A Grumpy Fan's Take - Carolina game

[MikefromOH]

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.

 

[ntotoro]

I actually didn’t have an issue with the D-Pain (LOL!!!) fumble call. The ball was out of his hand before he made a throwing motion and his hand merely pushed it forward after. Where the team did get hosed was the Carolina fumble. The whistle wasn’t even blown until after the ball was out of the RB’s hands and was clearly out of his hands before he was down. They were both fumbles.

My disappointment lies with Rivera. I don’t think anyone felt Haskins have the team the best chance to win, period. I think he caved to possible pressure from Danny. No one with two eyes (except maybe B-Mitch or Trevor Matitch, for some bizarre reason) thought Haskins stood a chance of beating Carolina. He should have been yanked to start the second half, at the latest, but Rivera foolishly doubled-down on his mistake and left Haskins in the game.

 

[SilentThreat]

the bigger issue was it was not called CONSISTENTLY. If you're going to let the Haskins fumble play out, you have to let the INT play out, and the RB fumble play out and go back and watch replay to determine whether or not to overturn it.

 

[MikefromOH]

Yes, the fumble with Carolina! That was unbelievable. The ball was out even before the whistle went. That is on both the refs and Ron as well.

Ron set a bad precedent there. He went from being a no nonsense coach to someone that you might want to test because, hey, you let Dwayne get away with it.

 

[ntotoro]

I can’t remember the exact rule why, but the Carolina fumble play wasn‘t challengeable for some reason. That needs to be changed, stat.

 

[SilentThreat]

Yes, the fumble with Carolina! That was unbelievable. The ball was out even before the whistle went. That is on both the refs and Ron as well.

Ron set a bad precedent there. He went from being a no nonsense coach to someone that you might want to test because, hey, you let Dwayne get away with it.

Well he can still recover if he handles the Haskins situation now. Shelf him, or cut him today. Make it clear. I think Rivera's heart was in the right place not wanting to let down the rest of the roster because Haskins was an idiot. Problem is he let down the rest of the roster letting him play

 

[SilentThreat]

I can’t remember the exact rule why, but the Carolina fumble play wasn‘t challengeable for some reason. That needs to be changed, stat.

it was ruled that forward progress had been stopped, which cannot be challenged.

problem is that's a judgement call, not a verifiable thing like getting both feet down in bounds.

Why the refs were so quick with the whistle is beyond me. They were 'letting' things play out for Carolina but not in favor of Washington. It was clearly not officiated with the same philosophy on both sides of the ball.

 

[MikefromOH]

Well he can still recover if he handles the Haskins situation now. Shelf him, or cut him today. Make it clear. I think Rivera's heart was in the right place not wanting to let down the rest of the roster because Haskins was an idiot. Problem is he let down the rest of the roster letting him play

The issue is he is recovering. He has already set the precedent. we can try to go back and see if it works, but he already broke from the no nonsense guy persona he put forward. Cam Newton knew not to mess with him...but, Dwayne Haskins can?

 

[SilentThreat]

The issue is he is recovering. He has already set the precedent. we can try to go back and see if it works, but he already broke from the no nonsense guy persona he put forward. Cam Newton knew not to mess with him...but, Dwayne Haskins can?

I know, imho judgements like that can be fluid. He handles the situation differently if a division title is not available. He was wrong about Haskins, now move on. Show the team that clearly he's not helping us win, and he's a knucklehead. Do something stupid and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and do my best to be fair, but do that AND cost the team wins? Nah bro.

 

[Boone]

I'll take them as you presented.
Haskins - can anyone add anything? He's capable of looking great for a series, but there's no predicting on when that might occur or if it might occur. You cannot rely on him. Rivera knows this and yet he put our playoff hopes in his hands. That's nearly an unforgiveable mistake. Haskins doesn't get it. He either lacks the character to lead, or he doesn't know how. As soon as I saw his first 2 passes sail off to God knows who yesterday, I knew it was not going to be one of his rare decent games. I knew.

