Talk Commanders

The last chance for relevance has slipped quietly by the stern. This version of the Burgundy and Gold is in a familiar situation; playing out the string. As hard as it has been to watch at least the ending of any hope was mercifully short. Two losses in five days, both to Division foes did the job. The Thanksgiving Day game to Dallas was predictable. Dallas feasts on lesser teams at home. That’s especially true on Thanksgiving when the audience is huge. Some 40.1 million viewers watched as Dak Prescott and his posse jumped into the Salvation Army bucket and ate turkey legs. It was all such fun…unless you were a Washington fan. Now where is this going?

That high-pitched screaming sound you heard last Sunday was probably the football players taking cold showers after the game. If you are a Washington fan you are used to losing to the Giants. It is now 9 losses out of the last 11 games. How bad is that Giants team? Well, given six turnovers the game was still in doubt within the final minute. Try that against Dallas this week and the score would be a stunning rout. It may well be anyhow. But, that loss to the Giants was just unpardonable. If the hot water failure had been confined to the Washington locker room it would have been just deserts. As it was it’s doubtful that the New Yorkers were complaining. They were leaving town surprisingly victorious.

The key word for this team is, “Growth.” Last week there were a collection of lessons-learned on full display. Whether that translates into more wins than losses is another thing altogether. But, it was fun to see this team apply those learnings in a game they won that could have gone south.

First of all was young QB Sam Howell displaying a few skills that were not there earlier in the year. Starting in the second half of the Giants game Howell began recognizing blitzes and subsequently calling protections. Don “Wink” Martindale threw the kitchen sink at him. It worked well enough that Howell was completely ineffective in the first half. But, to borrow an old duck-hunting phrase, Wink “Dumped the gun” on him in that half. By the second half Howell and Eric Bieniemy had seen the gauntlet. Two weeks later Howell was in full command of recognition and protection against Bill Belichick‘s defense. Not an easy task for young QBs to complete. Facing a “Cover Zero” (Both Safeties coming on the blitz) Howell called for maximum protection. He then heaved a beauty of a ball to Jahan Dotson for a 33-yard touchdown.

The week was the tale of opportunities lost, and fully taken. Philadelphia’s Eagles, for whatever reason bring out the best in this WFT crew. A unit that could not convert a third down the week before against the Giants until late in the game converted 7 of 12 against a superior unit on route to a 472 yard performance. In two games against the birds Eric Bieniemy‘s offense averaged more yards than the Eagles have allowed in any single game against anyone else. Still, the home team lost. Football turns on a dime. Twice Ron Rivera and crew had the opportunity in front of them to take control of the game. Both times were whiffs.

If you were worried before last week’s game then once it started it you understood why. Twice in three games a team with a poor record had recorded a good showing the week before playing the WFT. Both times the underdog team came out and established a lead they would not relinquish. There’s blame to go around aplenty. But, the lion’s share ends up in the lap of the new Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy. The Giants had shown little interest in blitzing the previous weeks, especially against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. With young Quarterback Sam Howell on the pitch the tactics changed drastically. Giants’ Defensive Coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale dialed up extra rushers an astounding 66% of the time. That included a “Cover Zero” blitz on first down, a true rarity. Washington’s Offensive Line simply could not block them on a straight drop back pass. Young Howell was sacked five times in the first half.

Conventional wisdom is to roll the QB out on boots and chili rolls to the weak side to negate the pressures. Washington did that in the second half. It helped the offense establish some success. It also stopped the sacks, although there were still plenty of pressures. If that adjustment had been made after one quarter instead of one half the outcome may well have been different. That slow response is on Bieniemy. Remember, this is his rookie year calling plays. Rookie Quarterback, Rookie Play Caller, and a bad O-Line is not a recipe for playoff football. This team now stands on the edge of the abyss titled, “Irrelevance.”

