Tag: Logan Paulsen

Logan Paulsen looking ahead to Bieniemy offense for Commanders

Paulsen is excited about the possibilities for Bieniemy’s offense in Washington.

Logan Paulsen and Craig Hoffman conversed on their Take Command Podcast regarding what Eric Bieniemy’s Commanders offense might look like this upcoming season.

Paulsen initially pointed out that from a particular motion by Travis Kelce, the Chiefs were able to force the defenders to switch coverage responsibilities. (They) mess with their rules, mess with their alignment/coverages.

“Another alignment the Chiefs offense liked was motion into a 3 by 1, now giving an offense a 4 by 1 look (four receivers on one side of the field and a lone fifth receiver on the other side of the field). This forces the middle linebacker to shift to the “4 receiver side”, and the slant on the opposite side now is wide open.”

“There is a ton of stuff they do really well. I mean, it’s all high-level. It’s the best offense in football for the last couple of years. I think the philosophical element is so valuable here because it does create easier throws, easier looks, easier opportunities for the quarterback.”

“What takes them from a top 20 offense to a top 5 offense is Patrick Mahomes, his ability to do that special stuff, he extends plays, finds big plays, elevates the whole group. And that is an important thing to acknowledge here as well.”

The discussion is only 13 minutes in length and is well worth your time.

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Logan Paulsen doesn’t think Sam Howell should start vs. Cowboys in Week 18

He explained his reasoning.

Which quarterback will Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera start in Week 18 against the Dallas Cowboys?

If the decision were up to former Washington tight end Logan Paulsen, it wouldn’t be rookie Sam Howell.

Paulsen was a guest on the “Hoffman Show” with Craig Hoffman on Team 980 and discussed why he wouldn’t start Howell.

“From what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, Sam is not ready,” Paulsen said, per Chris Lingebach of Audacy. “And from what I’ve seen in my career, when people aren’t ready, it’s not even fun to watch them play. Like I’ve seen that happen with O-linemen, I’ve seen that happen with receivers, I’ve seen that happen on special teams — and guys just get straight dogged.”

Ok, this begs the question, how is Howell not ready? Sure, Howell is a fifth-round pick, and it’s not often that fifth-round quarterbacks are ready to play as rookies. However, Howell was a three-year starter at North Carolina, putting up record-breaking numbers. Sure, that doesn’t guarantee NFL success, but Howell was Washington’s backup for over two months when Carson Wentz went down with an injury. What if he had to play during that time?

Paulsen is an outstanding analyst, and we should trust his judgment. Paulsen did say from what he’s “seen and “heard,” Howell wasn’t ready. Is Paulsen judging this from Howell’s preseason performance? Howell showed promise in the preseason, but you can’t judge quarterbacks in the preseason. He did have plenty of mechanical issues to clean up, particularly his footwork. Has he not progressed on some of those mechanical issues in over four months?

If he hasn’t, that’s an indictment on offensive coordinator Scott Turner and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese.

Paulsen explained further why he wouldn’t start Howell.

“And all of this stuff, this narrative, this upside, this potential, is just shattered,” Paulsen said. “Their confidence is broken. They’ve got to wait another… whatever. So if he’s not ready, and everything I’ve heard from the staff and from what I saw in preseason says he’s not ready, don’t put him in unless you feel confident he can do something.”

Interesting information from someone in the know.

Paulsen then compared Howell’s situation to Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s.

“That guy, he’s been in the NFL for a year,” he said. “He was a sixth-round pick; he’s been around. He got a start, and the dude struggled mightily. So I look at that same thing with Sam [Howell].

Paulsen then referred to his analysis of the 2022 quarterback class and where Howell stood.

“He’s a fifth-round draft pick,” Paulsen said. “And look around the league, look at people who were taken ahead of him — [Desmond] Ridder, [Kenny] Pickett, Malik Willis. This was not a very strong quarterback class for a reason. Those guys were taken ahead of him. I had them all ahead of him in my quarterback evaluations this last season.”

In fairness to Howell, some rated him much higher than where he landed. Still, as Paulsen stated, the point still stands. He was a fifth-round pick.

But what about 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy? He was a seventh-round pick and doesn’t possess the physical tools of Howell, yet, he’s thriving on the NFL’s hottest team. Sure, Purdy is coached by the great Kyle Shanahan and has a loaded roster around him, but the rookie is making plays.

Couldn’t Howell make plays?

Who does Paulsen think gets the nod for Week 18?

