Official Game Thread - Week 1 - Jaguars @ Commanders

[Theismann To HOF]

I did not like the Wentz trade and I'm not a huge fan of his, but it's obvious that his ability to push the ball down the field opens a lot of things up for the offense. That throw to McClaurin was not an 'anybody could make that' kinda throw. He can't under throw that with the safety racing over. That's gotta hit McClaurin in stride. That's a great throw.

The team's going to have to play better to beat most other teams in the league. Can't turn the ball over three times and win a lot. Wentz is part of that, but the offense had topped out with Heinicke. I'm glad Heine's on the team and he's a great backup, but Wentz has the tools. You could see it.

I'll say it again....Wentz does not have the accuracy or the fundamentals to be a long-term NFL starting QB anymore. His confidence is shot, you can tell by the way he is staring down his receivers, especially on that first INT throw.

If he survives the season as the starter (which I doubt), this will be his last season as a starting QB.

 

[Theismann To HOF]

I did not like the Wentz trade and I'm not a huge fan of his, but it's obvious that his ability to push the ball down the field opens a lot of things up for the offense. That throw to McClaurin was not an 'anybody could make that' kinda throw. He can't under throw that with the safety racing over. That's gotta hit McClaurin in stride. That's a great throw.

The team's going to have to play better to beat most other teams in the league. Can't turn the ball over three times and win a lot. Wentz is part of that, but the offense had topped out with Heinicke. I'm glad Heine's on the team and he's a great backup, but Wentz has the tools. You could see it.

Against both Tampa Bay and Carolina last year, Heinicke played near perfect games. That's why Washington won both those games. The number of TD passes does not determine the quality of a QB's play. Two of Wentz's TD passes on Sunday were on the goal line. Nothing special there.

 

[Theismann To HOF]

I look at it this way...

Is Wentz flawed? Yes. Is he the second coming of Aaron Rodgers/Patrick Mahomes/Tom Brady? No.
But he is the best QB - warts and all - that we've had in Washington lately, and he is capable of exploiting the talent we've got at the skill positions. We may not hum through the season like the Chiefs, but I do think we have a VERY good chance to be a top tier offense.

Because also... WEEK 1.

Week 1 with a new QB, a rookie WR, and a bunch of returning players (McKissic/Thomas). Wentz had one off season to get to know them and limited pre-season action. Week 1 always throws up some wacky games because it's Week 1.

If Washington can use this as a jumping off point to improve, then I'm really optimistic about what we could be on offense.

It's honestly the D that has me worried. Our line is solid, but what's behind it looks shaky. Maybe it'll improve as the year goes on, but I think better TEs and WRs getting passes from a more experienced QB could expose us badly. I fear a lot of shoot outs in our future, but at least we may have the horsepower to keep up.

I disagree with this assessment. Wentz is not better than the Alex Smith of 2018 that led the team to a 6 - 3 record before his injury. He is also not better than Heinicke. Wentz just doesn't have the accuracy on the mid-range throws that is required for a quality QB.

Besides the two INTs, he had 3 or 4 other mid-range passes that were really bad. Again, he has bad fundamentals and those bad fundamentals are going to result in more losses than wins for Washington.

 

[burgold]

Besides the two INTs, he had 3 or 4 other mid-range passes that were really bad. Again, he has bad fundamentals and those bad fundamentals are going to result in more losses than wins for Washington.

I think you are digging in too hard on this position. You're making Wentz sound like John Beck. Wentz may not be Mahomes or Rodgers, but he's hardly John Beck or Joey Harrington.

 

[Neophyte]

Against both Tampa Bay and Carolina last year, Heinicke played near perfect games. That's why Washington won both those games. The number of TD passes does not determine the quality of a QB's play. Two of Wentz's TD passes on Sunday were on the goal line. Nothing special there.

Heinicke played near perfect in those games and Washington won them because Turner rode Gibson.

Look, you don't like Wentz and no facts are going to change your mind. We get it. But the dude went out in the 4th on Sunday and won the game for Washington so can we maybe give him a week before we schedule the crucifiction?

 

[Boone]

And Theismann’s not a HOFer… lol 🤣

Just jerking your chain! I love all the energetic conversation this week. Plenty of room for disagreement and it’s a loooong season!

 

[Theismann To HOF]

I think you are digging in too hard on this position. You're making Wentz sound like John Beck. Wentz may not be Mahomes or Rodgers, but he's hardly John Beck or Joey Harrington.

I'm taking the same position as the Colts coaching staff. They saw the same ugly trends regarding Wentz that I'm seeing. That's why he no longer plays there.

 

[Neophyte]

Dude, we do NOT know that. What we know for sure is the Ursay didn't want him there.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Starting to see some national love around the team

Brian Baldinger

 

[Primus Porcus]

And Dan orlovsky

 

[Henry]

Against both Tampa Bay and Carolina last year, Heinicke played near perfect games. That's why Washington won both those games. The number of TD passes does not determine the quality of a QB's play. Two of Wentz's TD passes on Sunday were on the goal line. Nothing special there.

