Official Game Thread: Week 1 - WFT vs. Chargers

[Boone]

Our 2021 Regular Season opener features a revamped Washington team facing the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers return with promising young QB and 2020 OROY Justin Herbert under center. The Chargers, despite winning their last 4 games of 2020, fired HC Anthony Lynn and start 2021 with an all-new coaching staff including first time Head Coach Brandon Staley, OC Joe Lombardi, and DC Renaldo Hill.

Currently the Chargers are favored by 1.5 points.

Gametime is 1pm on Sunday 12 September at Fed Ex Field.

Click HERE for the Week 1 Game Guide

Here's an unofficial Chargers Depth Chart which also has some good info on key players.

Post about the game HERE, before, during, and after.

 

[Boone]

Fairly objective and fair take by a Chargers fan here...

LA Chargers: What to Expect from Washington in Week 1

The 2021 LA Chargers season kickoff is right around the corner, and the Bolts will have their hands full in Week 1 with the reigning NFC Least champion Washington..........Football Team and their vaunted defensive front.

It's a tough matchup for the Bolts in their 2021 debut, but what can we expect to see out of this Washington team when rubber meets the turf?

Here's the thing about Washington this year- now everybody knows they're here. Some may even say "the jig is up." There's no question to any of us that this Washington team has one of, if not the best defense in football- certainly as it pertains to their pass rush led by Chase Young.

Young, along with Montez Sweat, Da'Ron Payne, Jonathan Allen, and Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle coming off the bench give the future "Red Hogs" a lethal and deep cache of pass rushers that could be able to carry this team to consecutive NFC East crowns- something that hasn't been accomplished in the division since the Eagles did it in the Donovan McNabb days.

But I've got a serious problem with this team that is glaring to me.

It can immediately benefit the LA Chargers in this Week 1 matchup.

The Washington Football Team has a big problem at their most important position of quarterback in their number one guy being Ryan Fitzpatrick....

Read the complete article HERE

 

[MisterPinstripe]

Unsure how much credibility to give the author since 3 if the 4 corner backs he listed were not on our team last year. And the fourth wasn't a starter. And he obviously didn't watch Smith play last year because he was throwing more interceptions then he's used to and not moving the ball well.

 

[MisterPinstripe]

All in all, this will be a huge test for our offense. If we can produce well in this game it bodes well for the rest of the season. And I feel like servings year of rivera is an affable over a first year head coach.

EDIT -- WTH did my phone autocorrect do to this post, holy smokes. **And I feel like SECOND year of Rivera is an ADVANTAGE over a first year head coach.**

 

[MisterPinstripe]

I think you're misreading it. I didn't take it that he was saying those guys played in 2020 - just that the secondary has been revamped. And he wasn't specifically referencing Smith's 2020 performance, but rather the career differences between Smith and Fitzpatrick.

He actually was pretty knowledgeable about the impact players on defense in particular, given he's not a WFT fan or coverage guy.

Definitely possible, but to me this reads as connecting last year and this year. Why bring up players that weren't a part of the great play last year?
Him:
This Washington secondary was second-best last year in PYPG allowed, but it's a new era for the organization with Quinton Dunbar, Bashaud Breeland, Fabian Moreau, and Josh Norman all gone.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

People who say that Fitzpatrick is a downgrade from Smith last year didn't watch either QB play. Smith played very conservatively, but still threw more INTs than TDs. Both guys played a similar amount of games last year, so comparing their stats is a fair comparison.

Player	Games	W - L	Yards	Comp %	TDs	INTs
Smith	8	5-1	1,582	66.7	6	8
Fitzpatrick	9	4-3	2,091	68.5	13	8

The bottom line is that the offense should be better with Fitzpatrick. Smith has been better over his career, but not last year. So adding Fitzpatrick, along with Samuel, Humphries, and Brown makes the passing game better than it was last year. It remains to be seen if these upgrades will come to fruition, but heading into the season, the offense definitely looks better than it did last year.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

This for me, this is a tough one, call it being cautious, maybe pessimistic or realistic just trying to figure out the knowns vs unknowns of any football season but we have the data and analytics from let's be honest. That was not a good team last year but happened to be the drunk chick at the dance who went home with the dude who couldn't score on his deathbed. We had the bright light at the end with pushing TB into waking up that "any given Sunday" is real, I'd wager that game shook them harder then expected, but was it a set of circumstance and looking past your opponent or we're we showing that we're building to be on the verge of greatness? What I do know is if our offense cannot generate points as in last year, the defense can only do so much and I'm not sold on Rivera and the whole "well he's been to a superbowl." So did Bill Callahan and Bobby Ross, they road that into future contracts and accomplished nothing, even at the college ranks. The realm of what we don't know this year is exuded by the optimism we're getting from the media, hurts my bones to hear good things about the WFT, they even still shit on the 91 team which is statistically top 3 all time. It's like they want to butter our biscuits only to find there's no gravy later. I have to admit I watched not one single pre-season snap, some due to geography and some due to why in the world would I watch this and expect it to translate into the regular season. We've all been through the GOAT years of Gibbs, couldn't win a pre-season game maybe more accurate didn't care to, being humble is not a bad thing when teaching lessons, and then winning the pre-season battle of Spurrier and then the FA game that never manifested into anything but seeing Fat Albert say "Hey Hey HAY" while laying down for 8 seconds. It's a different type of feeling for me, the name is gone, not forgotten, the memories last and still manifest in the pulses of our heart beats but we are in different territory, uncharted waters. For me, right now, I just want the WFT to show up and in homage to the Redskins teams of the past who gave us all a purpose to be here, typing diatribes such as mine right now to say "WE ARE YOUR TEAM." At the end of it all, we want our FUCKING pride back, and if this needs edited please do.

