The next eleven days will help define the trajectory of the Washington football franchise this year. It’s Mid-term exam time. And, there will not be a grading curve. First up are the always disciplined Steelers. This one promises to be a challenge. Coach Mike Tomlin is bringing his team to a game after a Bye week for the 18th time. His record is 13-4 with the last 7 games all being wins. Then the team gets the dubious honor of being a road team for the Thursday night offering. Road teams on the Thursday night games are 4-5 for the season. But, the last three weeks have all been home team wins. Recovery takes longer as the season progresses. Philadelphia has been under-achieving for nearly a year. They have had some good games. But, they’ve had even more that were marginal. Last week they struggled against a reeling Jacksonville team. And, their Head Coach is a bit of a strange act, to say the least. A split of these two games would be a fine outcome. Losing both will likely put Washington a win behind Philly for the Division. But, winning both…ah, now that would be something.
This Week Was Amazing
Washington’s test last week was simple, but not easy: Handle success against an inferior Division opponent on the road in a rematch. They passed with flying colors. The clock-killing drive at the end of the game was reminiscent of the glory days when the “Riggo Drill” was a staple. Few things are sweeter in football than going into “Victory Formation” at the opponent’s Goal Line. Some takeaways from the game:
–Brandon Coleman is a third-round pick playing at Left Tackle. Adam Peters was mocked after the Draft for not getting a stud Offensive Lineman. “Jayden Daniels is going to get killed behind that line,” opined more than one analyst. The thing is, AP snagged a very promising yet unadvertised Tackle in Coleman. This was his first full game. He held his opponent, Brian Burns to zero sacks. In fact Daniels wasn’t sacked all day by the Defense with the highest sack total in the League coming in.
–Daniel Jones has all the ingredients to be a really fine Quarterback. But, something is off there. He may be the next Sam Darnold that blossoms somewhere else.
-Washington’s Secondary was again exploited by a team in “Throw Only Catch Up” mode. Something had to be done about that. It was.
Come Monday
When Ron Rivera was shown the door the most important hire coming in was the General Manager. The new Head Coach was not going to be the judge and jury of available and on-hand talent. Peters cleaned house. Only one of Ron’s first-rounders remains on the roster. And, he’s not playing. But, that left a hole. One Draft Class and Free Agent season was not going to fill every gap on the team. Amazingly, Peters filled most of them with that one off-season. With the team exceeding expectations the most glaring need was for more Secondary help. The WFT is near the top in most Offensive categories. That translates into leads. Even though the Defense is not good against the run teams have to abandon the run when time gets short and they are multiple scores in the hole. Two weeks in a row showed the magnitude of the issue. Peters had accumulated Draft Picks. On Monday he spent some to patch this gaping weakness in the team.
It (the trade) signifies that we want to win now
Bobby Wagner
The prize Cornerback available at the Trade Deadline was Marshon Lattimore of New Orleans. A four-time Pro Bowler, Lattimore had battled a number of unrelated injuries over the past few seasons. But, he was still a very highly-regarded “Shutdown Corner.” What made him available was New Orleans’ bizzare tailspin. After winning two games while scoring 91-points the Saints have yet to win another game. The loss to the woeful Carolina team last week was enough to prompt the Owner to jettison the Head Coach. New Orleans has been in salary cap Hell for years. Selling off assets put Lattimore on the trade block
There was surely competition for the Cornerback. Washington paid a premium price as it had to outbid Baltimore, and possibly others. On the face of it one could argue it’s an overpay. Several analysts did. But, it requires a bit of digging to see that Peters is smarter than your average analyst. Let’s follow the bouncing ball: WAS trades John Ridgeway III to New Orleans for a 2025 6th round pick. WAS trades Jahan Dotson to Philadelphia for a 3rd round pick that was traded to PHI from Miami. Draft position is dictated by finishing position. Miami is having the horrible sort of year with which Washington is all too familiar. The 3rd round pick from Miami is likely to be in the top 75 players chosen. The Washington 3rd round pick is likely to be down near #90.
