2021 Therapeutic Retrospective (Part 1)
January 18, 2022
by Paul Francis
Since the days of JLa and Barno arguing over CDs, SJK-ing, bumfight challenges at Red Robin, and that grouchy curmudgeon Beep-Beep giving everyone “beep-beeps”, my participation in the community that has now become “Hog Sty” plays three roles in my life. First, it’s a good source of Washington football-related information and articles. Second, it’s a fun outlet for casual sports banter. And third (and perhaps most importantly), it’s a therapy group where my systemically oppressed and abused WFT fan psyche can commiserate, process and rediscover perspective for why I continue down the pathway of being this team’s fan every year.
So, with another season in the books, Washington football fans like me find themselves in an all-too familiar place – not in the playoffs and wondering where this newest version of our latest rebuild is going. And before immersing into the silly season of imaginary trade scenarios, free-agent wish lists, and the myths of mock draft prognosticators, I find myself needing to process.
Welcome to the first installment of my 2021 Retrospective Journey. Let me be honest up front. This is not a thoughtful analytical breakdown of the season, and a prelude to analyzing our draft and free agent needs to strategize the next moves of our rebuild. This is a brain barf of the 2021 season. This is me putting into practice therapeutic advice that when you need to process things, sometimes it’s good to write them out and share them.
I invite you to share the journey with me. Commiserate, process and get it all out. You’ll feel better. But if you don’t want to join me, I won’t take it personally. You are always free to skip these articles, head directly down to the comments section for the latest opinions on COVID, swallow your 2021 fan disappointment in one hard gulp and carry on. I leave the choice to you.
Week 1 – Chargers at Home
I thought the Chargers would be a good litmus test as they came into the year with the look of a talented and competitive team. Although they’d gone only 7-9 (uh, like us), they had ended on a win streak and lost a couple of their games literally in the final minute. I felt like they were probably better than their 2019 record and had a budding superstar in Justin Herbert to boot. I was eager to see what our enhanced-defense was going to look like, and see how this offense could perform with Ryan Fitzpatrick – a quarterback supposedly on the subsistence side of the talent-poverty-line unlike any of our QB options the prior year.
What Happened
Ryan Fitzpatrick got the kind of Washington welcome that only FedEx Field could deliver – a busted hip after 6 pass attempts. Yup. For perspective, consider this: Ryan Fitzpatrick has survived stints with notable NFL bottom-feeders such as the Bengals, Jets, Bills, and Texans. But few bottom-feeders feed at the bottom like Washington. Have a nice life, Ryan Fitzpatrick, we hardly knew ya! But one’s man busted hip is another man’s redemption opportunity, and Taylor Heinicke would take the reins of the team. Washington would lose a close game 20-16 on a very deflating note as our supposedly-vaunted defense got walked on for game killing drives and 3rd downs in the critical stretch.
In Retrospect
What could have been? While we left that game mostly wondering why our defense stunk, in retrospect, holding the Chargers to 20 points was a pretty stout performance, as LAC would end the season with one of the top-rated offenses in the league averaging almost 28 per game. But really, this was about the official start of the Taylor Heinicke Experience. Few cities need a good QB story like Washington, and it was nice to have something to cross our fingers about.
Week 2 – NYG at Home
This was a special one for me, as my daughter and I would attend our first game together at FedEx Field, marking a personal return after a long exile. Some things never change. Concessions were still an overpriced mess and there were waaaaay too many blue jerseys in the stands. But some things do change, I suppose, such as tarps covering 30% of the upper bowl seats and an “Entertainment” (I use that word loosely) Team replacing cheerleaders.
What Happened
I was looking forward to seeing what Taylor Heinicke could produce with a full week of starter’s reps. He did not disappoint. While the defense continued to show reasons for concern, Heinicke proceeded to light up the Giants to the tune of 336 yards and 2 TDs, often finding Terry McLaurin (11/107/1). Was the future unfolding before our eyes?
But I mostly remember the final 5 minutes when everything went bonkers. Both teams desperately tried to hand the win off to each other like a game of hot potato. The Giants won that battle by offering Dustin Hopkins a chance to redeem his game-losing missed FG, committing a penalty on a missed kick as time expired. Hopkins proceeded to pocket the extra 5 yards and drill the do-over. Washington walked away with the win only because there was no time left on the clock. I’m 100% confident that if there had been even a second left, the Giants would have returned the ensuing kickoff for a TD.
In Retrospect
It was an incredibly fun game, notwithstanding my disdain for the venue or the shaky way that we won. The great memory of having a first daddy-daughter NFL excursion was only punctuated with a crazy win. I’ve taken the long cold march out to the Green Lot of FedEx on the heels of a sour loss more times than I care to recall. It was great to be able to make that walk with crowds of fans still singing “Hail to the Redskins” and smiles on our faces. Doesn’t happen enough, so you take it when you can. We were 1-0 in the division and Heinicke had us all juiced up.
Week 3 – at Buffalo Bills
I remember going into the week thinking this would be a real big test. If you want to be the best, you gotta beat the best, and the Bills were coming into 2021 as one of the best. Also, our first road game of the year would hopefully galvanize the troops. I wasn’t expecting us to win, but I was hoping to be wrong, and at least see the guys put up a competitive fight – especially our newfound hero Taylor Heinicke.
What Happened
What happened is what usually seems to happen with this team when we come up against legitimately better competition. We stunk. The positive vibes from the NYG win were pretty much obliterated by halftime. Antonio Gibson had a great 7 -yard touchdown when he caught a short pass, accelerated past defenders and took it to the house. Apart from that there was a whole lotta nothing from the WFT. Especially concerning was the total no-show from our defense.
In Retrospect
There really was no reason to think that this game would go well, and the game did a pretty good job cementing that thought. Like a bitter Buffalo wind hammering through the bones, this performance hammered home a few truths that we would continue to see play out over the year. First, there’s a big difference between a real playoff team and us. Second, the defense has problems…like, real problems. Third, occasional gameday heroics and pylon dives don’t change the fact that at the end of the day, Taylor Heinicke, fits the profile of an undrafted free agent backup QB. But what are you gonna do? The Bills were in the AFC Championship Game the prior year with an MVP candidate at QB, and we were playing in their home. You take your “L” like a man and move on.
At this point of the year there was plenty of football more to play and the ride had just begun. The team was feeling its way forward, and I was feeling it out with them. I saw some good, some bad, some ugly and some pretty, and the roller-coaster ride had just begun…