Next Day Thread: What Was That? (Dallas Edition)

[KDawg]

The call to not go for 2 doesn't irk me as much as the 51 yarder on 4rth and 2 earlier in the game.

I can get behind this. I understand kicking the 51 yarder - but I would agree that if you're going to have questions on either... I think it's that one.

 

[Boone]

Eh, I don’t know. Going for two at home is a real conundrum. If we were in Dallas I’d have done it. At home, with momentum? Probably not.

As someone who has made those calls in real life, it’s one of those things that seems real easy to do from our position but in the moment there are a ton of factors. I do not fault Quinn one bit and completely believe he never considered it. It’s the NFL. Your kicker should be able to make a XP and missing two in one game has such astronomically small odds I think he played the odds correctly.

I don't disagree with any of that. I guess my mentality is, when things don't seem to be going your way, being aggressive is the way I'd prefer to go out. I didn't like our chances even had the game gone to OT. Between the officials calling every foul possible on us and barely noticing Dallas was on the field, and some unlucky bounces (forced fumbles bouncing right into Dallas players hands), muffed returns turning into TDs, etc...), it just didn't seem like we were going to prevail without something dramatic. But I get your point.

 

[Riggo44]

The call to not go for 2 doesn't irk me as much as the 51 yarder on 4rth and 2 earlier in the game.

The way we were moving the ball--I can understand this.

 

[Bulldog]

All of the injuries and excuses aside, the fact remains that preventing a 99 yard kickoff return and converting extra points equals a victory no matter how ugly yesterday.

Next week against Tennessee is the same deal, another sub .500 team that doesn’t have an established quarterback with bona fides and a roster with some injuries as well.

I expect Washington to win this game at home.

If we can’t get an inspired effort at home at this stage of the season under these circumstances then we may finish with 7-8 wins but it will be with a bitter taste much like some of Norv’s teams.

Remember 7-1 followed by 1-7 in 1996?

That type of collapse is not a character builder and is often more of a burden than starting 0-5 and finishing strong to get to 7-9 wins.

The irony for this team is that guys like 34 year old Bobby Wagner and Zack Ertz have remained healthy while our rookies and younger players are going down like flys.

Guys like Coleman and Newton need to prove they can stay on the field and be counted on. With Brandon it has been one thing after another since the OTAs.

I am still holding my breath that Newton doesn’t have the chronic structural issue the physiatrist was talking about in the offseason after the second broken foot/toe, namely that some athletes bodies can’t sustain the weight they are carrying.

It’s rare that a player breaks toes in both feet in sequential injuries.

If it happens again that may be all she wrote for his long-term NFL career.

 

[Hail Raiser]

The way we were moving the ball--I can understand this.

As good as Siebert had been before the injury, the knock on him was that he can't hit the long ones.

We had a better chance to get the 1rst, than hitting a 51 yarder.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Only thing I'll quibble about is that the decision to throw downfield is not just about Kingsbury's playcall. There were a number of times where receivers were marginally open yesterday and Daniels would not pull the trigger. I'm not sure if he lacks some confidence to make tight window throws right now with the rib injury, or whether he's being coached to play more cautiously, but Kingsbury isn't the one choosing whether to throw or not on a lot of these plays. We should've been able to run on Dallas. They have one of the worst russhing defenses in the league in 2024. So I expected a rush heavy gameplan because it made the most sense. And lets be honest - if Kingsbury goes pass heavy when the rush was mostly ineffective, the fanbase is screaming that giving up on the run cost us the game. The bottom line is always the same. If you don't take risks, there is no reward. If you can't execute, it doesn't matter what the playcall was or wasn't.

Run on first down into an 8 man box for 1 yard.
Run on 2nd down for no gain or a quick screen for a yard again against an 8 man box.
Throw incomplete under enormous pressure because you are on an obvious passing down
Punt.

Lather, rinse, repeat. This is what I saw from this offense until there was 4 minutes to play.

 

[mcdonaldrw]

Bottom line. First half of the season every offensive drive the team was out there aggressively attacking the defense. That has not happened in the last few weeks. I think the biggest issue I had with yesterdays game/gameplan is all of the up the middle first down runs. Seriously if you see them stacked on the line pull out the screen make them pay with 5-6 easy catch yards, force them to spread the Defense out a bit. That is simply being out coached and not adjusting your game plan when something is flat out not working.

I still think they rushed JD back for the Bears game and should have let him have another week off there. I think the extra time to heal would have helped keep him from getting as gun shy as he seems to be. Hindsight 20/20 and all that though.

Hope we can start to move forward and see some fundamentally sound football again.

