According to the latest reports and my sources coming out of D.C., Dwayne Haskins may be fighting to keep his job as the starting quarterback of The Washington Football team.
Despite playing on a talent-defunct squad and still completing 32 of 45 passes for a career-high 314 yards and 0 turnovers on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, when asked about this week’s game versus the Los Angeles Rams and Haskins’ hold on the job, HC Ron Rivera said:
“As we arrive back at the facility on Tuesday it’s his, but we’ll see how things develop through the week.”
I guess these plays are Dwayne Haskins fault too huh 🤦🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/XfFYe0uzqB
— BLACK SPORTSCENTER (@VersaceBoyEnt) October 4, 2020
What’s Rivera’s gripe with the team’s 2019 first-round pick, who hasn’t had a full season as a starter under his belt yet?
“The ball’s got to go into the end zone or be put in a position to be put in the end zone,” Rivera added. It’s something he’s got to learn. If he’s going to be a starter in this league and contribute to the football games, he has to understand and develop,” Rivera added.
Not sure how to take this other than maybe Haskins isn’t their guy and the franchise may be ready to see what Kyle Allen can do if given a shot. If so, that’s a quick hook for Haskins.
In all honesty, I think Rivera should sit out and focus on his health as he continues to battle cancer and deal with the effects of his chemotherapy treatments, which have made him awfully fatigued as seen on many a game day and throughout the week.
Rivera’s not being as assertive as he can as a leader. He doesn’t seem to know if he wants to go for the playoffs with the entire division being so bad. Or just accept the team’s current fate as a doormat, rebuild and develop for the future.
He needs to make a decision and stick to it. But either way, I believe he should keep Haskins as the starter until the end of the season just to see if he can cut it or not. Tweak the system to focus on the things that he does well and start using these packages more to bring better results. In a way, I feel bad for Haskins coming into a situation where former head coach Jay Gruden didn’t want him at all and didn’t even try to develop the kid.
And then after Gruden was fired, Bill Callahan was named interim head coach and he was out to prove he could do the job and win now, so he didn’t even play Haskins until an injury to journeyman Case Keenum forced the rookie into the starting role for a floundering 1-8 team.
Everyone is raving about Bills QB Josh Allen, but not too long ago he was a victim of the same criticisms young Haskins is receiving. They said Allen needed to improve his passing accuracy, composure and overall leadership ability. Allen’s coach stuck with him, spoke highly of him, and designed an offense that could highlight Allen’s talents, while the second-year QB worked on his deficiencies. Now Allen’s playing like an All-Pro in his third year and Buffalo is undefeated (4-0) so far.
Josh Allen over his first 10 starts:
7 TDs vs. 11 INTs
6.37 yards per pass attempt
52.3 completion %Dwayne Haskins over his first 10 starts:
11 TDs vs. 6 INTs
6.56 yards per pass attempt
58.2 completion %— Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) September 28, 2020
If not curbed, sooner than later, this Washington situation has the makings of an RGIII and Gruden fractured relationship, which went completely sour after Gruden was hired to “fix” RGIII, but eventually gave up on the 2012 Offensive ROY and went with Kirk Cousins.
Washington has to do a better job developing quarterbacks and surrounding them with skill pieces that can aid in that development. No matter who the signal-caller for Washington is right now, the talent just isn’t there and with the coach battling his own health demons and not sounding committed to his young QB, there’s no real direction or leadership.
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