ThomasRoane

In the beginning, there was Joe Jackson Gibbs. Then came coaches like Marty 😛 Gibbs was a master at power and play action. He was also versatile enough to spread you out and use the pass game as a running game. The bunch (3 receivers in a V) began with him - see the fun bunch. I've been trying to make a case for a while that I thought Heinicke is the perfect Play action QB. Imagine him paired with the Shanahan zone stretch. The problem early on was that Turner wouldn't commit to it. His dad had that problem. That doesn't mean that you just keep running on 1st down. I hated when Gruden did that. Pound draw was the first play almost every time. Usually ended up with a loss of yardage. So, commiting to the run means you may throw on first and 10 but run on 2nd and 10. Be unpredictable but make sure that your calls are at least 55% run and 45% pass.

More important to keep Allen and Payne than the two DE's IMO.

No doubt. I'm more of a WFT fan than a Heinicke fan. I'm with RR's original philosophy of building a great team first (meaning above average personnel on both sides of the ball) and then adding the franchise QB. They could do a lot worse than Heinicke as a placeholder. I just don't want to see the team panic and trade a boat load of draft capitol for an unknown. I remember how bad the defense was in the years following the trade for RG III. Those picks really set the team back talent wise. Drafted players on rookie contracts (who are hungry to prove themselves to get paid) generally perform better and are more durable than the free agent merc's who come to your team to get paid; based on what they did for another team. The bargain free agents this year (Oline, Carter, Humphries, etc.) have outperformed the high-priced FAs dramatically. I like how the team is trending talent wise. I don't see a need to panic and mortgage the future to draft someone you're not sure of. If they knew they could get a Joe Burrow or Herbert then hell yeah! You go and get that guy. I don't see one of those in College this year though.

Probably less to do with rest and a lot more to do with Heinicke, Zampese, and Turner doing some self-scouting. On game week, all your time is spent studying your opponent and getting comfortable with the game plan. When I coached, if we had a bye week, or a team I knew we would stomp, I'd get back to fundamentals. I'd really focus on correcting bad habits we had noticed players making before. You get more time to drill and work on the footwork and I find players learn a lot more looking at themselves (critical self-evaluation) than they do in studying the opponent. Again though, in game week you better be studying your opponent more than yourself!

Yeah, that pretty much covers it SIP. Nailed it. On the con's, only arm strength has a ceiling. Although, we did see Drew Brees get stronger. Or was he just insanely accurate and pretty much always on time? Hard to say. Drew could certainly spin it. Drew also had a coach who believed in him. Heinicke probably only has Turner right now. If he wins Rivera over, will arm strength become less of a factor? It's certainly possible. Comfort in the scheme, better throwing platform (better feet), quicker decision making, etc. All those can help offset the problem. I'd say now that the only throw I'd be uncomfortable with him throwing is the deep out. That 15 - 20 yard bench route. However, I feel very good with him throwing an out route that breaks around the 12 yard mark. If a QB can pick up a 3rd and 10 - 12 yarder then, taking everything else into consideration (intangibles), you can win it all with that guy; if he's surrounded by above average talent on offense and defense. Which is what Rivera is shooting for based on his comments. Man it would be nice for Heinicke to get his buddy Logan Thomas back! And Curtis Samuels. I would really like to see what Heinicke could do with all his weapons and with a healthy Gibson who overcomes his ball security issues. Getting Cosmi healthy couldn't hurt either. It would really be nice to see DC drawing the third best corner. He's a player who really ascending and Taylor has a lot of confidence in him; obviously. Carter could be as deadly as a healthy Antonio Brown is for Tampa. Milne and Bates are growing on me as well. Neither are super athletes but you can tell they're both football players. Love the game and will do whatever is asked. Of course, not forgetting Hump either. His option routes are nasty. Does a really good job of keeping defenders guessing.

I think he has a very quick release. He can really torque his upper body to get the ball out fast; even off his back foot. He's made some very tight-window throws. That skinny post to Cam Sims was amazing. A half a second late and it's tipped or picked. He's also shown he's a multiplatform thrower. Ideally, you want him to rely less on that but I'd rather have to coach my QB to dial that down than to teach him how to create throwing angles. That's something you have or you don't. It's innate.

