It’s been a tumultuous offseason for Washington’s NFL team. From a long-overdue name change to sexual harassment allegations, Dan Snyder’s organization has been dragged through the mud.
His players, however, hope to change that, even on the heels of a disastrous 3-13 season.
“I think the mood around the whole team is these guys are one,” former Pro Bowl receiver and current Washington radio analyst Santana Moss said on Tiki & Tierney. “They’re young, but they’re going to go out there and shock a lot of people. They have a lot of talent, and when you have a young team like this, you’re the new staff, it’s kind of hard to actually expect much from them out of the gate. But I think most of the veterans that are there, they know that with the youth that they have – especially from the guys that played last year that showed that they can step up and play big coming into their first year – it gives everyone around there high hopes that they can do that the second year.”
Last year, Washington finished last in the NFL in scoring offense (16.6 points per game), passing offense (175.8 yards per game), total offense (274.7), and third-down conversions (29.1 percent). It has finished with a losing record in five of the last seven seasons and has one 10-win season since 2006.
With two-time Coach of the Year Ron Rivera now in charge, however, Washington believes brighter days are ahead.
“I don’t see a team that’s going to take [things] lightly because they’re young and they have a new staff and a new system,” Moss said. “I think they’re going to go out there and say, ‘Let’s shoot our wad and see what we really have and let some guys and let these folks around this league know that we’re going to be a team to reckon with sooner or later.'”
Washington opens the season at home against the Eagles this Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. ET.