Category: 2021 NFL Season

Will the Commanders pay more than expected to meet urgent needs?

The Commanders have multiple needs heading into free agency. Will they overspend on any positions?

Pro Football Focus (PFF) Friday suggested the top 10 players they feel will make more than earlier expected in free agency signings.

So, with the Commanders having a substantial need for edge rushers, a center, offensive tackle, left guard, and tight end, would they sign a player for perhaps too much money?

So often, in NFL free agency, the first two days result in players being extremely overpaid. Then, the price tag significantly reduces, and players are signed to contracts that make much more sense according to their actual value.

In their first four seasons in the NFL, Detroit Lions guard Jonah Jackson was quite durable the first two seasons starting all 16 games. In the last two seasons, he has missed four and five games, respectively. Is this a trend of his durability waning? It may be nothing of the sort. It’s the type of questions that Adam Peters and others must consider and sometimes it is much harder to know which decision to make.

Bengals tackle Jonah Jackson has spent time at both left and right tackle in his first four seasons. According to PFF, in his 2023 season, he earned only a 59.1 grade. So, again, a general manager like Peters must consider what to make of such a low grade this past season. Was it an anomaly? Is it part of a downward trend?

The Jets Bryce Huff is an edge rusher who has been speculated to be coveted by the Commanders. PFF reported that Huff “ranks first among 73 qualifying edge defenders with a pressure rate of 20.9% since 2022, and his 90.4 pass-rushing grade over the span places him sixth at the position.”

Dolphins guard Robert Hunt enjoyed perhaps his finest season in 2023, scoring a 76.4 PFF grade. In his four seasons, Hunt ranks 14th among NFL guards with a 73.2 pass-blocking grade. Hunt did, however, miss seven games during the 2023 season.

Will the Commanders be able to meet a couple of needs during this free agency period next week without overspending?

Former head of NFL officiating: Commanders DE K.J. Henry’s ‘sack’ should not have been a penalty

Ex–director of NFL officiating: K.J. Henry’s sack was not a penalty.

Washington Commanders rookie defensive end K.J. Henry experienced the first action of his NFL career in Sunday’s 20-17 win over the New England Patriots.

After last week’s trades of starting DEs Montez Sweat and Chase Young, Henry was active for the first time this season and played nine snaps in the game.

During the third quarter, Henry took advantage of that playing time, sacking Mac Jones while also forcing the fumble, which defensive end Efe Obada recovered. Washington football around midfield.

Wait a minute, there’s a flag.

Unbelievably, the officials called Henry for roughing the passer. Not only did it negate his first career sack, but also took a turnover off the board and put the Patriots in field-goal range. The Patriots would kick the field goal a few plays later, and it would be their last points of the day.

Head coach Ron Rivera didn’t want to discuss it after the game, and Henry took a lighthearted approach to the penalty.

On Monday, former head of NFL officiating and now a rules analyst for FOX Sports and a contributor to The 33rd Team, Dean Blandino, weighed in and agreed: It should not have been a penalty.

Here’s the video:

The biggest takeaway from Blandino, in his own words:

“This is not a foul,” he said. “What K.J. Henry does is just tackle the quarterback. Because defenders, it’s really hard to get off to the side. To me, this is just a sack. I think we’ve gone too far, and I really hope the competition committee looks at these calls in the offseason and gives the officiating department and the officials some new direction.”

There you have it, folks. It was not a sack. Surprise: The NFL got it wrong. Fortunately for the Commanders, while it did cost them points, it did not cost them the game.

Commanders Casey Toohill making his case

Casey Toohill will be a free agent in 2024.

In three NFL seasons, Casey Toohill had accumulated only two quarterback sacks.

But Toohill has already registered three sacks in 2023.

The former Stanford Cardinal was drafted in the 7th round (233 overall) by the Eagles in the 2020 NFL draft.

Toohill signed his four-year deal in July, but then the Eagles released Toohill in October of 2020. The very next day, Washington claimed Toohill off of waivers. In on 8 Washington games, he contributed two assisted tackles and a QB hit.

The 6-foot-5, 254 defensive end registered two quarterback sacks and 12 quarterback hits over the next two seasons 2021-22 with Washington.

