The Rooster was crowing on Tuesday – with his fly down, apparently, according to JP Finlay, but that wasn't the only barn door opened when Chris Russell joined BMitch & Finlay in studio before his own show just after noon to take a look at Monday Night Football (and Chris' thoughts on Brandon Staley being a knucklehead) and take his turn to Howl for Howell.
But, Chris was also asked about Sam Howell's sack rate, which still has him on pace for close to 100 after six weeks, and was the big topic of Tuesday's show – so much so that the guys took a three-segment deep dive into three different sides of the issue.
"I think we're getting to a point where it really looks like Sam Howell could be the guy for the Commanders, and there's real excitement surrounding that because it feels so long since Commanders have had the guy," JP Finlay said, "but it's also undeniable that the sack issue is persistent."
So, JP asked Rooster: is Sam Howell fixing his sack issues and getting to that point a matter of 'when' or 'if' he does it? Well, here's a Rooster Rant!
"I think he'll get better at it, but I don't know if he fixes it enough where it's like, not a problem," Russell said. "JP, I remember you and I working the halftime shows together in 2013-14 with Robert (Griffin III), and I remember going around the locker room and interviewing guys on the line asking why they couldn't get better, and they'd say 'this isn't on us, learn how the quarterback is largely to blame here.' Of course, they had something to defend, too, because they were getting their teeth publicly kicked in, but that's the point: people don't realize that these time to throw statistics, the higher they are is not necessarily a compliment. It's, you're holding on to the ball too long, not getting through your reads in time, and maybe absorbing more hits, so it's not necessarily a compliment, and it's not always on the offensive line."
Chris mentioned how "at least three of the five sacks" in Atlanta were coverage sacks or on Howell's indecisiveness, not the line, and how Sam has to do a better job of knowing when to get rid of the ball to save a hit and save yardage.
We now head to Sunday, against a Giants team that hasn't had a sack in the last two games…and yeah,
"Bobby Okereke was unbelievable for the Giants the other night against a pretty decent offensive line in Buffalo – and this is a team that gave up three sacks to Nick Morrow," Russell said. "They turn pedestrian linebackers into studs, so I think Okereke is going to have something to say…and remember how Kayvon Thibodeaux tore apart the Commanders late last year. He had a lot of fun."
