Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Week 8 Takeaways Heinicke Bad Defense Shines

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November 9, 2022

by David Earl

Defense Anchored by Allen and Payne

As this season has progressed, Washington’s defensive unit has grown stronger and far more disciplined with Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne leading the way. Allen and Payne have not only made it very difficult for opposing quarterbacks recently, but this tandem has also allowed Jack Del Rio to primarily rush 4 with the occasional blitz by players like Jamin Davis or Benjamin St-Juste. Kirk Cousins was under duress for most of the game once the defense clamped down after Minnesota’s first drive that resulted in a TD pass to Justin Jefferson. In fact, the Vikings trio didn’t exactly dominate Washington for most of the game. Take away that first drive and the late 4th quarter 47yard completion, and St-Juste did a more than admirable job against one of the game’s top players in Jefferson. While Washington’s pick 6 was taken away by a pass interference penalty, which one could argue was a bad call, the read St-Juste made on the pass was encouraging to see. For as well as he played against Jefferson, you can very easily take this back to the play of this defensive line anchored by Allen and Payne.  They may have boosted the play of St-Juste but they also effectively kept Dalvin Cook in check up until the final minutes of the game. Cook was held to a 2.8 yards per carry average and it was a perfectly place ball with an equally great catch against good coverage that gave Cook his touchdown late in the game. These 2 players are not run-of-the-mill guys, as they are some of the best at their respective positions and this defense did more than enough to win this game. Yes, T.J. Hockenson‘s 9 catch, 70 yard performance game that included some crucial 3rd down receptions shows still a weakness of Washington’s linebackers, but the defense did not allow any backbreaking plays from Minnesota’s star tight end. Simply put, Scott Turner‘s playcalling and Taylor Heinicke‘s poor play ultimately backed this defense against the wall. With an offense like Minnesota, opponents cannot allow them these opportunities especially so late in the game and deep in our own territory. Jack Del Rio and his unit have not been this team’s problem the last few weeks.

As far as Daron Payne goes, we are seeing why Ron Rivera refused to move the talented defensive tackle. Steve Thomas laid out what it could look like to keep this unit together – it’s possible but unlikely. Saying that though there is not any reasonable defense in allowing Payne to walk for a compensatory pick too. So what does this team do? It is reasonable to believe Daron Payne could demand in the neighborhood of $14-$16 million in average annual value with guaranteed money in upwards of $20 million dollars. The team’s projected 2023 cap space is roughly at $20 million, so there is some opportunity to make a long-term deal with Payne possible. With Montez Sweat entering his 5th year option, the team could realistically wait for the 2024 offseason to do his long-term deal, although that could ultimately backfire depending on the season he has next year. Either way, these last few weeks have begun to show just how invaluable this front four is. These past years of investing such high assets in first-round picks seem to be coming to fruition.

Taylor Heinicke and Scott Turner were brutal

To no one’s surprise, Taylor Heinicke is not the long-term answer for this franchise at quarterback, and this game showed exactly why. Take away the referee-assisted touchdown to Curtis Samuels and we’re are looking at a performance that might have been the worst we’ve seen from him in Washington. Taylor clearly struggled not only behind an offensive line that just cannot pass protect, but his inability to see over these linemen while Minnesota clogged the passing lanes was evident. From tipped passes to missing wide-open receivers, Taylor just could not get into any rhythm throwing the ball. The running game, yet again ineffective, compounded not only the issues in passing situations but restricted already inconsistent playcalling by Scott Turner. The offensive line didn’t help the situation either as even a mobile Heinicke was rattled early and the pressure just kept mounting. When the offensive line is as bad as it is this season, the inconsistent version of Taylor Heinicke was only amplified even more this past Sunday. For all the accolades he’s received coming from obscurity to a quarterback with moxie and great energy, this is still a quarterback responsible for 25 turnovers in his last 18 starts, with a below average arm beyond 20 yards.

To be fair, this game again showed Scott Turner’s frustrating playcalling sequences. He started off pretty well early, getting Curtis Samuel involved with the running game and misdirection, but then cooled off. Antonio Gibson spent more time on the sidelines early instead of being utilized early on in the passing game. It wasn’t until near the end of the first half when we saw both Samuels and Gibson together on the field on passing downs. These 2 guys have been very dynamic tools for Scott Turner and past games have shown just have affective they can be together.  That didn’t come into fruition until the second half. Scott still leans on schemes that just take too long to develop behind an offensive line that just cannot hold their blocks. Now, Washington heads into Philadelphia Monday Night to face a very balanced and explosive Eagles team that are the polar opposite of this team offensively. Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen continuously schemes to not only his players’ strengths but creates mismatches every week utilizing the dynamic pieces he has on offense. The worse part of his success is just how quickly he turned the Philadelphia’s offense into one of the more explosive units in the NFL. Although it’s unrealistic to expect Turner to be as effective in Washington with Taylor Heinicke as quarterback, there is an expectation among fans that he at least utilize the offensive pieces he has correctly. That is why, with Scott’s inconsistencies, fans feel he is the one truly holding this offense back.

SELL THE TEAM!!!

I won’t get too in depth today on the prospect of Dan Snyder finally selling the team but these “Sell The Team” chants throughout the stadium is surely deafening. The fans have simply ignored every defense Dan has attempted to mount just to save face here. The majority of fans simply don’t care. The 20 plus years of agony, torture, and embarrassment under Dan’s ownership has definitely reached the boiling point. Remember the #FireBruceAllen hashtag some time ago? Washington’s fan base is at that stage. If for some reason Dan decides to not sell I fully anticipate a complete meltdown of this fan base. With a rumored large offer of $7 billion by Jeff Bezos, Jay Z, and others perhaps in play, Dan is in a position to make a massive profit. If true, that should be a near no brainer, slam-dunk of an offer that any reasonable would surely take; however, we are not talking about a person with logical reasoning in Dan Snyder. While we are all excited and waiting with bated breath, nothing is final until the pen is to the paper. As far as the idea of a Bezos owning the team…to be continued.