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Week seven is officially in the books and the Washington Football Team lost their 3rd consecutive game to drop to 2-5 on the season. It is going to be very tough sledding to get back into the playoff picture after the loss in Green Bay, but if anything, yesterday was closer to a step in the right direction for the team as a whole than almost anything else we have seen this season from the Burgundy and Gold. Unfortunately, the WFT did what bad teams are experts at - shoot themselves in the foot - repeatedly, and it cost them mightily against a more talented Packers roster. Let's get right into this week's Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips.
Studs:
1. Jon Allen - the 4 year 72 million dollar extension signed by Allen is one you are happy to pay when you get the type of performance that #93 gave us yesterday. The defensive line arguably had their most complete game of the season and Allen was front and center in the solid play. He got home and sacked Aaron Rodgers twice in the contest, and consistently generated interior pressure that made Rodgers have to work for every inch Sunday afternoon. The good news is that Sunday seemed to be par for the course for Allen this season. He has easily been our most solid lineman the entire year. You feel good going into the future with a cornerstone like Allen who can serve as a leader and face of your defense for years to come.
Duds:
1. Charles Leno - the offensive line has quietly been the best positional group on the WFT in 2021. Unfortunately, yesterday was a bad day at the office for Charles Leno Jr. and easily his toughest game in Burgundy and Gold. I wonder how much of Green Bay potentially knowing his tendencies from his days in Chicago had to do with that? Regardless, Leno was manhandled on several occasions, pushed back into Heinicke's face with ease, and had his hands full all day. With the score 14-7 Green Bay to start the second half and Washington receiving the ball, Leno picked the most inopportune of times to be off his game. He allowed a sack of Heinicke which resulted in a fumble recovery for Green Bay. They subsequently put together a quick 27 yard TD drive to make the game 21-7. That then put us in a bit of a chase mode the rest of the half. We really needed a better showing coming out of the second half and Leno needed to especially be better.
2. Antonio Gibson - this guy just seems to have a knack for fumbling at the most costly of times in games this year. We can't afford to have arguably our 2nd biggest offensive weapon mishandle the ball so often. Putting the ball on the carpet inside the red zone and coming up empty was unfortunate, and clearly the theme of the day yesterday. He averaged only 3.6 yards per carry yesterday (14/51), but more importantly, seems to be contributing nothing to the pass game. There were high hopes for what Antonio could bring to this offense this year in the passing game, but unfortunately, that has amounted to very little in 2021. He seems to be far off at this point from being a guy who can replicate that Christian McCaffrey-type role for our ball club.
3. The NFL - somebody please tell me what a touchdown is in 2021. I am somewhat confused. While Heinicke's non-touchdowns likely wouldn't have changed the overall outcome of the game yesterday, I just hate sometimes how this league gets so bogged down with the minutia of rules. There is no human element anymore and it is a bit of a turnoff for me sometimes when watching these games.
Milk Duds:
These chocolate covered caramel balls are okay, but not the greatest of candy treats in my mind. Halloween is right around the corner so I figured that this week, we would classify those who weren't terrible on Sunday, but simply terrible in the worst of spots in the game, as our "Milk Duds." Here they are:
1. Terry McLaurin - He will catch that pass in the end zone from Heinicke the next 100 times if they did a do over. All in all, a costly error for a team that felt like they were right there with Green Bay most of the way.
2. Taylor Heinicke - He had some pretty good moments between the 20s yesterday. You could tell that he was inspired to play a good game in Green Bay in honour and memory of his dad, a longtime Packers fan. Much like Terry, he made a critical mistake down by the goal line by diving across for a touchdown when there really wasn't much need to. Years ago, we dealt with Robert Griffin who seemed incapable of taking to coaching to better protect his body. Now, we seem to have the polar opposite in Heinicke, who seems to be listening to the staff for how to protect himself. Unfortunately, that extra bit of cautiousness is costing us too.
3. Scot Turner - the son of Norv seems to be making a regular appearance here on the Mondays after games. He didn't call a terrible game, but was really bad when we could least afford him to be yesterday. When we elected to go for it on 4th and 3 in around the Packers' 30 yard line in a 7-7 game, he kind of put himself behind the eight ball. On the 3rd and 3 call prior, if you know it is going to be two down territory, why not try a run on 3rd down? That way, you create a bit of an element of surprise for what we might do on 4th down, especially if we moved the pile say a yard or two on third down. To make matters worse, Turner went empty set. Why not just shout out to the defense at that point that we are going to pass? He did the same thing on the Heinicke QB keeper at the goal line - empty set! The Packers were waiting for the sneak.
4. Ron Rivera - I might be nitpicking, but I thought Rivera should have given Blewitt an opportunity at a field goal attempt in a 7-7 game with a few minutes left in the 1st half. You have the opportunity to take the lead in Lambeau Field, I think you do it. To make matters worse, you just released Hopkins. If you don't have the confidence that Blewitt can make the attempt, why bother making a change at Place Kicker to begin with? Maybe I am off, but it was just a bad look to me all around.
