Deshaun Watson would make the WFT immediate Super Bowl contenders

 This season was very surprising for many fans of the WFT, seeing their team embark on their first playoff run since 2015. Although they did have a 7-9 record doing so, there were many positives that came out of this season. 

They now have a solid foundation on the defensive side, with their d-line packed with first round picks. This year, they were lead by edge rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Young amassed 7.5 sacks over the course of the season, while Sweat had 9 sacks. 

The defensive line was where most of the action happened, but Washington did fairly well against the pass as well. They gave up the third least amount of passing yards per game over their 18 games (including the wild card game). Only giving up 201 yards per game through the air, that secondary more than held their own. While I do think a lot of that had to do with the circumstances they were under, such as a poor rushing defense at times, and abysmal quarterback play on the opposing side, it was a substantial improvement from last year. 

With a defense that is just beginning its ascent, it would be confusing as to why the WFT only went 7-9, looking from the outside in. Well, this is because of their subpar offense, accumulating only 216 yards through the air per game, 8th worst in the league. A rushing attack that was 7th worst in the league did not help their cause. To top everything off, Washington started three different quarterbacks this year (during the regular season). And mind you, their best offensive performance came in a game starting Taylor Heinicke, against a top defense in the Bucaneers, who are now in the Super Bowl. 

Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen, and Alex Smith were the three starters in the regular season. QBR is a total quarterback rating measuring they're performance, that incorporates all of their stats and numbers. The WFT quarterback trio combined for an average QBR or 46.8. To put this into perspective, Deshaun Watson, who was 12th in the league in this category, had a QBR of 70.5. 

This is a clear indicator that QB play throughout the year was the leading cause of the WFT record being below .500. 

Deshaun Watson would bring consistent quarterback play, less turnovers, and some mobility, which was heavily lacking this past season. Watson posted 4,823 passing yards (1st in the league), 33 TD's (7th in the league), and just 7 INT's (7th in the league). 

Going back to my point on mobility, Washington gave up even more sacks than they forced themselves (50), and I can guarantee a large amount of those were caused by the lack of mobility at the QB position. 

At this point, however, all Washington needs is competent QB play in order to take a drastic leap forward. If that new QB happens to be Watson, then I believe that puts Washington into the conversation for Super Bowl LVI. 

Written by: Ben Kim

How Likely is a Washington Football Team Playoff Appearance?

This season has been a roller coaster so far for the Washington Football Team, with more lows than highs. 

Starting from week one: The Eagles eased their way into a 17-0 lead, making all Washington fans think, "another one of these years," which is what has been going through the heads of Washington fans on most week one's within the past 20 years. What happened next was both surprising and also magical, being that Washington's 27 unanswered points have been just about the only glimpse of hope given by this team. 

Other than the football team's week one comeback against the Eagles, they have not had much success at all. 

It seems as if every time the WFT gives some hope to the fan base, all of it is taken away in the next game. They win week one against the Eagles, but lose five straight games. They shut down the Cowboys, playing aggressive and with great energy on defense and looking flawless on offense. Only to turn the ball over five times against the Giants the following week... and lose by only three points. And just as fans are starting to say "Wow! I didn't know we were capable of making a 17-point comeback again," Washington goes on the road, puts themselves down 21 points, and comes back to tie the game up.... only to lose the game by a 59-yard field goal, given up with just 16 seconds left of play. It almost seems like they are trying to find a more interesting way to lose every week.  

As obvious as it might seem, it is clear that Washington wins games when they don't turn the ball over. Non-coincidentally, in the three games where they haven't turned the ball over, Washington is 2-1. That one loss came in a game where Alex Smith had to replace Kyle Allen, and was sacked 7 times in horrible (rainy) conditions. In all other games, they are 0-6.

It has become very evident over time that Washington is repeatedly shooting themselves in the feet, in games where they have a solid chance of winning. While this may seem obvious, there is another hidden reason behind why Washington has been so horrible within these first seven weeks.  

When field goals are made, the kicker goes unnoticed. However when they are missed, the kicker will start to take some blame. Right now, the latter is happening to Dustin Hopkins, kicker for the Washington Football Team. So far, Hopkins has made a rough 12/17 when it comes to field goal attempts, putting him at 70% on the year. While this happens every year for some kickers in the NFL, Hopkins is hurting his team the most. In games where Hopkins is asked to take two or more field goals, he has failed to convert at 100% accuracy in every one of those games, except for one. When Washington has put their trust in him to help them win games, he hasn't come through. 

