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Alex Smith (calf) won't play in Week 15 against the Seahawks.


4209

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Dwayne Haskins will instead return as the team's starter with a one-game lead over the Giants for the NFC East crown intact. Haskins was admittedly miserable under center to open the year, getting benched after four games for completing just 60.9% of his passes with four touchdowns, three picks, and two lost fumbles. With Antonio Gibson (toe) additionally doubtful to suit up, OC Scott Turner would be wise to scheme the ball out of Haskins' hand as quickly as possible. Terry McLaurin, who did record a team-high in target share from Haskins last year, is hanging by a thread in the second round of the fantasy playoffs.

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Dec 18, 2020, 1:46 PM ET
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2 minutes ago, MikeT14 said:

I don't see us winning this game now.

Well absolutely. However the game has to play first. But yes we are in a bigger!!!!!!!! trouble. It was already bleak from the start. Our D can only hold for so long. One of the strategies we can do from a defensive view is look at how the G man beat the hawks and I am sure Del Rio is doing. Play better special teams, keep the TO and penalties low and find some kind of RG but this is really a hellva up hill climb now. 

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I don't know how much this changes things vs. where we were before as @e16bball said. Even if Alex and Gibby were playing in this game I wouldn't predict we were going to win it without our defense playing lights out and scoring TDs or getting near scoring TDs for our offense like it did vs the Steelers and 49ers. 

Rivera said in an interview that Haskins has been doing all the things that they want him to do and has been preparing well. He also said that they are tailoring the game plan for Haskins and installing the things that he wants and how they all feel he can be successful in doing. I will remind people that Haskins did throw for 314 yards and I believe near 70% against the Ravens which remains one of the best defenses in the league and was even better in the first month of the season. Yes, Haskins missed a handful of throws he should've made that game and yes, I'm sure he didn't see a few open guys but as we've talked about in this forum for years - dating back to when Kirk Cousins was our QB - not even the elite QBs see every open receiver on every play and hit all the open receivers. 

I hope that Haskins can play as he did the first few drives when he took over for Alex in the 49ers game, but for that to happen we are also going to have to have some success running the ball and when it comes down to it, our team has always struggled when our running game isn't successful this entire year. We need McKissic and Barber to have some successful runs and we need Haskins to make the easy throws when they're available, move the chains and not make mistakes. 

If we do those things, I believe we can hang with anyone. I know some don't even want to see Haskins play, but I am intrigued to see how far Haskins has progressed in the playbook and if he can play more consistently than he did the first month of the season. Honestly, if he plays like he did vs the Ravens, our running game/short passing game to McKissic goes for around 100 yards and our defense plays as it has the last 4 games, we have a good shot at winning the game.

Again, I have no clue if that will happen, but I am intrigued to see if Haskins can do it and if he can at least keep this game close. This game is huge for him, if Haskins shows a lot of progress, it could change his future whether that's him staying in DC after this season or whether someone will trade something worthy for him so he has a chance to compete for a job somewhere else.  

 

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@turtle28

"He also said that they are tailoring the game plan for Haskins and installing the things that he wants and how they all feel he can be successful in doing".

That's good play play to some of his strengths. I think DH is a better passer going deep not so much the short stuff. DH should be a little better with pre snap reads and he has struggled with his accuracy. We are also down 3 starters on the D side, this isn't going to help either.  On the D side I know Del Rio is watching the Giants and Seahawks game. The G man was doing some strange things on the back end. Never saw Wilson so confuse and holding the ball a long time. They did this with 3 and 4 man rush. For starters they shut down Metcalf. Wilson loves to throw deep. So we should take that away # 1. I saw this game. Let's see what Del Rio come up with. 

 

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5 minutes ago, 4209 said:

@turtle28

"He also said that they are tailoring the game plan for Haskins and installing the things that he wants and how they all feel he can be successful in doing".

