The Washington Football Team has been hunting for some kind of reliably decent play from the quarterback position since Kirk Cousins left for Minnesota after the 2017 season. And with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick sidelined, journeyman Taylor Heinicke is the guy everyone hopes can be the guy.
But is Heinicke capable of providing Ron Rivera’s club consistent play?
“Well, consistently you have no idea yet,” former Washington head coach Jay Gruden told Kevin Sheehan. “He does have some flashes of being accurate, but it’s not consistent yet. So he needs to work on that.
“He’s very mobile in the pocket, which is beneficial to the offensive coordinator Scott Turner because he can’t call the perfect play all the time and for your quarterback to be able to bail you out with his legs is a great benefit to have. So he has that. He has the toughness, obviously, he has the competitive spirit that you want,” Gruden said. “Obviously, he needs to see more. He hasn’t played a whole lot of football even thorough he’s been in the league [for] six years. He hasn’t played a lot. He’s gotta see the defenses, he’s gotta see the movement, the different coverages where he throws the ball quickly before he bails. Sometimes he bails too quick out of the pocket and gives up on plays down the field.”
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Having said that Gruden did say in the limited time Heinicke has played there’s “a lot to like” and build upon and Washington’s coaching staff should be excited about the opportunity.
But one area in which Heinicke struggled with so far has been accuracy, particularly him missing throws high, which could be tough for him to improve so late into his career.
“Yeah, that’s a tough thing to change. Anticipation and accuracy are hard to coach, to be honest with you. I mean, really, you either have it or you don’t,” Gruden told Sheehan. “There are certain things you can do footwork-wise, fundamental-wise, and I’m sure Kenny Zampese the quarterback coach has got him through the gauntlet as far as doing drills to working on his fundamentals with his feet in the pocket and ball security and all that good stuff. But, at the end of the day, if you’re a 55 percent passer in college and the pros, you’re probably gonna be that the rest of your career.
“You know, the one guy who I think is really turned over a leaf, as far as accuracy is concerned, is Josh Allen. When he came out of Wyoming, I was like, ‘This guy is the most inaccurate guy I’ve ever seen.’ And then he’s really turned the corner. So, it can be done, it just doesn’t happen very often.”
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Gruden said Heinicke missing throws high because he has a tendency of throwing off his back foot and is not transferring his weight. “That’s the number one reason for young quarterbacks throwing high, they’re not stepping into the throw and getting that followthrough all the way through,” he said.
“Throwing the ball high usually means you’re throwing off your back foot and not quite believing in what you’re seeing and throwing,” Gruden told Sheehan. “He’s just gotta step into the throw a little bit and the more reps he gets, the more time he gets… he hasn’t had many reps with the first team with Terry [McLaurin] and all those guys with the first team since Ryan was the starter.
“I think he’s gonna get better and better with the more reps he gets, but as far as being Aaron Rodgers-type accurate guy by Week 4 or 5, I doubt it. You’re gonna have some games of ‘Aw, man, he missed that throw!’ throughout the game, but he will make plays that certain guys can’t with his legs and his toughness and his competitive spirit.”
With Fitzpatrick expected to be able to return from his hip injury in the middle of the season, Sheehan asked Gruden for his gut feeling on Heinicke’s chances of remaining the starter and keeping the veteran on the bench behind him?
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“The jury is still out. The good thing is he has a lot of games here, a body of work he can put together to earn the job,” Gruden said. “And when Fitz comes back – and this has happened to him before where he’s gotten injured or they’ve brought in a young quarterback and he’s played well and he’s had to play backup – this won’t be his first rodeo. And he’s the type of guy that will handle it, he’ll be disappointed.
“But if Heinicke plays well and they rattle off three or four wins with this tough schedule that they have, I would be surprised if they went back to Fitz. Now if they struggle on offense and he doesn’t perform well, then obviously Fitz will come back and he’ll take the reins and try to push them to the playoffs.”
And when pushed for a prediction, Gruden pulled out his crystal ball and said, “I think Fitzpatrick will come back and be the starter.”
“That’s just my gut [feeling],” Gruden told Sheehan. “I’m pulling for Heinicke, I hope he does well and earns the job, but, at the end of the day, Fitz did beat him out all training camp and the OTAs for a reason. Obviously, he was the better player. Cause if they thought Heinicke was better than Fitz they would a played Heinicke.”
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