 

[Riggo44]

Bottom line. First half of the season every offensive drive the team was out there aggressively attacking the defense. That has not happened in the last few weeks. I think the biggest issue I had with yesterdays game/gameplan is all of the up the middle first down runs. Seriously if you see them stacked on the line pull out the screen make them pay with 5-6 easy catch yards, force them to spread the Defense out a bit. That is simply being out coached and not adjusting your game plan when something is flat out not working.

There are two elements to this that are limiting this ability: The OL can't block my grandmother who died in 1993. And our receivers were catching everything then, they have balls go right through their hands repeatedly now. The more I think about it, I think it has less to do with game planning/play calling (it does to some extent, I am not giving Kingsbury a pass), and more to do with regression to the mean based on our talent, or lack thereof.

 

[KDawg]

There are two elements to this that are limiting this ability: The OL can't block my grandmother who died in 1993. And our receivers were catching everything then, they have balls go right through their hands repeatedly now. The more I think about it, I think it has less to do with game planning/play calling (it does to some extent, I am not giving Kingsbury a pass), and more to do with regression to the mean based on our talent, or lack thereof.

This.

 

[mcdonaldrw]

I get what you're saying Riggo44 and agree 100%, doesn't help with the frustration levels though haha.

 

[Ashburn Dave]

Another Misery Monday......................damn!

It's obvious we still need some studs everywhere. Part of me is content with where we are considering this is year 1 of a total rebuild. We had some lucky bounces in the first 9 games and JD caught some teams by surprise.

Now, our luck has run out, and teams are prepared for JD.

I think the jury is still out on KK and what he brings. I would like for him to be more aggressive with the deep shots but maybe he can't with our current OL.

Our future is still bright even if we have to lower our expectations for this year after starting 7-2.

Nobody could have predicted, at the start of the year, that we would be in playoff contention this late in the season so I'm going back to that thought for my sanity. Otherwise, I'll kick the dog or TV if I keep dwelling on yesterday's loss.

 

[Riggo44]

I get what you're saying Riggo44 and agree 100%, doesn't help with the frustration levels though haha.

Nope. Not at all. I'm still pissed--which is a good thing, it means I care again. Deeply. I haven't been this pissed in a long, long time.

 

[Warhead36]

Nothing more to say than that was one of the most embarrassing and pathetic games I've ever seen this team play and that's saying something. The offense was legitimately complete trash other than a couple good Daniels runs. We literally did not complete a single pass on 3rd down and had NO plays of more than 15 yards until down 20-9. The defense couldn't get off the field when they needed to against Cooper fucking Rush and Rico freaking Dowdle. And Special Teams was a joke on all fronts.

 

[burgold]

Bottom line. First half of the season every offensive drive the team was out there aggressively attacking the defense. That has not happened in the last few weeks. I think the biggest issue I had with yesterdays game/gameplan is all of the up the middle first down runs. Seriously if you see them stacked on the line pull out the screen make them pay with 5-6 easy catch yards, force them to spread the Defense out a bit. That is simply being out coached and not adjusting your game plan when something is flat out not working.

I still think they rushed JD back for the Bears game and should have let him have another week off there. I think the extra time to heal would have helped keep him from getting as gun shy as he seems to be. Hindsight 20/20 and all that though.

Hope we can start to move forward and see some fundamentally sound football again.

Honestly, I think this is what I call the Blache-effect.

A few seasons ago, Blache led our defense and we suffered a spate of injuries to the secondary. To counter this, Blache adopted a bend but don't break style that was so conservative that it was almost like playing prevent defense for the entire game. He was just so scared of our defense getting burned that he let us die of a thousand papercuts.

I think Kingsbury is doing the offensive version of this. I think he sees an already weak offensive line hobbled by injuries and needing to rely on backups who probably aren't good enough to be put on the field. Seeing this weakness, he is scared to call an aggressive game (until he has no choice). So, you are seeing a prevent offense. Run, run/safe pass, and quick game. Instead of helping the offense though, just like with Blache, it makes it too easy for the other side. They get to constrict the box. They get to play loose because we are never unpredictable or dangerous. All you do is have to stack the box and cover everything within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Now, to a degree this protects the QB, but it also endangers him because D's have little fear of being burnt or threatened and we are taking one of Daniels' best skills (the deep throw) off the table.

I hoped the mini-bye would let the o-line heal up enough that Kingsbury would stop playcalling like Blache, but just like how prevent defenses prevent wins. Prevent offenses prevent wins, too, unless you have a dominant defense and while our defense has improved it ain't the '91 'skins or the '85 Bears.

 

[RandyHolt]

3 Fers

Good

• Special Teams Punt Rush - why previous regimes god feared punt blocks while focusing on returns/blocking e.g blocks in the back is mind boggling. Seeing 2 DTs bum rushing a 260 pound LS was a thing of beauty.
• Special Teams Kick Block - we blocked a FG!
• TMC - For those of us wishing he could finish those deep passes we got our wish.