“And so I would say that Taylor [Heinicke] probably gets the start,” Paulsen said. “That’s not to say that Sam doesn’t start. They might change their mind. They might say ‘Sam gives us the best shot to win.’ Although, I would hypothesize that that’s not the case. I would think that they would go with Heinicke.”

Again, Paulsen is a fantastic analyst, but I believe you go with Howell for Week 18. Perhaps he is absolutely horrible in practice, and no one knows outside of the coaching staff and players. But, again, if he’s that bad in practice, have the coaches not developed him?

Can Turner not call a game plan that caters to Howell’s strength, relying on the running game and feature some RPOs?

Rivera’s decision will likely be revealed early Wednesday morning.

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Logan Paulsen: ‘Daniel Jones better than Taylor Heinicke right now’

Logan Paulsen breaks down why the Commanders lost in Week 15.

 

Logan Paulsen, a guest on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast, Monday was asked directly to start the dialog, “Why did they (Commanders) lose last night?”

“Obviously, a question like that is multi-factorial, but I am going to start off with Scott (Turner), and the offensive staff got away from who they wanted to be and what they have been offensively.”

Paulsen felt the staff had watched film of how the Eagles scored big in their easy win over the Giants the previous week and attempted to incorporate that into the Commanders offense Sunday.

“I think it was a travesty in some ways that Brian Robinson only ended up with 17 carries.” Sheehan quickly countered, “12 carries, 12 carries.”

“The running game was being super-efficient, and I feel like they outsmarted themselves… that was one thing that really stuck out to me offensively. Obviously, the two turnovers were gigantic.” Paulsen distinguished between the two fumbles stating the first one was certainly not on Taylor Heinicke, but the last one certainly is.

“It felt like the offense had regressed back to what they were before Minnesota. A lot of dropbacks, a lot of off-gun runs, as opposed to a down hill attacking style, which they have become so good at the last few weeks, and the offensive line has gotten good at…It surprised me they came out departing from that.”

Paulsen illustrated by pointing to a 3rd & 3 in the red zone in which the call was a toss to Curtis Samuel. “I thought, man, you have one of the most efficient power runners in the NFL; why is he not on the field in this situation?… Give it to your best back, and let him make the play for you.”

“It’s easy for me to be a Monday morning quarterback and I am sure Scott had some good intel on why he wanted to call that in that situation.” But Paulsen continued that he thought that play call hurt more then helped.

“I think Washington is the more talented team, and that is one of the reasons why this is so frustrating. You want this team to make the playoffs, make a push. This is the game they had to win against a team they should have beaten.”

A determining factor right now is Daniel Jones is playing a little better than Taylor Heinicke right now. I think it was schematics and them (Giants) making plays when they needed to make them quite frankly.”

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Commanders Julie Donaldson: A lifetime of preparation and development

In part three of our interview with Commanders senior VP of media and content Julie Donaldson, she discusses hiring former players such as Logan Paulsen and London Fletcher.

Part three and the final segment of Commanders Wire interview with Julie Donaldson, the Commanders senior VP of media and content.

Part one.        Part two.

Julie Donaldson was driving home one night after doing a postgame show listening to the radio. Catching the middle of a discussion she heard this guy talking about the Washington game earlier that afternoon and she instantly realized he was quite informative.

“I was driving, and I was thinking, ‘I am learning things listening to this guy that I didn’t even learn in our one-hour post-game show.'”

Hearing it was Logan Paulsen she contacted him for interest in future shows.  Paulsen is a veteran of 120 NFL games and four teams including his longest stay which was with Washington from 2010-2014.

“He is so coachable. He takes his work in the studio work seriously. He went out and bought a suit, and I think Bram had to tie his tie for him the first time. He has cut his hair; he really gets into it. I enjoy watching him grow in the studio. He keeps hitting it out of the park.”

Donaldson has been in the business for two decades now. She knows intelligence and talent when she sees it. Regarding Paulsen, she openly offered, “I just hope he doesn’t leave us.”

In becoming the department head, Donaldson quickly learned the hard way she could attempt to micromanage and do all the shows and interviews herself, keeping control.

“I really want to use a lot of people; let them do what they do well. I don’t want this to be “The Julie Donaldson Show.” It’s definitely going to be a much different conversation when Santana Moss is talking with Terry McLaurin than myself.”

“It’s great when we permit our alumni Logan, Santana, Fred Smoot, London Fletcher to dialog with each other, and the conversations that come out of that NFL experience they share.”

Part of leadership is hiring. So when DeAngelo Hall decided after two years to pursue things outside of radio, Donaldson looked for Hall’s replacement.

