Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Week 5 Takeaways: Season Over?

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October 10, 2022

by David Earl

Year 3 and Zero Progress

Let’s be very clear: at this point in year 3, the record reflects exactly who and what this team is under Ron Rivera. While many want to rightfully praise him for what appears to be good to great works behind the scene in terms of culture, the football operations side has just been terrible. Against the Tennessee Titans, the defense did show well and the overall preparation of this team seemed better when compared to the previous 3 weeks, but the Titans are not exactly who they have been the last couple of years. Washington had many opportunities to take this game over but the poor team and clock management plus the fact that his hand-picked offensive coordinator lacks in creative play design seal their fate. As Ron continues to state, “This was never going to happen overnight,” seeing the Giants and Eagles become disciplined football teams that are well prepared and coached in under 2-years just strikes a nerve. Each of these NFC East rivals has bought into their head  coach’s message while each staff has continued to adapt to their talent’s strength in innovative ways. As those team work to their strengths, Ron Rivera continues to force players into his philosophy and keep true to his form, which may be outdated for today’s game. What more can be said that has not been discussed over and over again at nauseam? Washington, under Ron Rivera, has gotten worse in talent and depth yet fans are supposed to be patient while watching the New York Giants flourishing under their regime in year one with arguably less talent too.

Mark is one of many voices beginning to call for Ron to be held accountable, if not fired, for the mess he has created in Washington. The funny part here that is when Ron was hired, it seemed like it couldn’t possibly get worse, but it has, at least on the football side. That statement, among others, is what surely frustrates fans like Mark, as the promises of a bright future no longer resonate with this fan base. Whether it’s Ron’s stubborn refusal to admit his way is inadequate or he truly believes this is the right path, his seat should be red hot in the eyes of the fans. Here is the problem though – who makes the decisions going forward if Ron is fired? We discussed this on last week’s Hog Sty Podcast and this conversation turned more heated than rational because that just reflects the state of this franchise. Alex and I pointed to Jason Wright because he at least has some football background plus can be savvy in the interview room to lure in a quality general manager. Steve wasn’t wrong by responding to say that he is a businessman who work for McKinsey & Co. since 2013 and has not, in any capacity conducted meaningful business on the football operations side. While Alex and I merely looked for the best person in the house to make the best decision, Steve’s point was that Jason clearly doesn’t have that resume, so the chances that could make the right decision is far stretched.

Before anyone mentions Marty Hurney and Martin Mayhew, they are Ron’s elected guys and surely would leave with him. As this back and forth merely proved the sad state this franchise is in today going forward, the ultimate decision would be by Dan Snyder and we all know how well that has worked. But, considering the mess revolving around Dan Snyder today, is Dan even willing to make such a move when Ron is engineering this culture change? That answer may quite simply be not right now as Ron (and Jason Wright) are the only buffers he has going forward. Simply put, we can all start the hashtag #FireRon every day but the ugly truth here is he may be with this organization for quite some time. So Ron, understand you are now being judged against your peers and if your tenure is to be much longer, but the fans’ patience is rightfully exhausted as a result of Dan’s situation.

Wentz Failed When it Counted

As Coach Brown so eloquently put this (some explicit language in the video), Wentz and this play scheme were just terrible. The execution by the players was just awful in every sense, but this section is about Wentz. His game to this point was solid – he made some big-time throws when needed but 3rd & goal, with the game on the line, Wentz made just a bad decision to end this game. As Coach Brown eluded, Washington had a bunch formation to the right against man coverage in a favorable matchup. Wentz should have recognized this pre-snap but he clearly didn’t. The optimal execution was to move the safety to his left with his eyes then come back to the right for what could have been an easy TD attempt to Curtis Samuel. His failed recognition combined with poor route execution from Terry McLaurin and J.D. McKissic on the left resulted in a game-ending interception. As many here will know, I supported the Wentz trade and have been fair in both criticisms and praise throughout the year, but this interception is on Wentz. The matchups were perfect and if Wentz recognized this pre-snap the poor route execution on the left would never have never even mattered.  Then, Washington would potentially be sitting at 2-3 and the fans would have a much different mindset today.

Many fans are calling for Sam Howell, and rightfully so as the season appears over, but I agree with 1lovelyladyDC’s thought about keeping Sam Howell’s development far away from this horrendous offensive line and Scott Turner‘s play schemes. We do not need another quarterback ruined by this franchise.  Therefore, where does that leave us going forward? While the Taylor Heinicke story is wonderful, he is not going to run this offense any better due to his lack of arm strength. This offensive line is drastically worse this year compared to last season so defenses will again take away the intermediate pass routes while the pocket collapses around him. Taylor’s mobility will only take him so far.  Maybe Washington could win a game or 2 because of his moxy but it doesn’t improve this team nearly enough. Going forward, Carson Wentz is the best option, and maybe the best change to make would be Scott Turner. If Scott will not adapt his scheme and play calling to this poor offensive line play and around Wentz’s strengths, then the team should find an interim play caller going forward. I have said this time and time again: Carson Wentz is not an elite-level quarterback. He is a good quarterback that needs the skilled players around him, which he has, and an offensive line that is far better than he has around him today. This is not an excuse but a mere fact, because an uncomfortable Wentz is a terrible quarterback.  Giving him just a little more time and a scheme that doesn’t consist of a majority of long-developing plays will showcase a much better version of Wentz. Misdirection and moving the pocket off play action just seems so simple, yet for whatever reason Scott Turner just does not do this nearly consistently enough. This game against the Titans was a very good game by Wentz through 25 plus minutes of Washington’s time of possession, this final drive by him ended in an inexcusable fashion. Check out the full game recap here.

In Closing

This season is just becoming rinse and repeat each week with some flashes of hope sprinkled around. Given the contradictions of Ron’s timeline of success from his very own mouth in year three, this team just does not seem to be giving fans any hope approaching any hump, let alone getting over a hump. It’s truly become a sad soap opera under Dan Snyder’s ownership and it will continue to be so as he heads this sunken ship into the darkest depths of the ocean. Passion only exists from the hardcore ra-ra fans and those who benefit from being overly optimistic because the fact remains this fan base is not stupid. I can only assume Dan understands this but now it’s time for those fans still holding out hope to realize that owner just does not care. Listen at the recent statement from his lawyer and how this workplace culture was spun to be Bruce Allen’s doing all along when the timeline of events shows otherwise. Instead of ever taking accountability for creating this toxic culture, he then allowed Bruce to foster even more, and hides around the corner pushing blame on others. This leadership has been reflected in Ron Rivera as well in terms of his football decisions. Player development, player evaluations, play-calling schemes, and much more have shown the strongest reasons for Washington’s continued failures, yet Ron continues to harp on player execution. They say only cutting the head off the snake will fix any toxic situation and I believe this to be true for the Washington franchise. Proper change is only going to happen when Dan Snyder is gone and I personally see no hope for Washington until that’s the case. Refer to me by any negative term you wish as a fan but as a realist and a fan that held out hope for probably far too long this Washington organization is doomed for the foreseeable future.