Bad

• Coaching - Quinn and Klint failed us yesterday. Quinn whimping out and using his broken kicker over Daniels. Klint cant get Terry the ball nearly enough nor move around Daniels enough to evade the injuries up front.
• Kicking / Kick Coverage - You know. 2 Kick returns for TDs - you dont see that often. I know he had 7 chips shots in week1 but I want to see Gonzalez next week.
• OL - Daniels was under pressure early and often. Injuries.. but guess what Dallas had injuries too.

Mehgly

• Daniels - rebounded pretty well from 2 off weeks but 2 INTs ain't getting it done. He is not quite as elusive in the pocket as early in the year.
• Defense - Did meh overall but got embarrassed and driven down the field in the first quarter. Whitt finally dialed up Luvu attacking at the LOS but should have attacking at the first snap.
• WRs/TEs - McLaurin is keeping this group from being bad. Dyami flashed a bit. But Drops. Luke invisible. Sinnott invisible. Bates fumble.

 

[RandyHolt]

Skins must be the only team in the league where the OC refuses to move his best WR across the formation to hunt mismatches. Not very creative at all.

It's awkward as fack as we have all seen motion a staple in the league for decades. Monk jogging across the LOS with his towel dangling for a decade...

FWIW Terry has vaulted up the fantasy ranks and is having a great season but he could be fed more. We all know defenses are laser focused on him yet has posted solid numbers but is too reliant on big plays to post a good day.

What I think is supposed to happen with TMC stapled to that left side is free up Noah for consistent predictable single coverage. Noah is a big burly zone beater type and him facing tight man is grounding our offense. It seems like they are trying to ft. Noah more but has largely flopped; drops aside its not all on him. Daniels with more time in the pocket will let him find Brown in better spots.

I do think our OL's pass pro failing the past 3 weeks is a factor on TMC, WR (Left) not working, but its not all on them. DCs are attacking and moving up his corners. I am convinced of it. The onus is on Klint. Maybe his offenses go off a Kliff later in years as OL injuries inevitably happen to all teams. That's where he can't adjust. ROLL 5 OUT. Play action from under center. Dont run from gun its not always fun.

Dat towel...

 

[Warhead36]

We were motioning guys more early. I don't know what has happened since.

 

[Chris 44]

I have no idea why posters are being so hard on Jayden. Teams have not "figured him out" he ran for 74 yards yesterday, his third highest rushing game of the season. No I put this on KK and the coaching staff. When teams play up because you are a pussy and refuse to even throw a 10 yard pass why would you continue to run into a brick wall? The 2nd half dropoff with KK's teams are very real and I had always been concerned about that. But Jayden looks great physically, he just could not overcome the constant pressure and lack of desire to have a downfield passing game. KK had better figure out how to handle the blitz because they will see it from here on out. After starting the season with 2 drops in 2 months this receiving corp, and the OC, didn't give Jayden Daniels a chance yesterday. Open up the offense Kliff, this is not working and your QB is fine physically

Each time they lined up 5 or 6 on the D line I though KK will call something quick to beat the rush and exploit the underneath coverage, make them pay and move away from the 5 or 6 man fronts. Didn't happen.

 

[Gooseneck]

There are two elements to this that are limiting this ability: The OL can't block my grandmother who died in 1993. And our receivers were catching everything then, they have balls go right through their hands repeatedly now. The more I think about it, I think it has less to do with game planning/play calling (it does to some extent, I am not giving Kingsbury a pass), and more to do with regression to the mean based on our talent, or lack thereof.

would your dead grandmother be interested in being a DT?

 

[Riggo Reincarnated]

Average to good teams have to play complementary football to win consistently. This is the 2nd week in a row we got a mostly heroic effort from the defense only to have the other 2 units let us down completely. Yes, the offense made some noise in the 4th quarter. But they scored 3 points in a half against one of the worst teams in 2024. I will say this... Dallas has a pretty good secondary, not stellar, but good. Getting a ton of pressure on Daniels made them look very good. The bottom line is, if the offense and ST play even decently yesterday, Washington wins that game going away.

Brother Om has been saying it all year - this team is always ready to play. They have not come out looking flat and unprepared all year - until now. It's hard to understand how, with extra time to prepare, playing at home, and most importantly against a very familiar opponent, that we'd look like the team that wasn't ready to play.

We can slice and dice and rant and rave about players all we want today. But this felt like a coaching and gameplanning failure to me.

I agree - you have the advantage of multiple days extra prep and practice on the enemy - it NEEDS to be used. They gave the players too many days off and this negated the preparation and conditioning advantage we should have had.