Aside from sheer sloppiness and injuries aplenty the early NFL season has produced an interesting trend: The blowout loss turns into a solid victory a week later. Look no farther than Washington’s turnaround from the Green Bay loss. 28-17 doesn’t sound like a blowout, but the game was never competitive. A week later, with the wunderkind Quarterback up in a suite far removed from the field the WFT played relatively well. There were a number of such bounce backs around the League. One stands out. The Chicago Bears did their best impersonation of a collection of crash test dummies against the Detroit Lions. A week later they throttled the Cowboys. The reportage out of Chicago was that the week’s practices were, shall we say, not fun. Coaches did their best impersonation of Drill Sergeants at Parris Island. For the players it was a group trip to the proverbial woodshed. And, it worked.
Fallout
In Carolina it was less the blowout than the accumulation of losses coupled with incessant ridicule that lit the flame. Incredulously they beat a team by 30-points that was favored by 5.5-points. As luck, or lack thereof would have it that team is Washington’s next opponent; Atlanta.
The Atlanta Head Coach is Raheem Morris. The jury is very much out on whether he is a really good Head Coach or not. Pundits have their quills sharpened in anticipation of a skewering should Atlanta lose this week. But, Morris is as smart as they come, very articulate without a trace of “Coach Speak.” His interviews are top shelf. Whether he can parlay those qualities into a successful run or not is the mystery.
If looking at the 30-0 drubbing by the Panthers last week induces smug confidence in Washington’s chances this week then stop looking at it. This Atlanta team has weapons. Running Back Bijan Robinson is a force. Their Tight End Kyle Pitts has not lived up to his #4-overall Draft Pick status. But, he caught a Touchdown pass from young Michael Penix, Jr with time expiring on fourth-down last year here in Washington. He averages around 6-targets per game. Penix Jr is still settling in. But, there is a lot of talent there. With four whole starts in his career he has led two late game drives to either tie the game or put his team in position to win. To hear pundits souring on him this early on is simply stupefying. When the chips are down this young man has more than enough “It” factor to meet the challenge.
Dan Quinn has commented about how much team speed their Defense has. Washington’s team is the oldest in the League. Old implies slow. Both of the WFT’s top Wide Receivers are out this week. Passing the ball may be a bit problematic.
Last, but hardly least the game is inside the Mercedes Benz enclosed stadium on an artificial surface. Atlanta plays better there than outside on grass. After spending a week at the woodshed they may well play their best ball so far this season.
Speaking of Turf
One thing that came out in the broadcast of the game last week came as a surprise here. When discussing the new Washington stadium Mark Schlereth relayed that Owner Josh Harris is planning on having natural grass for the surface. “It’s better for the players.” That’s welcomed news. It’s also more of a cost for the ownership group both in outlay and lost revenue. It stands in dramatic contrast to what took place near here in Charlotte, NC.
“It’s better for the players.”
Owner Josh Harris on the decision to put a natural grass surface in the new stadium
Owner David Tepper tore out a beautiful Bermudagrass surface to install an artificial one at BOA Stadium soon after purchasing the team. The reason? The stadium could hold more concerts on top of the plastic grass than on natural grass. Money.
Maybe last week’s game is a harbinger for Carolina. Or maybe it was a rogue wave. Time will tell. But, the team has floundered big-time under Tepper’s stewardship. Washington has taken the opposite tack so far under Harris. Coincidence?
New-Fashioned Old School
One popular take on Kliff Kingsbury‘s offensive strategy is that it is “pass-happy.” Bengals’ Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt called it a “Nice College Offense.” Well, the fact is that Washington is the #2 team in the League for Rushing Yards. It is also first in Yards-per-Run. This despite having only one Running Back in the top-30 for rushing yards. That would be “Bill” Jacory Croskey-Merritt who comes in at #29. The Pass attempts outnumber Rush attempts by only 10; 93 vs 83. It would be closer except for the Packers’ game where the run was abandoned late. Last week Marcus Mariota only threw 21 balls. The team rushed the ball 31-times.
While it’s not the old smash-mouth 21-personnel football of the 1960s it is obvious that Kingsbury values running the rock. Running Back by Committee is just fine with him. He also uses the Quarterbacks in designed runs. Marcus Mariota showed his wheels last week. He rushed for 40-yards on 6-attempts with 1-Touchdown.
That showing, incidentally was more output than traded RB Brian Robinson has had in any week so far this year. He has 75-yards total in 3-games while not getting into the End Zone a single time. It’s starting to show why the WFT Afterguard soured on Brian. When they traded him away for a 6th-round pick AND sent money with him that was a statement that they just wanted him gone. It’s unfortunate it worked out like that. But, what the team is doing now is working just fine.
Speaking of Former Players
There was a lot of hand-wringing in the national media about letting Defensive End Dante Fowler Jr go to Free Agency. He had 10.5 Sacks last year. Where was that production going to come from? Turns out it was already here in the person of Dorance Armstrong. He has 3-sacks to go along with 13-solo tackles, and 4-tackles for loss. Fowler Jr figured to have a good season opposite Micah Parsons. Teams were going to slide protection to Parsons leaving Dante up against a single Tackle or Tight End. Ooops! Micah got traded away.
So, how is Dante doing? He has zero sacks to go along with zero solo tackles to go along with one tackle for loss.
It may be early on. But, it appears that Adam Peters chose wisely.
Compass Heading
This game is the third of seven against non-playoff teams from last season. The formula for this team for this season hasn’t changed: Win 5 of these 7-games against non-playoff teams (NPT) while splitting the 10-games against playoff-caliber teams. Right now the splits are 2-0 for the NPT games and 0-1 against the playoff teams.
Frankly both of the teams the WFT has beaten were poor quality units. Both of them have very deficient Offensive Lines. Even though Atlanta is an NPT this is still a step up in weight class within that genre. And, as discussed above it’s a game on the road, under roof, and on a plastic rug of some description. This is no layup.
What’s coming next is a trip to the West Coast to play the re-energized Chargers. That team is a legitimate Super Bowl contender with a top-5 Quarterback. Nothing about that assignment is going to be easy.
The range in records over the next two weeks goes from 2-3 all the way up to 4-1. The more “winnable” game of the two is at-hand in Atlanta. Fresh from the woodshed Atlanta should be ready.
Game Information
Sunday, Sept. 28 (1 p.m.)
Commanders @ Falcons—1 p.m. ET, CBS
TV: Ian Eagle (play-by-play), J.J. Watt (analyst), Evan Washburn (sideline)
D.C. Radio: Bram Weinstein (play-by-play), London Fletcher (analyst), Logan Paulsen (analyst) BIG 100 WBIG-FM
Atlanta Radio: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Dave Archer (analyst), Jane Hale (sideline) 92.9 The Game
Here is a link to the TV coverage maps for all of the games. WAS @ ATL will be shown from PA to FL on the coast.
