The Commanders have lost five in a row, and it’s seven of eight and 10 of 12 since starting 2-0 and evening out at 3-3 back in October. We’ve heard rumblings multiple times about culture issues, and seen two coaches fired on the defensive side with little change to show for it since Thanksgiving…and on offense, Sam Howell has regressed to the point where he was pulled in the fourth quarter Sunday and watched Jacoby Brissett ball out in his two drives of action.
And all Ron Rivera had to say about that was that this season was always about Sam’s development, and Howell will continue to be the QB1 in DC for now.
Great, but as thy play out the string, BMitch, who was one of the few advocating that the Commanders had a lot to play for in the final five, four, and now three games, says it’s going to be up to the players to get themselves ready, because after all we’ve seen in 14 games, this coaching staff can only do so much.
“Do you think Ron was happy Brissett came in and brought it?” JP Finlay asked, and Brian’s answer showed what he called “a knock” in Howell’s development.
“He should be, but I don't know, because listen: what you are looking for is for Sam to make those type of decisions. And this is the thing for all the people who was knocking Terry McLaurin, that first touchdown wasn't completely wide open, but he was given a chance by a veteran quarterback who understands this dude can make the acrobatic, tough catch, and he went up over the guy and pulled it in with one hand,” Brian said. “I’ve never seen a ball caught like that and not move very much with one hand like that coming down. Terry is a bad man, and veteran quarterbacks understand to go through progressions, but they also understand that when certain clientele is going against other clientele, I'm giving that guy a chance. You can read fast through your progression, but you go to him cause you know Terry McLaurin, one-on-one, is normally gonna win it.”
BMitch said flat out that when Brissett entered, he knew McLaurin needed the ball, and indeed, he showed out – and again, that’s the difference between a veteran and a virtual rookie.
“What I’ve seen over my 30 years of being involved with the NFL is that young quarterbacks will try to do exactly what's told, exactly how it's told, and a lot of times it gets them in trouble,” BMitch said. “That's what the coach wants, per se, because they get educated, then they learn to put some of their freedom into it. Sam is not at the point yet where he's gonna just go out there and do that.”
Brian looked at some other vets who have their No. 1 for sure, and even some young guys who have gotten it quickly – but Sam is on his third offense in three years, so sometimes, in that case, things move slower than you want.
And, JP added, when you add in Howell’s proclivities, you get what we’ve gotten this year.
“That's magnified with a young quarterback that the scouting report tells you doesn't get rid of it fast enough sometimes, and the problem for Howell that I think we've all got to recognize at this point is he's really good off schedule,” JP said. “He can make plays happen with his legs and extend plays, and when he keeps his eyes downfield, you can get big plays. He’s like the opposite of Kirk Cousins when he got here.”
Kirk learned, though, and did so by studying film – and at some point, Howell needs to take the training wheels off, and put his own identity on things, too.
“You get to a point where you have to take ownership; now, I’m not telling players not to listen to their coaches, I’m just saying that can’t just wait for your coach to tell you what you should be seeing,” Brian said. “You should be doing so much studying that you're gonna see it yourself, and then, as the person on the field making the play, you will know how to adjust and make things happen. It’s not just not listening, it’s about understanding the game plan so much and understanding what the defense is trying to do. If you do the same thing every week, you have to realize that the other team is gonna now try to take that away from you. As a player, you all should understand that when you are studying someone, they're studying you the same way, so you should have a counter to what they're gonna try to stop.”
JP summed it up in a slightly different yet interesting way.
“To me, this line of complacency versus arrogance is very narrow, and they have walked this line for four years now,” he said. “And you can make a real argument that they're not better from a football perspective then when Ron got the job…and more damning is the fact that all of the guys who are the best individual talents on the team were all here before Ron got here.
Kam Curl can play, but one seventh-rounder in four years hits. You don't want to be overly dismissive of other players that have shown some abilities along the way, but there is this arrogance that we know more than you let us do our thing – and it’s bottoming out, man.”
