Next Day Thread: Washington vs. Tampa

[KDawg]

It was inevitable. WFT and its fans had resigned themselves to looking at quarterbacks to try to figure out the future of the franchise. There was no shot this team was going to beat Tampa Bay this week. So... it was the perfect opportunity for the Football Team to win a game, tank the draft position and reignite the playoff hopes of a franchise who rides this teeter totter seemingly on a regular basis. Are we good? Are we not? 

 

Taylor Heinicke. Let's set aside the starter conversation. He isn't a long term starter in the league at the moment. His arm just isn't strong enough. But look beyond his arm. Watch his quarterback skills. He can elude almost everything (and as he gets more experience he is learning. He eluded a big sack then got sacked early in the game and later in the game he eludes a big sack and gets rid of the ball). He carries out his fakes extremely well. He has a pretty quick release. The guy has excellent quarterback skills. Some of the best I've seen in some instances (like the fakes). He is missing some size and a live arm. If he had those he could be our guy. But... he doesn't. But he is absolutely a guy we need to keep on this roster and as our wild card/playmaker. He is a gamer, hard nosed and the prototypical quarterback as far as work ethic, desire and charisma is concerned.

 

Jon Allen. He is the best defensive lineman on this team. Period. Daron Payne is next. Watching these guys play football is fun. And, not to pile on, but the defense almost functioned better without Young and Sweat on the field than it has with them. Why? Not entirely sure. I think there was a spark there that hasn't been there. Toney, Toohill, Smith-Williams... Those guys came on the field and brought it. Play after play. And Jon Allen was the anchor. 

 

Terry McLaurin. That's all. Terry McLaurin. 

 

What we may have learned this season is that we have our slot receiver on the roster... And it was a guy most of us thought was only here to return kicks. DeAndre Carter may very well be our best free agent acquisition of 2021.

 

Our running game wasn't great. Gibson isn't seeing things well. But I love that we stuck with it and I love that Gibson said, "alright... let me keep my head in this..." and then got the yards when they mattered most. 

 

Other notes/Quick hitters:

 

Jamin Davis - Led the team in tackles and had a big one late in the game on a screen that he used that sideline to sideline speed to get to and secure a tackle. If he doesn't do that, Tampa scores on that play. They scored anyways, but what a play. He is coming around very nicely and its great to see. No coincidence that the D is playing better now that he is playing more.

 

Kendall Fuller/WJ3 - Both played much better early in the game. And then they both made pretty big mistakes to negate that. But it is forward progress.

 

Kam Curl - A top 3 defensive player on this roster in my opinion. Dude is an absolute monster.

 

Dax Milne - Yes, he fumbled. But take it easy on him. He knew he was coming into contact. He covered up the ball with two hands and an all pro linebacker punched the ball out from a seventh round rookie. Sometimes the players on the other team just make good plays.

 

John Bates - I like him... But that fumble was one of the least athletic things to ever occur on a football field

 

Landon Collins - Has played much better in the box. Not worth that contract but this guy is an athlete and is playing with confidence. 

 

Joey Slye - He and Way are our kicker/punter duo. This dude flew down the field and made a tackle on a kick off. Count me in. This is the Slye Way.

 

Adam Humphries - One catch. But it was a big one. 

 

Awards:

 

*** - Jon Allen

** - Taylor Heinicke

* -  Terry McLaurin

 - Kendall Fuller

  - Dax Milne (I'm not mad at you. But that was a bad place for that fumble to happen. You'll grow and you have a future in DC, in my opinion)

   - William Jackson III (can't have that penalty)

 

Season to Date:

 

* x9 - Terry McLaurin

* x7 - Jon Allen

* x4 - Tress Way

* x4 - Taylor Heinicke

* x3 - Antonio Gibson

* x3 - JD McKissick 

* x2 - Logan Thomas

* x1 - Kam Curl

* x1 - Benjamin St Juste

* x1 - DeAndre Carter

* x1 - Jamin Davis

  x2- William Jackson III

 x2 - Dax Milne

 x2 - Bobby McCain

 x3- Cole Holcomb

 x3 - Dustin Hopkins

 x3 - Charles Leno, Jr.

