Remembering what’s most important for the 2020 Washington Football Team

It’s important to keep the long-term picture in mind for the Washington Football Team when evaluating their performance this year.

Let me start here, there have been countless overreactions to the Washington Football Team’s Week 2 loss and I refuse to participate.  Instead, I’ll offer a different outlook on the season.

First of all, it’s one game.

Last week was a big divisional win, I was personally ecstatic.  But I did manage to temper expectations.

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This week was an ugly loss.  They looked bad in all three phases of the game.  But I’m managing to keep things in perspective.

Unlike most people, I don’t predict a season win/loss total.  I understand in most cases it’s just for fun.  Unless you’re betting your mortgage at the sportsbook on the totals, then it’s simply a conversation starter for fans and media alike.

So coming into the season I was trying to be realistic.  Without putting a number on the win total, I understood this was not a Super Bowl contending roster.  So as a fan, there were things I wanted to watch for this season.

The development and progression of Dwayne Haskins was No. 1 on my list.  I knew his progression could be hindered by a new coach, a new system, a lack of playmakers, and a young inexperienced offensive line, not to mention a COVID-shortened offseason without preseason games.  The cards were stacked against him.

All that said, I still feel like there is an opportunity to see what this kid is made of.  Again, it’s only two games into the season and entirely way too early to pass judgment on our second-year QB who just finished the ninth start of his career.

The positives have been his ability to take care of the ball with no interceptions through two games.  The fumble on Sunday, well, he really never had a chance.  Sure, we’d love to see him secure the ball, but I’m not putting that on him personally.

He’s showing poise and leadership, intangibles that can’t be taught.  I like that he was voted team captain and took charge at halftime in Week 1 to deliver a halftime speech to the team.

Where does he need to improve?  I’ve heard this from day one, his footwork. It’s probably the single biggest contributor to his inaccuracies when delivering the ball.  Coach Rivera said he’s rushing too much in his presser from earlier this week.  This is certainly something I’ll be watching as we progress through the season.

But again, with an offensive line that will struggle in pass pro all year, it’s going to be very difficult for Haskins to concentrate on mechanics when he’s running for his life. And that leads me to number 2 on my list of things I wanted to see this year.

The offensive coordinator and QB combo is critical to the success of any NFL team.  With the inexperience and lack of talent on offense, I knew Scott Turner was going to be the key for not only the success of Dwayne Haskins, but also for this Washington offense.

Full disclosure statement here first: I loved the hire of Ron Rivera.  The way he’s handled these difficult situations and has changed to the culture of the organization is remarkable.  I thought the Jack Del Rio hire was a Home Run.  Many of his other assistants were well respected.

But the Scott Turner hire had me puzzled.  From my perspective, an experienced play-caller and established offensive guru was needed.

But who am I to judge?  Turner has great lineage and maybe a young and innovative playcaller is exactly what the team needed.  Throughout the off-season, it was reported the offense is going to be different then what we’ve seen in Washington and possibly unique to the NFL.  There was conversation about 2-back sets, pre-snap motion, and an emphasis on tempo.

So I was intrigued.  While I knew there would be struggles because of the lack of talent and newness to the system, I had optimism that Turner would keep defenses off balance.  The tempo, the motion the versatile players like Steven Sims and Antonio Gibson, maybe this offense wouldn’t be so bad.  But most importantly, the big question was: could he script it up to get Haskins comfortable?

Again, only two games in.  But I think the offense has lacked tempo and he’s failed to get Haskins comfortable early with his play calling.  We’ve seen glimpses of it in both games.  The quick pass game, the pre-snap motion, the faster pace, not only has Haskins looked comfortable, but it’s less stress on the offensive line.

So as we progress through the season, it’s not the win/loss column that should matter.  The end game is building a sustainable winner and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  We’ve been chasing 7-to-9 wins and a borderline playoff team for far too long.

Don’t worry about Troy Apke taking bad angles.  Don’t worry about Geron Christian not being the long term answer at left tackle.  Yes, the team needs a dynamic tight end and another viable WR option or two.  This wasn’t all going to get fixed in one year.

But these are holes that can be addressed via the draft and with the large amount of cap space the team is amassing.  No offense to Apke and Christian, but we knew these guys weren’t part of the future.  So let’s concentrate on what is.  For me, that’s Haskins and Turner.  In the meantime, simply enjoy Chase Young and the defensive line feasting on opposing QB’s, even if it leads to a 5-win season.

If this team wins another game last year, they don’t land Young in the draft.  So keep the big picture in mind as we move forward toward building a championship team.