3 areas Commanders’ Sam Howell needs to improve after preseason

2. Setting his feet to throw on the run

Howell showed an elite ability to create for himself on the run this preseason. That shouldn’t surprised anyone who followed him at North Carolina, but he had one play against Baltimore that gave us flashbacks to Taylor Heinicke’s staple Houdini act inside the pocket to escape a sack and run for a first down.

While Howell is a gamer of the highest degree and knows how to elude pressure, we noticed he doesn’t set himself up to throw on the run when he’s scrambling. We all know how important throwing on the run has become in today’s NFL (Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers have mastered this art), and Howell needs to do a better job of putting himself in passing positions while he’s evading a rush.

It’s nice to be able to outrun defensive linemen, but linebackers and especially defensive backs are an entirely different monster, especially when they’re running downfield full-stop with an exposed quarterback in their crosshairs.

Furthermore, it’s incredibly difficult for DBs to maintain coverage on a broken play when receivers are breaking back to the ball. There’s an opportunity to pick up significant air yards on said plays, but Howell has be in a position to make the throw first and foremost.

It’s more of a footwork issue than anything and that can be refined by putting in extra work after practice and Howell is a student of the game.

Plenty of time to nip this issue in the bud.