Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Heinicke Providing Hope?

Posted on by

November 23, 2021

by David Earl

Taylor Heinicke is proving himself

I was struggling to start this column, so I slept on it, and woke up to a growing sentiment about Heinicke after yesterday’s game. He has some fixable mechanic issues and doesn’t have the strongest of arms, but Heinicke has not only proven to be durable, but his tenacity and drive on every play gives this team hope offensively. While facing top of the league defenses in the last two games he has completed 81 and 72 percent of his passes respectively, recorded a plus 110 passer rating, and has committed zero turnovers in back-to-back impressive wins. While those are quality numbers, the back-to-back late-game drives producing points while eating valuable time was critical to both wins. Against Tampa, with just under 11:00 minutes to go, Heinicke engineered a masterful 19 play, 80 yard drive that took 10:26 off the clock resulting in a game-winning TD. This week, with the game tied at 21, he took the offense on an 11 play drive that took more than five minutes off the clock and resulted in points. While this drive may not have been as methodical, it prevented a momentum shift after Carolina tied the game up, and gave the defense time to recoup. It’s Heinicke’s never-quit mentality along with a strong command of the huddle that has become a signature of this offense.

Of course, Heinicke will continue to face that “undrafted quarterback” stigma and will be overly scrutinized, but let’s be honest: if he was a first-round rookie draft pick, the critics would be talking about his in-season growth marking a potential positive course on the road to becoming a franchise quarterback. In that situation, the conversation may revolve around his fixable mechanics such as his habit of not resetting his feet before a throw that can result in high throws or his tendency to force a throw into too tight of a window. Of course, his arm strength may be average but his intangibles in presnap reads and how he creates plays outside the pocket are near-elite level play. I am not saying that Washington shouldn’t draft a quarterback, but just don’t be so quick to bail on him either. Heinicke has some borderline elite traits in place and his throwing motion issues can certainly get better, but his biggest question mark, durability, is being answered thus far. By the way, tell me this play below didn’t give you flashbacks to Robert Griffin III’s rookie season at Met Life stadium vs the Giants!

PAY THE MAN NOW!!!

Even with a few untimely drops this season, Terry McLaurin has proven week in and week out that Nick Wright’s take on him was just simply awful. Last week’s 3rd & 5 hard nose catch followed by the beating of his chest late in the game will remain a true statement play, and his contested reception to close out the 1st quarter was very “Terry”. At 6’0″ tall he plays the position like DK Metcalf at 6’5″ tall and demonstrates an ability of to consistently come down with the 50/50 ball we hoped Josh Doctson would have. Throughout his young career and the quarterback shuffle Washington has gone through, Terry has proven capable of meeting any and all challenges. What should be noticeably discouraging for the rest of the league is the chemistry between Terry and Heinicke he has only begun to build. As this team continues to build an identity, Terry McLaurin is that core player through which this team’s identity will be forged. So, to reiterate a common theme from this fan base, Terry must be locked up long-term immediately as there’s no doubt he will deserve (has earned) top dollar…PAY THE MAN!!!

This Team Has Impressed

I also feel this team is gelling at the right time after these very good back-to-back wins without their two top defensive ends, Logan Thomas, and Curtis Samuels. The most encouraging aspects in these wins are probably the fact that the team has overcome mistakes that would have normally killed any momentum, such as Antonio Gibson getting past his fumbling issues as he ran with purpose in the second half. This team has begun to adopt Ron’s mentality on the field in recent weeks.  The player now have a certain air about them which says that no opponent is too great and no deficit will be discouraging. Now before you think I am crowning them they still must continue to string together strong convincing wins like these last 2 weeks going forward but the road to the Wild Card is certainly a reality unlike the mood a month ago. As some of us will admit to being down and negative on this team when they were losing (like myself), it’s only fair we begin to acknowledge the steps made to turn the image of this team around. They are playing well and, like most, I am cautiously optimistic but am beginning to become encouraged with this team’s direction after the last 2 weeks. Next, Seattle comes next Monday night and if Washington can handle its business and not get embarrassed on the national stage then the narrative about this team will deservedly change.