harris. Daily conversations among fans are higher.
That is, until the losing comes. Even then, optimism remains with the drafting of quarterback Jayden Daniels. He’ll become Washington’s 36th quarterback since the 1991 Super Bowl. But, he’ll also be the best maybe since Joe Theismann’s 1985 exit.
That’s the real key of this turnover – a new passer. A new roster, coach, GM and owner, too. Maybe some refreshed optimism that a generation of losing will end.
We’ll see.