Hat Tips:
1. Montez Sweat - Sweat did a bit of a disappearing act the last few weeks overall, but it was nice to see his presence felt yesterday. To me, that defensive line just has a different swagger about them when Montez is on his game and he appeared to be more often than not yesterday. He registered a sack against Aaron Rodgers and almost had a second one had it not been for some nice shiftiness on the part of Aaron Rodgers. He now stands at 4 sacks on the year, one behind team leader Jon Allen. We will need #90 to get on a hot streak if we hope to have a push in the second half of the season as a team, and build off of yesterday's promising team defensive performance.
2. Terry McLaurin - you absolutely are sick to your stomach after watching Terry drop that pass in the end zone for what should have been his second touchdown of the day. A score there makes it a one score game and then you put pressure on the Green Bay offense to make something happen against a defense that was having a decent day at the office overall. However, outside of that play, Terry did Terry things the rest of the day. He amassed 7 receptions for 122 yards, as well as a 40 yard beautiful TD in a contested catch situation. Our next three leading receivers combined on the day (Seals-Jones, Humphries, and McKissic) for only 121 yards receiving. Where would we have been without Terry? For as steady as McLaurin has been catching and securing the ball throughout his career, he has now had two easy drops the last two weeks, as well as one earlier in the year in the game winning drive against Atlanta. That is something to watch out for going forward and surely something our team leader will hold himself accountable to fix.
3. Danny Johnson - He surely wasn't spectacular yesterday, but he made a play or two, tackled soundly, and forced a fumble. He was a breath of fresh air in a secondary that has been putrid in 2021 so far. Will Rivera give others in the backend an opportunity to prove themselves and infuse some life into a group that desperately needs a jolt?
4. Tim Settle - it is always nice seeing guys make contributions on special teams and Settle did a nice job getting a push and then getting a mitt on a Mason Crosby field goal attempt to keep the score tied at 7 in the first half. We haven't really seen him have his name be called too often when on the field this year for defensive snaps, and maybe plays like this give him the confidence needed to make an impact on the interior of the defensive front when put in spot duty.
5. Defensive Line - the Packers were held to 57 yards on the ground yesterday, we got home to Rodgers on 3 occasions, and held one of the better offenses in the NFL to 304 total yards. The defensive line group played a huge role in that. More of the same on a consistent basis moving forward will pay dividends for this football team in the second half of the season.
That's it for this week. What are your thoughts? Who did we miss? Here is hoping that we can break our losing streak next week in Denver. 7-3 or we don't go! Keep saying it in your mind over and over...
Studs:
1. Jon Allen - the 4 year 72 million dollar extension signed by Allen is one you are happy to pay when you get the type of performance that #93 gave us yesterday. The defensive line arguably had their most complete game of the season and Allen was front and center in the solid play. He got home and sacked Aaron Rodgers twice in the contest, and consistently generated interior pressure that made Rodgers have to work for every inch Sunday afternoon. The good news is that Sunday seemed to be par for the course for Allen this season. He has easily been our most solid lineman the entire year. You feel good going into the future with a cornerstone like Allen who can serve as a leader and face of your defense for years to come.
Duds:
1. Charles Leno - the offensive line has quietly been the best positional group on the WFT in 2021. Unfortunately, yesterday was a bad day at the office for Charles Leno Jr. and easily his toughest game in Burgundy and Gold. I wonder how much of Green Bay potentially knowing his tendencies from his days in Chicago had to do with that? Regardless, Leno was manhandled on several occasions, pushed back into Heinicke's face with ease, and had his hands full all day. With the score 14-7 Green Bay to start the second half and Washington receiving the ball, Leno picked the most inopportune of times to be off his game. He allowed a sack of Heinicke which resulted in a fumble recovery for Green Bay. They subsequently put together a quick 27 yard TD drive to make the game 21-7. That then put us in a bit of a chase mode the rest of the half. We really needed a better showing coming out of the second half and Leno needed to especially be better.
2. Antonio Gibson - this guy just seems to have a knack for fumbling at the most costly of times in games this year. We can't afford to have arguably our 2nd biggest offensive weapon mishandle the ball so often. Putting the ball on the carpet inside the red zone and coming up empty was unfortunate, and clearly the theme of the day yesterday. He averaged only 3.6 yards per carry yesterday (14/51), but more importantly, seems to be contributing nothing to the pass game. There were high hopes for what Antonio could bring to this offense this year in the passing game, but unfortunately, that has amounted to very little in 2021. He seems to be far off at this point from being a guy who can replicate that Christian McCaffrey-type role for our ball club.