As horrible as Washington has been over these first nine games, it's crazy to think that if they just clean up half of the avoidable mistakes they are making EVERY SINGLE game, they could easily make the playoffs. But it's true, seeing that even after five turnovers, they managed to be within three points of the New York Giants. And after seeing a 43-yard missed field goal and a fumble being the main reason why they didn't beat the Lions in a 21-point comeback. 

Looking at Washington's schedule over the last seven weeks, it won't be easy by any means, but there are winnable games in there.

Week 11: vs Cincinnati Bengals

Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 13: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 14: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 15: vs Seattle Seahawks

Week 16: vs Carolina Panthers

Week 17: at Philadelphia Eagles

Over that 7-game stretch, I believe Washington is capable of pulling out 4 wins, which puts them at 6 wins on the year - all they need to make the playoffs.  If Washington can limit the turnovers, MAKE field goals, and not continue to shoot themselves in the feet every game, there is no reason why this team shouldn't be well on their ways to the playoffs this year. 

Was trading Quinton Dunbar the right move for the Redskins?

So far, this offseason, the Washington Redskins have made many different moves in giving away and acquring different players. Not many of their acquisitions were very notable, other than their large investment in cornerback Kendull Fuller (who is now returning to the Redskins after playing with the Kansas City Chiefs for two seasons. Although, other than that, most of the other players that the Skins have brought it were previous reserves from other teams.

However, in lieu of signing Kendull Fuller, to their depleted secondary, the Skins traded fellow cornerback Quinton  Dunbar to the Seattle Seahawks, for a fifth round draft pick. This move greatly surprised me, not because of the trade though. Weeks before the trade, Dunbar had displayed interest in moving elsewhere to a new team, but I was never certain until hearing about the news of the trade. What I intitially was surprised about was what the Redskins received in return of trading Quinton Dunbar; a fifth round draft pick. According to Pro Football Focus, through week 17 of the 2019-20 NFL season, Dunbar ranked as the second best cornerback in the league in his overall PFF grade (which is judged by completion % allowed, opposing QB passer rating, etc.). Dunbar also had four interceptions, tied for eighth in the league. I get that Ron Rivera (Redskins new head coach) has a philosophy that only players who want to be on the team will play under him, but I am still astonished at the value dropoff that the Redskins received in return of trading Dunbar. However, I shouldn't be surprised, as the Skins' front office has a history of making questionable decisions.

Before this trade, I had my hopes up high for the Skins defense in the upcoming 2020-21 season. Those high hopes took a big dip after the trade. But it's time to reconsider.
The big question is: Does trading Dunbar really make a big difference?

Kendull Fuller, cornerback who the Redskins recently acquired from the Chiefs, played alongside Dunbar in the 2017-18 season. During that season, Dunbar had a 74.7 overall PFF grade, while Fuller had a grade of 90.6, one of the best in the league at the time. Although there grades show significant difference, they both allowed pretty much the same completion percentage, at about 56%. With a promising young core of Fuller and Dunbar, in a struggling secondary with a declining Josh Norman, the future looked bright, as the Skins were expected to develop their young cornerbacks for the next season.

Despite the fact that Fuller had one of the highest overall grades in the league as a cornerback, the Skins decided to trade him to Kansas City for an aging Alex Smith, who would replace Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback. That year, Dunbar's production took a dip, receiving more targets, and allowing a higher completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks. It was clear that Dunbar wasn't used to being the top corner on the team, and he used that season to adjust. The year after (2019-20), was much different, as I eluded to earlier.

With almost an entirely new coaching staff, along with a new defensive coordinator (Jack Del Rio), and also verteran corner Josh Norman leaving to the Bills, Dunbar and Fuller would have been the leaders of that secondary. I'm sure a whole lot of Redskins fans were looking forward to that, but unfortunately, things didn't pan out the way we wanted it to, which happens a lot when you're a fan of the Washington Redskins.

So, to sum everything up: did the trade make a big difference?
The final answer is yes. The Redskins secondary could have been significantly better with him playing alongside his old teammate Kendull Fuller. With that being said, this young secondary has great promise. Former slot corner, Fabian Moreau, started stepping up later in the season once being moved to the outside. The Skins also have a guy who is more comfortable covering in the slot, Jimmy Moreland, who is coming off a solid rookie campaign. With the recent addition of Ronald Darby (corner from the Eagles, who struggled a bit last year, but a proven defender in past years), there should be some interesting competition for starting spots as the upcoming 2020-21 season approaches.

