Game #2 of the preseason for the WFT

www.allproreels.com — Washington Football Team (All-Pro Reels Photography)

We are ready for some more football. The Washington Football Team made a few cuts this week as they move into Week 2 of preseason and tonight’s game at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Tonight’s opponent at 8pm is the Cincinnati Bengals.

The team has four quarterbacks in camp with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke competing for the starting job with Kyle Allen and Steven Montez as the needed depth behind them.

Washington has two more weeks to pare down the roster and create the cohesiveness with their starters. Most of the starters will be at least one quarter of football tonight.

All eyes will be on the quarterbacks to see how Fitzpatrick and Heinicke progress. Also, we will see how the newly constructed offensive line does as well as the receivers signed in the offseason.

First round pick Jamin Davis who was handpicked by head coach Ron Rivera at linebacker is getting the attention of Vegas as the former Wildcat ranks second in the betting favorites to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to Draft Kings. Davis is +750 behind only Dallas Cowboys linebacker and No. 12 overall draft pick Micah Parsons at +500. Davis was out there with the first team last week and is learning by getting the reps. He is a key in the middle of that defense.

Speaking of defense, we hope to see the WFT plug the gaps and have a better showing against the running game than we saw a week ago against the Patriots who ripped off too many yards.

“If you make a great play, great. Be excited, but don’t do it toward your opponent,” Ron Rivera said on taunting. “That’s all we’re asking. That’s what the rule is for because what we don’t want is an escalation of some things that have happened in the past. … That’s not a good look for any sport, let alone football, and somebody’s going to get hurt, and you just don’t want that. … Quite honestly, we don’t need the young people to see that. We don’t need the Pop Warner, pee-wee football kids seeing us act like that. We want to put it out there as professionally as possible.”

Here is your Vegas lines from the Caesar’s on this link.

Cincinnati Bengals/Washington Football Team SPREAD +5.5 -110 -5.5-110 MONEY LINE +200 -240 TOTAL POINTS Over 35.0-110 Under 35.0-110

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Game #1 pre-season for the WFT!

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkWFT

While we transition from training camp to this first pre-season game in Foxboro, we will get to see a “new look” Washington Football Team against the New England Patriots.

The team has four quarterbacks in camp with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Taylor Heinicke competing for the starting job with Kyle Allen and Steven Montez as the needed depth behind them.

Most of the rest of the positions have fairly clear starters at this point, but you always use pre-season to see if any players step up. For instance, the team has a dozen wide receivers in camp and the three starters there have Adam Humphries and Curtis Samuel will join Terry McLaurin in a new-look trio who hope to be touchdown targets from the QB’s.

The running backs look like a familiar group with six RBs competing for most likely four spots that favors incumbents Antonio Gibson, J.D. McKissic, and Peyton Barber with Lamar Miller trying to grab a spot. Of course running backs and wide receivers on the depth chart can stay on the team through getting on the special teams.

The team has 17 linemen in camp with Chase Roullier, Charles Leno Jr., Wes Schweitzer, Brandon Scherff, and Sam Cosmi as the starting five. Cornelius Lucas, Ereck Flowers, Wes Martin, and Saahdiq Charles are the top backups. The tight ends feature Logan Thomas and Temarrick Hemingway

Here is what the defense looks like:

  • DE Chase Young and James Smith-Williams. 
  • DT Daron Payne and Tim Settle.
  • DT Jonathan Allen and Matt Ioannidis. 
  • DE Montez Sweat and Casey Toohill. 
  • OLB Cole Holcomb and Jared Norris.
  • MLB top draft pick Jamin Davis and Khaleke Hudson.
  • OLB Jon Bostic and Justin Phillips.
  • CB Kendall Fuller and  Benjamin St-Juste.
  • CB William Jackson III and Jimmy Moreland.
  • SS Landon Collins and Deshazor Everett.
  • FS Kamren Curl and Bobby McCain.

There is your roster to look at today then look to see if any other players can move up on the depth charts. There is usually always a positive or surprise or two in the final rosters. In the end, this roster has to be whittled down to 53 players on the roster to start the season on September 12.

“We are looking for players to step up,” Coach Ron Rivera said.

Here is your Vegas lines from the Caesar’s on this link.

Washington Football Team / New England Patriots SPREAD +1.5 -105 -1.5 -115 MONEY LINE +115 -135 TOTAL POINTS Over 37.0 -110 Under 37.0 -110

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Draft Day 2021, who will the WFT select at No. 19?

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkWFT

Well, the Washington Football Team has done a great job of not leaking who they would like to pick number 1 overall with their 19th pick in the first round. If they go for the best player available, which is subjective, they could be waiting to see who is picked before them.

