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Friday night was all about the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Let's start with the ugly.
$14 for a beer? $75 for parking? Now that's ugly. Nothing says 'we love this fanbase' like having your wallet get penetrated against your will. Come on WFT - that's just wrong - and it's only the preseason.
Oh - on the field? Our offense is ugly. Let's start by saying, whether you think our sputtering, stuttering offense in the preseason is a harbinger of disaster, or 'its just the preseason', it ain't good. We have heard all kinds of good things about Fitzmagic and his budding chemistry with our WR corps, but that growing synergy has been nowhere in sight on actual game days. Fitz has completed just 9/15 passes for just 86 yds in two preseason games. By contrast, Taylor Heinicke, while far from perfect, has completed 20/28 passes for 166 yds and 30 rushing yds. If Fitzpatrick is the anointed starter, it's based on what they are seeing in practice and his body of work. Practice? Practice?!! The only WFT QB to throw a TD pass so far? Steven Montez.
I'm not panicking. The running game looks potent. Gibson is an absolute beast. I'll give a shoutout to MikefromOH - he called the Jaret Patterson emergence. I think we all liked the pickup and what we'd seen from Patterson, but he will not only make this roster, he may be our #2 RB - a simply awesome development. I'll go on record as hoping Washington keeps 4 RBs this year. It's clear they are trying to determine if Gibson can be the short yardage back, but he's not nearly as effective as Barber in that role. We need both guys.
Our receiving corps is significantly better with Dyami Brown emerging as a playmaker, McLaurin picking right up where he left off in 2020, Thomas looking even stronger than last year, and without Curtis Samuel seeing significant playing time. We have the weapons on offense. But between erratic QB play, inaccurate passing, and an offensive line that is still working things out, this offense does not inspire confidence - yet.
Some will rightly lay concerns at the feet of Scott Turner. I continue to preach patience on that front. He's still an inexperienced OC who hasn't had a capable consistent QB starter yet in DC. I think we will get there, but right now, this offense looks a lot like one of those lukewarm $14 beers. Not a good feeling going into one of our tougher schedules in recent memory (please see the informative thread here.)
There was some bad on display in game 2 as well. Cam Sims? You looked bad. Stephen Sims? You looked bad. The latter may well have just cost himself a roster spot. While I don't understand the benefit of the doubt Cam Sims seems to get from this coaching staff, I think they view him as one of their top 3 WRs and he'll make this roster. But last night he looked a lot like 2019 Cam. Athletically not making plays at critical times.
With the caveat that we don't really know how Rivera and his coaches view the preseason, the play calling has been curious at best? Are they calling plays simply to evaluate players, to work on certain aspects of the offense, or do we just have a boneheaded offensive coordinator? I land squarely in camp #1, but our consistently abandoning the run when we clearly are moving the ball on the ground, throwing fades to the endzone on 3rd and 2, those kinds of decisions sow worry and doubt. One has to wonder if the players feel that as well. On a roster full of new faces, the preseason may not technically count, but establishing a sense of competence and confidence on both sides of the ball would seem to be a critical goal.
But there were some good, really good things on display last night. Our defense was swarming, stifling, and dominant. It didn't matter whether it was the starters, the backups, or the scrubs in the game - for the most part, we had our way with the Bengals (who got a LOT of help from some inept officiating btw). We knew our DL is likely one of the NFL's best, but our secondary is looking legit, at least against Bengals-level competition. While Washington's tackling against the Patriots was problematic, last night, we put on a tackling clinic. I love that this team and coaching staff seems very capable of addressing problems from the week before effectively.
While we saw the Sims brothers take a step backward last night, Antonio Gandy Golden showed some of the dynamic spark that explains why his coaches love him more than fans seem to. AGG will make this roster.
Obviously, the player of the night was Jaret Patterson. On an offense where we had already added some significant talent at skill positions, he's the $20 bill that blows into your pants leg in the parking lot. Found money. We cannot wait to see what this kid can do against the big boys in 2021. In fact, the entire 2021 draft class has looked good. While there was no eye-popping Chase Young-like pick in 2021, overall, we may have filled several needs in April.
I also love what I am seeing from Heinicke. Yes - he gave the ball up last night. But you can see and feel the energy level of this offense amp up as soon as he steps on the field. He has been more accurate than Fitzmagic and the dynamic rushing and scrambling threat he poses adds a whole other dimension to the offense. I will not be surprised if Taylor is starting under center in the 1st half of the season if good Fitz doesn't start making some appearances.
Our return game looks 1000x better this season. DeAndre Carter, Dyami Brown, Jaret Patterson - it doesn't seem to matter who we plug in, we're seeing sure hands, good decisions, and most importantly, dynamic athleticism and aggressiveness.
There's plenty more to talk about from last night's contest, but those are my drive by takes.
