Reports are Commanders looked great in OTAs: Be careful

What do the NFL offseason and MLB Spring Training have in common?

"This is where it is pure optimism; everything is ahead of you. You know, all the changes look great." That was how Ben Standig, a local DMV media reporter who has covered the Washington Commanders and Wizards for years. He shared this brief summary with Brian Mitchell and J.P. Finlay on their 106.7 The Fan show," BMitch and Finlay," on Friday.

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Standig is exactly correct. I can recall back in the 1970s, I'd watch everything I could from the training camp of the Redskins. Those sports anchors and sports reporters had me so psyched each year, leading me to think the Redskins were not only going to be better that season, they were going to be much better and contenders for the Super Bowl.

Then the actual regular season would begin, and so would the close losses, the injuries. The players who were signed, traded, or drafted by Washington were actually much more human and not nearly as dynamic or superior as I had been led to believe in the offseason.

I don't think I caught on until I was in college. Perhaps because I was maturing into adulthood and wasn't as naive. Perhaps also because I was playing small-college basketball and began to realize that all the new recruits who show up each year are mortals, and their statistics from a lower level of play (in that case, high school) don't match up with better competition.

How does all of that relate to the 2026 Washington Commanders? Actually, in everything. I continue to marvel at fans on X or DC radio, who, though adults, still don't get it. They still haven't learned the lesson. Even more, I heard a Washington Commanders player this very week, who, having been in the NFL for a few years, should know better, but he apparently has yet to learn.

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It was amazing to listen to him this week talk about how the Commanders are going to dominate this year. Seemingly, he has yet to realize that, from year to year in the NFL, there are very few teams that dominate. The NFL is a week-to-week league, with each week bringing several competitive games.

So, when you are getting all excited about OTA reports, remind yourself they are not even making any contact, and they certainly aren't working out against another team. Do we hope 2026 is another Washington winning season? Of course we do. But when you have been following this team closely for 57 years, you do pick up on some trends from time to time.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Be careful of glowing practice reviews