Hogs Haven
A short week against a division rival is an ideal time for Washington to showcase some unexpected players against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Washington head coach Dan Quinn has gotten a lot out of a few of his rookies ten weeks into the season. Of course, Jayden Daniels is the Commanders' starting quarterback, but Johnny Newton, Mike Sainristil, and Brandon Coleman are also making an impact. Alternatively, Luke McCaffrey and Ben Sinnott have been on fans' minds. It's not like they aren't playing; McCaffrey sees 45 percent of the offensive snaps, and Sinnott sees 31 percent. However, they have combined for 16 catches in the season and have been targeted 19 times.
For McCaffrey, watching the film, you can understand how often his ability to defeat tight coverage is not rewarded with a target. Granted, that is the nature of the wide receiver position, and if a receiver is not high in the progression, they'd have to hope all things go well in the pocket to allow the quarterback to find them. For Sinnott, while he is most often utilized as an effective inline blocker in the run game, he is the perceived yards-after-catch weapon that Washington fans feel the team lacks.
"It's all part of that development," Quinn said about the development aspect of rookies in the passing game. "When the opportunities come, can you absolutely go nail it? Whether that's this week or two weeks or four or six weeks from now, all of those opportunities, when they come, they're ready to deliver." Quinn continued, saying he knows those moments are coming, and he believes that his rookies will be ready because of the work that they put in.
One aspect to consider for the younger players is through offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. In a short week against division rival Philadelphia Eagles, fighting the injury bug heading into a ten-day rest period, can we see the offense under Kingsbury roll out some new wrinkles? I explored that possibility in the latest Trap or Dive podcast episode.
You can listen to the full Trap or Dive episode below. We discussed:
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