BGO Blind Pig: Week 10 at Philadelphia

[Boone]

The guys talk about Dan Snyder's latest ill-advised communique, debate how long we might have to continue suffering under his reign, and eventually talk about last week's heartbreaker against the Vikings, and this week's Monday Night clash in Philadelphia. Expletives provided at no additional cost.

 

[MikefromOH]

This game is going to be bad....for us.

We won't put a spy on Hurts and we won't be able to move the ball. It's a recipe for a blowout.

 

[Boone]

One stat I wanted to mention. Philly is scoring 70% of the time when in the red zone. That has to be tops in the league.

 

[Chris]

I’ll be surprised if Washington keeps it within 20.

 

[Bulldog]

I don't know about this one.

Washington seems to have a habit of rising up and winning that ONE game every year or two where they are a decided underdog

The Eagles are not a 16-0 caliber team and my guess is they stub their toes enough over the second half of the season where they finish 13-3.

The Commanders can win this game specifically because non one (including the Eagles) are giving them much of a chance.

Remember the 0-12 Cowboys beating the Redskins who would finish 10-6 on Monday Night in 1989?

That's what happens in the division.

 

[Boone]

I said the same thing about last week’s game

 

[Bulldog]

Yep, and the Vikings got out of here by the hair on their chinny chin chin.

Washington has done well against the point spread since that loss to the Eagles earlier in the season.

Jalen Hurts is not Joe Montana. He is going to have a game where he throws some picks or loses the ball in the ground game. Our defense has been playing well enough to keep the team in these games.

 

[Chris]

I don't know about this one.

Washington seems to have a habit of rising up and winning that ONE game every year or two where they are a decided underdog

The Eagles are not a 16-0 caliber team and my guess is they stub their toes enough over the second half of the season where they finish 13-3.

The Commanders can win this game specifically because non one (including the Eagles) are giving them much of a chance.

Remember the 0-12 Cowboys beating the Redskins who would finish 10-6 on Monday Night in 1989?

That's what happens in the division.

You’ve changed my mind.

I’ll be surprised if Washington keeps it within 19.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, Washington lost 24-8 when our quarterback was Wentz and we were in a downward spiral on defense.

Our defense has improved measurably since then and while Taylor has thrown some picks, we don't see the 5-6 sacks per week and strip fumbles that Wentz suffered through by holding onto the ball for 30 seconds in the pocket.

If Turner actually allowed Taylor to use his mobility the way other teams capitalize on the athleticism of their quarterbacks we might actually be able to score over 20 points.

 

[Chris]

I would be thrilled if Washington would win.

Philly will have an even greater home field advantage then they did the first go round. This time their fan base has all day to get liquored up. Prime time national night games are not exactly a Washington specialty either.

 

[Boone]

Well, Washington lost 24-8 when our quarterback was Wentz and we were in a downward spiral on defense.

Our defense has improved measurably since then and while Taylor has thrown some picks, we don't see the 5-6 sacks per week and strip fumbles that Wentz suffered through by holding onto the ball for 30 seconds in the pocket.

If Turner actually allowed Taylor to use his mobility the way other teams capitalize on the athleticism of their quarterbacks we might actually be able to score over 20 points.

I agree that Heinicke is more effective when he is a threat to run or is allowed to roll out. But what holds him back most of all is his inability to see and hit wide open receivers. It happens multiple times per game and it was a major factor in our failure to put away the Vikings.

 

[Bulldog]

From watching these games, to me we WASTE a number of key downs by having Taylor throw passes that are not really in his wheel house to complete on a regular basis. The 20 yard out is simply not in his repertoire. His arm simply doesn't allow him to get those passes out in front quickly enough to make the completion and avoid a pass deflection or potential pick.

Remember how much Joe Gibbs changed the Washington offense when Jay Schroeder came in for Joe Theismann? Joe had been operating in a moving pocket to take advantage of his athletic ability and the offense from the pocket was based largely on hitches and quick short passes as Joe's down the field accuracy waned at age 35.

After Joe went down, Gibbs almost immediately eliminated the controlled rollouts and shorter passes that Jay tended to overthrow (such as screens!) and utilized play action off the run game to throw the intermediate and deep routes we hadn't been running earlier in 1985 because those were the plays Jay was most effective at running/completing.

Brian Mitchell recently brought up the issue of the predictability of the offense and the fact Taylor looked hamstrung at times in the pocket when there was green grass in front of him. He seemed to think it was part of the game plan to keep him in the pocket and run the offense that had been practiced in the offseason and camp, etc.

Part of the offensive challenge all season has been the lack of visible production from the tight end position.

Logan Thomas hasn't made it all the way back from the ACL and looks to have lost his separation speed.

Even though the team kept 4 tight ends on the active roster during the last cutdowns and cut players at other positions to start the season no one else has stepped up in the passing game to contribute given Thomas' limitations.

And it doesn't appear as if any of the 4 are great in line blockers either.