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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
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Bryan Manning

Former Washington OL on Commanders’ O-line: ‘They are awful’

Mark Schlereth played 12 NFL seasons and was a part of three Super Bowl champions. Schlereth spent the first six years of his NFL career with the then-Washington Redskins, before finishing his final six years with the Denver Broncos.

Since his retirement, Schlereth has been a prominent NFL analyst, first with ESPN for several years and most recently calling games on FOX since 2017.

He keeps up with the entire NFL but pays particular attention to his two former teams. Schlereth recently ripped the Broncos.

But what about the Commanders?

Working for FOX, Schlereth usually calls multiple Washington games each season. He’ll be on the call for the Commanders’ Week 8 game vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

In preparation for Washington’s game on Sunday, he reviewed the Commanders’ film from their ugly Week 8 loss to the New York Giants.

Let’s say he wasn’t impressed. And as a former offensive lineman, he was highly unimpressed with Washington’s current offensive line.

“Things aren’t going really well right now in Washington,” Schlereth said this week on his “Stinkin Truth” podcast. “They can’t get out of their own way on the offensive side of the football.”

Schlereth then talks about Washington’s sack problem. The Commanders have allowed 40 sacks, some of which are on Howell for holding the ball too long.

“I was watching the film, and I wanted to be sick for Sam Howell,” Schlereth said. Schlereth and his host then discuss how not all sacks are on the offensive line, and as a former offensive lineman, Schlereth is often quick to defend those who play in the trenches.

“In this case, they are awful,” Schlereth said of Washington’s offensive line. “They cannot pick up a blitz. They cannot snap a game off. Like, it is…..unreal. They should dress up for Halloween as vampires because I ain’t never seen so many neck-sucking bloodsuckers that don’t see anything going on around them……..Pull your head out and actually look for the twister. Pay attention — to the blitzer. It’s as bad as it gets.”

He wasn’t done.

“They can’t run it,” Schlereth said of the Commanders. ‘They can’t throw it. They didn’t separate from man to man…….They couldn’t do anything.”

Please tell us what you really think, Mark.

Here’s the full podcast, and you can find Schlereth talking about the Commanders at around the 14:25 mark.

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