Washington Commanders football team

[Andy Mink]

I was surprised they couldn't come up with something better than that

Must have been the same PR group that came up with Palisades at Tahoe.

 

[Jim Kenney]

Rivera emotional, McLaurin fired up!

 

[Phelmut]

Never heard of this team.

Jk, I haven't really kept up with Washington since the Sean Taylor days . From what I can tell, definitely seems like a change in ownership could help the team quite a bit. But is Rivera the man to lead the team?

Agreed. I will continue to call them the Redskins, screw that Commander BS.

 

[Jim Kenney]

I spent last week at the island resort town of San Pedro, Belize. Low and behold I found a Legend of Taylor Heinicke t-shirt nailed to the ceiling of the Palapa Bar.

 

[Jim Kenney]

The recent loss by the Washington Commanders to the NY Giants was a crushing blow to the team's playoff chances, but...there was another very emotional (in a good way) moment for the Washington Commanders a few days later. Jeremy Reaves made the pro bowl as a special teamer. Undrafted in 2018, he's one of those below the radar players that's been scratching and clawing to remain in the NFL for five years. Last year his beloved mom died, this year he's a pro bowler.

 

[Jim Kenney]

Great day for the Washington Football team. New owner Josh Harris and his partners hold very hopeful introductory press conference.

 

[givethepigeye]

Thank goodness!!!!!

 

[Laurel Hill Crazie]

Good luck to all you long suffering Wahington fans.

 

[SpeedyKevin]

My wife can finally root for her true home team versus the other closest team (Ravens)

 

[locknload]

Well....any team that isn't run by Dan Snyder is better off. I lived in DC for 20 yrs and now back in CA (Niners fan). I did feel bad for all the suffering fans there. Best of luck on better days ahead. Now...can you change the name to something better than the Commanders?

 

[Bad Bob]

It is time to rename them to something more frightening and that will get attention. The Commanders just does not do that.
The Lobbyists would create the right image. Good luck with the new ownership.

 

[Jim Kenney]

1 Aug 2023, today a friend and I attended the training camp of the Washington Commanders. The weather was great, upper 70s and hazy sunshine. We had fun being so close to the action, even if it was only training camp. It was the first practice with full pads and we observed a lot of quarterback-receiver activity. There was probably about three thousand people in attendance with a lot of fan enthusiasm. Here are a few photos from the morning.

Arriving about 9am with my friend. We've both been fans of this franchise since boyhood.

There are some important people in this blurry photo. Head Coach Ron Rivera is in black shirt and white shorts beside the goal post. To the right of him in the burgundy shirt is new Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy (formerly of the Super Bowl champion KC Chiefs), player number 14 is Sam Howell who is likely to be our starting QB, player 12 is our backup or possibly starting QB Jacoby Brissett.

The guy in blue shirt is sports reporter Scott Abraham from channel 7, the local ABC affiliate in Wash DC. After he finished this fan interview he interviewed me because I was the next guy along the fence line. Not sure if I'll be on TV, but who knows? I told him the thing I'm most excited about this year is that we have a new team owner Josh Harris who will hopefully return the team to respectability.

The player 4 in this photo is outstanding wide receiver Curtis Samuel. The blond lady is Sharla McBride sports reporter for the CBS affiliate in Wash DC. She became somewhat famous a couple of days ago when a local shock jock named Don Geronimo made some sexist remarks aimed at her on air while covering training camp, including calling out as she walked by his broadcast booth, "hi Barbie girl!" Everyone in Washington football is extremely sensitive about sexual harassment after past problems under the old team owner and Geronimo has been summarily fired from his radio job.

Player 24 is star running back Antonio Gibson. He's wearing a padded shell over his helmet called a Guardian Cap, it's intended to hopefully prevent concussions.

Player 2 is wide receiver Dyami Brown.

Player 25 is starting cornerback Benjamin St-Juste

Player 13 is rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, player he's covering in white shirt is Jahan Dotson one of our star wide receivers.

It was a treat to see the action from so close to the sidelines. Tickets were required to attend training camp, but they were free! The team also did a great job busing us from a large parking lot at nearby shopping mall.