Nor hold babies!

Agreed. Take a shot every year. HOWEVER! I'm not in favor of taking a QB just to get one. However, if rounds 1 - 3 if you can get a player you think will start then you do that over a QB you're not in love with. Fourth round and down though I'd say take a shot. Even if Heinicke earns the right to start next year though and a QB is rated BPA in the first round when the WFT picks then you draft him. I've got no problems with that. Doesn't mean he has to start. Let the QB's compete of course but do not just give a player a job based on draft position. Earn it! The old-fashioned way.

I'm with @Renegade7 here. I do watch College football and no QB is blowing me away as a can't miss NFL QB. I thought maybe Caleb Williams but he needs another year or two. I believe the team should always draft a QB; like the Packers. But don't trade any draft Capitol for that position. It rarely turns out well. As the team stands today, QB is not the greatest need. Here's what I consider to be the greatest needs to help the team take the next step. 1) Safety to replace/upgrade McCain (I think it's a done deal that Collins is gone; I hope!) 2) Dependable receiver who can stay healthy and take the top off the defense. (Either a burner or the ever-elusive big receiver who can win jump balls in the end zone) 3) O-Line depth (Best available; it's not that I don't like the players they have. It's more of an injury concern for me. There's a lot of injuries there) 4) DB (Not sure what they have there. The unit has played better lately. You can never have too many good DBs though; they're tradeable assets at least) 5) Pass Rusher (I have my doubts about Sweat and Young. As of today, it seems like we may have overdrafted. Hopefully that will change but the backups seem to play with more discipline and I'm not seeing a big drop off) 6) QB to develop. (Could take one in the 1st round. I don't care. Wherever the FO thinks his value determines his draft position is fine with me. They did a good job with the draft last year. Dyami Brown is the only one I'm not sure about. He seems a little soft to me. Hopefully, it's just an injury that's holding him back and a lack of desire to play. )

Wildbunny posted this article in breaking news. If Heinicke keeps stacking up these intangibles and wins then I don't think it's gonna matter who the FO is looking at in college. Heinicke will make it difficult to move him back to the bench. They should always be drafting a QB of course. But I don't see the competition affecting Heinicke at all. He seems to thrive under pressure. Bringing in Fitz this year at ten mill certainly didn't seem to bother him.

My son played QB. Was a very good one in the City of Hampton. I told him to be careful. QB's get too much credit and too much blame. That's just how it is. But learned very early how dependent he was on his O-line, backs, and receivers. There is no QB who is going to lead a crappy team to a Super Bowl victory. The left Tackle doesn't care who the QB is or where he's from. As long as he can help him win a Super Bowl. Same for the Center. The Left Guard. The #1 Receiver. The defense. The punter. The Kicker. They don't care about a QB's pedigree. All that matters is whether or not that QB can help them win a Super Bowl. Who do you think the Super Bowl winning Eagles players appreciate more? Nick Foles (still bouncing around from team to team) or Carson Wentz the high draft pick? Foles got hot and helped them win a Super Bowl ring. They will always prefer Foles. This fantasy football mentality is really not good for the sport. Football is a team game. Always has been. Always will be.

You do understand that winning the Super Bowl is what the NFL is all about right? That's really all that matters.