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Playoff game #1 has the WFT facing football’s greatest Super Bowl QB!

Taylor Heinicke #4 of the Washington Football Team (Photo by  Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports)

Win or go home in Washington’s first playoff game since 2015. It is that simple. A win today by the Washington Football Team moves them forward, and they will most likely have to do win without quarterback Alex Smith. According to reports, there is a good chance that Taylor Heinicke will be Washington’s quarterback opposite Tom Brady.

Washington will feature running back Antonio Gibson, and wide receiver Terry McLaurin on offense as well as tight end Logan Thomas who is a former college quarterback. Head coach Ron Rivera admitted earlier in the week that it could be Heinicke taking snaps in this game as well as Smith, but expect Smith to be inactive based on reports.

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Game #16 Win or go home for the Washington Football Team!

Win or go home. It is that simple. A win today by the Washington Football Team would clinch the NFC East Division crown. Washington controls their own destiny in this 2020-2021 season because if they win — they are in! If there is some good news, quarterback Alex Smith, running back Antonio Gibson, and wide receiver Terry McLaurin are all expected to play in this evening’s game. Head coach Ron Rivera will have his team on primetime tonight on the NBC Sunday Night game. Originally, this game was scheduled for 1 pm, and the NBC and the NFL flexed it to the game of the night.

Earlier in the week, the team made the decision to release Dwayne Haskins after a series of team infractions and after head coach Ron Rivera said, “don’t make what’s interesting important” because Haskins was once again punished for rules violations and poor decision making. Haskins was given the start last week and failed miserably and was replaced by a quarterback who was out of football until recently. Because Taylor Heinicke looked so good in his 19 pass attempts as compared to Haskins in the same game, it just showed the football world how far Haskins had fallen. Heinicke had not thrown a pass in a football game in over two years! When Washington contacted Heinicke, he was back in college and finishing up his engineering degree. Unfortunately for Washington, they were not able to trade Haskins and have to eat the rest of the guaranteed portion of his $14,416,611 contract.

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Game #15 Character matters on the precipice of an NFC clinch!

What a disappointing week with controversy swirling around Dwayne Haskins again, as the young embattled quarterback had to admit to breaking team rules for the second time this season after screenshots from a video reportedly revealed that he was partying (maskless) after Sunday’s loss against Seattle. Alledgedly, Haskins was celebrating his team’s loss at a “strip club” and in violation of the team’s Covid policies, as well as a poor personal decision. He once again embarrassed his team off of the field and screwed up again on and off the field with Alex Smith out with a calf injury. Character matters. Alex Smith has it and Haskins does not.

Washington brings their 6-8 record into this game which was still good enough for sole possession of first place in the NFC East, and a win today coupled with a Giants loss would clinch the NFC East division and homefield advantage for the first round of the playoffs. Of course first things first and Ron Rivera needs to beat the team that fired him a year ago in December 2019. Ironic in so many ways.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Haskins will start this game and Smith will be inactive. In other player news, running back Antonio Gibson, could play today and wide receiver Terry McLaurin is out with an ankle injury. But the big news is Haskins by default, will get another opportunity. Haskins punishment for breaking team rules was reportedly a $40,000 fine which is a drop in the bucket for a player who will earn at least $14 million guaranteed under this contract, and yes, he was stripped of his team captaincy.

Head coach Ron Rivera made the decisions on Haskins and in a press conference to explain the lack of severe punishment, he said, “don’t make what’s interesting important.” Of course, it is the team who will be punished unless Haskins snaps into superstar mode. They could trade Haskins for a case of Doritos or release him after the season and eat the remaining portion of his guaranteed contract. His value at this point in trade really is next to nothing.

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Game #14 Opportunity knocks for Dwayne Haskins

LANDOVER, MARYLAND : Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team

While the Washington Football Team controls their own destiny in the NFC East race, they have another tough opponent today in the Seattle Seahawks. A big change today is the team goes back to Dwayne Haskins as their starting quarterback with Alex Smith out with a calf injury. Washington brings their 6-7 record into this game which was good enough for sole possession of first place in the NFC East.

Opportunity is knocking for Haskins who had dropped off of the active roster at one point this season as he found himself behind both Kyle Allen and Smith on the depth charts. When Allen suffered an ankle injury six weeks ago, Haskins moved to the backup to Smith. Head coach Ron Rivera could have gone back to Haskins but chose the veteran Smith as his starting quarterback for five weeks. Smith had led Washington to four straight wins including a big upset of the formerly undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.