Peters packaged Washington’s less valuable 3rd round pick, the 6th received from New Orleans for Ridgeway and Washington’s 4th for Lattimore and New Orleans’ 5th. That New Orleans 5th is likely to be a step down of around ten slots from Washington’s 4th at #120-ish to #130-ish. In the end Peters converted Dotson and Ridgeway plus a relatively small step back in draft picks into a Pro-Bowl Corner under team control for two more years. Oh, and his salary is not guaranteed. It’s a masterful set of moves.
The “Stillers”
When hired Dan Quinn talked openly about “Finding North again.” It’s a reference to establishing an identity. He often waxed poetic about identity during the initial games of the season. When Baltimore was upcoming on the schedule he talked about the franchise in glowing terms. Not lost this week is the realization that Baltimore modeled its franchise after its Division rival Pittsburgh.
The Steelers came into existence in 1933. By the time of the merger in 1971 they had been to exactly one playoff game, which they lost. Playing the old Steelers meant a win was likely in the offing. The price to pay was usually a bunch of bumps and bruises. Steeler ball was always physical ball. It all changed when the franchise won a coin flip in 1969 enabling them to draft Terry Bradshaw. The next four drafts would stock the team with eight Hall of Famers. Four of them were drafted in 1974 alone. Championships followed. But, the gritty DNA of decades prior was baked in.
The other thing that happened in 1969 was the hiring of Chuck Noll as Head Coach. Some 45 years later they are on their 3rd Head Coach. The coach with the shortest tenure was Bill Cowher at 15-years. Mike Tomlin is in his 18th year. He also has never had a losing season. It’s a model of consistency that is stunning. By way of comparison Dan Quinn is the 17th Head Coach of Washington in the same time frame.
The dialect of Western Pennsylvania is unique. The Steelers is pronounced “Stillers.” Instead of the southern “Y’all” the choice is “You-ins.” Speed that up a little and one gets “Yinz.” The Stillers and the Yinzers are coming to town. The fanbase travels well. It also is as arrogant and entitled as the Yankees’ faithful. There will be plenty of Black and Gold in the stands at Northwest Stadium on Sunday.
This Group of Steelers
This year’s version of the Steelers is good. They have had injuries in abundance. Yet, they have managed to overcome them. Ten Offensive Linemen have played including five different Tackles. They have started two Quarterbacks. Both of them were rejected by their former teams. Yet, they are winning their Division over the vaunted Ravens. And, yes, they are still true to their roots of being physical. In an age where most teams avoid contact in practice the Steelers are consistent in tackling to the ground as much as is allowed. It’s a mindset that is most beneficial early in the season as teams are unprepared for that level of physicality.
What they do well on Offense are things that Washington defends poorly. With Arthur Smith running the Offense they pound the rock. When Justin Fields was starting the team stayed primarily in 12 personnel (one Running Back and two Tight Ends). It was run-heavy. Now, with Russell Wilson under center Smith has opened the playbook. They are running the whole array of formations. Russell has energized their X Receiver George Pickens. That has spread out Defenses allowing Nagee Harris to be more productive. Since Russ took over the team is averaging 30+ points.
Russell Wilson throws a beautiful deep ball.
Dan Quinn
It should be noted that Russ throws an excellent deep ball. On his weekly radio spot Dan Quinn reiterated that point. New acquisition Marshon Lattimore will be out this week for the hamstring injury. He could have neutralized Pickens if healthy. Look for Benjamin St-Juste to man up on Pickens.
Brian Robinson is also a scratch. There’s no sympathy coming from other quarters. Every team has injuries. Pittsburgh is quite familiar with it.
Short Week Coming
Whatever the outcome the next game will be there on Day 4 following. Recovery is hard to come by as the accumulation of bodily insults mount. The Training Staff will be hard at work to be sure. There is speculation that both of the players out with hamstring injuries will be good to go. It certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Pittsburgh at Washington
CBS/Paramount+ 1 p.m.
Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn
ESPN Radio: Steve Levy, Sal Paolantonio
