The Daily Slop – 7 September 2026
Editor’s note: Each day, Hogs Haven compiles a collection of articles, podcasts & tweets from around the web to keep you in touch with the Commanders, the NFC East, the NFL and sports in general, with a sprinkling of other stuff. Enjoy!
Commanders links
Articles
The Athletic (paywall)
WTF is the Athletic talking about???
One question for each NFL team
Washington Commanders: Who will make up the foundation in the next team build?
The Commanders missed their
opportunity to build a contender during Jayden Daniels’ rookie contract window. Daniels will be eligible for an extension next season and will likely reset the market. If he’s healthy, he can elevate this team as he did in his rookie season, but let’s be real, this isn’t a Super Bowl-worthy roster.
[T]he Commanders should be identifying who they want to keep as building blocks for their next team build-out, and they will have to be more economical.
To read more of this stupid article, CLICK HERE
COMMANDERS COLLAPSE TALK GOES TOO FAR: National Panic Is Overblown
Last Man Standig (paywall)
Let’s talk about what’s right with the Commanders
Daniels looked sharp. Get past the initial two camp practices when, per usual, the defense was a step ahead of the offense, and he cooked. Daniels’ accuracy was among the most consistent positives throughout camp, all while appearing increasingly comfortable within first-time coordinator David Blough’s offense.
Daniels looked spry all summer, and there was nary a conversation over the offseason about lingering problems. We should also note his resilient, Gumby-like body when it comes to absorbing blows.
Whatever else you think about the Commanders, their ceiling looks considerably different with No. 5 available.
For more from Ben Standig, click here
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
How David Blough can help the Commanders run game
In this post, we’re going to look at how Blough can help make things easier for the offensive line in the run game through various schematic tweaks. Running the ball effectively is one of the best ways to help mask any offensive line issues you may have, because it’s much easier for those lineman to work forward on run blocks than sit back and pass protect. But running the ball effectively isn’t always easy. The Commanders face some good interior defensive lineman early in the season and just calling a bunch of run plays on their own won’t work. Blough will have to have more up his sleeve.
One of the first weapons he has in his arsenal is motion. Under Kliff Kingsbury, the Commanders opted against using much motion in order to get lined up quickly and be able to go up-tempo. But Blough is planning to slow things down a lot more, which opens up the ability to use more motion. Just using motion for the sake of using it adds nothing to an offense, but used correctly, it can really help out the offensive line.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Commanders Wire
Commanders WR has one word to describe offense vs. Eagles in Week 1
When Abraham asked, “What is this offense going to be like?” Lane quickly responded, “Yeah, it’s going to be explosive! We got a lot of explosive guys on the field. And Blough and the rest of the offensive side, they’ve been putting us in great positions to use our explosiveness. So, expect an explosive offense. I’m excited.”
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Sports Illustrated
Final commanders rookie power rankings: Who rose most before Week 1?
3. EDGE Joshua Josephs — Previous: No. 2
Joshua Josephs has been themost consistent rookie riser on the roster since the pads came out. While he did technically “fall” on this list, it shouldn’t be viewed negatively; Styles merely passed him. Josephs was able to capitalize on injuries to players above him on the depth chart. The extra field time he saw in camp, joint practice sessions, and the preseason led to what defensive coordinator Daronte Jones loves to see out of his guys: disruption.
What’s wild about Josephs’ rise over the course of camp is the fact that Washington specifically targeted, and spent a good portion of cap space on that exact position room. After the draft, many wondered if he’d even make the team with Odafe Oweh and K’Lavon Chaisson added to the mix and Dorance Armstrong returning from injury. That led to the August question: could Josephs force his way onto the team? Which, of course, after his play on the field, turned into: how many regular-season snaps will the team give him now?
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Commanders Roundtable
How Washington’s rookies fared this offseason & preseason
Matt Gulbin is the one who may have been most discussed among the Commanders’ fanbase where the rookie arrived as a center, though drew reps at guard before Quinn moved him back exclusively to center over the final week of training camp. The sixth round pick proved to be one of two offensive line rookies on the 53-man roster alongside Tanoa Togiai, yet Gulbin allowed just two hurries through the first two games to clearly outplay Julian Good-Jones to earn the backup center job.
“I think over the course of the summer and over the course of training camp, we saw development in Matt,” Newmark said. “We saw growth in Matt and really excited with where he’s at currently and what we project him to develop into.”
