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Daily Slop – 9 Oct 23: Jay Gruden says Howell is ‘making a case to be the franchise quarterback’

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Jay Gruden: Sam Howell making his case to be Commanders’ franchise quarterback

Gruden likes Howell. What did he think of Howell’s performance in an otherwise embarrassing performance from the Commanders on Thursday Night Football?

“Sam Howell is making a case to be the franchise quarterback for sure,” Gruden said.

“He’s a tough, competitive guy. And that’s what Washington needs right now. They need competitiveness. Their offensive line is not playing that well right now. They need a quarterback with some toughness, a guy that can get out of trouble and make some tough throws. And Sam’s doing that. He’s taking a lot of sacks; they’re leading the league in giving up sacks. And Sam’s part of that for holding the ball. He’s young; he’s still getting to know the offense with Eric Bieniemy. And they’ll come along as the season goes on.”

ESPN

Three reasons for Commanders’ Thursday night flop vs. Bears

Washington could, once more, build momentum with wins in its next two games — at the Atlanta Falcons (3-2) and the New York Giants (1-4). However, the same was said before losing to the Chicago Bears on Thursday.

So why are the Commanders in this place?

Big plays allowed

Washington’s defense has allowed 16 plays of 25 yards or more from scrimmage, the most in the league. Chicago managed five Thursday night.

Rookie woes

Forbes, the 19th overall pick in the draft, has struggled this season. He was beat for a 60-yard touchdown against the Denver Broncos in Week 2. He was part of four explosive pass plays against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, and he allowed two more Thursday before being benched in the second half.

His issues are not limited to one aspect. Sometimes his eyes are looking in the wrong places, other times his footwork might be off, Rivera said.

Too many hits

Howell is on pace to get sacked 95 times this season — more than current NFL single-season record holder David Carr (76). Howell has been pressured on 34% of his dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats & Information — a higher rate than all but six other quarterbacks.

He has also run the ball 15 times for 101 yards and hasn’t been shy about lowering his shoulder. Part of the reasons for the sacks and pressures lie with Howell and his inexperience, as he’ll sometimes hold the ball longer than he should.

Riggo’s Rag

Jonathan Allen lays down the gauntlet amid Commanders defensive turmoil

Del Rio’s unit conceded 104 points in three games prior to their Thursday Night Football outing versus the winless Chicago Bears. It was seen as a get-right scenario by many, but it turned out to be anything but as Justin Fields and D.J. Moore ran riot to the tune of 40 points as the Commanders fell to a third-straight reverse.

Commander DT Jonathan Allen calls for improvement

Some soul-searching and adjustments are needed before the Commanders next take the field in Week 6 at the Atlanta Falcons. And make no mistake, veteran defensive tackle Jonathan Allen laid down the gauntlet to each member of Washington’s defense based on comments via the team’s website.

“We just played like s—t. We are not a good defense right now. We gotta own that. We gotta take that and we gotta be better. That’s what’s causing us to lose games right now. Defensively, we just were not executing. We gotta be better. Everybody is talented in the NFL. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, it’s about how well you play together on any given Sunday. We just gotta play better. I mean we just got to own it man. We gotta take it one step at a time, we’re not gonna fix every single problem at once. We’re gonna look at this film and we’re gonna move on. I think every single player on this defense needs to take a good hard look at themselves and see what they gotta do to improve.”

Sports Illustrated

Washington Commanders Coach Ron Rivera Turning Focus to ‘Win Now’

The Washington Commanders have young talent to nurture, but they also need to win games and appear to be done putting one over the other.

No franchise has done more damage to itself over the past two decades than Washington, and that includes the debacle on Thursday Night Football against the lowly Chicago Bears who appeared ready to take the duntz cap away from the DMV for a while.

Instead, the Bears are celebrating their first victory in nearly a full year and the Commanders are left with no patience for developing young talent in the name of future wins.

