Washington Football Team: Five positives and negatives from loss to Browns
Positive 1
The number of rookies and second-year players on the field last Sunday is an encouraging sign for the future. The coaching staff has decided to give them plenty of playing time and gain experience much sooner rather than later. Five such players on offense played quality minutes on Sunday against the Browns and another three on defense.
A quick check also reveals that another six players on Sunday are in their third season. That’s 14 players with three years of experience or less and who logged a lot of playing time.
To place so many younger players out there this early in their careers is difficult for now, but it is a strategic move for the future. Kudos to the coaching staff for utilizing this team-building plan. It will bode well for the years ahead and this is a definite positive in Week 3.
Negative 1
For the last three halves of football, the WFT has all but tossed in the towel – whether it be at the end of the first half or the end of the game. The television commentators talked about it at the end of the Cardinals game and ditto for the Browns game on Sunday.
It’s understandable if the game is too far out of reach, but the WFT was within two touchdowns of taking a lead or forging a tie in both games.
It’s a curious strategy, but head coach Ron Rivera addressed it on Monday, per NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay.
Rivera on the timeouts: "This is a young football team that I have to protect"
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) September 28, 2020
Is this a negative or are we grasping at straws here? Tossing in the towel and not using the timeouts is a strange move at this juncture. Why not use the timeouts and try to produce at least one two-minute drive? That is a teachable moment and the younger players learn how to manage a game under such conditions.
This is not a huge negative, but it is an opportunity for younger players to learn. That should be the greater goal here.