Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins flashes again, but big fixes are needed
By Ian Cummings
Selfie-Gate
For the second week in a row, Dwayne Haskins had an off-field incident occur which pitted onlookers against each other, in terms of their interpretations. On one hand, it’s not ideal that Haskins has made this much noise off the field already, but looking at the situations objectively, there isn’t a lot to get upset about.
In Week 11 against the New York Jets, a clip of Haskins interacting with his linemen went viral. Some viewed the clip as a red flag, as if Haskins was deflecting blame on his teammates for the team’s drubbing at the hands of the Jets. Veteran lineman Donald Penn later came out and expressed how he was encouraged by Haskins’ command and passion, and Morgan Moses echoed those sentiments.
In Week 12, against the Detroit Lions, Haskins helped the Redskins down the field in the final seconds and set up a game-winning field goal attempt by Dustin Hopkins. Hopkins made the field goal, and Haskins got caught up in the excitement, thinking that the game was over. He went to celebrate. That celebration included a selfie with a fan, as well as several bear hugs from his offensive coordinator and his offensive linemen on the sideline. It also caused him to miss the final kneel down.
It’s possible to acknowledge that Haskins could have shown more awareness in this instance, while also deducing that this incident wasn’t a huge deal. Haskins is a young quarterback, who just got his first victory as a starting signal caller. He’s displayed his passionate personality in past weeks, and this was another example of it.
Re: Haskins Selfie-gate
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) November 25, 2019
I don’t think it’s necessarily a non-story. Not nearly as big of a story as some are making it out to be.
First career win as starter. Passionate player. Thought it was over. Got excited. Callahan was laughing about it.
Washington’s head coach Bill Callahan laughed it off in his post-game press conference, but acknowledged that in the future, Haskins will need to contain himself and wait until the final whistle to indulge his excitement.
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Haskins, just 22 years old, will have no shortage of learning experiences in the NFL, and this is no exception. It’s best to exercise understanding and patience, as the road might not always be the smoothest, especially with the current structure in place around him. Haskins needs to show more consistency and direct growth, but he has the upside to invest additional time into. After all, the Redskins spent a first-round pick on him. They shouldn’t be making any conclusive judgements just yet.