I agree with you. I think we disagree in how we get that guy. Personally? I'm tired of giving up draft capitol and I don't like the idea of nerfing the salary cap. That big contract didn't do Russell Wilson any favors. I think the FO should have the Packers mentality. Draft a QB every year. See if you hit. Just don't throw away a guy who is keeping the fans watching in the meantime. Brad Johnson Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Your point is especially important this year with an extra game. An extra cold weather game! When I coached, I'd always emphasize the run game more as we got towards the end of the season. Because when the weather gets colder and windy the passing game just isn't as dependable. The ball is slicker. The wind carries it. Cold fingers don't respond as well. Granted, southern teams don't have as much of an issue with that; until they have to play in a cold weather game. BUT! There's also the referee factor. Ever notice how flags fly like confetti on DBs in the early part of the season and then later you can't buy a call? As the season gets closer to the end, Referees don't want to be the reason a team wins or loses. So, suddenly, all those PI calls you were getting disappear. Receivers throw their hands up and refs just stare at them. They're going to let them play. So, even in a warm weather setting, a team that can run it will have the edge. That's always going to be the case. Hell, take college football. The RPO was created to help smaller colleges to run the ball vs big defensive lines that they couldn't block. The Run option is first for a reason. Less can go wrong. And it sets up big plays in the passing game. My motto as a coach was pass to score but run to win. If you can impose your will on the opponent and win the Time of Possession you'll be competitive in every game. Take last year's Super Bowl. Fornette (89 yds)/RJ II (61 yds) rushed for 150 yards; one TD. Brady passed for 201; 3 TDs. So, forty-three percent of the yards were on the ground. Tampa called 28 runs to 29 passes (four of those passes went to Fornette for 46 yards; an extension of the running game really). Oh yeah, and all three of Brady's TD passes? Play-action. Set up by the run.

Consider the history of this franchise. Washington has been trying to find that top end QB since Sammy Baugh. There has only been one year wonders. Even in the three Super Bowl victories. I'm okay with that as a goal but let's not be naive and pretend that it's an easy thing to do. In the meantime, look how many QB's the owner has forced upon coaching staffs. Jeff George, Ramsey, McFlabb, RG III (Shanahans wanted to stay put and draft Tannehill - who is still playing btw), and Haskins. You don't think he'll get bored and force RR's hand if the team struggles? I'm tired of seeing QBs that weren't good enough for Snyder go and have success elsewhere. Don't think the fanbase would forgive a repeat with Heinicke. Especially if he continues to improve.

Right-click the link. And click open in a new tab. That works for me

What needs to be considered here is what gives you a greater chance of falling forward into a SB? 1) Trading draft capitol to take a shot at a franchise QB or consuming a large portion of your salary cap to buy a franchise QB 2) Build a solid team with a lot of depth that can win with above average (as opposed to all pro) level QB performance Baltimore, Philly, Broncos, and Seattle have won SuperBowls using the 2nd option. That's four out of the last nine SuperBowls. It's not really a one off. It's almost half.

He's got to get used to keeping that ball tight to his body. He was really looking good on that drive too.

That's an adjustment to Flowers being slow off the ball. Once he gets on his guy though Flowers is a bully. I like him. But he's not very quick. To be fair, the dude is huge and typically players his size are tackles. Guards are usually shorter and more stout. But he's very good in pass pro and when he locks on he tries to hurt his guy. Where before, Flowers man was getting in to affect the play, from the gun, the RB has the ability to read the block and make a cut. Flowers can now just take his man wherever he wants to go. I used to coach my players to take him where he wants to go and tuck him into bed. (Pancake his _ _ _!) I'll give Turner credit on this. It's a good adjustment and it's an improvement over Jay Gruden. Trying to force players to do things they weren't good at. Like expecting Jordan Reid or Veronn Davis to block anybody!

Go back and watch his runs the last couple of games. His vision and decisiveness have improved dramatically. I'm not sure what made him click. My best guess would be modeling. Which is a great teaching tool. I think watching an experienced RB like Patterson is helping Gibson. Especially since Patterson is stealing carries now. Gibson is probably thinking that coaches want to see him running more like JP. That's what he's giving them. Only he's a lot bigger and a lot faster! I'm not ready to throw in the towel on him. I would make him sleep with a football though.

Please for the Love of God do not have Collins trying to cover ANYBODY in the passing game! Especially not MaCaffrey! What the hell JDR?!?!? If he's not blitzing then he should not be on the field in an obvious passing situation. Just go with another db! I'd rather see Apke covering than Collins. That's how bad Collins is. Davis is making progress. Wait till the game slows down for him.