In this his fourth NFL season, Toohill is making the most of his opportunities. Appearing in each of the six games this season, Toohill has already registered three QB sacks, seven solo tackles, one assisted tackle, two tackles for a loss and four QB hits.

This past Sunday in Atlanta, Toohill collected his first two-sack NFL game.

Toohill is a free agent at the conclusion of the 2023 season. Might the Commander’s brass actually be wise to go ahead and resign Toohill to a veteran-friendly contract for something like three years?”

Twitter Reactions to Commanders declining Chase Young’s 5th year option

The reactions were all over the place regarding the Commanders’ declining Chase Young’s fifth-year option.

Chase Young was the 2020 NFL defensive rookie of the year.

That season, the Ohio State rookie forced four fumbles, recovered three fumbles, ran one back for a touchdown, collected 7.5 sacks, made 42 total tackles, had 10 tackles for a loss and 12 quarterback hits.

However, in 2021, Young, in 9 games, did not resemble the player we observed in 2020. There were only 3 tackles for a loss and only 4 quarterback hits and a mere 1.5 sacks.

Then a horrible knee injury occurred against the Tampa Bay Bucs. He missed the remainder of 2021 and almost all of 2022.

There is no easy answer to what the Commanders’ decision regarding Young’s 5th-year option should be.

Here is some of the varied Twitter reactions to the Commanders’ decision.

NFC East now realizes Jalen Hurts is the real deal

If you didn’t believe before, you should now: Jalen Hurts is the real deal.

If the NFC East was not convinced about Jalen Hurts, there is certainly no doubt now.

After a disappointing playoff game against the Tampa Bay Bucs, concluding the Eagles 2021 season, there was much press concerning Hurts playoff game.

However, Hurts rose to the elite tier of 2022 quarterbacks, serving notice to his divisional rivals (Commanders, Giants, Cowboys) he is the real deal.

His 2022 play saw him voted to his first Pro Bowl. The Eagles were 14-1 in the 15 regular season games Hurts started. (Yes, Hurts only loss in the regular season was that MNF home loss to the Commanders).

Hurts put up Pro Bowl-worthy numbers completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,701 yards and 22 touchdown passes. All three were quite noticeable improvements over his first two seasons. His touchdown/interception ratio improved from 2021’s 16/9 to 22/6.

The Eagles offense, led by Hurts, made sizeable leaps from 2021 in passing yards per game (209.6/246.7), passer rating (87.2/101.5), and QBR (48.5/66.3).

Did you notice Hurts rushed the ball for 760 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, 50.7 rushing yards a game, and scoring 13 rushing touchdowns? Hurts was the NFL’s best dual-threat quarterback in 2022.

How did Hurts fare playing in his first Super Bowl? He completed 27 of 38  passes, including a touchdown pass, becoming the first Super Bowl quarterback to throw for 300+ yards (304), while also rushing for 70 yards and rushing for three touchdowns.

Hurts continues to surprise with his rate of progress in his three years in the NFL. His play in the Super Bowl was stellar. If not for his fumble being returned for a touchdown, he is the MVP of the game.

In one season, Hurts has unarguably climbed from the third-best quarterback in the division to, without question, the best quarterback in the division.

And to think, when the Eagles selected Hurts 53rd overall in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, they were heavily questioned as having wasted such a high draft pick, seeing they already had Carson Wentz as their starter.

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Will Scott Turner and Taylor Heinicke reunite again?

Could Taylor Heinicke follow Scott Turner to Las Vegas?

The Raiders hired Scott Turner as a passing game coordinator on Friday.

Wouldn’t you know it, Taylor Heinicke is now a free agent. You see, the two have worked together now three previous times.

Heinicke was getting no interest and was going to be undrafted in 2015.

Heinicke would have one NFL coach come to see him on his scheduled Old Dominion University pro day, and that lone coach was Turner.

Turner, the son of former Redskins head coach Norv Turner was coaching quarterbacks for the Minnesota Vikings. He had heard about this kid from tiny Old Dominion and his college career. Heinicke had passed for 14,959 yards, 132 touchdowns, 1,338 completions, on a sizzling 73.1 completion percentage, and 7 touchdown passes in a single game.

