99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall…99 Bottles of Beer
Actually 99 plays at left tackle is what we’re talking about today, but I thought beer would get your attention. Plus there’s no song about 99 plays at LT.
What am I talking about? Stephon Heyer, of course, who just might be the most important person in Washington who doesn’t know the nuclear launch codes. Heyer is watching Jason Campbell’s blindside for the entire pre-season, and apparently Mark Brunell’s and Todd Collins’ as well.
From Joe Bugel: “If we have 100 plays, he might play 99 1/2.” This is from an article in the Post today which quite impressively outlines the amount of energy devoted to getting Heyer up to speed. The defense is even pitching in.
And it isn’t even just Heyer. With the injury and subsequent release of Will Whitacker, the whole line is pretty thin. Everybody is going to be playing long after we might expect them to.
On the other hand, the Skins have said after the poor start last year they were planning on getting the starters in more this preseason anyway. On paper this sounds like a good deal but as Portis, Betts, and Blaylock are all out at RB and Samuels and Whittacker are out at o-line (not to mention Heyer’s tweaked hammy, and Rabach and Thomas nursing injuries from last year) I’d be just as happy if Campbell started the second half once the Titan starters are out.
The other side to consider here is whether throwing Heyer into the deep end is a sign that Samuels may not be ready for opening day. Otherwise, what’s the rush? One half for Heyer and another for Whitley isn’t enough to get Heyer his experience? We need to play him 4 whole games to make him ready to be a backup? I’m not trying to panic anyone, but this seems like maybe a crash course in being an NFL starter.
-DW
