Is Coach Ron Rivera Claiming Expectations 'Too High' for Washington?

With a 2-3 start to the season, Washington is behind expectations of many outside the WFT organization - but maybe inside, too.

Surely Washington Football team head coach Ron Rivera knows how this works. A program goes from zero one year to a playoff berth the following year, and the next year?

The program is expected to take another step forward. 

Therefore, given the fact that the WFT is off to just a 2-3 start to the season?

“You almost want to say, ‘I wish 7-9 last year wouldn’t have been good enough to win the division,'' Rivera said via 106.7 the Fan’s The Sports Junkies. "That way expectations would have been much lower and it would have been a little bit easier.''

Of course, again: That's not the way any of this works. And Rivera knows it. 

Fact is, expectations for this team this year were not "too high.'' Expectations were, rather, normal.

And, given the fact that we're just now approaching Week 6, expectations can remain right there, by the way.

Last year, Washington battled its way to a 7-9 season, a non-winning record that was nevertheless good enough to win the NFC East division title. Then came a fine showing in their wild-card loss to the eventual Super Bowl champ Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Are there reasons the WFT isn't taking the next step? Sure. Chase Young, who won Defensive Rookie of the Year last year, hasn't dominated (yet). New QB Ryan Fitzpatrick got hurt in Week 1. New receiver Curtis Samuel has spent most of his WFT career nursing an injury. Now All-Pro offensive lineman Brandon Scherff is hurt, too.

But none of this should lower the goals, even as Rivera is rightly stressing that long-term development and growth is an important part of the picture.

“We’re trying to focus in on what’s truly the development of this football team for the long run, not an overnight fix,” Rivera said.  This is hard. This is the way it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be hard because it’s the only way you learn.”

In other words, "hard'' can be good. But high expectations can be good, too. And nobody is looking for an "overnight fix''; Washington watchers are looking for fixes over the course of two years ... fixes that have yet to show themselves in 2021.