“I think doing what we did with Emmanuel [Forbes] was kind of the indicator that we can’t go through this anymore,” coach Ron Rivera said when asked about separating the need to develop players and the need to win now. “Now it’s time. We have to continue to put the guys out there that we believe are going to get it done the right way.”

Riggo’s Rag

How can the Commanders help Emmanuel Forbes get out of concerning slump?

First-year cornerbacks tend to go through more complications than most. Very few thrive right out of the gate like Patrick Surtain II and Sauce Gardner in recent years, so keeping the bigger picture in mind is absolutely essential rather than writing off Forbes after just five games.

When discussing his struggles, Forbes outlined his will to fight via Washington’s website. The corner also revealed that he’s getting good advice and support from teammates in pursuit of turning things around.

“Honestly just keep going and stay strong. Rookies are gonna have moments like that. Just keep battling and keep going through it. They [teammates] always got my back just like I have theirs. Just telling me to keep going to work every day and just keep getting better.”

– Emmanuel Forbes via Commanders.com

The Commanders’ coaching staff must also do their bit to help Forbes move forward. Just why Del Rio thought in his infinite wisdom putting the Mississippi State product against Moore after what happened at Lincoln Financial Field is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear he’s not ready to cover any legitimate No. 1 option without additional experience.

Commanders Wire

Chase Young was quietly outstanding for Commanders in Week 5

Young played 89% of Washington’s defensive snaps against the Bears, registering 11 quarterback pressures, seven hurries, three QB hits, two tackles, one pass defended and a half-sack.

It was the most pressures Young ever registered in a single game, per Pro Football Focus, also the most of any player in a single game this season.

Sometimes, PFF’s grading scale can be dubious, but this was not the case for Young. Go back and watch the game. What defensive player do you see in the backfield or around the ball more than Young?

In four games, Young has registered 27 QB pressures. That’s an encouraging number.

DC Sports King

Desmond Ridder makes sure there will be no Taylor Heinicke revenge game Week 6

Desmond Ridder silenced the chatter of his benching Sunday with a game-winning drive to lead the Atlanta Falcons over the Houston Texans 21-19.

Last week, speculation grew about Ridder’s future as the Falcons starting quarterback. A dreadful performance in a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London had some pundits calling for the Falcons to trade for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. Others campaigned for Ridder’s benching in favor of backup, former Washington Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

But on Sunday, after the Falcons’ defense yielded a CJ Stroud touchdown pass with 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Ridder punctuated a solid game with an impressive finish.

Ridder completed all five passes for 49 yards on the Falcons’ final drive. A 23-yard completion to Drake London into Texans’ territory highlighted the possession. Three plays later, kicker Younghoe Koo made a 37-yard field goal with time expiring that snapped the Falcons’ two-game losing streak.

Ridder finished the game, completing 28-of-37 passes for 329 yards and one touchdown. The completions and yards are career highs for Ridder. He added ten yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.

DC Sports King

It’s time for Patriots to check with Commanders about Jacoby Brissett to solve its Mac Jones problem

[Mac] Jones has regressed even within this season. Week 1, he threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Since then, his output has lessened week-to-week from 231, 201, 150, and 110 yards Sunday against New Orleans. He’s thrown a combined two touchdowns in the last four games.

He has zero touchdown passes and four interceptions, including two pick-sixes, over the past two games.

Patriots must address their Mac Jones problem

The answer may reside with the Washington Commanders in former Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett. The veteran journeyman is currently backing up Sam Howell with the Washington Commanders.

Brissett played his rookie season with the Patriots, filling in for a suspended Brady during DeflateGate. He got traded to the Indianapolis Colts the following season and started in place of the injured Andrew Luck.

The Commanders can afford to offload Brissett

Brissett has been instrumental in Howell’s development. However, the Commanders are 2-3, and while looking to get their season back on track, offloading an asset for some draft capital goes a long way for the team long-term.

