KDawg

So good scouting matters. Got it.

The point was Darnold and Wilson were both guys I personally wasn't fond of. I wasn't alone in that assessment. And I'm not a pro scout. Picking bad players is the issue. Not the draft position.

You’re using the Jets as your barometer for sound drafting?

Right. He is improving and reps make quarterbacks improve. But they still have ceilings. Heinicke’s absolute top of the mountain ceiling is around a top 16-20 QB because of his arm limitations. The gunslinger mentality actually helps him more than it hurts him but that is shaky ground for him to be standing on. On a normal day he’s a bottom third starter which generally equates to NFL backup for tenured vets. But he would be greatly more valuable if he used his legs more often. It’s like he’s terrified of running. When you are an undersized QB with a limited arm you have to use your legs for sustained success. Lamar Jackson is a prototype sized QB with a big arm and he uses his legs. Hurts is similar. An undersized guy has to do it.

My guess is he stinks at the read portion of it and leaves himself exposed too often. But that is an outsider perspective and I have no way of actually knowing.

I think Rivera is a decent coach and a good people manager. The guy is coaching the Washington Franchise CommandSkins. His entire tenure has been shielding Snyder. The team's fight reflects him. Yes. But the earlier season woes also reflects him. But he is doing a semi decent job in this situation given the circumstance. That won't change in two weeks. Two months. A year from now. But that doesn't mean he's a high end coach because of what's going on. And, quite frankly, Heinicke isn't a high end quarterback because of the record, either. We are a team who at the moment is playing better. Not because of just WJ3, but because McCain is no longer the FS, WJ3 is off the field, Holcomb hasn't been playing and our interior DL is the most dominant tandem in the NFL. Our receivers are playing about as good as expected given Heinicke is the QB (which is also a positive point when he gets the ball to these guys in tough situations, and its a negative one when he tries it and throws a pick or a should be pick). But really, the heroes are the running backs. Our backs are amongst the lowest in yards before contact in the league. I think they are both in the low 2.0s. Yet they churn out yards because of their running style and skill. We're winning because they are leaning into our strengths and shying away from weaknesses. Not just in play calls, but in the way the guys are playing as well. Yes, that is in part to coaching. Yes, that is in part to the players (Heinicke both included and excluded).

No not totally brain dead. And actually it was a smart “risk” that still qualifies as a bad decision. But his arm strength is limiting and he doesn’t always realize it. That gets him in trouble at times.

Yeah, I disagree. I think he saw 3 and thought he had enough loft on it to get it over him. Instead he threw it 5 yards in front of the receiver and to his back foot.

yeah, that's him side stepping in the pocket.

Heinicke is pretty bad on designed roll outs. Do you mean plays where he manipulates the pocket? Plays where he breaks the pocket and throws on the run?

It is an underthrow. Him having to jump doesn't have anything to do with it. The ball was in his wing span. It should have been over his head and deeper. It was a bad read and a bad throw.

I can tell you WHY Heinicke made the decision. He thought his arm strength was better than it is and he was going to put it over the top of 54 and 3 but he underthrew it into a triple coverage situation with two trails and one over. It was a bad decision to throw to triple, over belief in his arm strength.

I mean, it was a terrible decision and ball. I get defending Heinicke based on how the team plays when he is at the quarterback position, but people need to understand that Heinicke makes a lot of questionable decisions. Sometimes that results in miracle plays (Samuels against Minnesota, any time he lofts it to McLaurin and he makes a miraculous snag). Sometimes it results in ugly turnovers.

Who said anything about controversy? Where did you pull that out of?

Last year was a little different. The ends were getting too vertical, but they were running there purposely trying to get into the backfield, even on run plays. It was like they were getting bad reads. Then they'd loop behind the ball carrier/QB as the OT shielded the pocket and guided them there. And they went. They didn't redirect. Sweat actually showed Sunday he has learned a bit and once he got deep into the backfield he trailed back and made an inside move and picked up a sack because of Toohill's contain awareness. So they do it at times. And do it well. One play in particular stands out RE: my original post. JSW was bull rushing. He drove the OT straight back about 7 yards. Our DT to that side was doubled and stonewalled. Not giving space but not getting space. The back cut right inside the vertical B and got to the perimeter, where we at times struggle to defend and got a bunch of yards because of the lack of vertical gap discipline. Our backer to that side got caved off the double on the DT (I believe it was Bostic) because he didn't make his read fast enough.

