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Daily Slop – 2 Feb 25

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NFL: APR 27 2023 Draft
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A collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders

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Commanders Wire

NFL again proves player fine system is a joke

First-and-goal at the 1, the Eagles lined up for their “brotherly shove/tush push.” Quarterback Jalen Hurts was indeed pushed across for the touchdown with 1:44 remaining in the half, extending the Eagles’ lead to 20-12.

Eagles receiver A.J. Brown and Commanders’ cornerback Marshon Lattimore were locked up, still pushing/blocking each other after the whistles blew, and the Philly crowd began roaring in joy over the touchdown scored.

Brown grabbed the facemask, ripped off Lattimore’s helmet, and immediately extended his arms as if to say, “Who me? I’m not doing anything.” The official to the left of Brown and Lattimore is captured on video clearly watching them as he approaches closer and throws his flag.

Brown had grabbed Lattimore’s facemask, ripping off Lattimore’s helmet, and then a call came over the stadium sound system, “After the play was over, personal foul, unnecessary roughness defense, number 23.”

Anyone attempting, to be honest, knew at that moment, at the very least, they should have included Brown, making the call an off-setting penalty, both guilty of unnecessary roughness.

The only other option before the announcement was made seemed to be a personal foul on Brown for ripping off Lattimore’s helmet via grabbing the facemask.

Saturday, the NFL fined Brown, not Lattimore, for the incident, and it will cost Brown $11,255. But of course, Brown’s Super Bowl check will more than make up for ripping off Lattimore’s helmet.

Warren Sharp said it best, calling the player fine system a “clown show.”

Commanders Wire

10 things we learned about the Commanders this season

Adam Peters is who we thought he was

Adam Peters was labeled the next-great NFL GM for years, long before he took the Washington job last January. There were a lot of expectations for Peters, even though he was taking over a flawed 4-13 roster. Peters immediately went to work last March, first signing veteran tight end Zach Ertz. Then, on the opening of free agency, Peters signed a number of veterans, many to one-year deals. The goal was to bring in high-character veterans who could still play to improve Washington’s depth in 2024 and raise the team’s floor.

Look how many of Peters’ signings hit. Bobby Wagner, Ertz, Austin Ekeler, Tyler Biadasz, Dante Fowler, Jeremy Chinn, Noah Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus, Marcus Mariota, Nick Allegretti and Frankie Luvu. It doesn’t get much better than that. The Commanders chose quantity and quality, and it paid off. Players like Wagner, Ertz, Mariota and Ekeler were brought in to serve as mentors and help reset the culture. They did that while delivering on the field.

As for the draft, Peters chose Jayden Daniels, while Mike Sainristil and Johnny Newton are cornerstones for the defense for years to come. How will Peters follow up on that amazing first year?

Dan Quinn was the right choice

It’s easy to say that Dan Quinn was the right choice as coach for the Commanders after they won 14 games. But if you go back and analyze what Washington needed, he was always the right choice. Even if Quinn had failed to produce a winning record in year one, his leadership would’ve been essential. Quinn helped build a tight-knit locker room and pressed all the right buttons. Remember the cross-country trip to Arizona? That was a move to allow the players to grow closer as they were away from home for a week.

Podcasts & videos

Commanders 7 Round Mock NFL Draft: Texas CB Jahdae Barron Solidifies Mike Sainristil’s Position

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Pro Football Talk

Report: Australia to host NFL games starting in 2026

According to the Herald Sun, the Melbourne Cricket Ground will host three total NFL games, beginning in 2026.

The report pegs the Eagles and the Rams as the first teams to play there. The report says the Rams are the home team; under the NFL’s scheduling formula, however, the Eagles host the Rams that year.

And while the current 17-game rotation has NFC teams hosting nine games in even-numbered years, taking Rams-Eagles out of the country in 2026 would result in the Eagles sacrificing a home game to the international effort for the second time in three years. In 2024, the Eagles hosted the Packers in Brazil.

The timing of the report means that one of the various questions posed to Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday will address the Australia news. (Which is one less question that will be focused on a topic he’d perhaps rather not address during the annual Super Bowl-week media gathering.)

So we’ll see what’s said on Monday. Maybe the Eagles will indeed give up another home game in 2026. Or maybe it will be a different Eagles game. Or a different Rams game.

The Athletic (paywall)

Bears expected to hire Eric Bieniemy as RBs coach, per source: What he adds to Ben Johnson’s staff

Why Bears are making this move

This hire makes a ton of sense for Ben Johnson’s staff. He has a young coordinator in Declan Doyle and another young QB coach in JT Barrett. In Bienemy, Johnson adds someone with 16 years of experience as an NFL assistant.

Bienemy overlapped with Bears GM Ryan Poles while with the Chiefs and with Chicago president/CEO Kevin Warren during his time coaching in Minnesota, so there’s some familiarity in the front office.

Johnson’s offense in Detroit operated at such a high level in part because of a dynamic backfield. The Bears need to get back to a strong rushing attack — they fell off last season, despite the high-priced addition of D’Andre Swift. Now that room will have an experienced position coach, and Johnson will have someone to lean on who has seen a lot of football.

Sports Illustrated

Former Commanders’ coach reportedly fired by Bears’ new head coach Ben Johnson

As he builds his staff, new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson fired one of the Washington Commanders’ former assistants.

Coach Jennifer King was the assistant running backs coach in Washington for multiple seasons under head coach Ron Rivera and was hired by Chicago after the bulk of that staff was let go by Dan Quinn last year.

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