Heinicke played extremely well in those games within the framework of a limited offense. Those were also complete team wins. That is the top-end of Heinicke's play, and it's clearly not something that was sustainable over the course of the season. Washington did not win a game last year when they turned the ball over more than once. Not one game. Again, I love that he's the backup for the team, because he's got moxie and is capable. But he floats every pass. He throws high because he doesn't have the arm to throw the ball on a rope and because of that he's always hanging his WRs out to dry and limiting YAC.

Wentz, for all his faults, has the ability to stretch the field. He has the ability to make up for mistakes. I don't think this team is going to win the superbowl with Wentz. I think nine wins is ambitious. But we can already see that the team doesn't need to be perfect to win with him. His arm opens up the offense.

 

[Knightingale]

I disagree with this assessment. Wentz is not better than the Alex Smith of 2018 that led the team to a 6 - 3 record before his injury. He is also not better than Heinicke. Wentz just doesn't have the accuracy on the mid-range throws that is required for a quality QB.

Besides the two INTs, he had 3 or 4 other mid-range passes that were really bad. Again, he has bad fundamentals and those bad fundamentals are going to result in more losses than wins for Washington.

Well, if 2018 Smith had never got injured, then we likely wouldn't have been in a position to have to play Heineke or Wentz. He was a winner, and even on one leg he won games for us we probably had no business winning.
It's a tantalising 'What If' to wonder what could have been that season. What if he had finally settled in and started to truly play like he did in Kansas. Would Jay Gruden still be coach?

I digress.

Also as much as I love Heineke - and I do - I think it's clear just after watching 1 game this season, how much he limited the offense. One game with Wentz (and albeit with a healthy Samuel and our new stud WR Dotson) showed how we can now open up the playbook.

ALL QBs have their flaws and faults. Wentz is hardly alone in that regard. Burrows threw 4 interceptions on Sunday. Carr threw 3, as did Stafford. Rodgers and Brady both threw one each too. QBs have brain farts, stare down receivers, throw bad balls. No one can be 100% accurate. Smith over his career had a completion percentage of 62.6% and an interception rate of 3.8%. Wentz figures are 62.7% (almost identical to Smith) and his career interception rate is 1.9% (significantly better than Smith).
What matters for the top tier QBs is... can they WIN.

Wentz won that game for us on Sunday. Yes, he put us in trouble, but he also never gave up and got us the win.

Is he our future QB? No. Maybe not. But maybe he can be the QB that bridges us to the Sam Howell era or whoever else we may pick up.

 

[Theismann To HOF]

Heinicke played extremely well in those games within the framework of a limited offense. Those were also complete team wins. That is the top-end of Heinicke's play, and it's clearly not something that was sustainable over the course of the season. Washington did not win a game last year when they turned the ball over more than once. Not one game. Again, I love that he's the backup for the team, because he's got moxie and is capable. But he floats every pass. He throws high because he doesn't have the arm to throw the ball on a rope and because of that he's always hanging his WRs out to dry and limiting YAC.

Wentz, for all his faults, has the ability to stretch the field. He has the ability to make up for mistakes. I don't think this team is going to win the superbowl with Wentz. I think nine wins is ambitious. But we can already see that the team doesn't need to be perfect to win with him. His arm opens up the offense.

I respect your opinion, you make some good points. However, I think you're being too critical of Heinicke.

Heinicke was a one-man show against the Giants and Falcons at the beginning of last season. He was spectacular in both games and he can flat-out play. He has the intangible qualities that make him a superior QB in my opinion.

If arm strength is always the deciding factor when evaluating QBs, then Mark Rypien would have been a better QB than Joe Theismann and Roger Staubach. But he wasn't. And Wentz is not even as good as Mark Rypien was.

In a similar manner, that's why I would take Heinicke over Wentz. Heinicke is the closest thing to Joe Theismann this team has had in the past 30+ years. Wentz doesn't have Heinicke's accuracy and he is not the playmaker that Heinicke is.

 

[Lovin Cousins]

If I remember correctly, Heinicke was both playing spectacular AND winning games last year, until 2 things happened :
Decimating injuries, and a Defense that slid off a cliff.
Now...Wentz is getting the benefits of the opposite of those. Neither of those have been an issue for Wentz, yet. In the one game he played, we had a mostly healthy offense, and a Defense that was solid. And even then, he barely won.
If I had to make a choice right at the moment, I'd still go with Heinicke.
Because while he may not have the long ball capabilities, his short to mid-ground passes actually look better than Wentz'
I'm confident we would have won that game with Heinicke too...just without the need for a comeback

 

[Primus Porcus]

So that aint great

 

[Primus Porcus]

Some more O-line love

 

[Primus Porcus]

Forrest is a DOG

 

[Primus Porcus]

Kind of an important play

 

[Lovin Cousins]

Forrest is a DOG

No surprise, that Forrest can lay the wood !

 

[Henry]

Nevermind. I’m not high enough on Wentz to continue this debate. I hope he works out, though. Again, I like Heinicke, but I don’t think he’ll be more than a very good backup in this league. If he beats out Wentz this season I suspect the team is screwed.