Are people liking Pickett? I haven't seen much from him to make me think he's much different than Heinicke. With less experience. And less moxie. So far. I want to stress that. Players develop. Willis/Ridder wouldn't have seen the field, either. Howell was probably more pro ready than both of them. If they are hesitant to put Howell on the field they'd be hesitant to put either of them on the field as well. I still don't understand why people discount Howell. He had a different season his senior year, but he had a ton of game experience, succeeded with great players around him and no one around him. Ran for ~1000 yards his senior season after losing his top two receivers, backs and some OL. Played behind a putrid OL. Has a rocket arm. Footwork is cagey but Heinicke's is as well. Heinicke's edge right now is experience and playbook. Howell has better physical traits. Heinicke is a high end quarterback when it pertains to the mechanical stuff outside of footwork and decision making (which is getting better to be 100% honest.)

The issue is we, at bare minimum, need to get 2 new OL, possibly 3. Wouldn’t be mad at a fourth but Rome wasn’t built in a day. The other issue is that, despite what Heinicke has done, going into another full season with him as the starter is worrisome. Howell would need to show he can do it for me to be comfortable with Howell/Heinicke. Then again, here’s the issue there: there may not be a viable alternative to that scenario.

Payne was dominant. Allen played terrific from the eye test but it’s hard to ID grades for OL and DL without actually studying the film. So I generally try to avoid it unless things jump off. But yes, no disagreement from me that Allen was excellent per usual.

He didn't stand out. I mean he did, but not to the point of being a game breaker. He was solid in what he did. If you notice, Curl is one of my favorite players on the defense and I think he is a top three player on it. But look at how many stars he has this year. He's a player for sure.

I mean, yeah. McLaurin was targeted less with Wentz because he wasn't AS open as Samuels/Dotson. And the times he was Wentz didn't expect him to be. And he didn't force the ball into Terry. Heinicke forces the ball into McLaurin at a much higher rate than the other receivers. But in doing so he barely looks the other guys' way. That is part of why Heinicke isn't the long term answer but worth rooting for in the short term.

I'm interested to see why you think the ILB is responsible for the perimeter run D or the edges getting too far up field.

I saw no duds in the sense that with the way the team has been playing it's hard to be negative. Bostic was meh. Gets caught flat footed too often. Our ends get too vertical up field at times opening vertical lanes and our perimeter run support isn't the best. Combine that with Patterson and Algier being explosive and hard nosed and you have a tough day. That's where the personnel issues on D raise their head. But fortunately we have some dudes on the D that can erase those things in other ways and win on other plays to negate those a little.