Why the Lakers might have to split up

One of the most talked about teams in this years' off season has been the Los Angeles Lakers. They have made a lot of key acquisitions that have bumped up their chances of doing well this year.

One of the less talked about acquisitions has been the inclusion of Rajon Rondo. The Lakers front office loves their new addition, but the media has been focused more on LeBron James, and his decision to move to L.A. LeBron going to the Lakers might have been the most exciting investment, but the Rondo addition could cause the team to split up.

Even before LeBron came over, the Lakers had a lot of players who needed the ball in their hands to be effective such as Lonzo Ball and Julius Randle. This is why Randle left. He knew he wouldn't be able to get his hands on the ball with all of the new ball dominant additions, not to mention the fact that the Lakers also picked up Lance Stephenson.

One reason why Rondo causes problems for the Lakers is because they already have two other point guards who would not accept to take a shooting guard role. Lonzo Ball and Isaiah Thomas. Everybody knows that Rondo (a 1x champion, 4x all-star, and 2x NBA all-defensive first team), will not accept losing his starting role to a second year player in Ball. The two could possibly both be starters, but both are non-changeable players and they can't play any other position. It is also well known that if Ball was ever a bench player, his father would not be happy, and that could lead to disagreement with him and Luke Walton (Lakers head coach), and could also lead to Ball leaving. Don't forget that Thomas will also want to be added to the mix, and it is likely that he won't be on the team for much longer.

A reason why it wouldn't make sense for Ball and Rondo to both start is because the Lakers just resigned Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a 1 year $12 million deal. It wouldn't make sense for two guys who are getting payed less than Caldwell-Pope to be starting over him.

The Lakers will once again be a very compelling team to watch, but keep an eye on Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball, and what their roles are.

Why Alex Smith will Thrive in the Redskins Offense

       The NFL off season and free agency has started, and there have been many changes in rosters. A lot of quarterbacks are now on new teams. In particular, the Redskins made a change at the quarterback position. They replaced Kirk Cousins with Alex Smith. This resulted in Cousins departing, and starting a new chapter of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. A lot of the experts have been criticizing the move by Washington, saying that the Redskins just got a cheaper version of Kirk Cousins, and that Smith would not make a difference to the success of the team. But, the Redskins actually got a more mobile quarterback, who doesn't throw as many interceptions. Interceptions has been a huge factor in why the Redskins haven't been able to stay consistent.

      One area where they have struggled in the past couple years is in the red zone. Last season, Kirk Cousins threw 4 red zone interceptions. Smith did not throw any red zone interceptions. This is one reason why the Redskins upgraded at the quarterback position.
      A lot of experts also said that Alex Smith had better weapons in Kansas City. He had a rookie running back in Kareem Hunt, who led the league in rushing yards. He also had arguably the best tight end in Travis Kelce. And the fastest player in the NFL, which is Tyreek Hill. Smith was criticized for not going far in the playoffs with all of those weapons. But, if you look at his overall success, Alex Smith has shown that he can be consistent in getting his team to the playoffs. The only drawback is that he has only won two out of the seven playoff games he has played in. However, Kirk Cousins has only played one playoff game, and he lost that one.
      The Redskins offense is very underrated. Part of the reason why they ended up unsuccessful last season was because their main target offensively in Jordan Reed had injury issues. After Terrelle Pryor also had injury issues, and wasn't living up to what had been expected of him, second year receiver Josh Doctson became the first option on offense. For basically being a rookie because of being injured the previous year, Doctson did a great job. Jamison Crowder also really stepped up his game last season. Don't forget that the Redskins also have Vernon Davis who is probably the most consistent offensive player on the team. There are so many talented offensive players on the Redskins roster. Not to mention that they just added Paul Richardson, a wide receiver from the Seahawks. He can be Alex Smith's Tyreek Hill with the speed that he has.

     On top of the offense being just as dangerous as Kansas City's, the Redskins will also have a better defense. Before all of the injuries started to take a toll on the defense, the Redskins had one of the best defenses in the NFL in the first few weeks of the 2017 season. One particularly memorable game was when they went up against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday Night Football. They ended up winning 27-10. With a healthy defense this year, the offense will be able to play off of their success.

     For the most part, obtaining Alex Smith was a good decision by the Redskins. If you look for any problems with the Redskins new offense, the only one is that Alex Smith might have trouble spreading the ball around, which could lead to unhappiness with the players.

