Commanders News: Josh Harris, Michael Badgley, Sam Howell and Andrew Norwell
By Dean Jones
Commanders QB Sam Howell's tendencies
Sam Howell is all set for his second training camp as an NFL professional. This one bares even more significance considering he descends on Ashburn as the Washington Commanders starting quarterback.
Nothing has been confirmed one way or another for Week 1 by head coach Ron Rivera. He'll give Howell the first shot at winning the job, but the presence of veteran free-agent signing Jacoby Brissett provides the Commanders with a dependable distributor if the former fifth-round selection cannot meet expectations.
It's a small sample size to go off where Howell is concerned with only one NFL start. But that didn't stop Pro Football Focus' QB Annual from throwing out some tendencies that were not in keeping with the way Eric Bieniemy's offense ran with the Kansas City Chiefs. Something that was explained in greater detail by David Harrison from Sports Illustrated.
"[Sam] Howell targeted wide aligned receivers on 47 percent of his passes followed by 41 percent to the slot and 12 percent to players in or coming out of the backfield. None of his targeted throws were intended for inline tight ends. Looking at Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ route map from last season we see an offense led by now Washington assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy that ran routes mostly in the middle and left sides of the offensive formation. Again, it’s hard to draw too many concrete conclusions from the data provided, but it’s interesting to note and observe to see if Howell’s affinity for the right side persists with a coach that came from nearly the polar opposite in terms of offensive scheme last season."
- David Harrison, Sports Illustrated
This might be something and nothing at the same time. Even if there are some tendencies that don't necessarily mesh between Howell and Bieniemy initially, training camp represents the perfect time to iron out whatever creases could emerge when the real action arrives.