Start with the elephant in the room: Taylor Heinicke. He played poorly by virtually any standard. Yes, the weather conditions were harsh. But he stacked poor decisions on top of each other and just wasn't having a good day with the football. The pass to Bates in the back of the end zone is an example of his lack of natural NFL arm strength. Because he has to use his whole body and a lot of hip torque to generate zip on the ball (it certainly had some zip on it) he appeared to throw it more off his back foot than he intended (I have not watched the game back, so this is a real time observation) and it sailed a touch high. That was his day yesterday. I think the biggest thing with Heinicke is that the team doesn't try to get too cute with the passing game with him. The players believe in him and he has a very short memory, and since they know the key to winning with him is the run game and minimizing his pass attempts the team has to put the ball in our backs' hands more often. Therefore, the combination of Heinicke's overall Jedi ways, the running game and the defense has led to a winning formula for this football team. It's tough for some people to ride the wave, and I think it's in part due to the fact that they think admitting that the team is winning with Heinicke may reach the ears of the Football Gods and he will be our starter for the next decade. It won't. We are in need of an upgrade at quarterback and it's fairly clear. But for the time being, even an off day from Heinicke can allow this team to win. And when he's on our offense makes plays where it matters. We don't light up the scoreboard but with this defense we don't necessarily need to. My advice: Ride the wave. Enjoy the run. It could end at any point so getting caught up in the Heinicke Hysteria is a detriment to you. Snyder is selling soon. The team has a winning record in December. Brian Robinson is an absolute mauler. His legs don't stop, he can catch, he is finding the holes and he is back to Alabama form after being shot. Again. He was shot. For the Gibson fans out there that were appalled that we drafted Robinson because they thought Gibson was a lead back... I was among Gibson's biggest fans (along with @Skinsinparadise) when we drafted him. But there was too much being put on his plate and we weren't able to use him dynamically and he got dinged up and ball security issues popped up due to those things. The addition of Robinson has made Gibson much more dangerous. Oh, and Jonathan Williams. Guy runs similarly to BRob. That is a nightmare backfield for teams to defend. Our receivers were quiet in this one, but that happens when your QB struggles. The defense is missing some key pieces that makes for some explosive plays at times. But what they aren't missing are the two interior defensive tackles. I am willing to say it... as a duo we have the best interior tackle duo in the NFL. There are individuals that may be better than Allen and Payne but no one... no one... is better than the two of them together. Montez Sweat made plays when they needed to be made as well. JSW and Toohill have done well all things considered, but a healthy Chase Young can make things really interesting if he is even semi-close to the form we thought we were getting when we drafted him. Daron Payne's batted down pass was a thing of absolute beauty. The TFLs... Pay him. They should have paid him on the flight home. Yes, I know they played in Washington. But I would have gotten him a plane, flew him around in circles for an hour and signed him and then landed it on his street. Flight violations... pfft. We have to get him inked. ASAP. I'm also willing to say this: We have one of the best young safety duos in the league. They remind me of Hyde/Poyer in Buffalo. Forrest is the ballhawk, hard hitting safety who plays very much in the mold of Sean Taylor. No, he's not ST. That is a lofty expectation. But his style is so similar. Downhill wrecking ball and a ballhawk. Kam Curl is the most fundamentally sound player in our secondary. He doesn't force/get many turnovers. But he's there. Where is there? There. Everywhere. Jamin Davis. Not much else I need to say about him. I've said it week after week. He is a player and he is, by a wide margin, our best linebacker on the roster and may be for the considerable future. His sideline to sideline speed, his sure tackles, his reads, his ability to play downhill and cover. That is why they drafted him. These moments. These games. Kendall Fuller is a bit of a ballhawk, too. I think our fanbase undervalues him but not necessarily because of his play but his cost and we as a group feel like he won't be back next year so we've kind of detached. But he finds the ball. Routinely. We are a LB, Edge (Young may fix this and should but we'll see), hybrid and depth positions away from being a high end defense. The spots that are weak are very weak (not every position can be stacked) and slight improvement from those spots mean a much scarier defense... and it's been really good for weeks. Joey Slye -> I'm not sure what to think. Terry McLaurin watch: Heading into today he was 13th all time in Washington Football Redskin Commander Team History with 3,882 yards. Today he added 48 yards bringing him to 3,930. #12 is Henry Ellard with 3,930 (McLaurin is tied with him for #12 all time) and #11 is Michael Westbrook with 4,280. He's in range for both this year. On this season McLaurin has 50 receptions for 785 yards. Sweat/Allen/Payne career sack placing: For career sacks, all three guys are in the top 20 in Washington history. Jon Allen leads the way at #9 with 32.5. He needs 2 to pass Andre Carter and 3.5 to pass the great Dave Butz for #7 all-time. Sweat is second. He passed Darryl Grant for #11 all time. He is 1.5 away from passing Bruce Smith for #10 in franchise history. Da'Ron Payne is tied for 20th with 21. He needs 1 sack to move to #19 and 2 to pass LaVar Arrington for #18. Studs and Duds: *** - Daron Payne *** - Kendall Fuller *** - Brian Robinson ** - Antonio Gibson ** - Darrick Forrest ** - Montez Sweat * - Jonathan Williams * - Jack Del Rio * - Scott Turner (both coordinators probably deserve more than a star for their gameplans in this one, but this should be more about the players. But their plans were noticed) * - John Bates No duds. Season to date: * x 16 - Daron Payne * x 13 - Terry McLaurin * x 12 - Jon Allen * x 7 - Curtis Samuel * x 7 - Darrick Forrest * x 7 - Montez Sweat * x 7 - Antonio Gibson * x 6 - Benjamin St-Juste * x 6 - Jamin Davis * x 5 - Brian Robinson * x 5 - Kendall Fuller * x 5 - Jahan Dotson * x 3- Dyami Brown * x 3 - Back Judge in Vikings Game * x 3 - Jack Del Rio * x 2 - Joey Slye * x 1 - Scott Turner * x 1 - Rachad Wildgoose * x 1 - James Smith-Williams * x 1 - Jonathan Williams * x 1 - John Bates x 1 - Wes Schweitzer x 3 -Rivera's Clock Management x 3 - Cam Sims x 4 - John Ridgeway x 5 - Charles Leno x 5 - Trai Turner x 6 - Nick Martin x 6 - WJ3 x 7 - Sam Cosmi x 8 - Andrew Norwell

You know, I don’t appreciate the lack of respect for Heinicke. He willed that batted down pass and interception. Just like last season when he Jedi Mind Tricked Payne and Allen into punching each other. He’s a Jedi.

Teams love getting penalties on key plays at the end of the game against us. Who was the guy who hit Way? He gets a star.