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It was only fitting that on Halloween night, the final nail was put into the 2021 season of the Washington Football Team with a 17-10 loss at the hands of the Denver Broncos. The offseason was filled with as much optimism as we have seen in a while around this team, and it has all quickly turned into a scary horror movie. There appears to be nothing left but pride to play for with the Cowboys now running away with the NFC East division lead. Let's take a look at our Studs and Duds for Week 8:
Studs:
1. Landon Collins - many in the fanbase have called for a position switch for Landon Collins for quite some time. Low and behold, playing closer to the line of scrimmage paid dividends for Collins yesterday. He had a standout performance defensively, making several solid tackles in open space and played with a heightened level of energy. For once, we noticed him for all the right reasons. Unfortunately, now 3 years into his 84 million dollar contract, we are still struggling to find ourselves as a team and may never get the true value we hoped for out of Landon Collins' services in burgundy and gold.
Duds:
1. Taylor Heinicke - unfortunately, the more Heinicke plays, the more reason there seems to be to believe that he might just be another guy. Good backup and spot starter material? Yes. Impact, long-term starter? Likely not. The magic that Taylor displayed earlier in the year leading us to comeback wins vs. the Giants and Falcons seems to have disappeared. The fact is, with two opportunities in the final minutes to get the game level, Heinicke could not produce. More importantly, unlike the New York and Atlanta games, I just didn't feel confident that he could do it either. He didn't look like he was having fun, or playing with that little bit of reckless abandon either that seems to make him all the more effective. Something just felt off in Denver and it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff is now at the end of their rope with #4.
2. Ron Rivera - people on social media are steadily getting more irritated with Rivera with each passing week. It feels like we are slowly but surely inching towards that point where Coach is going to start feeling a bit of heat that he has yet to experience in his tenure in Washington so far. Obviously, the two missed field goals by Blewitt had a large impact on how that game played out yesterday in Denver. There is no other way to cut it - the release of Dustin Hopkins was an awful mistake and more of an optics move than anything else. Had they replaced him with someone who had even a bit of an NFL track record, I suppose you could buy into the move to an extent. However, for a coach who preaches loyalty to go out and acquire a replacement in Chris Blewitt, who does not appear to be an NFL level kicker, it truly is a disservice to the other guys in the locker room. Rivera will have a lot of explaining to do this week and he is likely going to sound silly trying to justify this one.
3. Chris Blewitt - he really did. I am pretty sure any one of us on this site could have managed to get 3 of our first 4 NFL field goal attempts blocked. At the end of the day, he is out of his league. Blewitt is not a pro kicker. It is that simple.
4. Saahdiq Charles - his start at RT yesterday wasn't the prettiest of exercises. He struggled at times and it was largely a reminder of the ugliness of the middle rounds of our 2020 draft class.
5. Dan Snyder - yet another season filled with hope to begin is over by the end of October. Sadly, we are already looking ahead to the draft with 9 games still to play on the schedule and that is such a deflating feeling as a fan. This man should never escape any sort of blame for the product on the field, as it is in many regards an extension of the stain he has placed on a once proud organization.
Hat Tips:
1. Jaret Patterson - while largely out of necessity at this point, it is really nice to see the undrafted product getting an opportunity. He ran hard yesterday and did his best filling in for a hobbled Antonio Gibson in Denver, earning a career game high in carries and rushing yards (11 for 46). In a season that is essentially over, I will be curious to see if the coaching staff elects to make more use of him down the stretch for evaluative purposes heading into 2022.
2. Jonathan Allen - when you talk about Jonathan Allen, you are usually talking about him for all the right reasons and that was again the case yesterday. No matter if our defense is on point or struggling, he is usually going to bring it on Sundays. He notched another sack on the interior yesterday and now leads the team with 6 on the season. He is definitely one of the players on this roster that you want us to start winning for. He deserves better.
3. JD McKissic - this offense is not great by any means, but I honestly would not like to see where we would be sometimes without McKissic's contributions. He led the team yesterday in receiving yards, catching 8 balls for 83 yards out of the backfield. He certainly is a guy that I think possesses real value and is a spark plug. It's a concern when he is your top offensive weapon, but he feels like one of those guys the team should consider keeping around for the long haul in today's NFL.
4. DeAndre Carter - while likely out of necessity, he has managed to find a way to sprinkle in contributions on offense this season. He made a nice over the shoulder catch on a perfectly placed ball by Heinicke yesterday in the right corner of the end zone for our team's only TD of the day in Denver. Carter now sits tied for third on the team in touchdowns on the year with 2.
