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Well, that sucked. That was about as bad as it could get for us this season. There was nothing to root for, nothing to cheer about, and nothing we could say "that was something to build off of" for the next game. We failed on all levels. This game had a real "Gruden" feel to it. Abandoned run game, a QB who didn't care, just no feel of urgency at all from anyone outside of Chase Young.
Lets start with the obvious:
1 - Dwayne Haskins. He has proven he doesn't care. He knows he is off the team at the end, and it shows he doesn't care about that. He holds the ball too long, he stares down receivers, and he has no ability to remember the "good things" he can do. Dwayne, in all his glory, had 36 passing yards in the first half and didn't have a care in the world. He has no mental toughness to him. This comes from his immaturity and lack of preparation for games. It shows in everything about him.
2 - Scott Turner. Scott is doing what most OC's end up doing; getting too clever for his own good. He seems to believe that his schemes are smarter than the defenders, and that may be true in some cases. But, not here. Dwayne is not smart and can't handle the reads or all the passing. He NEEDS a good running game. But, Scott isn't calling runs. Barber straight trucks a safety for 10 yards...and never sees the ball again. Gibson is getting 6.1 yards per carry, but only gets it 61 times. JD got 4 rushes. We rushed 15 times total in the game. Why on Earth would we do that when we know that Haskins needs all the help we can get? Where were the screen plays? Where were the off tackle games? Scott needs to either get out of his own ego or get shown the door with Haskins. This is ridiculous.
3 - Ron Rivera. Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Ron's and have been since he was the LB Coach in San Diego. But, he did a horrible job this week of prepping the team and setting an example of what is acceptable. When D-Pain embarrassed the team and blatantly broke protocol for the second time, he should have sat him for the game. Removing the C from his jersey means nothing to a kid who doesn't have pride in his profession. Not pulling Dwayne at half and starting Taylor. He needed to do that when we saw that ol Lackskins wasn't able to muster more than 36 passing yards while giving up the ball several times. He should not have any loyalty to any one player, but if he does, we need to know WHY and root that out. If Snyder is pulling any of the strings we need to boot Snyder out. Other than that, Ron dropped the ball big time here. Not challenging that interception. Why not? We have nothing to lose anyways with Haskins starting, so why not try and get a short field going?
4 - The refs. I don't normally like to complain about refs because I think its what losers do when they need excuses. But, it was painfully bad for us last night. Haskins has a fumble called and they dont blow the whistle on it. Looking at it in replay. EVERYONE saw it the same way as an incomplete pass. Yet, the refs didn't for whatever reason and it was ruled a turnover. But, when Moreland had a pick (it was a pick in my opinion) they blew it dead immediately and called it incomplete. Why not let it play and let replay review like every single turnover is? Isn't that why you did that for Carolina? That holding call on the touchdown towards the end of the game. Really?! You decided that was a hold?! Chase Young had a man hugging him from behind on a play and nothing, but THAT was a hold now?
5 - Steven Sims. Was anyone shocked he dropped the punt? The man who's hands are like stone shouldn't have even been back there. So, when he dropped the punt I just shook my head. He needs to go. He hasn't learned to catch the ball and it directly cost us 7 there. He has flashes of "maybe" but nothing ever sticks or becomes dependable. He needs to use this offseason to practice catching the ball. Catch it in place, catch it while running, catch floaters, catch bullets...JUST CATCH!!
Honorable mentions include Jeremy Reaves and Cam Sims.
Moving next week's game to SNF is scary. We tend to not do well in primetime, and with everything on the line, I have zero faith in it changing. I will be watching, I will be rooting, but I won't be anywhere as excited as I was coming in to this game. I am sick of getting my hopes up and having this team just crush them. We all know we aren't supposed to be in the hunt for the postseason, but we are for whatever reason. I want to see this team turned around and all these youngsters to get a taste of it so they are ready next year. We have a VERY bright future in DC for this team, but we need to get a few key players and mentality checks done before we get there.