A big crowd of autograph hounds stayed after practice looking to interact with players.

Wide receiver Terry McLaurin is undoubtedly the fan favorite. He's a great player, leader, and ambassador for the team. They are chanting for him as he approaches to sign some autographs.

 

[Laurel Hill Crazie]

It's nice to see such fan enthusiasm. I'm sure hopes are high this time of year, with visions of a return to glory and a Super Bowl win now that there is new ownership. Your visit to the Washington training camp reminds me of the Steelers at St. Vincent n Latrobe, not far from my beloved Laurel Mountain. I know you've seen the practice facilities when Vince matriculated there. Good luck to the Commanders this season. I hear rumors that a name change will be coming.

 

[Living Proof]

While I'm a green blood Eagle guy, the pics from training camp, brought back great memories of when the Birds trained at Lehigh Univ. in Bethlehem Pa. Each day, hundreds ( and more) of fans would make the trip to see the up close pictures like those above. Eagles now train in almost secrecy at their facility in Philly. I've felt for the Redskins (can't say Commanders yet) fans for many years, used to be a great franchise and NFL east opponent. Fans deserve better!

Josh Harris, the new Washington owner also owns the 76'ers. He is a good owner, willing to spend the bucks and comes from the right place to make the team better. He owns 3 teams, so will never be a DC full time presence, I prefer the single focus and presence of the Eagles ownership. The big responsibility is to hire the right GM, the jury is still out on his 76'ers pick.

 

[mikes781]

While I'm a green blood Eagle guy, the pics from training camp, brought back great memories of when the Birds trained at Lehigh Univ. in Bethlehem Pa. Each day, hundreds ( and more) of fans would make the trip to see the up close pictures like those above. Eagles now train in almost secrecy at their facility in Philly. I've felt for the Redskins (can't say Commanders yet) fans for many years, used to be a great franchise and NFL east opponent. Fans deserve better!

Josh Harris, the new Washington owner also owns the 76'ers. He is a good owner, willing to spend the bucks and comes from the right place to make the team better. He owns 3 teams, so will never be a DC full time presence, I prefer the single focus and presence of the Eagles ownership. The big responsibility is to hire the right GM, the jury is still out on his 76'ers pick.

I went to TO’s first day at camp there and the turnout was crazy.

I’m also glad to see Washington finally get a better owner and Snyder run out of town. The fans have deserved better for years,

 

[Wasatchman]

What do you all make of the Eric Bienemy controversy? Noise or cause for concern?

 

[scott43]

What do you all make of the Eric Bienemy controversy? Noise or cause for concern?

Does yelling at adults work? I'm not sure that works these days in the world of high-priced, high-power athletes. Sooner or later the yelling shtick wears out... And you can't fire the team...

 

[SpeedyKevin]

Does yelling at adults work? I'm not sure that works these days in the world of high-priced, high-power athletes. Sooner or later the yelling shtick wears out... And you can't fire the team...

Kind of reminds me of that Urban Meyer debacle

 

[Jim Kenney]

What do you all make of the Eric Bienemy controversy? Noise or cause for concern?

You mean raising his voice while coaching players through practices? Seems like standard coach-stuff to me. No issue. He certainly behaved normally and composed as far as I could observe the day I was at training camp??
The guy Bienemy replaced, Norv Turner's son Scott, was very low profile. As offensive coordinator Scott didn't seem too effective or inspiring. Bienemy is a shot of adrenalin in comparison. Of course, Scott Turner didn't have the best personnel and front office to work with.

I imagine a lot of folks would question why Bienemy would leave a great gig with Super Bowl champion Chiefs to work for a disgraced franchise. I think the reason is that if he can achieve just a modicum of success with the Commanders he'll have a good chance of getting offered a head coaching job somewhere in the NFL.

 

[tromano]

I think the Commanders will have a huge challenge getting their relevance back to what it was when I was a kid growing up in the DC suburbs, both for local DC area fans and the larger nationwide fanbase. I personally think that just simply having a new owner and a higher quality product on the field will not be enough to bring back local DC area fans. As a no-longer local former fan, I would rather watch baseball.