Brian Baldinger once called a game for Old Dominion University. That's when he first saw star potential in the quarterback under center, a guy by the name of Taylor Heinicke.
Now more than a half decade removed, Heinicke has resurfaced with the Washington Football Team, thrown into the first in Week 1 when starter Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury. Heinicke finally has his shot to prove himself as a capable NFL starter and is off to a great start, leading Washington to a 30-29 victory over the Giants last Thursday. He has at least the next six weeks to show that was no fluke, provided he can stay healthy himself.
"I've always liked Taylor," Baldinger told 106.7 The Fan's BMitch & Finlay. "I did one of his games I remember back in college, Old Dominion and whoever, but I saw him throw for 400 yards in that game. But then I kind of watched him in Carolina. He throws the ball with great anticipation and he knows where to go with the ball."
"The one thing that I think he's got to caution, I mean he takes off out of the pocket a lot, and he's not a big guy, and we're seeing these quarterbacks go down left and right," Baldinger warned. "And if he keeps doing this, like can he survive the hits in the NFL? I mean, not many can."
"And I know he's aggressive and he's a fighter, all that stuff," he said. "I mean, the fewer hits you can take, the longer or the better chances you have of some longevity in this business. So that's my concern about him, is how frequently he takes off. And he's pretty good at it, but these guys, they only have so many hits in 'em before they've got to take a little break."
Related
Heinicke's next test arrives next Sunday in hostile territory, at Buffalo against the Bills (1-1). And defensively, the Bills have a lot they can throw at him, Baldinger says.
"This is a very crafty defense. They're four years together now up there," he said. "They do a lot. They blitz a lot, but they do it in ways where they're not exposed on the back end — they don't give up big plays."
"Tua [Tagovailoa] was completely fooled a few times yesterday before he got hurt and then [Jacoby] Brissett was fooled a bunch," he continued. "And then they've got some good pass rushers. Gregory Rousseau, this rookie, is a good player. You know, he's long and he's athletic and he beats people, and they do a lot with him. That's a tough defense to get ready for. It's probably best that they had 10 days to get ready for 'em."
Listen starting at the 23-minute mark below.