Let this year begin the transformation of us looking forward to Sundays again with a grin instead of a grimace.

HTTR!!!

WTF 27 - LA Charges 20

So let it be written, so let it be done

 

[Boone]

Anyone who says they know what the next 3-5 years has in store for Washington ________ fans is full of it. Rivera's resume is a mixed bag. Setting aside 'creating a great culture' (which don't get me wrong, is wonderful, but doesn't mean much if you are still perenially irrelevant), he had great success in Carolina, and also some tough seasons.

I think his teams have historically tended to have really good defenses, and were disciplined without a lot of silly mental mistakes. Aside from an electric Cam in his prime and decent production from Jake Delhomme, his offenses were nothing spectacular. Hard to know how it will go in DC.

The opener will be a real test for the defense - because Justin Herbert can just eat you alive with his accuracy, and he's got some serious weapons on offense. Our DBs and DL better be ready. With them having an all new coaching staff, and not playing most starters at all during the preseason, we should handle them. Doesn't mean we will though.

 

[MikefromOH]

Samuel is still a possible. He has no preseason time and no chemistry with Fitz.

We are going to struggle at O. Our D may be able to help out and keep the score down.

 

[Boone]

True Mike - but keep in mind the Chargers have an all new offense and they have not played their skill position starters for a single preseason down. So it may be more of an even contest on offense than it might normally be. Hope so anyway.

 

[MikefromOH]

Hope so, too. I'm just concerned with our O lacking WRs yet again.

 

[Canadian Hog]

What I find intriguing about this opening contest is that you have 2 fanbases who both feel this is a winnable game.

Ultimately, I think it will come down to how well we take away the Chargers' best weapon in Herbert, and I don't necessarily think that falls squarely on the shoulders of the defence. Scott Turner will have his finger in the cake too.

I think the best way to neutralize Herbert is by running the offense through Gibson on Sunday. I have said it several times, but I feel his play ultimately will dictate the fate of the offence in 2021. If Antonio gets hot on Sunday, we are controlling the clock, and Herbert is sitting on the sidelines being an awesome spectator, it also takes a bit of pressure off our passing attack to be forced to gel right out of the gates. Ultimately, if we are chasing the game and we have to rely on some Fitzmagic to show its face, I think that might be asking a bit too much in Week 1 and we will be disappointed. Smart, patient, and calculated offensive football is a big key for us this weekend.

On a side note, I can't wait to see how we stack up against Rashawn Slater. You heard often through the draft process how this guy did great work in college against Chase Young. Something tells me this defensive line will be chomping at the bit to introduce Mr. Slater to the NFL.

Should be a great game and one that has us talking for better or worse about Dustin Hopkins come Monday.

 

[Knightingale]

I'm a little pessimistic coming into this game, especially with what our Starting O showed in pre-season. I'm wondering if it'll take a couple of games for us to settle in offensively, which means it's going to be all on our D to keep us in these first games.
The Chargers are a dangerous team offensively, so will test our overhauled secondary. Here's hoping Collins is back to his best and WJIII is as advertised.

With Ioniddas back, and with the Sweat/Young combo in year 2 I think it's possible that our pass rush could take a significant step forward. It might not matter who they have on their O-line, I'm hoping our guys can feast.

 

[Boone]

They have a revamped OL and a completely new offense and all new offensive coaching staff. So how come we are the ones who are going to take time to settle in? They didn't play their key guys in a single preseason snap.

Herbert played great last year, and they have some talent at WR and RB. But they have just as many question marks as we do imho.

 

[Chris]

West coast team traveling to the east coast with a 1pm kickoff?

I likey.

 

[Boone]

Curtis Samuel practicing at full speed today.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Herbert is by far the most understated quarterback ever. He always gives a vibe that he is lesser than he actually is. He's big, fast, and strong, but you'd think he's a small, scrawny, 6 ft dude.

 

[MisterPinstripe]

Pointing to last year out of context really misses somethings I think. First year head coach, no offseason, going through cancer treatments. The first half of the year at least Rivera was openly in assessment mode, not playing to win games which frustrated a lot of us. Continually playing Haskins even though he was awful, again in assessment mode. Going for 2 instead of kicking a FG in the Giants game when with how the game was going if we went to OT we were going to win. It wasnt until sometime in the second half of the year that he realized we could still win the division and starting going for it. We went 5-1 with a hobbled Alex Smith at that point. This year is his second, first full mostly normal offseason, systems established, and from the get go going for the division and more. Im not saying it will be an easy year but context matters for what we have moving forward.

The talking heads joke about us winning at 7-9, completely either forgetting or ignoring everything that led up to that. No talk about the difference in our record with Haskins and without him and what that means moving forward.

It reminds me of people saying the Eagles gave us the game/division in that final game. Apparently they gave us a game that we had been winning when they pulled their QB who through 3 quarters had 100 passing yards. To hear them talk you would think the Eagles were winning when they pulled Hurts and he was having a good game.

 

[Boone]

I agree with most of that - completely fair and there's little acknowledgment of what Rivera and company did in 2020.

That being said, things that argue against high expectations this season include:

- Questions about whether Turner's offense can produce even with theoretically better QBing.
- Very tough schedule
- Rivera's in-game coaching. Yes - he gets a lot of benefit of the doubt for last year. But his resume includes a large sample size in Carolina where some of it was great, and a lot of it pretty mediocre.

We'll see how things go.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Given that they put Fitzpatrick at the helm, they clearly are treating this as a transition year with maybe a Heinicke stretch run if the rest of the team can keep itself afloat.

Fitz's track record is pretty clear. He's a INT tosser and coaches hate turnovers.