The Patriots need a mentor and significant threat that may steer Jones on the right path. The Commanders can afford to move on from Brissett. Washington has Jake Fromm on their practice squad. Fromm looked good in preseason, and his progression in the Burgundy and Gold over the past two seasons has changed the tractory of his pro career.

The Oct. 31 NFL trade deadline is nearing.

Jones isn’t overcoming the lack of talent and schematic creativity within New England’s offense. Brissett would be an improvement in those areas.

Podcasts & videos

Commanders Talk: After 5 Weeks, Washington Finds Themselves at 2-3 With ISSUES | So Here We Are

NFC East links

NFL.com

2023 NFL season, Week 5: What We Learned from Sunday’s games

Cowboys at 49ers

Prescott struggles mightily in blowout loss. Heavy is the helmet that wears the Cowboys’ QB1 crown, and it’s very weighty right about now. Make no mistake, the Cowboys as a whole were a struggle bus on Sunday night. Their new-age doomsday defense got blown out. The offense had no balance, as evidenced by a miniscule 59 net rushing yards. However, in a pivotal season for Dak Prescott, he melted on a prime-time stage, forcing balls to covered receivers and failing to overcome a staunch San Francisco defense. Having tied for the league-high with 15 picks a season ago, Prescott put an onus on making sound decisions and not turning the ball over. Against the 49ers, though, he threw his first, second and third interceptions of the season — more than he had in any single game last campaign. There’s plenty of season left for Dallas, but this one will sting and will surely pile up cause for concern regarding Prescott’s play for a perceived Super Bowl contender.

Next Gen stat of the game: Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was pressured on 37% of his dropbacks, but when he wasn’t pressured he was 9 of 17 for 77 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, a 25.5 QB rating and a -13.1% CPOE.

Eagles at Rams

Dallas Goedert finally gets going. Philadelphia’s offense had been humming through four weeks, ranked fifth in both yards and points, but its tight end was mostly missing from the operation. Goedert entered Sunday’s game with just 88 receiving yards on 13 catches. Unfortunately for the Rams, the Eagles located him time and time again on Sunday. The sixth-year tight end opened the game’s scoring with a touchdown catch, his first of the season, and he had already set a season-high with 52 receiving yards at the close of the first quarter. Goedert continued to streak open for the remainder of the game, including on a 49-yarder down the sideline, and he led the team with nine targets and eight catches, finishing with 117 yards. A.J. Brown also eclipsed 100 yards receiving for a third straight week. The defending NFC champions are now 5-0, onboarding all their best weapons and seemingly only getting stronger.

Next Gen stat of the game: Rams WR Puka Nacua’s second-quarter touchdown catch was the most improbable reception of his career (24.0%) and Matthew Stafford’s most improbable completion since Week 2 of last season.

NFL Research: Jalen Hurts leads the NFL in carries and rushing first downs on third- and fourth-and-1s since 2022. Sunday’s win was also his first game with 40-plus rushing yards since Super Bowl LVII.

Giants at Dolphins

Giants’ O-line woes continue. After allowing 11 sacks on Monday night, the Giants gave up seven in Week 5. Even with injuries depleting the offensive line’s depth, this has become a shocking epidemic. Three Dolphins converged on Miami’s second sack on Sunday; it led to a missed field goal the next snap. The next two sacks also came on third downs, with Daniel Jones taking big hits both times. Joshua Ezeudu, forced to play left tackle, was guilty of a hold on a sack and was flagged on back-to-back plays for false starts. A Ben Bredeson hold wiped out a 21-yard run by Eric Gray, which would have tied the Giants’ longest gain of the day. And these plays were all in the first half! This can’t continue. The Giants are in bad shape with Andrew Thomas, Shane Lemieux and John Michael Schmitz out, but Jones is getting pummeled and an already limited offense is moving backward way too often. Jones exited the game with a neck injury after getting sacked for the sixth time early in the fourth quarter.