by Ray Wyvill
by Andrew Lang
by Ray Wyvill
Where do we go from here? The three outcomes on the standings for the Washington Football Team is 2-1 with a win, 1-2 with a loss, or 1-1-1 with a tie. This game against the Buffalo Bills has them with the same record and the same possible outcomes — win, lose, or draw.
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Washington hosts this game against the division rival NY Giants at FedEx Field for a Thursday Night showdown. The WFT will already have a new look with Taylor Heinicke as the starting QB after Ryan Fitzpatrick had a hip subloxation and was placed on the IR.
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When you have a first game after you make the postseason, you have to capitalize to get the season started on the winning side. Ryan Fitzpatrick will get the start for the Washington Football Team in this one at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers.
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Where do we go from here? Tonight marks the final pre-season game of the year for the Washington Football Team and a 15 day period of only intra-squads before the team opens the regular season on September 12. There are so many unanswered questions as to who will make the cut on the final roster for the WFT.
The final roster cuts are due on Tuesday, August 31 for all teams, and there is always the taxi practice squad for some who fail to make the cut. Coaches will have those bubble players out there tonight to make final assessments.
It is always an anxious time leading up to cutdown day. A great play in the final preseason game could go a long way in swaying the specialty coaches as well as head coach Ron Rivera. The team probably has their decisions made on the starting-11 on both sides, and just need to pencil up special teams, and the depth charts.
This game tonight is against the neighbors to the north, the Baltimore Ravens. They are the team that moved from Cleveland twenty-five years ago. Yes, it is hard to believe it has been that long. They have a 241–185–1 record since coming to Baltimore and more importantly two Super Bowl Championships in that span which is two more than the team from Washington. Slowly over the years, allegiances have shifted for some fans to the team that has had more recent success, and it is no different with the two cities and the baseball teams. Maybe one big difference was that the Washington football franchise never tried to block Baltimore from gaining a team or tried to profit off of their TV territory.
Soo @DeionSanders called the NFC East "garbage" on @espn yesterday.
— Chris Russell AKA The Rooster (@Russellmania621) August 27, 2021
1. Last year was bad. Doesn't mean this year will be the same.
2.He's got other things to worry about before cutting down a division he almost surely hasn't studied close.
3. His headset/mic was brutal.
Washington of course last year got a taste of postseason success again after they won the NFC East crown. We will see what Rivera has up his sleeves for this season. Rivera always seemed like a “defense first” coach with the mantra that defense wins football games. The WFT ranked 13th overall in stopping the run, and 2nd overall in stopping the pass. Rivera says he wants to improve on both.
One guy who flashed in the second half: DL Daniel Wise. Can play both end and tackle; had pressures from both spots. Has progressed… Not sure if he'll make it or not, but it should be close. If nothing else, worth having on PS.
— John Keim (@john_keim) August 22, 2021
Yes, an emphasis will be on players who can pressure the quarterback to add to Chase Young and Montez Sweat who are the havoc wreakers.
But of course all eyes will be on the quarterbacks to see who starts tonight, and most expect Ryan Fitzpatrick to be under center for the opener with Taylor Heinicke as the backup, and Kyle Allen as third string.
Ron Rivera was asked by reporter, JP Finlay, to declare publicly who the starting quarterback is: “I think the players know.”
There you have it from the head coach on the starting QB or as some call it around here QB1. Maybe we will find out who that is before the season opener on September 12 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Here are your Vegas lines from the Caesar’s on this link.
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
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:
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
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.
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.
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.
Alex ✅
Terry ✅
Gibson ✅https://t.co/DbpOLH1KAe— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) January 3, 2021
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.
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.