 x4 - Chase Young

 x6- Kendall Fuller

 x7 - Landon Collins

 x7 - Jon Bostic 

[Chris 44]

Thank you KDawg.  Id like to add props to the O line in there also. May not have been great at times in pas pro but run blocked well (TB has a very good D line). Center Tyler Larsen had a good game stepping n for Rouillier. 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I no longer watch this team, I follow them on the Red Zone Channel.  But I had to go back and watch after seeing what they did. This is the great thing about sports, you never really know what's going to happen and few saw this coming. 

 

I'm happy for Taylor. He is most definitely not the long term answer but he is a very valuable backup and I hope they keep him for a long time.  That drive was one for the ages, reminded me of the old Gibbs teams.  Fun to watch even though I knew the result. 

[bakedtater1]

😀😀

[KDawg]

10 minutes ago, Chris 44 said:

Thank you KDawg.  Id like to add props to the O line in there also. May not have been great at times in pas pro but run blocked well (TB has a very good D line). Center Tyler Larsen had a good game stepping n for Rouillier. 

 

Yes they do. I struggle with talking too much offensive line... as a line coach at heart and someone who did it for 10+ years I don't like saying much about the line until I watch it back. And I probably won't watch it back. But from what I saw... yes. They played pretty well!

[MrJL]

a key thing about Slye, I feel like yesterday was the first time we have been 100% rational with the kicking game in FOREVER!.  He's a former Panthers kicker and he was available, why the one game Blewit experiment?

[method man]

Agreed about the Milne fumble. I don’t think you really get mad at that as a coach as he attempted to do the right thing. I was a fan of his watching him at BYU and it is amazing how he has transformed from a deep threat in college to a great route runner in the pros. He has been more impressive than Dyami to me and has gotten it done with excellent route running and smarts

 

This team needs to resign Carter to a multiyear contract NOW. He probably takes a 2 to 3 year deal with guarantees. He has been very impressive.

 

I’d also give Leno a long term deal and hopefully he wants to stay. This team was very lucky to get a starter at LT so late in FA

[DJHJR86]

That was Heinicke's best game, and the team's best game from 2021.  Slye definitely deserves more praise than I am seeing him get.  

[Koolblue13]

I think I posted the same take about Bates and Milne.   What are you gonna do? Bates is going to get laughed at for a while over that one, but otherwise he looked pretty good. I think there is a definite future for him in the league. They kept showing Milne on the sidelines pouting and I think the kid cried. Poor kid.   

 

Holcomb, Davis and Collins is actually a pretty good LBer trio. Holcomb has really come on, since he isn't lining everyone up even after the snap and has been able to just play football. Davis looks better every single week and that's exciting. He's putting it together.

 

The Evans TD was more on Brady catching Curl cheating the play and getting caught, than Fuller getting beat IMO. Fuller had a great game.

 

The Allen Payne duo is unbelievably good. Allen is definitely going to the probowl this year. He is unstoppable and a lot of that is playing with Payne. Payne made a few of his one handed grabs on the running back yesterday, which is bonkers, since Fournette is a beast, but Payne is so strong.

 

The announcers kept talking about Gibson falling in love with the 4 yard carry. Our Game Plan was obviously to just line up and hit the man in front of you, until they can't stop you and we did exactly that, which lead to a great final drive that they just couldn't stop. Our Oline deserves a game ball or 6. I can only imagine what we'd be doing with a true RB1 behind it and a QB that hits quick and long. I think it took balls for Turner to call a game like that and we took it to heart and played the more physical game.

 

Without our 2 best Olinemen, the Oline was dominant all day. That's just awesome.

