Young quarterback already proving himself
Turner and Haskins are key duo for Washington — so far, coach likes what he sees
During an unprecedented NFL offseason with limited face time and logistical challenges, one of Scott Turner’s trustiest tools is the quiz. The Washington Redskins’ new offensive coordinator tests second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins, among others, at the start of their meetings: What coverage is this? What is this motion called?
“Dwayne’s doing a great job,” Turner said on a video conference call with reporters Wednesday. “You can tell he’s putting the work in away from the meeting time.”
The working relationship between Turner and Haskins is crucial. Offensive coordinator and quarterback are one of the most important pairings in any organization, but for the Redskins the significance is heightened.
In the short term, the two men are tasked with implementing a new system — without physical time together, in two-hoursper-day, four-days-per-week chunks — and improving an offense that with similar personnel last season scored the fewest points per game (16.6) in the league.
Turner and Haskins are young — 37 and 23, respectively — and headed for their first full seasons in their roles. They will rely on a variant of “Air Coryell,” an old offensive philosophy named after Don Coryell, the former San Diego Chargers coach whose vertical attack expanded NFL passing games in the late 1970s. Turner’s father, Norv, ran a version of the offense when he coached the Redskins in the 1990s, and now Turner has brought it back to Washington with modern twists.
Because Air Coryell stretches the field, defenses often counter with coverages that eliminate deeper routes. With Carolina, the Turners exploited underneath passing lanes with running back Christian McCaffrey, who became one of the league’s most dangerous weapons.
The Redskins have acquired hybrid backs and wide receivers from similar molds; Turner mentioned Steven Sims Jr., Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic as examples.
“Balance is not just run and pass [play-calls],” Turner said, pointing out that five receivers are eligible on every play. “True balance is using all five of those guys in the run game or pass game. Guys that are able to do different things, it gives you more options. … You want to be as unpredictable as possible.”
This doesn’t mean Turner will deemphasize more traditional players. He sees wide receiver Terry McLaurin as integral to the unit and believes there is a role for power running back Adrian Peterson, whom he knows from his time as an assistant with Minnesota. In this offense, Peterson could become a first- and seconddown running back and a receiving option for check-down passes. His presence also could help set up play-action passes, a favored element of Turner’s offenses.
Boiled down, the core of Turner’s offensive philosophy is “options.” And that matches up with how the team addressed some of its unsettled positions during the offseason, stockpiling wide receivers, running backs, tight ends and left tackles — even if it didn’t acquire clear-cut starters for most of those roles.
“What we didn’t want to do is handcuff ourselves,” Turner said before imitating a conversation among coaches: “‘Hey, this is the guy, and we’ve got to play him.’”
Now the coaches will let the players compete. Turner wouldn’t specify starters or roles — particularly not at left tackle — and when asked whether he would prioritize experience, he shot down the idea.
“I just want the best players possible,” he said. “I don’t care if they’re rookies or 10th-year guys.”
Under center, Turner believes Haskins will become The Guy. He praised the signal caller’s pocket presence and ability to push the ball downfield. He commended Haskins’s performance on those quizzes, when the quarterback puzzles out not only what defenses were doing but what they would do next. He said, maybe most importantly, that if Haskins doesn’t comprehend a concept the first time, he works to figure it out.
“A lot of play in this league is confidence,” Turner said. “Obviously you have to have this skill set that we all believe Dwayne does, but it takes a while for guys to truly believe that they can do this and that they can play in this league. It is highly competitive, and it humbles everyone.”
Turner knows. After the Panthers fired his father and coach Ron Rivera in December, Turner served a four-game stint as interim offensive coordinator. He assembled the game plan and called the plays. He deflected credit, hat-tipping the staff and his father for their help, but in many ways Turner and Haskins have mirrored one another throughout the past year.
After their head coaches were fired, they stepped up to help lead their offenses. They might not have performed like they wanted to, but along the way there were signs of growth, flashes of what they could become. It was hard not to hear the parallels when Turner talked about what he learned at the end of last season.
“Just … understanding on game day [that] everyone is looking at you and waiting for you,” he said. “Just having the feeling of doing that was big, and I think it is going to help me a lot going forward.”