Logan Paulsen told last week of how he had been led to believe that the Commanders staff did not think Sam Howell was ready for a regular season NFL game.
Paulsen then asked listeners last week not to expect too much of Howell, as in kindness and thoughtfulness, he was attempting to protect Howell in case he would play poorly Sunday.
However, Howell played fairly well. There was a very bad interception and a couple of passes Howell missed. However, he ran well and made enough good decisions and good passes that he had to have pleased Commanders coaches and teammates.
“There were some things physically that were just awesome: quick release, decisive throw, strong arm…his ability to run at this level. When you have a quarterback who can run, it’s a tremendous value added to the offense.”
That is a significant check in the box going forward for him next year (making plays off schedule). All of that was very positive and gets me excited about him moving forward.”
“I will say Scott (Turner) did a good job, to his credit, of basically designing very simple stuff for Howell to do. There was nothing overly complex.”
“There was a slant to Jahan that was a dragging concept; it is a day-one install, a very simple read.”
Paulsen expressed how there were some completions that were one-read throws. You look there, see if it is doable and let ‘er fly. Paulsen noticed that there were plays where Howell’s eyes were fixated on the receiver to whom he passed the ball.
“You love that he was finding throwing windows, his quick release, he was leading the receivers, his ball placement. All of that stuff was excellent. But some of the concerns that I had were about his ability to process an NFL offense. I’m not sure those questions were answered. But he did show you enough of his physical stuff to see why some talked of him being the best in college football in 2021.”