Scott Turner. I don't disagree on most of the criticism. However, we have to remember that he is green as hell. This is literally his first real OC job where he has full control. He also has Dwayne Haskins at QB. Let's see any of us try to make that work. Note that as soon as Dwayne Haskins isn't at QB, suddenly our playcalling and production looks a lot more promising. Just saying. Way to early to even be thinking about a change there. He will be a good one but we have to let him gain experience.

Rivera. He may well end up costing us a playoff appearance. He's likely cost us at least 2 games with some questionable decisions. And as mentioned, putting a potential division title in the hands of a QB you've demonstrated over and over again that you don't trust and who isn't even respected by his teammates is an awful decision. Doubling down at halftime when it's clear he STILL isn't up to the challenge - unforgiveable. Rivera has never been a great in game decision-maker and that was just another career example of it. I like him - a lot. And he's the right coach for this team with this owner. But phew! Yesterday effing sucked and it's mostly Ron Rivera's fault.

The Refs. I agree. I'll restate that no home team gets the benefit of doubt on fewer calls than our team does. We don't even get make up calls after ones that are clearly blown (like the mystery whistle ending a fumble play when the RB hasn't even stopped moving forward yet). We could still have won yesterday without Haskins at QB even with the bad calls but the refs just killed us - repeatedly.

Sims. He is having a terrible 2020 after looking like he could be an electrifying weapon last year. I wouldn't release him, because I think he does have talent, and I think a lot of his issues are a result of him pressing and trying to do too much. But he is going to have to prove he can eliminate the mistakes going forward. What I don't understand is why we aren't giving Danny Johnson all of the return duties. He averages 22 yds per return (and that's his career average) and is easily the best returner we've had in recent history. Why put someone else back there who is unreliable? I just don't get that.

Cam Sims. I am a Cam Sims fan - but there's a reason why he is seemingly never going to live up to his potential. That TD was in his hands. THere is no explaining it coming out as he went to the ground other than a lack of concentration. I've seen him make spectacular 'how did he catch that' catches over and over again. And then there's yesterday. You had a TD at a huge moment in the game and you let it wobble out of your hands. That's Cam Sims for you.

 

[Boone]

it was ruled that forward progress had been stopped, which cannot be challenged.

problem is that's a judgement call, not a verifiable thing like getting both feet down in bounds.

Why the refs were so quick with the whistle is beyond me. They were 'letting' things play out for Carolina but not in favor of Washington. It was clearly not officiated with the same philosophy on both sides of the ball.

The problem with the rule that once the whistle blows the play is dead and nothing that happens after that is relevant is simple. Sometimes the whistle blowing the play dead is itself, an error, and one that can not then be corrected. The refs should be able to review all plays before and after the whistle, and determine what the call should be. That was one of the worst quick whistles I have ever seen, and of course it was on a crucial turnover play.

 

[SilentThreat]

The problem with the rule that once the whistle blows the play is dead and nothing that happens after that is relevant is simple. Sometimes the whistle blowing the play dead is itself, an error, and one that can not then be corrected. The refs should be able to review all plays before and after the whistle, and determine what the call should be. That was one of the worst quick whistles I have ever seen, and of course it was on a crucial turnover play.

I dont care what they do as long is goes all directions. If you want to get holding happy, do it all the time. If you want to get PI happy, do it all the time, but don't pick and choose when you're going to let things play out and when you're not. Outcomes of games are being effected by officials when they should be there to 'enforce' the rule book.

IMHO forward progress is not stopped until the player begins losing ground. If they want the play to stop they can hit the dirt.

 

[MikefromOH]

I don't want to cut Steven Sims. Let me make that clear. I like the Crowder/Theilen type of slash WR because we can get huge chunks from them. He has to get his hands working for him instead of against him. He needs to practice catching all offseason.

I also make no mistake that we are not a playoff caliber team this year. Winning the division will still be good because it will show fight, effort, and give them experience in the post season. That is huge!

