“The facts are the enemy of truth”- Don Quixote.
I want to say I knew that quote because I read the book, but in truth, I heard Tom Hardy use it in the new Venom movie.
However, it fits nicely with the current state of affairs for Washington head coach Ron Rivera.
The truth is that the team is better off than when he started. Washington has a defensive line that is still more likely than not to be dominant next year.
The offense isn’t as bad as everyone thought at the beginning of the year. Despite quarterback Taylor Heinicke’s inconsistent play and any realistic hopes of the post-season that were squashed last weekend in Dallas, the team continues to fight.
The facts are that the fight was mainly on the sidelines against the Cowboys, and for the fifth year in a row, this organization will have a losing record.
Where do things go from here?
Who knows, and it means looking long and hard for good picks in this week’s edition of Buy and Sell.
Buy:
Safety, Jeremy Reaves
The safety was a late cut in training camp, not because of ability but because Washington felt pretty deep at that position to start the season.
Reaves has been more than adequate as a Collins replacement without going into the entire Landon Collins situation.
With a (PFF) Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 71.8, Reaves is as good as fellow safety Kam Curl, albeit as a much smaller body of work. Lost in the embarrassment of the Dallas game was that the Cowboys’ longest touchdown play on offense was 13 yards.
Tight End, John Bates
After one quarter, the game was out of hand, but John Bates was still playing hard. The 7th round draft pick from Boise State has been a pleasant surprise all year at a position expected to be thin when the season started. His determined play against Dallas resulted in the first touchdown of his career on a pass from Kyle Allen in the fourth quarter.
Bates has developed into one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the league and an adequate pass catcher. He won’t make anyone forget about George Kittle or Travis Kelsie, but he gives Washington some comfort in the tight end room.
Sell:
Quarterback, Taylor Heinicke
We now know how far guts, determination, and swagger can get you as an NFL quarterback. Heinicke appears to have hit his ceiling as a signal-caller.
Dallas exploited his weaknesses on the way to a 7 for 22, 122 yard, one touchdown, two-interception game. The stats don’t even tell how bad it was.
Heinicke is a great story and has earned a place on the roster as a backup who can come in and give a team a spark. That spark, unfortunately, has not turned into a fire.
Roster Construction
Rivera broke camp with only five or six viable linebackers on the roster. Injuries forced Jon Bostic and others out of the lineup, and Jamin Davis has not developed as fast in his rookie year as coaches would have liked. Combined with the COVID outbreak that besieged the team, it forced Washington to play most of the Dallas game in a 5-1-5 formation.
You read that right. Even then, David Mayo was the guy counted on to hold it all together. Not ideal. Putting a roster together and maintaining it is a complicated job, but the overreliance on the defensive front to balance out the lack of talent has caught up in a big way.
Washington will get most of its COVID players back this week, but the fact is, the help will come too late as the playoffs are almost out of reach.