Heinicke indeed went undrafted but signed with the Vikings in 2015 and played some in the preseason, but was not on the active regular-season roster.

The former ODU Monarch was briefly with the Texans in 2017, appearing in one game, completing one pass for ten yards. Next, he again joined up with Turner, this time in Carolina in 2018, making one start and completing 35 of 57 passes for 320 yards.

Late in the 2020 season, when Denver lost three quarterbacks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Turner (with Washington) connected again with  Heinicke and found him taking classes, staying on his sister’s couch.

Now three seasons later, Heinicke with Washington started 24 games for a record of 12-11-1. He passed for 5,415 yards on a 64.0 completion percentage. His touchdown/interception ratio has been 33:21.

Heinicke’s value might have gone up considerably, seeing Washington was 5-3-1 in games he started. Then again, he really struggled at times, and the Commanders seemed to win sometimes despite his inconsistent play.

The Raiders and Derek Carr seemed to be in a spat and are separated, looking to divorce. Will Turner’s influence and Heinicke’s availability result in the two reuniting a fourth time in the NFL?

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Are the Commanders a ‘top contender’ for Raiders QB Derek Carr in 2023?

Could Derek Carr be a realistic option for the Commanders in 2023

There’s a good chance the Washington Commanders will be looking for another new quarterback in 2023. Carson Wentz hasn’t proven to be the answer in 2022, although he has a two-game audition to change Washington’s mind, and the Commanders know what they have in Taylor Heinicke.

The 2023 veteran quarterback market could have multiple intriguing options for the Commanders in the offseason. Lamar Jackson is a free agent, but it’s doubtful he will escape Baltimore. The greatest player of all time, Tom Brady, is also a free agent, as is a player Washington was interested in last offseason, Jimmy Garoppolo.

Geno Smith is another interesting name.

Another name who became a possibility on Wednesday is Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. The Raiders benched Carr with two games remaining in the season after his recent struggles. Now, Carr is stepping away from the team for the final two weeks, and his tenure with the Raiders is essentially over.

Performance is why the Raiders benched Carr, but his contract was probably the biggest determining factor.

Whether it was owner Mark Davis or head coach Josh McDaniels, the Raiders had already determined they wanted to move forward without Carr and weren’t risking an injury over the final two games.

After benching Carr, it damages Carr’s potential trade value. Even with his recent struggles, Carr is still a top-half-of-the-league quarterback and would fetch Las Vegas multiple draft picks. Now, you wonder if the Raiders will release Carr.

Carr has a no-trade clause, so he has control over his next destination.

After Carr’s benching, CBS Sports released a list of 10 teams that make sense for Carr in 2023. Five teams were in the “long-shot” category, while five were considered top contenders.

One of those top contenders was the Commanders.

Ron Rivera can insist they need a long-term answer at QB all he wants, but few teams are perpetually hunting for mid-tier veterans like Washington. They’ll have plenty of financial flexibility if/when they cut or trade Carson Wentz, and assuming Rivera sticks around with his staff, Carr has ties to Jack Del Rio, the second-hand man; Del Rio was the Raiders’ coach during Carr’s 2015-2016 breakout, when the QB led a 12-3 start before going down with an injury.

The Del Rio connection is interesting. Del Rio has spoken favorably of Carr in the past. And Washington has plenty of offensive weapons to woo a solid veteran quarterback.

Would Carr want to come to Washington? Would Washington even be interested in Carr? The Commanders should be interested. It all depends on the price. If the Raiders trade him, what will it cost? You don’t want to trade high draft choices in back-to-back years for different veteran quarterbacks and then have to pay a top salary. If Carr is released, that’s probably a different story.

Last offseason was an important one for Washington; this upcoming offseason is even more significant. The Commanders could have new ownership in the spring, and that could bring plenty of change.

