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Should Washington fans be disappointed after another losing season?

By Damien Bartonek

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - JANUARY 02: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Washington Football Team on the field during warm-ups before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on January 02, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MARYLAND - JANUARY 02: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Washington Football Team on the field during warm-ups before the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on January 02, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 03: Calvin Ridley #18 of the Atlanta Falcons makes a catch against William Jackson III #23 of the Washington Football Team during the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson was called for interference on the play. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 03: Calvin Ridley #18 of the Atlanta Falcons makes a catch against William Jackson III #23 of the Washington Football Team during the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 03, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. Jackson was called for interference on the play. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

Washington fans should be disappointed about a couple of things that took place this season. For starters, it seems as if the defensive masterminds, Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio, had trouble playing their personnel to their strengths throughout this season. Washington began the year with some of the worst secondary play imaginable throughout the early weeks of this season.

From Kendall Fuller looking like a cut-candidate after moving to the slot to start this season, to William Jackson III and Bobby McCain seemingly never being able to get on the same page, to Landon Collins looking like he shouldn’t be on an NFL roster prior to his position change, Washington played with fire and got burned by their personnel decisions early on, in the back end.

Not only that, Jamin Davis was projected to be a weak-side linebacker at the next level, but Washington decided to play him inside for over 300 of his 400+ snaps this season. In addition, Washington’s defensive line unit struggled to rush as one unit when healthy and routinely played down to competition throughout this season.

From an execution standpoint and a coaching perspective, Washington fans should be disappointed in the fact that Rivera, Del Rio, and others couldn’t truly solve the puzzle when they had this unit at full strength. They definitely made adjustments and improved throughout the year, but in the grand scheme of things, Washington’s defense was mediocre for weeks on end throughout 2021.

Another thing Washington fans should be upset with is the fact that this team needed their most valuable pieces to shine, game in and game out. Outside of Terry McLaurin, Washington’s best players, from Chase Young to Antonio Gibson, truly did not rise to the occasion throughout 2021.

This is not to say that those players aren’t going to be stars one day, but some of Washington’s best players had an underwhelming 2021 campaign. You have good reason to be concerned, but not out on these players.

Their 2022 offseason will be as important as you can imagine, but for Washington to take that first step forward to winning and relevance, the Chase Young’s and Antonio Gibson’s of the world must set the tone and improve in a big way in 2022.

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