Several times this season, it has felt as though Rivera and Haskins have struggled to be on the same page regarding the quarterback’s performance. Their evaluations after games sometimes differ substantially, and that was highlighted after the Browns loss when Rivera conceded Haskins sometimes stared down receivers and Haskins believed he did not. This continued against the Ravens, including when Haskins failed Rivera’s pop quiz on fourth and goal from the 13 by throwing to wide receiver Isaiah Wright well short of the goal line instead of taking a shot to the end zone or at least to a receiver with a better chance to score.
This season, Washington and others have sometimes treated Haskins as a game-manager type, though this could be a byproduct of the lack of proven weapons around him. For example, Rivera said Washington ran screens against Baltimore’s defense, which is aggressive with the lead, “to get the ball out of Dwayne’s hands and into a playmaker’s hands.” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey described Haskins as less of a threat downfield than in the quick game.
“He’s his best when he’s a rhythm thrower,” Humphrey said. “So, the downfield shots, we knew they were going to come here and there, but he’s at his best when he’s on time and [making] timing throws.”
These critiques are part of this broader evaluation process. Washington needs to see whether Haskins can improve his awareness, implementation of the game plan and ability to create plays on his own. In a rebuilding season, it’s perhaps the most important thing the team can do — and despite the statistical success, Rivera remains vigilant.
“Again, doing the things he needs to do and showing the growth — that’s what we’re looking for [from Haskins],” he said Monday. “It’s a tough situation. We’re looking at our circumstances right now as a football team. We’re in a very interesting situation right now.”
Landon Collins is struggling to tackle. The numbers vary slightly — Pro Football Focus ranks him second worst in the league (with nine missed tackles), while Pro Football Reference has him eighth worst (with six) — but both tell the same story. The league’s highest-paid safety has one of the worst tackling percentages among any defender with 10 or more tackles this season.
This is concerning on multiple levels. First, it hurts the defense. Second, it puts Collins on pace for a career-worst number of missed tackles after he reset the mark just last season. And while Collins has faced two of the league’s shiftier quarterbacks, Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Arizona’s Kyler Murray, the majority of his missed tackles came against the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. Third, this is poor play from a captain, a player in the second year of a massive, six-season contract, a leader seen by the franchise’s previous regime as a cornerstone of the future.
Rivera, though, doesn’t seem worried. He praised the safety for playing hard and said he can sometimes get ahead of himself by pushing to make plays happen.
“As things get later in the game, you watch things get broken down because guys are trying to make plays,” Rivera said when asked about Collins’s play. “They’re trying to force a fumble. They want to take the ball away, and then they get outside of it. But early in the game, you see the guys doing the things they’re capable of, playing the way they’re supposed to.”
In the defensive backfield, it’s stock up for Kamren Curl and stock down for Fabian Moreau. Curl, a seventh-round draft pick, maintained his sizable role as a rookie by playing 24 snaps and lining up at slot cornerback and dime linebacker. Coaches and teammates have praised the young safety’s smarts and versatility, and Rivera said he has “exceeded expectations.”
Moreau, a cornerback in a contract year, didn’t play any defensive snaps for the second time in as many weeks. The 26-year-old’s time first dipped against Cleveland with the return of top cornerback Kendall Fuller. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio attributed the dip to the Browns’ bigger personnel, but after the Ravens used somewhat smaller personnel Sunday, Moreau’s snaps remained the same.
Washington sees Moreau as primarily an outside cornerback. It appears the coaches simply like Fuller and Ronald Darby more there and Jimmy Moreland and Curl inside. Still, Del Rio maintained last week that the team likes Moreau.
“He’s done a nice job to start the year,” he said. “We certainly value Fabian and think he’s a good player.”
After canceling a tryout for multiple free agents Monday, Washington remains in a wait-and-see process for future workouts. The team is evaluating its full novel coronavirus protocols, from when the player arrives at the airport to when he leaves the workout, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
This precaution reflects leaguewide anxiety about the virus, underscored by the schedule changes over the weekend after positive virus tests for the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs and a call league brass held Monday with head coaches and general managers. The NFL threatened to penalize teams that do not adhere to protocols. For Washington, this might mean the tryout cancellation was a one-time thing, or it could lead to reduced free agent activity.
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