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When they last met: Washington and NY Giants

These two teams last met in Week 18 in January. A lot has changed for both teams since that time.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Washington 22, NY Giants 7 – Week 18, Jan. 9, 2022

Antonio Gibson accumulated 146 yards in his 21 carries as Washington won their last game of the 2021 season, 22-7 over the Giants at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Gibson enjoyed an 18-yard touchdown in the final quarter putting away the game, and also a 27-yard run in the second quarter, his longest of the day. Jonathan Williams also had a 23-yard run in the third quarter.

Joey Slye was perfect on the day, making his only extra point attempt and all three of his field goal attempts from 23, 43 and 23 yards.

After a low-scoring first half which ended 6-0 on two Slye field goals, safety Bobby McCain picked off a Jake Fromm pass in the third quarter. McCain returned his interception 30 yards for a touchdown, pushing Washington’s lead to 12-0.

Taylor Heinicke and Terry McLaurin connected on a 40-yard pass reception. But other than that, Heinicke only completed 8 of his other 18 attempts for only 120 yards.

McCain actually intercepted a second pass on the day, returning this one nine yards. While Jonathan Allen, James Smith-Williams, William Bradley King and Shaka Toney all contributed .5 of a quarterback sack.

The game being the 2021 season finale for both teams, Washington finished 2021 with a 7-10 record, while the Giants loss sunk them to 4-13. Washington swept the Giants having also won at FedEx Field 30-29 in Week 2.

When they last met: Washington and Dallas

The Commanders are hoping for a much different result this time around.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Dallas 56, Washington 14 – Week 16, December 26, 2021

The Dallas offense reached the end zone five consecutive possessions on their way to a 56-14 romp of the Washington Football Team at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

It may have been the worst performance by Washington in a decade. Not only did Dallas move the ball up and down the field in those five consecutive possessions, but they also recorded a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown.

The Washington defense yielded four Dak Prescott touchdown passes to four different receivers (Ezekiel Elliott, Dalton Schultz, Terence Steele, Amari Cooper).

DeMarcus Lawrence intercepted a Taylor Heinicke pass, returning it 40 yards for a touchdown and Chauncey Golston recovered a blocked Tress Way punt in the end zone for another score.

Trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, Heinicke had passed to Antonio Gibson for an 8-yard touchdown. In the final quarter, trailing 56-7, from the 13 yard-line Heinicke connected with John Bates who was hit at the two-yard line, fumbled and recovered in the end zone for the game’s final score.

Unfortunately for Washington, the most remembered moment of the Sunday Night massacre occurred on the Washington bench. In the second quarter, trailing 28-7, frustration building, the Washington defense was on the bench. Daron Payne voiced something to Jonathan Allen, and Allen replied; Payne then poked Allen in the head, and Allen rose to his feet and struck Payne.

 

When they last met: Washington and Philadelphia

The last meeting between these two teams is remembered more for what happened after the game.

“When they last met” is an ongoing series during the NFL season, recalling the preceding game between Washington and the next opponent on the Commanders’ schedule.

Philadelphia 20, Washington 16 – Week 17, January 02, 2022

Leading by halftime by 9 points, the Washington Football Team could not score in the second half, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-16 at Fed Ex Field in Landover.

Washington moved the ball quite well in the first half with drives of 67, 63, 54 and 57 yards resulting in a 11-yard touchdown by Jaret Patterson and three Joey Slye field goals for a Washington 16-7 halftime lead.

However, four second-half offensive possessions resulted in Washington moving the ball -5, 9, 30 and 55 yards. The final WFT drive began on the Washington 25 with the Eagles having taken a 20-16 lead with 2:21 remaining in the game.

Taylor Heinicke completed five consecutive passes moving the ball to the Philadelphia 35. On second down, Heinicke connected with Patterson to the Eagles’ 30. Then Heinicke again found Patterson for 10 yards to the Eagles’ 20 with 30 seconds remaining.

However, on first down, Heinicke attempted to connect with John Bates in the end zone but was intercepted by Rodney McLeod, sealing the come-from-behind win for the Eagles. Washington had built first-half leads of 10-0 and 16-7, yet the Eagles responded, outscoring Washington 13-0 in the second half.

Immediately following the game, as both teams were leaving the field, a security railing being leaned on by several Eagles’ fans collapsed, leaving the fans on the ground and Jalen Hurts whom the Eagles fans were attempting to reach.