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Washington Football Team: Buy, sell, or hold after Week 4

By Tim Payne

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 04: Cornerback Kendall Fuller #29 of the Washington Football Team intercepts a pass intended for wide receiver Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at FedExField on October 04, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - OCTOBER 04: Cornerback Kendall Fuller #29 of the Washington Football Team intercepts a pass intended for wide receiver Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter at FedExField on October 04, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 27: Running back Nick Chubb #24 of the Cleveland Browns breaks a tackle from strong safety Landon Collins #26 of the Washington Football Team as he runs for a first down at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 27, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 27: Running back Nick Chubb #24 of the Cleveland Browns breaks a tackle from strong safety Landon Collins #26 of the Washington Football Team as he runs for a first down at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 27, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

New Picks: Sells

Sel: Landon Collins. I thought about a “Hold” on Collins, but after three straight weeks of just looking sooooo bad, I’m officially ready for Collins to either get benched until he gets his act together or get the “public criticism through anonymous sources” treatment that Haskins got last week from the coaching staff.

Collins has to improve in coverage. He has to improve his tackling. And he has to start living up to his massive contract. (Troy Apke, despite his relative inexperience and reputation, is outplaying Collins this year. For reference, PFF has Apke graded as a 71.8 this year, with Collins graded as a 53.7).

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Sell: Defensive fire extinguishers. So far this season, the defense has been handed short fields to defend as a result of turnovers and special teams gaffes seven times this season. They have given up six touchdowns and one field goal in those seven possessions.

If you want to be an elite defense, you have to find a way to get stops when you’re put in a bad spot. You won’t be able to do that every time, but you have to once in a while.

Sell: Communication gaffes. I’m glad Rivera and some other coaches had a serious talk with Haskins last week. I’m not glad that the meeting got leaked. That’s poor communication by the team. In-game, Haskins clearly was a bit gun-shy about turning the ball over. That’s a direct reflection of the publicized nature of his meeting with the coaches, in my opinion, and that’s on the coaches.

Haskins was also clearly not told what the coaches wanted on the last play of the first half. It appeared their indecision left him trying to figure out whether to run a play or take a time out. That’s on the coaches.

Lastly, on the fourth-and-goal from the 13 while down 3 scores, Haskins’ throw short of the end zone to Isaiah Wright indicated botched communication. Either, Haskins just ignored the instructions to get the ball into the end zone and not worry about turnover, or Haskins wasn’t given those instructions and was instead given a “pop quiz” at a crucial moment in the game. Either way isn’t great.

Do I wish Haskins had been up to the challenge and had found a way to get the ball into the end zone? Yes. Do I blame him for being gun shy after the way he was publicly questioned and criticized and called out by his coaching staff (both privately and publicly) this week? Nope.

Next. Grading Washington's O-Line through four weeks. dark

Here’s hoping they can clean those communication issues up and get Haskins taking more steps forward in future weeks.

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