That's good play play to some of his strengths. I think DH is a better passer going deep not so much the short stuff. DH should be a little better with pre snap reads and he has struggled with his accuracy. We are also down 3 starters on the D side, this isn't going to help either.  On the D side I know Del Rio is watching the Giants and Seahawks game. The G man was doing some strange things on the back end. Never saw Wilson so confuse and holding the ball a long time. They did this with 3 and 4 man rush. For starters they shut down Metcalf. Wilson loves to throw deep. So we should take that away # 1. Let's see what Del Rio come up with. 

 

Yeah, I tried to say what you quoted in my post about Haskins, but it probably didn't come out clearly.

I forget which game it was, but about a month ago, maybe a little longer ago than that a good defensive team played the Seahawks and they doubled Metcalf all game, it may have been the game before the Giants or a few before that. I think it was a Sunday Night or Monday Night game because I remember the analysts being really good, whether that was Collinsworth or Luis Riddick, I can't remember but that strategy worked and it is definitely a blue print on how to slow down Russell Wilson & Metcalf downfield. What the Giants also had was strong run defense. As you said they were able to drop 7 or 8 guys into coverage and also still able to handle the run pretty well. We'll need our DL to dominate their OL as they've been doing for a while now, and we'll need our linebackers to be solid in their gaps and not miss tackles. 

 

I heard on the radio that we might be down Holcomb and KPL in our LB corps, is that correct? 

If so, those are big losses as I think they've been our best LBs all year. I guess if they are our we will see more of SDH and I hope he plays well, he certainly has the ability to even though he hasn't had the year I thought he would this year. We'll also see Thomas Davis start at SLB, but hopefully he's the one who comes off the field when the Seahawks go to 3 WRs, I have no appetite for seeing old man Davis trying to cover Tyler Lockett in the slot even if it's just the first 5 yards of his route.

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4 minutes ago, taylor made said:

Does anyone know who is backing up Dwayne for this game?

Second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins will start in his place, with his backup to be determined. The No. 2 will be either Taylor Heinicke, a recent signee to the practice squad who played for Coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner in Carolina, or Steven Montez, an undrafted rookie on the practice squad who signed with the team following the draft.

Although Haskins’s individual stats during that span [the first 4 games] were in line with other starting quarterbacks (234.8 passing yards per game, four passing touchdowns, three interceptions and an 80.3 passer rating), Washington’s offense sputtered under his lead and Rivera later insinuated that Haskins’s preparation lagged.

 

“It’s something that some guys grow and develop and understand how important it is,” Rivera said in November. “A lot of times, guys will rely on their great talent. That talent will get you by for a while, but there’s a point in everybody’s career where everything catches up to talent. The only thing that separates it are the guys that work the hardest.”

Haskins played the second half of Washington’s most recent win, against the San Francisco 49ers in Glendale, Ariz., last Sunday, and much like his play earlier in the season, he showed both his potential as a pro, but also the mental errors of a young player.

Rivera said the game plan against Seattle will be “tailored” to Haskins’s skill set and his strengths. Helping him even more is a full week of practice with the first-team offense. How his practice translates to the game Sunday will be a true gauge of his development, and perhaps the team’s future at quarterback.

“A chance is a chance and you got to be ready for your opportunity whether it’s last week like I was or any other week,” Haskins said. “Coming here and the things that have happened, it’s unfortunate, but life is hard. So what? Get over it. [Put your] best foot forward. That’s what I’m doing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/12/18/alex-smith-seahawks-dwayne-haskins/#:~:text=Second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins,the practice squad who signed

 

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1 hour ago, e16bball said:

Did you see us winning it before?

I could see it,Seattle has the worse passing defense in the league in terms of yard per game,so coulda seen some long drives keeping seattle O off the field and leading to points and defense getting enough pressure on Wilson to win the game.

Where with Haskins I expect a few quick 3 and out that will hurt the defense and possibley a turnover or more.To me the game goes from being a tossup to not looking good

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