3. The NFL - somebody please tell me what a touchdown is in 2021. I am somewhat confused. While Heinicke's non-touchdowns likely wouldn't have changed the overall outcome of the game yesterday, I just hate sometimes how this league gets so bogged down with the minutia of rules. There is no human element anymore and it is a bit of a turnoff for me sometimes when watching these games.
Milk Duds:
These chocolate covered caramel balls are okay, but not the greatest of candy treats in my mind. Halloween is right around the corner so I figured that this week, we would classify those who weren't terrible on Sunday, but simply terrible in the worst of spots in the game, as our "Milk Duds." Here they are:
1. Terry McLaurin - He will catch that pass in the end zone from Heinicke the next 100 times if they did a do over. All in all, a costly error for a team that felt like they were right there with Green Bay most of the way.
2. Taylor Heinicke - He had some pretty good moments between the 20s yesterday. You could tell that he was inspired to play a good game in Green Bay in honour and memory of his dad, a longtime Packers fan. Much like Terry, he made a critical mistake down by the goal line by diving across for a touchdown when there really wasn't much need to. Years ago, we dealt with Robert Griffin who seemed incapable of taking to coaching to better protect his body. Now, we seem to have the polar opposite in Heinicke, who seems to be listening to the staff for how to protect himself. Unfortunately, that extra bit of cautiousness is costing us too.
3. Scot Turner - the son of Norv seems to be making a regular appearance here on the Mondays after games. He didn't call a terrible game, but was really bad when we could least afford him to be yesterday. When we elected to go for it on 4th and 3 in around the Packers' 30 yard line in a 7-7 game, he kind of put himself behind the eight ball. On the 3rd and 3 call prior, if you know it is going to be two down territory, why not try a run on 3rd down? That way, you create a bit of an element of surprise for what we might do on 4th down, especially if we moved the pile say a yard or two on third down. To make matters worse, Turner went empty set. Why not just shout out to the defense at that point that we are going to pass? He did the same thing on the Heinicke QB keeper at the goal line - empty set! The Packers were waiting for the sneak.
4. Ron Rivera - I might be nitpicking, but I thought Rivera should have given Blewitt an opportunity at a field goal attempt in a 7-7 game with a few minutes left in the 1st half. You have the opportunity to take the lead in Lambeau Field, I think you do it. To make matters worse, you just released Hopkins. If you don't have the confidence that Blewitt can make the attempt, why bother making a change at Place Kicker to begin with? Maybe I am off, but it was just a bad look to me all around.
Hat Tips:
1. Montez Sweat - Sweat did a bit of a disappearing act the last few weeks overall, but it was nice to see his presence felt yesterday. To me, that defensive line just has a different swagger about them when Montez is on his game and he appeared to be more often than not yesterday. He registered a sack against Aaron Rodgers and almost had a second one had it not been for some nice shiftiness on the part of Aaron Rodgers. He now stands at 4 sacks on the year, one behind team leader Jon Allen. We will need #90 to get on a hot streak if we hope to have a push in the second half of the season as a team, and build off of yesterday's promising team defensive performance.
2. Terry McLaurin - you absolutely are sick to your stomach after watching Terry drop that pass in the end zone for what should have been his second touchdown of the day. A score there makes it a one score game and then you put pressure on the Green Bay offense to make something happen against a defense that was having a decent day at the office overall. However, outside of that play, Terry did Terry things the rest of the day. He amassed 7 receptions for 122 yards, as well as a 40 yard beautiful TD in a contested catch situation. Our next three leading receivers combined on the day (Seals-Jones, Humphries, and McKissic) for only 121 yards receiving. Where would we have been without Terry? For as steady as McLaurin has been catching and securing the ball throughout his career, he has now had two easy drops the last two weeks, as well as one earlier in the year in the game winning drive against Atlanta. That is something to watch out for going forward and surely something our team leader will hold himself accountable to fix.
3. Danny Johnson - He surely wasn't spectacular yesterday, but he made a play or two, tackled soundly, and forced a fumble. He was a breath of fresh air in a secondary that has been putrid in 2021 so far. Will Rivera give others in the backend an opportunity to prove themselves and infuse some life into a group that desperately needs a jolt?
4. Tim Settle - it is always nice seeing guys make contributions on special teams and Settle did a nice job getting a push and then getting a mitt on a Mason Crosby field goal attempt to keep the score tied at 7 in the first half. We haven't really seen him have his name be called too often when on the field this year for defensive snaps, and maybe plays like this give him the confidence needed to make an impact on the interior of the defensive front when put in spot duty.
5. Defensive Line - the Packers were held to 57 yards on the ground yesterday, we got home to Rodgers on 3 occasions, and held one of the better offenses in the NFL to 304 total yards. The defensive line group played a huge role in that. More of the same on a consistent basis moving forward will pay dividends for this football team in the second half of the season.
That's it for this week. What are your thoughts? Who did we miss? Here is hoping that we can break our losing streak next week in Denver. 7-3 or we don't go! Keep saying it in your mind over and over...
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