For Washington, Haskins, as a starter, is 1-3 this year with his only win in the season opener against Philadelphia. The first round pick from 2019 is 3-8 as a starter in his career. But never has first place been on the line for Haskins as a starter.

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Game #13 against the 49ers has familiar faces!

Washington has a 5-7 record which is the same as the New York football Giants at the top of the NFC East. But a tie with the Giants would mean the Washington Football Team would not make the playoffs because the Giants’ two wins against Washington this season would break any tie if they finish with the same W/L record. The Giants play the 6-6 Cardinals while the WFT plays the 49ers today.

For Washington, they will face some familiar faces like the 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan, who was the former offensive coordinator for Washington. Also in 49ers uniforms are Trent Williams and Jordan Reed. We all remember how Williams sat out last year in a contract dispute and then demanded a trade. Reed, 30, was a 3rd round pick with Washington back in 2013. The 32-year-old tackle was a 1st round pick by Washington and 4th overall. There are former 49ers on Washington like Alex Smith who San Fran drafted 1st overall in the 1st round of the 2005 NFL Draft.

Once again, Dwayne Haskins will be Smith’s backup after Kyle Allen suffered an ankle injury five weeks ago. Head coach Ron Rivera went with the veteran Smith as his starting quarterback. Smith has led Washington to three straight wins and Monday’s upset of the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers.

The injury bug hit Washington as rookie runner, Antonio Gibson, won’t play today because of a toe injury. He was officially ruled out by the team Friday after he suffered a turf toe injury in Monday’s game against Pittsburgh. With Gibson out, Washington will have to rely on both veteran Peyton Barber and versatile back J.D. McKissic. Barber, who has mostly been Washington’s short-yardage back this season, will get much of the work today. This season, Barber has 26 of his 73 carries coming in situations that were either goal-to-go or with the team needing 2 yards or less for a first down. Because 36% of Barber’s work in short yardage situations, it has distorted his stats as he averages 2.68 yards per carry and only 0.86 yards after contact.

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Game #12 for Washington comes in the form of the undefeated Steelers!

Washington last played on Thanksgiving Day and have seen their schedule changed to accommodate the Steelers after their schedule was changed last week due to a COVID outbreak on the Baltimore Ravens team. With the Giants upset win yesterday against the Seahawks, the Washington Football team is a half game off the pace now in the NFC East with a 4-7 record. With two losses against the Giants this season, Washington cannot win the NFC East if they finish tied with the Giants. Today’s game against the undefeated Steelers has Washington as steep underdogs.

For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger has statistically been in the Top-5 of all quarterbacks this season and a key reason why they are undefeated this late into the season. Big Ben has been playing with a stiff knee issue that has been bothering him for over four weeks. Washington will once again start veteran Alex Smith this week, but he has not faced a defense as good as Pittsburgh. The 2020 Steelers defense is said to be the best in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

Once again, Dwayne Haskins will be Smith’s backup after Kyle Allen suffered an ankle injury four weeks ago. Head coach Ron Rivera went with the veteran Alex Smith as his starting quarterback, and this game today will be a true test against a top of the NFL team.

Washington rookie runner, Antonio Gibson, was named the top offensive rookie last week. Some are thinking he is a very special player, and he has shown to be a top playmaker for this Washington team.

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Game #11 in the NFC East has 1st place on the line in a Thanksgiving matchup between Washington and Dallas

Would you believe that the winner of this Thanksgiving Day game between the Washington Football Team and the Dallas Cowboys will be sitting on top of the NFC East with a 4-7 record? The last time these teams met at FedEx Field in October, it was Washington who crushed Dallas by a final score of 25-3. Of course the lead in the standings could all change if the Eagles can beat the Seahawks on Monday night. This seems like the NFC East could go back-n-forth until the final weekend on January 3rd of 2021 when those Eagles host Washington.

Both teams have started a few different quarterbacks this year due to injuries. Dallas has started four different QBs and Washington has had three. Washington started with Dwayne Haskins and then after Kyle Allen suffered an ankle injury three weeks ago, head coach Ron Rivera went with the veteran Alex Smith as his starting quarterback with Dwayne Haskins as his backup. The Cowboys lost their starter, Dak Prescott, to a serious ankle injury that required surgery. He was replaced by Andy Dalton who was knocked out of the game in the last meeting with Washington, and Dalton will start this game.

Backup quarterbacks will make this one interesting, and the Cowboys are hoping that Ezekiel Elliott can continue what he put together last week with his best game of the season with 103 rushing yards. Washington rookie runner, Antonio Gibson, was at 100 yards last week until he had negative yards on his final two carries at the end of the Washington win last Sunday.

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