Ethan Seu
Co-host and WFT correspondent
Speaking as a lifelong fan, the Washington Football Team of my generation has given us little to be proud of as a fanbase. The most salient things I’ve taken away from my years as a fan you ask? I would say delusion, blind faith and disappointment are very high on the list of feelings towards the organization I begrudgingly root for 24/7 every NFL season. This is the life of a fan in the Dan Snyder era, a hope that a great coach and team can overcome the corruption and detrimental behavior of an owner and front office that for so long has seemed impossibly incompitent. I was born when Norv Turner was the head coach, so I didn’t include him in the following list of head coaches we’ve had in my lifetime:
- Marty Schottenheimer [2001 - Record: 8-8] ONE??? Season. Fired for the next guy?
- Steve Spurrier [2002-2003 - Record: 12-20] Two (very bad) seasons from the old ball coach
- Joe Gibbs [2004-2007 - Record: 30-34] Franchise legend returns (to go below .500)
- Jim Zorn [2008-2009 - Record: 12-20] Same as Spurrier? Gross!
- Mike Shanahan [2010-2013 - Record: 24-40] Not the Elway Shanahan
- Jay Gruden [2014-2019 - Record: 35-49-1] FUCK YOU Jay Gruden
- Ron Rivera [2020-Present - Record:13-15] Please save us, Ron
That is a total coaching record of 129-181-1, it is still shocking I haven’t given up.
A list of negative coaching records and the fact that a dumbass like Jay Gruden was the longest tenured of that group is all you need to see. Whoever said, “Hey that BENGALS Offensive Coordinator seems like a real genius, you can tell since The Bengals are one of the winningest teams in NFL history! It totally has nothing to do with his last name!” Give me a fucking break.The other thing that truly tells the story in my life is we haven’t had a franchise quarterback we’ve been committed to in years. Aside from maybe the Cleveland Browns, Washington may have the ugliest list of QBs in the last 20 years. I’ve never once had a Washington quarterback’s jersey because I’ve learned by now that everything related to that position in Washington is temporary. I am conditioned to believe that it’s never going to work out the way fans want it to. We got carried to the playoffs by one legged Alex Smith and we lofted that old sack of potatoes to God status even though we won the division below .500. Thank god the rest of the NFC East is incredibly inconsistent and loves to toil in mediocrity because they’ve allowed this sorry list of starting quarterbacks to actually win NFL games.
-Tony Banks -Rex Grossman -Kyle Allen
-Jeff George -John Beck -Ryan FitzPatrick
-Shane Matthews -Robert Griffin III -Taylor Heinicke
-Patrick Ramsey -Kirk Cousins
-Danny Wuerffel -Colt McCoy
-Tim Hasselbeck -Alex Smith
-Mark Brunell -Josh Johnson
-Jason Campbell -Mark Sanchez
-Todd Collins -Case Keenum
-Donovan McNabb -Dwayne Haskins
In a word? Gross
Fuck me am I right? We’ve done nothing but make terrible decisions for years and despite all that I still root for this team. We have one of the biggest markets in the NFL, so there are probably many others out there who feel my pain. I feel bad for spreading all this negativity because I do believe that the coaching staff and players in place now are trying to turn this losing culture around. Going into this 2021 season expectations were set very high, particularly for the defense. The entire fanbase took pride in their team embracing a tough defense-first approach to winning at the end of the 2020 season. Fast-forward to being 2-6 through 8 games and my mind was focused on what top 10 pick we might end up with who will be the next in a long line of players destined to save the franchise. Losing all hope and patience, it felt like the season was over early with a coach who may not be as set in stone as people previously thought.
Now off a bye week and another win in Las Vegas against the Raiders, I find my team on a 4 game winning streak at a 6-6 (which is still not great) defeating The Buccaneers, Panthers, Seahawks on MNF and the Raiders. My focus is building on this ability to win games and to make another run for the playoffs this season and potentially cementing a winning culture. This team isn’t perfect and frankly for most of the year what I saw each week was hard to watch and inconsistent, but like last year this team has found a rhythm to their game. Unlike my gripes about years past, there is a good coach in the building in Ron Rivera who knows what it takes to win and change the culture of a football team like he did in Carolina. Fans can now stand behind a quarterback, Taylor Heinicke, who they believe in because he brings confidence, energy, and excitement to our offense. A run-heavy, clock control approach with improved defensive play has guided this team to wins. It has brought back the desire for a playoff berth among the Washington faithful. There are plenty of weeks left and a lot of things could change for this overlooked (maybe rightfully so) team that is rolling right now on a nice little, winning streak. For now this delusional, but realistic fan can only look back on all the bad through the years, take it in with disgust and disappointment, only to hope that this team can turn things around in the Rivera Era (or Riv-era as it was branded) and hopefully leave a better taste in the mouth of those who are crazy, passionate and loyal to this great franchise.