 

[SkinsOrlando]

I think the "hope" going into this game was Dwayne would be fired up to prove himself and recover after a bad PR week, that was certainly wrong, he really doesn't care, and I'll eat crow for suggesting he gets the start instead of the two unknowns.You can't fix someone who doesn't care, Jamarcus Russell talent galore, just didn't care. That's what we've got with Haskins, cut his ass and move on. Now this presents an interesting and perplexing situation at QB next year, do we cut Alex and eat the 10 million or risk having to pay him a boatload hoping he can play? Who knows. The defense on this team regardless of how the season ends has been as good or better than advertised, without this defense we're not even a 3 win team this year.

 

[SilentThreat]

I think part of the Haskins drama that needs to be kept in mind, is that if Rivera were to have cut him BEYOND removing the 'C' and hitting him with the biggest fine to date for Covid protocol infractions, what does that tell the rest of the locker room? That they need to be on pins and needles? That their coach is just looking for reasons to cut players?

I have been vocal about feeling like the Haskins situation was not handled well, but I also can understand Rivera looking at it and keeping in mind that Haskins broke no laws, and if this wasn't a 'covid' period, his actions would not have warranted any attention so where do you draw the line?

 

[MikefromOH]

Cutting him is the extreme to one side...doing nothing is the extreme on the other.

I don't think he needs to go to either side, but he needs something more towards the cutting side and less towards the nothing.

If you have $20 on you and I take $1 it doesn't mean anything. If you already know you are out after the season and I take the C off your chest...what does that do?

Ron benched Cam for not wearing a tie for an entire half. That was just because it was HIS policy. Dwayne broke NFL policy TWICE and he still played. He set a bad tone there.

 

[timmysmith]

Everyone is who they are.

Turner is a product of his dad, and Norv didn't have the stones to run if he was down by a point. Called plays like a frightened rabbit. I'll give ole Norv one thing, he could script the first drive. The 4th play on Scott's opening drive script is obviously a punt.

Riverboat. Guy is a well below .500 coach if you remove a couple of freak seasons by Cam Newton. I asked everyone yesterday what is the guy known for, what is his coaching philosophy, and no one could answer. One thing is clear, the Skins (I said it) are not ready to play each and every week. So any thought that he is a motivator is trash.

Haskins. I continue to be wrong about this guy. He is not good in any facet. Least of all, leadership. He has the same level of maturity I had at 23. But I wasn't the face of a billion dollar company. Whatever cockiness he had coming in is gone. I will say that without Mclaurin, the Skins WR corp isn't XFL ready. So be it, Haskins certainly didn't make anyone look better that they are. How is it the Skins have no 3rd stringer?

The refs. They blew it yesterday. The announcers and the refs must travel together because the Skins get 4th tier of both.

Alex Smith. Sorry folks, my opinion will be unpopular. He can't play anymore and it's hurting the team. Having him on the roster was probably unavoidable. I know about the wins, but honestly guys, 7-9 (maybe?) is not good, even if it squeeks in. He is a miracle, I admit it. And if he never gets hurt, the Skins are probably looking at the 3rd playoff run in a row. It's hard to blame Haskins, when he is the only option. Godspeed next year Alex.

 

[MikefromOH]

We talked about Smith a lot this past week. Most of us believe his leg might be worse than they are saying and he could be done for good.

Interesting take on Ron. I do think he brings a certain mentality and intensity, but we go down almost immediately in every game by 10-14. We have ZERO opening drives this season. That is definitely on him.

 

[ntotoro]

Alex Smith’s existence doesn’t hurt the team, but I do think there’s more to his injury than is being let on. It could very well be something that makes it an easy decision to hang up his cleats after the season. The big thing is the QB of the future (and maybe even present) doesn’t exist even at the end of the tunnel. Thanks, Dan.

Haskins could have used Smith’s comeback as extreme inspiration, but nope. It’s not a maturity thing. It’s ego and personality.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Gene Steratore was in on the fix.


Stooge said forward progress was stopped when the guy was falling FORWARD.

(Oh, let me remind everyone 2020 is going to be a draft class teams wish they loaded up on picks for. When you can hit with a bottom round like Kamren Curl...that's a DEEP class.)