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
The Athletic (paywall)
Bold NFL 2026 season predictions
Washington Commanders: A rookie will star, but not the one most expect
First-round linebacker Sonny Styles has given little reason to think he won’t have a solid rookie year with the Commanders. But third-round receiver Antonio Williams, an unheralded selection at No. 71, will be the team’s young breakout star of 2026. Williams, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound receiver out of Clemson, boasted a quiet confidence and a skill set that will make him a go-to target for Jayden Daniels and a key piece of the team’s future. Williams has the versatility to play inside and out, despite playing primarily in the slot in college. He also has the route-running polish of a veteran and a knack for making contested over-the-shoulder catches appear easy. Washington already has a third-round receiving gem in Terry McLaurin. Williams may be next. — Nicki Jhabvala
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Riggo’s Rag
Texas Longhorns WR Ryan Wingo should be on Commanders’ draft radar after dazzing Week 1 display
Wingo finished with seven catches from eight targets for 121 receiving yards and one touchdown. While the standard he was facing wouldn’t exactly be classed as stellar, it was also a sign that the desired improvements have been made this offseason to become more influential.
Simply put, this is a prospect the Commanders should be watching extremely closely from here on.
Washington’s wide receiver room looks strong heading into the season. But as for the long term? It’s uncertain.
Stefon Diggs, Dyami Brown, and Treylon Burks are all in contract years. Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane have special-teams value but not much else right now. Third-round rookie Antonio Williams and Terry McLaurin are under contract, but the latter is even facing speculation about his future beyond the current campaign.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Podcasts & videos
Counting Down To Commanders Kickoff With HC Dan Quinn | Washington Commanders | The Gameplan | NFL
NFC East links
Bleeding Green Nation
The Eagles will need a receiver to step up in 2026
For the Eagles, there are perhaps a few more flaws on this year’s roster than we’re used to seeing from this group.
I’m worried about the receivers.
Even if Smith is everything they hope he will be, there is still a lot of uncertainty concerning the rest of the pass catchers. There’s really no way you can feel confident in any of them at the start of the season.
It’s clear the Eagles went into the off-season planning on first round draft pick Makai Lemon to play a major role and even, perhaps, be their starting outside receiver opposite Smith. But his summer-long battle with his hamstring delayed his participation in training camp. He was not impressive in the third preseason game and it’s hard to see him making a significant impact in his first year.
Frankly, there are some Jalen Reagor vibes right now.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
Blogging the Boys
Pittsburgh perspective of new Cowboys OT Broderick Jones
Schottenheimer spoke about the trade for Jones was about improving their depth, but more so having him compete with Terence Steele for the starting right tackle job. Do you think that’s a realistic expectation?
Nick: I can’t speak to how Steele has played, but Jones struggled mightily this training camp and preseason. My initial expectation would be it is not all that realistic given the fact Jones could not beat out Dylan Cook, who has been a career-long practice squad player for the Steelers over the past few years. Cook is not that bad, but he is far more a swing-tackle level player than a starting right tackle. Jones’ struggles with his technique in the preseason make him competing for a starting spot a somewhat hard venture.
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
NFL league links
Articles
Pro Football Talk
Kyle Shanahan “a little confused” playing Friday in Australia, which is Thursday in America
[Note to Kyle from Bill-in-Bangkok: Welcome to my world]
For the American TV audience, the 49ers and Rams play on Thursday night. But they’ll be playing in Australia, where it will already be Friday. And 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said in Australia on Monday (which was Sunday in the US) that he’s trying to keep his team on a normal routine as if they were playing on a Sunday — which for Australians is a Monday.
Confused? So is Shanahan.
“We’re a little confused with — when I look at my clock and it says a time and then I try to see my family’s time and then it says the time, but it says yesterday. I don’t even get how that’s possible,” Shanahan said. “So I feel like I’m in the future. And then also when we play on Friday, which I think is a Thursday in the US, we’re such creatures of habit. So I call today Tuesday. No, wait, sorry, I call today Wednesday. Which is the first day we put in a game plan. But I think it’s Monday. However, though, it’s Sunday in the present. So, like I’m gonna mess that up all week if you guys ask me. But today is just our first day of the game plan, which is a Wednesday, and we’ll put in some on a Thursday. Friday’s the final part of the game plan. Saturday, we walk through and we play on Sunday, which is a Friday in Australia and a Thursday in the US. So, don’t ever make me do that again.”
To read more of this article, CLICK HERE