What are your thoughts? Who did we miss?
With the Bye week upcoming, Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips won't be taking the week off. Next week, we will rank our five biggest studs and duds through 8 weeks of the WFT season.
Studs:
1. Landon Collins - many in the fanbase have called for a position switch for Landon Collins for quite some time. Low and behold, playing closer to the line of scrimmage paid dividends for Collins yesterday. He had a standout performance defensively, making several solid tackles in open space and played with a heightened level of energy. For once, we noticed him for all the right reasons. Unfortunately, now 3 years into his 84 million dollar contract, we are still struggling to find ourselves as a team and may never get the true value we hoped for out of Landon Collins' services in burgundy and gold.
Duds:
1. Taylor Heinicke - unfortunately, the more Heinicke plays, the more reason there seems to be to believe that he might just be another guy. Good backup and spot starter material? Yes. Impact, long-term starter? Likely not. The magic that Taylor displayed earlier in the year leading us to comeback wins vs. the Giants and Falcons seems to have disappeared. The fact is, with two opportunities in the final minutes to get the game level, Heinicke could not produce. More importantly, unlike the New York and Atlanta games, I just didn't feel confident that he could do it either. He didn't look like he was having fun, or playing with that little bit of reckless abandon either that seems to make him all the more effective. Something just felt off in Denver and it will be interesting to see if the coaching staff is now at the end of their rope with #4.
2. Ron Rivera - people on social media are steadily getting more irritated with Rivera with each passing week. It feels like we are slowly but surely inching towards that point where Coach is going to start feeling a bit of heat that he has yet to experience in his tenure in Washington so far. Obviously, the two missed field goals by Blewitt had a large impact on how that game played out yesterday in Denver. There is no other way to cut it - the release of Dustin Hopkins was an awful mistake and more of an optics move than anything else. Had they replaced him with someone who had even a bit of an NFL track record, I suppose you could buy into the move to an extent. However, for a coach who preaches loyalty to go out and acquire a replacement in Chris Blewitt, who does not appear to be an NFL level kicker, it truly is a disservice to the other guys in the locker room. Rivera will have a lot of explaining to do this week and he is likely going to sound silly trying to justify this one.
3. Chris Blewitt - he really did. I am pretty sure any one of us on this site could have managed to get 3 of our first 4 NFL field goal attempts blocked. At the end of the day, he is out of his league. Blewitt is not a pro kicker. It is that simple.
4. Saahdiq Charles - his start at RT yesterday wasn't the prettiest of exercises. He struggled at times and it was largely a reminder of the ugliness of the middle rounds of our 2020 draft class.
5. Dan Snyder - yet another season filled with hope to begin is over by the end of October. Sadly, we are already looking ahead to the draft with 9 games still to play on the schedule and that is such a deflating feeling as a fan. This man should never escape any sort of blame for the product on the field, as it is in many regards an extension of the stain he has placed on a once proud organization.
Hat Tips:
1. Jaret Patterson - while largely out of necessity at this point, it is really nice to see the undrafted product getting an opportunity. He ran hard yesterday and did his best filling in for a hobbled Antonio Gibson in Denver, earning a career game high in carries and rushing yards (11 for 46). In a season that is essentially over, I will be curious to see if the coaching staff elects to make more use of him down the stretch for evaluative purposes heading into 2022.
2. Jonathan Allen - when you talk about Jonathan Allen, you are usually talking about him for all the right reasons and that was again the case yesterday. No matter if our defense is on point or struggling, he is usually going to bring it on Sundays. He notched another sack on the interior yesterday and now leads the team with 6 on the season. He is definitely one of the players on this roster that you want us to start winning for. He deserves better.
3. JD McKissic - this offense is not great by any means, but I honestly would not like to see where we would be sometimes without McKissic's contributions. He led the team yesterday in receiving yards, catching 8 balls for 83 yards out of the backfield. He certainly is a guy that I think possesses real value and is a spark plug. It's a concern when he is your top offensive weapon, but he feels like one of those guys the team should consider keeping around for the long haul in today's NFL.
4. DeAndre Carter - while likely out of necessity, he has managed to find a way to sprinkle in contributions on offense this season. He made a nice over the shoulder catch on a perfectly placed ball by Heinicke yesterday in the right corner of the end zone for our team's only TD of the day in Denver. Carter now sits tied for third on the team in touchdowns on the year with 2.
What are your thoughts? Who did we miss?
With the Bye week upcoming, Studs, Duds, and Hat Tips won't be taking the week off. Next week, we will rank our five biggest studs and duds through 8 weeks of the WFT season.
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