In just 4 weeks, Haskins lost his chance at QB
Looking back, the loss to Cleveland might end up being the game that torments the Washington Football Team the most when it comes to DwayneHaskins. Because thatWeek 3 road game against the Browns was one Washington had a real chance to win, one they led entering the fourth quarter. Instead, it ended in a defeat in which Haskins had four turnovers that led to 24 of the 34 points the Browns scored that afternoon.
Whatwas supposed to be a building year for newWashington coach Ron Rivera and Haskins, his second-year quarterback, has turned into a playoff fight in the wretched NFC East. Even at 1-3, the team is a half game out of first place a quarter of theway throughthe season. If
Washington could have beaten Cleveland two weeks ago, it actually would be leading the division. Theopportunity to competefor a playoff spot, Rivera saidWednesday, was a big part of his decision to demoteHaskins to third-string and start Kyle Allen at quarterback Sunday against the LosAngeles Rams.
Rivera’s benching of Haskins, the oncepresumed quarterback of the future, after just four games was a surprise, given the seeming commitment the coach had made to playing Haskins the whole season. But inside the team’s practice facility, momentum for the move had been growing, a person with knowledge of the situation said, in part becauseHaskins had fallen into poor study and practice habits. The person said Haskins’ lack of preparation was hurting him in games, leading to overthrown passes and missed opportunities to hit open receivers.
The concerns represented a departure from the effort Haskins had shown in winning the starting job during training camp, for which he had drawn praise from Rivera. Something seemed to happen to Haskins after winning the job, the person familiar with the situation said, andhiswork habits deteriorated. Another person who has seen Haskins at practice this season noticed Haskins being sloppy during pregame warm-ups, while Allen worked diligently in those same drills, even though hewas unlikely to play in the game.
Players seemed to notice, as well. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that oneWashington player had pushedHaskins towork harder, pointing out that Alex Smith — who hasn’t been active on gamedays but was promoted to the backup job as part of this week’s quarterback switch — had been arriving at the facility earlier than Haskins and preparing better.
In someways, Haskins has never gotten a fair shot in Washington. Former coach Jay Gruden did not want the team to draft him, creating a challenging start to the quarterback’s career, and Haskins’s 11 NFL starts have come over two coaching staffs with different offenses, behind a patched-together offensive line and surrounded by limited talent at the skill positions. Past coaches have always praised his ability to quickly understand offenses and concepts and have often said he simply needs time to adjust to playing against NFL defenses.
Perhaps Rivera wouldn’t have benched Haskins if theNFCEast hadn’t turned out to be so bad. But with the division open, Rivera said he felt he had to make the change to Allen, who had previous experience in offensive coordinator Scott Turner’s system with the Panthers.
“This is not as much an indictment on Dwayne as much as it is an indictment on the situation and circumstances that we are in,” Rivera told reporters Wednesday. “He did not have the benefit of OTAs and minicamp. He didn’t have the benefit of four preseason games to work through things. Because of that, he’s behind in his development in this system. Again, it’s an unfortunate situation.”
One phrase often used to describe concerns over Haskins’ play is his “situational awareness” — the way a player responds to factors like the score, downand-distance and location on the field. Rivera seemed to be irritated with Haskins after last Sunday’s loss to Baltimore, when Haskins failed to throw the ball away on a first-and-goal from the 15, instead taking an 18-yard sack that pushed Washington back to the 33-yard line.
After Haskins worked the offense to the 13, Rivera decided against kicking a field goal, saying after the game that hewanted to see how Haskins handled a fourth-down play in Washington had to score a touchdownor lose the ball on downs. Rather than throw into the end zone, he threw a short pass to a receiver whowas quickly tackled.
“You have to throwthat pass into the end zone,” said the person who has watched Washington practice this year. “What’s the worst that can happen? The ball is intercepted? That’s fine, they get the ball on 20 and it’s what a seven-yard difference. The thing is you have to run around, buy some time and try to make a play in the end zone.”
Both Rivera and Turner acknowledged Wednesday that Haskins hadn’t shown the growth they were looking for through four games.
“There’s beensomemistakes that showed up that were kind of repeat-type mistakes,” Turner told reporters Wednesday. “I think that’s what really started getting coach thinking thatway. Frankly, whenhe brought it up, I agreed.”
Though Rivera tried to deny it in his Wednesday news conference, the benching could mean the end for Haskins’ starting chances in Washington. Rivera has to find the franchise’s next quarterback soon, and it’s probably not Allen, who had mixed success in Carolina, or Smith, who is 36 and coming back from a horrific leg injury that most assumedwas career-ending.
By dropping Haskins behind both Allen and Smith, Rivera has ended what was supposed to be a season-long experiment after just four games. Perhaps Haskins will respond theway he did during the offseason and trainingcampand earn back his starting job. If not, it’s fair towonder if he has lost his best chance to be an NFL quarterback.