Tag: Kevin Sheehan Podcast

Logan Paulsen on the battle for Commanders QB No. 1

Who does Paulsen believe will be Washington’s starting quarterback?

Logan Paulsen, an NFL veteran of eight years and guest on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast, Monday, shared his observations and predictions of what he sees in the quarterback battle between Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett.

“Getting a rookie quarterback to be your long-term starter allows you to do a lot of different things, so I understand Ron’s (Rivera) affinity and philosophy in wanting to give Sam Howell the first crack,” Paulsen said.

“I also know Jacoby Brissett understands what it means to be a true backup in the NFL. He also played starting-caliber football last year. Notice I didn’t say he is a high-end backup. He was a starting-caliber player last year.”

“They are bringing in an excellent teammate, a guy that will get himself ready if something were to go sideways with Sam Howell, even in the 12th hour is a guy who can still win you football games.”

Paulsen expressed he feels Howell will be the QB1 to get started but also believes the Commanders were wise to insulate themselves well with the addition of Brissett.

“I would guess Sam is going to get the majority of starter reps, and they are going to expect Jacoby to learn the offense, getting limited starter reps and majority QB2 reps.” Paulsen continued they will trust Brissett to learn the offense getting those reps, preparing himself to become ready to go. He said Howell will have the offseason, OTAs and training camp to learn the new offense of Eric Bieniemy.

Then added, “If for some reason it is not where you want it to be, you got Jacoby Brissett in the wings, who can step in, be the starter for a little bit and then step out, if they feel Sam gets himself ready at some point this year.”

“It’s hard for me now to see Sam giving them a better opportunity than Jacoby, given what I saw from Jacoby last year.” Paulsen elaborated, saying Brissett did a better job in Cleveland than Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz did for Washington in 2022.

Paulsen was quick to point out that coaches liked Howell’s progress last year during practices. But Howell is going to be learning a new offense and Paulsen said if Howell is picking up the new offense effectively, then he has no doubt Howell will have the opportunity to be the Week 1 starter.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Washington quarterback Doug Williams made history 35 years ago

Remember the question Doug Williams was asked ahead of Super Bowl XXII?

Remember during Super Bowl week when Washington QB Doug Williams was asked by a reporter, “How long have you been a black quarterback?”

It was Jan. 1988, and Washington had defeated the higher-seeded Chicago Bears in freezing Soldier Field, then came home to RFK, beating the Vikings to advance to Super Bowl XXII.

That week, Doug Williams was hit with a plethora of questions regarding his being the first black quarterback in a Super Bowl.

But the one question we continue to hear about to this day was, “How long have you been a black quarterback?” Williams himself, to this day, has commented on it many times.

Yet, strangely, this actually never happened.

That’s right, Doug Williams was not actually asked by that reporter, “How long have you been a black quarterback.”

Andy Pollin was working at SB XXII and he too confirmed again this week, as a guest on the Kevin Sheehan podcast that it indeed did not occur the way most often expressed for three decades.

Also the first source I ever found on this story told it this way.

Butch John, a reporter for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger was heard by Bob Kravitz, a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News to have asked Willliams, “Doug, obviously you’ve been a black quarterback your whole life. When did race begin to matter to people?”

Williams, in the front of the room, apparently misunderstood the question because he replied with his own question to the room, “How long have I been a black quarterback?” Before the week was completed, it had been reported all over the country as a fact but was not a fact.

Williams got it wrong that day regarding what he was asked, but Washington fans can enjoy recalling that he certainly had a great Super Bowl XXII and was voted the MVP in Washington’s 42-10 romp over the Denver Broncos.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbykgy681k112p8 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]