DANIELS IS DARN GOOD ... BUT LET'S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY --- YET

 

Weekend Watch … and Beyond:

Enough already about JAYDEN DANIELS … who has 

gone from being a rookie quarterback to The Next Great 

Thing … after five games … against teams 9-16 including 

the 3-2 Buccaneers to open the season … Since then your 

Commanders have won four in a row … playing the 2-3 

Giants and Arizona plus the 1-4 Bengals and Browns … last 

time out … when veteran QB DESHAUN 

WATSON continued to be so ineffective – OK, downright 

awful -- that NFL-on-Fox TERRY BRADSHAW said, “Do 

you put him down now?” … On second thought (when told 

that might be a bit drastic, don’t you think?), the former 

Super Bowl-winning QB said what he really meant was 

Cleveland might be wise to replace its $230 millon-bust. 

“When I played, I got benched a bunch,” Bradshaw said. 

“Go ahead … and sit him … even if you’ve got a lot of 

money invested in him.”

At the rate Daniels is progressing, the Commanders’ new 

ownership would be smart to set aside a bunch of money for 

his next contract … assuming, that is, that the ex-LSU 

player taken second overall in the 2024 draft doesn’t turn out 

to be a one-year wonder … Daniels certainly has set the bar 

high for himself, running and passing with such poise and 

precision ... he’s already in the discussion for league MVP. 

Did you know the only player to be named both rookie and 

most valuable in the same season was a running back, the 

late JIM BROWN of the Browns, in 1957?

After Sunday’s 34-13 romp over Cleveland, one of 

Bradshaw’s studio mates, HOWIE LONG, said, borderline 

incredulously, “I’m impressed Washington … overall … has 

a team … [later on adding] … “There’s an excitement that 

hasn’t been there for a long time.

“We played them a lot … in the Super Bowl … up there in 

the old [RFK] stadium, which I loved … and the fans were 

the best. You willed your [season] tickets to the next 

generation … Now, it’s …” And the former Oakland 

Raiders’ defensive lineman, who moved his family to Ivy 

(near Charlottesville) after his retirement from the NFL in 

1994, stopped talking and shook his head as if to say … 

those days are gone forever, then again …

“Maybe they’ll bring back the Hogs,” Bradshaw said … 

recalling the old Redskins linemen who had a following all 

their own.

“No, I don’t think so,” Long said, snapping out of this 

momentary if wistful affection for the past. Back to reality 

… Next for the Washington football team formerly named 

Redskins are the 3-2 Baltimore Ravens … and their high-

voltage 1-2 offensive punch of QB LAMAR JACKSON

 and RB DERRICK HENRY … Sunday in Baltimore … 

another example of how little the league thought of

 the Commanders … with a 1 p.m., kickoff … which is the 

starting time of eight of the next 10 games … with one in the 

4 p.m., slot and the other at 8:15 pm (Nov. 14 at 

Philadelphia) on Prime Video. The last two games of the 

regular season still have a time-to-be-determined.

What else?… Well, Virginia Tech traveled to the West 

Coast to win a football game – over Stanford – in the 

Atlantic Coast Conference … And a word of advice: 

Never get carried away by the first game, much less the 

first of 82. The NFL Rangers beat Pittsburgh 6-0 because 

(a) goalie IGOR SHESTERKIN was typically great; and 

(b) the Penguins quit in the third period. They are a great 

example of what can happen to a team when you over-pay 

a few players … especially players skating rapidly toward 

the end of their careers – like EVGENY MALKIN and

 CHRIS LETANG … It still says here the Rangers will 

be hard-pressed to make the playoffs … in a season 

already billed as all-or-nothing ,,, this group’s last chance 

to win the Stanley Cup. They’ve been lucky injuries 

haven’t taken their toll … especially when coach PETER 

LAVIOLETTE over-plays guys like ADAM FOX who 

needs to be rested now and then. Also working against 

NY is Laviolette’s career-long disdain for younger players 

… Meanwhile, Washington, the Flyers, Devils, even the 

Islanders have all improved. I’ll say it again … Don’t be 

shocked if the Rangers are found at their favorite golf 

course instead of on the ice after regular-season’s end in 

early April. 

Your Richmond Kickers ran their unbeaten streak to four as 

18 year old keeper JAMES SNEDDON posted his third 

straight shutout … 0-0 … against first-place Union of 

Omaha Saturday night at City Stadium. The victory gave the 

local USL League One side (5W-5T-9L, 20 points) sole 

possession of eighth place … with three games remaining 

starting Friday at No. 9 South Georgia Tormenta (4-7-8,19 

points) … Top 8 teams qualify for the playoffs … which 

seemed like the longest of longshots for Richmond … until 

coach DARREN SAWATSKY inserted Sneddon into the 

lineup for the first time Aug. 29 … and the 

Kickersresponded with a 3-2 win over Spokane … Since 

then they have beaten Charlotte 1-0 and Lexington 3-0 

before settling for a scoreless tie with Union, the 12-team 

circuit’s most 

prolific member … which had two golden opportunities to 

score. In the 70^th minute, JOSUE GOMEZ hit the crossbar 

from just outside the 18-yard box. Then, about eight minutes 

later … in what unquestionably was The Play of the Game 

… defender SIMON FITCH deflected a shot off the line … 

Fitch was everywhere. Earlier he was left unmarked to the 

right of the goal … but his shot from a difficult angle went 

off keeper RASHID NUHU, 28, two-time All-A 10 first 

team for Fordham … from Ghana … Then, in the 

95^thminute, the Kickers almost pulled this one out … when 

a corner kick by NILS VINYALS was flicked just wide of 

the goal by JUSTIN KIRKWOOD … Omaha played the 

final 18 minutes with 10 men after Gomez was excused with 

a red card ... Richmond (5-5-9, 20 points) closes the regular 

season with a pair of home games – Oct.19 against 10th-

place Chattanooga (5-3-11, 18 points) and Oct. 26 versus 

No. 5 Charlotte.

Until next time ...