Let's start with the ugly.
$14 for a beer? $75 for parking? Now that's ugly. Nothing says 'we love this fanbase' like having your wallet get penetrated against your will. Come on WFT - that's just wrong - and it's only the preseason.
Oh - on the field? Our offense is ugly. Let's start by saying, whether you think our sputtering, stuttering offense in the preseason is a harbinger of disaster, or 'its just the preseason', it ain't good. We have heard all kinds of good things about Fitzmagic and his budding chemistry with our WR corps, but that growing synergy has been nowhere in sight on actual game days. Fitz has completed just 9/15 passes for just 86 yds in two preseason games. By contrast, Taylor Heinicke, while far from perfect, has completed 20/28 passes for 166 yds and 30 rushing yds. If Fitzpatrick is the anointed starter, it's based on what they are seeing in practice and his body of work. Practice? Practice?!! The only WFT QB to throw a TD pass so far? Steven Montez.
I'm not panicking. The running game looks potent. Gibson is an absolute beast. I'll give a shoutout to MikefromOH - he called the Jaret Patterson emergence. I think we all liked the pickup and what we'd seen from Patterson, but he will not only make this roster, he may be our #2 RB - a simply awesome development. I'll go on record as hoping Washington keeps 4 RBs this year. It's clear they are trying to determine if Gibson can be the short yardage back, but he's not nearly as effective as Barber in that role. We need both guys.
Our receiving corps is significantly better with Dyami Brown emerging as a playmaker, McLaurin picking right up where he left off in 2020, Thomas looking even stronger than last year, and without Curtis Samuel seeing significant playing time. We have the weapons on offense. But between erratic QB play, inaccurate passing, and an offensive line that is still working things out, this offense does not inspire confidence - yet.
Some will rightly lay concerns at the feet of Scott Turner. I continue to preach patience on that front. He's still an inexperienced OC who hasn't had a capable consistent QB starter yet in DC. I think we will get there, but right now, this offense looks a lot like one of those lukewarm $14 beers. Not a good feeling going into one of our tougher schedules in recent memory (please see the informative thread here.)
There was some bad on display in game 2 as well. Cam Sims? You looked bad. Stephen Sims? You looked bad. The latter may well have just cost himself a roster spot. While I don't understand the benefit of the doubt Cam Sims seems to get from this coaching staff, I think they view him as one of their top 3 WRs and he'll make this roster. But last night he looked a lot like 2019 Cam. Athletically not making plays at critical times.
With the caveat that we don't really know how Rivera and his coaches view the preseason, the play calling has been curious at best? Are they calling plays simply to evaluate players, to work on certain aspects of the offense, or do we just have a boneheaded offensive coordinator? I land squarely in camp #1, but our consistently abandoning the run when we clearly are moving the ball on the ground, throwing fades to the endzone on 3rd and 2, those kinds of decisions sow worry and doubt. One has to wonder if the players feel that as well. On a roster full of new faces, the preseason may not technically count, but establishing a sense of competence and confidence on both sides of the ball would seem to be a critical goal.
But there were some good, really good things on display last night. Our defense was swarming, stifling, and dominant. It didn't matter whether it was the starters, the backups, or the scrubs in the game - for the most part, we had our way with the Bengals (who got a LOT of help from some inept officiating btw). We knew our DL is likely one of the NFL's best, but our secondary is looking legit, at least against Bengals-level competition. While Washington's tackling against the Patriots was problematic, last night, we put on a tackling clinic. I love that this team and coaching staff seems very capable of addressing problems from the week before effectively.
While we saw the Sims brothers take a step backward last night, Antonio Gandy Golden showed some of the dynamic spark that explains why his coaches love him more than fans seem to. AGG will make this roster.
Obviously, the player of the night was Jaret Patterson. On an offense where we had already added some significant talent at skill positions, he's the $20 bill that blows into your pants leg in the parking lot. Found money. We cannot wait to see what this kid can do against the big boys in 2021. In fact, the entire 2021 draft class has looked good. While there was no eye-popping Chase Young-like pick in 2021, overall, we may have filled several needs in April.
I also love what I am seeing from Heinicke. Yes - he gave the ball up last night. But you can see and feel the energy level of this offense amp up as soon as he steps on the field. He has been more accurate than Fitzmagic and the dynamic rushing and scrambling threat he poses adds a whole other dimension to the offense. I will not be surprised if Taylor is starting under center in the 1st half of the season if good Fitz doesn't start making some appearances.
Our return game looks 1000x better this season. DeAndre Carter, Dyami Brown, Jaret Patterson - it doesn't seem to matter who we plug in, we're seeing sure hands, good decisions, and most importantly, dynamic athleticism and aggressiveness.
There's plenty more to talk about from last night's contest, but those are my drive by takes.
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