 

I'm excited for the youth movement the second half of the year. The DEs and TEs specifically. Sucks how it happened to get them in there, but it's exciting to watch. 

[Chris 44]

1 minute ago, method man said:

Agreed about the Milne fumble. I don’t think you really get mad at that as a coach as he attempted to do the right thing. I was a fan of his watching him at BYU and it is amazing how he has transformed from a deep threat in college to a great route runner in the pros. He has been more impressive than Dyami to me and has gotten it done with excellent route running and smarts

 

This team needs to resign Carter to a multiyear contract NOW. He probably takes a 2 to 3 year deal with guarantees. He has been very impressive.

 

I’d also give Leno a long term deal and hopefully he wants to stay. This team was very lucky to get a starter at LT so late in FA

Agreed on Milne...he will use this as a learning experience. Yes, Carter has been a great surprise, no longer hold my breath when he fields kicks and what he has done as a WR is a bonus!

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Full 10 min drive...

 

 

[Chris 44]

6 minutes ago, Koolblue13 said:

 

 

The Evans TD was more on Brady catching Curl cheating the play and getting caught, than Fuller getting beat IMO. Fuller had a great game.

 

 

Did you catch the Fuller/Rivera interaction with the ref after that play. Fuller telling (showing and grabbing, demonstrating to the ref) the ref how Evans grabbed him and pulled him in and then used his other arm to swim by him? Thought that was a pretty interesting convo.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Chris 44

[Koolblue13]

2 minutes ago, Chris 44 said:

Did you catch the Fuller/Rivera interaction with the ref after that play. Fuller telling (showing and grabbing, demonstrating to the ref) the ref how Evans grabbed him and pulled him in and then used his other arm to swim by him? Thought that was a pretty interesting convo.

Yeah, I saw that. I wouldn't mind a 6'5" 230lbs WR on our team.

Edited November 15, 2021 by Koolblue13

[tmandoug1]

No award for Slye guy? Everytime we lost our momentum this year was because of a missed kick...or so it seemed. Dude needs at least one award!

[KDawg]

1 minute ago, tmandoug1 said:

No award for Slye guy? Everytime we lost our momentum this year was because of a missed kick...or so it seemed. Dude needs at least one award!

He was mentioned. A kicker making kicks doesn't get a reward unless they are huge kicks. That is their job. 

[The Hangman- C_Hanburger]

Not to be a debbie downer..but..where was this intensity in the previous games? What changed. The DE's??? Playing within the scheme...Offense has been "OK" considering how many players went down/not there. Did they stop "chipping" the DE's and played straight up for the 1st time?

 

This just seemed like a more motivated team with hungrier players playing....Is that coaching?

 

I had accepted that this team couldn't play a good team and resigned to doing something else on Sundays. AGAIN..they screwed up my plan...

[Wildbunny]

I'm still amazed that our LB are playing way better with Bostic out.

This team seems to be better with less starters and playing back ups. That's quite fun.

 

Not getting mad at Milne too, that's learning curve, and I still have memories of his first NFL catch, with toes barely inbounds and extended outbounds to catch that ball.

Carter, McLaurin, they're just igniting our Offense like we haven't for years.

 

And that first TD for Gibson. What a push from the OL! Those guys weren't going to be denied in by the DL and forced Gibson into the endzone. I don't remember seeing so much kind of effort from our OL in a long time as well. That was old school football and so good to see.

 

Joey Slye fielding kick offs and running down for the tackle? You just have to love that attitude, even if St coach probably don't like it much as you don't want your K to be injured.

 

More than the score and the victory, which is really cool, it was refreshing to see this team give Tampa a good fight, and play football. These last weeks they seemed to be not into playing football and this to me is what made the game fun and interesting to watch. I thought that Brady would have another stunning comeback. But then Heinicke commanded the offense to march down the field for 10 minutes...

