Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Season On Life Support

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November 2, 2021

by David Earl

The Elephant in the Room

So here we are halfway through the season and the kicking game was Washington’s Achilles heel, but as opposed to wishing for Hopkins release the opposite ran through our minds. Don’t collectively roll your eyes either because Hopkins could, at the very least, clear our offensive line. Today 2 of Chris Blewitt’s 3 attempts not only were abysmal but once again Blewitt simply struggled to clear the offensive line. While many fans continued to call for Hopkins’ head week after week, Blewitt has proved the cliche “Be careful what you wish for” painfully accurate. The numbers have been debated when talking Hopkins accuracy. Whilw any felt he just continued to not be clutch, he was a professional strong-legged kicker who couldn’t be replaced mid-season, as Steve Thomas of the Hog Sty Podcast emphasized.  It was clearly a mistake to cut Hopkins at this point and that is not debatable.

This Team Just Not Good

In recent weeks Washingtin’s defense has applied more pressure and Landon Collins has been more productive at linebacker but what exactly are we optimistic about right now? This defense still allowed a 54% 3rd down conversion rate, Bridgewater a 109 quarterback rating, and Denver’s running game averaged well over 4.0 yards per carry. Washington’s defense wasn’t the biggest issue on Sunday, though, as they did play well enough against an equally bad team. The bigger problem was that the offense continues its red-zone issues. With 4 possessions inside the red zone, they came away with 3 points and a crucial turnover thus amassing 6 points in 8 trips over the last 2 games. This is just not a formula for success, which leads to the question in regards to Heinicke. Have we seen his ceiling? Is it now time to give Kyle Allen an opportunity coming out of the bye week? Regardless of Ron Rivera’s direction and between coming out of the bye against Tampa and Dallas running away with the division, is it just time to start looking ahead to the 2022 offseason? As the trade deadline approaches would it also be wise to become sellers and move assets like Daron Payne to position the team to use its current strength to address one of the many areas of weakness?

Are We Really Shocked?

The worst part of piecing together this article is trying not to sound repetitive, as I could nearly copy and paste each week to the next. Sure, I can point to some positive aspects in recent weeks from the defense, but the offense has continued to regress. This team continues to show an inability to consistently put together a complete game. While winning the division a year ago was fun, the fact remains that it led to an overhyped offseason followed by one soul-crushing defeat after another this season. Heinicke was a nice story, and while he’s no Kurt Warner, I won’t discount the fact he is a solid NFL backup. That isn’t a terrible thing. If and when Kyle Allen gets his shot, we could realistically see a scenario where Heinicke is the 2022 season week 1 starter as they groom a rookie quarterback.

I personally agree that having hope going into the 2021 season was a misguided and, as we see now, foolish belief. We Washington fans should have known better. Whether it was the in Ron we trust or the defensive expectations after last season, the idea of taking the next step as possible contenders for a playoff spot had us all delusional. Much like the apathetic comment from George Carmi above, I have personally become dangerously adapted to losing over these last couple of decades. It wasn’t too long ago my family wanted me committed after irrationally shouting at the TV, whereas now they check my pulse to ensure I have not blacked out. I share fans’ frustrations and also should know better as well, but coming from the Golden Era of Redskins football my desire and drive for this suffering to end just keeps enough of a fire burning inside. As we head into this bye week, during which most organizations are prepping foe the remainder of the season,, we just know Dan Snyder and this organization will make these next 2 weeks very interesting.