There are no style points in the NFL. Just like there are no moral victories. A win is a win, ugly or not. As unsatisfying in some respects as the game in Atlanta went, it still put a “W” on the ledger. The Defense responded well — led by some new blood. After losing Safeties the week before the replacements played nicely. Atlanta lives by the run. Washington’s vaunted Defensive front stuffed it repeatedly. The old mantra that winning the turnover battle usually results in a victory held serve. This is a Defense that must produce turnovers. For one week they did just that. The offense took good advantage of those turnovers by producing 17 points off of them. More importantly they did not cough up the ball all game. Despite being basically moribund in the second half, the offense was good enough…for that game. It didn’t hurt the cause that Special Teams had a solid afternoon.

Football seasons turn dramatically in self-contained three-hour segments. It isn’t that the Washington team lost to the lowly Bears last week, it’s how they lost. Teams come out flat on Thursday Night Football. Usually it’s both teams. Last week it was the Burgundy and Gold clad in funeral black that exited the Locker Room in the horizontal position. Chicago, on the other hand came to play. It’s never good to be the salve for an opposing team needs. The WFT was all that and more a week ago Thursday for the Bears. That sound you heard after the game was the long knives being unsheathed for Ron Rivera. Two wins to start the year had forced the blades into hiding. Three losses later they were out in the sunshine on full display glistening with menace.

All of sports are somewhat unpredictable. The sports gambling industry was founded on just that premise. But, football may be alone in it’s utter arbitrariness. Witness last week. Washington came off of a true beatdown by Buffalo to then play an inspired game against Philadelphia. Young Sam Howell a week before, looked ever the deer-in-the-headlights as he was sacked an astonishing nine times and picked-off four more. Against Philly, on the road, he looked like the sage veteran. Two-seconds left, one play remaining at the ten-yard line; he threw a dart to tie the game. It was a beautiful thing. That drive and that play alone provide all the justification needed for the front office to put such faith in Howell. If he can do that, he can play QB1.

The Offense has now scored more than 30 points twice this season. The rub is the Defense. The Defensive line played better, but not good enough, and they were supposed to have been a strength of the team. The Eagles still scored over 30 points on a supposed elite unit. The money and draft picks are on that side of the ball…and they are under-performing. The Offensive line is the equivalent of a thrift store purchase. They played like it against Buffalo. It was better last week. But, there were still five sacks. When old nemesis Fletcher Cox decided he wanted to get the QB he had little trouble getting home. There are no such things in the NFL as “Moral Victories.” Win or Lose or Tie. That’s the whole list of options. Still, there were positive indications last week that things are moving in the right direction. But, probably the most valuable element was that there was a shortened workweek at hand. It provided scarce little time to stew over a tough loss.

Last week was a none-too-subtle reminder that life for a young quarterback in the NFL is not an experience for the faint of heart. Buffalo came to town fully ready for everything the burgundy and gold had in store. The emphasis will be understandably on young Sam Howell. But, this was a total team loss. The Defense did nothing of note. Oh, there was an interception which closely resembled a punt. That was about it. Chase Young remains largely undisciplined. When facing a running QB the worst thing for the Edge to do is go wide and deep thereby opening passing and running lanes. Chase did it all day. The most telling play came when Josh Allen dropped back to pass from the Washington 10-yard line. Kamren Curl came on a delayed Safety Blitz through a wide-open B-gap. He had Allen dead to rights. When he got there his brain simply disengaged. Instead of taking Allen straight on he attempted to blow the larger man up with his right shoulder. Allen moved slightly then ran untouched through the same huge lane eventually crossing the goal line untouched. A little finger roll with a leap was just a bit of salt on an open wound. For his part Curl was on the ground, his face planted on the turf. Sometimes a failure takes time to be properly recognized. In this case recognition was immediate. A coach’s job is to get a player in position to make a play. The coach’s part was nicely done. The player’s part was a total muff. It was that kind of day.

The ask doesn’t get easier. Time to travel to Philly to take on the undefeated, and defending NFC Champions. The good news is that Eagles have not looked as dominating as last year. They have yet to put together a complete game. It’s probable they view this game as a great opportunity to get that task done.