Burgundy & Gold Reaction, Week 12: Takeaways & The Stalemate

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December 7, 2022

by David Earl

Yeah, Officiating is BAD

I shared the missed facemask from the Philly game to help show some context here because the officiating in the NFL has just gotten brutal. From not knowing what an actual catch is to when a quarterback actually fumbles the ball under the structure of the rules, these officials have been behind the 8-ball for quite some time, handling complex rules that are constantly being altered. That isn’t an excuse, but just justification for the need for full-time referees. As we saw in that Monday night win against Philly and their fans, the Washington fans feel the pain of a game potentially taken away by the officiating crew. How does the complexity of these rules affect the obvious calls not made? The only thing I can offer here is that when scrutiny over the years is constantly on the complex calls being inconsistently called, that sometimes the focus on the obvious can ultimately be skewed. That isn’t a great or acceptable excuse, but does it highlight the need for full-time officials? Along with the potential impact of a perfect season lost from this missed facemask, the Bills and Vikings game ended in a sequence that potentially cost the Bills a win in overtime. On the second to last play, Josh Allen threw a pass to a well-covered Dawson Knox in the endzone and the cornerback never established a position to play the ball, clearly interfering with the receiver. What should have been a pass interference call that would result in the ball being on the 1 yard line on 1st and goal, instead saw Allen’s next pass result in a Vikings game-winning interception. As far as this game, the 2 prominent missed calls were the pass interference on Terry McLaurin (at least illegal contact) and Cornelius Lucas‘ helmet being ripped from his head are 2 head-scratcher examples. This is where the fans, coaches, and owners get the most frustrated in missing the blatant penalties like the Bills and Eagles game. While many will scream about the obvious changes that could be made, in the current NFL each team will have to overcome these horrendously officiated games. It has become an entrenched part of every Sunday –  it almost seems like each team will need to game plan against officiating crews and figured out where their flaws are and the most common blown calls they make. There is no solution coming anytime soon and clearly, accountability is something the NFL does not care to enact, so bad calls are to be expected each week.  We can only hope the season isn’t lost due to these bad calls.

 

Luck Won’t Last Long

The Taylor Heinicke conversation has truly become a polarizing topic, especially for his hardcore followers, The Heinicke Hive. Let’s not sugar coat this: Taylor Heinicke, while a great leader and the players rally around his fiery play on the field, has been extremely lucky the last few games. He’s benefitted from dropped interceptions, and he’s floated passes when a little zip is required in tight coverage. His poor mechanics are prevalent every week. A playoff-caliber defense and a dedication to an effective running game have surely helped mask his flaws enough, mainly by limiting his drop-back opportunities. This clearly came to a head when Scott Turner seemed to have lost trust in his arm in overtime after his 8 yard sack on their last possession in overtime. The next 2 plays were runs by Brian Robinson Jr. and Antonio Gibson to position for a punt as opposed to attempting a game-winning field goal try.

This may be overthinking this scenario but then why would you not make that conscious effort to win a game, knowing that a tie this late in the season playing for the final wild-card spot is nearly as bad as a loss? Turner is not singularly to single blame – the offensive line may have had its worse game this season. They allowed the edge to be unblocked (see below) and were unable to keep a clean pocket, giving up 5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits.  They allowed constant pressure, which forced Heinicke into unscheduled runs and scrambles. Earlier in the year, it was poor pass protection coupled with Carson Wentz‘s tendency to hold the ball too long and taking bad sacks to now forcing a smaller quarterback with mechanical flaws into a poor throwing platform.  This has compounded an already volatile sequence of events. Heinicke’s luck is sure to run out soon, especially with 3 opportunistic defenses on the horizon in San Francisco, Cleveland, and Dallas. Depending on Taylor’s performance against New York in 2 weeks plus the playoff standings afterward, there is a chance Wentz gets another opportunity.  It’s also possible that Sam Howell closes out the season. Needless to say, these next 2 weeks might just be the most important 2 weeks of Heinicke’s career.

 

Washington Wasting Talent?

How potentially good can this trio of Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, and Jahan Dotson be with a good quarterback behind an efficient offensive line? Part of the excitement with this trio was the ability of Wentz to use his big arm to stretch the ball downfield.  We saw how well this worked out too. The ebb and flow of this team always seems to be that one position is shored up and fortified, while allowing a vital component that affects that piece to go by the wayside. The last time Washington was able to bring together a solid and explosive offensive unit together from the trenches out to the wide receivers was in 2016 when Kirk Cousins was the quarterback. At that time Washington had an explosive core in Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, and Jamison Crowder, with Garcon and Jackson breaking 1,000 yards. With today’s trio their speed, route running, hands, and the use in the running game makes them potentially very potent potentially; however, this potential seems to be sitting dormant in many ways. This team’s offensive line is one of the worst pass block units (27th in pass block win rate) in the NFL, and the quarterback has many mechanical flaws and lacks the arm strength to stretch the field.

Look at Dotson’s route below; it’s a microcosm of what we could see more often with better quarterback play. Dotson, from the slot, takes a quick outside step to freeze the corner and drives into a crossing route. After the catch, his athleticism took care of the rest as he scored. For his part, McLaurin has certainly resurfaced after a somewhat slow start and seems to have great chemistry with Heinicke, but my honest assessment here is that McLaurin can and should be so much more. The unfortunate consequence of the deconstruction of the offensive line is that the full potential of Carson Wentz‘s arm talent may never be realized as well. While he may not be the answer, Wentz could have been so much more if the offensive line was at least middle of the road. To be fair, Taylor Heinicke also could be far more effective in this scenario: his intermediate passing game and anticipation have clearly been his strength. In many cases, this aspect of Taylor’s game is better than his counterpart, Wentz. Even considering the flaws of both quarterbacks, the greatest collective travesty here is the fall of this offensive line from where it was last season, ranked 9h in pass block win rate, to this year being ranked 27th. It wastes the potential of both the wide receivers and the running game, as well as the play of the defense today.  It drives home a sickening reality that this team could be so much more.