 

Those guys should be cautious, I'm gonna expect the same kind of effort next week.

 

Things to watch for these week: Injuries update to Chase Young and Ricky Seal-Jones. Both seemed ugly and I don't expect both to be back this year, but  we'll have for the official word about it.

[Koolblue13]

9 minutes ago, Califan007 said:

Full 10 min drive...

 

 

Is that Toms guru at the 7 minute mark? I would have expected that from Karen Rodgers.

[NoVaSkins21]

11 minutes ago, Califan007 said:

Full 10 min drive...

This is what a Brady-led team would usually do to someone else.  The fact that this team did that to him is what is really impressive.  Very good win.  Whether it means something, remains to be seen.

[Reaper Skins]

That McLaurin catch and celebration looked like Rocky Balboa getting off the mat against Ivan Drago. 

 

Watch the Bucs players on the sideline in the background on the replay, they can't believe he got up after that hit

[Chris 44]

Refreshing to see no drive stalling penalties on offense. Look much more disciplined in that area. Getting the Bucs to jump offsides was huge( dont understand why they would jump, was kind of obvious in that instance what Heineke was doing, good job by him).   With this offense, staying in front of the down and distance is paramount.

[skinny21]

1 hour ago, Chris 44 said:

Thank you KDawg.  Id like to add props to the O line in there also. May not have been great at times in pas pro but run blocked well (TB has a very good D line). Center Tyler Larsen had a good game stepping n for Rouillier. 

I thought Larsen was going to get his teeth kicked in by Vea, so yeah, color me impressed. Our guards though are just fun to watch - both of them guys that go looking for work.  

[El Mexican]

So this is our "Steelers game" of 2021. Huge upset that changes the season around in our favor.

 

The additional game at the end of the year changes things considerably. There's more room for mistakes, something we watched during the first part of the season.

 

Having said that, TH had a huge game at 9.8 yards per completion. This forces me to reconsider my mid season slump around him: he's good and the team would an absolute clown show without his level of play.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by El Mexican

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

We had 39 minutes of possession to their 21.  73 offensive plays to their 48.  What a grind it out performance.

 

I kind of want to give a shout out to the refs, they seemed good.  Good spots, good no flags, picked up some flags.  Bucs had some huge hits I thought were H2H, but then replay showed it otherwise.  Lots of refs would toss the flag with how fast the game moves.

 

5 WR's got snaps, and Dyami Brown only had 8.  Either he's still fairly hurt, or he's just not developing.  Milne, Carter, Sims, and Humphries all had more.

 

Landon Collins started over Davis, but Davis in half the snaps was the most noticeable LB.  Maybe a reduced role is what let's him learn and play more instinctively.

 

Jon Allen is having an All-Pro caliber season.  If the WFT rebounds, he might get the accolade.  Kind of crazy he made a leap.  Was pretty good for 4 years, but suddenly in his 5th year he became great.

 

Really curious what the backup Edge guys look like on a film breakdown.  I heard Shaka Toney flashed in his limited snaps.  I hope he gets more playing time.

[Warhead36]

The stats look a little weird. I thought Gibson ran well but the YPC weren't great. McLaurin's #s weren't amazing but he made the big catches when it mattered. The offense dominated ToP and honestly should have scored more points. Heinicke had his best game of the season when you factor in the opponent and the injuries. And once again give some credit to Scott Turner. I know not every playcall was wonderful but we had another game with only one punt.

 

Defensively, yeah Allen was a monster. If he's not named All Pro that would be a crime akin to genocide. I thought Fuller and Jackson played well too. Jackson's facemask was inexcusably dumb but beyond that, he wasn't really getting beat much. Fuller gave up that big play to Evans but I think that was more just getting beat by two future HOF-ers than anything else, I'm not gonna kill him for that. The LB play seems much better now but Davis is still a little bit slow reacting. Holcomb was really good in the open field and Collins doesn't completely suck at OLB.