“London had done the postgame show the first season 2020 and voiced he really missed the game, missed being at practice, being on the field game day.”

“During his audition, he was so coachable, and I could see his desire, his willingness to work. Hey, London is in our Ring of Fame. He is a great ambassador for the team and embraced by the fan base.”

“Taking on this job I have learned you really need the right people around you, making sure you hire people who share your vision, your work ethic.”

Donaldson readily acknowledges it is also the people never on camera who are vital to a department’s success and productivity.

“Executive producer Ryan Yocum knows how to deal with the operations, and make things happen. He has really helped in what we’ve accomplished and where we are going as a team.”

“I knew I needed someone to help me, set the vision, keep us focused and let me focus on what I need to do. Ryan has really provided structure and practices into place, helping us operate much more efficiently.”

For Julie, there was more than a decade in broadcasting and reporting previously.  She was studying the business of broadcasting at the University of Florida, she was competing in Miss Florida and Miss USA pageants, graduating with honors in high school, and her mother was an elementary school teacher.

“Mom taught us, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’  She also taught us ‘God gives people different skill sets, so grow that, take advantage of that.”

Perhaps Julie Donaldson was prepared all along for such a time as this.

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Why does Taylor Heinicke not run the read-option more?

Should the Commanders use more zone-read for Taylor Heinicke?

Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota exhibited last Sunday that the read-option can be an effective tool in an NFL offense.

Al Galdi declared to Logan Paulsen Wednesday, “Taylor Heinicke’s greatest physical attribute is his mobility. I have been so wanting the Commanders to better exploit Taylor’s mobility. Why don’t we see more read-option with Taylor? Why don’t we see him presented as a run threat more often?”

“I really don’t have a good answer for that”, replied Paulsen. “That’s something I have been calling for the last two seasons.”

“I think it does elevate what you do. My only thought about it is maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable with it.”

“They ran a little more zone-read against Minnesota for example. There are times he does not make the right read necessarily. The play is not as effective if you can’t read it effectively, right?”

“Mariota has a lot of reps in the tank in terms of running that play. You’re not getting that same level of proficiency from Taylor. So maybe it is, ‘We are good at these things. Let’s put more time and resources into being really good at these things. We don’t have time or energy to develop this other thing.”

“Though it could enhance their offense, I think people need to understand, in season you are on a truncated schedule. It’s hard to put new stuff in. So, that would be my only thought. I don’t have any inside information on that. I’m just kinda looking for an answer there.”

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Does Ron Rivera need to ride out the season with Taylor Heinicke?

Should the Commanders roll with Heinicke for the remainder of the season?

The Commanders have won six of seven, becoming a run-oriented team.

There are good things Taylor Heinicke contributes to this team, and yet it is also true the passing offense at times is very average.

Logan Paulsen was asked by Al Galdi Wednesday, “Should Ron Rivera be open about going back to Carson Wentz this season if the passing offense continues to underwhelm? Or does Ron need to ride out the season with Taylor?”

“I think that is an excellent question, replied Paulsen. “I think what it really comes down to is I look at what Taylor does. Obviously, he is not going to have gaudy numbers. He is not going to throw for 300 yards. This team is a run-first team and rightfully so.”

“Taylor is able to elevate the offensive line. He knows where the football should go. What he brings, that is not the sexiest stuff, but it is elevating the offense.”

“Should Ron be thinking about going back to Wentz? Yes, I think at some point. Obviously now you want to ride the hot hand. Taylor is doing a lot of really nice things that is elevating him at the position and elevating the offense. ”

“But I mean you invested a lot of money, and a lot of draft capital in determining Carson was your guy moving forward. I want to know with a really high degree of certainty that this is not the move. Because I need to know if we need to be thinking about trading up in the draft this year. Do we need to make another move for another big free agent this offseason?”

“Those are data points I want to have answered as soon as I possibly can. You don’t get that if he (Carson) is not playing.”

“Carson was not immersed in the scheme for a long period of time. He only played six games. I don’t think we really got a good feel for his level of understanding this offense.”

“I do think this is a data point I want outlined and answered as soon as possible. But I don’t think he should start over Taylor in the foreseeable future, because of those little things Taylor is doing at a really high level.”

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When the Washington Commanders were on the clock in 1st Round…

Logan Paulsen and London Fletcher provided live commentary during Washington’s first-round pick Thursday. It was outstanding.

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In case you were not watching the local coverage hosted by Julie Donaldson, Washington commentators had much to say during the Commanders live broadcast coverage Thursday night of the first round.