So, you're saying a good running game is helping Heinicke? I agree. I'd been saying for a while now that Turner should be focusing on power and play action. Really like the boot game and play action. Heinicke is really good on the move. I'd imagine Kyle Shanahan would like for Jimmy G to be more like him. But let's not act like that Heinicke is not the only QB who needs a good running game. Every QB needs to be able to just hand the ball of and let their guy do some work. You can't expect a QB to work miracle after miracle. Look at Russell Wilson without a running game. Vikings have Dalvin Cook back. And now they're good again. Look at Rodgers before Aaron Jones and DIllon came along. Last year, in Tampa's SuperBowl run Fornette was a beast. But yeah, Heinicke paired up with a strong running game is a good combination. Imagine him with more weapons to choose from. Really? Imagine Heinicke paired with Kyle Shanahan's running game.

What's so frustrating is coordinators like Gruden and Turner who insist on getting cute with the sift block. Where you expect the TE to go across the formation to block a much bigger DE with a full head of steam! Just stop it! Give the TE a fighting chance. Motion him before the play or whatever. Next issue is too often I see people passing color. What I mean by that, is let's say you are pulling or trapping or washing a defender down. As you are on your way you should never pass color! (Meaning, a different color jersey than your team has) Too often I see lineman pass up a guy who hits the RB in the backfield. Take care of the most dangerous threat first! Let the RB make the other guy miss. Then, there's an issue of sustain. Milne brush blocked a blitzing safety yesterday. He bumped him and went to the next why. WHY!?!?! That safety made the tackle!!! So yeah, a lot of the hits in the backfield are not on Gibson or any RB. A RB should not have to make a cut before he even reaches the LOS!

He is very frustrating but also very talented. Man, this kid is so close to being considered a top 5 running back. He is more patient when needed and is now learning when he just needs to lower the pads and get what he can get. But the fumbles and the brain cramp at the end! UGH!!! (Let's not forget he probably cost the team the game vs the Chargers this year too) On the fumbles, he has got to keep that ball high and tight in traffic! I'd make him keep two hands on the ball up the middle until he satisfies his opponents that his fumbling days are behind him. Until then, they'll keep tugging and punching. EDIT: Coaching point I always used was No Air between your body and the ball!!! On the out of bounds plays I saw the same thing he did. He had a shot at getting a first down and closing out the game. But it wasn't worth the risk. He will hopefully learn from that. You saw it in his face. He was so disappointed in himself. You can't give up on him. He's special. He's also still a baby as far as playing RB. He just needs more reps. McKissic and Patterson have had years of working on ball security so it's second nature to them. Gibson will get there. I think putting him in the doghouse for the first half was good coaching. It wasn't just punishment. It was also done to keep Gibson from trying to immediately make up for it and making matters worse. I'll just repeat myself here because, as a coach, I can see how close this kid is to breaking out. The game is slowing down for him as a running back. He's starting to anticipate the opening of a hole. Not just seeing daylight. But seeing the potential for daylight. He's really exciting to watch. Hopefully Bmitch will get in his hear and remind him "ball security is job security!"

Nope, I'm seeing what I had hoped to see. How many times have we seen a QB come out of nowhere and light it up? Almost every season really. Usually, there isn't much film on the player and it takes a while for the defense to pick him apart. Take away what he does best and make him adjust his game. You know the QB was just a flash in the pan if he was unable to take his game to another level. However, if the QB is able to survive a four game skid and make the necessary adjustments to improve then you're looking at real gold. Maybe not 24 carrot. Time will tell. But gold is gold. I love how all the negative Nancys completely gloss over the fact that Heinicke is working with Goodwill caliber receivers. Mahomes struggled but never lost Kelce, Hill, and a whole host of speedy receivers. Heinicke has Terry and that's the ONLY player who could no doubt start for any NFL team in the league. Carter, the 2nd best option, was a career kick/punt returner before this season. He's working with a rookie 3rd string TE. If Gibson didn't have fumblitis (especially in the red zone) yesterday's game would probably have been over before the 4th quarter began. The O-line is playing exceptionally well for all the adversity they're going thru as far as injury and shuffling. You don't think that maybe even a little of their exceptional effort is because they understand that if they can give #4 some time he will find a way to help them win? Whichever rookie you draft you're going to go thru the same process. You will have to see what that player does when the league catches up. There are no guaranted starters coming out of college. You never know what you'll get but you can see what you have now week to week. A straight up baller who loves football and will do anything to win.