The Redskins' Defense Has a lot of Potential Going Forward

       The Washington Redskins' defense are starting to accomplish things that they wouldn't have last year or the year before that. Last Sunday, against the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson, the Redskins defense only allowed 14 points. They also intercepted two of Wilson's passes. They are starting to find a consistency in their level of play on defense, something they haven't had in a while.

       Some people would disagree with that and say that there were a lot of games this year where the Redskins defense fell apart and gave up a large amount of points, but this is some of their guys' first year playing for the team. Part of the reason why team defenses struggle is because they have new players. The Redskins are always signing and releasing players on defense, and have never stuck to a specific group of guys. So it will always take time for a defense with new players to develop. But now with the new additions of D.J. Swearinger and Zach Brown, I think the Redskins have finally found there group of guys on defense that they want to stick with. Last year that new addition was Josh Norman. But that wasn't enough. While Josh Norman was locking down opposing receivers, Washington's other defensive backs weren't able to make plays on other receivers which was why Washington was notorious for giving up big plays last year. So they went out and got two more leaders for that defense who have already made a big difference. And other guys in the secondary are developing like Quinton Dunbar and Kendall Fuller. Quinton Dunbar has had to step in when Josh Norman was injured and played great. Kendall Fuller is a young guy who has added a lot to the secondary this year. He already has three interceptions. Now, they aren't having the same problems as last year. And soon enough, the Washington Redskins could have one of the best defenses in the NFL.

      This new Redskins defense is young, talented, and energetic. It might not be this year when they make a big run to the playoffs or maybe the Super Bowl. But the Redskins defense has a very bright future going forward.

My biggest takeaway from the Ezekiel Elliot suspension

 The NFL off-season was very fascinating, but the riveting decisions do not stop there. Recently, Ezekiel Elliot was suspended for six games after a domestic violence investigation. This will obviously impact other teams, specifically the teams in the NFC East. It could also lead to the Cowboys not winning the NFC East, which opens up spots for the Redskins, Giants, and Eagles.

But my biggest takeaway from this suspension is the fact that Dak Prescott will be playing his first regular season games without Elliot in the backfield. The only other game that Prescott has played without Elliot was in week 17, but that game didn't really matter because the Cowboys had already clinched the first seed in the NFC playoffs.

Last season, Elliot was a huge reason for Prescott's success. The running game was a huge part of the cowboys offense, so when they set up the play action, teams often fell for the run which led to Prescott completing most of his play action passes. Now without Elliot, their might be some struggles in the first couple weeks for the Cowboys offense and specifically Prescott. While Darren Mcfadden and Alfred Morris are solid running backs, they won't provide the same luxuries to Prescott that Elliot does. But one of the great components of the Cowboys offense is their offensive line, which I think is the key to keeping them in playoff contention. But even their remarkable offensive line has taken a blow with Tyron Smith questionable for week 1 of the regular season because of a knee injury.

The first game back that Elliot will be able to play in will be against the Redskins on October 29th. I'll recap my predictions for the weeks before that.

Week 1: vs Giants

I think the Cowboys will lose this game 27-13. Because of the loss of Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr, it'll be easier for the Giants to attack that defense with the addition of Brandon Marshall, wide receiver coming from the Jets. Linebacker Sean Lee will really have to lead the Cowboys defense.

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Week 2: vs Broncos

This game will be a good test for Prescott playing against one of the best defenses in the NFL. I think the broncos receiving core of Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas will be too much for the Cowboys defense again. I am predicting the score to be 24-10. I think the Cowboys secondary will be a big part of them winning or losing.

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Week 3: vs Cardinals

I think the Cowboys will win this game 20-17 despite the Cardinals great defense. This year, I feel like the age factor for Carson Palmer will start to kick in.

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Week 4: vs Rams

I think the Cowboys will also win this game 23-16. The Rams are a young team and still learning but they do have a bright future.

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Week 5: vs Packers

I think the Cowboys will lose this 34-30. The Cowboys will finally be finding some rhythm without Elliot but Aaron Rodgers will be too much again for that defense.

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Week 6: Bye

Week 7: vs 49ers

This will be the last game that the Cowboys will play without Elliot and I think they will lose 27-20. I think Kyle Shanahan at head coach will make the 49ers offense function well with the addition of Pierre Garcon who he knew during his time as offensive coordinator for the Redskins.

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