When time for the No. 11 pick came,

Bram Weinstein, “I think they trade back.”

London Fletcher: “They went into this draft thinking, ‘add a playmaker to the wide receiver position.’ Once both those guys were gone (Drake London, Garrett Wilson) maybe they still add Chris Olave or Jameson Williams.”

When announced Washington had traded back to No. 16:

Weinstein then asked Fletcher what Washington would try to obtain trading back, “Obviously they get a defensive tackle. They have to replace Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle. That will be a position of need. Maybe add a running back, a bigger back… a safety and a quarterback.”

When it was announced the Commanders received picks No 16, 98 and 120

Logan Paulsen responded, “I am ecstatic! This is fantastic for the team. It puts them in a position to get a receiver they like. Chris Olave is probably their number one receiver at this point in the draft. He will be there at No 16 most likely. This trade allows you to address the meat and potatoes of this draft, the 3rd and 4th rounds… with both London and Wilson gone, let’s move back, put ourselves in the best position as an organization to get the best receiver in our view that is going to be available at 16.”

On the clock at No. 16,

Fletcher: “I think they still go with a wide receiver maybe a Dotson out of Penn State or the Burks kid out of Arkansas. Though they traded back, I still think they will take a wide receiver.”

Paulsen: “I love the way Dotson catches the football outside of his frame. He is fearless, not afraid to go over the middle, blocks faced a lot of man-to-man coverage, so you know he can beat that kind of coverage. Love that skill set, he is a complete receiver to me. If they could trade back again I think those guys I mentioned (Dotson, Trevor Penning, Devin Lloyd, Trent McDuffie) will be there for them from say 19 to the end of the round.”

When the Dotson pick was announced,

Fletcher: “I love the pick. I watched Dotson destroy defensive backs in the Big 10 this year. By trading back, they still get a guy that is very productive. I like this pick.”

Paulsen: Yes, he has tremendous ability, his hands are well documented. The thing I love most about him is the physical courage with which he plays the position. He is going to run after the catch, he is going to block. He is going to do the nasty stuff. You can tell football is very important to him. And that is why he bumped up in my evaluation process.”

 

 

 

Logan Paulsen’s analysis on Washington’s trade for Carson Wentz

Logan Paulsen provides some terrific analysis of the Carson Wentz trade.

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Logan Paulsen was an informative guest on the Team 980 Wednesday with Pete Medhurst, responding to the breaking news that Carson Wentz had been traded to Washington.

The former Washington tight end feels Wentz has some good physical tools like a live arm. But did warn there is a lot of variance in Wentz’s game so he can be really up and really down.

He warned Wentz is not the athlete he was a few years ago; his back injury limiting his athleticism.

The former Eagle and Colt QB’s accuracy is at times not great, reminding Paulsen of Jimmy Garoppolo. Yet, Wentz is definitely an upgrade over the QB situation last season when the inexperienced Taylor Heinicke was forced into action the first game when Ryan Fitzpatrick went down with a hip injury.

Paulsen also reminded listeners that along with Wentz comes baggage like a large price tag and the giving up of draft capital which is significant.

The intangibles of leading, instilling confidence, getting guys to follow you are missing at times in Wentz. Some players in Philly have said to Paulsen, Wentz could have led better.

Wentz will add value with his strong arm that can push the ball down the field. So more of the field will need to be defended as Heinicke had less ball velocity and was less of a deep threat.

Paulsen feels Wentz could be worth three, maybe four wins, but doesn’t see him as enough to go deep in the playoffs. He said he could hear Ron Rivera saying this O-Line and our playmakers are the best situation Wentz has experienced. Paulsen said he could not agree entirely, nor totally disagree either.

Wentz’s seven interceptions in 2021 look good at first, but he also had 3-5 turnover-worthy plays per game, similar to Heinicke. He got a little lucky when you watch the tape. He frustrates coaches and makes them nervous.

Paulsen is convinced the bigger issue will be how Wentz is in the locker room, as he has come off to some as perhaps self-centered.

Paulsen did not avoid mentioning the culture is causing players to not want to come to Ashburn. So, if you want to get a good player and force one to come play here, trade is a way to get them.

Regarding the draft, Paulsen offered Washington could still take a QB at No. 11 if they doubt Wentz, or they could also take a playmaker or another offensive lineman to help Wentz.

But he also believes with Washington losing picks in the trade, they could easily trade back, obtaining another pick or two and still get a Sam Howell or Desmond Ridder later, if they insist on drafting a quarterback.

Once again, Paulsen was a great listen.